Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

June 29th, 2027, 1:20 AM, Mundus Somniorum

“Woah… This place is absolutely stellar… Literally,” Bremerton said, as she walked with Shinano. It was the first time the fox had brought someone from their mind into the Realm of Dreams intentionally. Many tests had to be conducted to see how the process would work, but they managed to find the way. “Intrepid would love this place. It’s a shame that I can’t take pictures for her.”

“Indeed… Dream items… don’t become physical… once we wake…” Shinano explained, making a turn to reach an all too familiar hallway.

“What’s with that white sliver on that door?”

“That is hard to explain… Please, come enter.”

Opening the door, Bremerton found herself in a mostly furnished room, with the only thing not being where a TV and couch were located. Sitting on said couch was the Commander, who turned his head after hearing the door.

“Oh, hey Bremerton and Shinano. ” he waved at them. “I guess this is the help you were referring to? ”

“Indeed Shikikan-sama… Bremerton has already been informed… of your situation…”

“You know it’s bad to hold all that anger, right?” Bremerton asked.

“Ṏ̸̧͇̲̼̭͚̲̱͚̰́̚ͅH̶̛̭̟̤̻̤͊̽̓̐̑͜͝,̸̧̡̖̣̗̘̤̮̝͖̯̲̉̉̍̂͑̿͌͌͠ ̴͉̜̺̱̠̤̰̭̫̖̓̇̓͋̋̅̄̈́̒͗̕H̶̨̦̮̩̙͚̤͕͖̣̩̊̌̀̈́͜Ȩ̸̝͚̝̠̠̟͉̮̯̤̬̳̃́ ̶̮̺̥̟̮̗̘͇̎̎̒̉̏̑̽̈́̿̄̓̈́͐K̴̞͙̲̙̦̪̪͍̦͓̲̞̱̈́̆͋̐̍̄̆̓̍̍͘͜N̶̢̛͉̖̟͖̟͎̙̘̬̯̺̞̮̊͛̆̈̓́̅̒̄̿̇́̓͜͝Ơ̶̰̗̽̅̏̌́͆W̸̧̺͚̙̣̮̺̙̙̟̜͉̝̲͂̊̒́̄̅͜͝͠S̷̡̠͕͚͒͒̈̽́̈̋͘,̷̮̪̜̈́͋̇͂͛͠” the voice answered for him, making Bremerton jump.

“Wah!! What the heck is that?!”

“That’s Ikari-san,” Shinano calmly said. “It’s Shikikan’s anger.”

“Oooh. I see. You literally bottled up your anger. Or I guess you put it behind bars…?”

“Ŝ̶̡̧̛̤͍̝̹̦̮̬͇̬̱͍͌̎͛̀͠O̶͍̳̘͍̾̀̆̊,̶̢͔̖̻̤͔̖̖̹͓̫͋̀̾̀͌̌̒ ̶̠̮͚̠̼͈͍͖̪͛ͅP̸̢͓̥̗̫̭͈̗͂͗͐̀̏̾́̾̈́̽̐̕͘͜͠ͅI̸̧̟̰̩͎̰̝͕̖̺̜͓͂͑͂͐̐͑̍͐̇̂̈́̇̕̕N̶̢̪̍̂̅͛̈͛͊̏͊̌̓̎̕K̶̖̘̪̻̯̫̥̪̮̳̱̊̅͆̈́̀͒͋ ̴̡͉͖̗͖͇͉͚̤̲̇̂̐̋̃͋̾̈́̍͘W̴̹̘͚͖̥̘̠̜̼͍̃̆̃̈́̏̇̓̈́͗̀̐̄̕͝͠Ó̵̹͖̱̱̙͕̹̯͛̒̅́M̷̧̖͖̻̠̩͍̅̓̀́͐͋̔͜Å̴̤̫̠̏͂̋̅̏͘Ṇ̴̛̛̈́̾͂́̄.̶̢̨̨͐̅̀̎̅ ̸̡̢̡̭̥̘̺̼̱̘͖̘̠̦̩̀͋͑͒̌͋̑̑̈́̒͐͂W̵̜͖̮̟̞̱̤͇̬͚͔͛͗̈́̋̊̀̚͘͝H̷̜̠͛̇́̌̃͛̓̇͋̎̋̈A̸̬̪̱͍̥͊̔̈́̅̇͊͋̓̆͝T̷̨̨̜͍͚͓͓͉͉̘̦̫̺͎͂̅̀̔͠͝ͅ ̸̨̢̛͓̤̪͎̽͋̀̀̏̐͆̀̋̽̕͘D̷̹͍͈̭̙̬̥̀̈́̔̇̓Ợ̶̡̡͉̰̈́ ̵̛̛̠̬͔̞̩͚̲̣͋̌͊̐̃̓̓̈́́͝Y̸͉̪̺̣̠̫̖͋̉̋̃́̈Ȍ̸̩̝͓̏̎̈́̎U̸̡̩̓͋̓̏̈ ̵̛͈̼͚̟̹͚̮͆̅̉͒̇́̄͘͝ͅP̷͇͍̮̰͚͂̋L̷̻̈́͐́Ă̵͔̦̗̆̈͐N̶̡͉̦͔̱͈̤͓̻̻̼̞̪͐̽͜ ̵͇͑̀̎̋́̔̔̐̇̕T̴̡̹͍͙͕̼̦͓̺͍̫̰͔͆̐̃̒̆̅̋͊̂Ŏ̵̤̼̪͈̻̱̻̱͖̪̅̐̃̚ ̴̪̻̮̋̆́̿͌̍̾͒̈́̓̆̚͠͝D̸̢͙̜̫̯͔͔̥̲̊̅Ǫ̴̩̮̯̤͍͔̀̀̚?̵̛̣̲̙̦͙͎͌̆͊͌̊̿͊͗̽̀̕̚͠͠”

