Bismarck woke up with a start, taking in a sharp breath as she opened her eyes to scan her surroundings.
A pleasant smell reached her nostrils as her eyes settled on the figure of a certain sub stepping into her command center.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Lord Bismarck; did I wake you up?" U-556 said as she closed the door behind her, and Bismarck realized where the smell was coming from. The sub was holding a tray in her hands with a couple of cups, a sugar bowl, and a hot, steaming coffeemaker.
"Don't worry, Parzival; I was just lost in thought," Bismarck reassured her.
The Iron Blood leader beckoned her closer as she stood up from the captain chair to move over the small coffee table to the side. She waited for U-556 to deposit the tray in front of her and pour a cup for the both of them. She nodded in thanks, grimacing a bit as she watched the sub put a significant amount of sugar into her own.
U-556 noticed her gaze on her and tilted her head in confusion. She picked up the sugar bowl, offering it to Bismarck with an oblivious smile, but the Iron Blood flagship shook her head with a silent thank you. She preferred her coffee black; not that she completely disregarded sugar, but she couldn't fathom how someone could ruin the flavor of the beverage by adding so much of the white stuff all at once.
Of course, she'd never dare say it out loud in front of Parzival for fear of offending her. Not that the shorter shipgirl could be so easily offended, but still, she didn't want to hurt her feelings over something so trivial.
The blonde brought the cup up to her lips, letting the smell tickle her brain and dispel the last vestiges of sleep still lingering.
"Lord Bismarck, is something troubling you?" U-556 asked after catching her spacing out with the cup in her hand in front of her nose.
Bismarck internally sighed. She noticed that she had been spacing out a lot since departing, and even at Azur Lane, after patching things up with Hood. The confrontation had taken a huge load off her shoulders, and she was letting her guard down more often now that she didn't feel the anxiety eating at her from the inside anymore.
She mentally berated herself. She couldn't allow herself to relax right now; there was still much to be done.
She took a sip before letting out a small smile for the sub.
"Just reflecting on our next course of action, Parzival." She wasn't lying. The Original Sirens and their impending arrival had been on her mind the entire time, and she was eager to learn the outcome of Shinano's attempt to get in touch with the other world. Luckily, Richelieu had offered her and Queen Elizabeth to spend the night at the Basilica before departing for their own homelands, and the two had decided to take her up on the offer. At the Iris Orthodoxy main base, they could contact their allies on the other side of the globe and see how things had turned out.
"Did you need me for something?" Bismarck asked U-556 to change the topic.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you! The Cardinal said we're almost there; we'll arrive in a few minutes," U-556 said, scratching her head sheepishly.
"Well then, we better get ready," Bismarck declared, then downed the rest of the contents of the cup in a single gulp before standing up. "Thanks for the coffee, Parzival; let's go now."
"Yes, Lord Bismarck!" U-556 happily saluted before quickly following behind her.
The Basilica was the most important seaward outpost of the Iris Orthodoxy, where the majority of the French Kansen were stationed. Set into the inlet of a small island, it resembled a massive cathedral, with foundations that sank into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean and belfries that proudly stood out against the sky. It was surrounded by a thick, carved stone path, with coves that served as piers for both Kansen and manned hulls.
It wasn't just the Orthodoxy main base of operation, though. It was also where the majority of the Wisdom Cubes that the alliance recovered from their battles with the Sirens were hoarded. Its impregnable fortifications and the underwater extension of the structure made it the perfect location for humanity to store their spoils of war.
Of course, that didn't mean it acted just as storage. It was also where the European factions of the alliance conducted their joint research on Siren technology. The structure was essentially a weapon research facility as well as a port. The best minds of the Iron Blood, the Royal Navy, and the Sardinia Empire had been sent there to work alongside their Orthodoxy colleagues, all under the watchful gazes of the Iris and the Vichya Kansen stationed there. It was where things like the energy dome and the ASD system were created, tested, and implemented in the arsenal of humanity against the Sirens.
So many people working together under the same roof, setting aside their differences to reach a common goal for the good of humanity... The Basilica was a perfect representation of the alliance and a symbol of the bright future that awaited the Iris Orthodoxy.
