Hello again everyone! Welcome back for another chapter and hope you all have been doing well since the last upddate! Have been able to get some more writing done with the most recent round of time off I've had so hopefully should have some more chapters coming down the pipe soon. As for this chapter, we'll find out what David and Zuikaku's dreams have meant and what it will mean for them! Enjoy!
InfantryGrunt94
Later that night, deep in a secluded temple in the Sakura Empire…
A Kitsune woman with long white hair and wearing a blue kimono opened her eyes and sat upright in her futon. The full moon greeted her in return, and she knew it was finally time.
"The two pieces are finally together….it is time to tell them." Said Shinano as she laid back down and entered the dream world once again.
Dreamworld, same time that night.
David opened his eyes to find himself in a dream world once again, but this time it looked like a sea of stars, and he found he was standing on the ocean dressed in his flight suit.
He looked around confused before he heard his name.
"David?" Zuikaku asked in confusion and wonder.
David quickly turned his head to see his lover race towards him.
"Z?! W-Were dreaming right?!" he said confused.
"Hai, that's what I think at least. This place couldn't be anything else right?" she said equally confused.
"Do not be alarmed young ones, there is nothing to fear here." Said a voice from behind them.
Both David and Zuikaku jumped and turned to see a Kitsune woman with flowing white hair and nine tails dressed in a white and blue kimono complete with white thigh highs and wooden sandals descending to the sea in front of them.
"Who are you?" David asked.
"This one's name is Shinano, a Sakura Empire carrier." She replied.
David and Zuikaku both tensed as they feared this may be an attack sourced from Akagi.
Shinano sensed this and eased their fears.
"I am not here to harm you, but to help you." She said.
David and Zuikaku both still were hesitant to believe her.
"I understand your concerns young ones, but I bring to you tonight the reason and result of the many dreams you both have had." Shinano said in response.
David and Zuikaku both now were wide eyed.
"What do mean?" Zuikaku asked.
"You both are two pieces of a single key to ending the bloodshed. One from each faction of a great war that was fought before. One of you from that time, and another from the present. Now that you both have met, you can come together to form that key. And together, you can stop the events of the Great Pacific War from happening again and claiming the lives of so many more." Shinano said before showing them what looked like a blueprint that was designed to separate into two pieces.
One was then given to David and the other to Zuikaku.
"Only together can your truly harness your powers, and only together can you accomplish what has been set before you." Shinano said gesturing to the pair to put the pieces together.
As David and Zuikaku placed their pieces together, they were stunned to see the blueprint was of the highly modified F-14 Tomcat and modernized version of Zuikaku's hull.
Additionally, there were schematics of other less modern planes such as the F-4 Phantom, A-4 Skyhawk, and A-6 Intruder and what looked like instructions on how to summon all.
The two then looked once again to Shinano.
"All will be shown to you both in due time. I will be watching over you both, and I bid you fair winds and following seas!" she said before a pair of wisdom cubes became visible over both David and Zuikaku.
The two then spiraled around each other slowly at first then faster and faster until finally they collided and gave off a brilliant flash of light blinding all present…
Next Morning, Azur Lane Base. 0600 hrs
David awoke with a start in his dorm room panting heavily.
"Holy shit…." He breathed before realizing he had something in his hand...the same blueprint from his dream.
Realizing this was no coincidence, he quickly threw on his flight suit and boots and bolted out the door headed for the carrier dorms in search of Zuikaku.
She was quick to find David as she had similar ideas, and she too clutched a blueprint half in her hand.
"David-san!" Zuikaku called upon seeing him.
"Z!" David responded showing her his similar blueprint.
When the two finally made it to the other both took a moment to catch their breath.
"Shinano….have you ever heard of her?" David asked Zuikaku.
"Only in rumors. Nagato-san always said she was supposed to be a key to the Sakura Empire's victory, but no one ever saw her. I can only imagine that may be why Akagi-senpai went to the Sirens for the Orochi." Zuikaku said.
"But this…." Zuikaku said looking at her half of the blueprint.
