Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

[darthcourt10]

First Summer Holidays - Summer ONE

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[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Sweat was dripping down Harry's face as he biked through the base, years of experience allowing him to avoid any obstracles in his way. It did not take him long to reach the Repair Docks where he slammed on his brakes and came to a stop. Quickly locking his bike up, he rushed in breathing heavily to see Iku, Hachi, and Imuya sitting in chairs as they leaned against each other. Each of them were showing scratches, scrapes, and cuts that leaked blood and oil, but not one of them cared. "Iku-Chan? Hachi-Chan? Imuya-Chan?"

Iku looked up and her eyes widened at seeing him there. Then she rushed over and grabbed Harry in a hug and was soon followed by the other Subgirls. "T-Taigei-Nee-Chan i-is..."

Reaching up, Harry rubbed their backs as he ignored his shirt getting wet. "I came as soon as I heard that Taigei-Chan was in the Docks, what happened?"

As none of the others were able to speak, Hachi swallowed heavily as Harry helped them back over to the chairs before he sat down. "W-we were on patrol with Taigei-Nee-Chan when Abyssal Floatplanes showed up from nowhere. Then they started bombing and s-strafing us..." Shuddering as the memories came back, Hachi shook her head. "W-we were able to avoid the worst but Taigei-Nee-Chan... she..."

The hold that Hachi had on Harry then tightened as he hugged her back as tightly as he could. Part of him looked over at what was termed the "Operating Room" for badly injured shipgirls, which had a red light above it showing that they were still at work. Then a scream nearly ripped it's way out of Iku's throat. "She nearly sank! It was only because Shinano was in the area with Louisiana as well as Montana and they chased off and shot down the floatplanes that she didn't!"

Hands clenching, Imuya sniffled. "And then Shinano and Lousiana carried her back here. T-the whole time she... she wanted to know if we were okay. She just kept asking."

Unable to do anything, Harry just held the three of them there for the next few minutes as they continued to finally release their pent up emotions. Then he heard the doors open and there was Shioi, RO, and Maruyu. The look on RO's face though told Harry that her "Yuu" personality was the one she was mainly relying on to keep as steady as she could. He could just barely hear the German mutter to herself as she stared at the closed door. "... I'm going to sink her."

A hand on her shoulder caused her to turn to see a stony looking Shioi there. "No, we're going to sink the bitch that did that."

Pretending not to hear that, or the murmurs of agreement from the three Subs he was currently hugging, Harry just continued to rub their backs even as he felt tears prickling at his own eyes. 'Please make it, Taigei-Chan... please.' Blinking, Harry looked down and frowned as he spotted the various small wounds on the Subgirls before looking up at Maruyu. It only took a moment, but the smallest of the Subgirls noticed him and he silently mouthed 'Get me a bucket of repair fluid and a cloth.'

Eyes wide, Maruyu nodded and rushed off. Not even two minutes later she returned with two buckets and several clothes, one of which she handed to Harry and taking another. Between the two of them, they started wiping at the three Subgirls' wounds as they sat there, exhausted. It was three hours later when the red light above the door turned off and the green one lit up before an tired Akashi walked out with a small smile. Her next words caused all of them to relax. "She's okay, still hurt, but no longer in danger."

Roughly twenty seconds later found here with all the Subgirls hugging her. "Thank you! Thank you!"

Her expression gentle, Akashi just patted them on the heads. "You're very welcome you bunch. Just keep her from straining herself for the next week or two and she should be fine." Akashi then looked over Iku, Imuya, and Hachi before nodding. "Good, someone's tended to your wounds but you should still head over to the docks."

Much to her slight bemusement though, Iku shook her head. "Not until Taigei is in there."

Chuckling, Akashi smiled but nodded just the same. "Of course."

She then opened the doors and two of the human technicians wheeled out a pale Taigei in a gurney which the Subgirls clustered around as they followed with Harry hanging back just a bit as he glanced up at Akashi. "Are you okay?"

In reply, Akashi blinked before smiling down at him and patting him on the head. "I am, though... I hope that we come up with something soon." Leaning back, a groan escaped her along with a crack from her back. "Because with everything that I need to do, I really need another shipgirl for assistance around here."

That only got her a nod they reached the repair docks and Harry watched as Taigei was gently lowered into the repair fluid, though he winced as part of her leg was just gone as was a hand. Instead of normal bandages though, the wounds were wrapped up with a metal foil which part of Harry remembered would be absorbed into the shipgirl as they healed. "She's going to be okay, right?"

Crouching a bit, the Repair Ship nodded. "Hai, she's going to be just fine, Harry-Chan." With a sigh, she straightened up as Harry hugged her before thanking her. Once he began to head over to where Taigei was though, Akashi walked over to the phone that was in the wall. Picking up the reciever, Akashi pushed several buttons and waited until it connected. "Rose-Chan?"

After there was a reply from the tsukumogami on the other end. "Yes, Miss Akashi? Is she out?"

Only nodding, Akashi chuckled a little bit as she watched Harry sit down next to the docks to watch over Taigei as the other Submarines took Hachi, Iku, and Imuya over to the showers to get them ready to enter the docks themselves. "Hai, the operation was a success. But she's going to need plenty of food for healing. Use whatever you want for her as she's going to need it."

The Repair Ship could almost imagine Rose nod on the other end as she replied. "Of course, I think that I know just the thing for her."

Lips twitching, Akashi hummed. "No doubt. Now, I'll just let you get to work at what you need, okay?" Getting another comfirmation as well as a mutual goodbye, Akashi hung up the phone and looked over at where Taigei was floating with Harry standing guard over her. 'Heh.' With a shake of the head, Akashi turned and began walking towards her office to write up the report and let Goto know that the operation was a success. At the same time though, she was also thinking up other things. 'Hmm... considering the damage, I wonder if Teitoku would allow me to give Taigei at least a partial rebuild. I know that I can at least replace her engines with those that she should get which shouldn't change her too much...'
___________________________________________________________________________

Snarling, Light Cruiser Oni reached up and winced as she cracked her jaw back into place. 'Those fucking bitches. Once I kill that Re-Class, I am going to find a way and kill them, including Light Cruiser Princess!' A dark grin spread across her face at that, though there was a grimace as she remembered the beating she had received from her 'Superiors' due to her failure to kill Supply Depot Princess several months earlier.
Deep inside, she could feel the darkness of the Abyss roil at the thoughts passing through her mind. 'Yes... seeing them on their knees before me would feel so damn good.'

Then her eyes narrowed as she heard a several small voices. 'S-stop... please...'

Snorting, she lashed out mentally and grinned at the screams. 'Oh, shut up already, you exist because I live. Don't forget that. Without me, you would not even be here.' At the whimpers as the voices retreated, Light Cruiser Oni looked up with a hum as her thoughts returned to their original track. "Now then... how to go about it. There must be a way..."

As she continued to stride through the water, she considered and then tossed away various ideas. Behind her, there was a dark slick of corruption that slowly disappated, though the various dead sea animals that bobbed to the surface and decayed inside the slick were also ignored. 'Hmm...'

It was then that she spotted something and frowned before narrowing her eyes at the dot high above. 'An aircraft perhaps...?' Then, after a few moments, her frown deepened at the sight of a human on a broom. 'One of those magicals? But what are they doing this far out...' Quickly checking out her charts, she realized that they were close to Nakanotorishima. 'Oh ho! I wonder what they may be doing over there?'

Normally, she would have reported the fact that the wizards had returned to the corrupted island. But the memories of the 'Punishment' she had received for her failure came to mind and slowly, she grinned. Even from here, she could sense the taint on the broken island that was still there. And her stomach grumbled as she caught sight of other magicals in the air. 'Blood and death... and an island ready to be claimed by some Abyssal Demon to become a Princess of... hehehe..'

With a mental command, she had her Destroyers submerge and slowly the water gathered around her as she realized that she was quite some time away. But she could sense the people on the island, though she cared not for what they were doing.

Death was death in the end after all. And once she became a Princess, then the others would bow to her. The wait would only make it more exquisite in the end.

She would see to it.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Scratching his head as he went down his list, Goto frowned. "We don't have anyone?"

Ooyodo only shook her head as she flipped through her tablet. "Unfortunately not. We could maybe switch around some Destroyers for Taigei as an escort, but that would mean pulling them from other areas."

For a moment, Goto tapped his pen against his desk as he turned and looked outside for several moments. "What about some of the Shimakaze sisters? We could pull some of them off from their training patrols."

That caused Nagato who was also there in her position as Secretary Ship to close her eyes and consider it for several moments. But then she shook her head with a sigh. "Unfortunately two Destroyers would not be enough for a decent escort. And the only two with enough experience would be Karakaze and Kiyokaze. But..."

Just sighing, Goto grimaced as he rolled the idea around in his head. "Two Destroyers are not enough for an escort. And I was hoping to attach them to Shinano's group." Leaning back in his chair, Goto considered the problem at hand. Part of him was smacking himself upside the head because of course there was going to be an issue eventually. He should have expected it even though Taigei had only operated in "Safe" waters. But as shown, he did not have enough small ships for escort. A thought which made him sit up. "I wonder... do either of you think it might be possible to summon any smaller shipgirls?"

Both Nagato and Ooyodo looked at each other as they considered this before the Battleship spoke up. "I do remember a number from my time as a ship..." The blush on her face as she remembered the small warships caused Goto to bite bite a smirk. "But none of them have returned yet."

Nodding, Ooyodo sat down and considered the issue. "We did have a number of small escort vessels for open ocean. But why haven't any of them returned yet?"

Much to their surprise, it was Goto who answered. "Perhaps because we haven't been calling on them." At their looks, he shook his head. "Look, we've been so focused on getting the most powerful ships we could that perhaps the ones smaller then a Destroyer just... i don't know, feel as if we wouldn't want them?"

Thoughtful, Ooyodo frowned some. "It couldn't be that simple... could it?"

A ding of an incoming message though caused Goto to turn to his computer and soon he was frowning at what he was reading. "... Now that's rather odd."

Frowning, Nagato looked over at him. "What's rather odd?"

Goto was silent for a few moments before he looked over at her. "The Donryu was tracking what they were sure was a Light Cruiser Oni just outside of our waters when she went under. After some consideration, they surfaced and sent out a UAV, but..."

He then clicked something and turned to regard the large monitor on one side of the office which now showed photographs of a familiar island. One which made Nagato's eyes widen. "Nakanotorishima... But what is she doing in that area?"
Eyebrows furrowing, Ooyodo noticed something else. "What are those dots there?"

Now leaning in herself, Nagato's frown only deepened. "Do we have any better photos, Teitoku?"

Much to their surprise, he grimaced. "Unfortunately not, but they did take a thermal photo." Said photo was brought up which revealed that the objects were hotter then the surrounding air. "But then him and his crew felt that they should move a distance away and report in... A rather odd decision to say the least, unless..."

Sighing and rubbing her forehead, Nagato shook her head. "Unless wizards are involved and set spells up to hide magic going on." Grunting, she turned back to the picture. "But that begs the question of what, exactly, are they even doing there? It was a barren rock before we got through with it."

There was a frown on Goto's face as he considered what he was seeing before he suddenly smiled. "You know... this does give me a small idea."

It said something that Ooyodo only sighed as she turned to him. "Yes, Teitoku?"

Raising his finger, he pointed at the island. "If I remember correctly, was it not pointed out that both Louisiana and Kana need experience?" At the nods and the slowly dawning realization on the faces of the two shipgirls, Goto nodded. "Ooyodo, get in contact with Shinano's group. They are to hold where they are currently until Fubuki's and Kana's group reaches them and then they are to proceed to Nakanotorishima for a... recon mission. Nagato, I need you to go and get me Fubuki and Kana. Perhaps Tenryuu and DesDiv6 if they're as she has charts for the island."

Saluting, both shipgirls nodded. "HA!"

After they left though, Goto just continued to watch the screen with a thoughtful gaze. 'So why did you decide to return after all these years, I wonder...'
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Cursing as his boot caught in a crack and nearly sent him tumbling, the young wizard glared at his companion who was laughing. "Hey, you know that we're not here for a nice trip, dontcha?"

Muscles in his cheeks twitching, the wizard took a deep breath before letting it out. "Oh, fuck off, Robert." A breeze swept past him and despite how normally the air should be warm and nearly tropical, the wizard just pulled his cloak closer to try and ward off the chill that seemed to sink to his very bones. "Besides, we shouldn't even fucking be here. This place gives me the willies something fierce!"

That only got him a snort of derision from the older wizard. "There's nothing to be afraid of but some rocks and old bones." Bending down, Robert picked up a rock and then tossed it, the stone clacking against a piece of debris outside a crater and the sound echoing around them. "See, Aaron? Nothing."

Wincing, Aaron looked around nervously. "Don't do that!" Suddenly the earth trembled and there was a rumble from deep beneath their feet. "What was that?!"

Robert only shrugged his shoulders before blowing out a breath as the shaking stopped. "Probably nothing more then underground chambers collapsing. Those shipgirls did a pretty damn good job of blasting the island after all."

As his lips twitched downward into a scowl, Aaron glared at him. "That was an earthquake, Robert. I was stationed for a bit in California and I know what they feel like." Glancing to where some smoke was issuing from a crack and coming from deep underground, he shuddered. "We are not wanted here and something wants us gone."

Seconds later, Aaron was utterly unsurprised as Robert rolled his eyes. "Something wants us gone... really?" Walking over, Robert placed a hand onto Aaron's shoulder and patted him. "Look, kid, I know that you're worried about shit like that but really, relax. Besides, if what we're setting up here works, then we'll be able to cleanse the island and do the same to others like it. We'll be heroes, remember that."

Grimacing, Aaron shook his head. "And that's the other problem." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a group of witches and wizards on brooms that were carrying what looked like a giant, glass container filled with a purplish substance heading towards the center of the island. Meanwhile, others were spraying something on various rocks. "You know that the No-Majs will notice when we set it off."

Now turning, Robert shook his head. "You worry too much, kid. Those muggles likely won't notice much. Besides, it won't matter in the end anyways, they'll forget all about this place like before."

That just got him a blank look from Aaron before the younger man groaned. "Don't tell me you believe that dragonshit. The no-majs know about magic at least in regards to the shipgirls and Abyssals! And they're getting harder and harder to obliviate too, which means that they might find out the rest soon enough and stuff like this!" He gestured around them. "Is not going to make it any easier to keep a secret."

In reply, Robert gave him a frown. "Don't tell me that you believe that idiocy about the Statute of Secrecy falling." At the look he got, he threw his hands up in the air. "Oh for... it's not going to happen, Aaron. Look, the war will eventually be over and we'll be able to convince those shipgirls that the right thing to do is go into hiding. It probably won't be that hard by then as they'll be tired of fighting and won't need to anymore. So there's the major problem out of the way."

Slowly, Aaron raised an eyebrow. "And what, exactly, about the fact that the No-Majs will still know that magic and the supernatural exist."

Chuckling, Robert shook his head in amusement. "That? That's easy, they'll do the work for us in that. You see, kid, muggles? They don't want to believe in magic. They're happy ignoring signs of it all over the place as long as it's not in their face. Hell, most of them are more then glad to just pretend that they know everything about what's around them. Look at Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, ghosts. Muggles as a whole routinely mock people who believe in them even though we know that they exist. So as soon as the shipgirls decide to be proper magical citizens and go fade out of view of the muggles, they'll be forgotten about. Sixty, seventy years from now? They'll be considered to be conspiracy theories, stuff made up. Heck, in a century or two the muggles will just think of them as being myths."

Disbelief on his face, Aaron turned to Robert and boggled at what he was hearing. "You cannot be serious. You can't believe that!"

Only waving him off, Robert only shook his head. "Believe it kid. I've been around for a long time. That war the muggles called World War Two? Had plenty of magic being tossed around. Muggles mostly just ignored it or covered it up for us. It'll be the same now."

Aaron stared at him for a moment and then shook his head as he walked off toward where there was a cage.
_________________________________________________________________________

Eyes fluttering open, Taigei winced from the sharp pains all over her body as the repair fluid gently washed over her. While one leg and hand were really painful, it felt like she was also covered in papercuts which she knew were from the cannons on the Abyssal floatplanes as well as shrapnel from near misses. Trying not to hiss, Taigei slowly turned her head and blinked at the worried expression on Harry's face. "Taigei-Chan?"

While her attempt to smile turned into an odd sort of grimace, Taigei was thankful that it caused Harry to give her a small smile back. "H-hai, Harry-Chan." Blinking, the Submarine Tender took a deep breath and then let it out. "Are... are Iku-Chan, Hachi-Chan, and Imuya-Chan okay?"

Lips twitching, Harry nodded as he tilted his head. "They're over there." However, when Taigei tried to grab hold of the sides small inlet of the repair pool, she found that one of her hands was missing as her arm ended in a metal bandage, which made Harry wince at the sight of it. A glance at her other arm made her wince as it had various cuts across it and was rather painful, which Harry noticed before he leaned down and helped Taigei see the rest of the repair pool better. "Easy, Taigei-Chan."

Even though her body protested the movement as Harry supported her shoulders so she could lift her head up, the Submarine Tender relaxed upon the sight of the three Submarines softly snoring where they laid in the pool. "Oh, thank the kami... they're okay.... They're okay."

Gently letting her back down, Harry just frowned at her. "We were really worried about you, Taigei-Chan."

A soft smile on her face, Taigei reached up and patted Harry on his head. "Thank you for that, Harry-Chan. I appreciate it."

Something that was not a lie as she really had appreciated how she had people who cared about her. Taigei could still remember back when she was a ship and how people complained about her flaws. However now, she was wanted and that warmed her boilers like nothing else. It made her glad for having returned as a shipgirl. For a moment though, Harry disappeared before he reappeared with a thermos and a small box of treats. "Um, Rose dropped off some tea and food for you."

Brightly smiling, Taigei nodded some as her stomach gave a rumble and her Chief Engineer reminded her that she needed food for repairs. "That sounds wonderful, Harry-Chan, thank you." When Harry poured some tea into a cup and held it close to her mouth though, she blushed a little. "Um, you don't need to do that."

Raising an eyebrow, the black haired boy shook his head. "You're hurting just moving and... um, your arm is not in the best of shape. So I'll hold it for you that way you don't need to move much."

Her face feeling like incendiaries had hit it from the blush she knew was there, Taigei bashfully smiled but leaned forward best that she could and sipped the tea. When Harry pulled the cup away though, she sighed happily as her throat was no longer parched. "Where are the others?"

Just shrugging, Harry looked around. "They left to get some food from the cafeteria so they could eat while they waited. But they left me to guard and look after you!"

Giggling, Taigei nodded up at him. "And a good thing that they did, Harry-Chan. You're a wonderful guard and helper." Then glancing at the food, she licked her lips a little at seeing what was there. "Um, speaking of helping..."

All Harry did though was grab one of the treats and held it out for Taigei to eat. By the time that the other Subs arrived back at the Docks, all the treats were gone and the Submarine Tender was laying back and relaxing as she softly talked with Harry. Out of all of them, it was RO who reacted first and rushed over. "Taigei-Nee-Chan!"

Harry just managed to get out of the way as RO moved as close as she could to Taigei and then wrapped her arms around the shipgirl's neck. She was soon followed by the others including the three in the Docks who had woken up when RO had shouted and were now gathered around her sobbing happily to see her awake. Meanwhile, Taigei just patted them all on the shoulders or heads as she smiled. "Shhh, shhh, it's okay. I'm okay and so are you. No need for tears now."

Sitting back, Harry just watched with a small grin as his friends comforted each other. Of course, spotting the food that the others had brought, Harry got up and pushed it over and soon those of them not in the docks were sitting around it eating and talking as Hachi, Iku, and Imuya all stayed as close to Taigei as possible without harming her as the Tender soaked in the warmth of their companionship as she healed.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Chewing her lip, Shinano barely noticed the waters of the North Pacific as her bow sliced through them. Up ahead, Nakanotorishima awaited them along with whatever was happening on it. A glance around her showed her usual escorts of Hamakaze and Isokaze, but others had joined them. Tenryuu and Tatsuta were up ahead with DesDiv6, while beside her Louisiana kept an eye on the horizon using her radar. However, what was causing her to be so nervous was the fact that she was the Flagship for the group.

It... was something that she had never expected to happen.

Shinano would have thought that either Tenryuu or Tatsuta should have had it due to sheer experience, but they did not have the facilities for command that she did. And while Louisiana should have been another choice due to her own flagship facilities, her lack of experience meant that was a no go. Thus, it fell to Shinano to serve as the flagship of their small fleet and that weighed heavily on her shoulders even as her fuel tanks felt like they were twisting themselves into knots. "Um..."

A clap on the shoulder caused her to turn to see Louisiana smile at her. "Don't be so nervous, ma chère. I know that you'll do just fine and that we're in good hands, non?"

Then Yukikaze piped in, the Destroyer practically bouncing. "That's right, Shinano-Sama! Besides, this time we'll protect you, Yukikaze promises!"

Beside her, Hamakaze and Isokaze only nodded with slight smiles. Despite herself, Shinano found herself slowly relaxing before a small smile bloomed on her face. Something that Louisiana pointed out a moment later. "Ah-ha! And there is the smile of ma chère that we all love to see."

Needless to say, that caused Shinano's smile to widen just a touch even as she blushed. However, she then turned back to the horizon where she could see a small smirk from where she was on Tenryuu's face. Wanting to change the subject before she got too embarrassed, Shinano then cleared her throat. "Um... anything on radar?"

Her expression turning to a thoughtful frown, Louisiana stared in the direction of the island. "Non, which is... concerning. What about your scouts, ma chère? Have they spotted anything?"

The Carrier's eyes fogged over for several moments which Louisiana knew meant that she was seeing out of the eyes of her Saiuns that were flying towards the island. "No, but the island is in sight..." Then her eyes widened and she gasped. "W-wait, there's plumes of smoke coming from the island!"

Whipping her head around, Tenryuu stared at her. "Wait, plumes of smoke? Are you sure about that?"

Slowly, Shinano nodded as her gaze swept from side to side. "H-hai, and I'm seeing a number of explosions..." Then she furrowed her eyebrows. "And... what looks like clouds of flames running across the island? I... I'm not sure what I am seeing right now..."

Lips turning downwards into a scowl, Tenryuu shook her head as she grumbled. "Now that's just great..." Seeing the flinch and hearing the 'Sorry' from Shinano, she just sighed. "It's not your fault, kiddo. Hell, when dealing with wizards I'd be plenty surprised if any of us knew if we were seeing for ourselves."

Closing her eyes, Shinano rolled choices around in her head before she nodded. "I'm going to fuel and arm my combat planes, just in case. I'll, um, send up a CAP as well."

Just glancing at her, Tenryuu smiled as she clicked her sword into a drawing position. "You're the boss, but I think that you're making a great choice there." The smile that Shinano had at the compliment caused Tenryuu to smirk before she turned towards where the island was and did some calculations. 'Hmm... we're maybe an hour out at most. But what in the Hell is going on there...?'
__________________________________________________________________

Running across the uneven ground, and careful not to step in any of the puddles, Aaron clutched the cage close to him even as the being inside gave out warbles between it's own gasps. Even as some blood ran into his eyes, the young wizard did not stop to wipe it away, only blinking. Around him was a scene of chaos as a group of Abyssals mounted an attack, though None of them had even expected the attack which was announced by a group of Destroyers coming ashore and bringing down those wizards and witches that were in the air.

And then that was when their leader came ashore cackling.

The group of magicals had, and the survivors still were, putting up a fierce fight. But for every Abyssal Destroyer they took down, ten or more magicals died. And nothing they did against the Abyssal Leader did any lasting harm as she was regenerating, changing as she walked across the island. Shuddering, Aaron remembered what happened when she had grabbed Robert, the wizard helpless as she grinned and then... the screams before they trailed off into gurgles as she...

Unable to help himself, Aaron pulled behind a chunk of debris and emptied what little was left in his stomach. Panting, he swallowed and tried to dismiss the image even as his frame shuddered. Which was when he noticed that the noise from the battle had ceased. A quiet descended on the island which made him feel all the more unease.

It was... unnatural.

Before he could think on it, he could hear giggles from a distance away along with a crunch. Moments later, a voice reached his ears and his eyes widened. "And then there was one... Come out, come out, wherever you are? Don't worry about your friends... they're here with me now.

Trying to keep the noise of his gasps down, Aaron's eyes searched around. 'Where is she... where is she?!'

Yet again, the voice rang out. "Come on out, Aaron. Nothing to be afraid of, or do you want to play a little game first? Hide and seek is such a lovely thing to play. But be quick now, or the game will be over too soon!"

Unknown to what was once Light Cruiser Oni, Aaron spotted what he was looking for and he swallowed as he summoned up his courage. 'Almost... there... just a bit further!'

Breaking from his cover, he ran as fast as he could as Apparition was out due to the tainted magic of the island. Cackles echoed from behind him as the landscape blurred around him. "There you are Aaron! Better run fast, because I'm going to catch you and the game will be all over!"

Less then a minute later, Aaron leapt over the lip of a crater left behind from the first attack on the island by shipgirls and came to a large, glass container filled with a purple liquid. Placing the cage on top, he looked at the inhabitant with a sorrowful expression. "I'm really sorry about this... but... Thank you for going along with this."

All he got was a comforting warble as the two honey colored eyes watched him while the head they were in nodded as Aaron pulled out a knife and stuck it between the bars, hot blood splattering the bottom of the cage and he slowly relaxed only to stiffen as the giggle that had been haunting him sounded from behind. "Seems that the game has ended, oh well..."

Turning, Aaron glared up at the creature that was once Light Cruiser Oni, but had grown in size. On her face was a shark toothed grin as she giggled. The Abyssal organism that had once made up her lower half having split in two with each half having grown arms which helped propel her across the ground. Even as Aaron watched, black mist seeped up from the ground and entered the Abyssal which caused him to spit blood to the side. "Fuck you, bitch."

Mock sadness on her face, the Abyssal brought up a finger and placed it on her cheek as she shook her head. "My, my, what language. And it seems that you killed your little pet... Oh!" Suddenly, she stiffened and shuddered with a moan as her body warped and twisted unnaturally. Her back bent backwards and her pale skin split and tore in various places revealing black metal and grey, dead looking muscle underneath which bulged outwards as more was added. Black, rotten smelling blood and oil sprayed from the wounds and her fingers tore apart as claws grew from where nails once had been.
Less then a minute later, the rips and tears slowly closed as the Abyssal panted with blue, ghostly flames exiting her mouth before she grinned. "O-oh yes... yes... Such wonderful, wonderful darkness. And such strength. Mmm..." Slowly turning her attention back onto Aaron, she put one hand onto her hip and smirked before her tongue snaked out and licked a bit of blood off her cheek. "And here we got dessert..." However, much to her surprise Aaron started to laugh. "And what is so funny?"

Unable to help himself, Aaron slowly slid down the container as he looked up at her with a grin. "Because... you're about to be fucked. Bravo!"

Then he felt a hook in his stomach and was whisked away leaving the Abyssal screaming in rage as her prey escaped. After a few seconds, she scoffed and, at hearing a weak warble, looked at the red bird that seemed to be smirking at her as it was dying in a pool of blood. "What are you grinning at, you overgrown seagull."

Not saying anything else, the pheonix, which had willingly gone with the wizards after it was explained what they wanted, closed it's eyes and breathed one final tile and was still. Before a moment had passed though, it burst into flames that melted quickly through the cage bottom and then through the glass into the liquid. Said liquid was made with various ingredients such as salamander tails, ashwinder ash, dragon blood. The inventor wanted to create a magical form of kerosene, but the result was far too unstable and boosted magical flames to a massive degree.

A fact that the former Light Cruiser Oni discovered a moment later as it detonated in her face, scorching her clothing and skin from her body even as the shockwave lifted her upwards and outwards, her screech of agony lost among the sound of the explosion.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Fifteen miles away, Shinano flinched at the explosion and whimpered a bit as beside her, Louisiana stared at the slowly climbing fireball. "Merde..."

Mouth working, Akatsuki looked around in fear. "Di-did someone just set off a nuke!? That was a nuke, right?!"

Biting her lip, Tenryuu only shook her head, unable to take her eyes off what she was seeing. "I... I don't think so. It's just made of fire."

Shinano though ripped her attention away as Yukikaze was shaking like a leaf as she watched the explosion. "Y-Yamato-Sama... n-no..."

However, before the Carrier could even attempt to comfort her, her eyes widened as her planes started being flipped in the air and she could see the waves being flattened. "BRACE!"

Moments later, gale force winds swept over the group with a roar and they had to look away or use their hands to protect their eyes. And then, as quick as it had come, it was gone and the group blinked as they looked back at the island which was now aflame. Even where they were, they could feel the sheer heat and could see rivers of molten rock streaming from the island and running into the ocean. Clouds of steam obscuring the island as the mushroom cloud climbed even higher.

But something more important though was what they could feel. As they had approached the island, there was an oppressive feeling. The taint that had seeped into the very rock of the isle due to the dark crimes committed there and the Abyssal that had once called it home. And yet...

And yet...

Even now, they could sense that feeling weakening. Lifting with the smoke that rose into the air along with the heat. It was as if the fire that covered the island was burning the darkness away somehow. And all they could do was just stare even as they began to make a turn away from the boiling seas around it.

Then tears slipped from their eyes as they could almost hear a wordless song on the wind...

 

[darthcourt10]

MagisterAurelius

Ship of Fools part the Sixth

Christmas break of Harry's third year at Hogwarts.

Yokosuka Naval Base.

-0-

Harry walked into the dorm room assigned to his holiday guests carrying a tray of steaming mugs of cocoa complete with candy cane stir sticks and marshmallows. Upon entering he saw Ron, Neville and Draco's henchmen Crabbe and Goyle all playing Texas Hold Em, with no sight of the Malfoy heir.

"Is Draco not back yet?"

Goyle pushed five green tea flavored Kit-Kats into the pot as he answered, "Bet. No, he should be back soonish, but he and Johnston were doing that couples Christmas Eve thing in Tokyo with Captain Yonehana and his girlfriend."

"Call." Crabbe tossed five peach flavored Kit-Kats onto the growing pile of chocolate. "And his name is Yonehara you git."

Harry watched as Ron look at his cards, only to scoot them to the middle of the table. Neville fiddled with his stack of chocolates briefly until he took fifteen of them and pushed them into the pot. "R-r-raise."

"We did just meet him earlier, so I mixed up one letter." Goyle's eyes narrowed at the visible cards, two knaves, a nine and the turn had just dropped a ten. With his Queen and eight he had a solid straight, but with the knaves out there for Longbottom to raise his bet probably meant that he had a full house. "Fold."

Crabbe smirked over at his compatriot. "Really Goyle, you getting faked out by Longbottom? Re-raise." Crabbe added thirty Kit-Kats to the pot and grinned at Neville. Who simply counted out and added fifteen more chocolates.

"Call."

Ron, as dealer for the round, removed the burn card from the top of the deck and then drew and placed the river card next to the other four. "King. Your bet Crabbe."

Crabbe smiled as he looked again at his pocket pair of Kings. Looking wolfishly at Neville, Crabbe pushed his remaining chocolates into the pot. "All in."

Neville sighed. "How much is that bet Ron?" Upon receiving the exact amount from his friend, Neville then counted out the exact amount. "Call."

"Full house Longbottom." Crabbe revealed his hand and made to collect the pot. "You really shouldn't try to fake someone out with a stutter. That kind of tell will lose you your trousers mate." But he stopped on looking up at Neville's smile. And Crabbe paled as Neville revealed his hand.

"Four knaves beats a full house."

Much to Harry's surprise, Crabbe just shook his head and took up a cup of the cocoa. As Neville raked in the bounty of chocolate, Harry remarked to Crabbe. "Nice hand but losing it all like that..."

Crabbe waved dismissively. "It's no big deal Potter. It's not like I was betting anything I couldn't lose. Draco pays the bills after all."

"Correction, Draco's father covers the expenses Crabbe," Goyle chipped in.

Ron looked at the two with confusion. "Wait a minute, aren't you two Draco's friends?"

"We are," Goyle explained, "but more we were sort of told to be Draco's friends by our parents."

"It's more of an arranged friendship sort of thing. I know my parents wanted access to the Malfoy family's influence, and Draco's dad wanted to make sure that Draco would have friends in school. Both sides get what they want." Crabbe looked at Ron and Harry's shocked expressions with mild incredulity. "I thought you knew how things worked Weasley?"

Harry spoke quietly. "Does Draco know about this?"

Goyle looked uncomfortable. "I'm not sure..."

Crabbe just shrugged. "It's just the way things are done in wizard society according to my parents." His expression turned to that of a dog chewing hot pitch. "Draco's lucky though. At least he hasn't been arranged to marry... Elspeth Haghund-Strelny."

Ron gave Crabbe a sympathetic wince. Seeing Harry's confusion he then explained. "Harry, Elspeth attends Durmstrang. And she has the reputation of having the most unpleasant personality of all Durmstrang students past, present and possibly future. And with Durmstrang, that's some pretty stiff competition." The boys then turned to the chuckling Goyle, who pulled out a copy of the Daily Prophet and pointed to a picture in the society section.

