"Commander, we are almost there," Cleveland reported to Ryan, their destination now perfectly visible with the naked eye. The man was standing a few feet away from her, inside the command center of her ship.
"Got it, Cleveland," the Commander replied, a feeling of déjà vu hitting him for a second as he reached for the other members of the fleet with the ship's radio. "Everyone, get into formation like planned."
A loud chorus of acknowledgement answered him, his ear ringing at the almost deafening screech of voices coming from the radio, forcing him to back away from the receiver, wincing in discomfort.
Cleveland cackled at his predicament, but instead of reproaching her, Ryan rolled his eyes with a smile. "Yeah, yeah, very funny, Cleve. Do me a favor and lower the gangplank for me when we get there. I'd like to avoid a princess carry in front of so many important guests."
"Roger that, Commander."
After a few minutes, the Cleveland came to a stop right next to their destination—the run-down oil rig where they installed the ASD prototype. That's where they decided the exchange would take place. It hadn't been that long, but to Ryan, it felt like an eternity after everything that happened in between.
As the Commander carefully climbed the rusty and creaking stairs to the main platform, Cleveland recalled her vessel before following behind him. After climbing for around seventy feet, they reached the top and waited a few more minutes for the others to arrive.
As expected, the first was Freedom. The shipboy landed on the rig right next to them before dismissing his wings.
"Do you have it?" He asked the Commander.
"Right here," Cleveland answered in his place, waving a small box case in her hand before opening it to reveal their bargaining chip. Purifier's Cube was glowing with a dim purple light, the energy sustaining it almost on the verge of running out after so long without a vessel.
Freedom took it from the case and stuffed it in his pocket without much ceremony. At that moment South Dakota, Belfast, and Shoukaku showed up from the stairs.
"Master, everyone has taken position. They are all on standby," Belfast reported.
"Good. Any sign of our quarry around?"
"Our planes have detected no sign of Siren activity in the surroundings, Shikikan," Shoukaku answered after spacing out for a few seconds, checking on her and the other carriers' planes they sent to scout ahead. "It's as if their presence in these waters had been completely erased."
They hadn't met a single alien vessel since they set sail that morning at dawn. The short journey had been so peaceful and quiet that it was weird, almost unsettling, and it kept them on edge the entire way until they reached the agreed location.
"What are the chances that they've cleared the way for us on purpose as a sign of good will?" Freedom quipped, not entirely convinced of his own words.
"Close to zero," South Dakota replied with a frown. "They are probably trying to get us to lower our guard."
In a normal situation, retaining hostile behavior during what was essentially a ceasefire, even if temporary, would be frowned upon, but it's the Sirens they're talking about. There was no guarantee that those aliens would accept their terms and go through the exchange without trying something. To be honest, it was a lot more plausible that they'd try to attack them and take the Cube by force, and knowing how unpredictable they could be, Ryan wouldn't put it past them.
And that's why they came prepared.
While Richelieu and Elizabeth remained behind, the former to look after her bedridden comrade, the latter because she was still upset at Emperor's attitude during the meeting, everyone else was there for what was essentially the first unofficial talk with their sworn enemies.
Ryan took a deep breath as he stared into the distance. The flagships, their escort, the representatives of each faction, and a fairly large number of the Kansen under his command had taken position around the oil rig at a distance. They were split into several groups, some of them standing guard on the water with their rigging out, others patrolling the surroundings with their hulls. Their duty was to hold their fire and notify him of the appearance of any Elite, but they also had to stay on the lookout and intercept any potentially hostile alien vessel to prevent an ambush while the exchange took place, and they were all ready to intervene in case things went south.
"Master," Belfast said, drawing his attention as she regarded him with a poised look and serious expression. "While the presence of so many of our comrades is reassuring, I must still ask you to reconsider this."
"She's right, Shikikan," Shoukaku added with concern in her tone. "Why don't you leave the talks to Enterprise or one of the flagships? There's no need for you to expose yourself so much."
"Indeed. We'd all be much more at ease knowing you're aboard the safety of one of our comrades' vessels," South Dakota added, and Cleveland nodded her head in agreement. The Eagle Union battleship had become even more scrupulous than she already was with her bodyguard duties after the incident with Empress, and she didn't like the idea of her charge willingly getting so close to danger.
Ryan let out a soft sigh at their words, grateful and flattered by their concern, but he wasn't about to let them guilt-trip him into changing his mind. He remained adamant in his decision.