"…..this changes everything." David said in response as the two pieced the two halves together again noting the designs and instructions.
It then glowed a blue hue similar to a wisdom cube and both knew exactly what they needed to do.
"Akashi." They both said in unison.
Several minutes later the Kansen and pilot duo found themselves in the research hangar that Akashi called home accompanied by Vestal and Admiral Brubaker.
All were examining the blueprints closely after David and Zuikaku had explained the dream they had both shared.
"If this Shinano, or the 'Dreamer' as she was referred to is everything she's rumored to be, can we actually expect this to work or is this another trick to try and sabotage us?" Brubaker asked the cat-eared girl.
"Akashi's never actually seen her nya, but every 'prophesy' she's had has come true, so Akashi would say it's all true Admiral-nya." Akashi said.
"These blueprints check out as well sir. Though I've never seen anything like it, in theory at least, I believe it would be similar to a modernization for Zuikaku, but for David…." She trailed off.
"What about for me?" David asked.
"Well, according to these instructions, a wisdom cube would be implanted into both you and Zuikaku." Vestal said.
David's eyes went wide.
"Has this ever been done on a human?" he asked.
"There were experiments Commander, but all ended fatally for the test subject…." Brubaker said.
Zuikaku looked at David worriedly.
"Dave-san, I don't want to endanger you again." She said flatly.
David took her hand in response.
"I know you don't Z, but this can't be coincidence can it? I know the risks, but I'm willing to at least try. Admiral?" David turned to Brubaker.
"I'd like your permission to proceed with this experiment of sorts. If this works we could gain the upper hand and bring the war to an end." David said.
Brubaker rubbed his temples before turning back to David.
"Commander, you understand if this fails your life could likely end. Are you prepared for that?" Brubaker said.
"Yes sir, it's a risk I'm willing to take." David said.
Brubaker nodded.
"Very well then. Akashi, Vestal, you may proceed with the blueprint's instructions." He said.
Akashi and Vestal then instructed David and Zuikaku to stand on a platform with two wisdom cubes placed at their feet.
The two repair ships then stood behind a control pedestal.
"Well begin the procedure now. Are you both ready?" Vestal asked.
David and Zuikaku both nodded as they grasped each other's hands.
Akashi then hit a button on the panel that was normally intended to energize the cubes for summoning, and the two cubes at David and Zuikaku's feet began to spin around them like they had before in the dream.
As the cubes spun faster David and Zuikaku were both lifted into the air along with them.
Both felt enormous energy coursing through their bodies, and then a giant flash blinded all present.
When all finally came to their senses again, David felt strange.
He remembered feeling a wisdom cube enter his chest, but it felt as if it had given him energy and made him stronger.
He felt his senses had been heightened, such as his vision was now sharper, he could hear more clearly than before, and he also felt physically stronger.
He then looked at Zuikaku.
She too looked stronger, and her attire had also changed.
Instead of her red dress and white crane wing coat, she now wore a pair of denim shorts, a red tank top, an unzipped white hoodie that had black crane wings painted on the back, calf length black socks, and red Converse high tops.
The most astonishing thing however was that her katana was now strapped to her back and her rigging had the appearance of a 1980's super carrier.
However, behind them was the most shocking thing of all: An F-14 Tomcat painted in the colors that resembled Zuikaku's A6M5 Zeros complete with the red rising sun emblems and the Chrysanthemum emblazoned on the forward part on the fuselage.
All this was topped off by a four leaf clover emblazoned on the nose of the aircraft to denote Zuikaku's superior luck she'd been fortunate enough to have in combat, and a giant white crane painted on the top of the aircraft with its wings positioned in such a way that they would spread as the wings swept forward.
Finally, as David and Zuikaku were able to fully take in what had become of them, they both smiled in realization that the blueprint had worked and Shinano had truly meant to help them.
Both embraced before looking at the F-14.
"It's the same as the dream David-san…." Zuikaku said in wonder.
"Sure is, I wonder what it can do?" he thought.
