Azur Lane: Three Strikes

by Nighthawk6595

The Lighthouse War has ended, but what happens when Osea's Ace pilot chases after an unknown bogey and ends up in a new world? This one being of war and Shipgirls. A new adventure for Three Strikes has begun. (Rated T...for now)

23. Christmas At Azur Lane

Hope you all enjoyed the previous chapter since it took a long time to get it done.

But also the time that I uploaded it - it was on Election Day. But I don't want to drag in politics because it's not what I'm here for.

Anyway, a quick recap of the previous chapter: Trigger finds out that his father's old wingman is here along with Brownie - the former Golem 2, but she also has PTSD from her fight with Mister X.

Trigger, Enterprise, Prince of Wales and Illustrious look over the findings of Dr. Schroeder and Amelia's examination of the XFA-33 Fenrir.

The Red Axis kansen are feeling rattled by Trigger being a constant presence in their mind, even Bismarck is trying to deny her feeling of love - even though her guilty conscience - Bismarck Zwei disagrees since they are the same.

Chopper tells the others his story about his experience in the Circum-Pacific War. Count even shows the helmet cam footage of the hunt for the Alicorn - showing the footage of that monster sub.

The Ghosts of Razgriz reminisce about their time together and how President Harling informed them of their identities of the Razgriz being classified until 2020. But Blaze began hearing Chopper's voice like he was alive.

Bartlett would reveal Zuiho, a kansen who got caught up on a freighter carrying a decommissioned airplane. Zuiho would tell them about the Sirens and what is happening in her world, but she grew giddy when the Razgriz mentioned Three Strikes - a kid on Christmas.

Let's dive right in!

---

Ace Combat Universe

San Profetta Airport

San Salvacion, Usea

1550 hrs

San Profetta Airport was a civilian airport and was part of San Salvacion's transit system that reached out to most parts of Usea, including international flights across the Spring Sea. During the Continental War, when Erusea occupied the city, they turned the airport into a military base where various Erusean fighter squadrons were stationed, with the exception being Yellow Squadron. During the Liberation, the airport would be bombed by the Independent States Allied Forces, rendering it neutralized for the duration of the battle.

After the war ended, the airport was repaired and was returned to civilian services. This was the airport which the former Razgriz pilots, their mentor and their newest addition - a shipgirl named Zuiho were arriving at in order to return to Osea.

Colonel Jack Bartlett took the maintenance entrance to the actual hangar area, after showing his credentials to the airport security officer at the checkpoint. As he drove to the hangars, the other Razgriz pilots were a bit anxious to finally return home to Osea, but there's the obvious elephant in the room being the little girl sitting between Blaze and Nagase.

Blaze asked Zuiho, "In your world, you have a ship mode and battle mode?"

Zuiho nodded and said, "Our ship modes turn our rigging into actual ships which helps us in not using our powers that much. But the only times we utilize our rigging is during combat or if we need to get to our destination more quickly…but I tend to make a few mistakes while going off on my own."

Nagase curiously asked, "How so?"

"When I went to go search for beautiful flowers, I got lost in a terrible fog. I almost thought that I would never make it back until she saved me."

Grimm asked, "She?"

"Unzen - the Heavy Cruiser who was part of the sixth shipbuilding plan and she's often known as the Great Sage. She found me in the fog and guided me back home - never did find those flowers though."

Snow figured, "She didn't want you to get lost and more importantly - not to have a search party sent out for you."

The little girl agreed as she pointed out, "At that point, I always praise the Great Sage for helping me find my way home."

Blaze chuckled and said, "You are quite the little bird, you know?"

Zuiho stated, "Chirp, chirp! I may not be a blue dove, but I will be with you all the way."

Nagase noticed that the carrier had mentioned the words 'blue dove' as she asked,

"You've read the book?"

Zuiho nodded and said, "Yes and the part where the Dove tried to find the fruit to save the Princess was inspiring. It made me sad that the Princess had died when it returned and the Dove would pass away next to the Princess's body."

"You should know that even though he was too late to save her, the Dove's determination to try and save the Princess was what the story was about - including the addition to the legend of Razgriz which is both a demon and a hero."

Zuiho remembered that name, "The demon was mentioned when the Princess got sick and the old tree told the story to the Dove when Razgriz rained death, killing the land and itself until it returned to restore the land and cure the survivors."

Blaze and Nagase were impressed by Zuiho's knowledge of the story and became a bit curious as he asked,

"Where did you find the book anyway?"

Zuiho chuckled at this and answered, "There were…"

"Here!" Bartlett interrupted as the hummer pulled to a stop near one of the hangars.

As they all got out of the car, the former pilots and kansen were approaching the hangar as Zuiho recognized it,

"This is the hangar where they're housing it!"

Bartlett nodded and said, "Yeah, the mechanics are probably done with it by now."

Kei stated, "I'm pretty much ready to finally see my children again after seven years in space."

Blaze assured his wife, "Like I said before, Kei - they've missed you as much as I do and considering that I would show them old videos of us together from our wedding video to when they were infants."

Kei knew that her husband was right, even in her long seven years in space, she had hoped to one day return home to Blaze and her children. She sensed that longing with her crew since they all had families waiting for them to come home. It was evident from the 'Welcome Home Event' at the Space Elevator as her crew ran to the waiting arms of their loved ones upon dismissal - Blaze was there waiting for her return and now there were two more people waiting for their mother and father.

Snow sighed as he said, "They will be happy to see you."

Grimm added, "They would never want to see you leave again after that."

Kei agreed as she said, "And that we can agree on."

As they approach the door leading into the hangar, Bartlett asked,

"I guess Zuiho tried to tell you how she got her hands on the book, right?"

The four pilots nodded as the Colonel said, "Before we came to Usea, we actually had to pick up a few passengers on the way to the airport."

The door opened to reveal two children - a boy and a girl. The boy was wearing a black hoodie with a small Wardog Emblem on his shoulder while the girl had a light blue sweatshirt as she clutched a red book in her arms. The boy noticed Blaze and said,

"It's Dad!"

The children ran to their father as he said, "Kids!"

He immediately picked them up and held them in a big hug as the others smiled at this reunion. Blaze said to the kids,

"I didn't know that you were here!"

The girl looked at her father and said, "Auntie Nastasya and Uncle Jack wanted it to be a surprise." She noticed Zuiho, "You also met our new friend!"

Blaze had a feeling that the shipgirl and his kids were acquainted, "You and Alvin already met Zuiho?"

Alvin joyfully said, "Uncle Jack introduced us to her when we arrived - we even showed Mom's book to her."

That's when Kei decided to make herself known, "I heard that."

The children would soon turn to Kei as the twins had the feelings of shock as Mei, the daughter opened the red book and turned to a photo of Kei Nagase. Both twins looked at the photo and to the woman as they were comparing the two until Mei asked her father,

"Daddy, is that?"

Blaze smiled as he set the children down. Kei approached her husband and children as he said,

"Alvin, Mei - this is your mother."

The twins were astonished by this since their father had told them stories about their mother. He would describe her as beautiful, compassionate, loving and dedicated to her work and family. When they asked where she was, their father would tell them that she went on a long trip to the stars and won't come back for seven years. That nearly gave them the impression that their mother had abandoned her family - but their Dad told them that she did this because she loves them. When they were five, Blaze told them a story when the sky lit up in an array of shooting stars - the fall of Ulysses which caused damage to other parts of the world and that their Mom went to prevent another one from happening - to ensure that her children would not go through another Ulysses.

Alvin and Mei felt like they were about to cry as the boy muttered,

"M…Mom…"

The girl cried as she said, "Mommy…"

Kei immediately wrapped her arms around both children as she comforted them,

"Shhh…it's okay. I have been away for seven years…I missed your birthdays…all the times that I could've spent with you. But it's over, I'm back with you - my children. This time I'm staying."

The twins soon felt that spark in their hearts, a feeling they haven't felt in years - A Mother's Love.

They felt it on the day they were born and during the ten months they spent with their parents until their mother left for Space. The kids continued to cry tears of joy as Kei said,

"I never forgot about my little Ace and my little Arkbird."

That's when the twins remembered their dad telling them about the nickname that their mother would give them.

Remembering this, Alvin said, "My nickname was Ace…" while his sister added,

"And mine was Arkbird."

Blaze joined them as he said, "Alvin, your mother gave you the nickname because you are an Ace at many things and Mei…"

His wife finished, "You are my little Arkbird because you're as adorable and elegant as the Bird of Peace."

This family reunion was heartwarming to the others as Bartlett noticed a woman in the same doorway that the children came out of - she was wearing a Yuktobanian military jacket with the Major's insignia on her shoulder.

After the reunion finished, Blaze, Kei and their children turned to Bartlett and noticed the familiar Yuktobanian woman. He looked at his mentor and said,

"You brought our children here to greet us, you old bird."

Bartlett gestured with his hands and stated, "I gave in when Nastasya suggested it along with the kids giving me the puppy dog eyes and they also wanted to surprise you."

The Yuke woman pointed out, "Since I was their temporary caretaker, I took the liberty of showing them around the city of San Salvacion and when Zuiho had joined us - they had become friends with her."

Blaze looked at the kansen with a smirk, "You knew as well?"

Zuiho stated, "I knew that they wanted to surprise their parents - I didn't know that they were your children." She glared at Bartlett as the Colonel stated,

"Yeah, I left that part out when you were with them."

As the reunion was over, Nastasya led them into the hangar as Blaze spoke,

"Of course, it had to be you to pull the strings in order to help us get home."

The Yuke Major looked at him and said, "I did help prove the innocence of the Demon Prince as Jack already told you."

Blaze remembered that Patrick Cross was exonerated by Vice-Chairman Edwards when the true culprit behind Harling's death was revealed as he said,

"Pat wasn't known for being careless when it comes to being an escort and he was definitely lucky that you, Jack, Edwards and the General Staff Office stepped in."

"You have also met Zuiho since we rescued her from our foes - The Sirens."

He became concerned, "Does Yuktobania know about the Sirens?"

Bartlett decided to speak, "A message was already sent to Cinigrad - along with the identification charts for the Siren ships, warning the Yuktobanian Navy to be on high alert. Osean Central Command was also informed along with the same charts that we sent to Yuktobania."

Blaze understood this as he said, "We're going to have to deal with the Siren threat, but I just want to go home and spend Christmas with my family."