"Girls, I appreciate your concern, but this isn't something I can just back out of in any way," Ryan responded to their plea. "This may be our first and only chance to talk with an Elite Siren without them trying to kill us, and I intend to make the most of it."
The others seemed ready to protest, but Freedom intervened to assuage their worries with a determined smile.
"Don't worry, ladies. With the five of us here, those Sirens will have to think twice before they can even lay a finger on him."
"That's right. And don't forget that Freedom can always get me out of here in the blink of an eye in case things go south," Ryan pointed out with a reassuring tone. "Don't worry, I'll be all right."
Still not entirely convinced, the shipgirls relented.
As the storm clouds in the distance moved in on their position, slowly obscuring the late afternoon sun, the five of them began scouring around the main platform of the oil rig, looking for a suitable spot to wait for their "guests" to arrive.
"I'm worried about the Kommandant. We don't know what the Sirens are planning, and he's too exposed up there." Z23's concern mirrored that of the Kansen escorting the Commander atop the oil rig.
"Don't worry, Nimi. If things get out of hand, I can just summon my portal and get you all over there in the blink of an eye," Sparviero reassured her.
"Like you did last time?" Ayanami inquired with barely concealed excitement. "That was so cool. I can't wait to do it again."
"What are you guys talking about?" Javelin tilted her head in confusion. She wasn't there during the siege of the base, and she didn't know of the stunt they had come up with to save Freedom and Zuikaku from Observer's clutches.
They were all aboard Laffey's vessel, standing on the bow, on the lookout for possible threats. The destroyer was sound asleep, leaning over Shimakaze's shoulder, her vessel on autopilot as it followed their preplanned route around the oil rig, far enough to give them ample space to maneuver but close enough to keep the platform within the shipboy's range in case of need. Ahead and behind them, they could see the vessels of their comrades doing the same.
Carabiniere was also there, of course, dutifully standing at attention right next to Sparviero, clutching her gun in her hands, clearly on edge. Observer's sneak attack, with which the Sirens had almost managed to kidnap the shipboy right from under her nose, was still fresh in her mind, and she'd be damned if she'd allow it to happen again.
That wasn't the only thing on her mind, though. She nervously glanced at her charge as he conversed with their friends, and she lost herself for a second in the memory of the intimate moment they had shared together.
They hadn't talked much after that. Mostly because bringing it up was too embarrassing, but also because his brothers had kept him to themselves for a while after they returned. She figured it was their way to apologize for leaving him behind.
Because of that, they hadn't had a chance to properly reassess their relationship. Were they dating now? Were they… lovers? Well, almost lovers, since they were interrupted right before it could get to that, much to the destroyer's chagrin. In any case, the thought that they'd have to breach that subject eventually was eating at her from the inside; she didn't know if her heart could take it.
Sensing her uneasiness, Sparviero reached to his side, his fingers brushing her billowing cape before following it around her back and bringing his hand to rest on her side. The sudden contact made her flinch in her place, but after recovering from the surprise, she subtly leaned into it, feeling the apprehension melt away from her.
It took her a few seconds to remember that they weren't alone, as she noticed Ayanami staring at them with the smuggest grin she could muster.
"Hey, you two, don't you have something you want to tell us?" The Sakura destroyer inquired with a tone that spoke volumes.
Sparviero immediately retracted his hand, realizing his own blunder, and Carabiniere's cheeks flushed red as she stuttered out, "W-what do you mean, Ayanami?"
"You've been acting weird lately, and what I just saw confirms it," Ayanami insisted.
"Eh? What are you talking about, Ayanami? Did I miss something?" Javelin had a very confused look on her face as she switched her gaze from her Sakura friend to the pair of Sardinian Kansen.
"Sparviero just grabbed Cara's butt."
The shipboy's legs almost gave out as he stumbled to keep his balance. Ayanami's words left him dumbfounded, but he had to quickly compose himself and clarify the misunderstanding before-
"W-what do you two think you are doing in broad daylight?! We are on a mission, and this kind of behavior is unacceptable!" Z23 all but yelled at him, flushed red with embarrassment.
"Nimi, please, let me explain-"
"That's not good, Sparviero," Javelin interjected with a reproachful tone, shaking her head in disappointment. "That's not how you treat a lady."
"Guys, that's not it!" Carabiniere tried to intervene.
"Wow, so bold..." Shimakaze blushed, bringing her hands to cover her mouth.
"No pervy stuff on this hull..." Laffey warned them after waking up with a large yawn.
The Sardinian couple could only let the others finish their tirade before they tried to clarify the misunderstanding, all under Ayanami's snickering gaze.