“My job. Helping the Commander with this problem he has.”

“Thanks, Brem. ” the man thought out. “So, what do I do? ”

“From what I understand, you have some anger issues that stem from something that happened between your mother and yourself,” Bremerton recapped, taking a seat on the couch with Shinano following behind her. “Would you like to divulge what happened?”

“H̶̢͈̟̤͇̫̰̮͊͂͗̓̾̊̔̚͝A̶͎̭͖͔͗͜H̵̫̣̙̖̳͙͖̼͕̼̯͓̠̳̺̅̆͆̇̔̀̈́̄̄̐̕!̸̢̭͕̒́̾͗̒̽̔͐̚!̶̥͍̘̇̀̄̚ ̷̠̱̺̪̬̂̀́̀̽͝Ḭ̵͔̣̞̇͊͆̈́͋̓̑͐͑͑͠͠F̵̨̢̧̙̟̺̻͚̘̰̳̜̥̼̎͗̅͛̈́̐̈́̇̍̂̊̊͋̍ ̷̡͍̪̖̺͕̠͙͓̘̤͖̭̯̬̊̓̔̀̆̌I̴̗͇̟̪̝͚͚̩̞̮̺̝̍͛̔͐̽̐̀̈̽͑̂̀̋̇͜͝T̸̳̯̦̭̮̙̒͋̏̌́̐̌̃́̉͋̕̕͜ ̸̻̫͋͂̔̇̓͠W̸̧̱̦̗̬͍̦̓͛̉̃̀͒̃͘͝͝͝A̷̡̙̝̫̓̆͋͌̒̌̉͆̓͐́͛̊͝͝Ş̶̨̢̛͓̦̠̤̠͚̪̲̘̮̓̔̃̋̑̀͒̍̃͜͜͠ ̵̛̣̦̜̰̹͎̙̖̐̀͑͐̈́͐͗̈́͝ͅT̵̨̰̠͚̦̪͇̝͔̬̬͗̽̿̓̂ͅH̸̥̿̿̈͊Ą̸̼̱͕̥̺̳̘̎̎͒̇͋̈̕T̸̫̜͖̙͒̒̊ ̷̡̛̥̜̮̦̈́͂̿̽̀̑̒͜͝E̴͇̪̙͕͈̼̬̤̤̝̋̍͊͜͝Ȧ̸̠̱͈͔̣̃̋̀͛͊̇͒̇̄͑̆͘͘͜͝S̸̨̡̬̻̣̱͈̤̟͖̼̦͓͕͒̈̔͛́̆́̒́̋̃̎͘͝ͅỲ̶̧͉͇͇̳͖͕̦̬̳̦̻̖̙̮̀̎̇,̴̲͚̠̼͎̖̔͒̋̆̈́̀̈́͌͋̕͠ͅ ̶̡͖͇̘͔̻̹̩̹͚̲̊́̓̈́͒̈͝Y̶͙̘̮̞͂͑͐̀́̽͛̏̄̍̅͘͝Ǫ̷͇̹͔̼̙̙̫̪̐̍̓͘U̷̧̨̘̙͕̜̗͐̓̔̌̊̍̀̚ ̶̯̳̰̳̳̼̘̺̻͒͐̈́̌̐̈͝͠͝W̵̛̳͚̭͙̏́̄̀̓̅͂̃͊̏O̴̡̧̤͉̹̺̻̫̥̼͇̟͙̽͆̿́̑̽̒̈̋̌͆̂͐̐͜͝U̵̥̜̞͉̓͜Ḻ̵̨͕͋͑̊͆́̏̌̒̒̽̐͠͝D̶̨͊̀̃̑N̵̹̝̞͖̲͍̹̳̏̂̉͋̈́̾̕’̵̨̨̧̥͉͈̤̫̮͚̖͈̝͖̙̒̑̇͒̎̽͝T̷̝̥̟̞͕͓̥̺̠̃͛̄̂́̃͂͝ͅ ̸̟͈͉̺̥͓͒̀͋̈̃́͌͜͠B̴̛͙̺͛̈́̌̔E̴̢͇̖̩̙̣͔͍̯̲͒̀͌̀̃̓̀̓̓͆͆̉̚ ̷̨̧̢̳̜̬̖̭̯͚̺̮̑̽̊́͂H̵͈̺̦̫̙̲̺͗̅̿͆̾́͂͋̚̕͠E̷̥̪̠̥͑̂̃̌̽̈́͌͋̒͛͆̀̌̀̚R̶̖͉̬͂̆̔̓̃͊̍̔͆̃͊͠Ȩ̷̝̭̰̩͇̲͇̗͚̋͝!̷̨̡̧̡͙͎̲̳̥̝͕͉͙̫͍͂̃̈́̍̔̕͝”

