Papa: Indeed they are! And hopefully, this chapter does them some small amount of justice! Or, y'know, make things worse for everyone.
xxx xxx xxx
Chapter 9
- Outside of the battlefield where Liam's shipgirls and Tester's forces were fighting -
[Nautilus, Surcouf, Archerfish. Liam here; status report please.]
"Oh, Commander~! Hey, hey~!✩ Everything's good over here~!" answered the blonde, tanned, and scantily dressed Archerfish.
"Um, Nautilus here too, Commander. Metis was right. The enemy only had a few Lurkers and Assassin submarine units around. I, um, I don't know if they were any more but we finished taking care of the ones we did find and finished lacing the battlefield's perimeter with 'charged proximity mines'."
[...Wow, you girls really did some great work out there! And nobody got hurt or spotted?]
"Mais bien sur, my dear Commander. After all, you did promise to 'treat us to any one wish we want' if we did our job well, non? And not only did we do a good job, but did so without getting so much as a single scratch!"
[...Wait. Did I, did I really promise something like that? Er, anyway! Um, for now... I, I want Archerfish and Nautilus' fleets to go and aid the others using hit and run tactics to help keep the Sirens from properly coordinating with each other while Surcouf's fleet continues to patrol the perimeter and act as both an early warning and interception force in case any enemy reinforcements do show up. Don't worry Surcouf, you don't actually need to beat them; just slow them down after you alert us so we can deal with them from our end.]
"Alright girls! First one to land a hit on the enemy is the first one allowed to get under the Commander's sheets when we get back~! " Archerfish cheekily declared with a wink and a smile before quickly leading her squad off at top speed. Yeah, she really, REALLY wanted to get in Liam's pants. Incidentally most, if not all, submarines were INCREDIBLY thirsty perverts with next to no shame willing to do damn near anything to get what they wanted. Luckily for him though, Liam had Belfast, the other Royal Maids, Akagi, Taihou... and, Eldridge('s high voltage zapping) to keep their poor, inexperienced in love (and idiot of a closet pervert) Commander from being 'devoured' by a horde of scantily clad, hormonal little devils.
"Oooohhhhh!" chorused the remaining very, very enthusiastic submarines as they broke off into their respective groups with only one single thought between them. '...These Siren bitches won't know what hit 'em!'
xxx xxx xxx
*Ssshhhiiinnnggg!*
Sparks flew and metal screeched as Tester and Prinz Eugen's weapons met in yet another clash of rapid, high speed exchanges. However, their little waltz atop the roaring, turbulent waves was about to amp up as two new 'dance partners' were about to join in, their own blades drawn and at the ready.
'...Hoh? No doubt they aim to try and force me to keep this a pure melee and prevent me from fighting at range. Not a bad plan actually. And probably the best move they could play, all things considered.' Tester thought, eyes flashing with excitement at their efforts. 'That's it! Show me what you can do little kansen! Ah, and do try not to disappoint me!'
- With Strasser and Saratoga -
"...And! Sister Sara makes her grand entrance~!✩ Eeeeiiii!"
With a mighty shout, and with far more strength than one might expect from such a small looking shipgirl, the petite pinkette swung her large hammer-staff into Tester's exposed left side that, while not quite breaking through her reactive shields, still struck hard enough to send the Siren Elite skidding back... right into Strasser, who simply smiled viciously as she went in to stab the now defenseless Tester with her rapier.
"...!" '...Not good!'
Moving completely on pure instinct at that point, Tester used her superhuman reflexes and speed to hurriedly twist her body at a ridiculous angle in order to intercept the incoming blade with her manta themed rigging before retaliating with by roughly forcing the raven haired Iron Blood shipgirl away with a solid kick to her stomach.
"...Scheiße!"
"Oh wow! You okay Strasser?" asked the concerned pinkette as she moved in front of the still recovering aircraft carrier.