He gazed at Kei and the kids as his wife added, "Your complete family, Honey."

He knew that she was right because he came to Usea to welcome her back to Earth. He had hoped to be back in Osea before Thanksgiving, but the various influx of refugees and remnant factions of the Erusean Radicals had made travel difficult. But he was glad that she's here with him and their children - now they can spend Christmas together. But before he spoke, he felt Zuiho tug at his arm as the light carrier was a bit nervous as she said,

"I'm sorry, but it's just that I'm the only shipgirl here and the only people I know are Alvin and Mei…but I was wondering…" She was stuttering a bit as she struggled until she asked,

"Can I spend Christmas with your family?"

He was taken aback by this since Zuiho was a bit of an unknown. She's a physical embodiment of a light aircraft carrier from another world, but at the same time - she is still human. She can eat, she can sleep, she can laugh, cry and do all things that humans can. But Blaze knew that since Unzen - the kansen that Zuiho mentioned - isn't around and neither is her sister, Shoho, she's looking to be loved. That's when the Razgriz pilot hugged the light carrier, much to her surprise as he said,

"Zuiho, you can spend Christmas with us - as a family."

That's when tears formed in her eyes as she spoke,

"Thank you…thank you so much…"

At that point, the family were hand in hand, with the parents on the outside, Alvin and Mei on the inside - and a smiling Zuiho in the center.

Snow and Grimm took in this moment as the younger man sighed, "Reminds me of my brother and my parents back when I was younger since we would be hand in hand like that."

The salvager admitted, "My wife and I did that same thing."

That's when Blaze turned to Bartlett and asked, "So this plane that you recovered?"

They continued walking until the Colonel reached a switch for the hangar's lights. He looked at the others and spoke,

"We found this aboard the freighter along with Zuiho since she spent most of her time with it."

The Razgriz pilot looked at the little girl and asked, "Comes with being an aircraft carrier?"

Zuiho cheerfully said, "I work with planes a lot and it does come with being a carrier."

Bartlett pulled the switch as he motioned everyone to look at the shadowy silhouette in the middle of the hangar.

As the lights went on one-by-one, it illuminated the center of the hangar, revealing an aircraft with a tailless configuration, ogival delta wings, a pointy nose, four Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus turbojet engines and the single vertical stabilizer on the back of the plane.

They were impressed by this plane and it looked aesthetically appealing for the pilots and the kansen. Zuiho smiled as she said,

"Good to see her fly again."

Blaze and Kei looked at her as he asked,

"I assume that she has a name?"

The kansen nodded as she declared, "They call her - Concorde."

---

Azur Lane HQ

December 24th, 2019

1000 hrs

Christmas Eve

It was that time of the year as the base was now covered by the colors of the Christmas season. Trigger would notice the manjuu setting up the Christmas lights while the Nuggets were setting up a giant Christmas tree similar to the one in the photo of Rockefeller Center in New York City that Enterprise showed him.

The maids were setting up various food, eggnog and even the small destroyers were looking forward to watching the various Christmas movies as they picked out their favorite ones while also getting ready for a Christmas musical at the academy. The Osean Ace watched as everyone was getting into the season as he sighed,

"First Christmas in another world, that's gotta be a first for everyone."

"It must be tough for you." Said Enterprise as she was wearing her Reindeer Master outfit.

Trigger looked at her and said, "Well when we had Christmas, it would be me, Jenny, Mom, Dad, my Aunt, Uncle as well as my cousins."

The carrier was curious about his family and asked, "What were your cousins like since you've mentioned them when Amelia brought them up."

The Ace knew that this was coming as he decided to explain to her about those two,

"Well, my cousins are twin brothers and it's obvious that their father is Mobius 1. There's Andrew, the older twin who was gifted with a strange habit since I noticed that he was very stoic, but his will and persistence was very strong. He's also known for going alone despite protests, but if someone got hurt under his watch - he would protect them fiercely. He also has a 50/50 eyesight and is able to make out some discrepancies in the environment around him - he was even able to kill a deer while he was out hunting with my uncle, just by making out the oddity in the environment which gave us a nice venison dinner when we visited. This eyesight also causes him to consume lots and lots of carrots to improve his sight."

Enterprise was amazed by this since she knew of Trigger's Dad, Mom and sister - but not his Uncle's sons. The fact that his cousin can do all those things makes him just as unique as Trigger. She noticed that he wasn't finished as she asked,

"What about his brother?"

"Frank? He's the younger twin and he tends to act up whenever a problem comes up. But overtime, he knew that there were bound to be problems, but he had to overcome them in order to progress further. Both Andrew and Frank would put their heads together to assess the situation in a game of strategy - Risk was their favorite strategy game."

The carrier soon asked, "When you talk about Aurelia and Leasath, it seemed like they came from either country. Where were they born?"

Trigger thought about it for a minute since it seemed a bit confusing to figure out what their birth country was. But he remembered,

"My Aunt was a Leasathian woman who had family living in Aurelia, that's how she met my uncle who was at the local Air Force Base at the time. They actually got married in Griswall - the Capital of Aurelia and during my visits I would see the wedding photo that their home which had the Gaiuss Tower in the background."

"Gaiuss Tower?"

He explained, "It's the large skyscraper in the center of the city, it has a double-skyscraper tower layout while connected by three skyways in a floor. Gaiuss Tower serves as the political center for Aurelia's government, but it also makes for a good photo opportunity."

"It's the equivalent of the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. since it's also home to Eagle Union's political center."

"That's quite the comparison, but aside from that - the tower is actually very stunning and it serves as a Symbol of Aurelia's Peace."

The carrier felt a wave of emotion from his statement because she wanted peace. She thought back to those memories that she had with Yorktown and Hornet and how peaceful it was when they were together. But when she began to distance herself from her sisters, that peaceful atmosphere was replaced by war, sorrow and self sacrifice.

It was those moments when her historic past was reaching into her reborn self - reminding her of the loss of her sisters at Midway and the Solomon Islands including her half-sister, Wasp since her hull was a reduced version of the Yorktown-Class carriers.

At that point, she became almost like a drone, not caring whether or not she returns home or not caring if her rigging was damaged when going out on sorties which earned her the scolding from Vestal.

Trigger's presence was pivotal in bringing her back from the sorrow of her historic past. He reminded her that those memories were always there, but as a kansen - she can look past those memories and look to the future. It's mainly because along with her rebirth - Yorktown, Wasp and Hornet were reborn as well.

Enterprise wanted to spend as much time with her sisters as possible…and since it's Christmas Eve - it's going to be a great opportunity.

She spoke to the Ace, "Pat, I also want to let you know that I received a message from Yorktown."

The Ace remembered the lead ship of the Yorktown-Class, "She was the first kansen that I met since I arrived in the midst of the bombing raid on Point Mugu. She was also my guide while trying to find my way around the base and was with me and Squall Squadron - a group of rookie pilots, when we were ambushed by siren fighters."

"Well, she's actually being transferred from Point Mugu to Oahu - to our base."

Trigger realized as he asked, "Are you serious?"

She showed him the message that Yorktown had sent her and revealed that she had been transferred from Point Mugu to Azur Lane HQ as her position was being filled by another carrier kansen, Bunker Hill. He looked at Enterprise and asked,

"She's on her way here?"

The carrier nodded and said, "She said that she was using a requisitioned Cessna Citation Jet to get here which left Point Mugu this morning - Hornet, Wasp and Hammann are unaware that she's coming."

"In order to have it be a Christmas surprise for the others as the elder sister arrives here."

She agreed as they shared a soft laugh as the thought of seeing the look on their faces, but Enterprise pointed out,

"I'm sure that it was her that told you about how I behaved and wanted you to break me from that shell."

Trigger shrugged and said, "You broke out of that shell, but I only pushed you to do that and I'm pretty sure that Yorktown will be proud of you."

At that point, she knew that he was right since she could've done it herself, but her drone-like state and visions of self sacrifice had prevented her from doing it. But it was Trigger who gave her that push because when she was suspended, she was able to mend the relationship with Hornet, learned that there was more than just fighting and her dreams where Little Enterprise had guided her throughout Trigger's journey. It all made her become better at being not just a shipgirl - but a human being as well.

She smiled and said, "She will."

---

Crew Quarters

1100 hrs

In the crew quarters of the base, the four destroyers were with the pilots setting up a Christmas tree as a movie was playing on the TV. As they worked, some of the pilots took notice of the film as it shows a family walking out into the middle of nowhere and finding the Christmas Tree that they desired.

As Chopper glanced at the film, he noticed it and asked, "Why does he intend to have a tree of that size?"

Rooster sighed and said, "In many ways - it's part of his character of being an ambitious goofball of a father."

Javelin stated, "Apparently National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is only the fourth film involving the Griswold Family and Clark always seems to have a hair brained scheme in his head."

Laffey pointed out, "His daughter was frozen in this scene."

It was true because they would notice that the daughter, Audrey, was frozen and her eyes were frozen as well. That moment was shattered when the son, Russ, asked,

"Dad, did you bring a saw?"

To the viewers, they laughed at this stupidity as the realization settled in and the next scene cut to the Griswold's car with the tree strapped to it - dug from the ground itself as Lanza laughed,

"What an idiot! If he was going to get a tree, he would have brought a saw!"

Ayanami chuckled, "I can see why this movie is a classic."

Fanboy noted, "An all-time Christmas classic for the season, Ayanami."

As they worked on the tree, they continued watching the movie as they saw Clark using a chainsaw and a hockey mask - making him some sort of copycat Jason, the literal sappy talk between Clark and his wife, Ellen and the brief talk of an expected Christmas Bonus from Clark's job. Larry Foulke feel a bit weirded out at the lingerie store in the mall where Clark was badly flirting with the sales lady,

"Clark has a tendency for unintended adultery?"

Fanboy pointed out, "It's not surprising that he does this. In the first Vacation movie, he had the hots for a blonde woman who drives a Ferrari."

Nimi stated, "I have seen that movie and I did not like the fact that he was doing that. He did end up getting caught in that pool scene when he screamed about how cold the water was."

Skald was amused, "We might have to watch the other Vacation movies sometime."

It came to the part where the sales lady was showing him a pair of panties as they watched,

"These are cut really high at the hip. Look I'm wearing something similar see - can't see the line."