"This is impossible! An F-14!? Why would it have manifested a fighter that was retired years ago!?" Brubaker asked in astonishment.
"Well, I have a theory." Vestal said.
All looked to the Kansen dressed as a nun.
"It's said that we Kansen are a manifestation of the hopes and dreams of you humans, and as such, perhaps Commander Parsons had hopes and dreams of being an F-14 pilot at one point?" Vestal offered.
"That and perhaps the rigging is what Zuikaku-san would have had if she'd survived the war-nya?" Akashi offered as well.
"It could also be a way of 'meeting in the middle' if you would. David was born into the modern world and Zuikaku is a product of the old world. Perhaps the 1980's technology and aircraft is the middle ground?" Vestal offered again.
David and Zuikaku, even though just as confused, decided it was better to simply accept the situation as it was.
"Well, whatever it is, it worked and that should mean we have the edge now." David said.
He then went to observe the Tomcat and upon looking inside its cockpit he noticed that instead of the round dials that would have been inside of the older Tomcats, this boasted glass panels and more advanced avionics than even his F-18 had.
He shook his head in wonder and Zuikaku for her part was just as perplexed with the rear cockpit.
Somehow though, both seemed to know exactly where everything was and what they would need to do to operate the fighter.
"Commander?" Brubaker approached David.
"I assume you and Zuikaku will know how to operate this plane correctly?" he asked.
"Yes sir, I believe we'll need a few flights to figure it out but I think we'll be ready to go in no time!" he said excitedly.
It took a few minutes for both David and Zuikaku, assisted by Vestal and Akashi, to work out specific details of the fighter and Zuikaku's new rigging, but it was soon discovered that Zuikaku, thanks to her new rigging had access to newer and more modern aircraft that she would be able to control remotely from the back seat of the F-14 or from her rigging.
It was clear however that the most good would be done with David and Zuikaku working together in the F-14 and providing the high speed and high altitude support for the Kansen on the surface.
With all this new information and abilities in mind, David and Zuikaku could think of only one thing: test flying their new fighter!
Unfortunately for both David and Zuikaku that test flight would have to wait.
While both David and Zuikaku both felt confident in their abilities to fly the jet, Brubaker wasn't taking any chances.
On his command, both had gone before both Vestal and the flight surgeon to ensure both were ready for flight in addition to recurrent egress and water survival training to ensure both could survive an unexpected bail out.
It had taken approximately a week, but both pilot and Kansen emerged with clean bills of health and marked as "Fully Qualified" by both Vestal and flight surgeon.
It was during the last day of these checkouts that David and Zuikaku were leaving the Ops building when they were stopped and cornered by a very irate Hamman and Northampton.
The cat-eared destroyer then proceeded to storm straight up to David and grabbed him by the front of his flight suit.
"Just what the HELL did you do to Big Sis Hornet!? She was locked up in her room for the past several days, and the first thing she manages to say was YOUR NAME!" Hamman yelled accusingly.
David was just about to reply, but his girlfriend was quicker.
"LET GO OF HIM!" Zuikaku threatened.
Hamman, now confronted with Zuikaku turned her attention to the Crane girl.
"Screw you Bird Brain, this is all your fault!" she replied in defiance.
"Hamman is right, if it wasn't for you, David wouldn't have broken her heart the way he did!" Northampton said chiming in.
"You hurt her back then, and you're trying to do the same thing now! We won't let you!" Hamman said summoning her rigging.
Zuikaku placed her hand on her sword but was stopped by David who cried, "THAT'S ENOUGH, ALL OF YOU!"
All present froze.
"Goddammit, this is what I was trying to avoid!" he swore before rubbing his face.
"Listen up, we're all on the same side here, like it or not, so everybody stow those weapons before somebody gets hurt." He commanded calmly.
Zuikaku reluctantly moved her hand away from her sword and Hamman deactivated her rigging.
"Now, if we can all just calm down for a minute, I can explain what happened." David said after letting out a deep breath.
