"Do I really need to come?" Lenin asked Freedom in annoyance.
"I know you wanted to spend some time with your girlfriend, but this is important," Freedom told him as they walked through the harbor. "We all need to be there to discuss this."
"I didn't-" Lenin caught himself, glancing at Freedom, who was looking at him with a shit-eating grin on his face. "I mean… Le Malin's out on sortie anyway," he muttered, lowering his gaze.
Freedom beamed at him, putting his hand on his head and ruffling his hair affectionately.
Lenin wiggled out of his grasp and shot him an annoyed glare. After news of his relationship with Le Malin began spreading around the fleet, his brothers didn't miss the chance to tease the hell out of him, pestering him for details like they were gossiping old ladies.
Luckily, more than half of them weren't there to annoy him at the moment.
Sparviero was at the ex-Siren base. The place required protection, and it was his turn, along with a few more shipgirls, to mount guard. There wasn't exactly a need for it, given the presence of the Antiochus there, but the METAs were being sent there in turns so that Anzeel could take care of their condition, and while the Commander did trust them not to start anything with the Antiochus during their stay, he also knew the likes of Purifier; he wanted at least a handful of his Kansen always on duty, just in case.
Kurama was still at the Sanctuary, reinforcing the guard to the Sacred Sakura Tree while also helping Nagato and the Sakura shipgirls deal with the Sirens in their waters.
Emperor and Leviathan, instead, had decided to remain in Europe for the time being.
The day after the victory party for Tower's defeat, while the Azur Lane fleet teleported back to the joint base, Queen Elizabeth and her fleet, along with Bismarck and her retinue, had departed from Brest for their respective homelands.
Emperor had decided to go with the Royal Navy fleet, much to Chaser and Unicorn's joy. He had said he had something to talk about with Elizabeth and had decided to seize the opportunity to follow her with Hermione by his side.
Leviathan, on his part, had decided to go with August. The carrier was supposed to follow Bismarck to resume her duties as senior Kansen of the Iron Blood, and this time, the shipboy had gone with her.
The planetary alignment was almost upon them. TB had assured them that the portal would be up and running on time, and the shipboys, knowing what awaited them, were trying to make the most of the little time they had left.
Not to mention there were too many unknowns in this endeavor; they needed to discuss things thoroughly, which was exactly what they were about to do.
Soon, Freedom and Lenin reached their destination—the administration building. For a second, the taller shipboy considered passing by Ryan's office to say hi, but he decided to scratch the idea. The man was already busy enough; they'd bother him later, after their talk with the others, when they'd have actually important stuff to talk about.
The communication room was situated on the top floor. The Commander used it to keep in contact with his superiors before the missile attack happened, and the Kansen representatives could use it to receive news from their homeland and directives from their flagships if necessary.
Today, the shipboys would use it as a meeting room to talk with their brothers overseas.
A few minutes after entering the small room and setting up the equipment, one of the monitors in front of them lit up, broadcasting the face of a very sleepy Emperor.
"Hey, guys…" the man greeted them with a yawn. "Ugh, the others haven't joined yet? And here I was trying to be on time. I could have slept some more…"
"Hey there, Emperor," Lenin said with a grin. "You look lively."
"Spare me. It's one in the morning here," Emperor grumbled.
"Well, good morning to you, then, brother," Freedom said with a chuckle. "Had a rough day?"
"You don't know the half of it," Emperor said, rubbing his eyes to shake off sleep. "Between scouring the ocean for signs of the Worm-type and keeping up with Royal protocol and stuff, I'm beyond exhausted."
"So, no trace of the thing, I gather?" Lenin inquired.
"Not a bit," Emperor shook his head. "Honestly, if the bastard hadn't destroyed the Basilica on its own and almost killed Bismarck and Jean Bart in the process, I'd be inclined to think the girls had just imagined it."
"Well, if it hasn't made another appearance yet, it means they only have one and don't want to risk it, especially with us here," Freedom mused. "I can't think of another reason."
The first and last time the Worm-type had appeared was as the Basilica. Bismarck had expressed her concern about having the thing roam around the place so close to human civilization, so she had asked Emperor to investigate its whereabouts, seeing as though the shipboy wasn't going back to the joint base and was more familiar with the Original Siren than the shipgirls. Queen Elizabeth shared her concern, and upon their arrival at Devonport, she had assigned him command of a small fleet of Kansen, making the search of the Worm-type a matter of top priority.