"...Ja. I'm *cough, cough* I'm, f-fine. Really... But goddamn that really hurt!" Strasser replied after wiping away a trickle of blood from her mouth while rubbing her stomach to make sure she hadn't suffered any serious damage. "Ugh. Well, at least one of us managed to land a good hit though. And here I was really hoping to get a good shot in myself...!"
"Hehehe~! ... 'V'~! "
"...Bitch. Wipe that smug grin off your face!"
"Oh, don't be like that. You know being all angr... -Whoa there!"
Before Saratoga could finish teasing her ever super serious fellow aircraft carrier, a flash of ebony steel came within centimeters of her small and cute face only to barely be deflected away thanks to Eugen's timely intervention.
"...Too close! ...Way too close! Er, thanks for the save, by the way...!"
"Just get me a nice, cold beer sometime and we'll call it even, ja?" replied the silver haired Iron Blood beauty with her usual teasing smile before turning back to face the already recovered, now very annoyed, Siren Elite.
Just then.
"Hmm? It looks like the little dears finally showed up."
"...Huh? What are you talking about?" Saratoga asked, cutely tilting her head ever so slightly to the side.
"Open up your comm line's combat channel," replied the silverette.
"...Oh, right!" Following Eugen's suggestion, Saratoga heard it; the endless stream of combat related chatter coming in from all across the battlefield. "Wow, they really don't mess around, do they?"
Strasser just shrugged. "Well, they're pretty good at motivating themselves, if nothing else."
"...Huh?"
"She means that those little devils are only working so hard in order to get a reward from our dear Kommandant," Eugen answered after successfully parrying a 'combat aura' empowered Tester.
"...Looks like she's finally gotten serious. Great. Just, great..," Strasser grumbled to herself as she and the others braced themselves for what would very likely be a very long and tough fight ahead. 'I wonder if I should follow the submarines' example and work my butt off for a reward later too...?'
- A little earlier, with Nautilus' fleet -
*BBBOOOMMM*
"Nice! And that's one more Siren sent to the briny deep below, hehe!" I-26 cheerfully proclaimed with a wide smile as she took in the fruits of her hard work. "Go me!"
"Um, 26? 'Briny deep', really...?" teasingly asked the buxom and blonde I-25 as she swam up to her tanned, sporty, and svelte little sister.
"What? I thought it sounded cool..! Jeez."
Instead of replying, the buxom blonde submarine just giggled.
"What?"
"...Dork."
"Hey!"
"Ufufu~ "
"...Hmph!"
"Um, guys? There are still Pawns and Explorers left y'know..," I-19 reminded and pointing over to the group of Sirens right above them.
"19? Wow, it's so weird seeing you act like anything other than a bubbly and thirsty airhead. Why so serious?"
"One, fuck you. And two, because we have a race to win and a Shikikan to give us headpats/spoil us rotten on the line, that's why! And I will have my headpats, dammit!" I-19 declared with a fire in her ruby red eyes.
...
"But, I want more than headpats though," I-26 admitted while imagining 'exercising' with her beloved Shikikan. 'Oh yeah, and we can't forget about those cool-off stretches too...Oooohhhh! The possibilities...~ ' Yes, I-26 was absolutely drooling at the thought of getting all hot, sweaty and exhausted...
"Hehehe~! Now that's quite the lewd face you got there, imouto-chan~!" teased her blonde (with a tinge of pink) older sister as she moved to sink a few more unsuspecting Sirens with a well timed sneak attack.
*BBBBOOOOOMMMM*
"...I am so glad we got rid of those enemy submarines earlier. It really makes this whole 'surprise hit and run' thing a whole lot easier for us," Nautilus said from the rear of their formation as she reviewed the latest battlefield reports Archerfish and Surcouf's fleets were sending out. 'Still, I'm not sure what to make of the Sirens' current actions though. I mean, I get that we got the jump on them but... it's like they don't even really care about winning or losing this battle... Weird.'
*BBOOOOMMMM*
"...What the!? Hey, incoming enemy depth charge mines!" I-19 called out. "Enemy reinforcements too! Looks like we missed a few Assassins!"
