Bismarck was having more trouble than expected. Calling out Geryon and ordering him to attack had been easy enough, but when it came down to controlling him, she just didn't know how to properly rein him in.

Maybe it was because he had three heads, with each one of them being independent of the others, but she found it difficult to coordinate with all three of them, and it was frustrating.

She was currently standing on top of his middle head, nestled between its horns. She was holding onto them for dear life while being tossed around like a ragdoll, unable to keep her back straight as Geryon weaved and dodged through the barrage of attacks the flock of Pilots was directing at them.

She had tried shooting them down, only to find out she lacked coordination with the guns on her new rigging as well, and before long, the Pilots had overwhelmed them.

As she tried to get control of Geryon's movements, she noticed in the corner of her eye that Tower was also preparing something. The armor plating on the side of the giant whale's forehead shifted, and out came a series of rocket pods, which promptly fired a barrage of guided projectiles.

And of course, they were coming straight at her, as if she didn't already have enough on her plate.

"Geryon, defend!" She yelled.

The three-headed dragon seemed to heed her call this time and stopped midair with a flap of his strong wings. Right before the first projectiles hit, he curled his whole body into a ball, his armored wings enveloping his heads and torso to protect himself and his owner.

The explosions that followed rocked Bismarck and Geryon both, but the rigging managed to endure them. Before they stopped entirely, he spread out his wings vigorously, creating a strong gust of wind and letting out a powerful roar with all three heads as the remaining rounds were swept away and went off harmlessly before making contact.

But that left the dragon exposed. Bismarck barely had enough time to praise him when she noticed the Pilots coming in, aiming their guns at them, ready to take advantage of the opening. But before they could fully capitalize on the opportunity, a squadron of BF-110s came flying from below, breaking up the enemy formation with a hail of gunfire. In a few seconds, the Pilots' formation was broken; those that weren't shot down were chased away by the fighters. Finally, Bismarck had a moment to breathe, which was interrupted by a familiar voice reaching her ears.

"Could you at least try not to get yourself killed right after waking up, please?"

Surprised, Bismarck turned to the voice. Riding on Drachenberg's back a few feet away and slightly above her was August von Parseval. The carrier bore a smug expression on her face, but Bismarck knew her too well to be fooled.

"Sorry for the wait, friend," she said, beaming at her. "I'm back."

August's mask almost crumbled. Her lips quivered imperceptibly as she blinked, trying to fight back the tears of emotion with all her might. "Dummkopf, say that to U-556, not me."

Stirring in agitation underneath her owner, Geryon interrupted them, prompting them to focus on the matter at hand.

"I see you are having trouble with your new aide," August commented.

"Yeah, I could use a bit of help, if you don't mind," Bismarck replied, holding on tight to his horns, trying to rein him in.

"There's not much I can do, but if you want some advice..." August began. "You've been trying to force your will on him this entire time. Remember that he is part of your Cube as much as you, Bismarck."

"I was hoping for something more- Hey, stop that!" Bismarck retorted, pausing to rebuke the two lateral heads as one of them snapped its jaws at the other, and the two began essentially bickering.

"What I'm trying to say is, don't just assert your dominance; you don't like when people tell you what to do, do you?"

"What does that have to do with him-" Bismarck's retort died in her throat as the middle head, the one she stood on, snapped at the other two with a low, intimidating growl and a click of its jaws to break up the fight.

"This is getting nowhere," she grimaced internally. "Three heads fighting for control over one body… If they don't find common ground, they'll never work together as one…"

Then something clicked in her mind, and she chastised herself. Had she not learned anything after all this time, or did cheating death a second time make her forget?

"Enough of this," she declared. Her deep, stern tone of voice was enough to make the three heads pause their bickering. She leaned over the middle one, as if to whisper to all of them. "What's the point of fighting each other when the enemy is right in front of us?" She asked them, gazing up ahead.