Though, in Richelieu's view, that future had already been achieved. With the reestablishment of the alliance, the Vichya Dominion and the Iris Libre were united once again. Sure, the country's political scene was still far from perfect, but the animosity the two factions harbored toward one another had been set aside to be replaced with a renewed promise of cooperation. The old grudges hadn't been forgotten, but a silent promise of a joint effort on both sides was made to bring things back to how they were before the war between the factions.
Unfortunately, that didn't mean there wasn't any room for arguments every now and then.
"Richelieu, we don't have time for this!" Jean Bart told her sister with an exasperated tone of voice. "I need to brief and organize the Templar Knights, and you need to report everything to high command! We can't do it if we have to play good neighbors with everyone else!"
The two battleships were discussing things inside the bridge of the Richelieu, their destination becoming ever more visible in the distance with each mile they covered.
"Not offering them to stay over after such a long journey would have been rude. As good manners dictate, I was obliged to invite them," Richelieu retorted, bringing a hand to her chest. "Besides, they won't be staying long; their presence won't get in the way of our schedule."
Jean Bart sucked in a breath of annoyance and rolled her eyes. "Ugh… Fine, but if that midget of a queen starts wining about the food, the bedsheets, or the freaking tea... I swear to God, I'm throwing her down the walls of the Basilica myself."
"You'll do no such thing. This is the first official visit of a foreign delegation to the Basilica since the restoration of the alliance, and I won't have it play out any other way than perfectly," Richelieu said, frowning at her sister's declaration. "That also means your behavior must be impeccable... You know what? Never mind. You can leave entertaining our guests to me. I can't trust you alone with them, knowing your temper."
"You can't trust me with them, uh? Fine, you do what you want!" Jean Bart snapped at her sister. "While you waste your time hobnobbing with your buddies, I'll take care of everything else by myself, just like I did during the war!"
"Jean, I'm not hobnobbing with anyone; I'm just upholding my obligation as a faction leader!" Richelieu retorted, raising her voice slightly.
"I only hear excuses. You are just neglecting your homeland to get all chummy with the other factions, again!"
"When are you going to stop holding onto that pettiness of yours?!"
"Until you apologize for what you did!"
"I won't. I did what I did for the sake of the Orthodoxy. I have nothing to apologize for."
"You left me behind!"
"You didn't follow me!"
The sisters were glaring at each other with eyes full of anger, ready to lunge at each other's throat, but unfortunately, Dunkerque wasn't there to stop them this time.
What did stop them, though, was Jeanne d'Arc's voice coming from Richelieu's radio.
"Cardinal, do you read me?"
"Yes, Jeanne," Richelieu replied immediately. "What is it?"
"We've been trying to reach the Basilica for a while now, but it seems there's a problem with the comms…"
"Oy, we aren't finished-" Jean Bart tried to protest, but Richelieu cut her off.
"I see. I'll send Le Triomphant ahead to inform them of our arrival. They'll be ready to receive us in no time," said the Iris flagship.
After Jeanne d'Arc acknowledged her words and closed the call, she turned to resume her "discussion" with her sister but realized that Jean had already stormed off outside the bridge.
Richelieu sighed as she brought a hand to her forehead. Since arriving at Azur Lane, she had been trying her best to bridge the gap that had formed between herself and her sister. Part of it was the desire to reconcile that she had always harbored, which only further grew in her heart after the conversation the two had with Emperor. Unfortunately, whenever she tried to talk to her, something came up that switched the topic of the conversation toward their old grudges. It didn't help that Jean still held everything that happened during the war against her and never missed the chance to rub it in her face whenever the tones went up, nor that the Cardinal herself would occasionally get caught by the Sin of Wrath during those confrontations.
It was frustrating, but she wouldn't let it get to her. She'd try again after they got home.
"Le Triomphant, go ahead of us and see that a suitable welcome is prepared for our guests," Richelieu said into the radio.
"Oui, m'dame," Le Triomphant replied. The Cardinal turned her gaze outside the window, where the profile of the Basilica was slowly becoming bigger and bigger in the distance as they approached it. The clear sky and shining rays of sunlight were almost blinding her. She watched as the destroyer's hull sped up, moving ahead of the formation to follow her orders while the others slowed down to let her through.
And then Le Triomphant disappeared, just like that. Her hull vanished into thin air in front of the rest of the fleet, as if it had never been there.
For a second, silence reigned over the comms before a cacophony of surprised voices and alarmed cries took over.
"Scheisse! Where did she go?!"
"What happened?! Are we under attack?!"