At that point, Russ arrived as Clark noticed and asked, "Can't see the line, can you, Russ?"

His son would say, "Nope."

They chuckled when Clark made a surprised face upon realizing that his son was with him before the movie cut back to the Griswold home as Clark's and Ellen's parents arrive. But they were a bit concerned as Larry asked,

"Would this become a problem further on?"

Fencer was busy fishing out an Osean Ornament as he answered, "Well having both families under the same roof is already a problem since his wife pointed out that her mother and Clark's mother would accuse each other."

Jaeger sighed as he remembered that some destroyers have big families, "I can only imagine how Fletcher handles her Christmases with a large number of sisters."

Nimi felt embarrassed as she spoke, "Weihnachten is a tough time for me as well because I am only one of many Zerstörers. Even if I was an A-model 1936 or Narvik-Class - I still regard the other 1936 types as an extended family."

Larry figured, "It must be tough since you defected from Red Axis."

She held up a series of Christmas cards, "Well, half of my sisters are in Red Axis while some are with the Ägir's Resistance and they actually sent me these cards, but it seems like Z24 and Z28 got more mischievous than Z25 and Z26."

Rooster got curious as he asked, "How so?"

The Iron Blood Destroyer showed off the card from Z24 and Z28 as it shows a horned demon like creature holding a whipping rod with the interior line saying,

"In For A Whip?"

Chopper was a bit curious and asked, "Did she send you the wrong card?"

Z23 angrily stated, "Nein! That is Krampus, the punisher of naughty children and is well known for Krampusnacht! I honestly don't know how they got it to me and read this…"

She showed the handwriting beneath the card's joke and it said, "We don't mind your choice of defection and expect a fight when we meet in battle, but in the meantime - Krampus also wishes you a Merry Christmas!"

"They sent you a Krampus card as a joke?"

Nimi exclaimed, "Z24 and 28 do this every year since they save a Krampus card from Krampusnacht and give it to me on Christmas Eve."

"Krampusnacht?"

Larry spoke, "It means 'Krampus Night' where the demon would appear to punish naughty kids. I did a bit of reading when I was at Pearl and read that after Krampusnacht would be The Feast of St. Nicholas."

The Iron Blood Destroyer added, "It's a tradition back home to honor St. Nicholas, the Bringer of Gifts - who is better known as Santa Claus."

She produced the second card as the destroyer pointed out, "In regards to the other two sisters - Z25 and 26 sent me a traditional Christmas card with a photo of us together."

She showed the photo of her and her sisters together as the heartwarming picture made the pilots smile, but at the same time, feel sad at her situation. Jaeger asked,

"You said that some of your sisters were part of a Resistance movement against the Red Axis?"

Nimi nodded, "Ever since Bismarck had us join Red Axis, a resistance group was formed, led by the Large Cruiser, Ägir. She hated the idea of using Siren tech to improve our rigging and fought against Bismarck's experiments. The Resistance has separated my sisters as Z24, 28 and I remained with Red Axis while Z25 and 26 went with Ägir."

That's when Fencer remembered, "Wait, Ägir was actually mentioned in a meeting we attended at Pearl."

Skald realized, "That's right and they mentioned that she is coming to the base."

Rooster was curious as he asked, "She is?"

Skald nodded and stated, "Our recent victories got her attention and that's mostly thanks to Trigger and his ability to command both air and naval forces."

Nimi sighed as she said, "If Ägir is coming - she would not be without an escort."

As they continued to work, the movie still played from a scene of Clark getting stuck in the attic to another scene of Clark attempting to turn the Christmas lights on until Ellen figured out the solution. It also had the surprise appearance of Eddie - Ellen's cousin and his family as a transition to the living room had Clark and Eddie have a conversation on many things, then a brief scene with Clark giving a gift to his boss and the next scene had Clark use an experimental non-stick lubricant on his sled - which made him take off like a bullet. Which Chopper said in shock,

"I was not expecting that!"

"Oh SHHHIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTT!!!!!!"

The scene had Clark going downhill like a bullet and nothing could've stopped him on the hill. Not snowdrifts, a wooden shack, a long drop or even the road. It was only after he crashed into a bin in front of a Walmart, did he finally stop.

The pilots and kansen can all agree to Cousin Eddie's remark,

"Bingo/Bingo."

---

Auditorium

Azur Lane Academy

1130 hrs

Christmas Eve is a busy time, especially when it comes to the annual Christmas musical that the kansen holds every year. Even with the war going on, the various defectors like the Mutsuki sisters, San Diego and a few others are idols in their downtime.

The musical is a concert which the kansen would perform and sing in. It also involves performing in front of a giant Christmas tree on stage which is currently being fitted with decorations. The Royal Maids did the most part with lights and ribbon as the decorations came after.

Here we see Edinburgh on a ladder as she carefully placed a Royal Navy Ornament onto the tree. She succeeds in doing so, but her moment of celebration caused the ladder to become a bit unstable as she held on for dear life. When it seemed like she was going to go down with the ladder, it suddenly stabilized as the light cruiser looked down to see that Belfast was holding the ladder in place - stabilizing it. She smiled down at her and said,

"Thank you, Belfast. I would have fallen if not for you."

Bel stated, "Just doing what I can since you are my sister after all."

Edinburgh, despite being grateful, noticed that she and the Head Maid would become much closer to each other than before. The lead ship knew that because she was among those who were trapped at the ruins that made her sister act like this. Edinburgh would remember in the past that she was always living in Belfast's shadow because of her position as Head Maid, but now she's there to help her whenever her clumsiness rears its ugly head.

Edinburgh climbed down the ladder to the stage floor as she looked up at the giant Christmas Tree and sighed,

"That was the last ornament for the tree."

Belfast stood by her sister's side and said, "It looks marvelous indeed as we put a lot of effort into decorating it."

The light cruisers did marvel at their work as the other maids were still setting up the sets like snowmen, fake backgrounds and an actual sleigh.

The maids working on the snowmen were the light cruisers of the Town Class - Newcastle and Glasgow while being assisted by Osean pilots - Count and Hüxian.

The maids were curious as Newcastle stated, "Usually it is a maid's job to do the work."

Her sister asked, "Why help us out?"

Count paused his task of assembling a light-up snowman and stated, "Hey, it's Christmas after all and we are far from our families."

The female pilot added, "Just because we're not from your world doesn't mean we can't help out. Christmas is about family and Azur Lane is pretty much one big family."

Glasgow was a bit surprised by this statement as she remembered the father-daughter relationship between the Eagle Union Carrier, Bataan and the pilot, Maverick. She was aware of various cases of humans caring for shipgirls as their own children, but she realized,

"I guess you are right."

Newcastle agreed as she said, "We're all family…even though some of us wish to be with the Master."

Both pilots knew this as they continued working as Hüxian whispered, "Looking at a Christmas Morning reveille tomorrow?"

Count remembered that incident from a couple of days ago, "If any of them are as bold as Prinz Eugen."

The backdrops for the set were done by a small number of Manjuu as well as Wit and Seymour of Sol Squadron and three of the Dido class sisters - Scylla, Charybdis and Hermione.

The two Voslagian pilots assessed the backdrop as Wit stated,

"Gives the impression of a Winter Wonderland, right?"

Seymour agreed as he inspected the next backdrop which was a living room's interior, "You have the Winter Wonderland, but we have the Interior backdrop for the giant Christmas Tree."

Scylla pointed out, "It will look great for the pageant tonight when they reach the interior segment."

Charybdis stated, "It is the segment where the Gift Giver appears before everyone."

Hermione was a bit curious as she inspected a background of the night sky with a full moon in the middle, "That is the thing about it: Who do we have to play the one and only Santa Claus?"

The Edinburgh sisters overheard this as Belfast called out, "I have already taken into consideration who would play the part of Father Christmas…but I have also picked one who would take up the role of Mother Christmas as well."

They were surprised to hear the news since many knew of Enterprise taking up the role as Santa Claus in her Reindeer Master outfit. But still, Hermione looked at the sleigh and then back at Belfast,

"If I may ask, who do you have in mind for the role of Santa and Mrs. Claus?"

The Head Maid looked at a clipboard which had the list of roles which had the names of the kansen and the roles they were playing as. But when she reached the part of the Jolly Man and his wife - the Head Maid had a smug grin on her face as she saw the names as she thought,

"All according to plan."

---

Azur Lane Restaurant

1200 hrs

At the restaurant which was decked out in the colors of the Christmas season, there were a few individuals seated at a table enjoying their lunch. They were Shinano, Musashi, Kaga, Orishina, the PR Battleship Monarch, Prez and Brownie with Vestal sitting next to her. They were having a nice conversation about many things with Brownie asking the Yamato sisters about their ship classes as she points to Shinano and Musashi,

"So you're an aircraft carrier while she's a Battleship. How are you sisters?"

Musashi stated, "We may have different ship types - but our historical selves were built with a Yamato hull which makes us sisters."

Shinano agreed as she added, "This one was intended as a battleship, but losses at Midway had the Imperial Navy retrofit me as an aircraft carrier."

The Osean pilot was curious about another thing, "I'm also curious about your speech since you would go back and forth between first and third-person perspectives."

Shinano took a sip of her tea before stating, "In some cases, I would sometimes act as an avatar between this world and the dreamscape since I would slip into memories of my short existence and I would refer to myself in the third-person perspective as 'This One.' But when I am fully conscious in the waking world, my perspective is what I am speaking about at this moment."

Prez decided to speak, "She has the ability to traverse the dream world and would enter into other people's dreams."

Orishina added, "In many ways, you won't know she's in your dream unless you see her."

That made her surprised that the kansen had this ability to traverse the dreams of others since that ability seemed to only happen in fantasy - but to meet someone who can actually do this made Brownie curious as well. She also decided to ask,

"How long have you been with Trigger?"

That made Shinano smile as her cheeks turned red, "Well I must admit that I initially had a home at Kyoten and I had refused to join Red Axis. When I began to sense an odd disturbance in the dreamscape from none other than Enterprise, I soon fell asleep and entered her dream where I witnessed a dream like no other as it felt like a memory - it showed Trigger during his time with the Osean Air Force 444 Squadron, a penal unit."

Brownie was curious, "Why was he there?"

"He was accused of assassinating former President Harling during Operation Lighthouse Keeper and was put under the command of an arrogant commander named Mckinsey."