All three of Geryon's heads followed her gaze, their own eyes settling on Tower. The hulking figure of the much bigger and stronger rigging had almost caught up with them, and it had deployed more of its armaments, ready to unleash another attack.

"Whatever happens, we won't be found lacking in front of our enemy! We won't give them that satisfaction!" Bismarck declared. "Geryon, charge!"

The three-headed dragon unleashed a powerful roar, and with a flap of his wings, it lunged at Tower's rigging. Energy blasts and beams erupted from the weapons embedded in the body of the giant whale, but Geryon powered through the barrage, shrugging off the smaller hits and avoiding everything else with pinpoint accuracy thanks to the enhanced perception his three heads granted him.

Drachenberg followed behind him. The size difference between the two of them was almost comical, but August's rigging managed to keep up, covering the bigger dragon with his planes and sending them at the other Pilots swarming around Tower to prevent them from getting in Geryon's way.

With his back covered, Geryon could approach the enemy without fearing retribution from the small fry. He came up straight to the whale's face, so close that Bismarck could see the cracks between the iron plates of its armor, but this time, instead of rearing his head back to unleash another torrent of flames, he spread his wings wide. All the turrets on his body aligned perfectly, aiming for the same target—the whale's left eye.

What followed was a full salvo that carved out its mechanical eyeball, making it stagger back in pain. It twisted its hulking body, trying to bring its face away from the attacker, and in doing so, it tried to go for a tail swipe. But Geryon was too quick and managed to gain enough altitude in time to avoid the attack.

As her rigging got to a safe distance, Bismarck looked down on the enemy and hummed in acknowledgement. She finally got it. The whale was slow.

With its sheer size, its impenetrable armor, and the set of drones protecting it, the rigging posed an insurmountable threat for all those who dared challenge it. Its extensively diverse arsenal allowed it to adapt to most situations, and the near unlimited firepower it possessed made it capable of leveling down entire cities within minutes without even trying.

It made sense that it didn't need to be fast to do so, but that's exactly what was going to be its downfall.

Now that she had found a way to properly control Geryon, Bismarck had no doubt: the whale had met its match.

With his comparably respectable size, which didn't hinder his speed and agility in the air, Geryon was the perfect match for Tower. His armor was enough to tank most hits, and his firepower allowed him to damage the enemy rigging enough to make it reel back.

"Still not enough to take it down for good, though," Bismarck thought. "August, let's keep this up! We are going to keep it occupied until Jean Bart comes in to finish it."

"As you wish, Frau Bismarck," August responded, coming up beside her with Drachenberg. "Welcome back, leader."


"AKU… SOKU… SAN!"

For each word coming out of Ember's mouth, an enemy would be felled. Bodies would be cut in half, heads would fly off necks, and rigging would be split apart. Her swings were so powerful that they seemed to extend way further than her blade, cutting through flesh and steel alike, and when her arms would tire of the continuous killing, she would switch to her rigging, the sound of her guns being the only thing capable of soothing her nerves.

She looked like an actual demon on the battlefield, prompting the shipgirls of Azur Lane to steer clear of her as she lost herself in the throes of battle.

But the other METAs were used to it. Fighting with reckless abandon always helped Ember clear her mind, and the latest hours had been a particularly hard trainwreck of emotion to deal with, so the emergency with Tower had come at the right moment.

"Ember, come in; I need your help with something," Kindle's voice reached her ears through the comms as she cleaved through the last opponent of the umpteenth group of pawns coming at her.

"I'm busy," Ember replied curtly.

"You don't need to do anything you aren't already doing," Kindle said. "Keep spreading mayhem amidst the enemy, and if you can, try to isolate yourself from our ranks."

That made the Sakura META frown in confusion. "Oi, Kindle, you aren't trying to use me as bait, are you?"

"You catch on quick," Kindle said with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Tester is lurking around the place, and we are trying to draw her out."