"Le Triomphant! Answer, mon amie!"
Before panic could fully settle, the air around the fleet began rippling like the surface of an undisturbed pond after throwing a rock. Radio and radar went crazy as the ships advanced in the water, but it lasted only a second. After the instruments calmed down and the Kansen could finally bring into focus their surroundings again, the scenery in front of them had changed drastically.
The clear blue sky and the sun shining above their heads had been replaced by a bloody sunset, plunging the scenery of the Mirror Sea they had just entered into an ominous orange light.
Le Triomphant was there, having preceded them inside, her ship standing still in the water as the shipgirls all looked at what was happening in the background from their own hulls.
The Basilica was under attack. A horde of Siren mass-produced vessels was surrounding it, bombarding it with their alien-looking guns. The energy shield had already been deployed, its hexagonal surface of azure energy covering the base, withstanding the onslaught. The dome only covered the cathedral, leaving the outer layer of concrete exposed, most of which had already been torn down by enemy fire. The presence of so many breaches allowed the enemy a way through to get closer to the main building.
But the most worrisome thing that had them gawk in shock and horror was hovering above the Basilica.
The thing resembled a UFO; a giant, warped, nightmarish flying saucer. Its perfectly round shape was deformed by a crown of big, sharp metal protrusions pointed downward that resembled too much the legs of a face hugger. It was hovering right above the energy shield, barely touching it with its claws, seemingly idle despite its menacing presence. Its underside was flat and empty, as opposed to its upper part, which was covered in rust-colored metal plates, traversed by yellow streaks of light, with a big, glowing orb at the center.
The shipgirls didn't know what to make of the situation. Why were the Sirens attacking with such force? Didn't Zero say that they'd go easy on humanity for the time being? Was that just a blatant lie?
And what the hell was that thing in the sky above the shield?
"Those bastards! We should have never trusted them!" Jean Bart bellowed. A flash of light followed her hull's disappearance as the battleship recalled it to summon her rigging.
"Soeur, wait!" Richelieu's cry was ignored as Jean Bart dashed toward the enemy fleet, but she was stopped by Drachenberg's figure, blocking her path as he hovered above the water in front of her.
"Don't be so hasty, Bart," August von Parseval spoke up from atop her rigging.
"Why are you getting in my way, Parseval?!" Jean yelled at her in anger.
"Because these aren't the Sirens we are so used to," she replied nonchalantly. "That one over there is an Original Siren."
"What? How do you know that, August?" Bismarck questioned her fellow Iron Blood, taking the words out of everyone else's mouths.
"I know about this one because my darling told me about a few of them. We need to dispose of it before-"
Her words were enough for Jean Bart to set off at her top speed in a mad dash. The spray of water she raised interrupted the Iron Blood carrier's speech.
"Wait, mon amie!" Algérie yelled, her hull disappearing in a flash of Cubes as she hurriedly followed behind her comrade, refusing to leave her alone against an entire Siren horde.
Their abrupt departure prompted Richelieu to call them out through the comms. "You two, get back in line! It's too dangerous to go alone!"
"Cardinal, ignore those idiots! Give us your orders!" Jeanne d'Arc said to her flagship.
Holding back a frustrated growl, Richelieu slapped her cheeks and began speaking in the comms.
"Everyone, we need to divert the Sirens' attention on us before the shield collapses. Madame Elizabeth, Madame Bismarck, can I count on you to watch our back?"
"What are you saying, Cardinal?" Bismarck replied. "Watching your back? We are going to sail by your side in the thick of the fray."
"Indeed we are; if anything, you should be the one to stay behind," Elizabeth quipped. "Try to contact your comrades inside and coordinate a counterattack while we divert their attention on us."
"Merci beaucoup, mesdames," Richelieu replied, her heart soaring with gratitude. She wished she could tell her sister that her attempts at befriending the other factions were bearing fruit, but now wasn't the time for petty sibling fights. "Béarn, stay behind with the other carriers and offer your best support to Jean Bart and Algérie while we push through. Jeanne d'Arc, Le Triomphant, you two get your rigging out. Try to break through the enemy lines and reach our comrades at the foot of the cathedral."
"Oui, m'dame," the three Iris shipgirls acknowledged her orders.
"Deutschland, Parzival, help them out," Bismarck added her own through the comms. "Everyone else will follow us while we open our way through the enemy formation."