“Come on, Sir. You know it would be easier for all of us if you said it.”

“It’s… hard to tell it… I don’t think I’m prepared to relive those memories… ”

“And that’s okay,” the heavy cruiser comforted him. “We will take this one step at a time.”

“Okay… One step… ” he breathed out. “Show them the first one… ”

A long red streak zipped from the gated door, underneath the couch, and impacted the TV. The device was soon enveloped by the same red cracks, and the screen started to become fuzzy before an image became clear to them. They saw the sight of a woman yelling at a little boy, with him having a balled fist in his hands as tears flowed down his face. She was yelling at him about disobeying something she told him not to do. But an echoey voice said that it’s what he wanted to do…

Chapter Text

June 29th, 2027, 9:10 AM, Base, Security Room

Within the base’s old security room, a place that hasn’t been used for its intended purpose for a while, Helena was rummaging through filing cabinets — searching for something. She had been searching for a while, given that there was an organized stack of files on the desk and opened drawers.

“Where is it?” she murmured to herself, not expecting a response.

“You alright, Comrade?” a voice asked from behind her, making the blue-haired woman jump. Turning around, she saw that it was Kronshtadt who was the one who called out to her — a cup of coffee in hand.

“Oh, Kronshtadt! Can you help me search for something?” Helena asked, going back to the filing cabinet.

Setting her cup aside, she asked, “What are you looking for?”

“The drives,” Helena elaborated. The Surveillance Team used two different flash drives, one for the Heartfall family and the other for Glitch.

“What?! They’re not in the cabinet?!”

“No, I’ve searched it three times now, and even the other cabinets. But it’s just not here.”

“Have you asked the others?” Kronshtadt questioned.

“Yes, but they said that they haven’t been in here for days now,” Helena affirmed, pulling out her phone and showing the messages.

“That must mean… Someone broke in and took them!” she concluded.

“But who—” Helena started to say, but a thought struck her head. “Glitch.”

“What?”

“Glitch! They must have been the one who took them!”

“Right!” the beige-haired woman agreed, now following her line of thinking. “They’re the only person outside who knows about this thing.”

“But how did they manage to find the security room and break in without triggering the door’s alarm?”

“I don’t know, Comrade. But we need to get those drives back.”

“Right! I’ll alert the others!”

Chapter Text

June 29th, 2027, 9:47 AM, Base, Airfield

“Good job, ladies. ” the Commander wrote out as he, Howe, and the Olympics team met by the gates. “I’ll be sure to announce the results to the rest of the girls later. ”

“We thank you all for what you’ve accomplished this last month,” Howe joined in.

“No problem,” Eagle said for the whole team. “We had a great time in California, too.”

“Now that’s over, I’ve got to ask. What the heck did you girls buy? ” the Commander asked them, looking over to the plane.

Unloading from the plane were several pallets of cargo, with the manjuus and airfield workers setting them by Hanger 3. Most of it was in cardboard boxes, but there were some that came in wooden crates.

“Souvenirs,” Vanguard plainly told him, not clearing any confusion up.

“Well, whatever. I’m sure you girls want to see some people once again. You’re all dismissed. ”

With a salute, most of the girls started to head out of the airfield. Vanguard, Reno, Casablanca instead ran towards the cargo pile being set up, and started to talk with the workers about delivering all of them to their respective locations.

As Brooklyn was about to leave, the Commander managed to stop her in her tracks.

“Brook, could you stay for a little bit longer? ”

“Is something wrong, Sir?” she asked.