Kurama was atop one of the Nagato's turrets, hunching over the balls of his feet as his eyes scanned their surroundings. Kaga was standing behind him with her rigging out, doing the same with her planes, coordinating herself with the other carriers in the fleet.
Below them, on the deck of the ship, Nagato herself was flanked by Musashi and Kawakaze, watching in apprehension as their compatriots and comrades took position at a distance around the oil rig, on the lookout for possible threats.
Everyone knew that the chances of an ambush were incredibly high, and they were all on edge. The tension was palpable, and a grave silence hung in the air, interrupted only by the constant whirring of the warship's engine, until Kaga felt the need to break it.
"Are you all right with this? Wouldn't you prefer to be up there with your brother in case things go wrong?" She asked the male Kansen.
"I'm better suited for fighting out in the open. Up there, I'd do more harm than good," Kurama replied. "Besides, I trust my brother with this matter."
The other shipboys were scattered around the fleet. The only thing they cared about was the retrieval of their little brother, and Freedom, because of his incredible mobility, was the one tasked with attending the meeting at the Commander's side. His job was to take Lenin out of there as soon as the exchange happened; everything else would be handled by Belfast and the others.
Akagi was also there on the deck of the battleship, and as much as she'd have preferred to be somewhere else—like atop the oil rig with the Commander—she couldn't help but fix her gaze on the two foxes as they quietly conversed between themselves, and she couldn't help but 't they hate each other? What the hell happened while they were away? She had been keeping a close eye on her sister since she had returned, trying to catch any subtle hint of the truth, but she hadn't been able to pick up on anything, and when she confronted her about it, Kaga just shrugged and brushed her off with a dismissive attitude. Unfortunately for her, Akagi didn't miss the subtle color her cheeks had taken at her inquiry.
Something was up, and she intended to find out what. She had a vague idea of what it was, but it was too unrealistic to be true. Kaga? Interested in someone? And that mutt of all people? It was so absurd that it wasn't even funny. Just thinking about it made her fur stand on end.
And then she realized that what was making her fur stand wasn't the thought but the rippling effect that had appeared in the air around the oil rig.
Her eyes widened in shock, and her breath caught in her throat. One single thought ran through her mind. "Shikikan-sama!"
Before she could voice it out, Helena's voice rang in her ear, speaking through the radio of every Kansen in the fleet.
"Everyone, I just lost contact with the Commander and the others! I can't sense their presence on the platform anymore!"
Panic settled and chaos spread through the comms as everyone acknowledged her words and took notice of the weird phenomenon.
"Commander, answer us!"
"Shoukaku-nee!" Zuikaku shouted in alarm.
The various groups of Kansen on standby began hastily converging toward the platform as their comrades patrolling with their vessels readied themselves for an imminent ambush.
"Leviathan, get in there with the shipgirls," Emperor contacted his brother from aboard Hermione's vessel. "I'll stay behind with Kurama and everyone else."
Leviathan, who was also down on the surface with August and her Iron Blood comrades, sprang into action. If a Mirror Sea had been deployed, it was only a matter of seconds before the Sirens appeared, and if the Commander and the others were trapped inside it, they had to get them out of there as soon as possible.
Right before they could start looking for the entrance of the Mirror Sea, the wall of rippling ether surrounding the oil rig vanished as swiftly as it had appeared.
Everyone stopped in their tracks as they heard the familiar sound of Freedom's wings coming from above the platform, followed by the calming tone of the Commander's voice coming from the comms. "Mission accomplished, everyone. Raise the anchor and get ready to leave."
Everyone froze in their tracks, too stunned to react. The Mirror Sea had expired only a few seconds after being deployed, and there was no trace of Sirens around. Ryan and the others could be seen waving at them from the platform without a care in the world as Freedom used his wings to hover above them, holding a bundle of short, unkempt, light blue hair in his arms.
What the hell just happened?
A few minutes earlier, atop the platform, Ryan and the others had found a suitable place to wait, that is, the helipad. It was the largest area above the rig, with plenty of room to spare, and it gave them a perfect view of their surroundings and of the fleet. Besides, if things did go south, they could all just jump down the rig and get to safety. The Kansen, Freedom in particular, would have no issue jumping from that height, even while holding the Commander.
Taking advantage of a moment of distraction of the four shipgirls, Freedom addressed Ryan with a matter he had intended to broach for a while.
"So, you didn't tell them about the Creator during the meeting," he stated matter-of-factly.