"Good thing they didn't deploy it during the fight with Tower," Lenin spoke up. "I bet they didn't do it only because they didn't want to risk losing it under Tower's friendly fire."
"That's a possibility," Emperor commented. If the Sirens had done that, the shipboys could have likely defeated the Worm-type there, but it would have meant losing a lot of people in the process. So, in the end, it was for the better. "By the way, what about Tower's remains? Any news on that front?"
"Right, Jean Bart is getting ready to cross the Panama Canal," Freedom informed him. "She and her escort should arrive with the cargo on time. But just in case, I'm heading out to meet her halfway tonight."
"Good," Emperor said in relief. "I don't think the Sirens will try anything. Between her escort and her own vessel, the gain shouldn't be worth the effort to them, but better be safe than sorry."
What were they talking about, one might ask? Well, to put it simply, Tower's body had disappeared.
The thing is, after the Arbiter's defeat, her motionless rigging was impossible to move, as it had begun taking on water through the gaping holes in its armor as soon as it was defeated. Even wrapping it with towing lines and dragging it with ten different ships would have been difficult. They had had no choice but to leave it there to sink to the depths of the ocean, even if no one was happy about it.
It would have taken a while and a lot of effort to retrieve it. First of all, they would have had to secure the area in case the Sirens tried to take it back, and would you look at that? That's exactly what happened.
Emperor had found out during one of his sorties, after returning to the site with the search fleet to check on the giant steel carcass. The subs he had brought with him had confirmed it.
What could have possibly moved a body of such size was still unclear, but the shipboys were convinced that a combination of the Worm-type's intervention and a group of Scavenger-types would have been capable of dismantling it and taking it away in a relatively brief amount of time, which was exactly what it seemed to have happened.
In the end, it was just their conjecture, but it was also why everyone was so convinced the Worm-type could still be roaming around the place and why the flagships were so adamant about keeping searching for it.
As for why the Sirens had done it, that wasn't even a question. They were likely trying to salvage as much of the resources they had spent on Tower's rigging's completion as possible. And yet, they hadn't taken everything; the leftovers of the giant whale were still clearly visible at the bottom of the ocean, looking like giant ribs of a long-dead creature, as reported by the subs sent to scout the ocean floor. The things were too cumbersome to transport and too difficult to disassemble on site; that's why the Sirens had decided to leave them there, most likely.
The important part was that Azur Lane had Tower's Cube. The Arbiter was one of a kind, as stated by Aoste, and without her Cube, the remains of her rigging could only be repurposed for repairs or the like. The same went for the ribs of the whale the Sirens had left behind; they weren't nearly enough to rebuild the giant rigging from scratch, and humanity didn't have the resources nor the time to spare the endeavor even if they wanted to attempt it, but they would perfectly serve another purpose.
That's why they had taken advantage of Jean Bart's vessel to transport those remains to Azur Lane.
"Sorry for the wait, guys," Sparviero's voice was suddenly heard as another screen lit up to show his face next to the one displaying Emperor's. "Navigating this place is a nightmare."
"Don't worry, we've just arrived," Lenin said after greeting him, waving off his concern.
"Sorry, everyone; I got delayed," Leviathan's voice came up next as another screen lit up.
"Delayed? At this hour of the night? I can't imagine how," Freedom quipped, his lips quirking up in a knowing smirk. "Did August tie you to bed or something?"
"You know, I wouldn't be surprised if she were just hiding under the table out of sight of the camera sucking your cock," Emperor quipped.
"Sadly, no, I had to leave her in bed tonight," Leviathan shrugged, unbothered by their jesting. "She could barely walk straight," he added with a smirk.
"Okay, big man, spare us the details," Lenin waved him off, scrunching his nose.
"Why so squeamish, Teddy Bear?" Emperor quipped. "Aren't you curious to pick up something to use for yourself? I'm sure Le Malin would appreciate it."
"Shut up!" Lenin shouted, blushing hard.
At that moment, the last monitor lit up, showing Kurama's face on the other side.
"Hey, guys-"
"And what's your excuse? Let's hear it," the icebreaker cut him off as soon as he opened his mouth.