"It is true that Hornet confessed her feelings to me, and I turned her down. But she asked me for an honest answer, and I gave her one. I still hate what happened because she's one of my closest friends and I never wanted to hurt her. But pretending to feel something I didn't wouldn't have been fair to her, or to anyone else…" David said looking at Zuikaku.
Northampton, who had been quiet until now, then spoke up.
"And what about you Zuikaku, did you have any intention of hurting Hornet?" she asked accusingly.
Zuikaku shook her head.
"No, that was never my intention! I'm in love with Dave-san just like she is, and I only wanted him to choose who he wanted." Zuikaku replied.
"Yeah? And what if he had chosen Hornet instead? Would you have gone quietly?" Northampton pressed.
That question made Zuikaku's chest hurt at the thought of her lover choosing another over her.
But she knew despite her pride as a warrior she would have made the hardest choice if it were for David.
"Although it would have been extremely painful to do so, I would have…..but I admit I would likely be where Hornet-san is now if that had happened…" Zuikaku trailed off before she felt her hand being taken by David.
"Well that's not what happened." He said smiling weakly at Zuikaku.
"And as for Hornet, I fully intend to accept whatever consequences my choices have made. She's still one of my closest friends and I don't want to lose her over this." David finished.
Both Hamman and Northampton seemed to be at a loss for words, but finally Hamman spoke up again.
"Fine, but I still don't like this or either of you!" she said pointedly before she was cornered by none other than Yorktown with Hornet in tow.
"B-Big sis Yorktow-" she began before she was cutoff.
"Hamman! Shame on you for treating both David and Zuikaku that way! At what point did you think that was going to help Hornet?" Yorktown asked.
Hamman fidgeted and stuttered, "B-B-But Dave, he…and her…they…"
"No buts about it Hamman! Your behavior was rude, inexcusable, and completely uncalled for! Now you apologize." Yorktown spoke again.
Hamman groaned and turned towards the pilot and Crane girl.
"S-Sorry…." She managed to say.
Yorktown nodded.
"Now then, I'd appreciate it if you and Northampton would allow me and Hornet to speak with Commander Parsons and Zuikaku in private." She said.
Both the destroyer and heavy cruiser in question obediently left, but David and Zuikaku braced themselves for another tongue lashing from an even scarier foe: an angry older sister!
Before David or Zuikaku could speak however, Yorktown began.
"I've of course been made aware of the situation David, and I've also spent the past several days with a very upset younger sister of mine." She said before gesturing to Hornet.
David's heart sank as he looked at Hornet.
It was clear that she had been a prisoner to her dorm room for several days and her eyes were still red and puffy from crying.
She kept her face hidden by her hat and avoided eye contact with both David and Zuikaku.
"I was deeply troubled of course when I learned what the circumstances were surrounding my sister's heartbrokenness, but we also spent some time discussing things and we both agreed on the same thing." Yorktown said.
"And what was that?" David asked.
His answer was a sob from Hornet before she finally spoke.
"T-That…." She wiped her eyes before continuing.
"That if this is your choice Dave….I'll respect it…." She said before looking away once more.
Both David and Zuikaku felt pain as they looked at the poor girl.
Zuikaku for her part realized now just how hurt she was and thought back to her and Hornet's last encounter at Santa Cruz.
She admitted she felt immense guilt rising in her, and now knew why Hamman and Northampton had attacked her and David earlier.
"Hornet-san?" Zuikaku began.
The girl in question looked angrily towards the Crane girl.
"I'm….truly sorry about all of this….I never intended for anyone to get hurt because of this." She said apologetically.
Hornet scoffed but was rebuked by Yorktown.
"Hornet, remember what we decided?" she said.
Hornet reluctantly nodded.
David finally spoke again.
"Thank you both for supporting us in this. And…Hornet…if it's ok….can I talk to you a moment privately?" he asked.
Zuikaku looked at David expectantly before he explained, "She's still my friend Z, and I don't want any bad blood between us."
Zuikaku for her part nodded.
"I understand Dave-san, but don't forget," she stopped before planting a kiss on his lips," You're my Shikkikan!" she said with a wink.