And, just as the redhead said, a group of four to six mass produced Siren subs were headed straight for them at top combat speed.
"Damn mines!" I-26 thought aloud as she quickly moved out of range of the latest nearby exploding mine and the shock wave it produced, followed by a string of similar explosions going off shortly after. However...
"Hey, look!" I-25 replied, pointing at the exact spot her sister was and where the enemy submarines just were.
"Wait, are you serious?"
"Oh wow...!" '...Talk about some seriously bad timing! Oof! I mean, good for us but still.'
I-25 and I-26 couldn't believe what they just saw... and not just them either.
"...Did they seriously just-" Nautilus started to ask.
"-Yeah, they did. They totally just took out their own submarines..," I-19 finished.
Thankfully with a little help from one little blonde devil calling over the comm lines, everyone was quickly able to recover and get back on task.
[Hey! The hell are you girls waiting for? Or do you not want the Commander to spoil you rotten when we come back all victorious and triumphant? I mean, I don't really mind either way, but...~]
"..."
"..."
"..."
...
"...Oh no you don't, you horny little bitch!" I-19, as the second thirstiest submarine of the bunch, bluntly replied. "I will not be denied my headpats (read: headpats and sweet, sweet lewd spoiling) dammit! Get a move on bitches! CCHHAARRGGEE!"
- Back with Tester, still in the heat of battle -
[Tracker Unit 211 of combat group 4 to Operations Leader Tester: Assassin reserve force eliminated due to unknown targeting error while deploying depth charge mines. Remaining submarine support fleets depleted. Requesting orders.]
"...Tch!" 'Damned jamming! I didn't properly account for how strong it'd be...! Well then, what to do now...'
While still lost in her thoughts and in the middle of a three on one fight with those annoyingly stubborn kansen, Tester was less than thrilled to have to devote so much of her processing power just to compensate for the enemy's surprisingly powerful jamming field blanketing the area. That said, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't at least a little bit impressed at how thorough these newcomers were. Still, she had her own job to finish and couldn't afford to waste too much time here.
[Operations Leader Tester to remaining combat groups: Cease all probing and data collection operations and withdraw. While you are still not permitted the use of lethal force, you are also not to let the enemy follow after you. That being the case, use of 'Maneuver 034' is permitted. To that end, I shall remain behind to buy as much time as needed to maximize your chances of escaping successfully.]
...
[Tracker Unit 211 of combat group 4 to Operations Leader Tester: Understood. Now beginning withdrawal.]
[Operations Leader Tester to remaining combat groups: Good.]
With that taken care of, Tester mentally breathed a sigh of relief now that she had access to all of her processing power again since she no longer needed to worry about commanding and coordinating her forces anymore.
'...I don't know whether it's because of that ship itself or something aboard it, but whichever it is could become a real problem for us later down the line. Still, if that ship accurately reflects what the others might be even remotely capable of, then I'll still take this encounter as a win. Still, if the enemy's jamming is able to directly mess with our internal communication networks and not just our sensors then... But, that shouldn't be possible though, not unless... Hmm. Just one more thing we'll need to investigate later I suppose.'
- With Archerfish's submarine fleet -
"...Hehehe...~!"
"Y'know Archerfish, it'll totally be your fault if Nautilus' group does end up showing us up," I-58 remarked, shaking her head at her leader's antics.
"Oh whatever! Don't be such a buzzkill I-58. Not like they're gonna beat our lead this late in the game! All I'm doing is giving them a little motivation and last minute push to try harder, that's all!" Archerfish replied, not at all concerned by the others.
"You say that, but did you check the latest score count? They're like, totally on the warpath and right behind us now thanks to you," a now very annoyed U-37 added after finishing off a pair of pawns that happened to be nearby. "Anyway, now we're still barely ahead so, if we still do somehow manage to win in the end, then I get first dibs with the Kommandant! Oh, and you're welcome by the way!"