"First of all, fuck off. Second, what's gotten you all so worked up?"
"Right, you don't know yet," Sparviero piped up. "Lenin and Le Malin have started dating."
"Really? About damn time you grew a pair and asked her out," Kurama said, crossing his arms haughtily.
"I did not ask her out!"
"Heh, of course not," Kurama scoffed. "I figured she'd be the one to start things up, knowing your stubborn ass."
"That's not how it went at all!" Lenin shot back. "I just ended up in her room by accident and-" he cut himself off as soon as the words came out of her mouth, but it was too late; there was no taking back what he said.
Emperor gasped in excitement. "Wait a second; you didn't say anything about that!"
"Come on, brother; details," Sparviero chuckled.
Lenin groaned loudly. That was exactly what he was dreading.
A couple more minutes of playful bantering later, and of the icebreaker trying his best to deflect their questions, Freedom felt compelled to bring everyone's attention back on track. There was more serious stuff that needed to be discussed, and the time they had hogging the communication room for themselves was limited.
"Okay, let's get down to business," Freedom said after the mood returned serious. "Who's going and who's staying?"
No answers to that. They looked at each other, as if to confirm what was on everyone's minds. Admittedly, this matter wasn't something that needed much discussing. The outcome was almost a given, actually. They just needed to make sure they were all on the same page.
"Lenin and I are staying," Sparviero said. "Someone needs to remain behind as representatives in case things don't go well, and it's not like the two of us would be of much use back home," he elaborated, with Lenin nodding silently.
The two of them didn't have much of a pull with their respective factions. Lenin being an icebreaker and a particularly young ship meant his peers in the cold lands of his Northern Parliaments never respected him much; quite the opposite, in fact. Sparviero, on the other hand, had never truly connected with his Sardinian comrades. In a time when humanity still treated Kansen as mere instruments of war, everyone was too busy fending off for themselves to care for a blind carrier barely able to direct his aircraft toward the enemy.
While they weren't exactly alone during those times, as someone among their compatriots did take pity on them, the only ones they could call family were their new brothers. While things did change for the better after the Kansen rebellion, the memories of those dark times still remained, and even if their compatriots' attitude had changed over time, the two shipboys didn't expect a positive response if they went and asked for their help.
"So that's it then," Freedom said. "The four of us will be going while you two-"
"I'm also staying."
Kurama's declaration caught the others by surprise. They all stared at him through the screen, sharing confused glances.
"What? Is that so surprising?"
"Well, yeah," Lenin confirmed. "We just assumed you'd want to go no matter what."
Kurama let out a self-deprecating scoff. "To do what? To see Nagato-niisama sleeping? Or to find out he's dead? I'd rather stay here and protect the portal. It's not like I'd be able to convince anyone to come over."
After those attempts to reach his mentor through Shinano's power, suspicions about the reason behind the repeated failures had begun forming in his mind. No matter how hard he tried to find another explanation, he couldn't lie to himself: the reason could very well be that Nagato was dead. If that were true, then he had lost the last link connecting him to that world.
"What are you talking about, Kurama?" Leviathan asked him.
"You know I didn't have many friends in the Sakura Empire," he explained. "Nagato-niisama was the one who kept us united. I was his disciple and bodyguard, but I failed to protect him when it mattered the most. Do you really think they'd listen to my plea?"
Silence settled as they all shuffled awkwardly. Kurama was right, and they knew it.
They didn't know how long the portal would last or if their comrades on the other side would be willing to follow them in the first place. Everything about this whole matter was a huge leap of faith, and anything that could increase their chances of success would need to be carefully considered; in contrast, anything that could lower those chances had to be discarded, so as much as Kurama wanted to see his mentor—whether he was still asleep or buried six feet underground—he had to let go of that wish and think of what was best for the success of the operation.
"Listen," the male Kitsune began after letting out a breath. "We have to assume the Sirens won't be standing around doing nothing. They know we are trying to reach out to our world; it's likely why they tried to take down the Sacred Sakura Tree, and I'd be surprised if they didn't know how imminent the next planetary alignment is. If they are going to make a move, it's going to be then."
Everyone agreed on that. There was no need to say out loud what would happen if the Sirens managed to destroy the portal while they were on the other side. The enemy would likely investigate the chosen location of the portal before attacking it en masse to ensure its destruction. Kurama was the best suited at protecting it out of all of them.