"If her personality wasn't enough just look at your bride to be Crabbe. She's rounder than some of the ornaments on the Christmas tree. I'm just glad my family isn't pure enough to get stuck with that!" Goyle's laughter grew until he fell out of his chair. Which was enough of a distraction for all the boys present to miss the door of the dorm room close silently.

-0-

Draco Malfoy silently closed the door to the room. He had been with Johnston to catch a movie and watch the tree lighting ceremony in Shibuya earlier. It was fun just tagging along with the hyperactive destroyer. The only time that they hadn't been holding hands was at dinner and the warmth of her hand still was fresh in his memory. So the evening had been perfect. And he had come back to find out...

They're paid... to be my friends. Or, are they paid to pretend to be my friends?

Draco left the door building and walked lost in thought. He eventually found himself in a quiet, nearly deserted recreational room with a fridge and wet bar on one side. Nearly deserted with the exception of a spiky purple haired girl bent over and digging through the fridge. Draco pulled out a stool and sat at the bar.

"May I have something to drink?"

–

Jun'you bumped her head on the top of the fridge as she started from hearing a voice behind her. Already two thirds of the way to being completely sloshed, with a couple bottles guaranteed to get all three sheets to the wind in hand, Jun'you turned her head to see the blond haired schoolmate of Harry's at the bar. The tone of his request and his depressed demeanor warned the small remaining sober bit of her consciousness that now was a time to be a RESPONSIBLE ADULT.

"Sure, let's see..." She hunted for anything non-alcoholic in the fridge. But nary a club soda, Coke, or even a juice box was to be found. But then her eyes lit on a simple bottle. "Ah! Here we go!" Jun'you removed a bottle from the fridge and poured the golden bubbling liquid into a glass for the boy. "No Coke or anything but sparkling cider shouldn't hurt."

"Thank you Miss?"

"Jun'you... ah! I remember now. You're Draco Malfoy right? The one Johnston likes?"

"Yes." Draco took a drink. Then looked at his glass and took another drink. "It's kind of good." He then finished his glass and refilled it from the bottle.

"So what's with the long face kiddo? Johnston dump you or something?" Jun'you poured sake in her own glass.

"No nothing like that. Things with Johnston are great. She's tons of fun to be with." Draco sighed and polished off his second glass. Refilling it again, he continued "I just found out that my dad paid for my friends to be my friends...er... more like paid their parents to make them be my friends. How do I know if they are really my friends or not...."

Jun'you tried to keep a neutral expression going as Draco continued on in burgeoning teenage angst. Playing the role of the sympathetic bartender was new to her as she was usually doing the drunken unburdening of the soul, and just how many glasses has he had of that cider anyway? A creeping sense of sobriety informed her that the bottle was now two thirds empty, Draco was looking rather flushed, and the 18% alcoholic content on the label of Sparkling Hard Cider.

"Fuck me."

"Umm... we jusht met. I don zhink itz a gud idea. Johnzton wood be pisht. I havnt eben kished er yet."

Jun'you jumped in alarm. "No no no... I wasn't meaning that!" Suddenly a wave of relief washed over the light carrier as Harry entered the building. "Harry! Come help me get your friend back to the dorm okay?"

As Harry approached Malfoy, the blond boy spun on his heels, pointing at Harry. "Potter! 'Splane yourshelf. I dont underztand. Frenz... how you know they'z your frenz?"

Harry looked accusingly at Jun'you as he got a face full of Draco's breath. "What are you talking about Malfoy?"

"Frenz! How can frenz be really frenz if your dad payz em to be yer frenz?"

Harry winced as the realization hit him. "You overheard Crabbe and Goyle at the dorm didn't you?"

"Yesh! I dont unnerstanz... you haz lotz o frenz. Why doez Dad buy frenz for me? Whatz wrong wid me?" Draco began to almost wail at this point.

As Jun'you moved up and put a comforting hand on his back, Harry looked with alarm at Draco's face. That had gone from a red flush to a steadily pale greenish tone. Harry attempted to move back a step as Draco spoke again.

"I dun feel sho gud." And he then doubled over and vomited all over Harry's slippers.

-0-

So yay, finally finished with the whole Christmas break stuff. Now on to more of Draco's adventures with Johnston and... someone I've been planning on introducing for awhile now.

 

[darthcourt10]

Omake: "Most Annoying Advice"

Mr Trickman said:
DesDiv6 stops and blinks as a small, sooty chick appeared on Hibikis head in a flash of fire, thankfully not setting her hat alight.
Phoenix chick: *Chirp!*
Hibiki:"...Khorosho."
Inazuma with sparkling eyes:"Nanodesu!"

There's a recipe for three ingredient brownies using Nutella, self rising flour and eggs I think. Real simple and easy. Maybe use more Nutella as icing?

(Hibiki was the one the owl landed on right?)​

... I can see that happening.

And yes, Nutella icing is a thing (the Sobeys near me sells brownies with Nutella icing).

Tiypo said:
I think that was Inazuma, though I may be wrong; I think the pyro of the group would be more inclined to care for it anyways.​

Point, though I can see her and Hibiki sharing.

And have a small omake:
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Harry took a deep breath as he walked out into view of the crowds in the stadium to cheers. There, in front of him and glaring was the Hungarian Horntail mother protecting her eggs. A growl tore from it's mouth as it glared at him and Harry only gulped before pulling out his wand. The spell on his lips though died as he was distracted by Naka shouting something. Blinking, Harry slowly turned and it was then that he realized what she was saying...

And his eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

Meanwhile, up in the stands, Naka cupped her hands around her throat and shouted. "GET ON THE DRAGON'S BACK!" Ignoring the stares she was getting, the Light Cruiser grinned and shouted again. "GET ON THE DRAGON'S BACK!"

Several seconds later, she nearly collapsed in laughter as Harry gave her his answer. "FUCK YOU, NAKA-NEE! FUCK YOU FOR MAKING ME REMEMBER THAT!"

 

[darthcourt10]

MagisterAurelius

Well played sasahara... well done indeed.

Here's a minor after snip of my last bit. After action reports as you might take them.

-0-

Neville couldn't shake the impending sense of doom that Christmas morning. No matter where he walked, the feeling of an overshadowing prescence hounding his steps had started the moment he stepped out of the dorm. Picking up his pace, he turned the corner of a building, only to almost run into a girl. Wearing her gray and purple hair in a side ponytail with her right eye hidden by bangs, the girl beamed at Neville.

"Hello Neville-san. The morning frost today is lovely isn't it?"

"Y-y-yes it seems so. Miss?"

The girl blushed slightly and walked forward up to Neville. "No need for formality. My name is Asashimo, Neville-san." She ran an index finger down his chest as she smiled up at him. "You're very tall, Neville-san."

As Neville's brain crashed into the blue screen of death, he failed to notice the two destroyer girls approach or Asashimo's smile turn to a tight grimace at her sight of them.

"Oh wow. I had heard a rumor that Neville-san that scored a lot of sweet candy last night. I guess that candy means sex." The grey and dark blue haired destroyer girl pointed at Asashimo. "So this is how you become a battleship then! I wanna have sex with the wizard too Asashimo! I can't let you beat me to becoming a battleship!"

As Asashimo, red with rage, tackled her sister and began pummelling her, the chestnut haired girl standing out of the brawl waved her hand in front of Neville's face. "Neville-san?"

"Huh? Yes?"

"Sorry about that. Destroyers get pretty wound up about sweets. I'm Akigumo. May I use your likeness in a work of speculative fiction? All names are changed to protect the innocent and if it does well I even give the characters a royalty."

Neville looked at the girl. It sounded harmless enough and she was asking permission. "I guess so..."

"Thanks! Please sign this release form. Just legal boilerplate I have to do before I can draw anything."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Leaning back in his chair, Goto clicked his pen open and close with a slighy frown on his face. "Any word yet back from Shinano's group?"

Nagato looked up from her own paperwork with a slight frown before glancing at a screen next to her. "No, last report was two hours ago and that Shinano was going to launch her scout planes as they were an hour away. Their next report will be in about a half hour unless they meet resistance."

Still clicking his pen, Goto only sighed. "I see..." Turning his chair, he blinked as he looked at the slightly cloudy sky. "Hmm... what do you think, Ooyodo? Rain later?"

Blinking, Ooyodo turned and regarded him with a blank look on her face. "... What?"

In reply, Goto just gestured outside. "The weather. It's getting a bit cloudy out after all and it is the rainy season."

Her expression still blank, Ooyodo fixed him with a stare. "... Really."

Putting his hands behind his back, Goto smirked a little bit. "Really."

Just blinking, Ooyodo only sighed and shook her head as she went back to work. "Weather report is not calling for rain, Teitoku."

With a hum, Goto held his cheek in one hand before waving a hand around. "True. But then, the weather reports have been wrong. And I don't want to get caught in the rain tonight." From her mutters, Goto knew that she was somewhat annoyed at his antics. Perhaps he should stop... 'Naaw.' Grinning, he looked over his shoulder at her. "Sorry, Ooyodo, I didn't catch that."

Simply sighing, the Light Cruiser looked at him. "Most likely not, though when it rains it pours."

Goto was about to reply when suddenly alarms went off throughout the base and he fell out of his chair from surprise. "What the fuck!?" Quickly scrambling from the floor, he paled as he remembered where he had heard those alarms again and, sure enough, his phone was ringing off the hook and he grabbed it. "Rear Admiral Isoroku Goto, where?"

Confused, Nagato glanced towards Ooyodo who shrugged before she went back to coordinating various happenings on the base as the siren continued to wail. Turing back to Goto, Nagato noticed that he was writing something on a piece of paper. "Teitoku-"

However, he just raised a hand to silence her and nodded. "I see... yes... okay... one moment... Just one? You're positive? Well, yes... I understand..." Ripping the sheet off the notepad, he handed it to Nagato. "Place it now!"

Only nodding, Nagato rushed over to the map and then looked at the coordinates on it as behind Goto continued his conversation. She was about to mark it down when she froze and did a double take. 'No...' Whipping her head around, Nagato shouted to be heard over the siren. "Teitoku! It's Nakanotorishima!"

Eyes widening, Goto looked up. "You're sure about that, Nagato?" At her nod, he only had one response to that. "Shit..." Turning back to the phone, Goto nodded. "Okay, we got it placed. Any more? What about the Sats?" Several moments of silence happened before he relaxed a bit. "No double flash? Yes... uh-huh... stay alert, and ready forces. Understood. Goto out."

When he placed the phone down, Nagato scowled a little bit. "What the hell is going on, Teitoku? And what is with that siren? It's not the one for an attack."

Much to her surprise, Goto started to laugh harshly as he ran his hands through his hair. "Oh, it's for an attack alright." His next words though froze Nagato to the core. "That siren is for an possible above ground nuclear detonation. The last time I heard that was during Blood Week..."

Shaking, Nagato could remember a double flash of light accompanied by the paint being burned from her hull, parts of her superstructure being warped and blistered from the heat as animals on her deck burst into flames, screaming as they were immolated. Other animals, below decks, surviving the explosion only to die in agony from poisoning. Then a second flash and her hull being lifted up in the water-

A sharp pain caused her to blink as she found her head turned to the side and she turned to see Ooyodo there with a pained wince on her face as she held out her hand. "-nap out of it!"

Quickly shaking it off, Nagato nodded. "R-right, a nuclear detonation... HARRY! HOPPOU!" Ooyodo jumped back at that as Nagato turned toward the door. "Harry's out on the base and Hoppou's at home-"

She stopped though as Goto placed his hand on her shoulder and stopped her. "Harry's alright, he's in the docks with the Submarines, Taigei, and Akashi. He's perfectly safe and likely already being herded into the shelter there by Akashi. Hoppou is likely being herded into the shelter outside the Battleship Dorms."

Calming down, Nagato slowly brought her panic under control. "Yes... of course, I forgot about that."

Only patting her on the shoulder, Goto turned back to Ooyodo. "Anyways, we're not sure that it was a nuclear explosion, but it was on the scale of one. Until further notice though, we're at the highest alert, understood? Ooyodo, get in contact with Shinano right now!"

The Cruiser nodded and was about to say something when she paused and held onto her headset. "I got Louisiana on the line now and... I don't know why, but there's interference and she's having trouble reaching us.'

If anything though, that caused Goto to frown and furrow his eyebrows. "EMP?"

Now calm, Nagato shook her head. "No, our transmissions are unaffected." At the look, she shrugged. "Apparently South Dakota performed an experiement and... it was powerful enough to knock out a warship's own coms, but shipgirl coms were unaffected."

Raising an eyebrow, Goto shook his head. 'Later, ask about it later.' Turning towards Ooyodo, he noted that she was writing down on her own notepad and frowned. "What's the word from them? Abyssals?"

However, she shook her head in confusion. "No... they don't know what caused them, but they're claiming that besides a mushroom cloud, the island is on fire? Yes, on fire."

Fingers tapping against the desk, Goto shook his head. "Was there a double flash?" After a few moments, Ooyodo shook her head and the Admiral grimaced. "What the hell happened out there...?"
________________________________________________________________________

Looking around as sirens began to sound, Harry's eyes widened. "Is there an attack?!"

Akashi was also looking around and frowned as she narrowed her eyes even as the Submarines clustered around the frightened, and still healing, Taigei. 'That's not the normal siren...' Outwardly, she shook her head. "I don't know... but we have things to do now!" Turning, the Repair Ship regarded Harry before leaning down and placing her hand on his shoulder. "Harry-Chan, I need your help, can you give it."

Part of Akashi was amused by the look he gave her as if she was an idiot, but the rest was just too concerned with what was going on. "Of course I'll give it, what do you need me to do?"

Making her way to one of the lockers nearby, Akashi practically threw it open before tossing the blankets at Harry. "I need you to wrap Taigei in these. Then I need you to bring her over there in the Pool. Be as gentle as possible, but hurry!" Looking at where she pointed, Harry grabbed the blankets and just jumped into the repair pool, sinking up to his stomach in the water before wading to where Taigei was. But Akashi was not done and gestured at Maruyu. "I need you to go into the closet marked 'Emergency', there's a... bin there we can fill with repair fluid and wheel along. It's what we use when we need to evacuate shipgirls too injured to move themselves."

The small Submarine just nodded and snapped off salute. "HA!"

Just then, Rose came running into the room and Akashi focused on her. "Rose! Is everything off in your kitchen?" At her nod, Akashi then pointed at the door. "Go and find me some of the personnel and tell them that if they do not stop sitting with their hands up their asses and show up, I am shoving my fucking crane up there!"

Eyes wide, the tsukumogami rushed off as Akashi then focused on the Submarines. "I need your help and getting the gurreny in place to lift Taigei out..."

As that was going on, Harry reached a panicking Taigei who was looking around unsure. "H-Harry-Chan?"

Looking at her, Harry just gave her his best smile to relax her. "Don't worry, Taigei-Chan, I'm right here." Dipping the blankets into the water to wet them, he looked over the Submarine Tender in front of him. "Um, can you place your arms in front of you? So that it's easier to get these around you?"

Even as she nodded, Taigei did as asked. Though a moment later, she blushed as Harry began to gently wrap her in the blankets. "Uh..."

Harry only flinched as she hissed in pain. "S-sorry."

The shipgirl only shook her head. "I-it's okay, Harry-Chan. I know that you don't mean it and trying to be careful." Another wince escaped her and she bit her lip. "It's okay."

It was only a few moments before he had the blankets that Akashi had given him wrapped around her and he could see Akashi now directing the Submarines to lower the gurney that was normally hung from the rafters down. With a deep breath, Harry placed his arms underneath Taigei. "I'm going to lift now, okay?"

With a swallow, Taigei nodded. "Hai... and thank you."

Blinking, Harry just shrugged and gave her a shaky smile. "No problem, Taigei-Chan. Besides, you're a friend and I couldn't leave you."

Unknown to him, that only caused Taigei's blush to deepen, though a moment later she flinched as Harry lifted her so that he could bring her to the gurney being lowered. Normally, he couldn't have held her, but the water and her own boyancy helped and soon the two of them were getting close with Taigei leaning against him. 'O-oh my...'

Not long after, she was strapped in by Harry and he gave the thumbs up to Akashi who nodded and turned towards the Submarines as Maruyu returned pushing the bin. "Okay, you bunch, we're going to lift her out of the water and then I need you, Harry and..." Two members of the Dock personnel then appeared and Akashi shot them glares before pointing at the pool. "You two, help the kid push the gurney towards the tub so we can lower it and Taigei into it. NOW!"

The two just nodded and without any hesitation leapt into the pool and joined Harry as Akashi joined the Subgirls holding the chain. One of the two men gave her a thumbs up. "We're ready, Boss!"

Rolling her eyes, Akashi made sure that she had a good grip on the chain and looked at Rose who blinked. "Rose, as we're doing this I need you to fill the tub with repair fluid." All Rose did was nod and grab one of the buckets nearby before scooping repair fluid from the pool and dumping it into the tub. At the same time, Akashi grit her teeth. "Okay... on three... One... two... THREE! PULL!"

Each of the Subs held on as they pulled back on the heavy anchor chain with Akashi. Hissing through her teeth, Iku strained as they used every bit of engine power to lift the Submarine Tender from the water. "Come... On..."

Limbs shaking from strain, Akashi grunted. "Put your backs into it! Pull! Pull!"

Once the gurney was above the lip of the pool, Harry and the two men scrambled to push the it towards the tub which was now half filled with repair fluid. "Got it!"
Nodding as she huffed and puffed, Akashi took a moment. "Okay, time to lower her gently into the water. With me now!"

It was much quicker lowering her then it was to lift her and soon, Taigei was in the bin and Harry was beside her. "Are you okay, Taigei-Chan? Not hurt?"
All she did was shake her head and give him the best smile that she could. "No, I'm not hurt... thank you, Harry-Chan."

Feeling a hand on his head, Harry looked up to see Akashi there winking. "Great job, Kiddo. And in less then eight minutes! Now let's get to the shelter just in case." She snapped her fingers at the two men who took up a place on either side of the tub and began to push it and it's passenger towards the shelter. 'I only hope that nothing more happens... And I am running emergency drills for the next month!'

Several minutes later, they were inside the shelter and Akashi grabbed the heavy door and shouted out. "ARE PERSONNEL ALL SECURED?"

One of the people there nodded. "ALL SECURED AND ACCOUNTED FOR!"

Taking a deep gulp of air, Akashi let it out. "Right... CLOSING DOCK SHELTER DOOR! REPEAT, CLOSING DOCK SHELTER DOOR!" Normally, said door would take several people to close, but Akashi easily pulled it shut with a bang before locking it in place as the emergency batteries came on and provided light and air. Turning, she smiled as she clapped her hands. "And now... we wait."

Not having been there before, Taigei looked around. "Um... we'll be safe here, right?"

In reply, Akashi rapped her knuckles against the concrete. "Yeah, easily." She then frowned some as she quickly examined Taigei. "How are you feeling?"

The Submarine Tender only smiled up at her. "I'm alright, a little sore, but..."

Only nodding, Akashi patted her on the head. "Good to hear. Harry? I'm leaving her in your care for now, okay? I got to contact headquarters and find out what's going on."
Snapping a salute, Harry nodded. "Hai! I'll take good care of Taigei-Chan!"

A small smirk at the blush that crossed said shipgirl's face, Akashi just nodded and saluted Harry back. "I know that you will." With that, she walked towards the small office which contained the radio to contact the rest of the base. 'Now to find out what in the hell is going on...'

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Not the best, but...
___________________________________________________________________________________

"Did you manage to get in contact with them?"

Blinking, Louisiana nodded as she held one hand to her ear. "I have... hurrah for late war flagship capabilities."

With a slow nod, Shinano turned back to the island that they were now passing. The mushroom cloud that rose high above had lost much of it's shape and was now trailing in the direction of the wind. But the island on the other hand was still aflame. Even where they were, several miles offshore, they could feel the blistering heat as molten rock continued to flow and the earth shook. 'I wonder what happened here?'

Then an she heard a sigh and turned to see Inazuma looking at the island. But rather then the horror, disbelief, or fear on the other shipgirls' faces, the Destroyer had one of pure awe. "So... pretty... Nanodesu..."

Needless to say, that got her several looks before Tenryuu sighed. "I wonder about her sometimes... What is with her and fire?"

Just as Hamakaze was about to comment though, her eyes widened some as a chunk of reef detonated as they came around the corner of the island. "TORPEDOES!"

From where she was, Hibiki could just spot a torpedo heading for her and timed it's approached. At the moment it would have reached her, the little Destroyer leapt into the air with it harmlessly passing beneath her. When she landed though, she froze as she spotted what was coming out of the steam and smoke around the island.

A Princess Class Abyssal.

However, what made it worse was it seemed like large portions of her skin had been burned off and, even now, were smoking. One half of her face was nothing more then charred bone and metal as the sightless hollow where her eye was burned with a blue flame. Her good eye though focused on them and burned as well, but with pure hate. "Ship... girls... I will... send you... to the bottom!"

Moments later, she let loose with yet more torpedoes as a cackle ripped out of her throat. One of the Torpedoes managed to catch Louisiana and cause tore a chunk off her foot. "FUCK!"

And the Princess just laughed at Louisiana. "Yes... yes! I can feel... your pain! So... delicious and soon... I will have you with... me... making me stronger."

They had just started to fire on her when the Princess moved and then was in front of a frightened Akatsuki with her skeletal, nearly claw like hands stretched out to grab the Destroyer's neck. Before she could reach her though, there was a clang of metal against metal and Tenryuu and Tatsuta stood there with their weapons blocking the Princess. Snarling, the "Chunni-Boat" glared at the Princess. "Like Hell you're touching my daughter!"

Cackling, the Princess's hand closed around Waterline even as the blade bit deep into bone. "And in Hell... we shall all live!"

Tenryuu only had a moment to widen her eyes alongside Tatsuta before both were tossed away and fired on by the Princess' lesser guns. Guns that still, nonetheless, tore chunks from them. When the Princess turned back to Akatsuki though, the Destroyer glared at her before the Oxygen Torpedoes hit home, the explosions ripping one of the Princess' legs off as she screeched in pain and then backhanded the Destroyer. Such was the force that Akatsuki went skipping across the waves before coming to a stop with a groan.

Which was when the Princess found Tenryuu's blade punching through her back and out her chest as the bloodied Cruiser panted. "WHAT PART OF DON'T FUCKING TOUCH MY KID DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND!?" Yanking her blade free, Tenryuu hopped back in time for the torpedoes from Hamakaze and Isokaze to strike. Plumes of water obscured the Princess, but when they cleared, she was still there if looking worse for wear.

But even worse was how it looked like she was slowly regenerating from the hits, if slower each time.

Something that became moot as Shinano's planes then went on the attack, soon followed by Louisiana opening fire with her main battery and forcing the Princess to shield her face as the other Destroyers as well as Tenryuu and Tatsuta joined in. For a moment as the Abyssal collapsed to her knees, it looked like the fight was about to be over. But then she lunged forward towards Yukikaze who began to move to dodge. "N-no! I WILL... NOT DIE... LIKE THIS! NOT... IN THIS... PLACE! I SHALL... HAVE ALL... ON THEIR KNEES!"

Just as she was about to reach the Destroyer though, Shinano was with her fist wound up before it smashed into the Princess' face. "Leave her alone!" Then, grabbing some of the stunned Abyssal's hair, Shinano yanked her forward as the Carrier brought her own knee up and burying it in the Princess' gut. "LOUISIANA!"

Grinning, the Battleship grabbed one of the Princess' arms as Shinano grabbed the other. "Right here, Ma chère!"

Together, the two picked up the Abyssal Princess and redlined their engines as they twirled the Abyssal around. Once, twice, and on the third rotation, they let go causing the Princess to fly into the air and towards the still flaming island. Shinano then looked towards Louisiana and nodded. "If it flies..."

Louisiana grinned at that as she took aim with her five inchers, forty mills, and twenty mills. "It dies." Almost at the same time as she began to fire her guns, the Destroyers did the same as did Tenryuu and Tatsuta. Even Shinano joined in as the impacts and explosions carried the Abyssal Princess further and further away until she dropped out of sight and into the flames with a screech. "Ma chère, spot for me!"

Only nodding, Shinano narrowed her eyes as she connected with her planes yet again. "Will do."

Even as she began to feed information to Louisiana, the Abyssal Princess tried to stand up in the flames. But unlike before where her hull was able to keep them out, it was now riddled with holes and tears. Holes and tears that the purifying flames entered through and began to greedily devour everything in their path as they burned through bulkheads and doors. It was a mercy moments later when first Shinano's planes dropped their bombs and torpedoes on her, the heat of the flames causing the former to cook off and explode. Then she was finished as Louisiana fired, her Mark 8s slamming into the dying Princess and finishing her off.
Wincing from the pain of her wounds, Louisiana glanced towards Shinano. "Is she...?" The Support Carrier soon relaxed and the Battleship followed. "Good, Ma chère. That was rather-"

Tenryuu spat out a glob of blood and oil before interrupting her. "Easy?" At the nod, she snorted. "She was half dead as it was, so don't get cocky..." Then Tenryuu glanced around uneasily. "Still... where there's one Princess there's more Abyssals. And I don't know about you, but I think we shouldn't borrow more trouble then we already have."

From where she stood, Inazuma nodded as she put Akatsuki's arm around her shoulders to support her sister. "Yeah, we should be heading back, Nanodesu."

Slowly nodding, Shinano took a deep breath. "Y-yes, that's actually a good idea."

With that, the group turned and began to head back towards Yokosuka, the injured among them being watched over by Shinano and the others. Meanwhile, behind them, the last bits of what had been the Light Cruiser Oni, who had become Light Cruiser Water Princess, burned to ash and molten metal as embers rose from what had become her funeral pyre.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

When the doors to the shelter opened, Harry blinked at the sight that met them. "Mum?"

A relived expression on her face, Nagato simply hugged her adopted son close. "It's good to see you, Harry."

More then a little confused, Harry hugged her back with a frown on his face. After a few seconds though, he pulled back some. "What's going on, Mum? Is it the Abyssals?"

Slowly, Nagato shook her head with a frown. "We're... not quite sure yet. But every thing is alright now. I just wanted to see you before I head back to Teitoku as I'm... not going to be home until it's real late."

Nodding, Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "Does that mean that I'm taking care of Hoppou tonight?"

With a small chuckle, Nagato ruffled his hair. "Yes, you'll be taking care of Hoppou tonight. But Kongou will be just down the hall if you need anything and I think that Rose will be home as well." The tsukumogami nodded as Nagato looked at her. "So you should be fine until I get home, okay?"

Harry shrugged a little bit though he had a smile on his face. "Sure Mum, but... um..."

Seeing him glance to where Taigei was in a bin, the Battleship smiled. "You can make sure that Taigei-San gets to the repair pools again, but head home after that. Understood?"

In reply, Harry snapped off a small salute that nearly caused Nagato to laugh. "Hai!"

Just shaking her head, Nagato pulled him into another hug. "Good, I'll see you when I get home."

Moments later though, the Battleship was leaning against the wall with a sigh, only to blink as Rose held up a cup of black tea. "Here you go, Miss Nagato."

Grateful, Nagato took it and sighed as she sipped. "At least I got you to stop calling me Mistress Nagato..." A shudder then went through her body. 'Because that brings images to my mind that I would rather not have.'

Only nodding, Rose frowned a little bit. "Of course... is there anything that you want me to do while you're gone?"

Taking a few seconds to consider her response, Nagato finally nodded. "Stay close to both Harry and Hoppou tonight. I doubt anything more will happen today, but..." She then shrugged. "That way I know that the two of them will be safe."

Rose frowned, but made a noise of agreement. Then the tsukumogami bit her lip and looked around to see no one within listening distance, or at least no humans. "If it would be okay, may I ask what happened? Those were not the usual sirens after all."

Humming, Nagato became thoughtful before sighing. "I have no doubt that it will be all over the news soon enough, Rose. But there was an explosion at Nakanotorishima that was... like a nuclear device in size. We're not sure what happened, but to be safe I want you ready to get Harry and Hoppou to the shelters as soon as possible."

Eyes wide, Rose nodded. "Of course, their safety is paramount."

Softly smiling, Nagato reached down and patted her on the shoulder. "Thank you. And I know that they'll be in safe hands with you." The smile she got was enough to lift her spirits some and Nagato finished off her tea before holding out the cup. "I hate to bother you, but could I have another cup? I'm going to need all the caffine I can get."

Giggling, Rose took the cup and then placed her hand over the top. "Certainly." When she pulled it away a moment later, said cup was full of steaming, black tea. "Here you go, just the way you like it."

The shipgirl just stared for a moment at the offered cup before taking it. After a few seconds though, she shook her head and sighed. "I shall never understand how you do that."

With another giggle, Rose gave her a wink and tipped the brim of her hat. "Um, MSTSB?"

Pausing for a moment, Nagato blinked and then gave her a look. "'MSTSB'?"

Slightly blushing, Rose nodded. "Magical Sparkly Tea Set... um..."

To her surprise though, that got her a snort from Nagato who looked like she was about to laugh. "Thank you, Rose. I needed that."

Although somewhat bemused, Rose only nodded. "You're welcome."
__________________________________________________________________________

In a sound not unlike a crack, Arthur appeared on a stone road and sighed. 'All done.'

However, he suddenly jumped as a voice sounded behind him. "So all done with your inspection, Arthur?" Turning, the red haired wizard blinked at the cat woman who was watching him as she leaned against a fence post. "Hmm?"

Putting his hand against his chest to calm down his heart, Arthur let out a sigh. "I hate it when you do that, Katrina. Why?"

Tail swishing to and fro, Katrina chuckled before picking a non-existant piece of lint from her sleeve and flicking it away with one clawed hand. "Because it's fun, Arthur... and I need all the fun that I can get with what is coming."

For a moment, Arthur considered the woman in front of him as he considered how much she had changed from her days at Hogwarts. She had been in the same year as him and Molly in school and, despite being known for being a dark witch and from a dark family, she had never been a supporter of Voldemort unlike some. In fact, after her father's unfortunate death, which had rumors surrounding it, she had become the head of her family. Under her, she had kept her family away from Voldemort despite the pressure to join him. And, despite not being an official member of the Order of the Pheonix, Dumbledore had asked Arthur to approach her and sound out if she would support them. However, she preferred to stay neutral in regards to the war. That was, until one day when someone had slipped her Polyjuice with a cat hair. With how she was unable to be turned back, she lost her position and was sent to Saint Brendan's Isle.

Years later, when he met her on one of his visits as a Ministry Official, Arthur was surprised when she laughed at the news her family had been destroyed in the war after joining Voldemort. When he had asked, she just looked at him with a bloodthirsty grin. "I had warned them, and look at what it got me. Backstabbed by my own flesh and blood in favor of a maniac who would lead them to death and ruin. They are now dead and I am alive in the end."

Of course, in the years since she had changed after adopting a young orphan and had become the leader of the island. A position that she held not least because she cared for her adopted nation. Something that Arthur was glad to see, if only because it made things easier.

Arthur was brought out of his thoughts though as he realized that Katrhrine had asked him something. "Sorry about that... What did you ask me?"

More then a little amused, Katrina shook her head. "I was wondering if you found anything out of the ordinary on your inspection. Especially as one of my fliers stated he saw you on one of our mountaintops."

Freezing, Arthur felt sweat drip down his back as he remembered the 'Beacons' that Admiral Cunningham had asked him to place before he smiled a little nervously. 'Bloody hell...'

Just as he was about to say something though, Katrina shrugged and pushed off the fence post. "None of my business if you want to go sight see, I suppose..." Her gaze then became somewhat melancholy. "After all, this is going to change soon enough."

Unable to help himself, Arthur winced. "Katrina, for what it's worth, I'm sorry-"

Holding up a hand, she snorted. "You have nothing to be sorry about Arthur. I have my sources you know and you're the last person to feel that way. No..." Lips turning up in a sneer, she looked in the direction that Arthur knew was the ICW compound. "They're the ones who should be sorry."

With a sigh, Arthur shook his head. "I'm just sorry that I couldn't do more to help."

For almost a minute, Katrina stood there until she looked at him. Oddly, her examination made Arthur feel as if he was a mouse in front of a cat before she suddenly nodded. "Well, you've helped a lot already, Arthur. Especially with those notes of yours that you slipped us under the table during your visit last year."

Blinking, it took a moment for him to realize what she was talking about. "Ah, the ones that you were using to enchant that bus for students?"

Very slowly, Katrina nodded before she gestured for him to follow her. As they walked, she placed her hands behind her back. "You know, Arthur, this would not be the first time that our island has been abandoned by the ICW. There have been other times."

That got her a look as Arthur tried to piece together what she was not telling him. "The war against Grindlewald, right?"

A grin on her face, the cat woman nodded as one of her ears twitched. "Yes, that is one example as the ICW was more focused on the European mainland then us. Of course, they ignored how Grindlewald sent raids against us. But there were other times. What the Muggles call the First World War, the fight against Elric the Bloody Skull in France back during the 1880s, and so on. Which is why back in the 1880s, we created a self-defense force for use when the ICW pulled out troops and we were left defenseless."