"...Ugh. Dammit! Me and my big mouth...!"
...
"It was their boobs, wasn't it? You were just mad that I-25 and I-19 have bigger racks and couldn't resist trolling them them over it, could you?" U-37 pointed out... and sighing when she saw the blonde flinch ever so slightly. "...I knew it. You really gotta stop jumping the gun like that. Dummkopf!"
However, truth or not, let it never be said that Archerfish wasn't a very stubborn and prideful shipgirl.
"...I, have no idea what you're talking about! A, As if I'd need to feel inadequate or insecure because of those big tittied cows! Hmph!"
"Take a cue from I-58 why don't you! Hydrodynamic bodies are the best! FLAT. IS. JUSTICE! Besides, it's not like our gentleman pervert of a Kommandant is gonna care whose tits are bigger than whose, right? That and we submarines have a lot more to offer than just our chests, ja? Even compared to our big sisters, we were built for stamina and sensitivity!" U-37 declared with a triumphant, shit eating grin.
While everyone else seemed to actually feel a bit better hearing U-37's words... I-56, on the other hand, wasn't really paying any attention and was far too busy silently blushing at the chance to try out some of the scenes and ideas from the latest book she's been reading since waking up and coming online. "...Heh, hehehe...~! "
"See? I-56's got the right idea!"
"I get it, I get it! Point taken! Fine, you're right! Ugh!"
Archerfish decided to just quit while she's ahead and put everything she had into venting her frustrations on the poor Sirens unlucky enough not to have been sunk yet by activating her 'All Out Assault' skill and letting her instincts do the rest.
- Meanwhile, with Saratoga, Eugen and Strasser's fleets -
Fifteen or so minutes into their battle.
*ZZZZAAAAPPPP*
...
*BOOOM*
"...Huff, huff...! Ugh. So tired...!"
As powerful as a bunch of stamina freaks as shipgirls were, even an undeniable, zap happy powerhouse like Eldridge still had her limits, especially dealing with the zerg rush tactics the Sirens seemed to like using. Sure she and the others trained to deal with it... but simulations were just simulations and eality would always be tougher.
"...So, so many Sirens...!"
"...Eldridge, okay?"
Eldridge gave her concerned friend a reassuring nod. "...Okay. Just, tired. Anchorage too, okay?"
Anchorage smiled. "Mm. Lots of bad Sirens though...!"
"...Too many...!"
Just then, a giant pillar of water suddenly and violently rose up into the air and drew the pair's attention before quickly coming back down like falling rain just as quickly.
"What?"
"...Ooh! Pretty, rainbow!"
While the two eternally laid back and somewhat childlike duo were busy being enthralled by the sight, their more serious big sisters were breathing a collective sigh of relief since they knew what the source behind the explosions really was.
"Well now. they didn't hold back at all, did they?" Jean Bart whistled as she watched another set of Pawns suddenly get sunk from the submarines' surprise attacks. "Still, they really do have a lot of nerve, don't they? It's almost impressive, even."
"...Damned cheeky little succubi! Thinking they can get the chance to devour my dear Shikikan before I," Akagi then paused, threw a glance at Taihou, and quickly cleared. "... 'We' get to! What nerve! No, this will not stand, not at all!"
"...Maybe, we should act more like the big sisters we are and thoroughly... discipline them, perhaps?" Taihou suggested in her usual sweet but still undeniably menacing voice, her crimson eyes softly glowing at the thought. "You know, to set down some ground rules and teach them the proper order of things?"
"...You Sakura Empire girls are freakin' scary as hell," Alabama noted while backing up just a bit from the pair of demonesses.
"Hey! Don't go thinking that those two maniacs accurately represent all of us Sakura Empire shipgirls!" Kii protested. "...That said, I do kind of get where they're coming from though. Just a little bit, I mean..."
"..Uh huh. Totally not battle junkie psychos. Gotcha." Alabama just rolled her eyes.