"Ja, Frau Bismarck," Gneisenau responded.
"Don't think you can order me around, Iron Blood," Warspite balked.
"Oh, come on, is this really the time to be so uptight, Warpsite?" Scharnhorst said.
"I only take orders from Her Majesty-"
"Warpsite, hurry up and come to my side," Elizabeth intervened. "Let's take care of these enemies and show them what the Royal Navy is truly capable of."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
And with that said, the battle that would later be known as the "Storming of the Basilica" had begun.
The enemy had only just taken notice of the new arrivals, and a few of them in the back of their formation were turning to face them. The shipgirls had the initiative on their side and decided to take advantage of it. With Richelieu, Bismarck, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Queen Elizabeth, and Warspite, the number of dreadnoughts amounted to six, and instead of recalling their vessels, they decided to sail in formation and plow the enemy with the sheer power of their hulls while Illustrious, Chaser, Unicorn, and Béarn remained in the back.
"Jean, wait!" Algérie yelled to Jean Bart once she caught up to her.
"No way I'm doing that, Algérie!" The pirate woman yelled back. "The sooner we get their attention, the sooner we help our comrades inside!"
"You need to be careful! You heard what that Iron Blood said. These are Original Sirens!"
"Even better! It's a good chance to see what they are made of!"
With that said, she sped up, coming into range of the first mass-produced alien cruiser that had managed to turn.
Before the Siren could even aim its guns at her, Jean Bart jumped with all her might, shooting a full broadside midair with her rigging and nailing its forward battery, setting its deck on fire.
Following in her steps, and without the risk of the Siren shooting her, Algérie unleashed a flurry of torpedoes, nailing it in the front keel and engulfing it in a fiery explosion.
By that point, the closest Siren units had all turned their guns to them and were ready to open fire, but a flock of aircraft, which they recognized as Bearn's, accompanied by other Royal Navy bombers, reached their position and began unloading their payload on the enemy.
"You two get out of there if you don't want to get caught in the crossfire!" Béarn told them through the comms.
The two turned their heads and did a double take at seeing six battleship hulls lined up next to each other, sailing toward them, guns blazing.
"Need a ride?" A shadow was cast over them, and August's smug voice reached their ears as she looked down at them from atop Drachenberg.
Jean Bart clicked her tongue in annoyance and was forced to accept the offer.
Richelieu breathed a sigh of relief as August took away Algérie and Jean Bart with her rigging.
The enemy had completely lost interest in the two Vichya shipgirls and was now aiming their guns at the six warships charging toward them as they split their focus between the metal behemoths and the aircraft harassing them with their bombing runs.
She quickly switched her focus to her internal radio as she noticed someone trying to reach her.
"Cardinal, thank the Lord!" Saint Louis' voice came in. "You've come at the perfect time."
"Saint Louis, what's the situation?"
"Not good. They got us surrounded, and our numbers are too spread out around the base," the Iris shipgirl replied gravely. "We can't break through their formation if we have to defend it."
"Then leave that to us and keep protecting our home," Richelieu stated. "Tell everyone to leave the south of the enemy formation to us and focus on the other sides."
"Oui, m'dame," Saint Louis said, ending the call as Richelieu turned to focus on the enemy ahead.
The Sirens didn't seem to have a carrier on their side, but that didn't mean Richelieu and the others could lower their guard. The alien warships facing them far outnumbered them, and the slightest distraction on their part could prove fatal.
The six warships immediately began opening fire against the enemy, aiming their guns at the more fragile escort vessels and singling out those who were giving them their flank.
"Torpedoes incoming! Brace yourselves for impact!" Bismarck's voice rang through the comms as the enemy escort ships unleashed their loads into the water.
It didn't take long for the underwater trails of light to reach the fleet.
The six battleships had left enough room between each other for them to perform evasive maneuvers in case of necessity, and that's exactly what they did. The shipgirls had to hold onto the equipment in their command rooms so as not to be thrown on the floor as their hulls dodged most of the incoming projectiles. The ships rocked about under the shockwaves of the explosions that managed to reach them, but their anti-torpedo belts and bulges managed to shrug off most of the damage.
"Is everyone okay? Are you all still seaworthy?" Richelieu asked her comrades once the rocking came to a stop.
"We're all right," Elizabeth confirmed after checking in with Warspite.