Brownie's eyes widened as she yelled, "Mckinsey?! Trigger was put under that man's thumb?!"

Shinano smiled as she stated, "But he did not back down when the colonel snapped at it and we had seen a false sinner's time in Hell until he was proven innocent."

Prez asked, "So you and Enterprise witnessed this in the dream?"

"We were not alone - there was another who looked like a child version of Enterprise, guiding her through the dream. The little girl was strange since she referred to Enterprise as 'Mama' and for Trigger - he is referred to as 'Papa' which is very interesting."

This revelation surprised them as the dreamwalker spoke of Enterprise's dream daughter, even Kaga was surprised as she asked,

"How is that possible?"

"I believe it may have something to do with Enterprise's rising feelings towards him. Ever since he saved her life during the fight against the 5th Division - a bond may have formed between the two which allowed her to not only access Trigger's memory as a dream, but to also have Enty-Chan appear as a guide."

"I have seen her as well since I am bound to him."

That was Amagi as she appeared at the table beside the others. Shinano smiled and said,

"We were wondering when you would be here, Lady Amagi."

The spirit claimed, "I was listening to a fascinating story about how Trigger pushed Enterprise out of her shell of self sacrifice and drone-like tendencies."

HMS Monarch finally spoke as the PR Battleship stated, "Lady Enterprise's tendency towards self sacrifice and setting off on her own is a problem despite her being the best of the Eagle Union."

Kaga remembered that fight during the attack as well as her encounter with Enterprise and Trigger, "She is called a Phantom or Grey Ghost since she always seems to come back despite the large amount of damage to her rigging."

Musashi pointed out, "We heard that she was suspended from going on sorties after the fight with the 5th Division."

Amagi agreed as she said, "But that suspension brought them closer together, forming this bond and having dreams of a child version of herself or perhaps Enty-Chan is the daughter that she may have in the future."

Orishina curiously asked, "Is it possible? Could a kansen really become pregnant?"

Shinano figured, "The question was whether or not it would happen since many shipgirls are picky about who they choose as no Commander was worthy enough for us - until now as I have begun seeing visions of a Shinano-Chan."

Amagi's spiritual face went red as she confessed, "Even as a spirit bound to Trigger, I began to see visions of an Amagi-Chan which I believe would occur sometime after my resurrection and the end of this war."

Kaga sighed as she said, "It explains why we have the bodies of humans since we can walk, talk and do all the things humans can do - so it could be possible."

"It could, but in the meantime, it's the greatest time of year for all of us to celebrate."

They all knew this as Prez spoke, "There's nothing like Christmas and we celebrate it with everyone on this base."

Orishina added, "And there is the Christmas Pageant tonight with many shipgirls pitching in."

Monarch sighed as she said, "Christmas has always been a special time for us since PR ships like myself were created and I have always enjoyed it."

Kaga knew this as she said, "It has always been the greatest time of the year, but recently I was approached by the Head Maid as she put me in the pageant as the Virgin Mary."

That surprised them as the Virgin Mary was attributed to the Nativity scene. But the curious question was:

Who was playing as Joseph?

---

Academy Auditorium

1800 hrs

As night fell over the base, the time of the pageant was now as everyone had gathered in the auditorium as they waited in anticipation for the show to begin. As they all took their seats, the pilots and kansen were curious about the play as the lights began to dim and the spotlight began to center on the figure coming out onstage. It was Monarch as she wore a winter coat and skirt as she states,

"Good evening everyone and on behalf of Azur Lane, I would be the first to welcome you to the annual Christening Pageant. I am Monarch, PR Battleship of the Royal Navy and I will be your guide and narrator for the pageant tonight."

The audience applauded as she began to tell the story, "Our first story begins with the First Christmas. In the city of Nazareth, the Archangel Gabriel had appeared before Mary stating that she would bear a child who would be known as the Savior. As Mary and her husband, Joseph learn of this - they journeyed from Nazareth to the city of Bethlehem, but when they learned that no rooms were available in the local Inn, they instead stayed in the stable where Mary had given birth to a son - a son they named Jesus."

The curtains opened to the nativity scene of Mary and Joseph sitting before the manger containing baby Jesus. As for the couple, some kansen who knew about this know that Mary is in fact - Kaga even though she actually made her tails invisible and a hooded shawl covering her fox ears. But for Joseph, he looked somewhat familiar and it seemed like he was doing his best to hide his face from everyone else. Afterwards came the Shepherds, the Three Wise Men and the Star of Bethlehem shining above the manger as the Mutsuki sisters, Eldridge and the Fletcher sisters began to sing as Tabloid was playing on an organ which surprised some of the audience members,

"O Holy night! The stars are brightly shining

It is the night of our dear Savior's birth

Long lay the world in sin and error pining

'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn

Fall on your knees; O hear the Angel voices!

O night divine, O night when Christ was born

O night, O Holy night, O night divine!

Truly He taught us to love one another

His law is love and His gospel is peace

Chains He shall break, for the slave is our brother

And in His name, all oppression shall cease

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we

Let all within us praise His holy name

Christ is the Lord!

Their name forever praise we

Noel, Noel

O night, O night divine

Noel, Noel

O night, O night divine

Noel, Noel

O night, O holy night."

As the destroyers finished, the audience applauded as the curtains closed and Monarch stepped out again as she announced,

"The Wise Men's gifts to the newborn king is what became the basis for Christmas. The two colors of red and green would become associated with the holiday as red represents the blood of Christ while green would represent the Evergreen Tree which would be adopted as a tradition from all over the world. For a Christmas Tree is as lovely as winter itself."

As the curtains opened again, the scene had changed from the nativity scene to a large Christmas Tree all decorated in lights, ornaments and a star on the top of the tree. But it also had the Mutsuki sisters as well as Javelin, Ayanami, Eldridge, Tabloid, Jaeger, Fencer and Skald as they stood in a choir and sang,

"O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,

How lovely are your branches!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,

How lovely are your branches!

Not only green in summer's heat,

But also winter's snow and sleet.

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,

How lovely are your branches!"

There was a bit of a musical number into it as they continued to sing,

"O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,

Of all the trees most lovely;

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,

Of all the trees most lovely.

Each year you bring to us delight

With brightly shining Christmas light!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,

Of all the trees most lovely."

Another instrumental number occurred again until it reached the final verse,

"O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,

We learn from all your beauty;

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,

We learn from all your beauty.

Your bright green leaves with festive cheer,

Give hope and strength throughout the year.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,

We learn from all your beauty."

The curtains closed again as the audience applauded to the performance as the PR battleship came out once more, dressed in winter gear as she continued on with the story,

"But when it comes to Christmas, it also comes to the joys of winter as the wonders of seeing a snowfall, the excitement of a snowball fight or the fun of building a snowman - These are the joys of a Winter Wonderland…"

The curtains opened to reveal that the scene had changed to a snowy background and landscape with the Mutsuki sisters, Ayanami, Javelin, Laffey, Skald, Lanza, Tailor and Hüxian as the music started and they began to sing as each had alternated between lines,

The Men: Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,

The Women: In the lane, snow is glistening

Men: A beautiful sight,

We're happy tonight,

Both: Walking in a winter wonderland.

Men: Gone away is the bluebird,

Women: Here to stay is a new bird

Men: He sings a love song,

As we go along,

Both: Walking in a winter wonderland.

Mutsuki: In the meadow we can build a snowman,

Kisaragi: Then pretend that he is Parson Brown

Lanza: He'll say: Are you married?

We'll say: No man,

Skald: But you can do the job

When you're in town.

Uzuki: Later on, we'll conspire,

Tailor: As we dream by the fire

All: To face unafraid,

The plans that we've made,

Walking in a winter wonderland.

A small musical number started as the song reached the bridge. It was very whimsical with the snowy background, but there was also a snowman dressed as a parson - even holding the good book in his arm. But there was a second snowman that appeared on the stage as Ayanami began to sing,

Ayanami: In the meadow we can build a snowman,

And pretend that he's a circus clown

Javelin: We'll have lots of fun with mister snowman,

Nagatsuki: Until the other kiddies knock him down.

Hüxian: When it snows, ain't it thrilling,

Laffey: Though your nose gets a chilling

All: We'll frolic and play, the Eskimo way,

Walking in a winter wonderland.

Walking in a winter wonderland,

Minazuki: We're…

All: Walking in a winter wonderland.

The song came to an end as the audience applauded as the curtains closed once more. After a minute or two, Monarch once more stepped out on stage, dressed in a casual Hawaiian outfit with nothing too revealing as she continued,

"While most would prefer the joys of a white Christmas, there are those who have Christmas in a tropical climate like Hawaii. But there is a thing to say when it comes to Christmas in a tropical paradise like The Aloha State…Mele Kalikimaka."

The curtains opened to a background of the bright Hawaiian beaches as shipgirls like San Diego, North Carolina, Tirpitz, Prinz Eugen, Blücher, an embarrassed Hipper, Weser, Enterprise, a slightly embarrassed Ark Royal, Helena, St. Louis, a slightly embarrassed Honolulu, Baltimore and Bremerton dressed as Hula Girls as Trigger walks out dressed like Bing Crosby as the sound of a lap steel guitar began playing as Trigger began to sing,

"Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say

On a bright Hawaiian Christmas day

That's the island greeting that we send to you

From the land where palm trees sway

Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright

The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night

Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way

To say Merry Christmas to you"

At that point, that's when the hula girls began to sing as well,

"Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say

On a bright Hawaiian Christmas day

That's the island greeting that we send to you

From the land where palm trees sway

Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright

The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night

Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way

To say Merry Christmas to you"

At that point, there was a small musical number as it played the theme of the song as with some hints of either a trumpet or a saxophone. But at that point, the vocals started singing again,

Both: Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright

The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night

Trigger: Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way

Hula girls: To say Merry Christmas to you

Another small instrumental number came after that before both singers started back up,

Both: Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say

On a bright Hawaiian Christmas day

That's the island greeting that we send to you

From the land where palm trees sway

Trigger: Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright

Hula girls: The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night

Both: Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way

To say Merry Christmas

Trigger: A very Merry Christmas

Both: A very, very, Merry, Merry Christmas to you.