"I think, we should leave that sort of thing to Miss Belfast. Dealing with the submarines, that is.," Black Prince quietly suggested while working to finish off a pair of nearby damaged Trackers.
"...Yyaawwnn...~! ...Yeah. Let's just, leave it to Belfast..," were the little rabbit's two cents before magically producing yet another bottle of oxy-cola(?) from... somewhere.
"Like, seriously. Where the hell does she keep pulling those from?" Javelin wondered aloud for the umpteenth time while hastily blocking yet another volley of Siren cannon fire with her trusty spear. "Oh no you don't!"
"...Magic! Yes!"
"... 'Magic'? Really, Ayaya?"
"Yes!"
"Hahaha! Why not? I mean, magic's a big reason why we shipgirls even exist in the first place, right?" New Jersey pointed out with a hearty laugh and bright smile even as she deftly evaded the now retreating Sirens' intense covering fire. "Honestly, I wish I could magically summon up some soda on command too, y'know?"
...
"Huh?
"Hm? What's up" Alabama asked, looking at Javelin.
"...Look" the purplette said, pointing at the Sirens.
"And are we really going to just let those Siren vermin run away like that?" Akagi asked with no small hint of annoyance as they suddenly began retreating.
"... I think we should just let the Sirens go and take this chance to catch our breath while we can," Belfast said before turning to Black Prince. "Can I leave watching over the little ones to you, Miss Black Prince?"
"Mm." With a nod, the pink haired 'knight' went off to take care of Eldridge and Anchorage.
However, instead of heeding the maid's suggestion, four of the nine remaining shipgirls began to head off towards where the others were still fighting Tester instead.
"...Akagi, Taihou, Kii, and Jean Bart too? Shouldn't you guys take this chance to rest?" New Jersey asked, completely baffled at her friends' decision.
Jean Bart just shrugged. "You guys go and rest if you want, later."
"...Total battle junkies... Yes!"
"Oh, don't be like that Ayanami-chan. Akagi-chan and I simply want to wrap things up as quickly as we can so that we might get back to our dear Shikikan-sama that much faster, that's all. You know, before anyone else thinks of trying to 'cut in line', as they say," Taihou calmly said in her usual pleasant, if still super scary, voice.
"...Wow. Even when she sounds all sweet and friendly like that, Taihou's still sends shivers down my spine," Alabama remarked with a slight shudder.
...
Luckily, Eldridge and Laffey were already used to it while Anchorage, bless her sweet heart, was just too innocent for her own good to notice. Well, not like it mattered since those three were now sound asleep and under Black Prince's watchful eye, fully taking advantage of the chance to take a break while Belfast, Alabama, and New Jersey kept guard and reported in to Liam.
- Around the same time, with Nautilus and Archerfish's fleets -
"...Crap. I um... forgot about those two psycho big sisters...!" Archerfish muttered as she recalled the image of a demonic nine tailed fox and phoenix wreathed in crimson flames standing there and looming over them menacingly. "...Ugh. Damned open channels! Fuck!" [Comm lines now switched over from 'Open' to 'Private'] "Anyway, there! Now we should be A-OK!"
I-19, and many of the other submarines for that matter, felt that Belfast was the much scarier big sister/threat to though.
"Akagi-neesama and Taihou-neesama are scary, sure... but it's Belfast-neesama that we should be worrying about!"
"What, the super maid? Really? Why?" Archerfish asked the shaking like a leaf I-19, genuinely a little confused.
"It's too much to get into right now, but what I can tell you is that we better just focus on getting the big win against that Siren Elite and securing our time with Shikikan so that we can get him to save us from Belfast-neesama's 'disciplines'...!" replied the buxom redheaded submarine.
"...But, how?" asked the sporty, tanned I-26. "I mean, aren't they headed to where Eugen-neesama and the others are fighting?"
"Simple. We swim like our lives depended on it (which they really kinda do...), wait for the just the right moment to strike, and then, deliver the final blow to the Siren Elite ourselves!" Archerfish declared. "It's the only way!"