“Just a personnel report. ” he elaborated. “Okay, let’s point out the elephant in the room. Why’s Eugen in a more chipper mood than normal? ”

Earlier, as the plane taxied to a stop and the girls were getting off, the Commander and Howe noticed the wicked smile plastered on her face. A sign that they both knew she had something on her radar that was prime for teasing — feasting off of her prey’s embarrassment. And that made the couple worried that she might have spotted them on her radar. It was either that, or someone had just gone through teasing-hell from the German lady.

“O-oh, th-that…” Brooklyn stammered out, something out of the ordinary for the light cruiser.

“Brooklyn, are you alright?” Howe concerningly asked.

“Um… It may pertain to… m-me…” she admitted with a growing blush.

“You? Is it a personal matter?” Howe questioned, with her nodding in approval. “Well, you don’t have to tell us then.”

“Moving from Eugen, how were the rest of the girls? Did they help? ”

Clearing her throat and trying to rid herself of her crimson face, Brooklyn said, “Yes, Sir. They were a huge help with the negotiations; with Eagle and Baltimore showing excellent physical performance.”

“Even the other three? ”

“Despite their ulterior motives for joining us, they still were a big helping hand.”

“Good, that’s all we wanted to talk about. Remember, I need AARs from each member three days from now. ”

“Yes, Sir!”

“Dismissed. ” he said. As the team’s leader left the airfield, he turned to Howe. “I guess we should head back to the office, there are a few things we need to complete. ”

“Right, there’s that request from Akashi with the improved Meowfficers, a report to High Command about the Olympics, and whole lot of other things,” Howe listed off.

“Well, shall we? ”

“Lead the way.”

As the two of them left the airfield, John slowed his pace to match with Howe’s own; reaching out to grab her hand and interlocked it with his. Of course, they made sure that no one out of the know saw them show this display of affection, still oblivious of the fact that most of the island already knows. As they walked the path from the airfield into town, Howe had this feeling that they were being watched — a similar feeling after their second date. This gaze onto them didn’t feel like it had any malicious intent towards them, so it probably wasn’t one of the yanderes.

“John,” she finally spoke up. “I think someone is watching us…”

“What makes you say that? ” he asked, letting go of her hands.

“I don’t know… It’s just this… feeling of being watched…”

Thinking, he wrote back, “Maybe activate your rigging to see if you can get a radar ping? ”

Nodding, she formed her rigging around herself and concentrated on her radar to find their stalker. At first, she only received signals from the people in the town — all big green dots around 5mm to her. Some of them even had tags, indicating that those were shipgirls in town. After almost a minute of focusing on her radar, she received a faint return signal. It was a small green dot less than 2 mm in size, with an unidentified tag on it, and it was on the move — flickering in and out of her radar screen.

“Got it!” she announced, pointing into the town.

Both of them started to head further into town, using the back streets to avoid any suspicion towards them for Howe still had her rigging on. John had never really used the alleys of the town to navigate, and it gave him some new routes to use — potentially faster than using the main road. After a minute of following the faint signal, they rounded a corner of a branching alley and faced an alley that led to a dead-end — causing Howe and John to stop. She moved him behind her, in case anything were to happen.

“Show yourself!” she shouted down the alley, still having her rigging at the ready.

Out of the shadows, a tall metallic figure cloaked in a dark, long hooded-jacket slowly approached them. Where the face was, numerous blue lights dotted it; probably its vision. A breathing apparatus was located where the mouth would be, but the two couldn’t hear any breathing. This thing was what Howe saw all the way back in April, on that dark and stormy night — lurking around in the rain.

John suddenly tapped Howe’s shoulders, before pointing towards the figure’s left arm. Looking more closely, the thing was holding onto a manila folder containing some papers in there. It was also holding onto two flash drives, but then it stuffed those items into its jacket.

“Identify yourself!” Howe demanded, unsheathing her sword for further intimidation.

It did not do anything, just simply standing — the two still feeling the presence of being watched by it. After a heart-pounding fifteen seconds, the sound of something depressurizing filled the alley. Not a moment later, smoke started to bellow out of the figure’s jacket, quickly enveloping the area around it. John and Howe were out of the smoke’s coverage, and were now prepared for it to make its move.

At blindingly fast speeds, the figure lunged towards them! It was so fast, Howe couldn’t have made a move against it. However, the figure wasn’t planning on attacking them. Using its speed, it jumped past them; causing John and Howe to jump to the side to avoid getting hit. John landed first on the floor, and caught Howe as she landed on top of him — both quickly rising to their feet. They saw the figure dash out of the alleys, making their way to the main road.

“Let’s move. It would be wise to stop it,” Howe suggested, with the two now pursuing the figure.