Ryan grimaced at his words and averted his gaze, looking behind him where Cleveland and the others were chatting and checking their surroundings.
"I know, it's just... We already have a lot on our plate, and I don't want to put any more burdens on their shoulders, at least not until we get to know more about this whole ordeal," Ryan grimaced as he talked, but then a small smile made its way onto his face as he shrugged. "Besides, our goal is to win this war. Even if our theory is true and the Creator is human, it may never come up in the first place."
Freedom chuckled as the Commander downplayed the issue, then a feeling of nostalgia took hold of him. "You know, the more time I spend with you, the more you remind me of our commander."
Ryan blinked at the sudden revelation. "Wait, you have a commander? I thought you male Kansen worked independently from human officers."
"Well, yeah, but we still had to report to the higher-ups. During the search for the seed, each group was assigned a young officer whose job was to keep our superiors informed of our progress and act as a mediator between us and the authorities of the places we visited," Freedom explained. "We also had one, of course. His name was Liam Carter; he was more like a guardian who provided logistical support to the group than a real commander. He was a good person… one of the few humans whose presence Kurama could stomach."
"Was?" Ryan tentatively asked.
"He's not dead, if that's what you are thinking. He just wasn't with us during the final battle," the shipboy wistfully replied. "I can only imagine how distraught he must have been when they gave us up for dead at the end of it."
Noticing the grim frown on his face, Ryan clasped his shoulder in a comforting manner, saying, "Hey, cheer up. We'll find a way to send you home, even if it takes us years. Just think about the face he'll make when he finds out you are all still alive and well."
His words managed to draw a smile on Freedom's face, but before the shipboy could thank him for the encouragement, a sudden feeling of dread fell over the platform, accompanied by a deafening silence that sent shivers down everyone's spine.
"Commander!" South Dakota yelled as the shipgirls rushed to Ryan's side with their rigging out and ready. The five Kansen scanned their surroundings in panic, trying to figure out what was happening as the Commander reached for his earpiece, attempting to contact the other members of the fleet, but to no avail.
The sloshing of the waves from below and the howling of the wind had come to a stop, just like the storm clouds above their heads that were now splitting the azure sky in half with their ominous presence. Even the rusted steel of the metallic behemoth they were atop had stopped creaking under their feet. A transparent, foggy wall was surrounding the oil rig, trapping them inside what they immediately recognized as a Mirror Sea. But this one had something different from the others. It could disrupt communications with the outside, just like the ones they were used to, but it was too small, so much so that they could see all of its sides from where they were standing, sinking in the ocean a few feet away from the metal platform, trapping them within and keeping all their comrades outside.
They had never been trapped inside a Mirror Sea small enough that they could physically reach its perimeter, but the weirdest part was that they could still see through the "walls" of the reality-altering cage, and what transpired made them pause in confusion. The Kansen on foot and the warships ahead were still perfectly visible, if slightly fuzzy because of the foggy walls, but they were all standing still like statues on the water, not moving an inch from their position.
"What the fuck is happening?" Ryan breathed out as Freedom took a running start and jumped off the helipad, his wings appearing in a flash on his back. The shipboy traveled the few feet that separated the platform and the fog wall in a flash, coming to a stop right in front of it. He tentatively reached for the barrier, allowing his hand to sink into the mist as it shifted and moved around his wrist. The harder he tried to push his arm into it, the more resistance he met, until he couldn't keep up with the strain and the barrier warded him off, like a rubber band snapping back into place after being pulled and released.
And then a sudden crack was heard, making them look up. Above their heads, covering a good portion of the platform, a familiar mass of black, swirling dark matter had appeared, from which two clearly Siren figures began descending.
One of them they knew very well; Observer was looking down at them with a very annoyed expression on her face, leaning over the black mass of tentacles that was her rigging as usual, but the other was an unfamiliar face.
She looked like a white-skinned, white-haired young girl with light-blue eyes and a bang of the same color covering her right one. Her voluminous, pristine overcoat was the same color as her skin and hair, and she was leaning over what looked like a black, metallic, throne-like chair attached to the lower part of the big jellyfish-like rigging behind her. Her bearing gave off an air of superiority, and she had an unreadable expression on her face, but the slight gleam in her eyes betrayed some kind of childish excitement and curiosity, which clashed with Observer's annoyed expression.
The two Elites slowly descended toward the platform, and the shipgirls took position around the Commander, aiming their barrels at them as Freedom quickly moved back toward the platform, hovering above them with his wings spread wide in a protective manner.