David smiled back.
"Come on then Zuikaku, I'd like to chat with you a moment as well. I heard you had quite a nice conversation with Enterprise." Yorktown gestured to the Crane girl.
As David was left alone with Hornet, he searched for the words to begin.
He didn't know what to do other than speak from the heart, so he did just that.
"Hornet…I'm….I'm so sorry….." he began.
Hornet for her part simply sobbed and looked away again.
David frowned and tried again.
"I mean it when I say I never wanted to hurt you Hornet. You truly are one of my closest friends, and because of that, when you asked me for an honest answer to your feelings…..I wanted you to know exactly where my heart was and still is…" David said.
Hornet finally looked up and met David's gaze.
"I know Dave, and I've been trying my hardest to accept that the past few days…" she began.
"But I've had these feelings for you for a while ya know, so it's not like I can just make them disappear overnight…" she finished her sentence with a fresh tear falling from her eye.
David understood and simply went forward and embraced his friend.
"I know Hornet, and no one expects you to. But I want you know that even if it's not romantically, I still love you as a friend and always will." David said.
Hornet could do no more than bury her face into David's shoulder and silently weep.
"I-I'll still love you too Dave….even if it's not romantically…." She replied through a sob.
Both then released their grips on one another and smiled weakly.
"I guess it's a little late, but congrats on your promotion Commander." Hornet said jokingly.
David smiled in response.
"Thanks Hornet, that means a lot from you." He replied.
Yorktown and Zuikaku then rejoined the group.
"Well, it seems you two have worked things out a bit?" Yorktown asked.
Both nodded.
"It won't be an overnight thing sis, but I'll manage." Hornet replied before turning to Zuikaku.
"Hey Crane girl." She started.
Zuikaku cocked an eyebrow.
"You make me a promise here and now to take care of Dave no matter what. He chose you, so you better make sure he always stays safe you hear?" she said.
Zuikaku smiled and nodded in response.
"I've already sworn myself to Dave-san for the rest of my life." She began.
"And as long as there is someone I want to protect I won't fear the strongest of enemies or the sting of defeat. No matter how many times I am knocked down, I will always persevere and claw my way back up. No matter what happens, I will always protect David-san!" Zuikaku said passionately.
Both Eagle Union women were taken aback at Zuikaku's boldness, but David couldn't help but smile.
"Well hehe….that wasn't the response I was expectin' but I guess that works!" Hornet said with a laugh.
Zuikaku nodded and smiled in response.
"Thank you Hornet-san and….I know we haven't had the best past together either, but we are comrades now against the Sirens. I hope that we can work together now as sisters-in-arms." She said.
Hornet smiled weakly before replying, "Thanks Crane girl, but I think I can manage on my own. Just take care of Dave, and that's good enough for me." She replied.
Both nodded as Hornet and Yorktown took their leave.
Finally with the couple left alone, David embraced Zuikaku.
"I know that was a lot Z, but thank you sticking up for me." He said.
Zuikaku smiled in response.
"Of course Dave-san. You haven't forgotten our promise, have you?" she said.
"Never." David said before kissing his lover.
"I love you Z." he said warmly.
Zuikaku blushed deep red before replying, "I love you too Dave"
Both kissed again before releasing their grip on each other to resume their day.
It was then that David received a text on his phone from Admiral Brubaker.
Test flight for F-14 scheduled for tomorrow morning at 0800. Meet in briefing room at 1400 today to discuss test flight plan.
Both David and Zuikaku smiled wide as they were about to finally get the reward they had been working toward.
With that they made their way to the Admiral's office to discuss the specifics of the test flight.
Chapter 9 done! Hope you guys enjoyed how I tied things together not only with the dreams but also with Hornet as well. She's actually one of my favorites in-game as well and I didn't want that rejection to be the end of her part in this story. Moving on from that, David and Zuikaku finally have their key to ending the war, and I'm sure you all can guess where this is going! Stay tuned, and as always, blue skies and tailwinds!