As the Hawaiian Christmas song concluded, the audience gave them a round of applause as the curtains closed again and the lights dimmed. Monarch stepped out once more after a few minutes, but this time - she was dressed as a mail carrier with a bag full of letters and continued,

"It shows that Christmas can be celebrated no matter where you choose to call home. Whether it is in the beautiful snowy landscape or the warm sandy beaches of Hawaii - the spirit of Christmas will always fall to two powerful symbols known as Father Christmas and his wife, Mother Christmas. As a matter of fact, I happen to be on my way to him to deliver these letters that the children write every year. He's a bright, jolly man with a beard as white as snow, his wife is as humble as he is, so I will tell you that…"

The music starts up as Monarch begins to sing,

"Santa Claus is comin' to Town…

You better watch out, you better not cry

Better not pout, I'm telling you why

Santa Claus is comin' to town

He's making a list and checking it twice

Gonna find out who's naughty and nice

Santa Claus is comin' to town

He sees you when you're sleepin'

He knows when you're a wake

He knows if you've been bad or good

So be good for goodness sake

Oh! You better watch out, you better not cry

Better not pout, I'm telling you why…"

The curtains opened as the destroyers along with the pilots joined in a parade style,

"Santa Claus is comin' to town."

At that point, Monarch let the others handle it for a while,

"With little tin horns and little toy drums

Rooty toot toots and rummy tum tums

Santa Claus is comin' to town"

The PR Battleship stepped in again,

"And curly head dolls that toddle and coo

Elephants, boats, and kiddie cars too

Santa Claus is comin' to town"

The others sang this part,

"Then kids in Girl and Boy land will have a jubilee

They're gonna build a Toyland all around the Christmas tree"

Monarch would finish it off,

So! You better watch out,

(Destroyers and Pilots: You better watch out).

you better not cry

(Destroyer and Pilots: You better not cry.)

Better not pout, I'm telling you why

Santa Claus is comin'

Santa Claus is comin'

Santa Claus is comin'…."

At that point, a sleigh pulled by Manjuu and Nugget Reindeer appeared, in it was a man in a red suit, white beard and red hat holding the reins with Enterprise sitting beside him in her Reindeer Master outfit,

To town!!!"

It became clear that this was Santa Claus while the Eagle Union carrier had become Mrs. Claus as everyone gathered around them facing the audience as Santa and Mrs. Claus stood up from the sleigh as they all took a bow and Santa said,

"From here draws the conclusion of the pageant, but always remember to be kind to your friends and family. But the most important moral is to be good - for goodness sake."

They all shouted in unison, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

As the big guy let out his iconic, "HO HO HO!!!"

The curtains came to a close as the audience cheered and gave a round of applause to the performance.

Among the audience was Admiral Williams who had come to the base to watch the show and he did get word from the submarines that the Tempesta Fleet was sighted and scheduled to arrive later tonight. But right next to him was a man who was dressed in a fine red suit with a white beard as he said,

"I must admit Daniel, these Christmas pageants get better every year and with these humans from this Strangereal Earth you had told me about."

The Admiral agreed and said, "Even though they are from another world - they have Christmas there as well, Nick."

"But I can only imagine if their families are concerned about whether or not they come home since Mr. Jager has a wife and son who miss him while the young Cross has his family back home."

Williams nodded and said, "There are things that even you can't be able to solve."

Nick chuckled and said, "We have seen siren portals left and right, but I can see what I can do."

The Admiral understood this until he noticed Akashi with a camera as the lights indicated that it was recording live. Williams asked his friend,

"Nick…I think Akashi is up to something."

"I am aware of her since she has apparently been broadcasting the show to various factions."

---

Sakura Barracks

Kyoten

1810 hrs

As the man had predicted, Akashi's broadcast had indeed been sent to various places starting with Kyoten on the Sakura side as the various shipgirls were watching the show from the television in the living quarters.

Nagato, Mutsu, Kawakaze, Takao, Atago, Yuudachi, Yukikaze, Fuso, Yamashiro, Junyou, Shokaku, Zuikaku, Ise, Hyuuga and Shigure were watching the show from the beginning as Monarch told the tale of the First Christmas as Akagi walked in. She looked at the shipgirls and asked,

"May I ask why everyone is gathered here?"

Nagato calmly said, "The annual Azur Lane Christmas Pageant is apparently live this year. They are just starting with a narration of the First Christmas and a small musical number."

As they reached the choir part where Mary and Joseph appear, Akagi had instantly recognized Kaga as the Virgin despite the fact that she had made her tails invisible. But there was something off about Joseph since his actions were a bit peculiar because he was keeping his face from being shown. That wasn't until he slipped up and the black fox caught a glimpse of his face which made her pull out a datapad containing a picture of Trigger as she compared the two as she thought,

"No…it can't be…but it is. It seems you got to him before I could, Kaga. But I will get him and when I do…I'll…"

She soon thought of an image of her and Kaga on a bed in their bikinis with Trigger standing before them…but before her fantasy could go any further - she would be snapped out of it by Takao's voice saying,

"I must admit that they did a good job in a choir."

Atago agreed as she pointed out, "But that Pilot over there playing the organ, I didn't think that he could play something like that. But I'm also happy to see that Mutsuki and her sisters are doing well."

When the musical went into the next segments like the Christmas Tree song as Yukikaze, Yuudachi and Shigure gave their critiques on that song - but it's mostly because they noticed Ayanami singing in that song.

In Winter Wonderland, it was like the last time, but it had the men and women sing different parts whether it's individually or collectively as a group.

But when Mele Kalikimaka came up, the Sakura shipgirls were surprised to see a number of kansen as hula girls and the very pilot that led Azur Lane was singing the song while dressed like Bing Crosby. Ise was surprised by this,

"He can sing?!"

Hyuuga looked at her cup of sake before looking back to the screen as she asked,

"Am I hearing this?"

Kawakaze stated, "It's not your imagination - Three Strikes can sing."

Shokaku was enraptured by the fact that he was singing as her heart was beating upon hearing him sing - almost like he could be a vocal as she plays her flute. As for Zuikaku, hearing Trigger sing had shaken her up as she felt like she had no idea that he had this much talent. But she also noticed that amongst the Hula girls were Enterprise and Tirpitz. She pointed out,

"That's Lady Tirpitz…I never thought I would see her in a hula girl outfit."

Junyou noticed this and thought, "I wonder if the Iron Blood shipgirls are watching this right now?"

---

Iron Blood Barracks

Bismarck's Office

As if to answer Junyou's question, the Iron Blood kansen were indeed watching the broadcast as well. Some of the Iron Blood destroyers would recognize Tirpitz and the four Hipper sisters amongst the hula girls, but Bismarck was watching the broadcast from a television in her office as she recognized her own sister wearing the hula girl outfit. She realized,

"This reminds me of the first time we went to the Big Island in Hawaii."

Zwei appeared next to her and stated, "I do remember seeing our sister being a real live wire when she's not in the cold."

That she was aware of since they bought Tirpitz that bikini while they were there - and also remembered when they participated in a luau with the drunken white haired battleship shaking her hips on the table. But when Trigger took the stage and started singing, Bismarck was surprised,

"He can sing?!"

When she heard him sing, she wasn't sure what to make of him since - he was supposed to be her enemy. But now with everything going on, she wasn't so sure about Trigger, but these feelings were really eating at her. As she hears Trigger sing, she starts imagining herself in a bra and panties, sitting by a fire with her legs wrapped in ribbon as a tag said 'An Unpacked Surprise for Three Strikes.'

She was actually smiling at this thought until she snapped out of it as Zwei figured,

"A Trigger fantasy, I see?"

Bismarck was red as she said, "It…it's nothing like that!"

"I know you're lying because your fantasy involves those ribbons and your lingerie. A fitting way to give yourself to a human worthy of us."

The Iron Blood leader poured a glass of wine as she saw Tirpitz doing a hula dance as she shook her hips. Bismarck smiled as Trigger and the hula girls finished as she sighed,

"I may have to take back my statement about you, Trigger. Perhaps when we meet face-to-face, you may be the one to help me express myself with you by my side…unless I am by your side…I don't really know."

If you look closely in Bismarck's eyes - a faint heart shaped glow occurred before fading.

---

Iris Headquarters

Paris, France

Situated in the heart of the City of Love, the General Headquarters of the Iris Orthodoxy faction was the main force in the French Navy. The Iris kansen are fierce, loyal and highly skilled when it comes to upholding their duty. They are also religious since they attend masses at the Notre Dame Cathedral, unfortunately it was damaged by a fire in April. As a result - the Iris ships held their Christmas Mass at the GHQ which it was nice to spend Christmas in the City of Love instead of the port cities where their ships were docked. After the Mass concluded, they received word of Azur Lane's Christmas Pageant.

As they sat in their crew quarters as the television played, the battleship kansen, Richelieu was impressed with their first song,

"It is nice that the significance of this holy night represents the birth of Christ. I really do like how they sing in a choir while Mary and Joseph are in the stable as the little Lord sleeps."

However, the PR Battleship, Champagne opens her eyes slightly as she looks at the ones playing Mary and Joseph, "There is a familiar aura with the one playing the Virgin and it is one that we recognize despite the lack of tails."

Jean Bart, Richelieu's sister, asked, "Wait, that's Kaga?"

"It is her since her aura is recognizable as I had once felt her vengeful emotions drawn towards one particular human, but after a while - it had shifted from vengeance to love as she had indeed changed. All drawn to the man standing next to her who is none other than the Ace Pilot of Azur Lane."

Alsace, a battleship who behaves like she is an android, asks, "One has heard of the Three Strikes, we were all held back from the Pacific that one has not been able to see this pilot.

Jean Bart heard some things about the Three Strikes as she said, "He actually gave the First and Fifth Carrier Divisions a black eye during the surprise attack on the 7th."

"One has been aware of his skills and he has spearheaded the campaign in the Pacific."

Champagne stated, "His aura is that of both a leader, a guardian and an Ace Pilot - he may also be someone who could break you out of your drone-like mind."

Alsace was a bit shy as she said, "H…he could…but One…I…"

Gascogne, the PR Battleship, noticed this as she said, "I think you may have broken her."

The Iris ships chuckled at this as the broadcast continued from O Christmas Tree, Winter Wonderland to Mele Kalikimaka which had Trigger himself step out on stage in his Bing Crosby outfit. But when they heard him sing, the reaction was unanimous,

"HE CAN SING!?!?"