Wincing at that reminder, Arthur nodded as he could not hear distant explosions. "Made up mostly of what educated magic users among the islanders there are."

Eyes narrowing, Katrina let out a hiss. "Yes, though we're not technically allowed to set up a school..." Then she interrupted Arthur's response. "Once more, not your fault. Just stupidity as some don't count us as human. But we are also allowed to have... other items, as it were."

Raising an eyebrow, Arthur was about to comment when they came out to a clearing in the woods and he stopped. Tearing it's way across a field was a machine that he recognized, if only due to it's descendants he had seen rather often. "Is... that a tank!?"

Unable to help herself, Katrina let out a laugh. "Yes, yes it is. A Sherman I believe was what the Muggles called it. Though... we have made some modifications."

Slowly, Arthur turned towards her even as the tank fired with a part of him noting that the sound was being magically suppressed. "How? Where did you come across that?"

Watching as it fired again at a target which went up, Katrina sighed. "We have always had a number of us who can dive rather deep. We also had good relations with mermaids in the area of course." Placing a hand on the wooden railing, she looked down at her claws. "During the war against Grindlewald, the Muggles were fighting their own war. The people of the isle are not stupid, Arthur. They knew that Grindlewald's philosophy had no place for those like us in it."

It took a moment, but then he realized what she was hinting at. "Sunken ships..."

Katrina nodded as she turned towards him. "Yes, as distasteful as it may seem, the islanders of the time with help from mermaids salvaged various materials from ships sunken by both sides. What they could use to fight was top priority. They were also helped by sailors they found adrift or who managed to washup. Of course... they couldn't exactly leave after. And with the end of the war, we placed it all in storage under stasis charms. The ICW of the time knew though they didn't care as it was muggle stuff, but it seems they forgot we had them. Tanks, guns, even a few of those aeroplanes. And now we're bringing them all out and with the help of your notes, we can use them."

Blood draining from his face, Arthur stared at her as she looked out at the tank. "You cannot be serious, Katrina!? You're going to fight the Abyssals!? Anyone who does will-"

Cutting him off, she sighed. "Die? Of course, I know that and so does anyone else." Turning towards him, she blinked away some tears. "But what else can we do, Arthur? This is our home and we can do no less. Yes, we fully expect to die, but Merlin willing... we'll make them pay for each one of us that die, for each bit of land they take. We'll fight for our homes and each other. If our positions were reversed, would you do no less?"

For almost a minute, Arthur was silent and then he turned away. "No... I couldn't stand by if I was in your place."

With a nod, she turned back to the tank which now had a young man, though he had horns growing out his head, pop out of the hatch and give a whoop. "If it helps... I only authorized volunteers. The problem of course..."

The red haired wizard only nodded. "Is that you got more volunteers then you wanted." When she nodded, he ran a hand through his hair as he fought an internal battle. Finally he nodded. "If... if I was to tell you something that you needed to keep a secret from any members of the Ministry or from the ICW, would you?"

Eyes narrowing, she turned fully towards him. "I would, you know that there's no love lost between me and them. Why?" Glancing around, Arthur leaned in and whispered into her ear. Slowly, Katrina's eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat before turning towards him with hope. "Are you serious, Arthur? Because if you are lying..."

Shaking his head, the wizard gave her a small smile. "No, I'm not. Lying that is... But you do realize why this has to be kept secret, I hope?"

Lips curling upwards, Katrina laughed. "I do, and I only wish that I could see their reactions when that gets out." Then her expression turned gentle. "Thank you, Arthur. I know more then most what the fallout for you might be if it gets out that you were in anyway involved."

However, Arthur only shrugged. "Like you said, we can only do what we can."

Tapping a claw against her chin, Katrina suddenly smiled a little bit. "As you did that... I think that I shall show you one final surprise."

When she held out a hand, it only took a few seconds for Arthur to nod and gasp it. Then he felt himself pulled through a tube and, when he landed, he could smell the nearby sea and hear the waves. Finding himself a short distance from some cliffs, he frowned. "Where are we?"

A slight smile on her face, Katrina gestured for him to follow her. "We're by Springwater Cove. It's not very big and surrounded by cliffs. But we're making a few more preparations for the Abyssals here."

Curious, Arthur followed her and soon was walking down some steps. Down below, he could just see several of the inhabitants of the island working on ships. "What are those?"

Glancing in that direction, Katrina nodded. "Old landing ships from the muggle's Second World War. We've mostly used them for fishing, but now we're arming them. But that's not the big thing..." Her grin then became wide showing her fangs as they came around a corner and she could hear Arthur freeze. "This is."

For almost a minute, the wizard was unable to say a thing and then slowly turned towards her. "Is... that a Muggle warship?"

Proud of what she was seeing, Katrina chuckled though it was bittersweet. "It seems that back in the 1880s, they found an old shipwreck with quite a bit of treasure on it nearby. With it, and through the goblins, the islanders managed to have her built under the table as it were and brought here. Last time she was out, she was sinking some of the magical ships that Grindlewald used to raid the island. And now she's heading out again to defend us though against a overwhelming force..."

Frowning as he examined the ship that laid at anchor, various people on her decks and working to get her to working order, Arthur raised an eyebrow. "I've never seen a ship like that before."

All that Katrina did was shrug. "I'm not surprised, she only had one sister. Though..." Becoming thoughtful, she frowned. "I do remember a muggle friend of a muggleborn who settled here writing a book based on the island and having the ship appear in another novel he wrote just before the the end of the nineteenth century. Never read the story, but apparently it was quite popular..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Glancing back at the rest of the Convoy now that they were past Wake and heading for the next checkpoint as the Sun descended towards the horizon, Enterprise noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Yamato was looking towards where Japan was over the horizon with her fingers tapping out a beat on one of her turrets. Some other shipgirls would have assumed that she was just bored, but after so much time together, Enterprise knew better. "Something wrong, Princess?"

If she was startled out of whatever thoughts she had, the Battleship did not show it as she glanced at Enterprise. "I, Yamato, am just looking forward to getting home."

However, that only caused Enterprise to raise her eyebrows. "Uh-huh. That's bull, or at least partially anyways. We still have to clear Marcus Island checkpoint before we're in the clear."

Eyebrow twitching, Yamato held back a sigh. "Minami-Tori-Shima, Enterprise-San, not Marcus Island."

All the American Carrier did though was shrug. "Eh, to-mat-o, to-ma-to." Then she frowned some as the pensive look was back on Yamato's face. "So what's eating at you because I know that it's more then that. Sure, it might take a bit longer because we're being told to swing... south..." Narrowing her eyes as Yamato froze, Enterprise frowned. "Wait, is it because of the explosion?"

Knowing that it was now out in the open, Yamato grimaced some. "My sisters are based in Yokosuka and..."

Slowly, Enterprise nodded some. "And since Yokosuka would be high on any list for nukes, you're worried about them, Princess?"

Even though it was phrased as a question, both of them knew that it wasn't though Yamato nodded. "I am."

After a few moments, Enterprise sighed and shook her head. "Can't say that I blame you, Princess." When Yamato turned towards her, she continued. "Yorkie and Hornet are back in San Diego, which is also a target." Tilting her head, Enterprise looked towards the back of the convoy. "I'm just happy that Wasp is here where I can keep an eye on her."

Yamato glanced back and her rangefingers could just spot the smaller Carrier at the very back. "Indeed." Suddenly, her phone beeped and she pulled it out to look. Before Enterprise's eyes, she relaxed. "It's from Mushashi."

Chuckling, Enterprise reached over and gave Yamato a playful punch to the arm. "See? I tolf you that there was nothing to... worry about..." The Carrier though trailed off as Yamato's eyes widened and then her expression turned into one of barely kept rage. "Princess?"

With a deep breath, Yamato slowly let it out. Then she closed her eyes and hummed before giving a smile. "I, Yamato, may kill him when I arrive in Yokosuka."

Eyebrow raising at that, Enterprise simply blinked. "Kill? Kill who?"

The smile that was on Yamato's face caused the Carrier to shiver for reasons that she did not know. Oddly, it reminded her of one of Tatsuta's smiles. "Teitoku, of course."

More then a little perturbed, Enterprise coughed into one fist before glancing away. "And... why would you need to kill your Admiral?"

On Yamato's face, the smile grew slightly bigger. "Apparently, he received reports of wizards on Nakanotorishima and sent Shinano-Chan and some others there to investigate."

It took only a few moments for Enterprise to connect the dots. But when she did, her eyes widened slightly as she cursed. "Fuck, isn't that where..." Getting a nod, Enterprise winced. "Is she okay?"

Grateful for the concern, the Battleship nodded. "Yes, Shinano-Chan is okay apparently, though she was quite close when the explosion happened. At worst, the explosion caused a scare."

Relaxing, Enterprise sighed. "That's good to hear, she's a good kid after all." Suddenly chuckling, she shook her head. "Then again, she's a fucking floating fortress. Got a lot of potential in her..." At seeing the still angry look though, Enterprise's smile faded. "That's not all though, is it?"

With a grimace, Yamato shook her head. "No... because apparently there was an Abyssal Princess on the island when the explosion happened. A Princess that then attacked them."

Head snapping up, Enterprise stared at her. "The fuck!? But Hornet bombed that place back to the Stone Age, how the hell was there a Princess there? And I thought that you said that your sister was okay?"
Only shaking her head, Yamato frowned. "She is okay, apparently the Princess was badly damaged enough that they defeated her with only moderate damage to their group." Then she blinked and frowned as she noticed something. "That's rather odd, Mushashi-Chan sent me a video attachment. Something that was pieced together from video taken from the others?"

Coming close, Enterprise pressed herself against Yamato's arm as she craned her neck to look. "Show me."

Face somewhat flushed, Yamato gave her fellow the best glare that she could. "Do you mind, Enterprise-San?"

However, Enterprise just looked up at her and smirked a bit at seeing the small blush. "What's wrong, Princess? You seem rather flushed."

Eyebrow twitching, Yamato grumbled a bit. "Have you no shame in your body at all? Or respect for personal boundaries?"

Slowly, the Carrier grinned. "Nope! None at all." Then she laughed a bit. "Besides, do you know how many would kill to have me like this?" If anything, that caused Yamato's flush to increase before she turned back to her phone. Inside Enterprise's hull, one of her fairies went up to a large chalk board and replaced the number under Enterprise's name with the next highest. Beside it, there was Yamato's name with a rather high number underneath it. 'Gotcha!'

Unknown to Enterprise though, there was grumbles inside of Yamato from her fairies as they added a number to the scoreboard under Enterprise's name. In an attempt to distract herself, Yamato brought up the video and the two watched it. Once it was done though, Yamato blinked. "Did... did Shinano-Chan actually..."

Enterprise was the one who finished the sentence. "Beat the shit out of the Abyssal? Yes, yes she did. That was totally awesome by the way."

With a smirk on her face, Yamato nodded. "Of course, she is a Yamato after all."

Rolling her eyes, Enterprise waved her off. "Nah, it's because she's a Carrier. We're better then Battleships after all."

Just snorting, Yamato gave her a narrowed eyed look. "A Carrier converted from a Battleship, need I remind you. A Yamato class hull."

Yet again, Enterprise waved her off. "Sure, which means that she's armored and got a larger flight deck. Still a Carrier which automatically makes her better then a Battleship... or one of those Aviation Battleships."

Eyebrow twitching, Yamato was about to say something when she suddenly hummed with a smile. A combination that caused Enterprise to wait for the next volley. "Point, she certainly has a larger... flight deck then some."

It took a moment, as well as realizing where Yamato was looking, but Enterprise growled. "Again with the breast jokes. Seriously getting old, Princess. Do you always go for the low hanging fruit, or is it that you can't do any better?"

One eye opened, the Japanese shipgirl only smirked. "I, Yamato do not know what you mean by that, Enterprise-San. Besides, as the fable states, one should not ignore the grapes hanging lower for ones that are higher and perhaps more sour."

Giving her a narrowed eyed look, Enterprise frowned. "Did you just quote fucking Aesop at me? And at least I do not need shell caps from those oversized pea shooters of yours for my chest."

Eyes widening, Yamato soon narrowed them in a glare. "I, Yamato would have you know that I, Yamato, use them for support only and to not make my sister Musashi jealous. I do not use them to... pad myself out!"

Simply humming, Enterprise nodded as she poked Yamato. "Sure you do. I believe you."

With a growl, Yamato was about to say something when she realized something and blinked. Then her expression turned sly. "Wait a moment... how would you know what I use for such things unless..." A fake gasp then escaped her as she gave the American a scandlized expression. "Oh my, I, Yamato, always knew that you Americans could be rather open. But I never thought that Enterprise, the Grey Ghost, would be a pervert towards her fellow shipgirls!"

Blinking, Enterprise turned the conversation over in her head and slowly got redder. "I... you... It's not fucking like that!" At the smirk she got, the Carrier snarled and poked Yamato. "It's fucking hard not to notice those oversized fuel tanks of yours!"

However, she did not expect Yamato to look away and chuckle. "Oh my. So you have been looking I see."

Steadily getting redder, Enterprise snarled. "FUCK YOU, JAP!"

All Yamato did was fan her face. "Oh my... how forward, Enterprise."

Way at the back, Wasp looked up as she could just barely hear her sister's scream over the radio before sighing. "They're at it... again."

Beside her, Maya frowned as she sighed. "Because of course those two are." Putting her hand over her eyes, the Heavy Cruiser groaned. "Should we tell them that we can hear them over the radio?"

Considering it, Wasp finally shrugged. "Nah, besides it's letting the two of them blow off some steam and it's only on our channels, not the Convoy's. And both of them should remember that they still got their radios going."

Maya slowly nodded as continued to listen in. "True, and they can get rather inventive once they get a full head of steam." Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a bag and opened it before offering it to Wasp. "Popcorn?"

With a chuckle, Wasp just reached over and took a handful as they continued to listen to the verbal spar. "Don't mind if I do."
_______________________________________________________________________

There was a confused expression on Shinano's face as she looked down at White Plains who was looking up at her with a large smile. "Um..." Smile widening, White gestured for her bend down. Glancing at Louisiana who seemed rather amused, Shinano did so. "Um, Kaa-San-"

She was cut off as White Plains threw her arms around Shinano's neck with a laugh. "I heard what happened! And then Musashi sent me video! That was so awesome and I am so proud of you, Shinano!"

Mouth working silently for a few moments, Shinano flushed though there was a small, pleased smile on her face. "R-really? You're proud?"

Pulling away slightly so that she could look at Shinano directly, White nodded. "Yup! You beat up that Princess really, really good! It was so cool!"

The smile on Shinano's face could have brightened up the entire room with how much happiness there was there. Biting her lip, the Support Carrier buried her face in White's hair. "O-oh... thank you, Kaa-San."

Simply hugging her tightly again, White nodded. Moments later though, she patted Shinano on the cheek. "You're welcome. But you should get to bed because we got a busy day tomorrow."

Eyes wide, Shinano blinked at that. "We do?"

Nodding, the small Escort Carrier was practically vibrating in place. "Yup! When I heard what happened, I just had to set it up! You deserve it after being so awesome. I'll even get Harry to come along with some of our friends." Then she looked over at Louisiana with a small frown. "Hopefully you can come, Louisiana."

With a shrug, the Battleship examined her foot which was bandaged up. "As long as there's not much walking, Miz White."

A blush on her face, Shinano gave White a large smile. "Thank you, Kaa-San." Hearing a shuffle though, Shinano looked over her shoulder to see an unsure Yukikaze there. Eyes widening, she gestured at her. "K-Kaa-San? I'd like you meet my newest Escort, Yukikaze-Chan."

Even though she was not quite sure about how an Amrican Escort Carrier was the mother to Shinano, Yukikaze had heard about her and so bowed deeply. "It's nice to meet you, White Plains-Dono."

However, what she did not expect was for the hyperactive White Plains to squeal and run over to hug her. "Just call me White Plains or White. And it's so great to meet you! Shinano has told me all about you!"

Blushing, Yukikaze looked over at the embarrassed Shinano who was scuffing her foot into the ground. "S-she did? Shinano-Sama talked about me?"

Only nodding, White Plains grinned. "Yup! She talked about you lots! It's great that Shinano now has you with her back. Awesome Carriers like her need awesome Destroyers to protect them after all."

It went without saying that Yukikaze only blushed at being complimented like that, though she slowly smiled.

Later that night though, Shinano was laying back in her bunk staring at the one above her as Yukikaze slept cuddled into her side with Isokaze on the other. On her chest, White Plains softly breathed as she dreamed. However, hearing the bunk above her creak, Shinano blinked and looked up. "Um, Louisiana?"

Above her, Louisiana blinked as she looked up at the ceiling, Hamakaze cuddled into her. "Yes, Ma chère?"

Shinano only frowned slightly at the small shiver in her the Battleship's voice. "Um... are you okay?"

With a sigh, the Battleship closed her eyes. "I can't seem to fall asleep, Ma chère. Everything... I just keep running over what happened in my mind. What happened."

Very slowly, Shinano nodded. "Oh... do you want to talk about it? I'm very good at listening."

There was a soft smile on Louisiana's face as she opened her eyes. "That... would be nice." Several moments later, she sighed. "You're first battle, was it like... that?"

Biting her lip, Shinano considered her answer before nodding. "M-my first battle when I came back was pretty scary. I couldn't stop shaking after it, but Kaa-San was there for me and helped."

Unseen by Shinano, Louisiana relaxed a little bit. "Really? I'm sorry, Ma chère, but that's hard to believe. We are talking about you, after all."

A soft giggle escaped Shinano as she answered. "I-I don't know about that... It's the truth though. B-but people needed me and I helped them. That's what we're here for, isn't it?"

Louisiana turned her head to stare at the wall opposite from her and Shinano. "So it's okay to feel like this then? To... keep thinking about it?"

Her voice nearly soft enough to be a whisper, Shinano answered her friend as she nodded. "Hai. I know that I still do. Um... it might not be worth much, but I'm here if you need me. And so is Harry-Chan, Kaa-San, Isokaze-Chan, Hamakaze-Chan, Yukikaze-Chan, Natsumi-San, and all the others."

Feeling a lump in her throat, Louisiana let out a sigh as she could see the lit nightlight in the form of Space Battleship Yamato softly glowing. White Plains had gotten it after finding out that the Louisiana needed a source of light nearby to stop from getting panic attacks if she woke up in the middle of the night to pitch darkness. Proof that her friends were there for her. "Thank you."

Below her, Shinano only smiled. "You're welcome, Louisiana."

As the Destroyer beside her cuddled closer, Louisiana sighed and closed her eyes. It helped that she could feel not just Shinano, but the three Destroyers and White Plains herself nearby. Slowly, she drifted off as below her Shinano did the same. Unnoticed by the Yamato class though, White Plains had one eye cracked open with a smile on her face before closing it. 'I'm so proud of you, Shinano...'

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Looking out the window, Yukikaze smiled at all the people that the vehicle was passing by and she knew some of her crew was doing the same. After all, despite the war going on the people she could see were still living their lives. Better lives then her own crew had known during the last war. And she was one of the ones protecting them.

It was a source of pride for the Destroyer, and she knew other shipgirls, that they would allow the people just outside the vehicle to continue their lives.

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Yukikaze turned around in her seat to see Harry smiling at her. "Excited?"

Chuckling nervously, the Destroyer reached down and adjusted the bike shorts she was wearing. Why all the human personnel made such a fuss was beyond her, but she shoved those thoughts away. "A bit I guess... though I don't know what we're doing."

Harry only shrugged with a small smile. "I don't either, but White seems excited." Both him and Yukikaze glanced to where the small Escort Carrier was practically vibrating in her seat. "So it's probably going to be good."

Slowly nodding, Yukikaze barely noticed as the minibus they were riding in hit a pothole. It's suspension, heavily modified by the Kongou sisters along with the rest of it, barely noticing. "Well... you and Shinano-Sama would know better then me."

As they came to a stop, Harry slowly nodded but then became thoughtful. "So, um... by the way, did you like the muffins I sent you this morning?"

The memory of them caused her to brightly smile before she nodded. "I did, actually. Thank you for them, though you really didn't have to."

Only shrugging, Harry smiled back at her. "Well, I wanted to thank you for everything that you've done besides protecting Shinano-Chan, though that would be more then worth a few muffins." Seeing her confusion, he chuckled. "Mum told me that you've been investing some of the money my grandfather left me."

Eyes widening, Yukikaze had a small, but pleased expression on her face. "It's really not all that much for Yukikaze. Besides, I'm not really doing all that much with it, just putting it places where I think that it might do some good."

Shifting in her seat, Louisiana looked at her in surprise. "Wait, you're an investor, Yukikaze?" At the slow nod, the Battleship frowned a bit. "Huh... you know, I got some pay just laying around and it might not hurt..."

Yukikaze only smiled at that. "Just let me know and I'll see what I can do." It was then that she realized that the minibus was pulling into a parking lot and she craned her neck to try and see. "Are we here?"

Beside her, Isokaze jerked as she was startled from her nap. Pulling her headphones off, she blinked away some sleep. "We're here?"

Up at the front, White unbuckled herself before leaping from the seat with a cheer. "We're here! Finally!" Reaching over after Shinano had unbuckled herself, White began to pull her towards the opening door. "Come on, come on! We got to go!"

A small smile on her face, Shinano only nodded. "Okay, Kaa-San."

While unbuckling herself from where she sat beside Harry, Hamakaze glanced out the window and raised an eyebrow. "It looks like we're going to the movies."

Now grinning, Harry also unbuckled himself. "Cool! I wonder what we're seeing!"

Taking his hand and helping him out of the seat, Hamakaze only shrugged with a small smile. "Considering that White-San chose it, I suspect that it'll be a good choice." Another glance though caused her to become puzzled. 'Though I wonder... I've heard of 3D, but not...'

Once they were outside, Harry stretched out a little bit before he looked towards Natsumi who had been invited along. "So... how are we going to split the snacks by the way? We got four pairs here after all."

Just blinking, Yukikaze turned away from watching the minibus drive off to find a place to park. "Split the snacks?"

Isokaze placed her hands behind her head as the group continued to walk towards the theatre, obviously newly built. "Yeah, it's sort of a thing that we do here when we go out for groups to movies... or at least us smaller ships." She nodded towards a slightly blushing Shinano. "Less so for Battleships and Carriers, but still."

From where she was beside Louisiana, Natsumi snickered. "Besides, it's not like me or Harry-Chan eat a lot ourselves, so sharing with you guys doesn't bother us..." Looking at where Harry was going through his wallet, she tried to bite back giggles. "Or at least doesn't bother us except our wallets."

Much to Harry's surprise though, White bounced over and pushed his wallet towards his pocket. "Good thing that you're not paying then. My treat after all!"

A frown on his face, Harry gave her an unsure look. "Are you sure? I mean... you don't have to and I can pay for myself."

However, White just tapped him on the tip of his nose. "Nope! Just sit beside Shinano while we're watching the movie." Not quite sure, Harry only nodded as White walked up to Shinano. "Anyways, I call sharing with Shinano!"

Placing her arm on Harry's shoulder, Isokaze smiled at him. "How about we share, Harry-Chan? Don't touch my ice cream though!"

That caused Harry to grin a bit and then poke her in the side which caused her to squirm. "As long as you don't touch mine. Or else I'll be annoyed."

Simply shaking her head in amusement at her sister ship's antics, Hamakaze turned towards Yukikaze and gave her a smile. "Mind sharing with me?" When she nodded, Hamakaze gave her a slight tilt of the head. "Thank you."

Louisiana then grinned before reaching over and pulling Natsumi into a one armed embrace. "Well now, it seems that it is you and me, ma chérie. Perhaps a bucket of popcorn..."

All Natsumi did though was sigh as she found her face once more buried in the affectionate Battleship's chest. 'This has become a thing, hasn't it? It's become a thing.' Then she frowned in thought. 'Though... it is kind of comfortable I guess?'

The Battleship, almost as if she knew what she was thinking, tightened the hug.

Several minutes later found the group sitting down in various seats with large stacks of snacks. Espcially apparent were the large tubs of popcorn and cups of soda though the stacks of candy and hot dogs were also apparent. Or the tubs of ice cream the Destroyers had. However, as he unwrapped the 3D glasses, Harry looked over at Natsumi. "Have you been here before?"

Only shaking her head, the kitsune perched her own glasses on her nose. "Nope! I've heard about it since they opened about a month ago though. A lot of the others at school couldn't stop from talking about it. Oba-Chan said that they opened it to help take people's minds off, you know."

Harry only nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but I remember the newspapers talking about it, so..." Shrugging, Harry looked up at Shinano who was beside him with a massive smile on her face. "Excited?"

A small squeal came from Shinano who nodded even as one of her fairies came out with 3D glasses on it's nose. Something that made Natsumi blink and look at it in befuddlement. "Um... where did he get those from?"

Pausing as she handed the fairy in question a kernal of popcorn even as it was joined by others, Shinano blinked. "Get what?"

With a glance around, the kitsune stared as she noticed that the other shipgirls also had their fairies coming out with 3D glasses sized for them. "... The glasses." At the blinks, she pointed to the ones that she was wearing. "The ones that look like the ones that we're wearing? Where did they get them?"

Slowly blinking, Hamakaze frowned and looked at her. "We're wearing glasses of course."

Eyebrow twitching, Natsumi took a deep breath. "I know that, but where did your fairies get theirs from? I mean..."

The only boy of the group just raised his eyebrow with his next words coming out as if it answered the question. "Because Shinano-Chan and the others are wearing some? Where else?"

Opening her mouth, Natsumi was about to comment when she closed it. Mainly because, oddly enough, it really did answer the question which caused her to slump in her seat. 'Ugh... now I know why some people say shipgirls cause headaches.'

It was then that the lights dimmed and White pointed at the screen. "It's starting! It's starting!"

Soon after, the various trailers were done and the movie started. As it did so though, Isokaze felt wind slowly blowing her wind around and there was the smell of seawater and jet fuel which made her grin. "Okay... this is going to be so awesome!"

Nodding, Harry grabbed some of the popcorn to eat. "Yeah, it really is."

A sentiment that was shared by the others even as fog swept past them as on the screen, a F-14 flew through the clouds while the seats they sat on moved in various directions. Though they got amused looks as Harry, White, and Shinano all started to belt out the lyrics to "Highway to the Danger Zone" when it started to play at the beginning.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

A soft smile on her face, Rose glanced down at Haruna as she was riding on the Battleship's shoulder. With a slight sigh, she adjusted her feet which were laying on one of Haruna's turrets. "So there's strawberries on this island, Haruna?"

Haruna slowly nodded and smiled up at Rose. "Hai! Haruna heard directly from Montana that she spotted strawberry bushes here last year. She also said there were other berry bushes too and some plum trees."

Clapping her hands, the tsukumogami nodded. "That sounds wonderful, Haruna. That means that I'll be able to make all sorts of preserves and Kongou should get some as well."

Lips turning up in a grin, Haruna nodded. "Onee-Sama really likes fresh, homemade preserves for tea time. Haruna is happy to be spending some time with Rose-Chan though."

Face flushed, Rose leaned down and gave her girlfriend a peck on the cheek. "Thank you, I like spending time with you as well, Haruna."

Placing her fingers on her lips, Haruna looked at Rose who was looking upwards. In her imagination, her and Rose were already walking along the paths of the island. Then they were feeding each other strawberries with Rose sitting in her lap. From there, her imagination took her to Rose laying against her under a tree as her hands migrated to Rose's lap. Once there, those same hands took Rose's hands into themselves as their fingers intertwined...

Meanwhile, in real life Rose heard a sound and glanced to see Haruna with a red face and steam coming out of her ears. 'I wonder what that is all about now?' Before she could say anything though, she felt her cap taken from her head. "MY HAT!"

Quickly snapping out of it, Haruna turned to see Rose's hat being carried off by a bird. Frowning, she scowled at it. "Give back Rose-Chan's hat, Bird-San!" When it didn't drop it, she turned towards Rose with a nod. "Hold on, Rose-Chan. Haruna will get your hat back."

Shifting so that she was more on Haruna's rigging and placing a hand on one of the Battleship's guns, Rose only nodded. "Okay!"

With a frown, Haruna pulled a sharp turn and began chasing the bird. It didn't take long until they passed through some wards and Haruna frowned at the steep sloped island ahead of them. "Haruna thinks that must be where the bird lives!"

Only watching as the bird disappeared in the trees, Rose nodded. "Of course." When they reached a spot that had a path climbing up the cliffs, the tsukumogami hopped off and got onto the beach. "Now to find it and get my hat back."

Her rigging dismissing itself as she stepped onto the beach, Haruna searched the cliffs. "Haruna thinks that it must be deeper in the forest." Spotting Rose heading up the path, Haruna called out to her. "Don't go too far, Rose-Chan!"

Looking back, the tsukumogami only nodded. "Of course not. Besides, all these islands are safe." Then she took off up the path at a good clip and soon found herself in the forest. Slowing down as she pushed through various bushes, she frowned as she looked around and up into the trees. "Now where did you go...?"

Below the cliff, Haruna took a step forward when her foot hit something and she bent down to examine the object. It took some time, but she pried it out and her eyes widened. 'Abyssal steel? But...' Looking around, she narrowed her eyes and then quickly followed Rose. 'Haruna is coming.'

It was several minutes later that Rose entered a clearing and searched it. Hearing chirping, she focused on one bush and then Rose narrowed her eyes as she walked over. "There you are!" Once Rose reached the bush, she raised an eyebrow as she realized what happened. "Oh, building a nest are you?" The bird chirped up at her which caused Rose to sigh. "I'm quite sorry, Mister Bird, but you simply cannot use my hat for your nest. Not only is it not proper, you also stole it."

Unnoticed and unheard by her, some bushes moved and what was behind them stepped out. Watching Rose as she scolded the bird, it blinked and tilted it's head. Slowly, it walked up until it was right behind Rose, towering over her. This was the sight that Haruna came onto and rapidly paled. "R-Rose-Chan?"

Glancing over at her, Rose gave a small smile. "Oh, Haruna! Don't worry, I found my hat."

However, Haruna's attention was on the WO class that stood right behind her girlfriend. 'If Haruna summons her rigging, then it might catch Rose... and if Haruna doesn't...' Reaching out, the Battleship gave her a 'Come here' gesture. "Rose-Chan, come to me slowly."

More then a little confused, Rose frowned a bit before pointing at her hat. "Just a moment, Haruna. I'll just be getting my hat."

When the WO tilted it's head as it looked between her and Rose, Haruna gestured again. "Rose-Chan, Haruna thinks that it is very important that you come to Haruna right now."

Frowning even more, Rose just reached out and took her hat from where the birds had put it. "I do not see what the big deal is, Haruna. Now... since you need something for your nest, here." Taking out a hankerchief, Rose set it in the nest and nodded. "There we go, something to pretty it up. Just stop taking hats Mister Bird, as I said it is most rude." Behind her, the WO blinked and tilted it's head to the side. Meanwhile, Rose placed her hat on her head and turned towards Haruna. "Now what seems to be the problem. Haruna?"

Slowly, Hauna pointed behind her. "Be very, very careful."

Confused, Rose turned and so missed the WO as it stepped around behind her in time to the tsukumogami's own steps to inspect the bird's nest. Scratching her head, Rose blinked. "I don't see anything behind me, Haruna." Then she froze as she spotted the shadow that now covered her, one with a large, distinct silhouette for the head. "..."

Then she heard a word that caused her to swallow and feel as if all the tea in her was draining to her feet. "Wokyuu?"

Very, very slowly, Rose turned to find herself looking into the curious golden eyes of a WO. "Ah, an Abyssal... I see now." For several moments there was only the sound of the wind through the trees and the chirping of the birds. 'Don't make any sudden movements Rose... or any loud sounds...'

Which, of course, Murphy chose to take as a slap to the face. And that is why Rose's phone chose that moment began to ring. Every eye in the clearing, including Rose's, turned to her pocket. "Wokyuu?"

It took only a moment for Rose to place the ringtone and she raised one finger. "J-just one moment please..." With shaking hands, she took out her phone and pressed the button. "Y-yes, Hoppou?"

From phone's speaker, Hoppou's voice came drifting out. "Hoppou heard that Rose is picking strawberries! Is Hoppou going to have some?"

Slowly nodding, Rose nodded even though strawberries were furthest from her mind. "Of course, Hoppou..."

The reason that her voice trailed off being, of course, that the WO was now staring at her with wide eyes and a hopeful expression before it grabbed her hand. Haruna was already moving when the WO closed it's eyes in happiness and spoke into the phone. "Wokyuu!"

Haruna stopped though as a squeal of happiness could be heard through the phone that could only have been from Hoppou. "WOKYUU! Is that really you!?"

With a glance at Haruna, Rose slid her thumb to the video call option and then pressed it. Moments later, Hoppou's joyful face filled the screen and the WO began to cry and nod. "Wokyuu! Wokyuu!"

Another screech of happiness burst from Hoppou as she began jumping up and down. "You found her! You found Wokyuu! Hoppou is so happy, Rose! Hoppou will give you big hug and let you cuddle her Reppu!"