"...What? A, Are you serious!?" Nautilus asked in an uncharacteristically loud (for her, anyway) voice. "There's no way we can pull that off!"
"It's either that or get disciplined by three very scary big sisters. And I dunno about you, but I have NOT given up on getting the Commander to spoil us lots for a job well done dammit!"
"...Um, I a, agree with Archerfish-chan...!" timidly said the book (read: porn) loving I-56.
Seeing she successfully made her point, Archerfish smiled confidently and nodded. "Right? And luckily for us, we're faster and closer to Eugen and the rest too, so come on!"
And with that, the tanned, flirty blonde darted off like a rocket.
"...sigh... Not like we have any other options, huh..," U-37 said with a resigned smile before following after her squad leader.
Agreeing with U-37 and hoping against hope that they can get Liam to save them somehow, the others silently followed after their best and last hope to avoid the two demons and the super maid.
- Side: Tester -
'Damn jamming field...! No wonder my troops had so much trouble out back there, and the fact that the aerial ship hasn't moved or attacked once since it blocked my earlier attack is quite telling though...'
Though she could barely detect anything outside of the immediate area around her, Tester was still more than confident that, so long as she kept her guard up and nothing unexpected happened, she would be fine. After all, she wasn't a Siren Elite for nothing.
'Alright then, let's step things up a notch then. Seen how strong these kansen really are!'
...
[Now engaging gradual combat limiter release: Set CP limit at 50%]
- Side: Strasser, and Saratoga -
"Saratoga, look out!" Strasser yelled out as she noticed Tester quickly moving from a defensive stance into an offensive one, lance in hand and her rigging's fully charged cannons aimed squarely at the petite pinkette's head. "Stop spacing out and move!"
"...Huh? Oh, crap, oh crap, oh crap!"
Moving with swiftness that only the desperation to live could grant, Saratoga ducked and moved out of the way of Tester's insanely fast lance thrust that was followed up by several beam cannon shots fired in rapid succession at near point blank range, barely managing to get away and landing gracelessly on her cute behind right next to a sighing Strasser... before sinking into the cold, ocean waters below her.
"...Serious-blurgh!"
*splash!*
"Easy does it! Here, grab on!"
"...Cough, cough! Th, Thanks," Saratoga said as she took Strasser's hand before looking over to see Tester once again fighting with a now slightly scuffed up Eugen. "...Hey. Is it me, or is that Siren even stronger now? Like, not OP strong here, but still just strong enough to notice."
Strasser shook her head. "No, it's not just you. She really has gotten stronger. And what's worse is that her power is slowly but steadily increasing too, which means that we won't be able to keep up this pace for much longer..."
"So, is this what a Siren Elite is really capable of? Well damn. That little trick wasn't in any of our simulation battles."
"Well, to be fair, even during the Second Siren War, there wasn't much record of them doing something like that either... probably because there wasn't a reason to. No shipgirls and all that," Strasser conjectured while checking the status of her shields and rapier. "A real oversight to be sure, but in that sense, I'm actually grateful the Siren's been going easy on us then. Enough chit-chat though, we need to get back in there and help Eugen!"
"Right! Sister Sara still has plenty of fight in her yet, after all~!✩" the pumped up pinkette declared, eyes burning with fiery passion... and a deep desire to make up for nearly getting cut in half and drowning earlier.
- Side: Eugen -
'...Okay, this is actually getting a bit rough now...!' Eugen mentally groaned as she felt her arms go momentarily numb from blocking the Siren Elite's latest assault as she was gradually being pushed back further and further after roughly fifteen minutes of nearly nonstop fighting, leading to her current, exhausted state. 'Damn!'
"What's the matter, little kansen? Need a break, perhaps?" Tester asked with mocking concern and the most smug grin Eugen had ever seen (besides her own, that is). "Really though, I don't mind having another round with your two friends while you catch your breath. I promise we'll have a lovely time too!"