"Okay, then; if you are so sure, we have no objections," Emperor said after checking with the others. "Now it's time to figure out what we're actually going to do once we get through the portal."
"I fly to headquarters as fast as I can," Freedom said. "And remember that I won't be able to bring the both of you at once, so you and Leviathan will have to use your planes to move, at least until I'm done talking to the higher-ups."
The plan was simple. Go through the portal, enlist the help of as many Kansen as possible, and return before it closed.
There were a few problems with that, though. First of all, they didn't know where the portal would send them; they had no way of controlling it unless TB came up with something. If they ended up too far from civilization, then they'd need someone capable of moving fast, and that's where Freedom came in. The whole ordeal was a race against time; he was the only reason they were even seriously considering the whole matter.
Of course, they needed to find the right people to talk to, and they had only a handful in mind who could help them: Liam Carter, their former commander, and Imperator, Leviathan's older brother and faction leader of the Iron Blood in their world.
"Is everything alright, brother?" Emperor asked Leviathan. "You've been awfully quiet; more than usual."
Leviathan, who seemed to be spacing out, perked up when he realized he was talking to him. "I'm fine; I'm just thinking."
"Yeah, we could see that," Lenin commented.
"Leviathan, is this about your… real brothers?" Freedom tentatively asked.
"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't," Leviathan replied with a sigh.
"Are you going to be okay?" Kurama asked him.
"I will," he answered. "It's just going to be... awkward."
More silence fell over them as Leviathan closed himself up in his brooding once more.
"Well, I, for once, can't wait to see Liam again," Emperor spoke up, trying to lift the sullen mood. "Imagine the face he's going to make when he finds out we are still alive."
"Yeah, I'm also excited to see him again," Sparviero said, chuckling at the prospect.
"You mean, for the first time?" Lenin piped up, to which everyone chuckled.
After a few more minutes of going over their plan's details mixed with some more playful bantering, sleepiness began taking over the overseas shipboys, and Emperor decided it was time to call the end of the meeting.
"Okay then, everyone; we'll see each other in a few days," he said, stifling another yawn. "Don't lose your nerves, make love to your women, and stay safe until then."
Leviathan let out a long breath. The hour was late, and he was trying to make as little noise as possible as he walked through the dorm. There was also little moonlight coming through the windows, so the hallways weren't much illuminated, but by now, he had learned the layout of the building like the palm of his hands with all the times he had visited August in her chambers.
As he walked through the corridors, his mind wandered back to the conversation and to his brothers. Not the five dumbasses he had shared laughs and tears with for the past few years, but his real brothers—Imperator and Bismarck.
They hadn't seen each other in years. No, actually, if he remembered correctly, they had exchanged a few words during the pre-battle briefing for the siege to the seed, right after which the six shipboys had been transported to this world. What was it that they had told him? Right, they had wished him good luck since he was part of the vanguard, the most dangerous role. A couple of words and a handshake—that was all.
It had been an awkward interaction that one. During the times he had spent out to sea, searching for information on the seed's location with the others, the three of them hadn't kept in touch. Not because they hated each other or anything. They just slowly drifted apart for no apparent reason, just like old friends separated by distance. There had been no malicious intent, as the fault lay on both sides.
Thinking back on it now, the three of them had never been that close. In the early years of the war, Imperator had risen to become the flagship, which alone was enough to justify the emotional distance that had formed between them. Bismarck, on the other hand... Now that Leviathan thought about it, the youngest of the trio had always tried to get close to him, only to be met with his disinterest and rejection.
Leviathan stopped in his tracks, breathing heavily as he leaned over the wall in the dark corridor.
The rift that had formed between the three of them was his fault, not theirs. The thing is, at the time, he didn't have many interests aside from fighting. He didn't care about friends, brothers, and human bonds in general; the most important thing to him was the purpose he existed for: fighting humanity's wars. So, while the other Kansen around him began developing their personalities and their personal human interests in the new bodies they had been granted, he could be considered a late bloomer. It wasn't until he was basically forced to team up with Emperor and the others that he began to learn how to actually behave like a socially functioning person. During that time, his new brothers had begun replacing his old family in his heart, and now that the circumstances were forcing him to face his past, he was starting to see all the mistakes he had made along the way.