"Us too," Scharnhorst replied for herself and her sister.
"Madame Bismarck, what's wrong? Please come in!"
"I… I think one of my rudder's out of commission…" Bismarck declared gravely.
"What?! Are you serious?!" Elizabeth bellowed in disbelief, the ironic twist of fate not lost on her.
Of course, Bismarck's Iron Blood comrades were also aware of that, and a feeling of dread crawled over them.
"Frau Bismarck, hang in there! We'll be by your side immediately!" Gneisenau said.
"Nein! With that hit, my leg got busted. Even if I recalled my vessel, I'd only be a hindrance!" Bismarck balked.
"Madame Bismarck, we can't leave you behind!" Richelieu tried to object, her voice growing with concern. The enemy's smaller escort vessels were moving out of the way to let the bigger guns stand in for them. The battleships on the far south of the enemy formation had enough time to turn toward the shipgirls' position thanks to the smaller vessels, giving them enough time to reverse course.
"Listen to me, Cardinal. Here's what you are going to do," Bismarck said with a tone that didn't admit any objection. "Get out of here and take advantage of the moment the enemy will focus their attention on me to break through their lines."
"But…"
"And that goes for you too," Bismarck added on the radio to her subordinates. "You won't be leaving me behind helpless. My guns are all still functioning, and my armor is still intact. If they want a piece of me, they'll have to earn it."
Richelieu pursed her lips. As much as she didn't like the idea of leaving someone behind, Bismarck was right. Knowing her, she'd be able to take a few hits before they could breach the enemy line and disperse their formation. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau also knew it, but no one wanted to be the ones to actually do it.
But the enemy wasn't certainly going to wait for them to make up their minds. The Siren capital ships had gotten into range and were already aiming their alien-looking barrels at them.
Seeing that no one wanted to make the first move, Elizabeth decided to step up.
"As the pride of the Iron Blood wishes, then. See that you don't die before we sink those bastards," the queen quipped sarcastically, her hull being the first to move out of the way, followed by Warspite's. "You lot, enough dillydallying in the middle of a battle! Pull yourselves together and come with me!"
Bismarck smiled in appreciation at the queen's intervention. Wishing her good luck, everyone followed in the queen's wake as she opened the way for their counterattack, and Bismarck was free to focus on her plight.
The enemy had already opened fire on her position, but their vessels were too eager to quickly score a decisive hit on her, and that led them to mess up their aim as most of their rounds and beams landed in the water. The rest were being shrugged off by her armor, making her wince in discomfort, but not enough to impede her own aim.
She noticed the closest vessels trying to cross her T to reduce her firing option, so she immediately aimed her guns at the head of the formation and fired a full broadside before they could get out of range. She nailed the two Sirens in the front and managed to put them out of commission. The two mass-produced vessels had turned into burning heaps of metal and were now blocking the path of the units behind them.
She reloaded quickly, ready to unleash another volley, but a more accurate hit landed on her deck, right on top of her stern, putting both her rear turrets out of commission. A sharp pain spread through her back, forcing her to clutch the panels in front of her as she gritted her teeth, holding back a groan of pain.
She quickly composed herself and aimed her front guns at the rest of the enemy units as they tried to sail around her kills' burning wrecks. She fired at those drifting closer to her and smirked. She hit the bullseyes with both her volleys, sealing the fate of two more of those units.
She reloaded again, but her next shot wasn't as lucky. One of the furthest ships scored a lucky hit on her bow. Even though the damage wasn't as severe, the blow was strong enough to make her stumble and miss her target, leaving her open for the Sirens to close in on her.
She watched as another enemy capital ship got into firing position, aiming her guns straight at her. She considered recalling her hull, if only to make sure she avoided the hit, and then see what happened from there, but before she could even reach it with her mind, the Siren battleship in front of her was engulfed in a series of explosions that raised a copious amount of water. The impact of the torpedoes that had slammed into its side was strong enough to split it in twain.
Bismarck looked around in confusion until her gaze fell on an Iron Blood heavy cruiser approaching her position from port, whose guns had already begun firing on the remaining Siren units coming at her.
"Lord Bismarck, over here!" A voice reached her ears from the comms, and she looked down at the water to see a familiar hatch right next to her hull. The hatch opened to reveal U-556's lavender pigtails and round red eyes as the sub waved at her.