"...Tch! Dammed arrogant Siren cunt!"
"Now, now. A proper lady mustn't resort to using such foul and crass language just because she isn't getting her way. Whatever would all the strapping young gentlemen of the world think after hearing such vulgarities coming from such a pretty young flower, hmm?"
"...Oh fuck you! As if my Kommandant cares about such superficial nonsense like that! And who are you to go around preaching to me about a 'lady's modesty' dressed like that, huh? ...Slunt!" Eugen hissed as she moved on the counterattack that much more fiercely, utterly infuriated that this scantily clad Siren slut had the nerve to lecture her about a proper lady's etiquette. Really, what nerve! 'That's right. Keep thinking you're getting under my skin!' ...Or so it seemed on the surface, at least.
"Ooh! Touched a nerve, did I?" Tester mockingly teased, thoroughly enjoying the sheer anger she managed to get out of the supposedly calm, cool and collected Iron Blood kansen in front of her. A testament to just how much of a toll that continuous, high speed battle was taking on her and her friends. '...Hmm. Either I gave them too much credit, or...-What!?'
"And here comes Sister Sara once again~!✩ Take... THAT!"
"...Don't forget about me! HAH!"
"...!"
It was only thanks to her finely tuned combat instincts and superhuman reflexes and reaction time granted to her as a Siren Elite that Tester was able to avoid getting both run through the chest by Strasser's rapier and her head taken off Saratoga's hammer-staff, losing only a few strands of her long, light blue hair instead.
"My, and here I thought you two would need a bit longer rejoin us. I suppose that's my fault for underestimating you, huh?"
"...Tch."
"Ah, dammit! Oi, Miss Eugen! You alright over there?"
"I'm alright. Sorry. I was hoping to keep her distracted a bit longer, but I didn't think she'd be able to move like that..."
"...Hoh? So you tried to pull off a coordinated surprise attack then huh? Well, color me impressed!"
"Oh screw you!"
"No, I mean it. Anyway, enough's enough. I have places to be and a mission to complete. And, seeing as my dear troops have successfully withdrawn, that just leaves you lot and that bothersome aerial combat carrier. Ah, but don't worry. I only need to cripple you though, so just stand still for me, pretty please? With a cherry on top?"
"Wow. You really are an annoying bitch..," Strasser spat out with a frown and rapier raised. "As if we'd just let you get anywhere near our Kommandant, you Siren whore!"
"Ah, that's right! I'd heard that you kansen were obsessively loyal to your commanders, but to see it for myself though, wow!" '...Well, not like we're really any different but, oh well.'
Just then, four newcomers in red and black came charging in, all of them more than a little eager to draw some Siren blood.
"AHAHAHAHA~!"
"...Hmm? Wait, what!?"
"Ufufu~! Ojamashimasudesuwa~! "
"...O, Oji... Ojamashi... what now?"
"Focus! I'll tell you later! Taihou-chan's just being overly dramatic, that's all."
"Taihou, Akagi, Kii... and Jean Bart too!? Wow, lucky us!"
"...Lucky!? Um, do you see the look in Akagi and Taihou's eyes!? And they're smiling! SMILING!" Saratoga shouted out as she shakily pointed at their two demonic fleet sisters in question, utterly and completely terrified at the sight of their beautiful figures now wreathed in an ominous, crimson aura and flames respectively.
"Yeah, but they're on our side," Eugen reminded while patting the pinkette's slightly trembling shoulder. "Besides, at least it's not us they're showing those smiles for, right?"
"...That's true, but they're still hella scary though...!"
"Haha! There, there."
"CLANG, CLANG, CLANG!*
Suddenly, the sound of blades clashing broke them out of their little chat, forcing Eugen and the otheres to turn their attention back to the four on one battle now going on just a few meters in front of them.