Sometimes he wondered how someone like him had managed to end up with someone like August… Well, admittedly, she had come onto him so strongly the first time that he had inevitably been drawn to her like a moth to a flame. She had managed to charm him with her sheer intensity, almost as if she had cast a spell on him.
"Scheisse," he muttered as he brought his hand up to knead his temples. He hadn't told his lover about it yet. He had been too scared to broach the subject.
It wouldn't be the first time they went their separate ways and went without seeing each other for a while, but this time, it wasn't like the others. This time they would be worlds apart, quite literally. There was the concrete risk that, if things went wrong, he'd never see her again. Not just her, but the other shipboys as well; their group would be split apart into different worlds, and with the low frequency of the planetary alignments, they'd be separated forever.
His shoulders sagged as he let out another heavy breath. August was probably waiting for him; it wouldn't do to leave her hanging too long. He had to tell her everything—both about his real brothers and the risks of going back to his world.
There was no putting off anymore.
As he approached the door to his lover's lodging, he noticed something. There was no light coming through the gap beneath the door.
That was strange; she was awake when he had left for the meeting. He figured she'd want to be informed of the news and that she'd wait for him awake. He decided to knock lightly on the door so as not to wake her if she was asleep. When he received the go-ahead, he raised a confused eyebrow. So she was awake.
He gently opened the door to the dark room and turned on the lights.
"Meine Liebe-" his words died in his throat, and his jaw went slack.
August was sitting on her queen-sized bed, leaning back with her arms to support herself while looking back at him with a sultry look. What caught his attention the most, though, was what she was wearing. She had long, white stockings over her thighs and a black and white frilly halter dress covered in black ribbons and stripes that sensually hugged her curves while leaving her shoulders and back bare. Her long, dark hair was sprawled around her over the bed, and her legs were resting sideways, showing off her rump for him to admire.
He just stood there, his brain failing to process the image of his lover wearing that skimpy maid outfit.
August's lips quirked up in a small smirk as he ate her up with his eyes.
"You flatter me, darling," she said, more than satisfied with his reaction.
"August, what…" he trailed off, unable to find his words. "Where did you get that?" He asked her as he closed the door behind him, unable to take his eyes off her.
"Before leaving Brest, I asked the Royal Maids to lend me one of their attires," she explained. "How do I look… 'Master?'" She asked him with a sultry tone.
What was he supposed to say to that?
Ryan was walking purposefully through the harbor, heading toward the back of the base, where there was a path that led to a clearing in the middle of the island. He was walking on foot, seeing how, aside from those used for maintenance, there were no vehicles on base.
He figured that was something he'd have to address eventually.
As he approached the location and the clearing came into view, his gaze wandered around the makeshift, open-air lab.
Yuubari and Admiral Hipper were on the far side, toiling away at some elaborate contraption he had no idea what its use was. TB could be seen working at what looked like a main console of sorts, from which many of the thick cables and bundles of wires spreading all over the place originated. Lastly, Akashi was scampering back and forth between the console and the equipment, checking for anything out of place. All around, a bunch of bulins were assisting them or running around doing their own things.
Those four had been tirelessly working on the portal's hardware since before Tower's emergency, and Ryan had been regularly checking on their progress between one break and another.
The device, for now, was just a large square slab of metal, around thirty feet on each side, and it was still in the making. Ryan could clearly see the empty spots where the stuff the shipgirls were putting together were supposed to go.
All thanks to the raw materials they had found inside the old Siren base, which the Antiochus now called their new home. Unfortunately, even that hadn't been enough to complete it since the Sirens had emptied the stocks in their attempt at completing Tower's rigging, leaving behind only the scraps.
According to TB, the portal in its completed form was supposed to be similar to the one she and Akashi had built in the repair ship's workshop for the timeline travel. Only, instead of the roughly put-together patchwork of steel and cables that was the hardware of the first portal, this one looked slicker and more polished in appearance, and most notably, it was much bigger.
Which was why they needed the remains Jean Bart was transporting to finish it.
"Hey, everyone!" He called out once he got into earshot. "How's the portal coming along?"
The three shipgirls perked up at his voice. They stopped what they were doing and approached him as he walked over to the main console, where TB was standing.