The name was enough to make Ember's anger flare up. Finally, she could obtain her revenge against one of the humanoid Sirens who had made her life a living hell.

When she found out about the truce Azur Lane had made with them, she was furious, but she had to suppress her feelings. If she did anything rash, she'd compromise the position of the other METAs with the Commander. The man had put his trust in them and had opened the door of his base to them; she wasn't going to ruin everything for her comrades just because she couldn't control her anger and reach a compromise. So, she had forced herself to swallow her reservations and resigned herself to put up with their terms.

Tester being still around and under enemy control came up at just the right time. She had a lot of pent-up frustration, and she was ready to take it out on the Elite.

"Perfect," she growled. "These pawns were starting to bore me."

"This was Helena's idea," Kindle told her. "Apparently, she's already done something like this. Together, we should be able to track Tester's movements more easily, even with her enhanced camouflage. You just keep doing your thing…"

But Ember had already tuned Kindle's voice out of her mind. She turned her focus to the next group of Executor-class, already anticipating the moment she'd put her hands on the reprogrammed Antiochus, and then lunged at them.


"Watch out down there!" Freedom shouted over the comms as he watched the Hive-type plummet to the sea below. Its core was still intact, but its frame had been reduced to a colander, and it was completely unable to hover.

Adding that to the one he had already dealt with, and the other two Lenin had taken care of before he even made it here, it was four. No more Hives meant no more Drone-types, and their already dwindling numbers would soon diminish to zero. Then, there would be no more Original Sirens among the enemy forces, and most importantly, no more annoying parasites swarming around, making life difficult for the frontline fighters.

As he observed the giant flying saucer impact the waves and disappear under the surface of the water, he took advantage of the moment of respite to take a breath and scan the battlefield from above.

Tower's rigging had recalled all the Pilots to itself, but that didn't mean the skies were a safe space. Among the Executor-class it had deployed from within itself, there were a lot of Strategists, and even a few Enforcers of the Harmony type. Those pawns didn't waste time sending out their own drones, and thus, the battle for aerial superiority was far from over.

Luckily, between the combined fleets of Brest and Azur Lane, there were plenty of carriers to oppose them. In fact, in Freedom's opinion, the Kansen had the advantage in this case. Sparviero, Yorktown, Enterprise, Akagi, Shoukaku, Zuikaku… and those were just the names he could list off his head. With so many powerful individuals on one side, it was only a matter of time before the aerial part of the conflict tilted in their favor.

Concluding that he could leave the dogfights to his brother and the others, he turned his attention down to the middle of the fray and grimaced internally.

In sheer numbers, the enemy outnumbered them, and there was nothing they could do about it. With the situation around the world being what it was, most of the shipgirls of the joint base had already been assigned to other duties and weren't present at the time of departure. Additionally, someone had to remain behind to protect the base in case the Original Sirens tried anything like they had done during the attack on the Sanctuary.

He wished Kurama was here; the male Kitsune would have made short work of the small fry, but Shinano had summoned him to the Sanctuary, and he had decided to remain there to help reinforce the guard to the Sacred Sakura with Nagato, Kaga, and the other Sakura shipgirls.

Normally, that wouldn't be an issue. Fighting against overwhelming odds was standard in the life of a Kansen. The problem was the morale, as a good chunk of the shipgirls from Azur Lane were METAs.

METAs who had just been told that the terminal disease plaguing their existence actually had a cure.

One would think that they'd be over the moon, fighting with sky-high morale. But the truth was different. Those poor women had long since come to terms with their condition; they had accepted their fate, believing it inevitable. For that reason, most of them had taken up the habit of fighting carelessly, unperturbed by the pain and unconcerned about their own safety.

They didn't care if they died on the battlefield or by the corruption of the Metamorphosis; in fact, some of them even yearned for an honorable death in battle.

But now they had been presented with something they had long since forgotten about: hope. The hope of defying one's fate was a powerful medicine to soothe one's weary souls, like a small, timid ember lighting up a campfire in the middle of the night, but it was also a double-edged weapon.

