Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

??? 23rd, 2027, 1:?? PM, Base, ???

*Beep*

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*Sobbing*

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Chapter Text

???, ??, ????, 1:50 PM, ???, Texas

“John, don’t pour in too much!”

“Sorry, Mom. My hand just slipped and—”

“No excuses! We’ve done this hundreds of times, and yet you still can’t get the correct proportions! Fine. Leave me. I’ll do this by myself. Why do I even trust you with this…”

“…”

Bitch

Chapter Text

August 9th, 2027, 10:01 AM, Base, Sakura Empire Temple

“I really hope Shinano is awake this time,” Archerfish pleaded as she walked up the steps to the temple with a box in hand.

For the past few days, the little submarine has made multiple attempts to have a nice time with the carrier. However, each time she tried, no matter what time of day it was, Shinano was never awake — making Archerfish “a little” upset. Reaching the top of the steps, she saw Musashi sweeping away some leaves and dust on the floor.

“Oh, konnichiwa Archerfish-san,” Musashi greeted her with a small bow. “Here to meet with my sister?”

“Yep!” she nodded as she slightly lifted the lid of the box and pulled out a bag of tea leaves. “I even brought some green tea leaves in this box. Here, have some~!”

“Why, thank you,” Musashi accepted the gift. “I’m sure I would enjoy this. Come along, I’ll show you where she’s currently sleeping.”

“Ugh!! She’s still asleep?!”

“I’m afraid so. Though I must say that she’s sleeping a lot more than normally, and that was already quite a lot.”

“What’s she doing then? I haven’t seen her go out on any patrols or work anywhere, so what’s making her sleep so much?”

“She does have a job, but not physically. Rather it something in here,” the battleship elaborated, pointing to her head. Then the two made it to the room where Shinano was still sleeping, comfortably on a futon in the middle of the room.

Marching over to the side of the futon, Archerfish knelt down and started to shake Shinano whilst saying, “Come on~! Wake up~!!”

But her only response was the gently rising and falling of Shinano’s chest.

“I’m sorry she’s not available right now…” 

“All I want is just one day to spend with her! Is that too much to ask for?!”

“Well, why not have another day with me or Shinano-chan? Did you not enjoy our presence?”

“No, no, no! I thoroughly enjoyed our time together, Musashi! I especially liked the amusement park day. But it’s been so long since I even got to talk with Shinano, I have so many things I want her to try!”

“Well, maybe there is a way for you to see her…”

“Really?! How?!”

Musashi then seated herself right next to her sister, and gestured to the submarine to sit with her lap. Confused, Archerfish slowly made her and found herself within the embrace of the dark-furred battleship — who proceeded to wrap her arms around her. She then started to hum softly into her ears, while swaying slowly from side-to-side.

“Musashi?”

But she received no answers, as the Sakuran continued to hum a motherly hymn — making the Union girl’s eyes heavy. That was when a blue butterfly came flying out of Shinano’s bosom and flapped its way to the two seated. Then more and more butterflies started to emerge from the sleeping carrier’s clothing and even the walls of the room — all of them swirling around and around. As the kaleidoscope of butterflies flew, some began to land on Archerfish’s head, making her become even more sleepy than before. And just like that, it was lights out for her — snoozing soundly within the arms of Musashi.

Making sure she was asleep, the 18-inch battleship slowly picked her up and laid her down next to her sister. She then made her way to a nearby closet and pulled out another futon and pillow — laying them out on the other side. Carefully picking up their guest again, she rested her on the bed before making her way out of the room.

“Now…” Musashi said, pulling out the tea leaves from earlier. “Let’s try these out~ I think I deserve a little break.”

“Hellooo~? Musashi? Are you home?” a voice called out from the entrance, making Musashi’s ears perk up. Walking over to the front, she saw that there were more visitors today; specifically Brünhilde, Eagle and Baltimore.

“Oh, it’s nice to see you three here today,” Musashi greeted them. “How can I help you?”

“We just wanted to see you,” Eagle said. “We need to talk about track training ASAP.”

“Oh yes, we should be getting as much practice as possible. But what about the weather? I heard that a large storm is going over the base — even lasting for a few days. I doubt Shimanto-san has the ability to make it clear for so long.”

“That’s a point we wanted to bring up, too,” Brünhilde acknowledged. “There should be a clear day tomorrow, so that should be a perfect time for us.”