As they started to give chase, John tried to quickly type out a message to everyone that an unidentified figure was currently in the town — he wanted everyone available to help capture this thing. But as soon as he was done writing up his message, his tablet suffered a sudden interruption in connection and turned off. He pressed the power button numerous times, but it proved to be fruitless.

“My radar is acting haywire, but we’re still on their tail!” Howe told him.

I guess we’ll pick up help as we go , John thought to himself.

Chapter Text

June 29th, 2027, 9:57 AM, Town, Grocery District

“Enty, are you sure you want to be cooking tonight?” Hornet asked her sister, still unsure of her capabilities despite getting lessons from Vestal. “The last time I had something you made, you stuffed a ration bar in it.”

“I’m sure,” Enterprise confidently said. “I just need to think of something to cook…”

“You haven’t thought that far?!”

The two made their way around the district, Enterprise looking at the various produce available to think of something to cook for tonight. As they passed the stall owned by Gwen, Hornet received a message from Yorktown asking of their whereabouts. She was typing a message to her, but her phone suddenly experienced a malfunction; preventing her from contacting their eldest sister.

“Huh. That’s strange…” Hornet commented. “Hey, Enty. Can you contact York for me? My phone is acting up.”

“Sure—” she began, but when she tried to turn on her phone, it too was unresponsive. “Hmm? My phone won’t turn on. I’m sure that I charged it last night…”

“This hasn’t happened before… What do you think is happening?”

As if to answer her question, a dark, hooded figure dashed past them at inhuman speeds. The figure turned its head around to look back, and the two sisters caught a glimpse of blue lights covering the face. Something Enterprise has seen before in those pictures provided by the Surveillance Team.

“What the heck is that?!”

“I don’t know… But I have a feeling it’s not good,” Enterprise answered, trying to hide the fact she’s seen it already. Then she noticed a letter on the ground; perhaps something that thing dropped as it ran by them. Reaching down, she saw that the letter was addressed to Howe by Shinano, and more alarms started to ring in her head. Hastily opening it, she saw the contents of the letter.

“Dear Howe-san,

This one has taken Shikikan-sama to the Sakura Temple. He has been unwell these past days, and requires a break from the monster brought upon him. Please come by anytime to pick him up.

— Shinano ”

To further drive Enterprise into action, the Commander and Howe ran past the two as she finished reading the letter. They were following the same route as that metal figure, and seemed to be trying to catch up with it.

“Hornet, let’s move!” she commanded her, running to catch up with the two.

“I guess we’ll be getting take-out…” Hornet sighed out, before sprinting down the street.

The two followed them all around the Grocery District, slowly catching up with the Commander and Howe. Eventually, the Commander had to slow down to catch his breath, but Howe still pursued the figure — now heading into the town’s plaza.

“Sir!” Enterprise called out to him, slowing down while she motioned Hornet to follow Howe. “What’s going on?”

Now a bit of distance away from the fiend, the Commander’s tablet was able to work again. Albeit, he was still unable to send messages to anyone. Quickly writing, the Commander said, “That thing looks like it has some important documents! I don’t know if they are, but we have to make sure! ”

“Roger! I hope Hornet and Howe are keeping up. I’ll send up a plane and see where they’re heading — we’ll be able to cut them off.”

“I’m going to grab a car so I can keep pace. Come on! ” the Commander said as he and Enterprise started to head towards the motor pool.

Meanwhile, in the town’s plaza…

“Hornet!” Howe shouted. “Head into the alleys, and try to cut it off! Use your planes to keep track!”

“On it!” Hornet confirmed, sending up three F4F Wildcats to act as her spotters; before darting into a nearby alleyway. As her flight of aircraft started to shadow the target, she also spotted two more flights in the air. One was a flight of three Douglas SBD Dauntless a far bit behind her planes — mostly likely from her sister. But the other flight comprised of two Aichi E13A floatplanes flew directly above where that thing was.

“Huh. Must be Chikuma,” Hornet commented, making a right turn. Using her planes for sight, she could tell that their onboard radars were also experiencing some technical difficulties. But there still was enough of a stable connection to keep track.

As the carrier started to close in on the suspect, so too was Howe. She refrained from firing her main battery at them in order to avoid damaging the surrounding buildings. As they all dashed through the streets, the numerous bystanders were confused as to what was happening. The battleship had no time to explain the situation or else she risked losing the chase.

The metal mystery, after making it out of the plaza, started to head towards the docks using the main road. Howe knew that the road from the town to the docks wasn’t super developed, so she knew it was the right time to attack. Any damage done to the nearby area would be less expensive to repair compared to damage in town.