Especially in the face of danger, as it was now making them hesitate.

Freedom took a deep breath and bolted, his wings pushing him down toward the surface, where the bulk of the fights was happening. As he weaved his way through the fire of cannons and laser beams being exchanged between the two sides, his eyes darted over the battlefield.

Fortune META was all right. Her friends would never allow anything to happen to her.

Junyou META and Hiyou META were with Alabama. The three of them had become fast friends after the events in Hermit's mist.

Hiryuu META was with Zuikaku. The two Sakura carriers were fighting side by side without a hint of hesitation in their moves.

Queen Elizabeth META and Sheffiled META were together, surrounded by their Royal Navy comrades.

Renown, Yamashiro, Arizona, Memphis… They were all safe. Who else was missing?

"Algérie!"

Amidst the sound of battle and the cacophony of voices coming from his internal radio, Freedom managed to pick up a desperate cry.

His wings switched configuration, allowing him to change course in a heartbeat, and he bolted in that direction.

Not even two seconds later, his keen eyes picked up on the problem.

Algérie had met her META counterpart, and the two were experiencing memory sharing… in the middle of the battlefield! He could see both women standing still on the water a few feet away from each other, their eyes lost in the distance as they looked at one another, as if they were in a trance.

The voice belonged to Le Malin, who was trying her best to shake her Vichya comrade awake, all while a hail of rockets was raining down on them from above.

"Shit! No, please! Don't make me choose!" He screamed internally.

And yet, there was no choice to be made. If he went to Algérie—Le Malin's comrade—he could bring the destroyer to safety as well, but that would mean leaving her META counterpart to her fate. In the scale of priorities, two lives weighed a lot more than one. Not to mention that Lenin would never forgive him if he found out that he had the chance to save her but didn't take it.

His mind was racing a hundred miles a minute, desperately trying to find a solution, but then he noticed something else—a flash of pink right beside Le Malin and Algérie. His eyes met La Gallissonnière META's for a single, quick instant; her hands arms extended toward them, ready to grab them.

That was it; that's what he needed to make the choice.

His afterburners exploded with a burst of energy, and he traveled the remaining distance at almost supersonic speed. He all but crashed into Algérie META, swooping her in his arms as he took her up in the air and out of danger.

Then the missiles landed. The deafening detonations happened almost simultaneously, and the columns of water that arose from them reached up to him, blocking the view.

He came to a stop and checked on the META he was carrying in case the whiplash had damaged her neck or anything else. She seemed to be all right, if a bit dizzy. After that, he flew down to water level in a hurry, and as the splashes settled, they revealed that both Le Malin and Algérie were also all right. They had been sent flying and had landed a few feet away, but they were otherwise unscathed.

"Quick, you three, we need to get out of here!" He said as he set Algérie META down on her feet. But she was still too out of sorts to stand by herself, so he was forced to support her with his arm. He also tried to get the other two shipgirls' attention, but they weren't listening to him. "We are too exposed here; the enemy could-"

His words died in his throat as his gaze followed theirs and settled on what they were looking.

"No… Nononono!" He screamed internally, eyes wide in shock and disbelief.

There, floating motionlessly a few feet away from them, was a maimed, almost unrecognizable body with pink hair.

That was La Gallissonnière META.


Now it was Freedom's turn to gawk.

The sight of the lump of flesh in armor with pink hair that vaguely resembled a body was throwing his thoughts into chaos.

There were also the remains of a big battle axe beside it. La Gallissonnière META must have thrown it away after noticing the danger and had managed to push the other two Vichya shipgirls out of the way. But she couldn't get to safety herself; she had just taken the full brunt of the barrage, giving her life to save two others that weren't even her actual comrades.