"Everything's going smoothly, Commander," she told him. "Actually, we are ahead of schedule. It should be done way before the deadline."
"Phew, I'm glad to hear that," Ryan nodded to her with a smile. TB was slowly getting more accustomed to human interaction. Even her vocabulary had slowly become less strict and more relaxed. Was it a consequence of her being a full-fledged Antiochus and not just a simple AI? Was it the same thing that would have happened to Purifier and the others if they hadn't taken the path of world genocide?
Ryan pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. Those were questions for another time. He had news to break, and the four of them weren't going to like it.
"Speaking of, how long before the materials arrive?" Hipper asked him. "We need them if we want to complete the structure in time."
Ryan's eyes darted around as he let out a sheepish laugh, scratching the back of his head.
"Nya, is something wrong, Shikikan?" Akashi inquired at his hesitation.
"Bad news regarding the Sirens?" Yuubari asked him in concern.
"No, no, not this time; but I still don't think you are going to like it," he reassured them as he prepared to tell them the news. "So… there has been a change of plans. The portal will have to be installed elsewhere. We'll have to dismantle everything and bring it to the Sanctuary."
As soon as the words left his mouth, an incredulous screech coming from Hipper and Akashi resounded in the air.
"WHAT?!" They bellowed as TB and Yuubari shared an equally surprised glance.
"Shikikan, are you crazy, nya?!"
"I know it's unreasonable to ask you this, but there's a reason-"
"Whatever it is, you can't just change your mind all of a sudden!" Hipper balked. "You should know better than anyone else how hard we've been working on this thing!"
"Hear me out, please. Shinano's been very insistent about this."
Yuubari perked up at his words. "Shinano-sama? So it was her idea?"
"What did she say, nya?" Akashi asked.
"She didn't say much, actually," Ryan replied. "She just called out of nowhere and said it's imperative the portal be made at the Sanctuary. No explanation, no space for objections, nothing."
Akashi and Yuubari shared a glance of confusion.
"Could this be one of her dreams, nya?"
"It appears so," Yuubari mused. "If that's the case..."
"Wait a second, you two!" Hipper interjected. "Don't tell me you are going to give in so easily!"
"Hipper-san, Shinano-sama has never been so adamant about following her instructions before," Yuubari told her. "We should do as she says."
"I have no objection," TB spoke up. "We are ahead of schedule, and there's nothing indicating that the location can hinder the final result. Besides, there's no need to disassemble the entire thing."
"It's true," Ryan said. "Jean Bart is on her way. As soon as she arrives with the cargo, we'll load everything up on her vessel and then head straight for the Sakura Empire. You'll have to complete the assemblage there. I also talked with Nagato; she said she'd arrange everything."
Hipper grumbled under her breath. "Urgh, fine! But don't expect us to do it a second time if you change your mind again at the last second!" She said, pointing an accusatory finger at him.
Ryan let out a sheepish laugh as the Iron Blood cruiser relented and the group went back to work.
"Ahn... Ah... Mnh... Master~" August moaned in pleasure as Leviathan drove into her from behind, her breath leaving her lungs with every single one of her lover's thrusts. "So rough… So intense… Aaah!"
She was on her bed, leaning forward on her knees, her face flushed, her hair disheveled, and her maid outfit a crumpled mess as it hung loosely over her perfect body. Her wrists were bound together in front of her with the very same black stripes she was wearing. The bindings were secured to the sturdy frame of the canopy of the bed above their heads and were the only way at her disposal to support herself against his powerful ramming.
Behind her, Leviathan was gripping her waist with his hands, sinking his fingers into her supple flesh while slamming their hips together with reckless abandon. The sheer intensity with which he was taking her was making the bed creak and squeak in protest so hard under their forceful rutting there was the risk it could come undone at any moment.
But that wasn't going to be a problem; they had been going at it for a while now. The current one was only the last of the many positions in which he had taken her that night, and he wasn't going to hold out much longer. Good thing August's personal quarters were soundproof; otherwise, they'd have awakened the entire base by now.
One last climax shook her body as a high-pitched shrill escaped her lips. Soon after, he also reached his peak, moaning loudly into her ear as he embraced her from behind, spending himself inside of her for the last time that night.