Loading HE shells, she aimed her 356 mm guns at the target, and unleashed a salvo at them. Not wanting to let up the assault, she then primed, aimed, and fired her 133 mm guns a short while after her primary guns. As the shells of her guns sailed through the air, the figure was able to detect them, and evade out of the way. However, this provided Howe the chance to further close the distance between them — though still not within sword range.

Up above, Hornet’s Wildcats and Enterprise’s Dauntlesses noticed the fire down below, and two saw that as a sign to attack, too. Beginning their dives, the fighters lined themselves up, while the bombers prepared their payload — one 1000 lbs bomb. But as the planes came closer and closer, the mystery person aimed their left arm upwards. Moments later, several small gun barrels popped out of their wrists, and began to light up the sky with anti-aircraft fire. Though it was relatively light and inaccurate, it still proved to be a sudden surprise for the carriers; who called off this attack run.

“Shit!” Enterprise cursed out, now riding with the Commander in a Willys MB. They were currently racing down a secondary road leading to the docks. “This thing is armed.”

Back at the action, the planes and Howe continued to lob shots at the thing, continuing to slow it down. Enterprise’s bombers even managed to land some close hits on it, but there was nothing but blackening the metal. Hornet’s fighters were also able to pepper it with some bullets, and it still wasn’t heavily affected by them. Unfortunately, it was able to shoot down three planes, two Wildcats and one Dauntless, while still doing moderate damage to the others.

By now, Hornet had caught up with Howe, and those three were reaching a merge in the road. That other road was a walkable path used for those to avoid the traffic passing on the main and secondary roads. And it so happens that path is being used.

Out of the blue, Chikuma and Helena jumped out of the trees that acted as a screen, and right in front of the three — making the thing stop. Without missing a beat, Chikuma pulled out her odachi, and sprinted towards them while Helena provided covering fire. While those two were on the offense, Howe also used this time to close the gap and Hornet summoned six more Wildcats and four Dauntlesses of her own.

With a large downward swing, Chikuma’s blade narrowly hit the metal of their opponent as they dodged backwards. This gave Howe the chance to strike, thrusting her own sword at their back and making contact. However, her blade was deflected by whatever the metal was made of, and the attack was redirected down to the ground. But Howe didn’t let that deter her, as she then pointed her guns loaded with AP shells directly at them; as point-blank range.

Sensing the danger, their target leaned back just as Howe launched her attack. While most of them missed, two shells were able to graze the face plate, and formed two long gashes where their right cheek would be. In doing so, small bits of electrical wiring and circuitry became exposed, and a single blue light was obliterated. But by also leaning back, they saw the Hornet’s squadron making an attack run on it from above, with Wildcats leading the way.

Acting quickly, it formed a fist with their right hand and made a swing at Howe — who managed to block it with her blade before it could make contact. Though the impact was so great, it made the battleship skid all the way back to where Hornet was. With her “dealt” with, it turned around to see Chikuma already swinging wide from her right. Ducking it, she then tried to uppercut the rabbit, but she was quick enough to hop back away from it.

But time ran out, and the planes were now upon it — the Wildcats spewing .50 BMG rounds down at them. Aiming their left arm upwards, their AA lit up the air above once again, but the fire was making it hard to focus on it. In addition to the aircraft guns, Helena was also letting loose her own 6-inch guns to divide its attention. While still not able to do major damage, that wasn’t the goal. For they were a distraction to give the Dauntlesses a better chance to let loose their bombs at a closer distance.

And that’s what happened.

The four dive bombers were relatively unharmed from the fire indirectly aimed at them, and were now the perfect distance. With a single command, Hornet’s Dauntlesses unleashed their bombs; one off their mark, but the other three on a crash course with the metal figure. To protect itself, they raised their left arm in front of their face right before the bombs hit. The impact was immense, a large fireball enveloped their target.

The four of them waited to see what would happen, guns and planes aimed at the center of the smoke. But like before, the thing used the black clouds as cover, and surprised Chikuma and Helena as it bursted through the smoke and passed them. As they dived out of the way and looked at their target, they could see the damage those bombs gave it. Multiple cracks had formed on the armor plates, exposing more electrical bits all over it — some sparks flying out. Its cloak was in tatters, and had many burn marks. The left arm was functionally destroyed; all but one of the guns being vaporized, and large cracks running the length of the arm. Rushing over, Howe and Hornet quickly helped them up as they, once again, gave chase down into the docks.

“Do you two know what that thing is?” Howe called back to the cruisers.

“We do, and it’s a long story!” Chikuma confirmed.

“Does it have to do with that file?”

“Yeah,” Helena once again affirmed. “That folder and flash drives have a lot of important data on it!”

“Full Ahead then!” Hornet declared. “We need to catch up!”