Freedom couldn't help but ask himself what else he could have done. Could he have saved all of them? No, that was impossible. If he had tried, he would have just ended up dead along with them; he just wasn't fast enough, and it was too late anyway…

But those were just excuses he was trying to make for himself. There was nothing he could have done to prevent it without trading another life, sure, but it was still his fault. The choice of trusting in La Gallissonnière had been his, and that had led to the death of the pink-haired META. The responsibility was his and no one else's.

Algérie META's cry of anguish shook Freedom from his thoughts. She rushed to her comrade's lifeless body, kneeling down as she reached out with her hands. But the gruesome state of it made her recoil in shock, her hands stopping midair, as if she were afraid of touching it. She bit her lips and hugged herself, lowering her head in shame and despair, and began sobbing, her whole body shaking uncontrollably.

"La Gallissonnière… N-No, it shouldn't have ended like this…" she muttered between sobs. "I'm sorry, mon amie… It's all my fault; please forgive me…"

That was enough to bring the shipboy back to reality.

He turned to the other Algérie. She had her eyes wide in shock and was also crying, silent tears streaming down her face.

He grimaced at that. She had just been through a memory-sharing process, so it was safe to say that she was experiencing the same pain as her META counterpart. But since those memories weren't hers to begin with, it was throwing her mind in a state of confusion.

One thing was certain, though: she was in no condition to keep fighting.

"Le Malin, I know you are shaken, but I need you to be strong," he said, turning to the destroyer. "There's no time; you have to take both Algérie and get out of here."

His words managed to shake her out of her stupor.

"O-okay, I'll do it," said the destroyer, trying to appear confident despite the shock.

Then the shipboy stepped up to Algérie META and put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's not safe here; you need to go," he stated, trying to keep his voice steady.

But the META didn't stop crying; if anything, his words only aggravated her state. "It should have been me, not her! It's not fair! Why did you choose to save me?!" She began hitting him in the chest with barely enough strength to hurt a child. He grabbed her wrists and forced her to look at him.

"Listen! She's gone, and there's nothing you can do about it! You'll have plenty of time to mourn her later! Now get a grip and get out of here if you don't want to end up like her!" His booming voice made her stop. Her tear-filled eyes widened in shock as if he'd just slapped her, and he immediately regretted his words. He took a calming breath before letting go of her wrists and grabbing her shoulders. "I'll bring her to you later, I promise," he added more calmly.

The META didn't respond. She simply looked down between her feet in silence until Le Malin stepped up to them and grabbed her hands.

"We need to go," she said, looking up at her with eyes full of emotion.

And the META relented.

Le Malin called for backup in the comms to escort them as she led Algérie and her META counterpart away, but not before nodding at the shipboy.

Freedom nodded back at her, and once they got far enough, he turned his gaze upward. The rain of death that took out the pink-haired META had come from Tower, probably one of the many attacks the giant rigging had missed in trying to hit Geryon.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on his Cube.

His jaw relaxed and his fists unclenched as he directed all the rage and hatred simmering inside him to his thrusters.

Then his wings came to life, their purple glow more intense than ever, and he took off into the air.


"Oi, Kindle, what's taking so long?" Ember addressed her comrade into the comms as she fought.

Panting in exertion, she swung her sword at the Tracker in front of her, but she didn't put as much power as she intended behind the strike. Her attack missed completely as the pawn tried to step back to a safe distance, but the META followed with a burst of her cannons, swiftly taking her out.

"Now you need help, huh?" Kindle responded. "Hold on, I'm sending reinforcements."

"I don't need help!" Ember retorted. "I want to know when that bitch is going to show up-"

An ear-splitting screech reached her ears, the sound rattling her brain and spreading to her whole body. She fell to her knees, feeling all her strength drain from her body. Turning to the side, she noticed an Intruder aiming her rigging at her, while more pawns began forming up and taking aim in front of her, ready to exploit the opening the jammer was offering them.

Ember cursed under her breath. How did she not see her coming? How did she make such a rookie mistake? No, she didn't make a mistake; she was tired, sure, but her back was clear, even as she was distracted talking to Kindle. Of that, she was sure.