As the monstrous jellyfish's tendrils touched the ground on the helipad, the diaphanous Siren straightened up in her seat, using them as steps to descend. Once her bare feet touched the concrete of the helipad, she looked at those present, cocking her head to the side as a small smile made its way onto her lips.
"I sense hostility, Azur Lane. Wasn't this supposed to be a friendly meeting?" She talked with an even tone of voice, with the barest hint of sarcasm behind it.
Ryan stepped forward. "You tell us. Isn't dropping a Mirror Sea on us a clear sign of aggression?"
"Can you blame us, Commander? You brought such an impressive force to what was supposed to be a non-violent exchange, while there are only two of us here. I think you can allow us this much," the diaphanous Siren said, gesturing at her colleague, still floating in the air, glowering at the male Kansen, who was reciprocating the hostile glare. "Oh, do forgive my manners. I am the program tasked with overseeing my subordinates' work; you can consider me their direct superior. I am called Observer Zero, but to avoid any kind of misunderstanding, you can refer to me as Zero," she added, introducing herself by bringing a hand to her chest.
Ryan was taken aback for a second, not expecting her to be so talkative. There was still a possibility that her courtesy was just a way to lure them into a false sense of security, so he decided to play it safe, keeping his guard up.
"Commander Ryan Travis, of Azur Lane, but I guess you already know that. Now, can you tell us what's the deal with this Mirror Sea? What's happening to our comrades out there? Why aren't they moving?"
"You don't need to fret over them; they are perfectly fine," Zero reassured him. "This specific Mirror Sea alters the time flow for all living things inside it, making it immeasurably faster than the outside. Your comrades appear to be standing still, but in reality, they are just moving at an incredibly low speed compared to ours."
Ryan did a double take as the Kansen around him looked at each other in confusion. Mirror Seas were hazardous test fields, studied to entrap their target inside; the only way to escape one was to take out the Siren who cast it or force them to dispel it. For that reason, entering one from outside was relatively easy; they had close to zero ways to prevent intrusions because who in their right mind would try to break into one?
But this one was different.
If time was accelerated only for them, then how long would it take for the others outside to reach it? He crouched down to pick up a broken chunk of concrete as big as a pebble from the ground before dropping it. Instead of falling, the small rock simply stood midair in front of him, and even by staring at it from up close, it looked perfectly still.
"Uh, cool…" Ryan mused.
If the same principle also applied to things like shells and bullets, then Kansen armament was essentially useless in there, but if that was true, then the rule also applied to their opponents' weapons. Zero had forced them inside what was essentially a no-fire zone, where no reinforcements could effectively reach either side and in which the only things at their disposal to fight were their superhuman physical strength. This spoke volumes about her intention of keeping the talks as peaceful as possible, but there was something the Elite hadn't taken into account. Freedom's Wisdom Crafting was still working, he noticed, and the shipboy didn't need much more to dispose of the two Elites.
Ryan internally smirked. If, for some reason, the exchange failed and they were forced into a fight, they had the advantage and the numbers on their side. The prospect was enough to dispel his insecurities and make him more confident in their success.
"Enough with the pleasantries," Freedom's menacing tone resounded in the air, with the shipboy still hovering above their heads. "I'm here for only one reason. Where's my brother?"
"We won't hand him over until we've confirmed that Purifier is actually aware of your information," Observer sharply replied, staring at him with a hostile glare. The memory of him using her as a dummy for the shipgirls' training was still fresh in her mind.
Glowering at Observer, Freedom took out Purifier's Cube from his pocket and held it in front of him to show it to the two Sirens. He lowered himself on the platform, dismissed his wings, and stepped forward, coming to a stop right in front of Zero. The Original Program looked up at him, reaching for the Cube with her hand, but the shipboy pulled back before she could touch it, glaring at her in warning.
"In my hand, Siren."
"As you wish," Zero replied with nonchalance.
This time, Freedom didn't pull back, allowing her to touch the purple contraption while keeping it firmly in his grasp. Zero's eyes shone with a bright light before she closed her eyelids, a pensive expression appearing on her face. It lasted only a few seconds, after which the Siren reopened her eyes, humming with a pleased smile.
"They are not lying; Purifier's in there, and she's aware of everything," Zero said, turning to address Observer. "Go get our guest."
Without another word, Observer summoned another one of her portals and disappeared inside of it. Once she was gone, an awkward silence fell over the platform. Both Freedom and Zero were still clutching the Cube with their hands; none of them seemed intentioned to let go.