Reaching Rose's side, Haruna relaxed some though she was still ready to spring into action at a moment. "Hoppou knows this WO?"

On the screen, Hoppou began to nod. "Wokyuu is one of Hoppou's! Hoppou thought that she sank but here she is!" Then Hoppou gasped. "Hoppou must have been feeling Wokyuu! But why didn't Wokyuu contact Hoppou when she called?"

Much to the shipgirl's and tsukumogami's surprise, the WO flushed a bit and looked down as if ashamed. "Wokyuu wokyuu wokyuu wokyuu."

Now scowling, Hoppou wagged her hand at the screen. "Hoppou thinks that Wokyuu is being very silly. Wokyuu did not fail Hoppou and neither did anyone else!" The WO froze as Hoppou sniffled a bit and then wiped at her eyes. "H-Hoppou is just glad that Wokyuu is alive! Very, very glad! But now Wokyuu can meet Big Brother and Mommy!"

Tilting her head to the side, Wokyuu blinked. "Wokyuu?"

A frown on her face, Hoppou nodded. "Um... Can you bring Wokyuu home to Hoppou, Miss Haruna? Rose? Hoppou would like that very much and so that she can show her to Big Brother and Mommy."

Still knocked slightly off kilter, Haruna eventually nodded. "Haruna... thinks she can do that. But you need to let Nagato and Teitoku kn-"

Hoppou cut her off with a shout. "Hoppou will do that right now! Wokyuu, listen to Miss Haruna and Rose and don't fight, okay?" Getting a nod, Hoppou smiled. "See you soon!"

With that, she ended the call which caused the three to stare at each other. Finally, Haruna let out a small cough. "Um... Haruna is really sorry, Rose-Chan but..."

All Rose did though was place a hand on Haruna's arm and smile. "That's perfectly okay, Haruna. We can just go berry picking another day."

Even though she was still unsure, Haruna nodded. "Okay then, if Rose-Chan is okay..." Turning towards the curious Abyssal, the Battleship gave her the best smile she could. "Um, please follow Rose-Chan and Haruna."

Nodding, the WO did as asked and soon the three of them were at the beach where Rose got back onto Haruna's shoulders. Then they began heading towards Yokosuka with WO just smiling brightly.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Haruna, Rose and Wokyuu had not gone very far when they were met part way by Karakaze and Kiyokaze. Both Destroyers looked at the WO nervously, only to relax when Haruna only nodded. "Haruna is happy to have you as escorts."

Relaxing a little bit more, Karakaze took a deep breath. "Teitoku wants us to lay down a smokescreen as you come into the harbor, Haruna. He wants to prevent a panic from people seeing a WO class come in."

A little confused, Wokyuu tilted her head. "Wokyuu?"

From where she sat on Haruna's rigging, Rose blinked and then frowned. "Wouldn't that just attract attention?"

With a snicker, Kiyokaze shook her head. "Nope! Teitoku is placing it under a drill where in we need to escort an injured shipgirl all the way to the base during a firefight. Ou!"

Only nodding, Haruna smiled a little bit. "Haruna understands."

That done, the group continued it's journey and was soon joined by other Destroyers as well as Naka and Tenryuu who just sighed. "Never a dull moment, huh?"

Snorting, Naka grinned at her fellow Light Cruiser. "Like that bothers you too much." Then she became thoughtful as she looked at the WO who was looking around curiously, though without hostile intent. "Never thought that I would see this though."

It was Tenryuu's turn to snort before she turned away. "Yeah, same here. Glad to see it though."

Meanwhile, Johnston had gotten close with her fellow Taffies and was looking at the WO in awe before turning towards Rose. "So, wait... some bird snatched your hat, so you and Haruna chased it. You found it on one of those hidden islands that they're always going on about... And when you turned around, there was a WO class staring you in the face? But you didn't scream or anything?"

Beside her, Hoel nodded. "Even when Hoppou called you, all you did was answer the phone? All the while facing the WO's guns?"

There was a small bit of redness on Rose's cheeks as she looked at Haruna, who merely gave a smile. "Um, yes? I mean, I didn't want to make any sudden movements or some such after all."

After a moment, the two Taffies shared a look and then grinned as they looked back at Rose before speaking as one. "Bad. Ass."

Of course, that if anything increased the blush on Rose's cheeks. But before she could say anything, Tenryuu raised her sword into the air. "Okay everyone, get ready to begin laying smokescreens. In three... two... one... Now!"

From each of the Destroyers, smoke began to billow out as they reached the harbor and the sight of anyone on land. Soon, the entire group was hidden in it with Rose holding a hankerchief up to her mouth as she tried to see much further then her hand in front of her face. A task not easy through the dense smoke that surrounded and billowed around them. She jumped a bit as she felt a hand clasp hers. "Haruna?"

Even though she could not see it, Rose could imagine Haruna nodding. "Yes, Rose-Chan. Haruna is right here and will make sure that Rose-Chan is kept safe."

Blushing, Rose only nodded as she squeezed the hand right back.

The minutes continued to tick onward and the first sign that Rose had that they were close was that the smoke had started to lighten up. Then it disappeared mostly as they reached the boat ramp and started to climb up. Rose's eyes widened though at the sight of Nagato there with Hoppou beside her and Goto on the other side. Off to the side, Harry was also there. However, what caused Rose to gulp was the sight of various Battleships all with their rigging out and ready.

Within moments though, Wokyuu had climbed up the ramp and was now staring at Hoppou who was vibrating as she looked at her. Meanwhile, Goto nodded. "I am Rear Admiral Isoroku Goto and-"

He didn't get much further as Wokyuu rushed past him and then got down to her knees as she reached out towards Hoppou with tears coming from her eyes. "W-Wokyuu?"

All Hoppou did though was grin. "Hoppou is alright, and happy to see Wokyuu!" None of the shipgirls expected the cry that ripped out of Wokyuu's throat before she practically flung herself onto Hoppou who patted her back. "There, there, Wokyuu. Hoppou is here now." When she pulled away, she pointed at Nagato who looked rather bemused at the whole thing. "Oh! This is Hoppou's Mommy, she's called Nagato."

Only nodded, Nagato smiled down at the WO who seemed confused, but accepting it. "Pleased to meet you."

Blinking, Wokyuu tilted her head some. "Wokyuu."

Then Hoppou pulled her towards Harry and pointed at him. "And this is Big Brother, his name is Harry." Looking around, she gestured for Wokyuu to lean down before whispering at her. "Big Brother gives Hoppou all sorts of treats and gives great hugs. They make Hoppou feel really warm inside."

Harry only raised an eyebrow as he heard Hoppou clearly, but then found himself being hugged by the WO. After a moment of tenseness, Harry hugged her back. "Um, hi?"

With a smile, Wokyuu nodded as she felt feeling warmth seeping into her. "Wokyuu!"

Slightly confused, Harry just patted Wokyuu's back even as Hoppou smiled up at them. Suddenly, Hoppou gasped as she looked her over. "Wokyuu! You're hurt!" The small Abyssal seemed to almost teleport from place to place as she examined Wokyuu. "Hoppou will fix you all up!"

Just about to deploy her rigging, Hoppou was stopped as Goto coughed into his hand. "Hoppou." When she turned, Goto crouched down with a slightly amused expression. "You should really ask first. But before that... does she need to be fixed at this moment?"

Frowning, Hoppou looked back and then winced. "Yes, Hoppou thinks so... Hoppou can see that Wokyuu tried emergency repairs but..." Then she looked up in hope. "Can Hoppou fix Wokyuu?"

Goto just softly sighed. "I don't see much of a problem, as long as Akashi is there to observe and record. Is that okay?" After a few moments, Hoppou nodded which made Goto smile. "Then yes. Musashi?"

Nodding, the Battleship in question stepped up. "Yes, Teitoku?"

He then gestured at Wokyuu who was now holding Hoppou's hand. "Please take what shipgirls you think you need and escort them to Warehouse 36. It's mostly empty and will do for what Hoppou needs."

With a salute, she nodded and turned to Hoppou. "Follow this Musashi, please."

As she walked off, several shipgirls joined them as Hoppou continued to bounce besides Wokyuu, telling the WO class all sorts of things. Confused, the WO only nodded.
_________________________________________________________________________

On the screen, Richardson groaned and then rubbed his hand across his face. "You have got to be shitting me, Goto. Please tell me that you're shitting me."

Just snorting, Goto shook his head. "No, I'm not."

This time it was Admiral Settle who gave a chuckle on another screen. "You got some fucking balls, Goto. I'll give you that."

Richardson just gave the former Destroyer Captain a look as Hartmann frowned on his own screen. "I take it that you have already cleared this with your higher ups? From what I remember they were not too pleased when you took in Hoppou."

Leaning back, Goto sighed before shaking his head. "Yes, right up until she gave us some intel on how Abyssals operate. Hell, just having Akashi examine her at the time was a windfall... and then..."

At him waving a hand, Admiral Kirkpatrick shook her own head as she sat back in her own office in Australia. "And then Wanko stopped fighting us and is now allied. God, that was a surprise for us and it's freed up our own girls from trying to keep her contained. And all she wants is internet and books."

With a slight frown, Cunningham gave Goto a narrowed eyed look. "So what is going to happen to this Wokyuu once she's repaired?"

For several moments, Goto was quiet before he shook his head. "She wants to head back to her island and stay there. Apparently she wants to guard a nest of birds there." At the looks of surprise and confusion, Goto's lips twitched. "That was my reaction to it. She no longer wants to fight and allowed a tracking device be implanted, so that's not much of an issue. Not to mention, she's willing to act as a stationary radar station and give us warning of Abyssals. Needless to say..."

Settle gave a grunt. "The higher ups jumped at that. If it works, they can take some of the credit and if it doesn't... it's your head on the chopping block. Fuckers."

All Goto did was shrug at that. "What can you do? Besides, the amount of Intel we got from watching Hoppou repair her as well as her answering Akashi's questions... we now know a lot more about the Abyssal repair capabilities then we did. So it's already paid some major dividends. And yes, I'll be sending the information via the usual channels to each of you."

Tapping a pen on his desk, Williams frowned. "Hopefully they finish with negotiations soon on that treaty. The sooner, the better for all of us."

From each of them, there were nods of agreement before Hartmann cleared his throat. "As an aside, Goto... just a friendly warning but Eugen and Hanna will be heading to Yokosuka." Seeing the confusion, he smiled thinly. "After they heard about what happened, they wanted to head straight to young Harry. Needless to say, with everything going on they've been delayed. However..."

With a chuckle, Cunningham shook his head. "They're not going to be delayed anymore."

Upon hearing Goto groan, Kirkpatrick grinned. "Which reminds me... what's the pool for that group?"

There was more grins from the various Admirals as Goto just sighed and rubbed his nose while muttering about 'Old fogeys who need hobbies'.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

She hurt...

She hurt so much.

Each movement was nothing but agony. Each breath was like ground glass being poured down what counted as her throat. But despite that, she still laughed. She still roared her defiance best that she could.

And she knew that, slowly, she was dying.

In her pain, she retreated back to better days. Back then, she had served her Princess as an Destroyer specializing in AA. Even her sisters, best that they could with their near animal minds, were amazed at her ability to shoot down aircraft when the shipgirls got too close. The Northern Ocean Princess lavished affection on all of them, but she always held her head up a bit higher when she was complimented.

She was an Elite after all, a flagship for the other Abyssal Destroyers. Until... that day came. When They came. Fellow Abyssals who began attacking the Princess' fleets. Sinking her sisters, and the others. And then, she was among the last left mounting a defense. The last line between the Usurpers and her Princess. She would not, could not fail

But she did, and that caused far more agony then the physical pain she was in.

Even now, she could remember. As her sisters fell, each one granted her the last of their strength to go on. Then only she was left. Her last torpedoes used to attack one of the Battleship Demons, and sinking it as she had felt her Princess cry out and become silent.

She had laughed.

She had laughed with black, bloody tears running from her eye.

And had continued to laugh even as the Battleship Demon's enraged sister had picked her out of the water and snapped her keel. Had continued to laugh even as she tore her screws out. Laughed as the Battleship Demon had screamed in her face.

Then she had fired her last rounds blasting her back as they struck her face.

Instead of killing her though, they had brought her here. To some jungled island where they could take out their frustrations on her. Which they did. But nothing that they did could harm her more then her failure.

Despite that, she endured.

Yet now, she was laughing again even as she laid dying, a distance from the shore. Because while too weak to contact her, she could feel her. The Princess' older sister nearby, where one of the Traitor Princesses were. Soon after, she felt it. One of those who had commanded the fleet that killed their Precious Laughter was dead.

Still, she did not wish to die. Not yet, not when those other Traitors were still alive. And she fought. She fought harder then she had ever done so before as death tried to claim her. Pure fury burned in her boilers. Rage intensified even as her sight faded. The darkness she had gained from her sisters roiled and boiled deep within her.

But, her body was tired.

Reaching out, she grabbed the darkness she could. Trying to stave off the Last Breath. No, no, she would not die. She couldn't. Even as she felt her body weaken and give, she pulled more and more.

Then, finally, with a sigh, her body stilled and the light went out in her eye as she fell into darkness and dreams...
____________________________________________________________________

Chopping some plants, the man wiped his brow as he worked. "Fucking humidity." Turning, he called over his shoulder. "You sure that it's around here, Dave?"

With a snort, the man behind him checked his GPS and then shaded his eyes some. "Yeah, one of the guys spotted it via aerial survey. Besides, we could make a lot of money off it."

A shudder ran through the first man's body as he shook his head. "Fucking creepy, that is."

However, his friend only shook his head. "Yeah, but it pays well, Harold."

Only grimacing, the first man grunted. "Don't call me that." With a final hit with the blade, the last of the brush fell away and he stared. "Well, I'll be damned... they weren't bullshitting."

There, in front of him, laid the remains of an Abyssal Destroyer. Dave walked past him and slowly circled around it with a low whistle. "What type do you figure it is?"

In reply, Harold pointed at the mouth with bent and broken guns. "Looks like an AA Destroyer." Looking around, he frowned and scratched his head. "Though what one is doing way out here..."

Shrugging, Dave shook his head. "Probably dragged itself or something."

Eyebrow raising, Harold pointed at it's rear. "The flukes are gone, those are the screws, which means that it couldn't have reached shore."

Just scoffing, his friend rolled his eyes. "Look, the rest of it is gone, all the flesh." Kicking at a chunk of bone, he shook his head. "The carapace is probably the biggest piece left after all these years it had to be here for."

Nearly as one, they turned and looked at the massive shell that rose above them. Even now, it gave off a feeling that sent shivers down their spines while in a wide area around it, no plants could be seen. "Yeah, though what the boss wants with it..."

Dave just gave him a look. "Apparently there's people who will pay money for samples of Abyssal steel. Something about there not being enough supply to go around to everyone who wants to do research. So a little bit under the table and we get paid."

At just that moment, thunder boomed and both of them looked up to see clouds gathering which caused Harold to curse. "Dammit! Come on, mark it down and let's get out of here and back to camp before the storm hits. I don't want to be near this thing."

Pulling out a tablet, the man snorted as he shook his head and got to work. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

Minutes later, the two of them left the clearing with the dead Abyssal. Hours passed as the storm finally broke as the Sun set behind the horizon. The wind picked up until it was a howling gale, branches ripping themselves from trees. In the pitch darkness, the only light came from the intermittant lightning as the rain lashed the island. But then there was a sound that could just be barely heard over the rain and the wind and the thunder.

A crack.

The sound countinued until, finally, a piece of the Abyssal Destroyer's carapace at the top broke off and a pale arm reached out from what had been it's insides. A hand clinching open and close as dark laughter echoed through the rain...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Looking over his shoulder, Harry gave a sheepish smile at the three Destroyers there. "I'm really sorry for not spending that much time with you, Akizuki-Chan, Hatsuzuki-Chan, Teruzuki-Chan. But I'm going to make it up to you!"

In reply, Teruzuki held up her hands and waved them around a little. "Ah, you don't need to do that, Harry-Chan. We've all been a bit busy."

Hatsuzuki nodded as she agreed with her sister. "She's right you know. We don't mind."

Much to her surprise, Harry only frowned at her. "It's still not right. I mean, you three are friends and it feels like I've been ignoring you." He then turned and smiled at them. "So I'm going to make it up by making you all pizzas."

Eyes widening, Akizuki swallowed a little bit. "P-pizza? For us?" At his nod, the Destroyer bit her lip. "Well, um... I don't mind."

That caused Harry to smile at her as he lead them to his section of the kitchen. "Great! Anyways, I've got all the stuff for stuffed crust ready to go. The dough should be good for making pizzas for each of you."

All three of the Akizukis stopped at that with Teruzuki blinking. "S-Stuffed crust pizza..."

It was Akizuki who finished. "F-for each of us? We're each going to get a pizza?"

Smiling, Harry nodded as he fought back a grin as he washed and dried his hands. "Well, yeah, that is what I said. One for each of you." Reaching into his fridge, he didn't notice how the three gave each other awed looks before clenching their hands close to their chests. When Harry did pull out the items though, he blinked at how they were biting their lips. "Something wrong?"

Quickly shaking her head, Hatsuzuki gave him a small smile. "No, nothing's wrong. But... are you sure that you want to make three pizzas? I mean... these are small ones right?"

Harry though just gave her a look as he set out three wrapped blobs of dough onto his counter. "Nope! Each one is going to be pretty good in size." He then pulled out a jar of tomato sauce and nodded before taking a spoon and dipping it in. Then Harry held it out. "Here, try some of this."

Leaning forward, Akizuki took a small nibble and then stood up as she worked her mouth. "Mmm, it's good."

With a slow nod, Hatsuzuki smiled at Harry. "It is..." But then she furrowed her eyebrows some. "Um, is there going to be enough?"

In reply, Harry glanced at the jar as he placed the spoon to the side and got a clean one out and then snorted. "We'll have plenty, I made sure to make a lot. Maybe we'll even have some to put in a container for you to dip the crust into."

Eyes widening, Teruzuki bounced a bit on the balls of her feet. "Dip the crust into sauce? We'll be able to do that?" At Harry's nod, she smiled. "Eee!"

Only shaking his head, Harry turned and began to work on the pizza dough, placing them in pans. After a few moments though, he blinked as Akizuki asked him if she could ask a question. "Sure, go ahead."

However, he froze at exactly what she asked. "Why do you like cooking so much?" Seeing him freeze though, she winced. "N-not that we mind..."

Much to her confusion though, Harry sadly chuckled. "Well... there's a lot of reasons I guess." Tilting his head back, Harry looked up at the ceiling. "Back when I lived with my aunt and uncle, they had me cook a lot you know? So that Aunt Petunia would have more time to gossip and stuff. If I did a good job, I might even get some... and that was before rationing. But she also had me make stuff for dinner parties and such, when she invited people over."

Blinking, Hatsuzuki watched as Harry turned back to the dough. "She did?"

He only nodded as he smiled slightly. "Yeah, she did. Sometimes I overheard her guests thanking her for the meal and she would, well, take credit for it. That was a thing, I never actually got thanked when I cooked something."

Eyes widening, Akizuki shared a look with her sisters before she turned back to Harry. "So... why cook for us? Shouldn't you dislike it?"

Pausing again, Harry thought back and grimaced a bit. "I guess that I should dislike it. But... I like doing it now. Seeing you all enjoy it and having you thank me? It makes me feel good, you know?"

To his surprise, all three Destroyers reached over and hugged him tightly. Sniffling softly, Teruzuki rubbed her head against his. "We really do appreciate you cooking for us."

On the opposite side from Teruzuki, Hatsuzuki nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you make such great things for us, even if they should be made first for the Battleships. Like right now."

Blushing slightly, Harry gave them a small grin. "Well, you're worth it. Besides, I like feeding you." Internally, he continued. 'Especially to bursting for some reason.' Soon though, he shook it off and finished off the last pizza crust. "Anyways, now to make what we're going to stuff it with."

Just watching as Harry pulled out some mozzerella, some of his spices, and an container, Hatsuzuki leaned in. "So what are you putting in? Besides cheese?"

The black haired boy looked up at her with a small grin. "Well... besides the cheese, some spices. And this..." Opening the container, he showed them what was inside. "Bacon bits."

Practically bouncing, Teruzuki had an excited expression on her face. "Bacon bits?"

Slowly nodding, Harry grinned even wider. "Yup! So, while I'm mixing this... what do you want on your pizzas?"

All three Akizukis paused and then looked at each other unsure with Akizuki voicing their thoughts. "What... do we want on them?" When Harry nodded, she frowned. "Huh, that's tough..."

Giving it some thought, Teruzuki nodded to herself. "Some pepperoni would be nice... Oh! And peppers!"

Beside her, Akizuki and Hatsuzuki nodded as Harry made note of who wanted what even as he set up the crust filling. When all was said and done though, there were three slightly different pizzas which he put into the oven. "And now we wait." To his amusement, all three Destroyers crouched down to look into the oven and watch as their pizzas baked. Soon enough, they began to shuffle around in place which made him bite his lip to keep from laughing. 'At least they really like eating...'

Placing his hand on their heads. he just ruffled took turns ruffling each of their hair as they waited Each of them looked back for a moment and then turned back to the oven with the same thought in their minds. 'This is nice.'

However, when he finally brought out their pizzas, he was surprised as they pulled him to a table and then sat him down. On either side of him, Teruzuki and Hatsuzuki sat down "Um... is something wrong?"

Each of them had a smile on their faces before shaking their heads. "Nope!'

Teruzuki then winked at him and raised a finger. "You wanted to spend some time with us, right? What better way to spend time then to share a meal." Picking up a slice of her pizza, she placed it onto a plate and then laid it in front of Harry. "Here you go, Harry-Chan!"

Before Harry could say anything, Akizuki was also placing a slice from her personal pizza on his place. "Try this one too, please!"

And then Hatsuzuki placed a slice from her pizza. "And have a slice from mine as well, Harry-Chan."

For several moments, Harry blinked and then looked from one of them to another. "Um... but I made these for you. I thought..."

Having stopped right before biting into one of her slices, Akizuki set it down before reaching over and placing her hand on Harry's shoulder. "We have plenty. Besides..." She then closed her eyes and smiled as she tilted her head to the side. "Food always tastes better when shared with those important to you."

Eyes widening, Harry slowly smiled as he nodded. "Yeah, I guess so." With a slight shake of the head, he looked down at the slices and raised an eyebrow. 'Though I don't know if I'll manage to eat all of these.' When he heard a hum though, Harry looked up to find Teruzuki happily munching a bite of her pizza, a look of bliss on her face. "Any good?"

Moments later, she opened her eyes and smiled. "Of course!" Looking at her sisters, she nodded. "It's really good!"

After glancing at Harry, Hatsuzuki ruffled his hair and then bit into her first slice as Akizuki did the same with hers. Both Destroyers had their eyes widen before they closed them as Harry tried not to chuckle at them. In the end, there was nothing left of the pizzas and even Harry finished his slices, much to the happiness of the three Destroyers.

Food was always better when shared among friends after all.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking across the grounds of the base, Harry looked up at Teruzuki who still had a smile on her face from lunch as she patted her belly. "You really enjoyed the pizza, didnt you?"

Just blinking, Teruzuki nodded as she smiled down at Harry. "Um, well, yeah." Clasping her hands in front of her chest, she gained a far off look for a moment. "There's just so much food now in the future!"

Beside her, Akizuki also nodded and had a similar look on her face. "And so many kinds! I like some of the canned meats especially, like that Spam! So goood..."

Hatsuzuki sighed a bit. "Or instant ramen..." All three nodded in agreement at that as Harry looked on bemused at them. A moment later though, she turned towards Harry. "But we like what you cook the best!"

Quickly hugging him, Teruzuki rubbed her cheek against the top of his hair. "You make us such good food all the time! And... and lots of it!"

Used to their signs of affection, Harry scratched his cheek. "You're very welcome, Teruzuki-Chan. Like I said, I like making food for you because you really enjoy it."

Only nodding, the three Destroyers settled into a happy silence as they walked with their friend. Each Destroyer being in their own thoughts, though Harry would have been rather confused if he could see them. Mainly because their day dreams involved him bringing them plates piled high with various foods, just for them. Not just Japanese dishes, but ones from around the world and especially desserts. The whole time the Destroyers ate with happy sounds and blushes on their faces.

Several minutes later though, Harry noticed a car pull up close to the Cruiser Dorms and blinked. "I wonder who that is?" When the door opened and a teenaged girl got out of the passenger side, his expression brightened and he waved. "Hanna!"

At seeing him, said Natural Born's eyes widened before she also smiled and then ran over. "Harry!" Laughing, she pulled him into a hug and twirled him around. "It's so good to see you!"

Tightly hugging her back, Harry only nodded though his voice was muffled a bit by her chest. "It's great to see you too, Hanna! I didn't even hear about you or your sister coming to Japan!"

Gently setting him down, Hanna didn't let go of him though she shrugged. "It was something that was supposed to be a surprise. We would have come earlier, but... things happened and we were delayed for a time."

Then she ruffled his hair which made him smile. "But we're here now!"

Coming up behind her sister, Eugen had an smile on her face that seemed partially of happiness and partially of amusement at her sister. "My kleine Schwester is correct, Harry. We'll be around though for some time." Her smiling becoming a small grin, she held out her arms. "Now where's my hug?"

Once he was let go, Harry rushed over and hugged Eugen with said Heavy Cruiser giving a hum. Pulling away, Harry suddenly frowned as he looked at the Duckys with his eyebrows furrowing. Almost as if she had guessed what was going through his head, Hanna looked towards the three Destroyers. "I suppose that Harry was going to spend time with you today?"

Slowly, Akizuki nodded some. "Um, yes?" Then she shared a look with her sisters and shrugged with a small smile. "But Harry-Chan can see us whenever and you came a long way."

What they did not expect through was for Hanna to pull them into hugs and shake her head. "Of course not! Besides, mein Schwester is always telling me to make new friends and come to know more people, so if it would be alright for me to join you, could I?"

It only took a moment, but they rapidly nodded with Teruzuki answering. "Of course!"

Eugen only smiled and then clapped her sister on the shoulder as she nodded. "Thank you. After all, perhaps soon you might even deploy with kleine Schwester soon enough."

His eyes widening, Harry turned towards Hanna in surprise. "You're close to fully manifesting, Hanna!?" At her nod, he blinked. "How close are you?"

Glancing around, Hanna pulled a stick of metal from her pocket and placed it between her teeth. With a snap of metal, the stick broke in half and Hanna chewed it up and swallowed. "I've started being able to eat metal now..." She looked down at the metal stick and bit another piece off it. "Surprisingly, it's not as bad as one might think, quite good actually."

With a slow nod, Eugen looked at her sister in pride. "She'll have to eat quite a bit though so that her hull will be fully built, but we're not too worried."

Just looking between them, Harry stared a bit. "You're not?" At the shakes of their head, he frowned. "But... if you need that much metal, wouldn't there be problems here in Japan?"

Placing an arm over his shoulder, Hanna only pulled him in close. "No, I'm needed here... and also, I've got one of those expanded chests which have plenty in it for me."

Slowly nodding, Eugen frowned a little bit. 'It was the least that Dumbledore could get for us in exchange for what they had my sister do.' Externally, she shrugged. "Also, it will take a year at best for her to fully manifest."

Not quite sure still, Harry only nodded. "That's cool, I guess." Then he put his arm around Hanna's waist and began to pull her along. "Anyways, we got so much to talk about!"

A small blush on her face, Hanna only smiled slightly as she let herself be dragged along. The whole time trying to ignore the extremely amused expression on Eugen's face... Something that she failed at.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Shutting a drawer in the quarters given to them, Eugen gave a nod. "And that would be the last of it."

With a sigh of relief, Hanna nodded as she flopped back onto the bed. "Finally." Opening one eye to see an amused Eugen looking down at her, she raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Just shaking her head, Eugen held out a hand that Hanna took before hauling her to her feet. "We should get ready for bed, after all there is a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Several minutes later, Eugen re-entered the room with Hanna, the two of them having gone through their usual routine pf brushing their teeth when the Heavy Cruiser spoke up. "May I ask you something, Hanna?"

Blinking, Hanna looked over at her as she began to get changed for bed and nodded. "Sure, what is it?"

The next words from Eugen though caused her to freeze. "Why did you not bring up the reason why we're here to Harry? After all, we had several hours when we arrived."

Hanna stared off into the distance before she sighed. "Did you see him, Schwester? He was happy when we arrived and..." Closing her eyes, she shook her head. "I... did not want to ruin that. Maybe putting it off is the wrong decision, but tomorrow will be hard enough."

Moments later though, she opened her eyes as she felt the two slender, but strong arms of Eugen around her middle. "I'm not judging you, Hanna. I would never judge you." Placing her chin on top of Hanna's head, she smiled a bit. "Besides, you would know far better then I would in this situation."

Relaxing a bit, Hanna leaned back with a soft sigh. "I'm sorry, Eugen. Even though I know that, it's just..."

All the Heavy Cruiser did was nod. "I know."

Something that was the truth as she did know why her sister had issues regarding disappointing her and the others. Despite them always telling her otherwise. Meanwhile, Hanna just hummed as she enjoyed the hug. "Thank you for coming, Schwester. I know that with what recently happened nearby, it could not be easy."

For a moment, a shudder went through Eugen's keel as she remembered the news about the explosion off shore several days earlier. And then it was gone as quickly as it had come. "It is fine, Hanna."

Only shaking her head, Hanna swallowed a bit. "No, it's not fine, Eugen." Turning, she looked into her older "Sister's" eyes. "But... why?"

Looking down at her, Eugen frowned before she smiled a bit and then kissed her on the forehead. "Because, Hanna, you need me. I, more then anyone know the burdens of the past. That you are willing to face yours to help Harry makes me so very proud. It makes all of us proud."

Just swallowing, Hanna looked up at her. "Really?"

With a nod, Eugen leaned down and placed her forehead against her sister's as she looked her directly in the eyes. "Really. And if you are willing to face your past, then so am I at your side. Because you are my klaine Schwester and I will be here for you when you need me."

Simply leaning against her, Hanna sighed. "Sometimes... I still think that this is a dream. That I will wake up in the cot and be all alone. Just me and Hans again in the cold."

Brushing some hair aside, Eugen shook her head. "If it is a dream, then it is one that we both are having. Because I can now put right the wrongs of the past and now have all of you here with me. And I will never let go of any of you, not again. I will gladly face the possibilities of those fires once more if it means that I can lift some of the burden from your shoulders, Hanna." Closing her eyes, Eugen kissed her on the forehead. "You will never be alone again, because you have us. You have your friends including Harry. I promise that you will never wake on that cot in that cold home ever again, because I will not allow it. Nor would any of our sisters or your friends."

Tightly hugging her sister, Hanna nodded. "I do, and that makes this wonderful."

Hugging her back, Eugen chuckled a bit as she patted her head. "Now then, we really should be heading to bed, hmm? You will have a long day tomorrow with your date."

And, just like that, the moment was ruined as Hanna turned red and began to sputter. "It's not a date!" At Eugen's amused expression, Hanna waved her arms around even as she tried to glare at her sister. Something that was doomed to failure due to how much she was blushing. "It's not! For one thing, he's not twelve yet and I am nearly fifteen!"

With an air of dismissal, Eugen shrugged and gestured with one hand. "Ah, my mistake then." Hanna began to relax some only for the Heavy Cruiser to continue. "For I thought that is what it is called when one spends time with a boy that they like."

Once more going red, Hanna looked like she was about to say something when she sighed and slumped against Eugen. "Why do you do this?"

Grinning, Eugen hummed a bit. "Because I am your große Schwester. It is my duty you see."

That got her a snort from Hanna who shook her head. "Perhaps I should start teasing you about you and Prince of Wales, hmm?"

However, she did not see the twinkle of amusement in Eugen's eyes before the shipgirl chuckled. "Well, if you wish to know more about what myself and Wales get up to, you only needed to ask. Though I did not think that you would be interested..." At the choking sound, Eugen let out a laugh which made Hanna groan before the Heavy Cruiser ruffled her younger, still human, sister's hair. "Perhaps one day you shall get the best of me, but not today."

All Hanna did was grumble as she was lead to the bed before the two of them cuddled up and drifted off to sleep. However, Eugen's mission was a success as her sister had relaxed and forgot about what she was going to do the next day.
____________________________________________________________________________

Laying on her back in bed, Natsumi grumbled to herself as she tried to sleep. "Dammit."

However, she found herself unable to do so which resulted her getting out of bed and hopping out her window. Instead of a girl that hit the ground, it was a fox which soon vanished into the underbrush as it took off. Leaning against a doorframe, Haru just watched with a soft sigh. "Ah, to be young again."

Meanwhile, the landscape seemed to blur around Natsumi in her fox form as she rushed through the brush. Every so often, she stopped to let a patrol move past or so that one of the personnel who was still awake could walk out of view. And then she was off again. It did not take her long to reach her destination though. Especially as she knew the route by heart after so many times walking there in her human disguise.

The Battleship Dorms.