Bismarck didn't waste time. Concealing a bright, affection-filled smile behind her cap, she recalled her ship, which disappeared in a flash of light and a swirl of cubes that went to solidify around her in the form of her rigging. She stumbled on her busted leg as she hit the water, but U-556 was there to pick her up, guiding her back into the safety of her own hull.
"Parzival, Deutschland, what are you two doing here?" Bismarck asked as the hatch closed and the submarine quickly submerged. "Weren't you supposed to help the others get through the enemy formation?"
"Already done," Deutschland's voice came in from the comms. "It was a piece of cake, especially because a certain someone decided to draw on herself the attention of half the enemies on the battlefield," she added with a bit of bite in her tone. "Seriously, good thing that 'queen' told us about this madness of yours; otherwise, who knows what would have happened."
"She's right, Lord Bismarck," U-556 quipped, puffing her chest and putting her hands on her side, her face adorned with a small pout. "You did something very brave, but also very stupid."
A low chuckle escaped Bismarck's lips as she leaned over the partition of the sub to rest. U-556 was totally right and had all the reasons to be upset with her. True, she had put herself in mortal danger only because she got upset at a streak of bad luck, but she'd rather take the risk than be the reason why the operation went sideways because her comrades had to stay behind to protect her dead weight. Risky or not, sending Richelieu and the others away was the right thing to do; her pride wouldn't have accepted it otherwise.
"Nevertheless, thank you so much, you two; I'm proud of you," she said with a smile, patting the little sub's head.
U-556 beamed at her, her eyes sparkling, and Deutschland sputtered over the radio as the two retired to a safe distance to let their leader recover.
As soon as Algérie and Jean Bart had climbed atop him, Drachenberg took off and gained as much altitude as it could not to impede the allied crafts in their flight and to avoid the enemy AA.
As the rigging flew over the battlefield, heading toward the energy dome, Jean was able to take a good look at the course of the battle. The Kansen stationed at the base, who until then had been fighting spread out around the base, were regrouping on the other sides so as not to get caught in the fire of the reinforcements.
"Leave us at the base of the shield! We need to help our comrades!" Jean Bart yelled to August, holding onto the dragon's back for dear life.
"I'm afraid it won't be possible. This ride has a fare," she replied with a smirk as the battleship regarded her with a deadpan look. "Don't fret for your friends. They'll be in good hands. Right now, I need you to help me with something."
"What are you talking about?" Algérie asked her. August nonchalantly pointed her finger at the Hive-type above the shield in response, prompting the two of them to drop their jaws in disbelief.
"Are you crazy, Iron Blood? What do you think we can do to that monstrosity?" Algérie blurted out. "We should just leave the other carriers to deal with it; they're a lot more suited than us!"
"Why are you even here and not in the back with them?" Jean Bart added.
As if on cue, a loud screech filled the air as the plates covering the upper side of the Hive-type Original Siren began shifting and sliding against each other around the big, glowing orb, revealing the content of the compartments to the air—a myriad of small parasite-like drones, which began pouring out of its body like a river in flood. Each was roughly the size of a large dog, with small, rotund bodies equipped with four sickle-like claws, a big, yellow eye-orb, and a small thruster for movement.
The Drone-types began swarming the shield, heading down toward the opening, where some of the Kansen of the Orthodoxy were standing on guard, trying to repel the sieging forces.
"Hey! Watch out!" Algérie shouted a warning after noticing a flock of those weird drones deviating their course from the shield to fly straight at them.
August simply snapped her fingers, and Drachenberg recoiled his head back, charging and releasing a fire breath as soon as the swarm was in range. The stream of molten metal was hot enough to melt through their plates, reducing them to smoldering lumps of charcoal fading in the wind.
She turned to look at the two Vichya shipgirls with a smug smile, prompting Jean Bart to huff and roll her eyes.
"Fine, take us up there."
With a powerful roar and a beat of his wings, Drachenberg followed his mistress' orders, heading straight for the Siren flying saucer.
AN: Guess what? Wrote too much. Had to split the chapter in two. The more things change, the more they stay the same…
Anyway, the Hive-type is inspired by the Yu-Gi-Oh card, "Deus X-Krawler." The Drone-types are inspired by another card, "Krawler Spine."
I understand that "inspired" is a big word since they're essentially rip-offs with a different color scheme, but... Who cares? Am I right?
Next Chapter: Two Birds With One Stone