One of the destroyers, Mogador, was actually enraptured by this as she said, "Oh the things I could do if we ever meet face-to-face…how he feels…how he smells…the many things that I can do…"

Clemenceau, another battleship, looked at the large destroyer as she was well aware of her tendencies. The battleship stated,

"I suggest that you keep it to yourself since if Command decides to have us transferred to the Pacific - your horniness would be an open book to him."

Jean Bart sighed as she watched the show as the performance finished,

"It all took a single flyboy for the Allies to regain control of the Pacific."

Richelieu assured her sister, "As far as I know, Jean Bart, is that Three Strikes is unlike any pilot that we have seen because from everything we have heard from the reports draw to one fact - Three Strikes is different."

---

Sardegna HQ

Rome, Italy

Rome is the capital city of the Italian nation and aside from its governing center, the sovereign state of Vatican City and the ancient ruins - Rome also houses the General Headquarters of the Sardegna Empire which the kansen would serve the Italian Navy with honor to the end. They got their name after the autonomous state of Sardinia which is an island to the west - but it has been part of Italy for decades.

At the General Headquarters, the Sardegna ships were watching the broadcast of Azur Lane's Christmas Pageant as they had already gotten through Winter Wonderland. But as Mele Kalikimaka started with the singer being the Commander dressed as Bing Crosby, the PR Heavy Cruiser, Napoli stated,

"He may be dressed as Bing Crosby, but I notice a small pin resembling a wolf with a gun. It's very well hidden to the naked eye, there's no doubt that it's him."

As they watched him sing, the two battleships - Littorio and Vittorio Veneto were a bit curious until they did see the pin as the green-haired battleship spoke,

"Very clever of him to do that, but at least we know what he looks like."

Her sister and lead ship added, "Stories of this particular pilot had spread across factions."

Veneto pulled out a datapad with a picture of an F-22 Raptor bearing the three scratches on the tail - as well as the wolf emblem, "Many see the scratches, but to the keenest observer - they see the wolf emblem."

Roma, another battleship of the Veneto Class spoke, "From what I can see is that he has the same aura of the other Ace Pilots like the Scorpion and the Crown."

Zara, the heavy cruiser and her sister, Pola would recognize those titles as the red-haired cruiser remembered,

"The Heroes of The Federation Conflict…it was mostly contained in the Pacific since we were neutral."

Pola added, "But we can all agree that the Federation's actions were unacceptable which was why the Sakura Empire put out bounties for any captured Remnant forces."

Impero, the fourth Veneto-class ship who became an aircraft carrier, spoke, "There have been reports of him going up against Crimson Team and Varcolac Squadron - and surviving the encounters. It seems like he displayed his elegant and dangerous skills with his aircraft."

Veneto stated, "I will await the day that we see those two squadrons go down in flames because attempting to drop a satellite on Tokyo is a blatant war crime."

Aquila, another aircraft carrier added, "The first report of Three Strikes striking against Red Axis was of his F-22 taking off from the flight deck of the Pride of the Eagle Union."

Littorio knew who she was talking about, "The Grey Ghost herself? I'm surprised…even more so to see her as a Hawaiian Dancer."

She wasn't kidding because Enterprise herself was among the dancers in the performance and they had to admit that despite her reputation of being cold and stoic, she was bright and happy as she sang with them.

---

Northern Parliament Naval Port

Vladivostok

The port city of Vladivostok is the main headquarters of the Northern Parliament's Pacific Fleet, it was also the site of the Federation's attempted bombing of the port. It was thanks to the support of Antares Squadron that the port, the fleet and the city itself sustained minimal damage. The aircraft carrier Varyag was docked at the port for the time being as the shipgirls of the Northern Parliament had taken up residence at the base's dorms as they were in town for Christmas after dealing with Siren presence in the northern seas. As for their Christmas celebration in true fashion for these kansen - it involves singing, eggnog and vodka for everyone.

But now they are watching the broadcast of Azur Lane's pageant as already they had watched the previous performances from O Holy Night to Winter Wonderland. The Parliamentary Battleship, Sovetsky Soyuz was amused,

"Interesting performance as many would get together for this every year. But that first display for the first song had a live nativity scene as I would recognize Kaga as the Virgin."

Her sisters, Sovetskaya Belorussiya and Sovetskaya Rossiya had taken notice since they were aware of the war between Azur Lane and Red Axis. The recent reports of clashes between the two at Midway were apparent and it was a surprise that Kaga - the one half of the First Carrier Division had defected. Belorussiya stated,

"I couldn't recognize her for her tails because she made them invisible - but I can see her eyes beneath that shawl."

Rossiya asked, "But who was Joseph?"

That was the question since the actions of Joseph were a bit strange - almost like he didn't want anyone to see his face. However they were interrupted when Monarch announced Mele Kalikimaka as they witnessed Trigger step onto the stage in his Bing Crosby outfit along with the hula girls which were one of the Northern Parliament ships would recognize a few of them,

"Wait…those are my sisters!?"

That was spoken by Tallinn, an Admiral Hipper Class Heavy Cruiser who is with the Northern Parliament. The former Iron Blood ship doesn't particularly like Vodka, so she goes for a regular beer instead - mostly because of her past. As for seeing her sisters dressed as hula girls, she was a bit surprised as the PR Carrier, Chkalov asked,

"From what I gather is that Prinz Eugen has a…rather provocative swimsuit."

Tallinn knew this as she stated, "She does while Weser wears a one-piece swimsuit due to her love of surfing. But to see all four of them dressed as hula girls, especially my big sister considering her…disadvantage."

The carrier chuckled as she stated, "A real mystery indeed and it seems like the Ace has shown himself as well."

The Parliamentary ships would notice that he did match the reports faxed over from Allied HQ. Chkalov got the information due to the reports of Remnant forces with Red Axis since she was involved in the Federation Conflict. The PR carrier was fascinated with the actions of this particular pilot ever since the war started. She figured,

"Many stories that I have heard about the Three Strikes, but I did not know that he can sing."

The Light Cruiser Avrora took note of this and said, "I must admit that he's fierce on the battlefield in commanding both fighter squadrons and fleets. I would gladly follow him should the opportunity to encounter him arise - I would bring a bottle of vodka as a gift for him."

Tallinn added, "What I wish is to meet him as well since my sisters are under his command."

As the song ended and the Royal Navy's PR Battleship walked out and started 'Santa Claus is Comin' To Town' the Northern Parliament ships were happy to see something like this.

---

10 miles from Oahu

On approach from the East of the island of Oahu was the Tempesta Fleet as the Sailing Frigate Ganj-i-Sawai led the fleet with Frigates Fancy, and Golden Hind flanking her sides and Portsmouth Adventure on point. The additional frigates were Amity, Dolphin and Mary Celeste in certain points of the fleet while an escort sub, USS Greeneville was guiding them in - having spotted them on patrol as the fleet gave the countersign.

Right now the kansen were on the lead ship as Ganj-i-Sawai spoke with the sub's captain via comm-link,

"Aye, thank you for the information. Ganj out."

The lead kansen sat down on some chairs as the other pirate kansen were watching the pageant via a datapad as the Greeneville served as a signal booster. They had already watched the majority of the play as the Hawaiian song had them see the man who Royal Fortune had been talking about. The one who took notice was Golden Hind,

"Oh, so this is him? He looks as handsome as she described him…my, what a rousing body he has."

Mary Celeste stated, "He seems full of energy despite his responsibility as Commander…but he's no ghost."

Dolphin took notice of this particular pilot as well as the various 'Messages in Bottles' that Royal Fortune had sent them on a separate datapad which included combat footage of the Midway battle, showing the three-lined fighter leading the charge of a saturation attack against the Red Axis fleet as well as dealing the deathblow to the hostile airship to protect the allied Orgoi. She figured,

"He's different from the average Commander - mostly due to him not being one with the seas, but in the skies - he's even fun to look at when you see him in flight."

Fancy had a thought, "We have seen footage of him in combat as well as archival footage of him in previous battles. All those moves, the way he flies and the way he downs his enemies show that he's somewhat of a hunter - a predator hunting his prey."

Ganj-i-Sawai looked at the footage of the pilot as she heard what Fancy said as she spoke,

"When he's on the ground, he's both a serious and cheerful man, but in the air - he's dangerous to his enemies and protective of his charges. I would feel safe knowing that he is looking out for us."

Mary agreed, "We go where he goes and we'll make it."

After the song ended and 'Santa Claus is Comin' To Town' played, Amity figured,

"This must be the finale."

Fancy agreed, "It would no doubt end with the presentation of the Gift Giver himself."

The pirate kansen watched as the song continued until they see Enterprise and Santa Claus as Mary noticed,

"Normally it would be the Ghost who takes up the mantle, but she must be Mrs. Claus."

As the curtain call came in, Ganj-i-Sawai noticed something about Santa since he had that same protective aura around him - just like Three Strikes. She put the pieces together and realized,

"By the ghosts of the Mughals, Three Strikes is playing as Santa Claus!"

---

Ace Combat Universe

Apito International Airport

1700 hrs

Apito International Airport is southwest of the Capital City, Oured and hasn't seen any incidents since the Yuktobanian attack on the airport during the last war. Afterwards, there haven't been that many major incidents in one of the largest international airports in Osea.

As for Derrick Thomas, the Air Traffic Controller working in the Control Tower, it was his everyday job to clear flights for departure, arrival or redirect approaching flights to other airports. It was coming close to the tail end of his shift as he was going to be relieved for the evening which is good because he wants to spend Christmas with his family.

As he directed the traffic in the air, the ground-based radar picked up a fast moving object which was displayed on Thomas' radar. He noticed that the object was coming from the east as he contacted the flights looking to land,

"OWA 756, do you detect a fast moving object on your radar?"

The pilot responded, "ATC, we're picking up something and it's really moving. Air Ixiom 701 has reported it as a fast moving aircraft. Should we divert?"

Thomas responded, "Negative 756, stay your course and wait for landing clearance."

"Affirmative. Entering Holding Pattern."

Thomas had thoughts about this unknown aircraft since only supersonic aircraft could fly that fast. So he contacted the Air Ixiom plane,

"Air Ixiom 701, what is the status of the unknown aircraft?"

A female voice spoke, "Unknown plane is coming into view now and it's - odd, I've never seen something like that before. But it's oddly beautiful for an airplane. I think I spotted a signal light from the cockpit signaling as FRIENDLY."