"Why do you resist, male Kansen? Isn't the deal done and sealed by this point?"
"Not until I've seen Lenin with my own eyes."
The venom in their tone betrayed the tight-lipped smiles adorning their faces as they both tried to pry the Cube from the other's grip. The scene would have been hilarious if only those two weren't capable of blowing up the entire structure they were standing on with minimal effort if provoked.
"That won't be possible. Now that Observer is gone, time is flowing differently for her too. When I release this Mirror Sea, she'll be back in a matter of seconds with your brother in tow," Zero said. Noticing that Freedom's frown had only deepened, she added, "Don't fret. Unlike her, I don't have the capability to teleport; I won't be going anywhere if you won't let me."
Freedom sucked in a deep breath in resignation and let go of the Cube, causing the Elite to stumble backward and fall on her butt with a yelp, under the deadpanning looks of the shipgirls and the Commander.
Zero picked herself up as if nothing happened and moved to sit back onto her rigging, adding, "Since we have plenty of time at our disposal, why don't we have a talk, Azur Lane?"
This was the moment Ryan had been waiting for—a proper talk with the Sirens' leader. He stepped forward under the concerned looks of the Kansen and came to a stop right in front of Zero, completely unfazed by the imposing form of the jellyfish-like rigging towering in front of him, its syringe-like tendrils wiggling idly in the air.
He opened his mouth to speak, but he felt something shifting behind his back. Belfast had just placed a folding chair for him on the ground. He turned to look at her with an expression that screamed, "Where the hell did you find it?" but the maid simply shrugged and took a step back before sending one last glare of warning at the Siren.
"I imagine you wish to talk about the possible invasion we mentioned to Observer," Ryan started as he sat on the chair. "That's great, because I also wanted to ask you something."
"Possible? Fufu, there's no doubt here, Commander, they are coming," Zero chuckled under her breath at his ingenuity.
"You seem awfully confident with that statement. Can you back up your claims?" Freedom questioned her from right next to Ryan.
"Some time ago, we received a weird distress call from what we thought was one of our kind. When we tried to respond, it suddenly switched recipients, as if it didn't like what it came into contact with. Of course, I'm talking about the signal of that Original Siren," Zero explained. "Despite that, I was able to determine its path. Now I can safely say that they are aware of this world and of the fact that their seed has failed to take root in the intended way. They'll do everything in their power to rectify it."
Ryan froze at her words, the shipgirls behind him sharing the same reaction. What had previously been an appalling possibility had just become an impending prospect.
Ryan took a deep breath, looking into the Siren's azure eyes after regaining his composure.
"Well, that brings me straight to the next point. Are you going to help us or not?" He questioned her.
Silence fell once more over the platform as the Commander and the Kansen around him held their breath, waiting for the Siren's response.
Zero stared at him for a long second before replying with a solemn tone. "No. We won't interfere with your fight against the Original Sirens, but the moment we realize humanity is doomed, we'll activate our time-leap protocol, sealing you and them inside this timeline."
Ryan pursed his lips shut at her words as anger rose up from within him. He managed to keep his composure and respond with a sharp hiss. "I don't understand. Isn't your purpose to ensure humanity's survival? Wouldn't taking up arms against the Original Sirens be the most logical course of action?"
"Our job is to assist humanity's evolution and our own. The constant fighting throughout this and all the previous timelines was to prepare you and us for their arrival," Zero clarified.
"Then all the more reason to put an end to this meaningless war and start working together against a common enemy," Ryan said, trying his best to keep his tone as even as possible. He knew what he was doing; he was trying to rope humanity's sworn enemy into an alliance. He knew it wasn't his decision to make, and he didn't know how everyone else would react, but what other choice did he have? It didn't matter how prepared they were; even if they managed to defeat the Original Sirens, humanity would come out of the war too weakened to deal with Zero and the others. He needed to reach some kind of agreement with her now that she was willing to talk, as this was probably his only chance.
"If we fought by your side, there's a chance we'd end up erased by the enemy alongside your species, and that would be the worst possible outcome for both us and humanity. It's a lot more convenient for us to see how this will all play out, then restart in another timeline with the information you just provided us and what we'll gather from your failure," Zero explained, waving Purifier's Cube in her hand in front of him; not a hint of emotion could be found in her voice.
Ryan was left at a loss for words. There was not a single shred of humanity in these aliens, and he felt like a fool for even trying to reason with them. His anger slowly took over until he finally snapped.