As she questioned the circumstances, the pawns opened fire. She lowered her head and braced for impact. The explosions went off close enough to hurt her ears, but the pain never came. When the sound subsided and she opened her eyes again, she saw a big, shark-like rigging floating in the water beside her.

She knew her. That was Liebe, the rigging belonging to one of the shipboys; her body was big enough to protect her, and she was using it to block the pawns' rounds. All of a sudden, the jamming that was making the weight of her rigging feel unbearable on her back disappeared. She turned in surprise to see the Intruder dead in the water, impaled by a very familiar-looking energy arrow.

Her gaze traveled further back in the distance, where the brunt of the battle was taking place, and she saw Enterprise holding her bow in her hands, looking back at her. The carrier tipped her hat at her and turned away, her attention back on the fight.

Then, when the sound of the volleys being fired ceased, a man's voice reached Ember's ears, and she turned to see Levithan approaching her from the side.

"Liebe, get rid of those nuisances," he told his rigging.

Brushing off the hits she had taken like they were nothing, the shark obeyed. She dove down below the water before reappearing right beside the group of Executor-class and began tearing into them with her jaws and cannons, making short work of them in a few seconds.

"That was a close one, uh?" Leviathan said.

"What do you want, shipboy?" She questioned him.

"Is this how you address the one who just saved your life?" Leviathan asked her with a raised eyebrow. "I was expecting at least a thank you."

"You'll have my thanks when this battle is over," she retorted. "I'll ask you again: what are you doing here?"

"I'm the reinforcements, if you couldn't tell," he said.

"I don't need-" Ember cut herself off, knowing full well she wasn't fooling anyone.

"Yes, you do; what just happened is proof of that," he retorted. "If Tester was able to extend her camouflage to something as big as Tower's rigging, it only makes sense that she'd be able to do it to her troops as well. You need someone to cover for you. Besides, if she hasn't shown up yet, it's because she doesn't see it worth coming out of her hiding spot for just one shipgirl. But a male Kansen and a META, together, split off from the rest of the fleet? That's too good an opportunity to pass."

She clicked her tongue in annoyance. His reasoning was sound enough, she had to admit. "Fine. As long as you stay out of my way. And remember, Tester is my prey."

Leviathan narrowed his eyes at her. "That remains to be seen."

Ember gripped his shoulder threateningly and forced him to look at her. "Listen here, shipboy. No one deserves to tear her to pieces more than me!" She snapped at him. "You will not take this away from me."

"That bitch shot my brother in the back!" He snapped back, swatting her hand away. "If you really want her, you just have to be faster than me," he declared without averting his eyes from hers.

"Fine, then. Let's see who gets to her first."


"This is mutiny, you know, South Dakota?" Ryan said to the battleship half-jokingly.

"This is me preventing you from doing something stupid," Dakota retorted as she jumped atop her own ship, prompting him to tighten his hold on her neck. "And everyone will be more at ease if you stay here with us," she added after she landed.

As soon as she put him down on her vessel's deck, Ryan quickly moved to the taffrail, peering into the distance where the battle was still taking place. From afar, the battlefield appeared as an indistinguishable flurry of motion, with only Tower's rigging and Geryon being clearly visible.

"I know, I know," Ryan let off. "But it still feels wrong to leave everything to you after coming all the way out here."

"Your presence alone is enough to boost our morale; you know it," South Dakota said encouragingly. "But we weren't expecting the battle to devolve into such a brawl. It's unfortunate, but there's nothing you can do."

Ryan sighed, hanging his head. Even he couldn't argue with the facts when they were slapped in his face.

To allow Jean Bart to quickly join the fray, the wounded had all been transferred to South Dakota's vessel after Vestal and her META counterpart had finished administering first aid. The battleship was now sailing around the place, surrounded by a small escort, making sure not to stay in the same place too long and to keep as far from danger as possible.