“Wonderful, I have no plans for tomorrow. I presume you three don’t have any either?”

“Nope,” Baltimore confirmed. “A little off topic, but have you seen my sister?”

“Hai, she’s in the guest’s room — sleeping away.”

“Man, she’s been sleeping more and more these days. Must be taking her work seriously.”

“I don’t know the details fully, but Shikikan-sama’s head is quite troubling. A lot of past trauma from what my sister has told me.”

“Is that why Shinano and Bremerton are always sleeping near each other?” Brünhilde questioned, having spotted them at the beach during the 4th of July celebration.

“It’s the only way for Bremerton-san to get into the man’s head without the use of the couch.”

“I wish we could help somehow,” Eagle pondered. “But we don’t really know the whole situation…”

“I’m afraid it’s just those two.”

“What about Howe? Surely she knows something, right?”

“A good question… Perhaps you could ask her, Eagle-san; you're quite good friends with her. But enough of that, would you all like to join me for some tea while we discuss the details of tomorrow?”

Chapter Text

August 9th, 2027, ??? ??, Mundus Somniorum

Archerfish’s mind started to wake up, doing a small stretch as she got off the ground. Rubbing her eyes, she slowly gained her vision back only to have her eyes bulge out upon what she was seeing.

“Woah… Am I in space?” Archerfish questioned as she saw the inky darkness with stars sporadically dotting it that surrounded her, “Is this a dream?”

Looking left and right, she only saw doors and hallways; each with their own little decoration on it. But something else caught her eyes. A lone blue butterfly that fluttered idly down one of the hallways, as if it was waiting for her. The submarine was aware that it was one of Shinano’s, and seeing it as her best chance of meeting her, she walked towards it.

Walking through numerous hallways, the butterfly led her to a very peculiar door. ⅔ of the door was wooden, while the last ⅓ was void white — a red crack separated them. She also noticed the many photos plastered on it, most containing the Commander on it.

“Is this the Commander’s?” she questioned before turning to the dream-fly. “Are you sure Shinano is here?”

Being a butterfly, it couldn’t really answer that question, and simply phased through the door. Shrugging, the Union girl turned the golden knob, and pushed the door open. Similar to the door, most of the room looked like it would fit in a house, while the other part was pitch white. Scanning from left to right, she spotted a gated door and a futuristic door, very out of place for sure. Then when she turned to the blinding part of the room, she spotted her target, Shinano. But she also was with Bremerton, the both of them watching a television screen on a couch.

“Shinano~!” Archerfish cheerfully called out to her.

Shinano’s ears perked up and turned her head towards the door, seeing the little submarine running towards her.

“Oh, Archerfish-san…” Shinano said with some surprise. “What are you doing here? How’d you get here?”

“Musashi helped me get here… I think. And I came to see you~! You’re never awake whenever I come to visit you!”

“I’m sorry, Archerfish… This one has been very busy…”

“With what? I haven’t seen you do much… Also, what is this place?”

“You’re currently in the Commander’s head, Archie~” Bremerton informed her. “Me and Shinano here are currently trying to solve a problem of the Commander’s.”

“In his head? What’s wrong with his head?”

“M̸̺̖̙̍͑͐̔Ê̸̜̜̫̭̣̻͓͚̙̱̱͖̑̈͒͌̒͆͜͠ͅ,” A voice called out by the ominous gated door, causing Archerfish to fall onto the ground.

“W-What was that?!”

“That is Ikari-san,” Shinano said, helping the submarine up. “He represents… Shikikan-sama’s anger.”

“And we’re trying to find out why he’s holding all this anger. It’s highly likely that whatever angered him in the past is the reason he doesn’t talk.” Bremerton further added.

“So does that mean we can help the Commander’s anger issues, because I don’t want to be on the receiving end of it,” the submarine said, remembering the talks after that day.

“Probs.”

“And will this mean you won’t be staying here as long?” the little shipgirl asked the kitsune — who nodded. “Alright! How can I help?”

“Well let’s bring you up to speed. The Commander has had some… “issues”… whenever his mother is brought up in these memories we see. Half of the time, they look like a functional family of two — laughing and enjoying their time together. However, the other half is when his mother is yelling at him for a number of reasons, no matter how minor they may be.”

“How minor?”

“Shikikan’s mother… snapped when she heard that… he got a C in a class…” the carrier provided.

“Yesh. That’s a rough life to live.”