"It doesn't make ANY FUCKING SENSE!" He shouted as he sprang to his feet, glaring at the Elite with seething anger behind his eyes. "What if we win?! What are you going to do if that happens? Do you think we'll just forget what you've done after the war is over and let you off the hook as if nothing happened?! Do you think we'll forget the countless innocent lives you took and all the pain you've caused?! This is your chance to atone for all the horrible things you've done in this and all the other timelines! Fighting together against a common enemy is the most natural thing to do, so why won't you help us?!"
"Because we value humanity as a species more than we value the individuals who are part of it."
Her curt response left him speechless; his anger subsided, and he slumped in his chair, too distraught to find a good retort to her words.
"I'm relieved…" he muttered in resignation after a few seconds. "Your view is too sick and twisted for your Creator to be human."
His words drew the attention of both the Siren and the Kansen. Freedom raised a questioning eyebrow at him but didn't utter a word as the shipgirls exchanged confused looks. Zero, instead, had her usual unreadable expression adorning her face.
"So you already know about our Creator."
"We do. Purifier let it slip the first time we talked," Freedom answered.
"Oh, I see," Zero hummed in thought. Normally she'd be angry at her subordinate for such a slipup, but right now, it was all for the better since it saved her an explanation. "Tell me, Commander, do you wish to know more about them?" She questioned him.
Ryan raised his head to look at her. "What if I do?"
"There's something you might want to hear," Zero said. Curiosity took hold of Ryan as she leaned forward in her seat, looking him in the eyes.
"The Ashes are looking for the Original Timeline, where our Creator resides. They intend to find them and prevent them from bringing us to life," the Original Program declared. "The only problem is that if they succeed, they'll create another timeline where, instead of us, the Original Sirens will be the ones to destroy humanity, effectively rendering everything that's happened until this very moment completely futile."
Ryan's jaw dropped as he processed her words. He didn't even have time to internalize them that the Siren continued, "The Arbiters are constantly on their heels, hunting down their members even as we speak, but it's only a matter of time before they reach the Original Timeline and kill the Creator. If that happens, the Original Sirens coming from another world will be the last of your worries."
"W-what… Wait, Original Timeline? Is that even- no, wait, this is too much… ugh, my head…" Ryan clutched his head with his hands, kneading his temples, trying to calm his nerves.
"Take all the time you need; there's plenty of it here," Zero told him, dry sarcasm dripping from her tone.
"This is bad. If they kill the Creator before they manage to... do whatever they did, the seed will remain in its original state, and we'll have an entire spawn of Original Sirens with a perfectly functioning seed at their disposal on our hands," Freedom mused aloud, being the first to recover from the shock.
"And if they find a way to come all the way in our timeline..." Belfast whispered as realization settled in.
"Then we are screwed!" Cleveland finished for her.
"Well, that's just great…" Ryan commented, not knowing what to make of her words anymore. "But I don't understand... If the risk is so high, why don't you and your subordinates go look for the Creator yourselves?"
"Because we are forbidden from actively pursuing any endeavor that may endanger them," the Original Program revealed. "The Arbiters have a little more liberty since their job is to hunt down any external variable. They are allowed to follow the Ashes through the old timelines, but they also have to comply with these directives."
"Do you even know how to reach the Original Timeline?" The Commander insisted, almost reaching the point of exasperation.
"Unfortunately, I don't. The information I have about the Creator is fragmented at best and completely absent at worst. For the longest time I've been working around their directives, investigating their identity and whereabouts, but the only thing I can say for certain is that they are indeed humans."
The Commander peered into her eyes. He couldn't help but notice something during the conversation with the Siren. The more she talked, the brighter she looked and the merrier her tone became. All that, adding to the fact that she was dropping one bomb after the other on them, made him believe she was telling the truth; after all, what would she gain from lying over such a matter?
"Why are you telling us all this? This wasn't part of our deal, was it?" Ryan questioned her.
"Take it as my own way of helping humanity, Commander," Zero declared with the most innocent smile she could muster. "Or maybe it's just because I've been keeping secrets for so long that I felt the need to tell the truth for once."
He brought a hand to his chin as he pondered her words. Whatever the case, this was going to give him a headache, and he wasn't looking forward to it.
The silence that followed was interrupted by Zero's rigging. The giant jellyfish had remained as still as a statue the entire time, but now it was starting to act up, causing the Commander to slightly pull back and the Kansen to stand on their guard.
An enigmatic smile came to adorn Zero's lips. "Unfortunately, the Mirror Sea won't hold out for much longer, so it seems our chat has come to an end. I admit it was rather pleasant; we should do it more often."