With a sigh, Natsumi walked around until she under Harry's window and listened. Several moments later, she narrowed her eyes and then leapt upwards. Easily landing on a windowsill, she leapt to the next one, and then a final leap brought her to Harry's window which was opened a crack. That allowed her easy access and she hopped into his room with barely a sound. For a moment, Natsumi stood there watching as her best friend, and unknowing crush, laid in his bed tossing and turning. 'Oh, Harry-Chan...'

Softly walking over, she came to a stop near him and her tail swished in the air. At least until she brought it over with the tip touching Harry's forehead. Within moments, Harry's tossing and turning came to a stop and he drifted into more pleasant dreams. Unknown to Harry, Natsumi settled in for yet another night of guarding over her friend and her mind drifted back to when she had found out what happened...
___________________________________________________________________________

Groaning softly, Natsumi stumbled out of her room into the kitchen expecting to see her mother, only to blink in surprise at what she found there. "Oba-Chan? What are you doing here?"

With a small smile, Haru sipped her tea as she considered her niece. "Well, it would appear that I am here to have some tea." Then she looked up at the ceiling as if in deep thought. "And perhaps to have some breakfast from my Onee-San."

Only rolling her eyes, Natsumi gave a huff as she walked over and then sat down. "Oh, is that all then. Somehow, I am not too surprised."

Lips twitching, her mother gave her a highly amused look before turning back to the breakfast she was making, Behind her, five tales twitched a bit. "I would not be so sarcastic, Natsumi-Chan. After all, your Oba-Chan is here to pick you up and drive you back to Yokosuka."

Humming, Haru continued to sip her tea. "Though I suppose that I could just let you walk. Might be good exercise for you... Or you could take the train."

Natsumi only gave the two of them a level look before rolling her eyes. "Ugh, no thanks."

Rather amused at her antics, Haru shook her head. "Very well then." Then she turned fully to the younger kitsune. "So, I've heard that you're now proficient what you needed to learn?"

In reply, Natsumi groaned and laid her head on the table. "Don't remind me... Being tested on how well I can do the tea ceremony sucks. I'm not even sure that I still have my legs or if they've fallen off and what I feel are phantom limbs."

That got a laugh from Haru and a giggle from Sakuya. "Trust me, Natsumi-Chan, it was much worse when we were younger. Ah... remember those days, Haru-Chan?"

Still laughing, Haru nodded. "Hai, I remember. Our teacher did not take anything but absolute perfection..." Playfully shuddering, Haru shook her head. "I lost count of how many days we spent in Seiza."

At the memory, Sakuya grimaced. "Not fun at all, trust me."

Looking between them, Natsumi just raised an eyebrow not sure if they were pulling her leg or not. Chances were that they likely were, but considering some of their friends, she couldn't be sure. "Okay then..." Then she just poured some juice into a glass to the amusement of her mother and aunt. "What? I've had enough tea to last me for a while."

With a chuckle, Haru shook her head. "I suppose so. Though congratulations on passing your tests."

The kitsune only shrugged. "Thanks. But I can't wait to get back to Yokosuka so that I can see Harry-Chan again. I missed him coming back after all due to the training and tests." Getting silence, she looked up to find a pensive look on her aunt's face. "Is... something wrong, Oba-Chan?"

Putting her tea down, Haru shook her head. "I'm afraid that is the other reason why I have come now that things have settled down some at Yokosuka." With a deep breath, she let it out slowly before grimacing. "There's something that happened involving Harry-Chan, Natsumi-Chan. Something that I felt that I needed to tell you before you returned so that you would not be surprised and have some time to settle..."

Just swallowing, Natsumi couldn't help but feel that she would not like what she was about to be told. Not in the slightest. "What happened?'

As it turned out, her suspicion turned out to be correct. She did not like what she was told in the least.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

After a large breakfast, Hanna was walking along beside Harry when she spotted a bench looking out onto the harbor. "How about we go and sit down there, Harry?" Seeing his confusion, she smiled thinly. "I... want to sit down for a little bit."

Even though he was still confused, Harry nodded and soon the two of them were sitting down. Out on the harbor, a shipgirl patrol went past and Harry waved at them, with them waving back. "You know, this is a great spot to see shipgirls come in and out of the base."

Lips twitching, Hanna nodded. "Really now?" At his nod, she chuckled. "Huh, maybe I should come here more often then..."

Several minutes passed as Hanna tried to think of how to start the conversation only for Harry to speak up. "Hanna? Is... something wrong?"

Only sighing, the Natural Born shook her head. "Not... wrong, persay." She then frowned and looked up a bit. "I'm just trying to think of a way to break the ice I suppose." Chuckles then escaped from Hanna's mouth as she had a self-depreciative smile on her lips. "I had this all planned out from this morning, and yet... Now it's all blank."

Now really confused, Harry tilted his head to the side. "Poi?"

Finally, Hanna nodded. "Hmm... I suppose that it would be best to start at the beginning, Harry. I... heard about what happened at Hogwarts, which is why I came."

Wincing, Harry looked down at the ground. "Oh... I see." Swallowing, he closed his eyes. "I guess that I should have expected this, though thanks for at least telling me in person that... that you no longer want to be friends-OW!" Reaching up, Harry rubbed at the ear which was just flicked. "What was that for!?"

All Hanna did was snort at him with a look of annoyance on her face. "For being a dummkopf, Harry. I did not come all this way to stop being your friend, so you can forget that idiotic idea." Rolling her eyes, she grumbled. "Besides, I'm the teen, it's my job to be all mopey when stuff happens."

Still rubbing his ear, he frowned. "Then what did you come all this way that had to do with what happened?"

For several seconds, Hanna watched him before she turned back to the harbor. "Mainly so that I could have a talk with you about it. Because..." She then closed her eyes. "Because you did so for me when I needed someone to talk to. Someone's shoulder to lean on."

Confused, Harry looked at her. "What do you mean?"

Opening her eyes, Hanna turned to him. "Do you remember back in December? When I stayed at Hogwarts for several days? How I was moping around?"

Harry's expression shifted to one of surprised. "Um, yes? But I thought that you couldn't tell me anything...?"

Softly snorting, Hanna shook her head. "I can't go into details, but... I was on a mission at the time. And I killed several bad people during it, even though I saved a number from them and protected many more who will never know it."

A silence fell over them at that before Harry softly whispered, just low enough that Hanna nearly missed it. "And I... I helped you with that?"

Very slowly, Hanna nodded. "You did, Harry. Those days spent with you recovering helped me a lot and now it's my turn to help you."

It was easy to see that Harry looked like he was about to start crying as his eyes looked misty. Internally, Hanna felt her heart hurt at seeing the haunted look in his eyes. "How? How could I help? And... how could you help?"

Leaning forward, Hanna breathed in deeply. "By being here, someone who could give you a shoulder to lean on. After all, I went through something like it, so I can understand." Reaching over, she placed an arm over his shoulders and pulled him into an embrace. "But you need to let me help you, Harry."

Just blinking, Harry reached around Hanna's waist tightly. "I still see it, Quirrel crumbling to dust and ash as he reached out to me. Hearing his screams become a moan of pain as he died... feeling his flesh burn under my hand, skin blistering and then flaking..."

As he continued to explain, Hanna listened carefully but saying nothing. Internally though, her emotions swirled around in a storm. 'Dammit... dammit. Why you, Harry?'

Finally finishing, Harry leaned against her even more. "I know that everyone tells me that they don't mind, that they're happy that I'm still alive and here with them. And I'm happy about that too, it's just..."

Hanna slowly nodded. "It's just that it's only a bandage over the wound, ja? That you still have that small, nagging voice deep inside."

Blinking, Harry gulped a bit. "Yeah... Do you...?"

For several moments, Hanna was silent before she turned towards him and hugged him a bit tighter. "Have the same sort of thoughts? Yeah, I do." Letting out a sigh, she grimaced. "And I won't say that it will go away, or at least anytime soon. God knows that I still feel much the same now as I did months ago. But friends and family helps just by being there and... I imagine that having someone who both went through something similar and is sympathic helps even more."

Slowly, Harry tilted his head back. "Nightmares?"

Lips turning downwards, Hanna let out her breath. "All the time."

The two of them just sat there watching the harbor with Harry considering what he had been told. Eventually, he snuggled a bit more into the embrace. "Is there... anything that helps? Besides the fact that they'd rather me be here then not?"

Deep in thought, Hanna considered this before she slowly nodded. "Perhaps..." Feeling Harry shift against her, she continued. "Let us conduct a little thought experiment, Harry. Just myself and you, right here with what we know."

Nodding against her, Harry frowned. "Okay..."

With a deep breath, the German girl began. "Let's start with a basic assumption, disregarding whether you were involved or not. This Voldemort gets the Stone thanks to Quirrel, what happens next."

Eyebrows furrowing, Harry just blinked in confusion. "Um... Well, he gets himself a new body and Quirrel dies? I guess..."

Gently, Hanna nodded. "I see, so if he got the Stone he would regain his body while Quirrel died. So, in either case, Quirrel would have died. But let us move on from that, shall we? Voldemort now has a Stone that provides immortality and endless gold. So he both is unkillable in a sense and has all the monetary resources he needs for whatever plans he comes up with. Knowing what you know, where would he go from there?"

Rolling it around in his head, Harry frowned as he tried to figure out where this was going. However, he was unable to and eventually shrugged. "Maybe regains his followers? After all, he's back and from what some people said they still follow him even though he's dead."

As she hummed, Hanna had a carefully blank look as she continued to guide Harry along. Letting him work itself out for himself. "I see, so he regains his followers, including those in prison I suppose? I read some history books while in Hogwarts and one of the things that came up was that they were often broken out of prison. Now, he is immortal, has infinite resources moneywise, and has his followers. Where does he go from here? Will he sit on his laurels or..."

Slowly, the black haired boy's eyes widened some. "He would restart the war. And... and he would start killing Muggleborns and those against him."

Now nodding, Hanna continued to push him along that road. "Ah, so he would restart the war. Which means that he would start killing those that he saw as 'Impure'." A blink escaped from Harry at the venom in the last sentence, especially it's final word. "Would that include only Muggleborns?"

Thinking, Harry shook his head. "No... anyone they did not consider human and... and non-magicals would be included. They'd kill them as well. And I guess that they would include shipgirls in that?"

Rather pleased with how he was following, even if the subject was distasteful, Hanna gave a thin smile. "I think that us shipgirls would be included in that one way or the other. But let's continue this line. So he starts killing non-magicals like he did during the last war, including in large groups. There's one small problem though as they can't modify memories anymore."

Breath catching in his throat, Harry's eyes widened. "Which means that the wizards and witches would be exposed with..."

A grimace on her face, Hanna grunted. "With their first major showing being that of a group of Nazis who seem to have a good portion of those in charge seemingly giving them tacit support. Said group not caring and seeing the normal person as nothing more then an animal. Something at best to be treated as a slave and at worst? At worst vermin to be hunted. How do you think the world at large, and Britain in particular, would react to that?"

Pale, Harry slowly swallowed. "Not well... I... I guess that witchhunts would happen all over again except supported by the military."

With a sigh, Hanna shook her head. "They'd try, of course, to not kill anyone innocent as they put down the Death Eaters. But Voldemort is immortal and would likely not think twice about, say, popping into the Prime Minister's residence and killing him. Or perhaps one of his followers. Many, many people would die who would be innocent. And if you had died there... how do you think that your mother would react? Hoppou? Wanko? Your friends? ... Or me?"

Shaking his head, Harry shuddered a bit as he tried to push away the images that dredged up. "Not well."

Just holding him close, Hanna stroked his hair. "Not very well at all." Closing her eyes, she rocked back and forth. "I'm sure that it does not help much, but your actions saved many lives down there. They might never know it, but it's true."

Voice muffled by Hanna's chest, Harry sniffled a bit. "No, it doesn't really help all that much, Hanna. But I guess it does help some... Um, but he's not dead and..."

Nodding, Hanna gave a sad chuckle. "He might return one day, right?" At Harry's nod, she just rested her head on Harry's. "Maybe. But now that we know he's alive, we can prepare for that day. Each time he's stopped from returning buys us just a bit more time to get ready. Preperations and time that can be used to prevent needless deaths from what might happen. He might return one day, but when that comes we'll be ready for him. All thanks to a brave, wonderful boy that I know and who will one day grow up into a fine Admiral..." In her thoughts, she continued the sentence. 'One whose fleet I would be happy to serve in.'
When Harry spoke though, Hanna went red as he unknowingly echoed her. "Maybe I'll have you in my fleet as well, Hanna."

Unseen by Harry, there was a flustered smile on her face. Eventually, she just nodded. "I... would be proud to have you as an Admiral, Harry. After all, you understand me as you know what it like to grow up the way we did."

Tightening the hug, Harry sighed some. "How long are you going to be here for, Hanna? If you don't mind me asking..."

Letting out a breath, Hanna smiled. "For some time at least. I wanted to give us plenty of time to talk after all, and my Schwester has a lot of leave saved up. She can still deploy though here if needed."

A smile was on Harry's face as he nodded. "Thank you."

With a small squeeze, Hanna nodded as she leaned back. "You're welcome, Harry. You're very welcome."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

With a grunt, Natsumi hit the wooden floor in a roll. Just was she was about to get to her feet, she looked up at a shout and found Shiromizu in her half-human form smacking into her. Both of them went sliding across the floor and it took a few seconds to get disentagled with each other. "Get off!"

Shiomizu yelped a bit as she felt Natsumi's hand go somewhere it was certainly not welcome. "Don't touch me there!"

Of course, that was when they noticed the shadow about to land on them and rolled in opposite directions as Haru lightly touched down where they had been. Twirling her Naginata in one hand with practiced ease, the older Kitsune smirked at the two younger beings. "Now, now, you'll never beat me if the two of you are always fighting each other. Maybe you might if you work together though."

Growling, Natsumi got to her feet and shifted into a stance as she blinked away some sweat. "We can't even touch you though."

For several moments, Haru looked at her even as Shiromizu got into a stance of her own with her wooden swords in either hand. "Perhaps. Experience certainly plays a part. But experience does not mean that you can't beat me if you're clever and resourceful enough as you work together. That said... that's not your only issue here." Using her tails, she opened the nearby cooler and then tossed the two surprised youngsters water bottles. "Here, we're taking a break."

A frown on her face, Natsumi glared at her as her chest heaved. "What?! Why!?"

Haru only raised an eyebrow at her and chuckled a bit. "Mainly because both of you look nearly ready to collapse. However... we also need to talk." Waiting until Natsumi practically tore her bottle's cap off, Haru sighed. "As much as I like that you are pushing yourself, I don't like the reason why."

Blinking, Natsumi narrowed her eyes at her aunt. "What do you mean by that, Oba-Chan? You know why I'm doing this."

Slowly, Haru nodded as she stared at the ceiling. "Yes, because currently you're angry. Angry at the world for what happened to Harry-Chan. Angry at the adults because they didn't stop it. Angry at him... and angry at yourself for not being there."

Off to the side, Shiromizu winced as the water bottle in Natsumi's hands was crushed, spraying water everywhere. 'Oh boy... Here it comes.'

Meanwhile, Natsumi ground her teeth a bit as her tail twitched. Only one word escaped from her mouth as she glared at her aunt. "What."

Utterly unconcerned, Haru hummed as she sipped her own water before tsk'ing at her niece. "You're getting water everywhere, Natsumi-Chan." Picking another bottle, she tossed it with Natsumi catching it in her own tail. "But yes, you're mostly angry with yourself over what happened with Harry-Chan. Because you were not there for him when you believe that you should have been."

Trying not to growl, Natsumi sucked in several breaths. "You don't have any idea how I feel, Oba-Chan!"

All Haru did though was chuckle as she shook her head. There was a note of sadness though that caused Natsumi to bite back her retort. "Actually, I do know." Her face took on a far off expression as she turned in the direction of the far off ocean. "Mainly because I felt much the same when my other half was taken by the Abyssals."

Eyes widening, Natsumi felt her jar drop. "Oba-Chan... You..."

Very slowly, Haru nodded as she looked at her practice Naginata. "Hai, I hated myself and was enraged. It took me months to calm down, or do you not remember how your Kaa-San told you that I could not see you for some time starting three weeks after Blood Week?"

It took a few moments of thinking back, but Natsumi remembered. After having heard about her uncle's death, she had asked her mother if they could visit Haru. She had thought it odd that at the time there was an odd look on her mother's face as she said no. But now... "What did you do?"

Silent, Haru sipped her bottle as she stared off into space before giving a chuckle that caused the hairs on Natsumi's neck to raise. "I actually did a number of things. At the time, the Ministry was in chaos since the Abyssals had practically decapitated them in their strike on Tokyo. So no one really cared about a one-kitsune army waging a war of her own." The light glinted off her actual Naginata from where it hung. "I killed a number of Abyssals, weak ones such as Artillery Imps and PT Imps that made it to shore. Even a Destroyer or two."

Not having known this fact, Natsumi swallowed as her throat felt dry. "You... were hunting Abyssals, Oba-Chan? But even for us kitsune..."

A sudden laugh from the four tailed Kitsune caused both Natsumi and Shiromizu to flinch. But what really made them feel cold was the look in Haru's eyes. There was a burning rage and hate there. But beneath... there was an ocean of coldness from grief that turned into nothingness. "Here's the thing, Natsumi-Chan... I did not care." Spreading her arms out, Haru let a tear slip out from her eye. "I did not care that they might kill me. All I cared about was killing the next one for vengence. There was nothing more in my life... until your Kaa-San, my Onee-Chan, caught up to me."

Shaken to the core by what she was hearing and seeing, Natsumi shivered. "Haha-ue? What did she do?"

Once more, Haru went silent. "We fought." That caused Natsumi to gasp and even Shiromizu stared at her with her jaw dropping. "We fought each other as I did not want to stop in those dark days. But in my anger, I made mistakes and your Okaa-San managed to trap me. And then... she shoved a picture of you, your Imoutos, and Onii-San in my face and demanded that I consider what I would do to them. How they would react if I got myself killed for something like vengence, or if I would like for you to go down that road. To start attacking Abyssals in retailiation for my foolish death." Another laugh ripped its way out of Haru's mouth as she shook her head, now more tears slipping out. "I have never felt so ashamed or foolish. It was shortly after that the Kami asked for me to prepare to take care of a shrine here. Something which I did, and gladly."

Ears dropping, Natsumi scuffed her feet. "Oh, um... I see."

Moments later, she felt a hand under her chin which tilted her head back. And there was her aunt with a sad expression. "I do not want you to fall into that dark pit, Natsumi. Not into that pit of anger and rage. Anything but that."

Blinking away her own tears, Natsumi's lips trembled. "Harry-Chan's not dead though. He's okay..."

Slowly, Haru nodded. "Hai, he is okay. But him coming so close to that point has frightened you, Natsumi-Chan. Has it not? The thought that you might lose him?"

A gasp escaped from Natsumi as she felt as if a cold hand had gripped her heart for a moment. "H-hai. I... I don't want to lose Harry-Chan. Y-yet I wasn't there when he needed me." She then grabbed hold of her aunt's kimono and shoved her face into it as Haru embraced her. "I wasn't there."

Gently, Haru stroked her hair as she nodded. "No, but that is not through any fault of your own, Natsumi-Chan. It's a hard lesson, but for all our power as kitsunes, for all our vaulted slyness, cunning, and intelligence, we cannot always be there for those we love. We can try our best to do so, even if it fails at times. Yes, Harry-Chan is okay this time. But that does not mean that you should let your anger rule you, either. Push, yet don't push too hard or far."

Slowly, Natsumi nodded as she sniffled a bit. "H-hai."

With a smile, Haru looked up at the slightly uncomfortable Shiromizu before chuckling. "Sorry, Shiromizu-Chan. But it seems that the lesson will be ending early today."

All the serpent did was shake her head with a slight smile on her face. "That's... okay. I don't mind." She placed her practice swords back into their places and was about to leave when she glanced over her shoulder. Natsumi was still there being hugged by her aunt who was whispering to her. Then Shiromizu left with a sigh and transformed back into her normal form as she made her way back to where the Battleship Dorms were.
_____________________________________________________________________

Sitting on the bed, Harry's legs kicked back and forth as he watched Rose place another item into the suitcase she was packing. "You seem pretty excited, Rose."

Only glancing over her shoulder, Rose smiled and nodded. "I am, Master." Clutching a shirt to her chest, she sighed. "And I'm not the only one! Haruna is pretty excited as well and our date should go perfect!"

Lips twitching, Harry watched as she placed the shirt into the suitcase. "Yeah, I noticed Hiei arrive to help her and the others out." Then he frowned as he looked at the calender which had a date marked off. "So... we'll arrive tomorrow with the event the next day?"

Rose nodded some as she handed him a booklet. "That's right. Naka is giving us a lot of support for this."

Flipping through the booklet, Harry chuckled a bit. After a few moments though, he bit his lip. "Um, I hate to ask this, Rose..." He waited until she turned to regard him. "But... is there anyway to get any tickets?"

After a few moments of thought, Rose nodded. "I am quite certain that you could. If not, then we can find you a spot." Musing, she frowned to herself. "Perhaps with Kongou and the others."

Just frowning, Harry shrugged a bit. "Well, I kind of already have a ticket thanks to Mum. But I wanted to take Natsumi-Chan too. After all, Louisiana and Hanna will be there."

That caused Rose to turn and regard him with an odd, knowing smile. "Miss Natsumi? Well, I can see what we can do in that case. Though..." Tapping her chin in thought, Rose nodded. "We may have to have her share a room. Hmm... would you mind much if she shared yours, Master?"

Blinking, Harry shook his head. "Nope, I don't mind." A thought then occurred to him. "What about you?"

A flush spread across Rose's cheeks as she hummed. "I believe that I shall share a room with Haruna. The hotels will be quite filled after all due to the event that will be happening." The image of her and Haruna cuddling under the blankets, and perhaps holding hands, caused Rose's blush to deepen even further. 'Oh my... That is strangely pleasant.'

Not knowing what was going through her mind, Harry only nodded. "Yeah, I guess it's going to be packed. I mean, Naka-Nee has been advertising it for some time... Though I am amazed that Goto-Oji let it through."

Scratching her cheek, Rose nodded some. "Well, after what happened with Wokyuu, he was convinced to let us have this date. Though the whole thing has been rather spontaneous I suppose." Then she nodded with her smile widening. "But I do have high hopes for it and I know that Haruna shall enjoy it as much as I will."

Only chuckling, Harry grinned. "Considering what it is? I got no doubt that she'll love it."

The tsukumogami's response to that was to close her eyes and smile as she nodded in agreement.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Grunting, Natsumi was on her back trying to ignore the giant ball that was on top of her. After several moments though, she grimaced before trying to push it back. "Get... off of me... now..." When the kitsune did get it off her finally, she blinked as it unrolled into a sumo wrestler. "... The heck?"

In front of her, the Sumo Wrestler got into a stance. "HA!"

Then it rushed forward with a wide eyed Natsumi shoving her hands forward. Each time striking the Sumo Wrestler in the stomach and preventing him from getting her. "Back... back!"

Meanwhile, in the waking world Louisiana opened one eye and tilted her head to find the sleeping Natsumi muttering as she put her hands on the Battleship's chest and was pushing. "'Ack... get..." After several seconds though, Natsumi fully opened her eyes and blinked at what she was doing, even squeezing. "Eh?"

Extremely amused, Louisiana whispered down at her. "Oh my... You're being rather forward this morning, ma chérie."

Several seconds passed as that percholated through Natsumi's mind as well as what she had been doing. Then Natsumi realized that she had been unknowingly feeling up the Battleship and her eyes widened while her face went bright red. "I-I-I... you... we... GAH!"

Blinking, Harry yawned as he woke up and sat up a bit. "Um, Natsumi-Chan?" Upon seeing Natsumi covering her face, Harry tilted his head to the side in confusion even as Hanna shifted from where she was cuddled into his back. "Did something happen?"

Simply patting Natsumi on the head, Louisiana smiled. "Non, mon chéri. Just us both awakening from pleasant dreams."

A choking sound came from Natsumi at that, but before anything else could be said, Louisiana pulled her into a hug. Not quite firing on all cylinders, Harry considered this before shrugging. "Okay, I guess." Glancing at the time found him laying back down before yawning. "We still got some time before we need to head out to beat the crowds."

With a chuckle, Louisiana nodded before she reached over and pulled him more into Natsumi. "Indeed, mon chéri. In fact, some more cuddling sounds rather nice, non?"

Grumbling, Hanna shifted until she was pressed back against Harry again. "Mmm'ine."

If anything though, that caused the Battleship to grin even as Natsumi sighed. 'Why me...' For a moment though, she could almost swear that she heard laughter. '... The Kami are laughing at me, I just know it.'

Meanwhile, in another room in the hotel, Haruna opened the door to the suite that her and Rose were sharing. "Haruna is back, Rose-Chan! And Haruna brought some light breakfast..." As soon as she walked in, Haruna trailed off at the sight that met her.

Said sight of Rose there in her underware as she pulled on something rather form fitting. One thought did manage to make it through Haruna's mind though as she watched. 'Is that... leather?"

Looking over her bare shoulder, Rose gave her girlfriend a bright smile. "Oh, that actually sounds rather lovely, Haruna. Just give me a few moments to get this on." With a slight frown, she pulled her arms through the sleeves and pulled up the zipper. "It is rather snug... and tight."

Haruna just stood there as her words drifted through her mind. 'Rather snug... tight...' Quickly shaking it off, Haruna took a deep breath even as her chief engineer warned her to lay off a bit before she popped a valve. Of course, then Rose did some stretches which caused the Battleship to feel steam leaking from her ears. "Urk."

At hearing that, Rose blinked and turned. "Is something wrong, Haruna?"

Slowly, Haruna shook her head. "N-no, nothing is wrong with Haruna." Swallowing the lump in her throat, Haruna gave her the best smile she could even as her eyes roamed. "Though Haruna wonders where Rose-Chan got... those clothes."

Blinking, Rose finished her stretches. "Oh! Kongou gave them to me before she left." Rose then tapped her chin in thought. "She stated it would be best if I wore them."

Her head going up and down, Haruna slowly nodded. "Haruna sees... and why did Onee-Sama say that you should wear them?"

With a soft giggle, Rose's smile turned bashful. "Well, she said that I may need them for protection for what we're doing." Looking herself over, Rose nodded. "I think that it looks rather good on me, though..."

Quickly snapping out of her daze, Haruna looked up at her. "Though...?"

Simply tilting her head to the side, Rose shrugged. "I don't quite understand why Haruna isn't wearing a similar outfit." A small blush grew on her face as she shook her head. "After all, I happen to think that you would look rather nice and we would match." Walking up to the stunned Battleship, Rose kissed her on the cheek before grabbing a croissant off it and biting into it. "Mmm... anyways, Kongou and the others have gone on ahead, but I wanted to wait for you."

Moments later though, Haruna set the plate down and grabbed Rose by the waist before pulling her into an embrace. "Well... Haruna thinks that Rose-Chan looks good as well and would like to spend some time with her."

All she got was Rose putting her arms around her neck with another giggle before Haruna kissed her on the corner of her lips. "Oh my, well, I'm not against that idea."

The two of them just smiled at each other before giggling.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Reaching down to the clutch, Haruna gripped it and shifted into another gear. Almost immediately, she felt her car respond with an ease that made her smile as the engine roared and the sides of the road flashed by. The grin only grew as the radio shifted to another Eurobeat song and in Haruna's mind only one thing made this more perfect.

One thing that she heard shift the map said person was holding in her lap a bit.

Glancing to the side, Haruna took in the look of concentration on Rose's face as she considered the map she was holding. "How are we doing, Rose-Chan?"

Just blinking, Rose looked up and quickly checked their surroundings, just gripping onto the handhold in the roof as the car went into a drift around a corner. "We're doing quite well, Haruna, we're almost to the last leg."

Even as Haruna considered that, Rose grabbed the handhold as they roared up a hill and then went airborne for a few seconds before slamming down. "Hmm... Haruna sees."

Behind them, several cars made the attempt to keep up with Haruna while she slowly narrowed the distance between her and the leaders. Up in the air, there were two helicopters keeping base with them. One was for the race itself and the other was a JMSDF helo. Hundreds of miles away, in Yokosuka, Goto groaned as he held his face in his hands while Naka worked. "How did I let you bunch convince me to do this?"

Naka snickered a bit as she glanced at the livestream she was operating. On the screen was the view from the JMSDF helicopter with the other half taken up by a wide angle view of the inside of the car. Rose on one side and Haruna on the other. The Cruiser had even added a speedometer in the corner to show how fast Haruna was going. "Because Haruna gave you Destroyer eyes to let her join? Because it's easy and positive PR? Because Kongou threatened you if you made her sister sad and didn't let her go out on a date with Rose?"

With a blink, Goto pointed at the screen as they went through another turn, just missing the guardrail to cheers and exclamations. "I still don't understand... That's... a date?"

Snickering yet again, Naka nodded. "For those two, it is." She then winked at him. "Nothing is so romantic as a quiet, romantic drive in the countryside."

Once more, Goto pointed at the screen. "There's nothing quiet about that."

Meanwhile, Haruna took another turn with all the skill she had. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Rose looked rather worried about something. "Is something wrong, Rose-Chan?"

Biting her lip, Rose tapped the map. "We're coming up on a bunch of turns but there's a problem, Haruna!" Seeing the glance,she shook her head. "The first of them is a real hairpin turn tighter then any of the others... we'll have to slow down to make it, look, the front runners already are!"

Haruna blinked as she realized that Rose was right, the others had started to slow some. "Hmm..." Bringing her thumb up, Haruna began to think as she lightly bit it. "If we slow down... then we'll stay where we are. They will make their moves in the next few turns after, but if Haruna doesn't..." She then looked over to Rose. "Rose-Chan."

Innocently blinking, Rose looked over at Haruna. "Yes?"

The serious expression on Haruna's face though made Rose flush some. "Do you trust Haruna?"

For a moment, Rose had to parse the question before she snorted. "Of course I trust you! That is quite the silly question from you, Haruna!"

Even though she didn't say it out loud, those simple words caused Haruna's boilers to warm. But on Haruna's face, she began to grin before reaching for the clutch. "Good, now hang on, Rose-Chan!"

At Yokosuka, Naka blinked. "What is she... wait, she's speeding up!?"

Meanwhile at the finish line, Kongou, Hiei, and Kirishima looked up from the laptop that had Naka's livestream on it. All three were done up in their usual mechanic outfits, complete with oil and grease stains. On Kongou's face was a grin as she nodded and narrowed her eyes. "Go, Haruna..."

In the car, Haruna shifted gears and brought her foot down on the gas pedal as the speedometer rose. Having stuffed the map between her legs, Rose reached up and held on tightly to the handhold while her other hand grabbed the armrest. "Here comes that turn, Haruna!"

All Haruna did was narrow her eyes as she sped the leader who boggled at her. "What in the world.... did their breaks give out or something!?"

Beside him, his own navigator shrugged and shook his head. "Hell if I know, but no way in hell they're going to make that corner!"

However, Haruna's breaks had not given out and instead, she brought her car close to the inside of the turn before whipping the car into it. Throwing open her car door, which was facing the outside of the turn, people only had a moment to stare. And then Haruna slammed her foot down onto the road at an angle as she swung the car into the drift, pushing off the road.

Battleship steel met the asphalt at more then a hundred miles an hour as the car continued the turn at high speed. Inside the car, Rose was gaping at the huge cloud of sparks that shot into the air. In Yokosuka, Goto fell out of his chair while Naka's jaw dropped. On her livestream, she noted mostly silence though one person, who she recognized as the returned USS Taylor kept typing that it was bullshit, complete and utter bullshit.

Car shuddering, Haruna kept the steering wheel stationary despite how hard it was fighting. Then they were out of the turn leaving a line of flame behind them as Haruna brought her foot back in and closed the door. Looking behind them, Rose stared before she winkled her nose at something she could smell and glanced around. It took her a moment, but she soon spotted what was doing it. "Um... Haruna?"

Raising an eyebrow as they went into another hairpin turn, Haruna nodded. "Hai, Rose-Chan?"

Slowly, Rose brought up a finger and pointed at something out of view of the camera. "Um... your foot is on fire."

With a blink, Haruna looked down and then turned her attention back to the road. "Hai, Haruna knows her foot is on fire."

After a few moments, Rose just nodded. "Oh, never mind then."

Unknown to either of them, Goto only slammed his head into Naka's desk which got him a glare from said Cruiser. "Hey, stop that! I just cleaned it this morning!"

All Goto did was groan.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Natsumi was frowning as she looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow. "What's going on, Harry-Chan? After all, there has to be a reason why Iku asked me earlier to show up with my Miko outfit. There's no summoning schduled today after all."

Scratching his head, Harry looked away and coughed. "Um, well... you see..."

Walking into the room with Summoning Pool, she stopped and stared at the sight that met her. Mainly that of the Submarines taking items out of Harry's wagon and putting them into a pile. It took a moment, but Natsumi recognized rough steel bars, what looked like sheets of beaten metal, and bullets that they were putting into a group. "What in the world..." She then turned to Harry. "Is this going to be an unauthorized summoning, Harry-Chan?"