As much as he wished to, staying aboard Jean Bart's flying ship wouldn't be a wise move. He would have a perfect overview of the battlefield from above, which would allow him to more effectively command his ships, but that would also put him in harm's way, especially considering the kind of enemy Jean Bart was about to engage.

Since he couldn't directly support his Kansen, he decided he could at least try to rack his brain for something. In his mind, he scoured Aoste's notes about Tower's weaponry, looking for an opening in her rigging or a weakness they might have overlooked during the briefing, but he couldn't find anything they hadn't already been through.

So, here he was, relegated to watch from the sidelines, not only unable to intervene in any meaningful way but being detrimental to the operation, as he was also forcing some of the shipgirls out of the fight to protect him when they could be out there helping their comrades.

"Commandant, do you have a moment?" A voice interrupted his train of thought.

"Of course, Cardinal, how are you feeling?" He turned to address the Iris flagship, who had just emerged from below deck.

"Better now, thank you," she replied with a nod of appreciation. "If it weren't for your timely intervention, I wouldn't be here."

"You have to thank your sister for that," he told her. "She's the one who brought us here on time, not me."

"I most definitely will," she said with a wistful smile, looking up to where she could see Jean Bart's flying ship purposefully moving out toward the battle. "I also have to express my gratitude to Dr. Anzeel. She gave me my sister back; that's something I'll never be able to repay."

"The doctor isn't the kind to concern herself with these kinds of things, so you don't have to worry about that. But if you insist, a hug will be more than enough for her, trust me," he said. "She should be below deck with the others, so this might be a good moment," he informed her, but the Iris flagship shook her head.

"That'll have to wait for later. First, I have to tell you something," she declared, her expression turning serious. "It's about Tower…"

Ryan perked up at that, his attention piqued. "I'm all ears, Cardinal."


Kindle was standing in the back of the allied formation, side by side with Helena. From there, protected by their tougher and more reliable comrades, they had a perfect view of the battlefield. They could keep track of Ember and Leviathan's positions with their radar while also scouring for Tester's location.

If she had to be honest, those two teaming up was something Kindle would have never expected to see, especially after what happened when they first met.

And yet, when they set aside their animosity, they seemed to work together quite well. Surprisingly, the META's aggressive and relentless fighting style nicely complemented the shipboy's more methodic approach. Kindle figured it was thanks to the man's level-headedness rather than her comrade's willingness to compromise, but it didn't matter, as long as they could keep up with what they were doing.

Ember would charge ahead, rapidly closing the distance between herself and her opponents to deliver a flurry of powerful swings with her sword, cutting down everything she came into contact with. She would resort to her rigging only when facing particularly slippery targets.

Leviathan, on the other hand, was a lot more passive but no less effective. He only moved the bare minimum when he absolutely needed to evade a particularly heavy hit, while deflecting or shrugging off lighter hits like nothing. He preferred to keep his distance from his targets, waiting for them to give him an opening before swiftly taking them out. He would hurl his blades at his opponents, stabbing them, slashing their limbs off, flailing them with his chains, and sometimes slamming them into other pawns.

And then there was Liebe. The shark-like rigging was on a killing spree. She would jump out of the water like an actual shark, throwing entire groups of pawns into disarray, crush her unfortunate victim with her jaws, and proceed to land on the rest of the poor bastards who weren't fast enough to get away in time. Then she would just dive under the water again to avoid the enemy's retaliation and repeat the process. By now, an entire horde of pawns had disappeared down her gullet, so much so that Leviathan was starting to worry if she had enough space in her belly for the rest.

They were pushing through the enemy's external backline by themselves, picking apart their formation by slowly taking down every group of pawns they came across.

It wasn't just the great help they were giving to the fleet. With such an eye-catching display they were putting up, they were bound to catch their quarry's attention eventually.