"Don't get your hopes up. Next time, we may not be so accommodating," South Dakota replied sharply, stepping in front of the Commander as the monstrous jellyfish began stirring.
Instead of retorting, Zero addressed the male Kansen. "Allow me to release this Mirror Sea. Observer will be here in a matter of seconds, and you'll finally be reunited with your comrade." The Elite snapped her fingers, and the fog walls surrounding the platform began dissipating around them like smoke in the wind.
Undeterred by the rigging's tentacles swaying around the place as the jellyfish slowly began rising in the air, Ryan stepped up to her. "Since you are so eager to tell the truth today, why don't you answer one last question? Is there a way to repair damaged or defective Wisdom Cubes?"
Everyone turned to stare at him, Freedom in particular, hope and trepidation blooming in their hearts as they awaited the Siren's response.
As the fog around the platform dissipated and the appearance of a portal above their heads notified them of Observer's arrival, Zero's lips quirked up in a smile...
"Wakey-wakey, sleepyhead."
A familiar voice reached Lenin's ears, making him stir in his sleep.
"Rise and shine, Teddy Bear."
A frown creased his features, the disturbance prompting him to curl up even more into the soft blanket he was in.
"Guys, let me try. ICEBERG AHEAD! IMPENDING COLLISION!"
His eyes snapped wide open, and he sprang up on his feet, alert and awake, scanning his surroundings for the impudent mass of ice that dared to stand in their way.
"Where is it?! I'll crush it to pieces!"
It took him a few moments to realize there was no iceberg in sight and that he wasn't even aboard a ship. He was atop what looked like a very run-down oil rig, surrounded by a crowd of women he didn't recognize who were looking at him with various expressions of concern, curiosity, and amusement. He was about to summon his rigging in panic, but then his gaze moved to the side, coming to rest on the owners of the familiar voices. Kurama was standing up on his feet, brushing the dirt from his tails where the shorter shipboy had been resting until that moment. The others were right next to him, looking at him with eyes full of fondness and relief. His expression switched from alertness to confusion, then to surprise, and in the end to realization.
"Good morning, Lenin," Leviathan greeted him.
Blushing hard, Lenin shouted, "You assholes!" He jumped forward, taking a swing right at Leviathan's stomach. The force of the impact resounded in the air, but the battleship didn't even flinch, his smile never leaving his lips as he took the blow like a champ.
Instead of pressing on with another punch, Lenin paused, hanging his head in shame. His breath caught in his throat, and his shoulders began trembling as he tried not to let his emotions get to him…
"What took you so long?" He wheezed, his voice cracking as the first tears began pouring out of his eyes.
The first was Leviathan. The taller shipboy wrapped his arms around his head and brought him closer to his chest. The second was Emperor, who ran up to them and threw his arms around their necks, followed by Freedom, who guided Sparviero along, and then Kurama, who proceeded to cover them all with a curtain of orange fur, hiding the emotion on their faces from the peering eyes of the shipgirls around them.
"I'm sorry, little one, I'm so sorry," Emperor breathed out as Lenin's sobbing was muffled by the mass of bodies and fur embracing him.
Ryan let out a sigh of relief at the heartwarming scene.
By the time the Sirens had departed, the Mirror Sea had already expired. Everyone had converged on their positions, expecting an explanation, but the focus immediately shifted to the unconscious shipboy. When Observer came back with Lenin's unconscious form in her tentacles, they began fearing for the worst, but luckily, everything turned out all right—if you didn't count the traumatizing experience of being kept hostage by the Sirens
A few minutes later, once his sobbing died down, Lenin blurted out, "Wait, we don't have time for this!" He struggled to wriggle himself out of the group hug his brothers were constraining him in, and once he was free to move, his tear-streaked face was beet red because of the embarrassment, but it also bore a serious expression of urgency.
"What's wrong, Lenin?" Freedom asked him as the others regarded him with questioning looks.
He wiped his face and took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure.
"The bitch told me how to go back to our world!" He declared. "It's the astral conjunction! We have to wait for the planets to align!"
AN: I was serious when I said that this arc would have been a lot less action packed and more focused on talking and worldbuilding. Also, this is by far the longest chapter I've ever written for this story, and there isn't even a big fight this time. I thought it'd be redundant in this case and decided to play it out differently to see if I was able to jebait you until the end. I hope I was still able to make you feel the tension even if only a little.
Next Chapter: The Path Ahead