A chuckle off to the side caused her to turn and blink at the sight of Akashi who was leaning against the wall with a mostly healed Taigei in a chair. "Not exactly unauthorized, Teitoku does know that we're here and what we're doing after all. So you don't need to worry about getting in trouble for helping us."

Yet again, Natsumi glanced at the Submarines with a small frown. "Not unauthorized? Yet we're the only ones here? What gives?"

Tilting her head back, Akashi considered the question before answering. "It's an experiment I suppose. So think of it as being an off the books attempt, if that helps."

Now narrowing her eyes, the kitsune looked between her and the Summoning Pool. "Uh-huh. And he released the summoning materials needed?"

Much to her surprise though, it was Maruyu who spoke up having walked up. "Actually... these aren't summoning materials from the stockpile." At the look, she twiddled her fingers some. "We've gathered them up ourselves over the past week."

Gobsmacked, Natsumi looked between the piles and the small Submarine. Eventually she shook her head in utter surprise. "Wait, you gathered them all up yourself?" When she got a nod, Natsumi furrowed her eyebrows. "But... from where?"

Just glancing at Taigei who nodded with smile. "Go on, Maruyu-Chan. I am very proud of what you girls did after all."

Taking a deep breath, the Subgirl bit her lip a bit. "Well... the aluminum comes from drink cans we gathered up and then beat and heated into sheets in case we can get a small Carrier. The steel comes from steel cans we folded and heated until they became, well... steel bars with Akashi-San's help."

From where she was, RO nodded with a smile. "Yup! We're hoping that we have enough for some small escort ships for Taigei." Her expression hardened for a moment as she nodded. "We're not going to leave her get hurt again if we can help it."

With a glance at the flustered, though pleased Submarine Tender, Natsumi slowly nodded. "I see..." Looking at the pile of materials, she made a rough estimate in her head. 'Hmm... enough for at least a large Capital ship...' After a moment, she gave a small smile to them. "Then I woud be very happy to give a hand to your attempt. Though... this had to be a lot of work to set up. You had to gather up all these materials in the first place."

All Hachi did was give her a look as she set down a small barrel of oil, about the size of her hand. "Taigei-Nee-San is worth it."

Chuckles made them turn to see Akashi grinning at them. "Teitoku is more then happy to let you do so. And... he asked that I give some help." Seeing their confusion, she reached into her pocket and pulled out two small containers, the size and shape of her pinky which made their eyes widen. Mainly because one had a tiny, almost gem-like shard in it which seemed to sparkle with an inner light while the other had liquid that glowed. "Mainly these."

Rushing up, Imuya stared at them and then at Akashi before she pointed a shaking finger at the container with the liquid. "I-is that what I think it is? That... special Liquid of Birth?"

Slowly, Akashi nodded some. "Yup! With what happened to Louisiana, we got enough that Teitoku stated that a few millilitres being used as a 'Test' wouldn't be a huge issue." Then she frowned a bit. "We need a better name then that though..."

It said something that all the Submarines stared at her before as one they rushed Akashi and hugged her tightly. "THANK YOU!"

Only smiling, Akashi patted each of them on the head. "You're very welcome. Hopefully, we have a successful summoning so what happened... doesn't happen again."

As they pulled away, she found herself being hugged by Harry. "Thank you, Akashi-Oba. Now Taigei-Chan won't be in danger again."

Said Submarine Tender was heavily blushing to Akashi's amusement. 'And thank you, Harry-Chan... girls... for caring so much for me.'

Hearing a knock at the door though, Harry grinned. "Looks like the others are here!"

That got him blinks from the Subgirls. "Others?"

Walking towards the door, Harry opened it. "Well, yeah... if there's more shipgirls then the more successful the Summoning, right? And if we want escorts..." White then bounced in followed by DesDiv6, Tenryuu, Tatsuta, Hanna, even Louisiana and Shinano. They were followed by Hamakaze, Isokaze, Yukikaze, Yuudachi, Fubuki, and Mutsuki. "We should get those best at it, right?"

For several moments, Iku and the others were silent as they stared at the group before the blue haired Subgirl spoke, her voice thick with emotion. "Y-you're all here? T-to help us?"

Hanna just smiled and walked over to give Iku a hug. "Of course! Why wouldn't we?"

Off to the side, Fubuki gave them a salute as she smiled. "Fubuki and the others will do our best and help!"

Tearful, Shioi leapt at the Destroyer and hugged her. "Thank you... Thank you, you have no idea what this means to us!"

All Fubuki did was hug her back with a small smile. "I think that we do." Internally, she sighed. 'Besides, it's the least we can do after how we treated you.'

Several minutes later, Natsumi clapped her hands and nodded. "Okay, let's do this! People, take your places and we can start."

For the next couple of minutes, Natsumi lead them through the ceremony, memorized from countless times of both watching and participating as a assistant to her aunt. And as it finished, all of them watched with widened eyes as the pile of summoning materials disappeared into motes of light and flowed into the summoning pool. They were not the only things taken as the liquid in the container also glowed brightly and then vanished.

But the big surprise was the gemstone shard.

It began to pulse slowly as if it was a heartbeat and then glowed brighter and brighter until everyone had to look away. Then there was a flash of red light and it was gone. Before anyone could react though, the waters of the Summoning Pool broiled and frothed and Taigei staggered a bit, which caused Iku to grab her. "Taigei-Nee-Chan, are you alright?"

She just nodded as she held her head and tried to steady herself. "Y-yes, but I feel kind of weird..."

Of course, that was when Harry pointed at the pool below. "Uh, guys?"

Nearly everyone rushed to the railings and gasped as they looked down. There were several small, seemingly eight year old girls there with riggings standing on the water. One of them looked around in confusion before spotting the shipgirls and stiffening. "Ah! Escort Ship Shimusu and sisters reporting!"

Very slowly, Akashi nodded, though her eyes were fixed on the one girl that stood taller then the others. "Um, welcome back and..."

The girl that everyone was staring at blinked her crimson eyes and then bowed as her purple hair shifted along with her Kimono. "Light Carrier Ryuuhou! I'll try once again to do my best as a Carrier!"

Everyone blinked and looked between the wide eyed Taigei and Ryuuhou. It would have been hilarious how their heads whipped back and forth before one word escaped them. "Ehhhhh!?"

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Rubbing his forehead, Goto let out a sigh before focusing on Akashi fully. "Okay, exactly what the hell happened here? I thought that Kaga's... twin, was a fluke. And yet here we are with Taigei and her... conversion."

Slowly, Akashi nodded as she became thoughtful and stood up. "I've actually been looking into it and I think that I have an idea as to what is going on..." Walking over to the white board, she frowned before picking up a marker. "I'm not going to waste your time with going over the actual process of summoning a shipgirl, but... you know why we have a large group when we perform one, correct?'

Only nodding, Goto leaned forward. "Because of the amount of spiritual energy needed for a summon. I know this, so why bring it up?"

Akashi chuckled and then wagged the marker at him. "Mainly because what just happened filled in a couple of blanks." Having gotten Goto's attention as well as that of Haru's, Ryuujou's, and Junyou, Akashi tapped the marker against the board. "Such as the fact that the ritual it seems is being done on a partial basis up to now."

That caused Haru to raise an eyebrow and look at her in interest. "Oh? How so?"

Looking at her, the Repair Ship nodded some. "It ties back to us shipgirls mainly. Now, despite us usually going on about shipgirl magic, we're mostly formed from spiritual energies when summoned. But as I am sure everyone has noted, when shipgirls are there, the chance of a summoning failing also go down. On the opposite end though, each time a wizard has been involved, the chances of something coming through go up. I suspect that magic helps in the summoning process."

Rather intrigued, Junyou for once was sober as she watched Akashi. "Hmm..." Frowning, she looked at Ryuujou who also had an interested look. "You know, the kid did manage to summon both Hamakaze and Isokaze that time. And he only had himself, White Plains, and Natsumi there with him."

Becoming thoughtful, Ryuujou nodded. "That's... a good point. From other experiences it should have at best been a failed summoning. So how the heck did that happen?"

In reply, Akashi snapped her fingers. "Exactly! It took me a bit but I think I know." Uncapping the marker, she drew a circle. "Now, on our side of things, we mostly use spiritual energy to summon. But wizards... they use magic." Akashi shaded in part of the circle in a way that made them blink before she erased a small bit of the shaded area. "Us shipgirls though, I suspect, give a small portion of magic to our attempts." Placing a small, shaded area inside the unshaded one, she capped the marker and stood back. "Put it together and..."

Haru sat up in her seat a little. "Yin and Yang..."

Nodding at her, Akashi tapped the board. "Exactly! Magic and spiritual energy act as that for the summoning. Using only spiritual energy works only if some magic is mixed in and doesn't always work. Using magic generally works all the time, but does not always call what you want. As we've seen, using both will both increase the chances of getting something and that something being what you want."

Slowly, Goto raised an eyebrow. "It does? And your proof is...?"

There was a slight smirk on Akashi's face as she walked over and pulled several papers out from a binder. "Here, these are graphs which show summoning attempts that succeeded compared to failing." Placing several sheets on Goto's desk, she spread them out as everyone leaned in to look. "If you look here, all of a sudden the attempts here in Yokosuka increased in their success rate compared to the other bases roughly five or so years ago, which was when..."

Eyebrows raising a bit, Ryuujou nodded. "Harry-Chan came to live here. Are you saying he's somehow the reason."

However, Akashi shook her head. "Not him specifically. But rather the magic he has boosted the effectiveness of the summonings he was involved in. And it's not just him." She then pulled out another group of sheets. "It took some doing, but I got a hold of data from some friends over in Britain. "And wouldn't you know it? The base where Harry's friend Hermione, who is a witch, was stationed at also saw a boost in their success rate. And right here is the main base Warspite is at, often visited by Ronald Weasley. They also saw a boost in success rates each time he was on the base."

Frowning, Goto let his eyes roam across the information in front of him before he slowly nodded. "Hmm... okay, this is rather interesting. But..." Tilting his head up, he stared at Akashi. "But what does this have to do with how we now have two versions of Taigei or two versions of Kaga."

Once more reaching into her bag, Akashi pulled out two folders and placed them in front of him before opening one marked with Kaga's name. "It has a lot to do with their history. Let's start with Kaga... she was launched in 1921 as a Battleship. However, all work was stopped on her on February 5, 1922 due to the Washington Treaty. She had a crew all set up, but with her being placed on the list to be scrapped, they all went their separate ways. So she floated there until the Great Kanto Earthquake."

More then a little thoughtful, Haru nodded. "I remember that earthquake." At their looks, she shrugged. "I was in Tokyo when it happened... To say that it was not pleasant is putting it mildly."

Shrugging that off for later, Goto turned back to the information which included pictures of the unfinished Kaga. "Yes, and Amagi was badly damaged enough she was written off as being unable to be converted to an Aircraft Carrier as Akagi was. Because of that, they decided to convert Kaga." There was a shrewd look in his eyes as he glanced up. "So where are you going with this?"

With a small smirk, Akashi tapped one spot. "She was slatted to be converted in December, 1923. But no work was done until 1925. That means that there's several degrees of separation between Battleship Kaga and Aircraft Carrier Kaga. It may not mean much physically, but on a spiritual level?"

Deep in thought, Junyou slowly nodded. "Huh... you know what? You're right, on a spiritual level that makes a lot of difference."

All Akashi did though was open the other folder which had Taigei's name on it. "Yeah, but let's head to Taigei for now." With a deep breath, she began with a frown. "Now, firstly some background on her. Taigei... was not a good design to say the least. When she was built, the Navy designed her with the idea of being able to rapidly and easily convert her to either a Tanker, or an Light Aircraft Carrier from a Submarine Tender."

Goto just stared at her for several moments at that. "... Convert her to either a Tanker or an Light Aircraft Carrier... You're serious." When she nodded, he just pinched his nose and groaned. "Both those types of ships are entirely different in design. Why would you design a ship..."

In reply, Akashi waved a hand around. "Well, the Navy did also build ships that were both a Tanker and an Aircraft Carrier during the War, but that's getting off topic." Placing a finger on the papers in front of her, she tapped it. "The point is though, she was designed that way. So when Japan planned to go to War with the United States, she was brought in to be converted. Her conversion was supposed to take three months, but due to problems, it took a lot longer. She was brought in to be converted in December 1941, and did not leave as an Aircraft Carrier until November 1942. She was damaged during Doolittle, but not that much. A lot of it came down to issues with her design really, such as needing to swap out her engines entirely."

Nodding, Goto leaned back a bit and considered what he was told. "So a lengthly rebuild process along with a name change." At the looks, the Admiral shrugged. "I would assume that would matter on a spiritual level. After all, I remember being told it's bad luck to rename a ship."

For several seconds, Haru considered this and glanced at Ryuujou and Junyou who both nodded. "That makes a certain amount of sense. And it would provide a degree of separation between Taigei and Ryuuhou."

To their surprise though, Akashi shook her head. "There's more to it then that. You see, when she came in to be converted, she was placed under the command of one Captain. He was replaced as Commander in April by another Captain, who was himself replaced yet again in November shortly before she launched... And then when she was launched commissioned as Ryuuhou, she got yet another Captain. From start to finish, she went through four Captains without leaving the construction. So that's another large degree of separation."

Chewing the inside of her cheek, Ryuujou slowly nodded before closing her eyes and tilting her head to the side. "Right. So in order to get 'Twins' like what happened with Kaga and Taigei, you need ships that have degrees of separation. And magic."

Akashi raised a finger. "A lot of magic. Kana was summoned when we had five wizards involved as well as most of the shipgirls in the base. Apparently, Akagi felt a twinge as well, though nothing more." That came as a surprise to the others, but the Repair Ship continued. "In Taigei's case, we also had a shard of that fake Philosopher's Stone that Dumbledore gave us. Might as well call it Magicite considering that it's mostly magic in composition. Add in that the... Liquid of Birth, and fuck do we need a better name but it'll do for now, was involved? Something designed to create shipgirls? No wonder we got duplicates." With a hum, she gestured with a hand. "Though, Ryuuhou does have quite a bit of Taigei's knowledge. I think that's more down to magic, the more magic the more of the other shipgirl's knowledge they'll have."

Having become thoughtful, Goto slowly nodded while Ooyodo, who had been silent, spoke up. "What are you thinking, Teitoku?"

Just snorting, Goto shook his head. "That this explains a lot. But that we also have a number of shipgirls who were originally another class of ship, so I wonder if we can summon their... pre-conversion selves."
What he didn't expect was for Akashi to shrug. "Well, this is all mostly speculation and conjecture. Hopefully I'll have some new data points soon enough."

Utter silence met her as Goto stared at her. It was Junyou who spoke up though and asked what needed to be asked. "What did you do?"

Rolling her eyes, Akashi scoffed. "I shared some of my information and theories with other shipgirls like me. South Dakota is supposed to be running some sort of experiment on the American side with some shards of Magicite I sent her and her own samples of... that liquid." At the looks though, she narrowed her eyes. "She has the full backing of her Admiral to try you know."

All Goto did was close his eyes. "Well, it's not my headache..."
____________________________________________________________________

Grinning, South Dakota looked on as the Summoning Ceremony continued before glancing to the side. "By the way, Texas... thanks for getting in contact with those magical relatives of your crew."

Said Battleship just gave the much younger one a look. "Now, that makes me a mite suspicious of you, Dakota. After all, you told me that this was to be a hand reaching out to them."

With a chuckle, South Dakota nodded and raised her hands. "Whoa, it is, it is, Texas. The Admiral cleared it after all. And look at them, having them see and experience a Summoning? That's going to go a long way to making them relax a bit."

Her eyes drifting towards the rather uncomfortable large group of people, about fifteen of them, Texas hummed. "Maybe not all that relaxed. But better then nothing I suppose..." Then she fixed her eyes back onto South Dakota and narrowed them. "I'm still suspicious about you."

South Dakota squirmed under her gaze for several seconds before she sighed. "Okay, I'll admit, I'm running an experiment and I needed some wizards present." At the sight of Texas' eyes widening and her about to verbally lace into her, South Dakato rushed to cut her off. "But it won't harm, I swear! If it works, then great! And if it doesn't? They'll see just a normal Summoning Ceremony. And the Admiral signed off on it anyways."

Gritting her teeth, Texas let out a hiss. "Well, I will be having a chat with the Admiral after this, you can be sure of that! You should have told me that you were up to one of your zany schemes before now, Dakota! And if one of them gets hurt..."

The threat hung in the air with "Battleship X" just nodded even as she fiddled with the two vials in her pocket. "Y-yeah, they won't." Several minutes later though, South Dakota was looking rather annoyed as nothing had happened. Finally though, she cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted at the man standing beside Saratoga and comforting the depressed looking ship. "YO! JONES, HOW ABOUT YOU GIVE IT A SHOT WITH THAT SONG OF SARA'S? MAYBE HER SISTERS WILL SHOW!"

A hand then grabbed her shoulder and shook her as Texas growled. "Now you leave Sara's boyfriend alone, you hear me, Dakota?"

However, South Dakota grinned as the teacher-turned-writer shook his head with a sigh and then walked took an offered microphone. "Oh, I hear you, Texas. But I want to see if anything happens."

Sighing, the man cleared his throat and then took a deep breath. "She's the ship of happy landings..."

The man's voice filled the room as everyone listened to him continue. Partway through, the hairs on people's necks began to stand up.

"She's the Queen of our Great Navy..."

Feeling a pulse, South Dakota practically tore the vials out of her pocket and noticed that the liquid in one was glowing while the two shards began to pulse as if to a heartbeat.

"She's the Mighty Saratoga..."

Down below, the summoning materials began to vanish even as the light from both the liquid and the shard increased as the song finished until everyone had to look away. But when they could see again, there were four shipgirls standing on the water. Two of them looked nearly identicle to Saratoga and Lexington who boggled at the sight, even as they began to cry tears of happiness at the sight of their sisters. A grin on her face so big it hurt, South Dakota pumped a fist. "YES! It worked!"

Unable to believe what she was seeing, Texas pulled her hat from her head. "I don't know what you did... But I'm impressed, Dakota."

Just puffing her chest out in pride, South Dakota nodded even as she watched what was going on. Heck, there was Saratoga hugging her boyfriend as a matter of fact...

Which was when things went downhill as the Battlecruiser twin of Saratoga glared. "Hey! Who the heck are you and what the hell are you doing with my boyfriend!?"

One could nearly hear a pin drop in the room in the ensuring silence. A silence which was filled with a growl from Saratoga the Carrier. "Excuse me? He's my boyfriend."

Not a single person could tear their eyes away as Saratoga the Battlecruise rushed over to the ladder and practically flew up it. Then she began to stalk towards her twin before grabbing Jones and pulling him into a hug. "He's mine! I may not know what the heck happened, or how I got down there with... rigging not mine own, but I know who my boyfriend is, thank you very much."

Eyes narrowing, Saratoga the Carrier took a few steps forward until she was face to face with her twin. Sadly for her boyfriend, that meant that he was trapped between their bodies as the two began shouting. Blinking for a moment, South Dakota felt the glare from Texas and chuckled weakly. "I didn't expect for her to remember anything from the other..." Feeling the glare increase, she began to run. "I'll, um... take care of this right now!"

Thankfully, the shipgirls there managed to pull the two apart and release the author of 'Changing Destiny' who had been trapped between them...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

As the Sun slowly rose, it's light stretched out across the grounds until it reached a particular spot and fell across two closed eyes. Said closed eyes twitched for several moments until they opened to reveal honey brown orbs that blinked before the mouth that was on the same face turned upwards into a smile. 'I thank you, Ra, for the wake up.' Yawning widely and showing fangs, the female's mouth closed. "Looks like another, lovely day."

Her eyes then turned sad as she looked to her side. "Another day without you, Arnold. Though I hope that you have been treated as well as possible."

The small, fifteen foot pyramid just stayed silent, guarding the small tomb that rested beneath it while the two sphinx statues, nearly identicle to the actual sphinx beside the tomb, sat watch. Moments later though, the sphinx turned at the sound of footsteps to see what might have looked like a young, Egyptian woman walking up dressed in clothing from ancient times. A woman, except for the odd construction upon her back and the small, human-like beings that could be seen running along her every once in a while. "[Good Morning, Wise-One.]"

Most would have gotten a riddle from the being that sat there, but all the sphinx did was bow her head as she spoke in a language passed down among the sphinx, unchanged from thousands of years before. "[A good morning to you to, Ancient One.]" She then tilted her head to the side. "[Forgive my rudeness, but I was not expecting company until I returned to the Pride.]"

With a soft chuckle, the Egyptian Sunship smiled at her. "[There is nothing to forgive... Amber.]" Even though the rest of the words were in the old language of Ancient Egyptian, the name was in English. Something that always bemused the Sunshipgirls after they came across the ancient oasis on their journey to find a place to rest after their battles with goblins and wizards. "[I only wished to see the tomb of one whom your pride has said they owed so much to. And to hear more about him.]"

For several moments, Amber was quiet until she spoke and when she did, there was a deep emotion there. "[It was many, many years ago as the humans count such things. The humans of this day and age, on the magical side of things, do not see us as anything more then beasts. Because the type of sphinx most know of, that is most common, can be quite violent. Ones such as myself and my pride have become far too rare... Which leads to problems as we have always been snatched by some, especially when young, by goblins and wizards. Mainly because we make such good guards.]" Taking a deep breath, she let it out in a shuddering sigh. "[I was but a young cub when my pride was attacked by some wizards. The adults were slain and I was taken to a place called America. We were not alone there as it seems that the wizard who owned the property wanted to use us to prevent people from coming onto it. We were fitted with collars that prevented us from going too far.]"

A frown on her face, the Sunshipgirl sat down. "[Sounds as if it was terrible.]"

There was a far off look on Amber's face. "[The family were of the type that Anubis would not think twice about tossing their hearts to Ahmet, possibly without weighing them against Ma'at... all but the youngest, Arnold. He had a good heart, a kind one and hated how his family treated us.]" Sadly chuckling, Amber turned to the Sunshipgirl to see her watching her. "[None of us had names, we were too young at the time. But he gave us the names we now carry, ones we will not change. Often after our... training, Arnold would sneak into where we were and heal us best he could. Sometimes he brought us books of riddles and puzzles as we recovered. His family knew and often jeered at him for caring so much, but he did not care. ]"

Now extremely interested, the ancient shipgirl leaned forward. "[So how did you come to be here? And with him?]"

With a chuckle, Amber gave the small pyramid a bemused look. "[Unknown to us, Arnold slowly planned. Years passed as he did so, even when he went to school. Then... the magical law enforcement hit his family hard. Apparently, they were involved in some things on the non-magical side which was highly illegal. The only one who did not get thrown into jail was Arnold himself as it turns out he had informed them. Of course, his family disowned him, but by then he was already heading to Egypt with us hidden away.]"

Slowly nodding, the Sunshipgirl hummed. "[And so, you came to be here, at this place then?]"

Lips twitching, Amber nodded. "[Yes, it was discovered some years before. An ancient oasis buried under the sands sadly. But for the next twenty years, Arnold used his magic to excavate it, to place it under protections even as dates and other plants were placed here. It became our home. None who threaten us could come here. Arnold was the only human though who was allowed to walk among us, to be part of our pride.]" Shoulders slumping, Amber looked at the Pyramid in sadness. "[It has been fifty years since his passing, and it has not gotten any easier. His death left a hole in us older sphinxes.]"

Moments later, the Sunshipgirl placed a hand on her furry shoulder. "[From what you have told me, I am certain that he lives again in the world after. For deeds such as his are to be rewarded and each time you speak of him, or think of him, he lives anew.]"

Gently, the sphinx bowed her head. "[I thank you for your wisdom, it comforts me greatly.]" Suddenly a laugh burst from her. "[Perhaps Sekhmet watches over him for what he has done for us.]" Only getting a nod, she slowly stood and then smiled. "[Now then... I suppose that it is time for us to speak more of the world and how it has changed. For one day, you shall need to speak with some out there.]"

That only got her nods from the shipgirl as she followed. "[It would be most wise...]"
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Crouched down, Harry frowned thoughtfully before narrowing his eyes. Very slowly, he reached out and knocked his hand against steel and nodded. "What do you think, Hibiki-Chan?"

Frowning herself, Hibiki walked around the object in question as she gave it a searching gaze. "Hmm... Da, I think that this one is a good one for you, Harry-Chan." Still frowning, she reached out and rocked it back and forth. "Good balance to it and decent steering as well."

Harry nodded before he sighed and stood up and put his hand to his chin in thought. "Yeah... but there's the color. I really don't like the silver, it gets dirty way too easily."

That got him a nod from the Destroyer who tapped her fingers against metal. "True. Perhaps there's another color around here with the same model. The price is good though with the deal we could get for it."

With a hum, Harry blinked. "Too, it's in my price range. And I really like the seating it has... Especially since I could take you with it as a passenger."

Nearly unnoticed by him, Hibiki blushed slightly though tapped her finger aginst her chin in thought. "I would not be against that, Harry-Chan..." Taking a deep breath, she let it out. "It does have some nice accessories."

Scratching his head, Harry continued to examine what was in front of him before walking around to beside Hibiki. "I like it, but there's some issues with this model."

A frown, Hibiki tilted her head and nodded. "True. But we could always get one of the Kongous to look at it. Or perhaps ask Akashi to make modifications to it."

Eyebrows furrowing, Harry shook his head. "No, we can't." He then grabbed a paper and showed it to her. "See? That sort of thing would void the warranty on it."

Leaning in, a scowl replaced the frown on Hibiki's face. "I see... that is too bad. And it also seems that this store would void the warranty if we made any modifications to it. Even a new paintjob, or any adjustments..."

Only nodding, Harry looked over at her. "So... A bust then?"

Hibiki gave a grunt as she grimaced. "A bust. Perhaps the next place will have something better." With a sigh, she began to guide Harry away with a frown. "Do you really need to replace your old bicycle, Harry-Chan?"

Glancing back at the electric bicycle that they had been looking at, Harry nodded. "Yeah, I've had my old one since I came here. And, well... I am looking for something that will last me longer then a few years since I'm growing."

Slowly, the Destroyer took that information in before looking at her friend as they stepped outside. "Hmm..."

It was only several moments later, but Hibiki stopped and turned so that she was right in front of him. To Harry's confusion though, she stepped forward until they were pretty much pressed against each other as her eyes roamed from his head down and then back up. "Um... Hibiki-Chan?"

Not saying anything, Hibiki raised a hand and held it at the top of her head and then moving it towards Harry and then back. Realizing what was going on, Harry blinked and then smiled a bit. But before he could say anything, Hibiki blinked. "You're a little bit taller then I am now..."

That was a surprise and Harry looked up at her hand. "I am? You're sure about that, Hibiki-Chan?" At her nod, he grinned a bit. "Cool!"

Smiling, it took a moment for Hibiki to realize how close she was to Harry. Something that caused her cheeks to pinken before she hopped back to his confusion, though a moment later she coughed before gesturing to Harry to follow her. As she walked back to her own bicycle, Hibiki glanced over her shoulder in curiosity. "Harry-Chan? Why did you want me to come and help you today?"

With a blink at the, to him, odd question, Harry glanced at his longtime friend. "Why did I want you to come help me?" At her nod, he scratched his cheek. "Well... you, Inazuma-Chan, Akatsuki-Chan, and Ikazuchi-Chan know a lot about bicycles... and, um..." Seeing her blink, Harry chuckled a bit. "I haven't spent much time with you and I thought that we spend some time together now."

Much to his confusion, Hibiki blushed some as she pulled her hat's brim down some. But there was a slightly pleased smile on her face as she nodded as well. "Bolshoe spasibo, Harry-Chan. I..." For a moment, she bit her lip and then moved her hand so that the back of it was brushing Harry's. "I'm happy to spend some time with you."

Not quite sure what was going on, Harry only nodded some. "Same here." Frowning, Harry furrowed his eyebrows as they got closer to Hibiki's bicycle. "Um, where did you get yours?"

Somewhat thoughtful, Hibiki considered the question before she slowly nodded. "We bought ours when we escorted a convoy to America. But, um, I can see what I can do."

Grinning, Harry gave her a hug. "Thanks! Having something like you would be so cool!" Then he spotted something and his face lit up. "Hey, look at that, Hibiki-Chan! It's a crepe truck!"

Looking in the direction that Harry was pointing in, Hibiki felt her eyebrows raise. Sure enough, it was as he said: A food truck selling crepes. Even though she felt her stomach grumble, Hibiki sighed and shook her head. "I don't think that I have enough, Harry-Chan."

However, Harry only grinned and grabbed her hand as he pulled her along. "Don't worry about that, Hibiki-Chan, I'll pay for us both. Besides, it's the least that I can do for you coming out today."

Unknown to Harry, the Destroyer was practically luminescent as she was pulled along, but there was still a large smile on her face. After all, having some crepes with Harry sounded like a good way to end their trip.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

For most places in the world, the sight of a young boy in a boat offshore would have caused boggled looks. With the Abyssals having taken much of the sea, going too far out to see was dangerous for even adults in charge of fishing fleets. However, Harry had to advantages over most other cases. One, there were enough shipgirls in the waters around Yokosuka that Abyssal incursions were extremely rare. Two, not even five miles away he knew Wokyuu's island was located with the Abyssal keeping an eye out. Even if there was an Abyssal strike force, he could easily get to the island and safety under Wokyuu's watch in her bunker.

Thirdly, Haruna and Rose had come out with him as they wanted to visit Wokyuu on her island anyways. There was also a fourth reason why he was safe which was shown as the waters beside the boat were distrubed and Harry leaned over the side as a familiar Subgirl popped up. "Maruyu-Chan!"

Giggling, Maruyu grabbed her goggles and them pushed them up onto her forehead as she nodded. "Hai!" With a glance around, she blinked. "I hope that you're not bored, Harry-Chan just sitting in the boat."

In reply, Harry reached over and grabbed a book that he held up. "Nope! I'm catching up on some of my reading for school..." After a moment, he grimced. "I mean non-magical school, not magical stuff. But at least I'm keeping up!"

Slowly, Maruyu only nodded as she floated there with a small smile. "Well... you do need a normal education if you're going to be joining the JMSDF. Especially if you want to be an Admiral."

With a shrug, Harry put the book back and peered down into the water. "So what do you have for me this time, Maruyu-Chan? You were down there for a bit."

A bright smile on her face, Maruyu lifted her arm and pulled a mesh net that was full out of the water. "I managed to find a bunch of crabs down there. But... I only took the ones big enough, so that was what caused me to take so long. Had to go looking for them." Maruyu then passed him the bag and nodded. "Mind setting down the ladder, Harry-Chan?"

Only nodding, Harry grabbed the rope ladder and threw it over the side so that Maruyu could climb up it and grabbed the bag of crabs from her. Placing it to the side, he held out his hand and helped her out of the water and into the boat. "Up you go." After she was inside the boat, Harry turned to the bag as various claws snapped and clicked before shaking his head. "You got a lot of crabs, Maruyu-Chan!" Hearing her make a choking sound, he turned and blinked as she stared at him with a red face. "Is something wrong?"

Quickly though, the small Submarine waved her hands around. "Nothing, nothing. Um, just... can you do me a small favor, Harry-Chan?" Waiting until he nodded, she continued. "Just, don't say something like that again, okay?"

Blinking, Harry only shrugged slowly though he was rather confused. "Okay, Maruyu-Chan." Once they put all the crabs away, Harry glanced into one of the other coolers which contained some fish on ice. "I think that we got enough, what do you think, Maruyu-Chan?"

Simply looking over his shoulder, Maruyu hummed a little bit before she finally nodded with a smile. "Yeah, I think that we got more then enough." With a grin, she pumped her fist into the air. "I declare this resource expedition to be complete!"

Just laughing, Harry nodded as he moved to the motor and then yanked on the cord. Within a minute, the motor was running and he was making his way towards Wokyuu's island. "It shouldn't take too long before we're back home. You think that everyone will be happy with our catch?"

Glancing at the coolers, Maruyu nodded some. "Yeah, I think that they will be. We got plenty of shellfish, fish, and I even caught an octopus! So we should have some nice, fresh seafood."

With a sigh, Maruyu sat down next to Harry and then leaned against him a bit, Not really caring much about how she was still damp from the water, Harry blinked a bit. "You tired, Maruyu-Chan?"

Slowly, she nodded before yawning. "Yeah, with the others out hunting for that Abyssal with the floatplanes I've been kind of busy since I can't really help them." At Harry's look of concern, Maruyu shook her head. "I might not like the fact that I can't really fight at their level, but... I can take up the slack for them at resource collection."

Harry only hummed in thought at that as he continued to guide the boat towards the nearby island. Besides the gathering of manganese nodules, "Resource collection" also referred to how a lot of the shipgirl bases would send out some of the girls to catch seafood to use to pad out base supplies. It wasn't needed anywhere near as much now with the convoy routes finally clear, but it still helped out. Hence the "Mission" that they were out on. Glancing over at Maruyu though, Harry just smiled a little bit as she stretched again and rubbed at her eyes. "Well... it's going to be a bit, so if you want to rest some..."