Her body went limp into his arm as he held her. Panting in exertion, he waited a few seconds to recover before moving to unbind her wrists. Then the two of them collapsed onto the messy mattress, their hips still joined together as he spooned her from behind.
"I take it... you've enjoyed your surprise... darling," August breathed out, turning slightly to glance back at him. "Although… I wasn't expecting you to be so desperate to bed a maid... I take it that was some hidden fantasy of yours?"
"Heh… Not exactly. I was just... taken aback by how good you look in this outfit," he said, hugging her closer to him, his hand wandering over her body, feeling the fabric of the dress. "Which is now ruined because of me. Sorry about that."
"No matter. It served its purpose," she reassured him. "I can always ask someone in the Royal Navy to send me a new one. Or I could have one tailor-made for me; maybe something even more... daring," she added sultrily.
"I wouldn't mind that at all," he told her. "But why stop at the maid outfits? We can try something else entirely."
"Getting greedy, are we, darling?" She chuckled. "But you are right, there's so much more we could explore, and we have all the time we need for that," she said as she nuzzled into his embrace.
Leviathan's heart dropped in his stomach. He cursed himself and his libido. He had been so caught up in their passionate lovemaking that he had completely forgotten about the whole matter of the portal.
Taking in a deep breath to steady himself, he gently stroked her hair to draw her attention.
"August…"
"Yes, darling?"
"We need to talk."
Jean Bart was standing on the deck of her hovering vessel, carefully maneuvering it back into the water. They had just crossed the Panama Canal, her escort of fellow shipgirls having recalled their vessels and climbed onboard hers for the maneuvers.
While the canal was wide enough to allow her new vessel to comfortably sail through it without problems, the lock chambers that regulated the flow of ships between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans were much too small to fit through. So, at least for the entrance and the exit, she had been forced to take flight and leap over.
But then why not simply fly over its entire length, or skip it altogether by going over the inland, one might ask? Well, they were already drawing enough attention as they were, what with her ship's images having made it around the world on every possible piece of media; there was no need to scare the residents to death by flying a ship over their heads.
Besides, she was tired. She had kept her ship in hovering mode for most of the journey, all to avoid any unpleasant encounters with the Sirens. After all, she had a cargo to mind; the few remains of Tower's rigging that they had been able to retrieve had been fastened to her deck, covered in tarpaulins, waiting to be unloaded at the joint base.
Normally, Kansen never got this tired by simply willing their vessel to sail through the sea, so why flying her ship would be so different? That had been her thought when they had departed. After all, when she had taken her first flight during the emergency with Tower, she hadn't gotten the blowback she was experiencing now. But she had failed to take into account that the reason might be because, at the time, the route had been much shorter than this.
She shook her head internally. She'd just have to get used to it, just like Anzeel had said to her. It wasn't going to be easy, but it would be worth it.
As for now, though, she was just glad that the toughest leg of the journey was done. She let out a long sigh of relief as her hull touched the water, the suspension system shutting down, taking a huge weight off her mind. As she willed the ship onward over the waves, she felt steps approaching her from the side.
"Nice work, Jean Bart," Massachusetts told her. "I checked the cargo; it's still holding together."
"That's good, but it would have saved us a lot of trouble if you'd just been able to teleport it back to the joint base," the pirate woman said. Her tone wasn't exactly accusatory; she had no reason to resent the other battleship for that. It was just an offhand, quippy comment she made off the top of her mind.
"Too big; wasn't gonna happen," Massachusetts retorted. She didn't seem to care either, as she took Jean Bart's comment in stride. "Also, I've informed the Commander of our progress. He said he'd send word to a patrol fleet to escort us back."
"Bet your boyfriend's coming too, uh?"
"I wouldn't mind that," Massachusetts replied. "Would you?"
"Not at all," Jean Bart shrugged, then her expression turned serious. "As long as you two don't decide to get busy inside one of my cabins."
"Why would we?"
"I don't know. Try asking Emperor and Hermione. See if they have an answer to that," she replied with a bit of annoyance in her tone.
"Oh, right, Freedom told me about that," Massachusetts said, a hint of mirth in her voice. "Did it turn you on?"
That question was so unexpected that Jean Bart almost choked on her spit.
"What the hell kind of question is even that?!" She sputtered, her face flushing.