"Thank you for the information, 701. Hold position until landing clearance is granted."

Soon enough, he contacted the unknown plane, "This is the Airport Control Tower to the unknown plane from the east. You have entered a busy air traffic zone above the airport and we need you to identify yourself."

At that point, that's when Thomas got a transmission from the unknown plane, "Apito Control Tower, this is Concorde 101, we have just arrived from Usea and we're requesting permission to land."

The ATC operator was a bit curious as to why no other airport reported this plane as he asked, "Concorde, what was your starting airport and passengers?"

The pilot said, "Starting point is San Profetta in San Salvacion in a direct flight to Apito International. Passengers include the Captain of the Spaceship Pilgrim One along with family."

The operator acknowledged this, even though he was surprised that the aircraft was fast enough to cross the Spring Sea. As for the passengers, he did hear that Pilgrim One had returned from their mission to the asteroid belt near the end of the Lighthouse War and he was a bit surprised that it took this long for the Captain to return to Osea. He decided,

"Air Ixiom 701 and OWA 756, remain in holding pattern until Concorde 101 lands."

Flight 756 spoke, "756 acknowledged, we'll remain in the holding pattern."

The First Officer of Flight 701 stated, "701 acknowledged. We'll hold until we get clearance to land."

However, in her mind, she said, "I was wondering when she would be back to Osea."

With the acknowledgement of the other flights, Thomas contacted the pilot, "Concorde 101, you are cleared to land on Runway 15."

That's when he saw the plane's rotating beacon as its silhouette was shown in the evening sunset. As Thomas looked at the plane through his binoculars, he did admit that it looked quite beautiful as the plane had extended its landing gear and its nose drooped a bit before coming in for a landing as its tires made contact with the tarmac.

At that point, he lowered his binoculars as the pilot contacted him, "Concorde to Tower, confirm landing."

Thomas knew that he had to confirm the plane's landing and direct it towards an empty gate and hoped that the plane would be jetway compatible. He replied,

"Concorde 101 landing confirmed. Taxi off the runway and proceed to Gate 11A. Ground crews have been notified of your arrival."

"Affirmative Tower. Merry Christmas."

As the delta-winged aircraft taxied off the runway to its gate, the passengers onboard were excited to be home as one shipgirl was happy to be alongside the people who took her in - like they were her mother and father along with the twins who were like her siblings.

This was what Christmas meant.

---

Wesson, Osea

1830 hrs

At the town of Wesson, people were celebrating Christmas with their family and friends - except for one family. In the living room of a cozy house, a woman was sitting on a couch, gazing at a fireplace while her three year old son slept next to her.

This woman was concerned about her husband since she hasn't heard from him since the incident involving an escort mission. All those video calls that they make with their son, all the stories he tells him and everything just to make their son happy. She couldn't understand why he couldn't respond - despite her efforts.

She was hoping that she wouldn't get a visit from the OADF telling her that her husband went down in flames. But as her eyes slowly drifted to sleep, she was suddenly snapped out of it when she heard the sound of a knock coming from her door. The woman carefully got up from the couch without waking her son and went to the door.

Upon opening it, she looked around to see that no one was there until she looked down to see a present on the doorstep. When she picked it up, she noticed that the wrapping paper had palm trees on it and upon looking at the label, she read,

"To Erich Pamela Jager. From Mr. C."

When she went back inside and sat on the couch, she opened it to reveal a box and upon opening the box - she found recordings and letters - all from her husband.

She eyed one letter and read it,

"Dear Pamela,

I did tell you that I would be coming home, but until now I am not sure. We encountered a new enemy and we went to another world to fight them. Despite how ridiculous that sounds, we did it to find our Squadron Leader and defeat this new foe.

I don't know how we're going to get back to Osea, but if we hold them in this world - we could find out how to come home. I won't give up when you and Erich are in danger because of these enemies. I even have a lot of stories to tell when I get home.

Let me assure you both that I feel homesick and would wish for nothing more than to be with you two again. Aside from the hatchling pilots that have grown into real Aces

Love, Richard."

Pamela felt herself about to cry when she heard about this. But this wasn't sadness - it was joy that her husband was still alive and thinking about them. She remembers when he called them via video call in order to celebrate Erich's birthday, she's holding on hope for him to return home for Erich's next birthday.

---

Azur Lane Universe

Commander's Quarters

December 25th, 2019

0700 hrs

As the light from the rising sun had peaked its way through the curtains of the commander's quarters, Trigger was sleeping peacefully and he needed it after going through various costume changes from Joseph to Bing Crosby and to Santa Claus which the maids had worked fast on turning him into the big man himself.

As he slowly opened his eyes, he could obviously make out the ceiling of his room. As he moved his head, he remembered something about his bed since it was slightly larger than other beds that he had slept on. But that's when he felt a second weight on the bed, remembering the Prinz Eugen incident, he quickly turned his head to the left and saw Enterprise in her loosely buttoned shirt sleeping next to him. He had a feeling that she must've fallen asleep with him instead of returning to her room.

At that point, he felt that something was wrong because with the exception of his head - he couldn't exactly move the rest of his body. Even more odd is that he could feel multiple weights on the bed as he shifted his head to the right to see Kaga - wearing a blue nightgown sleeping next to him. He soon slightly lifted his covers to see Shinano and Hakuryuu with the latter clutching her katana. At that point, his trauma from when the Iron Blood destroyer came back to him as he heard Amagi's voice,

"Do not be alarmed, Patrick. This was not the first time that a shipgirl slept with you…be calm and gently wake them from their slumber."

He mentally felt relieved and said, "Okay, thanks for the help, Amagi."

So he gently wiggled himself around as one by one, each sleeping shipgirl stirred as their eyes began to open and their bodies moved.

As they awoke, some of them yawned as it dawned on them that it was Christmas morning. Enterprise and Kaga smiled as they opened their eyes to see Trigger awake while Hakuryuu looked a bit flustered,

"M…my katana ended up in your room…I didn't mean to be in here!"

Shinano smiled and said, "This one had acquired your katana because you intend to mark him as your destined mate."

Hakuryuu was a bit ticked as she said, "All part of your elaborate scheme because I chose him as my mate."

The dream fox chuckled as she sat up, revealing that she was wearing a light blue kimono - but it was slightly open revealing that she wasn't wearing anything underneath. The Osean Ace's eyes widened as he saw her cleavage, but kept his thoughts to a minimum as he asked,

"So you four snuck in here to sleep with me?"

That was when another hand caressed his face as it came from behind Kaga, revealing to be New Jersey in a bra and panties,

"I didn't want to miss out on sleeping with my Honey!"

"And I didn't want to let my sisters sleep with the pilot who saved Point Mugu without me."

That came from Yorktown who arose from behind Enterprise along with Hornet. The lead ship was wearing a white lace nightgown while Hornet had her black bra and black panties as the blonde ship said,

"Hey, you got me and my big sister to make up! So I pretty much want in on this!"

The Ace couldn't understand since these shipgirls were with him on the bed until he felt the wet, slimy feeling of tentacles. He had a feeling that the tentacles belonged to one of the Tempesta ships. His hunch was correct as the covers parted to reveal Royal Fortune along with Golden Hind who is held on a leash by the former. At that point, Trigger realized why the bed was so big as Amagi spoke,

"Oh dear - the realization is coming to you now."

Meanwhile in the crew quarters, a half-awake Count was with Hüxian, Pixy, Chopper, Brownie, Vestal, Maverick, Bataan and Prinz Eugen as the Royal Maids gave them their peppermint mocha coffee while the other destroyers were by the tree as A Christmas Story played on the TV.

Count looked at his watch and realized, "No Trigger screaming after finding a shipgirl in his bed."

Chopper was curious as he asked, "Did this happen before?"

Prinz Eugen smugly said, "Guilty as charged, Herr Davenport."

Hüxian pointed out, "She snuck into Trigger's room and slept by his side which led to him letting out a scream so loud - it woke all of us up in the morning."

"Ja, but it was worth it."

Count gazed at her with a frown, "When I saw Trigger in his office that morning, he was shaking like he was locked in a freezer with eyes like he was a deer in headlights."

Maverick figured, "There are some shipgirls that are…more provocative while others are professional."

Bataan, wearing a onesie in the style of a reindeer, spoke, "Some of us also seek out parental guidance from humans - like how you are like a father."

Those words did hit the veteran pilot since his failure to be the father figure to Rooster and yet - he succeeded with Bataan.

Pixy asked, "If that's true, what would those girls see the kid as?"

Mutsuki heard this while holding a present, "Papa! He's our papa!"

The Sakura destroyers agreed as they spoke of how kind and protective he is. Upon hearing this, Hüxian chuckled,

"Trigger as a father…that would be something."

Eugen chuckled as she said, "It is one of those cases."

The Heavy Cruiser thoughts soon shifted when she thought she spotted a little girl drawing at a table nearby. When spotted, the girl turned to look at her - Eugen realized that the little girl looked just like her! The girl would chuckle before vanishing which her pause was noticed by the others as Chopper asked,

"Hey, are you all right?"

She immediately snapped out of it before saying, "Ja, I am fine."

Brownie spoke, "In the short time that I've been here - you were both serious and playful when it came to Trigger."

Eugen sighed, stating, "It's just who I am since I have more personality than my sister's flat chest."

That's when they heard a frustrated yell, "I would slap you around for that!!"

"That's my big sister…"

A new voice spoke, "Always the most sensitive when it comes to her chest area."

That brought their attention to the door to the crew quarters to see Orishina flanked by the four Illustrious sisters, Unicorn and the Starter ships.

The SDF pilot was actually wearing a blue and red sleeping kimono called a 'Nemaki' which is a known sleeping robe in the Sakura Islands.

Illustrious spoke, "Iron Blood ships are often prideful and get mad whenever they get called out."

Victorious added, "In the case of Admiral Hipper - it is quite obvious.

Unicorn clutched U-Chan tightly when the chest area was mentioned until the carrier calmed her with her hand gently on her shoulder.

As the group entered, Indomitable noticed, "The Commander hasn't woken up yet?"

Count shrugged as he said, "Honestly, I thought he would've been up by…"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

The whole base shook when the sound of screaming occurred which actually made Formidable topple over and fall flat on her butt. The pilots as well as the shipgirls knew very well who was responsible for a scream so loud that the whole base would hear it as they all agreed,

"Trigger's up."