"Oi, tell your robot fish to steer clear of me!" Ember yelled at the shipboy, her voice reaching Kindle through the comms. "If it steals another one of my preys, I'll shoot it myself."

"Now I understand how Lenin feels," Leviathan commented dispassionately. "Liebe, next time they try to kill her, let 'em. Maybe she'll learn some manners."

That is, if they could keep it up until the end without coming to blows.

"Focus, you two, and keep your eyes peeled for anything weird," Kindle interjected. "We can tell you roughly where Tester is, but if you can't score a hit because you are too distracted, it will all be for nothing," she rebuked them. "She'll find out about our plan, and at that point, it'll be impossible to draw her out again-"

Her words were interrupted by Helena abruptly clasping her shoulder.

"I got her!" She suddenly exclaimed.


"I got her!" Helena's voice came in through the comms.

"Where is she?!" Ember came to an abrupt stop, frantically scanning her surroundings.

"Don't stop moving!" Leviathan reproached her. "Don't let her know that you are waiting for her!"

"Great job, Helena; now I can see her as well," Kindle said to her counterpart, then she addressed the other two. "She's coming towards you! Keep doing your thing and wait for my signal."

Leviathan and Ember shared a glance, and without another word, they charged the few remaining pawns. They both made sure to cover each other's backs while also purposefully leaving an opening for their quarry to exploit, and they waited, their hearts drumming in their chests.

Their nerves were catching up to them, and for good reason. They were willingly leaving themselves open for an enemy to come at them. They had only one chance to take that enemy out, and they were determined not to mess it up.

"There she is!" Came Kindle's warning. "Fifty feet at six o'clock! Leviathan, Tester is right behind you!"

The shipboy spun on his heels. With two swats of his left arm, he deflected the first and second hits directed at him, the laser beams bouncing off the chain wrapped around his left forearm and landing into the water, but the third hit him right in the shoulder. Unfazed, the shipboy set his eyes on a spot in the ether ahead of him that seemed to be rippling. It was just a flicker, enough for him to discern it from the surroundings, but also fleeting enough to lose it if he blinked once.

But now that he had locked in on it, he wouldn't tear his eyes away for anything in the world.

The sound of cannons going off came from behind him without warning, but he didn't flinch even as the volley passed right above him. Thus, he saw it miss its target as the ripple moved to the side. It paused for a second, and then it began to leave the premises.

"What are you doing?! She's leaving!" Ember bellowed, furious at herself for missing the shot but also furious at him for doing nothing.

But Leviathan was calm; he had already thrown his right chain. He pushed it with all his strength, willing it forward to its maximum reach until the blade made contact, stabbing its target and piercing through the flesh before hooking onto the steel of the rigging.

The chain tensed up, and the flicker began acting up. Tester was trying to pull away with all her might, but he wasn't going to let go. He smirked as he saw purple blood begin to pour over the links of the chain.

"Now, Liebe!" He shouted.

His rigging came out from below, right from under the agitated ripple. She jumped high into the air and twisted her body forward, bringing her tail up and slamming it right into her target. A crackle of energy and a flicker of light revealed Tester's face for but an instant as it plummeted back toward the surface of the water with a powerful splash along with the rigging.

Ignoring the pain in his shoulder, Leviathan gripped the chain with both hands and pulled hard.

"GET OVER HERE!" He shouted again.

After a spin of his body to gain momentum and a swing of his chain with enough force, Tester's body slammed into the water again, but this time right at Ember's feet.

Bemused, the META gawked at the shipboy, wondering what he was thinking, but he simply responded with a smirk. Then she looked down before her as Tester's camouflage came completely undone, and her gaze settled on the corrupted Antiochus' eyes.

A devilish grin appeared on her face as she raised her sword in the air.


AN: I'm so glad the METAs exist! Since their lives are already tragic messes, I don't have to feel bad about making them even more miserable. That way I don't have to do it to the non-META shipgirls; how convenient is that?

Next Chapter: The Harder They Fall