As the four of them continued to tail the thing past the dock gates, Enterprise and the Commander were coming into the dock from another gate. Along the way there, they picked up Kronshtadt; who out of the blue, jumped onto their car while it was racing down the road. The carrier had been giving the other two updates on what was happening with the other four, and gave the Commander direction as to where they were heading using her planes.

“Where are they heading now?!” Kronshtadt asked.

“They’re running by Storehouse 12, going towards Storehouse 11 now!” Enterprise relayed the information. “Take a right between Storehouse 1 and 2, we’ll be able to cut them off!”

Meanwhile, at Storehouse 6…

“Thanks for helping me unload these crates, Kashino,” Ting An gave her gratitude to the other munition ship.

“No problem. Just helping out while I’m here,” Kashino replied. “So what’s in the crates?”

“These crates are filled with a lot of fireworks.”

“Oh! For the Eagle Union?”

“Not just them, but for a lot of other factions, too — most of the fireworks will just be for storage; so we don’t have to buy more every year.”

“Makes sense; buy them cheap incase prices increase.”

As they chatted along, they could hear the sound of tires burning — creeping ever closer to their location. Curiosity compelled them to look out, and see the Willys MB the Commander was driving heading their way. The two stepped back into the storehouse to avoid getting hit as the car sped past them. As it did, they could hear the faint sound of Kronshtadt calling out to them saying, “Lockdown the storehouses!!” They were confused at first, but then they heard the distant sound of gunfire coming from down the dock, around Storehouse 11. Without further hesitation, the two split up and headed to different storehouses to close them.

Over by Storehouse 11, Howe, Chikuma, and Helena were firing upon their target within the storage building. Light gunfire echoed off the walls, no one wanting to use their heavy weapons in order to minimize damage. Hornet remained outside as her planes were a bit useless within; instead opting to have them circle above. The metal figure darted from crate to crate, using the darkness and cover to reach the opposite exit from where they entered. When they did get out, they were immediately met with more gunfire from above — courtesy of Hornet.

They were about to make a break towards the other storehouses down the line, but they saw the Commander, Enterprise, and Kronshtadt heading towards them. As the Willys MB skidded to a stop, Enterprise jumped off and immediately aimed her bow at them — arrow primed and ready to be let loose.

“Give us the folder and flash drives, put your hand in the air, and you will not be harmed!” Enterprise commanded.

“Shikikan-sama!” Kashino called out to him with Ting An behind her. “We’ve got them locked down.”

He could only give them a thumbs up as his tablet wasn’t working once again.

Turning their head, the fugitive saw that they were surrounded; only the water remained unguarded. Slowly, they reached into their coat with their left hand, and pulled out the folder and the drives. As they did, everyone slowly inched closer — still cautious of what it would do. The world stood still, seconds felt like minutes as they stood off, waiting for the other’s response.

After 20 heart-pounding seconds, it was the fiend who moved first. Using the last AA gun on its left arm, they fired off a single round into the folder — causing it to start burning. It also crushed the drives in the palm of its hand, turning them into a fine powder. Before they knew it, the smoke spewed out of them once again, enveloping the area.

Everyone backed off, thinking that they would do a similar performance like the other two times — Enterprise, Hornet, and Chikuma ordered their planes to gain altitude. But those planes flew out the window as they all heard the distinct sound of water splashing. All of them ran towards the edge of the docks to spot where it could be, but no one had visual — not even the planes above or their radars could detect anything.

Suddenly, the thunderous sound of a naval gun reverberated throughout the docks. No one knew where it was, until the explosions could be heard up above. Looking up the group saw that several of the planes were now on fire, hurdling down to the earth. Before anyone knew what was happening, shells were sent their way from the smokescreen — forcing them to dive to dodge. Those shells hit Storehouse 10 and 11, causing fires to break out. Then the aircraft wielders could sense that the rest of their planes were now out of action.

Enterprise and Hornet sent out another squadron of aircraft into the air, as they and the others tried to put out the flames. But they weren’t able to establish visual or radar contact, not even 5 miles from the dock — it’s like they vanished into thin air. With nothing to spot, they recalled their planes.

Chapter Text

June 29th, 2027, 12:19 PM, Base, Meeting Room A

“Despite withholding information for a long time, I do greatly appreciate the information you have divulged. ” The Commander wrote out, standing behind the podium and facing the leaders and representatives of the factions. He had called this emergency meeting after they managed to contain the fire at the storehouses — minimal damage done to the building and cargo within. It was here when they finally told him about their knowledge of Glitch, and what was contained in the folder and one of the drives lost. “We will discuss more about our plan of action at a later date. For now, I need to allocate repair parties. This meeting is adjourned. ”

And with that, he and Howe exited the room followed by many of the others inside. Only Sovetskaya Rossiya, Enterprise, Vittorio Veneto, and Richelieu remained at their seats.