---

Ace Combat Universe

Cross Residence

Oured, Osea

Christmas Day

0800 hrs

It was a peaceful Christmas morning at the house of the Cross family as Alexander and his wife, Maggie sat in the living room as this Christmas came with a special gift. Their daughter, Jenny also stood by the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate as a video call was in progress with the family in South Osea as Andrew and Frank Cross were on the line.

The reason why they were all here was because of Blake 'Blaze' Beckett as well as his two god kids, Alvin and Mei. But it also had to do with the fact that Blake's wife, Kei had returned from space and now they are all here to spend Christmas together.

At that moment, Blaze and Kei were sitting on the floor with their son and daughter as they each opened a present. Kei's gift was a miniature astronaut as Blaze got a model F-14A Tomcat which reminded him of his old plane as they happily hugged their kids.

As for the kansen, Zuiho, she got a hooded sweatshirt with the emblem of the Razgriz on the shoulder while a small blue dove was knitted on the heart. Aside from the shirt was a picture of herself and a familiar white-haired light carrier along with a note,

"To Zuiho,

I became aware of your situation and with luck - I was able to get this photo of you and Shoho to you. You may be far from your sister or from Unzen, but you are never alone because of these nice people - you have a family.

-Mr. C."

As the kansen looked at the photo and the note, the others took notice as Blaze asked,

"Is this…"

Zuiho nodded as she said, "That is Shoho - my sister."

When they looked at the photo, the family would notice one aspect that came with Shoho as Alvin pointed out,

"She has white hair while you have black hair."

"We do have different hair colors, but we're still sisters because of our ship class."

Blaze pointed out, "I think that's a bit advanced for them."

Zuiho realized her mistake, "Oh, I forgot about it, but in a short explanation, Shoho and I were the same type of ship design - which makes us sisters."

Mei figured, "Your ships look alike which is why she's family."

The light carrier also pointed out, "But being around all of you, I don't have to look alike to be part of your family. All of you accepted me as a person - as part of the family and I really love you all!"

That's when Blaze, Kei, Alvin and Mei hugged Zuiho as she smiled warmly because even though she was apart from Shoho - she has made a new family in this Strangereal Earth.

As Alexander smiled at this, he was opening his present which had a note,

"To Alexander Cross,

It has no doubt come to my attention of the whereabouts of your son. But I can assure you that he is fine since the shipgirl you see, came from the world where your son is in, now."

That was true since he heard about the portals and the identity of the Sirens. He also knew that his daughter was friends with many people in the Osean Intelligence Agency and in the military - so she has her ear to the ground. As for the little girl before them, she was as sweet and adorable as Jenny was when she was younger. The girl was fortunate that Blaze and Kei took her in as if she were their own. Alexander continued to read,

"Your son is doing well and taking the fight to the Sirens out there. But he is also doing well in caring for shipgirls like young Zuiho as young Unicorn has taken to him as a big brother."

The Ace chuckled at this as he looked at the sight of his nephews talking with the shipgirl as they talked about their lives in Aurelia with Frank mentioning that he has a son who looks up to him and his brother while Zuiho would ask them about Pat. Cipher also was curious about this Unicorn as he saw a small photo of the little girl clutching her plushie as he joked in his head,

'Another mouth to feed.'

He heard laughter from everyone as he saw Andrew hold a photo of Frank dangling upside down by his legs which was an incident involving the younger twin stumbling across a trap which left him hanging upside down. Zuiho was laughing hysterically as Frank looked embarrassed. Cipher chuckled as he continued to read the letter,

"Despite all of this, I suspected that he would be homesick and I was fortunate enough to slip this through the portals to your world. Hopefully this has reached you on Christmas Day which includes this very letter and a few noteworthy items in regards to your son.

Merry Christmas,

Mr. C."

As he finished reading, Cipher reached into the box to pull out a small shot glass with the image of an anchor on one end and the three scratches that his son was known for, on the other.

The next item was a model of an old aircraft carrier which lacked the angled flight deck with an F-22 Raptor with three scratches sitting on the deck.

The next one was a painting of an F-22 dueling a giant fox-like creature with a white-haired girl sitting on the fuselage.

The last one was a group photo of what looked to be a combination of pilots standing in front of the Raptor with an SU-30 on the left and the Gründer ADF-01 Falken on the right. It wasn't just pilots as it had the shipgirls as well with the little girls up front while the more mature ones were in the back. What Cipher noticed immediately was the man in the center of it all - his son standing proud amongst his friends and colleagues with a Bald Eagle on his shoulder.

That's when he spoke, "You all might wanna see this."

He shows the picture to everyone as the reactions of everyone were warranted. Blaze asked Zuiho,

"Are those…"

The little girl nodded, "I recognize them - they are shipgirls from the various factions that I mentioned."

Kei spoke, "It seems like some of them have animal characteristics."

"Some do, but mostly in the Sakura Empire." She soon noticed the man with the Eagle,

"That's…that's him - the Three Strikes."

Jenny looked at the picture and said, "That's him alright - my brother, Patrick Cross. But why is there an Eagle on his shoulder?"

Zuiho's eyes widened, "That's not just any Eagle - that's Enterprise's Eagle!"

Everyone looked confused about what she had said as the shipgirl pointed to the woman standing next to Trigger,

"That is Enterprise, she's an aircraft carrier and the most famous of all the Eagle Union Ships because she earned the most battle stars for a carrier and the only other ship equal to her stars is the Battleship New Jersey…"

She points to the blue-haired woman to Trigger's right as Zuiho added, "That's her and she has the reputation of being the Black Dragon since she's the only battleship to earn the most battle stars."

Andrew spoke, "They must be very formidable ships in their own right and to see my cousin standing beside them…"

Frank asked, "Why? Are you jealous?"

"No…I just don't know what to think about this. Other worlds, shipgirls, sirens and Pat is in the midst of it all."

The brothers agreed as they were practicing in uncharted territory known to only Zuiho. But when Andre saw the photo - he noticed a woman in a lab coat standing to the right near the Falken. He realized,

"Amelia's there as well?"

Frank noticed, "Well what do you know, she is there!"

"How is she there?"

Frank had a thought, "Maybe she encountered one of those portals."

As the others looked at the individuals who were in the photo, Cipher noticed a familiar face among them - a face that he would never think to see in a picture of his son,

"Pixy…so you're there, too."

Maggie realized what her husband had said and saw the face of the man who killed her boyfriend over Avalon Dam. Sure, they have seen the documentary in which Larry admitted that he should've died that day and has been trying to find out what the validity of borders really means. She was a bit on edge because that man was near her son because of his betrayal during the Belkan War and the death of her boyfriend which broke Cipher and brought them together.

Cipher sighed as he stated, "While I can't forgive him for killing PJ, Larry made it clear in his interview that he did some soul searching which brought him to Zuiho's world…"

"And close to our son." Added Maggie.

Jenny looked at the picture and stated, "I hope Pat knows what he's doing since he did his homework on The Belkan War."

Blaze knew this as he said, "He was just as natural as a pilot and as smart as a scholar since I remembered catching him sleeping at his desk while reading a book on the accounts of a pilot in the Usean Coup D'etat."

Kei knew about the Coup since she had family in Far East Usea and it was where the Coup started. Alvin noticed something,

"Hey Mom, this lady looks like you!"

Kei immediately looked at the picture and noticed a group of pilots with the emblem of a rhodesian ridgeback on their shoulders. Her eyes caught the woman next to a man who she assumed was the flight lead and noticed how…similar she looked to her. She looked a bit dumbfounded by this and asked,

"How is this possible?"

Zuiho noticed, "Oh…those are pilots from the Ridgeback Squadron or Single Lines since they have a white line painted on the top of their planes. That woman is the number 2 in that squadron and her name is also Kei Nagase…and you two actually look similar."

Mei pointed out, "Mommy has a doppelgänger!"

Kei asked, "How did you learn that word?"

"From Zuiho."

The carrier smiled and said, "Chirp chirp."

Looking at the photo, Blaze compared his wife to the woman in the photo as it looked eerily similar to how Kei would look. But he also guessed,

"Her callsign is Edge, right?"

The light carrier was amazed, "How did you know?!"

"It was her callsign when we were in the Air Force, seems like quite the coincidence."

Which really was quite a coincidence considering that they were looking at an Earth that was different from their own in both history and landmass. As they looked more closely at the picture aside from the doppelgänger, Blaze and Kei's faces went pale - almost as if they were seeing a ghost. Everyone noticed this as the couple's gaze was fixed on a man holding a young Osean pilot in a headlock while pumping his fist out while three other pilots in flight jackets, possibly PMC, stared at him in amusement.

If the flight suit with the familiar barking dog insignia wasn't enough, the man's Elvis Presley - inspired hair would be enough for them to realize who this was as Kei spoke,

"Chopper…"

The name of their fallen pilot, the man who was shot down and killed in November City during the last war and the man who their son was named after. Alvin H. Davenport was their wingman, friend and brother, he was always the comic relief when it came to Wardog Squadron. But he was a hell of a fighter pilot, even Thunderhead called him a model fighter pilot to the end. But seeing him in this photo, Blaze thought back to the Skykid Bar when he heard Chopper's voice along with Pat's. He can only come up with a conclusion to all of this,

"He's Alive."

---

A/N: Now that's done and over with. Sure it's kind of a late Christmas present for all of you and I wished I had this finished last month, but work, time and a boatload of other things I had to do before getting to this.

So yeah, but you may have noticed in the scenes with the other factions, I would have the shipgirls talk about him while he is singing Mele Kalikimaka because they are seeing his face for the first time since the rumors began and plus - he's dressed as Bing Crosby.

Before you go asking me about the lyrics of 'O Holy Night' in the reviews - let me be clear that several variations of the song exist.

As for the Ace Combat Universe, we see Trigger's family as well as a brief glimpse of Jaeger's family.

I had a thought of connecting Kei Nagase to the one from AC2, but the best I can do is mention that she has family in Far Eastern Usea - so it's unspecified.

As for the plane - it's Concorde since it's the fastest supersonic airliner in the world and if it could cross the Atlantic Ocean on Earth - it could cross the Spring Sea from Usea to Osea.

I think that's just about it.

Merry Late Christmas everyone!