Blinking, Maruyu turned towards him and raised her eyebrows some. "Really?" At his nod, she blushed a bit before shuffling closer. Before Harry could ask though, she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. A smile though grew on her face as Harry placed one arm around her to keep her steady. 'This is nearly as good as headpats...'

It was roughly an hour later, after getting Haruna and Rose, that the group reached the base. Much to Harry's surprise though, Maruyu had not woken up once from her nap. Even though he didn't want to wake his friend, Harry still lightly shook her after they tied up. "Maruyu-Chan, we're back at the base."

After a few moments, the Submarine sleepily opened her eyes and looked around in confusion before she nodded. "O-oh, yeah... we are." Getting to her feet, she yawned and shook her head as she tried to wake up. "We should offload I guess."

However, a laugh caused her to look up to see a familiar face grinning down at her. "Nay, lass! Ye don't be needing to do such work."

Eyes widening, Maruyu blinked a little bit. "Kiso-Nee-San?!"

The Light Cruiser grinned as she nodded. "Aye, decided to come up and give yeh a little hand since yeh be here so much recently." She then winked a bit. "Even though the base be in fine hands with yeh here."

Blushing some, the small Sub smiled up at here nonetheless before she yawned again. "Just... give me a moment, Kiso-Nee-San. And I'll help."

With a snort, Kiso just hopped into the water and walked to the other side of the boat. "Did ye not here what I just said, Maruyu? Ye have done more then enough, let ye ol' Nee-San here do the rest o' the work for ye so tha' ye can rest them eyes of yours." Before Maruyu could say anything though, Kiso turned to Harry and nodded. "I be entrusting my Imouto to ye, Mister Potter. Make sure that she gets back ta her quarters where she can get some rest she so deserves."

Only nodding, Harry saluted her. "Will do!" Turning, he helped Maruyu out of the boat and onto the dock before guiding her towards the end of it. "Come on, Maruyu-Chan, let's get you home so you can get some sleep."

Simply watching, Kiso turned towards Haruna and frowned at the smile there. "Maruyu be a good lass, just a mite too stubborn at times. Needs ta be watched, ye see."

Taking one of the coolers, Haruna only nodded as she passed it to Rose who placed it onto the dock. "Hai, Haruna can see that Maruyu-San is a very hard worker. And Haruna thinks that Kiso-San should be very proud of Maruyu-San for all the work she does."

All Kiso did was softly snort. "Aye, I am. Of that ye can be sure." She then glanced to Maruyu and raised an eyebrow as she stumbled, only for Harry to grab her into a bridal carry. "A question for ye, if it not be too much trouble?"

Only nodding, Haruna could already guess what that question was, but smiled just the same. "Haruna will try to answer it."

Kiso fixed her with a serious look before narrowing her visible eye. "Tha' there boy there... Is he trustworthy to be around me Maru?"

Holding up a hand to forestall Rose's shout of indignation, Haruna only nodded. "Hai, Harry-Chan is more then trustworthy to be around here. Harry-Chan would rather harm himself then see her harmed in any way."

Very slowly, Kiso nodded at that. "I be seeing that, but just wanted ta make sure. Don' want me Imouto be hurt in anyway, ye understand." At their looks, she shrugged as she passed Rose another cooler. "Tha' there boy be who Maruyu often talks about back in Kure. But I not be knowing him well enough ta form an opinion quite yet on the lad. Not just yet."

That only caused Haruna to nod. "Haruna understands and thinks that Kiso makes for a very good Onee-San for Maruyu-San."

More then a little flustered, Kiso nodded as she scratched her cheek. "But of course I would." She then frowned a bit. "So I not be needing ta threaten the lad then?"

Softly giggling, Haruna shook her head. "No, Haruna is sure that Harry-Chan does not even realize it yet."

More giggling caused them to turn to Rose who shook her head. "Oh my, it will be rather interesting in a few years though. Master does remind me ever so much of Mistress Lily in that way..."

With a sigh, Kiso shook her head and went back to work. "Well then, no need ta be borrowing trouble I be thinking. So let's put our keels into this and get the work done."

A distance away though, Maruyu felt like her face was about to ignite as Harry continued to carry her. "Um, you can put me down now, Harry-Chan..."

Blinking, he looked down at her with a frown. "We're not that far from the Subpens though, Maruyu-Chan. And I'm pretty sure that I can carry you partway there at least."

Not really wanting to argue the point, Maruyu only leaned her head against Harry's chest and closed her eyes as she listened to his heartbeat. Something that slowly made her smile as it relaxed her with the rhythmic sound. Not long after, Maruyu dozed off with a happy expression on her face.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

More than a little excited, Harry examined what was in front of him in disbelief. Like the club house he shared with the Akatsukis, it was a former shipping crate modified into a small building. But that was where the similarities ended. Turning, he looked at Akashi who was leaning against the wall near a door to her workshop. "You did this... all for me? Really?"

Grinning herself, Akashi nodded and chuckled as she walked up beside him. "I did as a matter of fact." Crossing her arms, she looked over the small wooden shed and nodded. "Remember back during Easter when we got to talking about homework? And you mentioned that some of your potions homework might involve making the potions yourself?"

Slowly, Harry nodded as he did remember that talk. "Yeah, but..." Glancing at the building, he shook his head. "I didn't think something like this."

Only raising an eyebrow, Akashi gave him a knowing look. "You weren't going to brew them in your bedroom, were you?" At the sheepish look, she sighed in amusement. "Anyways... there's another reason that I built this here."

More then a little confused, Harry blinked up at her. "Really? Why?"

Tilting her head towards her workshop, Akashi ruffled his hair. "So that I can keep a close eye on you when you decide to make some potions. I'm within shouting distance after all so if something happens, I can be right there. Just remember, I'm giving you some trust so if you decide to make potions, let me know before hand so that I'll be close by, okay?"

With a large grin, Harry nodded. "Will do, Akashi-Oba!"

Gently chuckling, Akashi ruffled his hair again. "So then... how about we go ahead and have a look inside then, shall we?" At his nod, she walked up to the door and produced a key which she handed to him. "Now, this will be yours, Harry. I'll have my own just in case though if it's ever needed."

Taking the key, Harry nodded before he placed it into the lock and then, with a click, unlocked the small shed. Slowly, he opened the door and blinked before his eyes widened at the inside. "Wow..."

Just following him as he stepped inside, Akashi nodded as she looked around. "Yeah, not bad for a little work space." With a glance over her shoulder, she smiled as Harry looked around. "Now then, I might as well show you around a bit. Firstly, you'll notice that you have some portholes. Yes, they're actual portholes."

Quickly walking over to one, Harry's eyes widened some in glee. "Really? These are real portholes?"

Unable to help herself, Akashi let out a laugh before shaking her head. "Yes, they're real." With practiced ease, she opened one of them to the outside and air drifted in. "They'll let a lot of natural light in so you can see. Even better, you can open them to let fumes out." Then, Akashi gestured over her shoulder. "Which is also what the fan in the wall is for."

Blinking, Harry turned and stared at the fan which, sure enough, was embedded in the wall. "Wait, there's a fan here? Really?"

Only humming, the Repair ship nodded. "Yup, it leads to a chute to the outside. That way, if something happens, you can turn on the fan and it'll suck out any smoke or fumes. I've hooked it up to my workshop so that it can be powered. Close the door and the porthole for a moment and I'll show you."

Not quite sure, Harry did as asked and turned around only to see one of Akashi's fairies with a tiny device that was spewing smoke out. Tilting his head back, Harry could see it gathering near the ceiling and slowly filling up the room. "Uh, Akashi-Oba..."

In reply, she held up a finger as the fairy turned off the device. "One moment, now watch this." Reaching to the fan, she flicked a switch there and it spun up. Within moments, it was sucking all the smoke in the room outside and Harry's eyes widened as he felt his hair move in the breeze. "See?"

Grinning, Harry opened the door and looked out to where he could see the vent from which smoke was shooting out of. "That is so cool!"

As she shrugged and turned off the fan, Akashi snorted. "Like I said, if you're going to practice potions, then I'm making sure that you're as safe as possible when doing so." Moving a bit, she gestured at the two desks. "Now, these are for your actual potion preprations and creation. Both of them have stone tops to make it harder for any accident to harm you. The preparation desk is just a normal stone top, from what Haru told me it being stone means it's less likely to react to, or contaminate any ingrediants. Wood would have been fine, but..."

When she shrugged, Harry gave her a small grin. "You decided to go that extra bit. Thanks!"

However, to his surprise, Akashi winked at him. "I'm not done yet, Harry-Chan, Now, there's the table where you'll be making potions. LIke the preparation table, it's stone because it's going to be hard for any mistakes to, uh, melt through it and less likely to cause any reactions. But, I added a raised edge and the bottom is tilted just slightly. Any accidents will flow down the top and..." Crouching, she gestured for Harry to do the same and then pointed to the end. "Flow into that earthenware container right there that's attached to the drain in the table. Might still fail, but it'll give you enough time to get out."

Frowning, Harry looked around and then furrowed his eyebrows. "Um... how am I going to heat them though? I kind of need something to do that with."

Only shaking her head, Akashi stood up and walked over to a small cabinet. "That's what's in here." Opening it, she gestured at the items inside. "See? Some portable bunsen burners, mortar and pestile, and storage places for ingrediants. Heck..." Excited, she pulled out an object and then clipped it onto the edge of the preparation table. "I even got you one of those illuminated magnifying glasses!"

Jaw dropping, it took a few moments before Harry pulled himself together and hugged her. "Thank you, Akashi-Oba! Thank you!" When he pulled away though, he glanced around again. "Um... but isn't this a bit much?"

Tapping her chin, Akashi slowly nodded. "Some might think so, but safety first. But if it bothers you so much..." Harry only blinked as Akashi crouched down some and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You can repay me by both using this place and letting me watch every once in a while, okay?"

His eyebrows furrowing, Harry frowned some. "You want to watch me make potions? Why?"

Softly snorting, Akashi grinned a bit. "Because it's something that I don't know about, Harry-Chan. That means that it's interesting and..." Looking around, she leaned in. "Who knows? Some of what you brew up here could help out some of the girls. And I wouldn't say no to that."

All Harry did though was nod before he smiled and hugged her. "Sure, I can do that."

With a smile of her own, Akashi hugged him right back. 'Heh, I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do, Harry-Chan. I can't wait.'

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Looking over the map laid out in front of her, Katrina nodded at the positions marked. "Okay... so we're just about ready."

With a frown, one of the very few members who had any experience and who was made a Commander, tapped a spot with a claw. "I just hope that the bunkers on the cliff tops won't be spotted until they fire. And that the reinforced granite we made them with will take a decent enough bombardment."

Eyes roaming it, Katrina only shook her head. "They only need to hurt the Abyssals and buy time." When she looked up, she could spot each of the people in the bunker looking at her. "That's all we or anyone can do in this situation..." Another look though caused Katrina to chuckle. "I wonder if the Abyssals will fall for it."

As she grunted, one of them splayed out her crimson, feathered wings. "We can only hope. If they do... all the better for us." Then she frowned and looked at the cat woman. "You're positive with what will happen? That we weren't being lied to?"

Katrina slowly shook her head. "I trust Arthur a lot more then the other bastards in the British Ministry, Pheobe. But more then that, it's all we got to hope for at the moment."

Silence met her words as everyone there knew that she was correct. But before she could go any further though, the radio crackled and she turned as the radioman at the desk grabbed one of the magically modified walkie talkies and spoke into it. After a few moments, he turned and looked at them. "Azure's back from her patrol and is down at the docks!"

It took a few moments for them to realize the issue and they looked at the patrol schdule, a chill running down their backs. Pheobe slowly turned to the others. "... She's not due back for another three hours."

Turning, Katrina began walking a short distance from the table and then turned on her feet, vanishing with a crack. Reappearing on the docks, she quickly ran down the docks to where she could see Azure on her knees only barely being held up as she gasped and gulped down air. It took seconds for the cat woman to recogniz that her daughter was utterly, completely exhausted. "Azure? Honey?"

When she looked up though, Katrina felt her heart race at the sheer terror there. Then her heart froze at the words that came out of her daughter's mouth. "Mom... the Abyssals... they're coming straight at us with a fleet. I... I came back at full speed the whole way."

Quickly kneeling, Katrina pushed the worry for her adopted daughter aside for a moment. After all, going at her full speed meant that she likely was at the point of collapse. "How many, how fast? And how far?"

Swallowing another gulp of water, Azure's gills opened and closed as her body tried desparatly to absorb more oxygen. "I don't know how many of those Destroyers or Cruisers... but three Submarines... Four Battleships, four Carriers... and a Demon. Ten knots at the moment and they're about an hour out."

Even though she felt cold at that information, Katrina just put her hand on Azure's cheek. "Okay... thank you Azure, but you're done. Leave the rest up to us." Standing up, she snapped a claw at one of the people standing by. "You! Head to the sirens and have them activate them! Jeffery! I need you to get to the radios and go over them." Katrina gave a nod when both ran off and as one of the others began to pour potions into Azure's mouth to help her recover, even as she turned and grabbed a frightened Akeme by the shoulders. "Akeme? I need you to protect Azure, get her to safety. Can you do that?"

In the background, a siren not unlike that of an air raid one started up. "Y-yeah, I can do that." She then glanced at Azure. "I'll get her to safety, you can be sure of that."
Patting her on the shoulder, Katrina gave a small smile. "Thank you."

With a final bending down, she whispered something in Azure's hears before kissing her on the forehead. Then she turned and twisted before vanishing with a crack. Shaking off her own nervousness, Akeme crouched down and looked over her shoulder. "Well, come and get on, Azure. We got to get going." Despite wincing, Azure nodded as she climbed onto her friend's back before Akeme stood up and began to jog. Trying to joke, Akeme gave her a shaky grin. "Heh... you've gotten heavier, Azure."

Only softly snorting, Azure shook her head. "It's all muscle, trust me on that." That got her a laugh from her longtime friend as the two made their way quickly off the docks. By the time that they hit the main street, the last remaining residents were already streaming out from their homes with what they could carry on their backs. None of them were younger then teens or older then their forties as everyone else had long since been sent to the shelters. Watching them, Azure growled deep in her throat as she knew, just like everyone else, that their homes were likely to be destroyed in the conflict and that this would be the last time that they would be seeing their town as it was. "Dammit all... damn the ICW and the British Ministry... Dammit."

Nervously smiling, Akame adjusted her friend's position some. "W-well... At least we got help coming, right?"

Looking at her, Azure slowly nodded. "Yeah... I guess." After a few seconds, she shrugged some before looking up as the train station for the town came into view. There, on the tracks was a small train with smoke coming from it's engine as people boarded it. Something which gave Azure an idea. "So, uh... since you paid more attention in history and like trains, how about you tell me about the ones we got?"

That got her a look from Akame who guessed what she was doing, but took a deep breath. "W-well, the first railway was made of wood and mainly serviced the old mines. And they were pulled by the stronger members of the island. But after World War One in the Muggle world, there was a surplus of narrow gauge and we managed to get some and a couple of engines. Within a few years, we had the railway laid down through the major communities to make it easier for people and cargo to get around. The most famous engines are Little Red, Goldilocks, and Old Ben who was named for the Equine resident of the same name who pulled the original carts..."

As her friend continued to speak, Azure listened with half an ear as she glanced around. Sure enough, various people had begun to listen in as it distracted them somewhat from what was going on. It didn't take long before they reached the station and Azure tapped Akeme on the head. "Let me down, will you?" At her look, the shark girl gave a snort. "I'm still beat, but I'm not going to collapse."

Once she was let down though, she found her arm slung over Akeme's shoulder. Seeing Azure's raised eyebrow, Akeme just grinned. "Hey, you can lean on me you know." Getting a snort, the two of them made their way to the train and a short time later, Azure sat in her seat looking out the window. Hearing her whisper something, Akeme turned towards her with one raised eyebrow. "What was that?"

Simply continuing to look out, Azure glanced around to make sure that no one was within range to hear before taking a deep breath and letting it out. "I said... it's hard, you know? Leaving everything behind and knowing that it's likely not going to be back."

The whistle for the last boarding blew as Akeme leaned forward a bit. "Yeah... that's true." Looking out the window herself, she felt her eyes become wet. "A lot of memories about to be swept away..."

Feeling a hand on hers though, the unicorn girl turned to see Azure giving her a small smile before she squeezed Akeme's hand. "At least though we'll be here to remember and to make new ones, right?"

A watery smile on her face, Akeme nodded. "Right." Moments later though, the train jerked and she looked around. "We're moving!"

With a slow nod, Azure blinked. "Yeah, and we'll be at the shelters soon enough..." Internally though, she was more afraid then she let on. 'Please be safe, Mom...' Fifteen minutes later when the train pulled into a side track and came to a stop, she blinked. "What's going on?"

Eyes widening, Akeme tapped her on the shoulder and pointed out the window. "Look at that! It's one of the armored trains!"

Sure enough, passing at just that moment was another train, except it's carriages and engine had armor plating and were bristling with anti-air guns. Following it with her eyes as it headed in the direction that they had come from, Azure swallowed the lump in her throat. "Yeah... that's kind of impressive."
_____________________________________________________________________________
Reappearing with a pop, Katrina walked towards the dock where various people were already getting the ships ready to head out. The one that she was aiming for was a silver haired man who's ears rotated here and there as an otter tail moved behind him. "Bartholomew? Are you and the others ready to head out?"

With a sigh, he closed his watch and turned towards her. "We'll be heading out soon, Ma'am to meet these blighters head on. As for being ready..." There was a far away look in his eyes before he shook his head. "One is never ready for when the battle erupts, but they can be as prepared as they can be."

As she came to a stop beside him, Katrina looked out as one of the converted landing ships began to leave the dock, the cannons on it moving in their turrets as crews ducked under the armor that had been added to the forward bay. "There's a fleet of them, Bartholomew. Several Battleships and Carriers against our small force..."

Humming, the old salt reached up and twisted the end of his rather impressive mustache. "Yes, I suppose that they would come in force. But at least they gave us four days after the ICW and the British left." Then Bartholomew reached for the front of his jacket and tugged it into place. "No matter, if it's a fight they want, then it's a fight that we'll be giving them!"

Only closing her eyes, Katrina shook her head slowly. "Don't take any unnecessary risks, you old otter. All that we need to do is buy time for the arrival of the shipgirls and that's it. No need to do anymore then that."
For several seconds, Bartholomew was quiet before he turned to her. "There's always risks, Ma'am. Each and every one of us are volunteers and we know that better then some. As for buying time, we'll buy it. And the Thunderchild will be right there at the head of our fleet with me at the helm."

A shout though attracted their attention and a much younger man jogged up, this time with a dog tail behind him and came to a stop with a salute. "Sir!" He then gave a nod to Katrina who returned it. "Ma'am, we're all ready to cast off and head out."

There was a thin smile on Bartholomew's face as he nodded. "I see, good work Mister Smyth." Reaching up for his hat, he grabbed the brim and tipped it slightly towards Katrina. "Ma'am, we'll be heading out now. You get to safety and leave the fighting to us."

With that, he turned and began to walk towards the Thunderchild as Katrina stood there watching. One of the dockworkers then came over and gently tugged on her arm. "Madam Mayor? We really need to be leaving now."

However, she only shook her head as she watched the gangplank get pulled away. "No... I'm going to stay here until the last of them leave." For a moment, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening her eyes again. But this time there were some tears there. "It's the least that I can do for them."

Blinking, the worker only nodded and turned to see the Thunderchild hoist the flag of the island. It was rather simple, a medieval boat with a paw print above it, and stylized wings on either side of the paw print. Katrina then brought her hand up to her head and gave all the ships a salute as they headed out, the personnel that she could see returning them as they sailed out of the cove. Slowly, the worker nodded several minutes later as the last ship left the cove. "There they go."

Even as it vanished past the cliffs, Katrina nodded as she blinked away the tears on her face. "Yes... there they go to the deaths that I ordered them, brave souls one and all..." Closing her eyes, her lips barely moved. "May whatever higher beings there are watch over them on the dark seas that they now find themselves sailing."

For several moments, she stood there before finally turning and, grasping the arm of the worker, apparating out.
________________________________________________________________
Walking into the command center just ahead of Hartmann, Cunningham looked around and nodded. "What's going on?"

One of the Lieutenants glanced over her shoulder and let out a breath. "It's Saint Brendan's Isle, Sir! We've received word from them that they have a mid-sized Abyssal Fleet heading right for them."

His jaw clenching, Cunningham nodded. "I suppose that it was to be expected. The Abyssals wait for no one after all."

Taking up a spot beside his British counterpart, Hartmann frowned as he looked at the screen which showed the view from a drone. "How far away is Radetzky and her force? They should be close."

After a few moments, one of the other personnel spoke up. "They're about an hour behind the Abyssals, but they've already been contacted. They're pushing themselves as hard as they can, Sir and will be there, but..."

With a glance to where Hood and Bismarck took up positions by the wall, Cunningham sighed. "They won't get there until the battle is well and truly underway."

He then frowned at the screen as the drone punched through the edges of a storm cloud, the seas already turning choppy from the Abyssal's approach. Within moments though, the isle was in full view and Bismarck straightened a bit. "Well, that is a rather beautiful island, isn't it?"

Beside her, Hood only nodded as her eyes scanned the waves, though she glanced to the side where Dreadnought walked in. "It is... A shame that the Abyssals feel the need to ruin it for everyone. Rather rude of them."

That got her a snort from Bismarck and a sigh from Cunningham. But before either of them could comment, Bismarck frowned as she spotted what looked like ships sailing out. "What in the world...? Hood, do you know what sort of ship that is?"

Slowly, the Battlecruiser shook her head as the drone focused in on the ship at the head of the group. "The rest look like someone put armor and cannons on landing ships, but the one at the front? I don't have the foggiest I'm afraid. It does look rather familiar though for some reason, like I should recognize it..." A laugh though caused her to turn to Dreadnought who was shaking her head. "Do you recognize it?"

Nodding, Dreadnought frowned as she took a step forward. "As I should, that's a Torpedo Ram. Before my time somewhat, but I know one when I see it. Looks rather like Polythemus, but... the guns she has are more modern."

There was a moment of silence before Cunningham turned towards her in disbelief. "Are you telling me... that the islanders are apparently sending out a Pre-World War One relic to fight the Abyssals? That is what you are telling me?"

At the nod, Bismarck's jaw dropped. "You have to be joking, Dreadnought! There's no way... they'd be sailing to their deaths!"

For several moments, Hood was quite before she reached up and took off her hat. "I think that they know that. And they're doing so anyways to fight for their home, something that I cannot fault them for."

Staring at her, Bismarck finally shook her head as she turned back to the screen as the Abyssals appeared. "Mein Gott..."
______________________________________________________________________________

On the bridge of Thunderchild, Bartholomew nodded as he shifted as they plowed through the surf. "Steady she goes, Mister Smyth. Are the gunners ready?"

Gulping down some nervousness, Smyth nodded as he looked out onto the fleet approaching them as he lowered the small radio. "Aye Sir, gunners reporting that they are all ready."

With a hum, Bartholomew nodded as he continued to stare at his enemy. "They do seem rather confident in their chances, do they not? Bloody blighters."

Just blinking, Smyth nodded with a frown. "They do at that, Sir. Then again, I suppose from their view we're just ducks ready to be shot."

A bloodthirsty grin then crossed Bartholomew's face as he nodded. "Very well then, but we're ducks with fangs. Order the gunners to fire on my command! We'll wait a short time for the range to close a bit more first. Aim for those Wo class first, they are the most dangerous to the island. Load the GF Rounds."

Smyth nodded as he brought the radio to his lips. "Gunners, prepare to fire on command with GF rounds! Aim for the Jellyfish heads!" At the look of bemusement, he shrugged. "That's what the men and women call them, Sir. And it suits them I think."

Chuckling, the old salt nodded. "Aye, it does at that." It was roughly four minutes later when he finally nodded. "Fire at will!"

Quickly nodding, Smyth brought the radio up. "All ships, fire at will!"

Moments later, he was answered as all the ships in Saint Brendan's fleet fired, Thunderchild's the loudest. Even as the rounds sailed towards them, the Abyssals didn't bother dodging outside the Destroyers. None of the rounds were large enough to truly damage the Capital ships.

Something that turned out to be a big mistake as the WO class found themselves hit and soon screaming as the rounds set them aflame.

Even though the people of the isle were not allowed wands outside those who came from the outside due to being "Non-humans", they were able to learn and practice potions and alchemy. Centuries before, one of them had brought the secrets of "Greek Fire" to the island and, in the time since, the islanders had continued to develop it and tweak it to become more effective. And the fruits of their labors were apparent as the alchemical mixture rapidly burned through the Abyssal's hulls, melted, corrupted steel flowing like wax in the extreme heat even as a second salvo hit home with the same rounds. Soon enough, it reached their hangers were they stored ammunition and fuel for their fighters.

The explosions as they detonated and sank were enough to stun the Abyssals for enough time that the next salvo slammed home on several Cruisers and Battleships. And while the armor on the Battleships were able to withstand it, the same could not be said for the Cruisers which soon received heavy damage. Not even the Destroyer Demon leading them managed to escape from getting damaged. And then the Abyssals then began to fire back at the Defenders who began to attempt to dodge what was heading their way...

On the bridge of the Thunderchild, Bartholomew winced as he watched one of his ships practically disintegrate as one of the shells from the Abyssal Battleships struck home, the spells protecting it briefly flashing before they failed and allowed the rest of the shells to impact. With a quick prayer to those who just died, he grimaced. "All gunners! Pick your targets and keep firing! FOR SAINT BRENDAN'S!"

His answer were the crews to fire their guns once more, this time scoring a hit on an Abyssal Destroyer and sinking it as half became frozen and the other burned under the darkening skies...
____________________________________________________________________

Jaw slack, Hood stared at the screen as all noise stopped in the Command Center. Slowly, she turned to Bismarck who had a similar expression on her face. "Did... you did just see that, right? I am not imagining what I saw?"

Only blinking, Bismarck shook her head. "No, you did not, Hood. Or, if you did, then I am imagining things as well. They managed to kill those Carriers. But how?"

Grunting, Hartmann shook his head a bit. "Yes, but now the Abyssals know what to expect and will take them seriously. Still... an impressive showing nonetheless."

Hands on the table in front of him, Cunningham glanced at the map which showed the position of the shipgirls heading towards the island. 'Still forty-five minutes out.' As another defense ship blew apart, he winced. 'Hopefully, they can hold on long enough.'

Moments later, it seemed that prayers were answered as geysers of water erupted among the Abyssals. Without being asked, one of the personnel manning the stations in the Command Center spoke up. "They're firing coastal artillery at the Abyssals. Heavy caliber guns at that."

Slowly nodding, Cunningham frowned. "Yes, but if we know then so do the Abyssals and they'll be targeting them soon enough, or just avoiding them." Fifteen minutes later, as the ragged remains of the defense fleet pulled away to regroup under the shelter of the coastal artillery, the badly damaged Torpedo Ram among them, a group of Abyssals lead by a Battleship got around the coastal artillery and had landed on the island itself. Heavy Cruisers and Destroyers alike plowed through the forest as they looked to be trying to out maneuver the coastal guns and hit them from behind or target the main town which had smoke rising from several strikes. "Dammit."

Glancing at him, Dreadnought soon returned to watching. "Hopefully, they have more tricks up their sleeves."
______________________________________________________________________

Ear pressed against the dirt wall, a rather dirty woman hummed before she grinned showing buck teeth. Pulling back, she tapped the wall with a claw-like finger while her other hand adjusted an old mining helmet. "Well boys, it seems like the Abyssals are practically right on top of us!"

One of her crew snorted as he looked up as dirt shook from the ceiling of the chamber. "As if we couldn't notice by now. So... show time?"

The woman laughed and nodded. "Showtime!" She then pointed at another woman with rabbit ears. "Jen! Word from the others?"

Said woman snorted as she tapped on a pipe embedded in the wall and listened. It was several seconds later when she could hear returning taps. "Yup! All ready for each of us."

Each of them grinned as their leader walked up and lit a match. "Well then, we're not about to hang around. Grab that Portkey, fellows, we're heading out! Hopefully they like our little welcoming gift." Placing the match against a fuse to several sticks of dynamite, she put it down next to a pile of bags and other items. Moments later, she grabbed the rope and they vanished with a final word. "Bada-boom!"

Then the room was silent except for the hissing of the fuse, the dirt showering down from the ceiling...

And the several tons of high explosive the dynamite now sat on and which was underneath the marching Abyssals. Just one of several such rooms that were in the area and were now just waiting for the fuses to reach their ends...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Chunks of rock and earth were still falling from the sky as several clouds rose up from where the Abyssals had been moving across the island. A large number had been destroyed as the buried mines beneath them had detonated. Only those at the very edges escaped with only moderate damage. For those not in either group, they had been mostly crippled though alive and still trying to get out of what had turned into a grave for many of their number.

One of those was a Ne-Class whose keel had been broken by one of the detonations. Snarling, she gripped the dirt and pulled herself away from the craters, the whole time cursing the inhabitants. 'I'll kill them, I'll kill them all slowly and make sure that they suffer for this!'

Just as she reached the edges of the explosion's damage, she heard something and looked up. From inside the forest, shapes moved and then her jaw dropped as tanks, Shermans, came barreling out of the woods. At least five of them stopped and took aim at her even as she tried to bring one of her few remaining guns. Inside the of the tanks, there were grins though none so viscious as the Commander's. "TAKE AIM!"

Not even a moment later, another sound caused the Abyssal to look up and stare as what looked like WWII aircraft came flying over the tree tops, their bottoms just clearing the trees. Behind them, were members on brooms and flying carpers as they began to dump the contents of boxes and bags on the injured Abyssals. As the alchemical bombs fell and just before the tanks fired and blew off her head, the Abyssal only had time to say one thing. "Now that just isn't fair, dammit!"

Then it no longer mattered as several shells slammed in her face.

Elsewhere, another one of the tanks continued to move forward as Greek fire sprayed from it's turret, setting both ground and Abyssals aflame. In one of the lead aircraft, the pilot nodded as his bomb struck an Abyssal Destroyer in it's back, punching through the weakened armor and blowing it in half. Pulling out a radio, he took a breath. "Okay people, drop what's left and let's skedaddle. We're not going to hang around any longer then we need to!"

Several minutes later as the first Abyssal shells fired by the Battleships landed in the area, one of the Tank Commanders grunted inside his tank as it was shaken by the explosions. "Everyone, retreat and regroup on the double! We've done all that we can here. Throw out the smoke and cover us!"

Hatches popped open and cannisters were thrown out which threw out plumes of smoke which joined that spewing from the engines of the tanks as they reversed back into the forest and out of sight. Behind them, most of the Abyssals and six of their number, as well as two planes and six broomstick riders, laid dead.
___________________________________________________________________________

With the destruction of the WO class Abyssals, most of the Abyssal airpower was taken out of the equation before it even got the chance to be used. Most, but not all as they had sent up a CAP as they approached the island. A CAP that had survived the destruction of their Abyssal motherships and were now extremely angry. Said anger was focused on islanders as the remaining Abyssal aircraft decided to hurt the people of Saint Brendan's. Due to how the naval battle was going, they chose another target.

The main town of the island, which they flew at top speed towards.

On the portion of the train tracks which was perpandicular to the side of the town that faced away from the sea, a pair of omniculars were lowered as the stern looking face frowned. Two wings on her back spread out though as she snorted. "Kevin, get the others ready, we got an Abyssal fight coming in."

Saluting, the eighteen year old nodded with the best fearless face he could pull off, which wasn't that good. "Yes, Ma'am! Right away!" Grabbing the radio, he began to bark into it as sides of the armored train moved down and large guns slid out into view. "All gunners to position!"

Wings flapping, the hawk woman chuckled before she began to jog towards the train, reaching it just after Kevin. Holding out her hand, she got the radio and began to speak. "Okay people, this is no longer a drill. Raise those guns forty six degrees, aim for... South-Southeast, Fuses set for fifteen thousand and get ready to fire. Secondary gunners, hold steady!"

Nervously swallowing as he pulled his own omniculars out, Kevin trembled a bit. "That's... a lot of aircraft heading for us... Um, Steph? You sure that we can pull this off?"

For a moment, the hawk woman didn't say anything before she turned and gave him a wink as she tried to keep her own terror from showing, "Sure can, Kev. Now you just trust in our guys and we'll get through this. Hell! Since you just became legal I'll even buy you your first drink down at the pub."

Slowly nodding, Kevin nodded best that he could. "I-I'll hold you to that..."

There was a smile on Steph's face before she turned back to the approaching Abyssals and took a deep breath. Internally, she was calling up predatory instincts normally held down as the pupils in her golden eyes shrank to dots. Part of her mused it was so much easier that way to keep from gibbering in fear and provide an outward expression of calm. Slowly, she brought her radio to her mouth. "Steady... not yet..." Steph continued to watch the Abyssals get closer and closer. "Not yet... hold it... hold it..."

Looking between her and the Abyssals, as well as through the door to the armored train from which he could see the others looking scared nearly to death, Kevin whined a bit. "Steph...!"