"Ah, nothing like a Siren Elite to help me work off some stress~! " Akagi cheerfully said as she continued to slash at Tester with her flame covered katana, her nine large and fluffy tails happily swishing about all the while. Meanwhile, Taihou moved in perfect step right next to her, filling in the blanks of the vixen's onslaught with attacks from her own bladed, flame covered tessen. And, while all that was going on... Eugen decided to pick that moment to speak up while wearing her trademark smug little smirk.
"Might as well give them one more reason to go after that blue haired bitch then, ja?"
"Really? Are you serious, Eugen?"
"You bet your cute ass I am, Strasser dear!"
"...sigh..."
"Hey, Akagi dear, Taihou dear...~?"
"Hmm?"
"Eugen-chan?"
"Oh nothing much, I just thought you might want to know that, just before you four showed up, that the blue haired gutter slunt there said she was going to go after our dear Kommandant, that's all."
...
...
...
"...Nan, desutte...?" (x2)
And just like that, Akagi and Taihou's already ominous auras went from just plain scary to outright murderous as the pressure of their killing intents thickened to the point of feeling like it would literally choke the life out of everyone present.
"...Eugen. You dummkopf! Did you seriously need to egg those two battle maniacs on like that!?" Strasser half asked, half yelled.
"What? All I did was tell them the truth. Besides, all of their rage is going to be directed at that Siren slunt, not us."
"Okay, sure. But now we can't get anywhere near those two now that they're on the warpath!"
...
"...Oh, right. I uh, sorry about that..." 'Scheiße! I totally didn't think about that!'
"...Sorry she says."
"Oh wow! Even the ever cool Miss Eugen can slip up sometimes huh?" Saratoga couldn't help but giggle seeing that rare side of her otherwise unflappable fleet sister. But before she, or anyone else for that mater, could say or do anything else... something very unexpected happened right underneath where Tester, Akagi and Taihou were currently busy trying to kill each other.
*BBBBOOOOMMMM!*
"What the hell!?
"Wait, what!?"
"Where'd that come from!? Who did that!?"
"..Oh what NOW!?"
"...So help me, if this is another Siren attack...!"
- Under the water, right below Tester and the others -
"HAHAHAH! Take that! Total. SUCCESS!"
"...Um, Archerfish?"
"Yeah? What is it Nautilus?"
"...You got Akagi and Taihou too."
...
...
"...Ah, shit...!" 'Shit, shit, shit shit, SSSHHHIIITTTT!'
"... U, um. Do, do you think Akagi-neesama and Taihou-neesama would let us go if we...-" I-26 began, only to be instantly be interrupted by her elder sister.
"-Don't even finish that thought, imouto-chan. You know nothing we say or do is going to save us..."
"We are so screwed," was all U-37 could quietly groan.
For their part, all I-56 and I-58 could do... was shudder in absolute terror in each other's arms.
"...You know what? Fuck it! If things have come this far and we're gonna get slaughtered later on either way, then... I say we go all in ladies! Torpedoes away!"
"...Sigh. At this point, there really isn't any other option left for us but to go all in. Thanks a lot by the way, Archerfish you overzealous moron!"
"U-37?" I-56 couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"What? It's true."
"Damned if you do, damned if you don't is it?" I-58 couldn't help but shake her head and sigh at the absolutely bottomless hole they'd dug for themselves. "Oh well. It is what it is and all that."
...
And, in a clear moment of what could only be described as utter insanity and stupidity on their part, everyone simply nodded in unison and let the bell toll one last time as they proceeded to unload everything they had left.
xxx xxx xxx
A/N:
And DONE!
The submarines have made their appearance and shook up the battle in their sisters' favor... only to ROYALLY screw themselves over just because they were horny and wanted to be spoiled rotten.
But! Like I said, they were the reason that Tester is really going to get away. Also, I mean, I couldn't really see any real way for submarines to deal with a Siren Elite other than by 'kill stealing'.
...Too bad an already pissed off Akagi and Taihou were right there.
Next up, the conclusion of the first engagement and its aftermath.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed reading and I'll see you next update.