"I'm just curious," Massachusetts shrugged, unfazed. "I've never had someone do it inside of me."
"For the love of... Watch how you phrase that!" Jean Bart facepalmed. "And no, it most certainly did not!"
An uncharacteristically snarky grin came to adorn Massachusetts' face, to the sight of which Jean Bart quickly eased up, letting out a relieved scoff after realizing the other shipgirl's intention.
"Oi, Massachusetts, aren't you getting a little too chummy here?" Jean Bart told her, matching her smirk. "Don't forget we still have a score to settle, you and I."
Massachusetts perked up at that. She wasn't expecting her to still remember that. She figured Jean Bart had forgotten, with everything she had been through.
"I haven't forgotten. I've actually been looking forward to that," she said proudly.
"You were looking forward to such an unfair match? Have you seen my vessel, or did you miss it?" Jean Bart said with a cocky grin, tapping her foot for emphasis. "You are too outmatched this time. It wouldn't even be a challenge."
"It doesn't matter. I can't summon my vessel anymore, anyway," Massachusetts informed her. "We could always have a fistfight if you are down to it. Don't worry, I won't use my power. You might stand a chance like that," she added, now matching the other woman's competitive spirit.
"Well, well, look who's learned to trash talk," Jean Bart retorted, her grin widening. "As soon as this story is over, we are going at it. Make sure you don't back out at the last minute."
That took Massachusetts by surprise.
"Oh, you mean..." she trailed off as she pondered her words. "I don't know about that; I'll have to ask Freedom."
"Uh? What are you talking about?" Asked a confused Jean Bart.
"I mean, that would be like cheating; I feel like I should talk to him."
"Again, what the hell are you on about…?" The Vichya shipgirl trailed off as she tried to figure out where she had lost track of the conversation.
Then realization hit her like a truck. Her eyes widened, and her face flushed a dark shade of red, perfectly matching her outfit.
"Oh, God, Massachusetts, no! That's not what I meant at all!" She sputtered, scrambling to clear up the misunderstanding. "And why were you even considering that?!"
Massachusetts titled her head in confusion. She was back to her oblivious self. "But I thought you meant-"
"I know what you thought I meant! It's a misunderstanding!" Jean Bart retorted. "Goddammit, finding a boyfriend must have fried your brain even more."
"Oh," Massachusetts looked down at her feet, realizing her own blunder. "So, a threesome with him is also out of the question?"
Jean Bart gawked at her in disbelief. The irony of being on the receiving end of the same kind of teasing she'd subjected her own sister to a few days before wasn't lost on her. What goes around comes around, uh? The difference was that this time she couldn't tell if Massachusetts was being serious or not.
"How could you possibly think that-"
"A what now?" Another voice startled the Vichya shipgirls out of her rant. She turned in a flash to notice the aforementioned shipboy hovering in the air a few feet away from them, waving down at them in greeting. She had been so caught in the argument that she hadn't noticed him approaching, the strong wind and the lapping of the waves against her hull covering his wings' whirring noise.
"Freedom, you are here," Massachusetts happily waved back at him. "We were just talking about-"
"Nothing important!" Jean Bart cut her off.
"But I'm pretty sure I heard something about a-"
"NOTHING IMPORTANT!"
And with that, the matter was dropped for good.
AN: Ah shit, another threesome to add to the list…
Also, here's a little reminder of the inspiration behind Leviathan's character, all the way back from chapter three's author notes:
The Vaterland (the German word for Fatherland) was an Imperator-class German transatlantic ocean liner, the second of three ships, the others two were the Imperator and the Bismarck. All of them were handed over to the Americans after WWI; the Bismarck became the Majestic, the Vaterland became the Leviathan, and the Imperator maintained its name. In the shipboys' timeline, the three were not built as ocean liners but as battleships, never ended up in the hands of the Americans and maintained their original names… except the Vaterland. I could have left the name unchanged but in that case, the nickname would have been "Vater" which is too similar to toilet for my liking, and because I think that Leviathan sounds cooler.
This also means that the Bismarck in their timeline is not the Bismarck we all know; since there was already a battleship with that name in their world the real Bismarck never existed and Operation Rheinübung never happened. In their world, Imperator is in charge of the Kriegsmarine and Leviathan and Bismarck are his younger brothers.
Next Chapter: ARC