Finally, she let out a sigh before screeching. "FIRE!"

Nearly as one, the guns fired and the armored carriages vanished behind clouds of smoke. By the time that the Abyssal aircraft realized the danger they were in, it was too late and the shells detonated in their path. Under most circumstances, flak, even from such old guns, would have damaged them. However, the islanders had pulled yet another alchemical trick from their bag. One invented by accident and normally used for showing off when used in small amounts.

They called it "Bottled Lightning", and one member of the ICW from America who had been stationed there called it "A thunderstorm in a bottle". Under most circumstances, it would be useless. The lightning inside, while powerful, couldn't be aimed. It would just jump wherever and was dangerous unless the user was a distance away. But here though, it had been used inside the AA shells and the bottles containing it had broken when the shells burst which discharged them...

Into clouds full of extremely conductive, metal fragments right in the path of the Abyssals.

Much later in an after action report, one of the Royal Navy members in the Control Center that Admirals Cunningham and Hartmann were using would make a comment: "It was as if the Abyssal aircraft were flies that had flown straight into a spider's web made of lightning." Bolts arched and leapt between the pieces of metal in flight. And from them, they struck the Abyssal aircraft, damaging them directly. But it was the ammunition that said aircraft carried which turned out to be their doom as the electricity set it off.

By the time the storm of bolts had faded, they Abyssals had lost at least half their number with the rest damaged. Just in time for the second salvo to hit them and for the secondary guns to begin firing.
Soon enough, the skies were clear of aircraft once more though one of the carriages had been hit, and obliterated, by an Abyssal bomb.
_________________________________________________________________________
Coughing as he waved away the smoke, Bartholomew shook his head as he glanced to see that the self-repair charms had slowed in repairing the damage that he could see. On the deck of the Thunderchild, one of her turrets was a smoking ruin and aflame. Even from here smell flesh being cooked. Elsewhere, there were other damages apparent. It was only the heavy use of wards and angled shields that prevented her from being killed. And in those cases, they only worked because of how long the islanders had been layering them and the size of the ship.

Most of the other ships were not so lucky.

However, all of this quickly passed through Bartholomew's mind as he growled and looked starboard. There, the Abyssal fleet continued it's way. They had guessed the range of the guns on Thunderchild and knew that they could not be hit any more by them. Now they were more focused on the shore batteries which they were firing on. With each passing minute, more and more of the batteries were silenced. And once they were... the Abyssals could make a landing and become entrenched.

Everyone watching knew, just knew that if the Abyssals managed that, it would turn into a long and bloody affair. Gently, the old salt brought out his pocket watch and flipped it open to gaze at it. A cough though caused him to turn to see Smyth get to his feet. "Still with us, are you Mister Smyth?"

Slowly nodding, the First Mate gulped down some air as he grabbed the wheel. "Aye, aye, Sir. I was just resting my eyes for a moment. Shant happen again."

A glance though caused Bartholomew to quickly make his way over. "Lad, you should get below decks. Why, you're missing your arm!"

Blearily blinking, the younger man glanced to his side where, indeed, his left arm was gone from midway between the shoulder and elbow. Shrapnel from an Abyssal strike just in front of the bridge having been the cause for it's removel. Even now, the tourniquet was dripping blood. "Just a scratch, Sir. Won't make a difference." Swallowing even as his face paled, he took a deep breath. "Orders, Sir."

For several moments Bartholomew stared at him before glancing around the Bridge where various people were either getting patched up or helping. Then he turned back to the young man and his voice, when he spoke, was soft. "You have a younger brother, do you not, Mister Smyth?"

With a jerky nod, Smyth nodded. "Aye, Sir, I do. He just turned nine... I love him so much, you know, he's an awesome little brother and I know that he'll grow up to be just as awesome a man. Wants to be like me."

Only blinking, Bartholomew let out a breath. "He's in the shelters now, right?" At the nod, he held out his open pocket watch to show that there was a picture of a little girl in it. "My granddaughter. She's... a lovely four year old at the moment and loves her grandfather to bits. Jessica is her name and she'll grow up to be a fine lass." Then the old salt clapped his hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Let's make sure that they grow up."

Just swallowing, Smyth gave the best smile that he could. "Aye, Sir. Make sure that they grow up. Your orders then?"

Turning toward the wheel, Bartholomew glanced down at the pocket watch. "Tell the engine room that we need more then top speed, tell them to go to emergency power. We're making a run of it."

It was as if the bridge had gone silent before Smyth nodded and limped over to the pipe down to the engine room. Flipping the lid, he took a deep breath and called down. "Engine room! Emergency power! Full speed ahead!"

Down in the engine room, the main engineer paused as he heard the order and then slumped his shoulders. "Bloody bastards are doing it then. Well, nothing for it." Walking over to the pipe, he shouted back. "AYE, AYE! FULL SPEED, EMERGENCY POWER!" Then he ran over to the others and began to push them out the hatch. "Out! Out all of you!"

Not sure what was going on, one of the few women turned back to him. "What the hell, Elric are you doing!? We're fucking needed down here!"

All she got though was Elric glaring at her before he bodily picked her up and began to carry her to the hatch. "No you're not. All that's needed is me now and that's it. Plopping her down, he shoved her. "NOW MOVE DAMN YOU! AND SHUT BOTH THE INNER AND OUTER HATCHES BEHIND YOU!" Once the last was gone, he slammed the inner hatch shut and locked it as he felt the ship begin to tightly turn.
_________________________________________________________________________

Inside the Command Room in Britain, everyone was silent as they watched the battle unfold before them. More then one of them murmured prayers for those they were watching dying against the Abyssals. Jaw working, Cunningham let out an explosive sigh before he turned to Hartmann who could barely turn away from the video from the drone. "How long?"

Quickly looking at the clock, the German Admiral frowned and shook his head. "It's been thirty five minutes. Far better then expected, but... I doubt that Radetzky and her fleet will arrive before the majority of the Abyssal fleet makes landfall and begins to dig in even with how they're pushing it."

One of the Lieutenants only shook his head in disbelief. "They put up a bloody good fight though. Maybe they'll manage it."

Beside him, one of his fellow techs shook her head. "Like what? They'd need a miracle to stop the Abyssals from landing."

At just that moment though, Hood's eyes widened some. "The Torpedo Ram! It's turning towards the Abyssals!"

Eyes widened throughout the room while Dreadnought muttered to herself, eyebrows furrowing. "What are they thinking? They can't possibly get close enough to break up the fleet, so what could it be...?"
Softly snorting, Bismarck shook her head. "From what I have seen, it's likely pure insanity." It was then that she noticed that Hood had taken her hat on and laid it on her chest. "Hood?"

Hood just let out a deep breath and frowned. "I'm going to watch them, Bismarck. My eyes won't leave those brave souls whatever they do, they've earned that much."

Very slowly, Bismarck removed her own hat. "They have."

Frowning, one of the techs leaned towards his screen and frowned. "Sir? I think that I can bring up her name plate."

With just a glance at him, Cunningham nodded. "Do it, so that we can at least know her name." Moments later, one of the larger screens focused in on the ship's bow, which was slicing through the waves. After two seconds, the image cleared and they could all read the name there despite the damage. Hearing a sharp intake of breath from Dreadnought, Cunningham felt like both laughing and crying at the name there as he realized what they were about to do.

Thunderchild.
________________________________________________________________________________

Deep in Thunderchild's engine room, her chief engineer punched through a pane of glass covering a box. Unheeding the cuts and scratches on his arm, he grabbed hold of the lever there and pulled back. With a click, the valve that it was holding closed opened and an alchemical mixture sprayed into her boilers. Almost immedately, the temperture inside the engine room soared to levels that would have killed most people.
Thankfully, having dragon blood flowing through his veins, Chief Engineer Elric was not most people. Behind the ship, the water churned as the ship's speed increased.

Nestled deep in her fleet, the Destroyer Demon scowled as she looked at the island. It was supposed to be a quick battle. After destroying the shore settlements with Battleship cannons, and the inland settlements with bombs and guns of their aircraft, they would land the Destroyers and Cruisers. Said Abyssals would then hunt down and kill the remaining inhabitants while the Destroyer Demon set up a base to produce more Abyssals.

Abyssals that would then be used to strike at the shipgirl outposts on the Azores and Canaries before finally mustering enough to punch right through the line at the Strait of Gibraltar and into the Mediterranean.

Yet absolutely nothing had gone right since they came within sight of the island. They were not supposed to have warships. Though, granted, once she saw what said warships were she was torn between laughing and being insulted. One antique and several converted landing ships. Compared to her fleet, they were nothing! They should have been nothing! But just as she was about to give the order to sink them, they had fired and the shells slammed home. Whatever that substance in them was, it melted though Abyssal armor as if it was hot water on butter. Minutes later, they had lost their Carriers and most of their Battleships had been damaged by that hellish flame. She herself could feel the burn that ruined one eye on herself.

Then had come the fire from what had to be heavy naval cannon being used for coastal artillery.

Which had caused them to try and circle around said batteries and hit a section of the shore that was not covered by them. Even now, the Destroyer Demon could see the smoke rising above the ruined area where her landing forces had been. The explosions had caused even her to flinch.

She would have killed the Abyssal who had given them such faulty information... If said WO had not be among those already killed in this fuckup. But she just knew that the Princess would be taking it out of her hide once they were done. Hopefully, she could blame the dead WO as a traitor and-

A screech from one of her accompanying Cruisers caused her to turn and she had to blink. The human ship, the old relic that had caused so much pain, was now heading straight for them. From its smokestacks gushed black smoke streaked through with flames of various colors as it built up speed. With a growl, she waved at it as her Destroyers listened. "Kill that bitch before she offends both myself and the Princess even more. Use your torpedoes and then kill any survivors."

With another screech, her Destroyers rushed forward before launching their torpedoes. Their bubble trails visible to all as they headed straight for the Thunderchild. Slowly, a laugh built up from the Destroyer Demon as she watched before she blinked several moments later. "What the fuck!?"

Inside Thunderchild's engine room, Elric grabbed a lever there that was midway pulled. Then he grunted with exertion, streams of sweat running off him in the extreme heat as he strained. Slowly, the lever moved further and further until it clicked into place and he collapsed. Glancing at the boilers which were glowing red hot, Elric chuckled and patted the floor, though the heat dissapated just a touch. "There we go, girly. You show those bastards what you are made of!"

The lever, in the position it was in, completed a magical circuit. Usually only partially opened, it lightened the ship enough for her guns not to bother her too much as well as powering the ward scheme that protected her. But now? Fully completed? Heat from the boilers not used for propulsion was now being converted to magic and flooding those spells laid into her. Everyone on board could feel their hair begin to stand on end as well as the shift as Thunderchild sped up and slowly lifted higher and higher in the water. While she might still be too heavy to fly...

She practically raced across the waves, barely touching them as her propellers continued to speed her along. The Abyssal torpedoes all missed, just passing harmlessly beneath her. Within moments, just before they punched through the Abyssal lines, Bartholomew glanced around the bridge. All he recieved were nods from each member there before he turned back as they found themselves surrounded by the Abyssals and took a deep breath, his deep voice echoing. "FIRE ALL REMAINING GUNS! LAUNCH SIDE TORPEDOES! GIVE THESE BLOODY BASTARDS EVERYTHING WE GOT! FOR OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN!"

Behind him, Smyth took a deep breath. "FOR OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS!"

"FOR SAINT BRENDAN'S!"

As she sped past, both surprise and shock, as well as her speed, meant that the Abyssals took too long to react. But by then, her decks erupted in fire and gunsmoke as they picked their targets. Even the few machine guns opened up, all of them spitting out fury at the Abyssals. Meanwhile, her side mounted torpedo launchers expelled magically modified torpeoes as fast as they could. In tight among the Abyssals as they were, they could not miss.

It also turned out that neither could the Abyssals. Again and again, they fired, their shells flashing against the wards that lit up with the impacts. Some of the force still made it through, buckling hull plates and throwing personnel with bone crushing force. But through the smoke and hellfire, Thunderchild continued. At the wheel and straining to hold it steady alongside Bartholomew, Smyth coughed and noticed the edges of his sight begin to darken. "Y-you know. Sir... this makes me think of something that I read once... that seems rather right for this."

Grunting as his muscles strained, Bartholomew chuckled best he could as he could see the Destroyer Demon ahead of them snarling hatefully as she brought up her guns. "Well then, out with it lad."

Lips turning upward some, Smyth nodded. "T-to the last... I grapple with thee... From Hell's heart..."

Bartholomew nodded and continued as they got close enough to see the Destroyer Demon's fangs as she screamed at them. "From Hell's heart I stab at thee!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Bartholomew could see what looked like a transparent woman with tears running from her eyes. Her clothes scorched and shredded with cuts and wounds all over, but standing tall. On her head, ears moved this way and that as a fox tail swished behind her. Then both him and Smyth, joined by a female voice, shouted the last line as they made a hard turn. "FOR HATE'S SAKE I SPIT AT THEE!"

The Destroyer Demon, at seeing them come close had brought up her guns to aim at the approaching ship. She guessed that it was going to use it's guns at close range to try and wound her with either guns or torpedoes, though she had aimed slowly to make damn sure that this time it would die. It would pass close enough for her to likely backhand it...

Which was why as she fired and blew the bridge apart, she was stunned as the ship turned hard towards her with the stern dropping into the water to raise the bow clear of the water. There, water streaming from it, was something that looked like a ship's version of a spike. Around it magic glowed powering the shield charms and piercing charms that overlaid it, together making it sharper and stronger then it had any right to be... Which allowed it to then punch into the Demon's chest, burying itself deep and pushing her back. Inside the Destroyer Demon, her crew of imps at the impact zone had just picked themselves up when the "Spike's" tip flipped up, revealing it was a torpedo tube moments before it fired one torpedo and then another down the corridor, the lid flipping close after the second. Several imps leapt out of the way only for their eyes to widen as they realized that said torpedoes were about to crash into a bulkhead, seconds before they were all consumed by the explosions.

Externally, it was rather more impressive as the Destroyer Demon seemed to expand before the explosions reached her internal magazine and she blew apart. Meanwhile, Thunderchild herself found the first twenty feet of her bow torn apart by the explosion. As she fell back into the water, spent, the shore batteries homed in on the panicking Abyssals while what remained of the Defense Fleet began to fire from both sides. And in the midst of it all, Thunderchild, wounded as bad as she was, began to float lower and lower, even as a woman appeared at what was left of her bow, glaring at all the remaining Abyssals.

Roughly ten minutes later, one of the Abyssals realized that Thunderchild still had not sank fully, her magic attempting to keep her afloat. The Battleship snarled as it turned and brought up her guns, ready to end it...

Just as several rounds slammed into her, punching through weakened armor and detonating. Moments later, there was just a burning oil slick as the Abyssals could hear music blaring on the radio and turned as a fleet of shipgirls, lead by a Pre-Dreadnought Battleship, Radetzky, holding a flag aloft. Within moments, the Abyssals found themselves under fire from the shipgirl fleet, which had several Battleships and Battlecruisers as well as other ships, the shore Batteries, and the very few defense ships that had survived.

Not a single Abyssal escaped that day.

And as she passed the slowly sinking Thunderchild, Radetzky blinked as she beheld a woman kneeling beside a dead crewmember and nodded before throwing her a rope. Taking it, the woman just held it as the shipgirl, soon joined by others, began to tow the flagship of Saint Brendan's back towards the shore. Two of them coming alongside with their anchor chains and pulling upwards to keep her as afloat as possible...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Having been given the all clear, Katrina popped into existence on the shingle beach just outside of the town and stared as cobblestones shifted underfoot. For years, the islanders had used it as a source of cobblestone. But now it was mostly taken up by the hull of the Thunderchild, having been dragged up by several shipgirls. Hand raising to her mouth, Katrina could only stare as smoke still rose from where the bridge had been as well as the ship's other wounds.

And then she spotted where some of the shipgirls were helping members of the surviving crew off the vessel. Slowly, Katrina walked forward and reached Thunderchild in time to see the Chief Engineer come to the side. Even where she was, Katrina could see the burns that covered him and swore that his hair was smoking. But it was the tears that ran down his face that told the true story. Then he turned to the woman beside him and the cat woman found her eyes widening. Said woman was missing one of her hands midway down from the elbow and was covered in cuts, scrapes, and burns barely covered by her tattered clothing.

When said woman turned towards Katrina, she also realized that she had a rather gruesome head wound with a missing eye.

Much to Katrina's surprise though, Elric was the one lowered by the woman and once he reached the ground, she gave a glance around. Then she hopped off the side of Thunderchild and landed in a crouch before stumbling. Thankfully, she was caught by one of the shipgirls next to her and, even though Katrina could not hear their conversation, she understood the body language. But before she could get any closer, she spotted Elric walking towards her and cleared her throat. "Elric... Where's Bartholomew?"

Even though she already knew the answer, the shake of the head caused her to close her eyes and mutter a prayer. Elric took a deep, shuddering breath before letting it out. "I was down in the engine room so I didn't see it for myself. But... the Captain was on the bridge steering her when they killed the Demon."

Simply nodding, Katrina sighed and shook her head. "I was afraid of that... What about the injured?"

All that Elric did was point towards a nearby wagon which had several magicals with some medical experience and had stayed behind working on the worst of the cases so they could be moved to the island hospital. "They're working hard but... We lost two, Amy and Jake."

Only sighing, Katrina closed her eyes. "Two more letters that I will need to write." At the surprise directed towards her, the cat woman had a bitter smile on her face. "I was the one who sent them out there knowing that they would likely die, so it is only fair that I be the one to inform their families." Getting a nod from him, Katrina turned to regard the injured woman who was walking towards them, though she then blinked as she more closely examined her. It was obvious that she had been wearing the uniform for the Defense Fleet, closely patterned on the only Royal Navy uniforms at the turn of the century. But it was more her features that caught attention.

For one thing, she was rather shorter then normal height though that could be because due to her ears and tail, she was obviously of fox blood. Katrina hadn't seen one so... developed though before. Then she looked closer and realized that the woman's tail had scales from which fur grew. And there on her head were tiny horns barely hidden by her hair. Before Katrina could say anything though, the woman came to a stop and gave a shaky salute. "Saint Brendan's Defense Ship... Thunderchild, reporting Ma'am." Then she fell to her knees with Katrina grabbing hold of her and keeping her from falling any further. "I... I'm sorry, Ma'am... I tried, I tried to protect them and...."

Katrina just blinked and then pulled her into a hug, words coming from her even as she tried to shake off her shock at what she had just heard. "There, there... It's okay. You did your duty, far more then one could have expected."

Walking up, Radetzky placed a hand on the sniffling shipgirl and then looked at Katrina. "We should get her to a bath to heal..." For a moment, she looked lost before shaking it off. "You wouldn't happen to have any bathtubs available? We need to make some repair fluid for her to soak in."

The cat woman slowly nodded. "You can use mine, my house escaped the damage from my reports." Raising a hand, she gestured one of the people there over. "Ash here can guide you to it, and here's my keys."

More then a little surprised, Radetzky took the offered keys and nodded. "Thank you."

Only nodding, Katrina then looked down at Thunderchild who, even now, was attempting to get back to her feet. "It seems that we have our own shipgirl now, doesn't it?"
As he nodded, Elric turned towards Thunderchild's hull. "We do have a small problem and... I don't know what we're going to do." Hearing a snort, he turned to Radetzky who smirked a bit. "What?"

Lips twitching, the Pre-Dreadnought shook her head. "Actually, as she heals, her actual hull should repair itself." At their looks of surprise, she shrugged. "Happened with one of the American shipgirls, Texas I think. Her real hull got damaged but as she healed in the bath, it was also restored."

Glancing at the beached ship, Katrina only nodded. "That's a relief. She's... special to us, more so even now."

Just nodding, Radetzky slowly smiled before crouching down and helping Thunderchild to her feet. "It's not an issue, now then, we'll be heading to get that bath and you, my good friend, all healed up." While they walked off, Katrina could hear the Battleship ask a question. "By the way, are you named after that ship in War of the Worlds by any chance?"

Other then hearing Thunderchild laugh, Katrina missed the rest as Elric tapped her on the shoulder. When she turned, he gave her a frown. "Neither the Ministry nor the ICW will be happy with this."

All Katrina did though was snort. "Let them be unhappy, I don't give a bloody fuck. Not after what they did." Then she grinned. "Maybe it'll place a fire under that ass, Fudge."
_____________________________________________________________________

"THIS IS UTTERLY UNACCEPTABLE!"

Leaning back in his chair, Dumbledore only raised an eyebrow as Fudge pounded his fist down on the meeting table. Also around it was Umbridge, Amelia, Arthur, and several other heads. But besides Dumbledore himself, the only other person there who was not part of the Ministry was Lucius Malfoy who seemed extremely unhappy. With a sigh, Dumbledore shook his head as he returned fully back to the meeting. After all, with word of what happened at Saint Brendan's, things had become explosive. "I'm afraid that there's not much that can be done, Cornelius. Not anything short of a full out invasion of the island itself."

For a moment, he looked like he was considering just that before Amelia spoke up. "And that would be foolhardy. I hardly expect that the islanders would be very happy with us at this moment and the shipgirls themselves very well might fight us as well. I will not be sending my Aurors to their deaths."

Dumbledore slowly nodded with a slight frown. "And it's much the same way with the ICW. A number of countries have already threatened to pull support if they send their Aurors from their countries there."

Slumping into his seat, Fudge groaned. "Then what can we do? And don't tell me nothing because this is the biggest breach yet!"

A huff escaped from Umbridge as she glared at her boss. "I told you, Cornelius! You should have gone with my idea and simply gotten rid of them."

However, Fudge only shook his head. "No, Delores, I couldn't. We couldn't relocate them all after all safely in the time we were given." Everyone there knew that was not what she had likely meant, but stayed silent. It didn't improve their view of Umbridge though. "Arthur, you're the closest thing we have on an expert on these shipgirl things. How did they know to show up? Did someone tell them?"

Frowning, Arthur took a deep breath before releasing it. "I've... spoken, to some of my contacts. And no, no one told them anything." At the looks he got, he shrugged. "They saw a rather large Abyssal fleet heading somewhere and so they followed. You can't expect them to ignore that. However, I do have some good news on that end."

It was almost as if Fudge was a man drowning offered a seat in a life raft. "Please, what news?"

Part of Arthur internally grinned at that. 'Hook, line, and sinker.' Externally though, he just grabbed a glass of water and sipped it. "Well... we can still cover up the island and some of those that I am working with will help, as well the islanders from what I have been told. The cover story is that the island was transported from another dimension here to Earth. Hence why the people look so different."

There was utter silence at that as Croaker, the head of the Unspeakables, turned towards his red haired collegue. "And the muggles would believe that? Truly?"

Arthur only nodded with a slight smile. "Apparently there was an incident somewhat similar a few years back that the shipgirls came across. I haven't been told anymore then that, but it's likely as good as we can get."

Eyes narrowing, Croaker nodded to himself. "I see... now that is interesting."

Meanwhile, Fudge muttered to himself as he got up and pulled his trademarked hat from his head. Spinning it in his hands, he frowned before finally sighing. "Yes, I suppose that is the best that we can do. But what can we do here! The people will want answers after all!"

Chuckles caused everyone to turn towards Lucius who shook his head. "Now that is rather easy, Cornelius. Simply lay the blame for all this at the feet of those who caused it, the ICW. After all, they were the ones who forced the pullback despite people telling them not to or that this would happen. Play that angle up and the Ministry will come out smelling like roses."

When he turned to Amelia, she sighed but nodded. "He's right. We don't have enough personnel to have covered the island ourselves even if we wanted to. Not do that and handle everything else. But, the ICW did tell us to leave with them, so they are at fault I suppose."

Finally, a smile grew on Fudge's face as he ignored the grumbles from Umbridge. "Yes, yes... that might work! No, it will work!"

The rest of the meeting passed with it consisting mainly on what sort of spin to place on it. Which was followed by a groaning Dumbledore leaving towards the International Floos. After all, there was still the actual ICW meeting itself. Thankfully, it passed much the same way, with the only difference being that the politicians who pushed for leaving the island got the boot and the blame.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Unlocking the door to his family's quarters, Harry looked over his shoulder with a smile. "Thanks for helping me, Louisiana. I really appreciate this because otherwise I would have had to wait for Mum."

Just holding a rather large box with one arm, the Battleship just grinned as she reached out and ruffled his hair. " As I already told you, mon chéri, I don't mind helping you." Shifting the box some, Louisiana examined the doorframe before nodding. "There should be plenty of room, you first though, mon chéri."

Quickly walking through the door, Harry turned and watched as Lousiana maneuvered the box to get it through the door. Then he walked over to his bedroom door and opened it so that Louisiana could get the box through it. "Still, thanks for this."

Flashing him a smile, Louisiana just shook her head. Once inside his room though, she glanced around and set the box down. Simply looking around, Louisiana took it in with a thoughtful expression on her face. "You sure do make a habit of inviting us girls to your room, don't you, mon chéri? Non?"

More then a little confused, Harry looked up at her before he shrugged to her amusement. "I guess? It's not that big of a deal."

When she laughed, he only shook his head before he grabbed a letter opener from his desk and slipped it between the edges of the cardboard. It only took a few seconds before the top portion had been loosened. At the same time, Louisiana crouched down to better watch what Harry was doing with an interested look on her face. "May I ask what is inside this, mon chéri?"

Glancing up at her, Harry grinned a bit. "It's something that I saw being sold online and I just had to get one for myself to relax in." Even as Louisiana raised an eyebrow at the non-answer, Harry continued to work until he opened the box. Then it was only the work of a few seconds for him to get the bubblewrap off and he threw his hands into the air. "Panpakapan!"

Unable to help herself, Louisiana snickered a bit before she turned to the mystery object and raised her eyebrows. "A chair? Not quite what I expected."

Harry just grinned up at her and shook his head. "An awesome chair! See? It looks like a shipgirl's rigging!"

Only examining it, the Battleship eventually nodded. "Yes, it does look like rigging, non?" Said seat sat on the floor as it had no legs, just a cushion while the sides and backing rose up. Said sides were grey at the top and antifouling red. But what made it more obvious was the fake plush "Turrets" that were sticking out to the side. A small smile crossed Louisiana's face as she shook her head. "It is rather cute actually."

With a blink, Harry shook his head. "Nah, I think it's pretty cool actually." Moving the last of the cardboard and wrapping away, Harry sat down in it and shifted around before placing his arms on the sides of the "Rigging". After a few moments, he grinned. "It's actually pretty comfy."

Slowly nodding, Louisiana gestured towards it. "May I try, mon chéri?"

In reply, Harry only got up and out of the chair before gesturing to it. "Sure, go ahead and try it."

Nodding, Louisiana moved and then sat down herself before examining it. "Hmm... it does have a nice backing to it." Due to her height, she was easily able to place her arms on the armrests, something that Harry still had some growing to do before he could do it as comfortably. "You know, mon chéri, perhaps I should get one of these for the quarters that I have been sharing with Shinano."

A small smile on his face, Harry only shrugged. "If you want, I can give you the website I bought it at."

Thoughtful, Louisiana finally nodded some. "I think that I will take you up on that." Then, she patted her thighs with a chuckle. "Now how about you come and have a seat, mon chéri?" After a few moments, Harry did as asked and scooted back until Lousiana reached out and wrapped her arms around him. Pulling him close, she smiled softly down at him. "There, is this not more comfy?"

Shifting a bit, Harry leaned back and nodded. "Yeah, it really is." Much to her amusement, Harry reached up and grabbed her cover before plopping it on his own head to her giggles. "What? I like it."

Just tightening the hug, the shipgirl shook her head as she was unable to keep the grin off her face. "And it looks good on you, mon chéri. Better then it does on me, I think."

Only snorting, Harry just looked up at her and snickered. "I don't know about that, Louisiana. I think it looks way better on you."

Leaning forward, Louisiana tilted her head until she was nearly able to touch his nose with hers as she raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I think otherwise. In fact, I expect that in a few years you shall grow into it quite well and cannot wait for that day."

Somewhat bemused by what she said, Harry only shook his head as Louisiana straightened back up and closed her eyes. However, she opened them a few seconds later as Harry spoke up. "So... um, how have things been going? I mean, since you've been assigned to Shinano as an escort..."

With a light laugh, Louisiana leaned forward and placed her chin on top of Harry's head. "Ah, things have actually been going quite well between the two of us. And I will say that I get along with ma chère, Shinano, very well." Her lips twitched a bit with her next words. "In fact, I can see us as becoming quite close in the future, especially if you become our Admiral, mon chéri."

Not having caught the subtext, much to Louisiana's amusement, Harry just nodded. "Yeah, Shinano's an awesome friend. And so are you really, so no wonder you get along so well!" He then looked up at her. "Because you're both awesome."

Unable to help herself, Louisiana laughed out loud. "Oui! Shinano certainly is awesome as you say." Calming down, she looked down at the boy in her arms. "But I think that you'll be just as awesome in the future yourself."

Only nodding, Harry leaned back as the two of them continued to chat before Harry noticed something outside. "Huh, it's raining out."

Humming, Louisiana smiled a little bit. "So it is, mon chéri. Well, I suppose that I shall stay here for a bit until it calms down then." A moment later, she noticed that Harry was yawning and raised an eyebrow. "Tired, are we?"

Slightly sheepish, Harry glanced up at her. "Well... I've been sleeping better, but..."

Eyes softening, Louisiana only hummed a bit before she adjusted her position to be more comfortable for the two of them. "Yeah, not the easiest thing to get over." For a few seconds, she stared at the rain beating against the windows before looking down at Harry. "Want to know something, mon chéri?"

Interested, Harry nodded some. "Sure, what?"

With her lips twitching, Louisiana set her chin back on his head as she looked at the window. "The rain, I love the sound of it. To moi, it's a lullaby at times and relaxes me."

Listening himself, Harry's eyelids drooped a bit. "Huh... never thought of it that way. But yeah... it's pretty nice."

Only chuckling, Louisiana hummed deep in her chest. "If you want, you can take a small nap, mon chéri. I'll make sure that the nightmares will not bother you."

All Harry did was lean back and close his eyes with a small smile. "Thanks... and I do feel safe."

Moments later, he drifted off as the American Battleship just held him and continued to watch the rain and listen to it. "Rest now, I will protect you mon capitaine."
______________________________________________________________________

Walking into the meeting room that he had been asked to go to, Harry blinked at the number of shipgirls there. "Um... Hi?"

In reply, Junyou grinned at him and raised a bottle in salute. "Hey! Kiddo, glad that you could come. Now come on over and have a seat by your Junyou-Oba!"

Beside her, Ryuujou sighed and placed her head in her hands. "Why me..." However, she got up and moved one seat over so that Harry could sit down between them. With a glance to her fellow Light Carrier, Ryuujou leaned towards Harry in a stage whisper. "Thanks for sitting there, I need some space between us."

That got her a snort from Junyou even as she took another swing of her drink. "Aw, don't lie now, Ryuujou. Ya know that you love me." Grinning, she turned fully to Ryuujou. "Hey, Ryuujou..."

Sighing, Ryuujou turned towards her. "What, Junyou?"

A rather large grin on her face, Junyou snickered. "I bet that you have Takoyaki in your lunch for today. Hmm?"

For a moment, Ryuujou blinked before she shook her head. "No... I don't. In fact, I'm going to get my lunch later."

Only facepalming, Junyou turned towards Harry. "Let's try this again... Harry, I bet that you have Takoyaki in your lunch for today. Hmm?"

It took a moment, but Harry's eyes widened and he grinned. Then he wiped it off and made a chopping motion with his hand. "Whut yew mean?"

More then a little confused, Ryuujou blinked. "What are you two..." Then, everyone could see it click in her head as she slammed a hand down. "Are the two of you making a crack about muh accent!?"

Glancing at each other, Harry and Junyou tried to hide their grins as they shook their heads. On their faces were expressions that meant that butter could not melt in their mouths as they spoke as one. "Nooooo, of course not."

Eyebrow twitching, Ryuujou growled at them. "Screw you! Screw the both of you!"

Unable to help herself, Junyou finally broke down into laughter as the annoyed Ryuujou continued to shout at her. Meanwhile, Harry just looked around the room and blinked at the group of shipgirls that was there. Enterprise and Arizona stood out, if only because they were the only two non-Japanese shipgirls there. Other then her, there was also Hiyou and Unryuu which caused him to blink. 'Odd... aren't they supposed to be down in Kure?'

Before he could ask though, the door opened again and this time Goto walked in followed by Ooyodo, Haru, and Natsumi. Things quietened down as they newcomers all sat down with Goto clearing his throat. "Now, thank you all for coming, I understand that you might be a bit confused as to why you are all here."

Grunting, Enterprise just sipped the glass of water she was holding and snorted. "Yeah, a bit confusing. I mean, I'm seeing a lot of Light Carriers here, one human, two Mikos, and myself as well as Arizona. So yeah, we're confused alright."

A chuckle escaped from Haru who only shook her head. "If I may, Teitoku?" At his nod, she continued. "Now, the reason that you're all here is that I have finally finished my consultations with the Kami and they've revealed how we may purify the island with the ships in the caldera..."