“Rossiya,” Vittorio called out to her. “Perhaps now would be a good time to contact her.”

“I second this,” Enterprise added, with Richelieu nodding. “It would be wise to contact her ASAP, and get as much information before we decide on what to do.”

“Haa… She will not be happy about this…” the Northerner sighed out, reluctantly pulling out her phone. After a few seconds, her phone started to ring, and she put it on speaker.

“Какого черта тебе нужно в такое время ночи?! Сейчас 1 час ЧЕРТОВОГО УТРА (What the hell do you want at this time of night?! It's 1 in the GODDAMN MORNING)!!” A voice yelled at her over the phone.

“It’s nice to talk with you too, Soyuz,” she calmly replied back.

“Hah… Что ты хочешь (What do you want)?” Sovetsky Soyuz asked her sister.

“Soyuz,” Richelieu called out to her. “May we speak with… Her ?”

“What’s so urgent…?”

“There was an incident over here, and we would like to know if a certain faction was involved,” Enterprise answered.

“Give me a minute…” Soyuz said, grumbling off in the distance as she walked somewhere.

“Пока ты здесь, как тебе подарки (While I have you on, how'd you like the gifts)?” Rossiya asked, referring to some gifts she sent all the way back on April 10th.

“Они были очень хороши! Мне особенно нравится мишка, которого ты прислал, он у меня каждый раз, когда я сплю (They were pretty good! I especially love the bear you sent, have him every time I sleep),” Soyuz cheerfully said, her attitude doing a complete 180. After a few more moments they could hear the banging of a door. “Wake up!! You have some people that want to talk with you! … Okay, she’s on the line.”

“Hello?”

“Yo, what up Rosy Vodka!” a very cheery voice called over the line — a voice all too familiar with them all.

“Hello, Purifier…” Rossiya reluctantly returned the gesture.

“Aww… Why are you in such a sour mood? Did you lose another screw?”

Clearing her throat, Richelieu said, “Purifier, we have some questions for you.”

“Oh shit! Is that Cardi R? Who else is there with you?”

“It’s Rossiya, Vittorio, Enterprise, and I.”

“Hell yeah! This is becoming a real party! Is that Anomaly with you?”

“I’m afraid not,” Vittorio said. “He’s no longer here at Azur Lane.”

“Ooo~ Did that old geezer finally kick the bucket?”

“No. He’s retired. We have a new commander with us, but he just left the room a little bit ago.”

“Well you got to introduce me to the new one! Who are they? What are they like? What gender are they? Are they interested in internet memes? What do—”

“Purifier!” Enterprise shouted to stop her from rambling out questions. “We have questions, and we want answers.”

“Fine, Ghost…” Purifier relented. “So. Whatcha need?”

“Did the Sirens ever have a plan to create a humanoid mobile suit of armor, and activate it after you guys were defeated?”

“What? Like a Gundam?”

“More of an exosuit.”

“Hmm… Not that I can remember… Maybe Testy or Ob know something about that. But you guys know how well that will go. Why do you ask?”

“Someone matching that description has been seen around the base for a while, and we were wondering if the Sirens may be involved,” the Sardegna battleship relayed.

“Man, that sounds sick! Hey, could you guys send some images of whatever it is?”

“No chance!” Soyuz shot down the request.

“Aw, come on! The only thing I’ve been seeing for the past few months is snow and stone. I need something else to look at~”

“You’re serving a sentence!”

“Whatever… Back to Bad Camerawoman; pretty sure we didn’t create anything like that.”

“Thank you for your cooperation, Purifier,” Rossiya said. “That is all we need to know.”

“Hey, maybe we can call each other another time, and tell me about the new guy. You know how to call me~”

“This is not your phone!” Soyuz retorted, snatching her phone back and ending the call.

Chapter Text

??? ??, 2027, ??? PM, ???, ???

“Jesus!! What the hell did you do?!”

“You got sloppy! You need to be careful next time you go out… And I don’t know how long repairs will take. Ugh… Running Diagnostics…”

“Hmm… The left arm is complete fucked. We’ll have to remake it entirely… Face-plate took some heavy hits; deep cuts these are… The same goes for the rest of the suit, serious damage to the metal and circuitry. I think we’ll have to replace those, too…”

“No we can’t make a quick patch work on it, especially since you got a lot of sea water into the suit’s electrical systems. You won’t be wearing this anytime soon.”

“Be glad that you’re not the one shelling the cost for all the repairs.”

“What you can do while we fix it is think about what went wrong, and how to improve once you get back in.”

“No! We are not giving you upgrades! You’re only getting repairs. Maybe if you don’t donk up the suit afterwards, we’ll think about it.”

“Well at least one of us is happy about the situation…”

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