“The man has been bottling up that anger for years now, and that’s something that no one should do,” the therapist gave an overview.

“Has it gone off yet?”

“Maybe… We probably only got a glimpse of it back then, but it’s possible that all of it went off earlier. And unfortunately, the most likely target of his anger would be his mother. But we haven’t gotten there yet, all we’ve seen is the build up.”

“You said that you’ve been looking through his memories, how?”

“That television over there… Ikari provides moments into the past… from Shikikan’s eyes… But refuses to show the key moments…” the kitsune explained.

“Have you asked him to show you them?”

“T̶̻̱̰̤̻̼̦͉̬̙̰̘́̀̔͠ͅH̴̡̦̜͓͚͈̠̦̦̭̻͖͎̍̄́̑̒̎̆͛̀̾̾̏̋ͅË̵̛͇͔͒̈́̄͂̆̎̅͒̍͌͘Y̶̨̗̗̗̟̜̙̝̯̒̓̃̓̒̄͜ ̸͓̤͛̏̂̀̈́̓̽̍̄̾̂̚͜͝H̶̢̧̡̛̼͕̭͓̳̟͔͎̭̼͓̓̒̋͆̈͂̕͝͠A̶̡̧̧̢̘͈̲͒̆̈́̅̂̾͊V̵̧̪̩̲̭̱̮̓̽̓̂̓̀́̑̕̚͝E̷̪̹̙͉͙̤̲̲̮̎̈̑̐,̶̡͍̫̬̬̻͍̉̔͝ ̸̨̼̫̉͛̂̈̔̈́͛̅̌́̅̃̕B̶̭͕̖̗̯̤̤̩͓͇̙͔̄̔͂̆Ủ̶̥̳̳͓̣͖͎͔̦̳̦̂̒͝Ṱ̷͖̬̙̭̜̟̼̲͊͛̃̾̆̿̓̌͝ ̸̡̝̫̤̹̞̯̰̎̔͆͂͆̈́̐̐͝͝T̷̢̖̙̦̹͔̰̙̿̋̈́͑̈̊̃͒̅͗̐̌͘Ĥ̶̢̢̦̙̘̼̳͖̥̼̱̘͖͙̊͆̔̓̓́͛́͗͗̀͘͘͘ͅE̶̯̺̊͐͂̓̈́͊͂̄͐͘Y̴͇̹̯͇̼̫̺͌͊̊͑̉̈́̈́̐̍̎͗̑͝͠ ̶̡̢̢̛̪̘̰̟̮̳̮̦̰̞͈̿̋W̷̹̑͑͑̂̌̍͒̋̽̉̉̓̈́͝͝Î̷̧̛͇͋̇͊̑̀̀̕͝L̵̡̝͍̪̭̟̣̜̒͑̌͑͑͂̋̐́͂̾̐̚͜ͅḺ̸̇ ̴̨̦̟͚͍̜̘͖̲̼̻͐̂̌̓̋̔́͘N̸̢̮͙͕̙̙̹̦̣̗͔̟͇̆́͂̎̂̉͜ͅO̴̘͎͗̓̋̿̈́̐̚͠Ṫ̴͉͔͍̫̎͐͂̆̈̾͐̎͊ ̶̛͎̤͉͚̼̲̰͔͇̞̬͚̱͊͗̂̌̋͐̈̋̀͜ͅŚ̷͍̌̀́͜Ę̴͍͈̗͙̝͚̾̄̈͐͌̎̂̆̚͠ͅĘ̵͓̘͈͔̜̥̺͈͇̺̟̥̼̈̄ͅ ̶̺̥̙͕͇̽̌̈́̑Ȋ̸̻͉̩̞͕͘ͅT̸͚͚͚̬̺̖͍̗͉̳͙̲̓͛̿̍͊͆̽͊̋̀̑͛̚͘͝.”

“Yeah, Ikari is being a real butt not showing it, despite the Commander knowing that this will be for his benefit,” the pink-haired woman pouted. “He doesn’t want to relive that moment again, according to him.”

“Anything else have you done?”

“That is all.”

“How about using force?” Archerfish suggested.

“Woah! What do you mean, Archie?”

“If this Ikari sends you the memories, and he’s behind that door… Then how about tearing it down and grabbing that memory!”

“We haven’t tried brute-forcing it before… Shinano, you’re the expert in this mind thingy. Think it’ll work?”

“This one is not sure… It could be detrimental… to Shikikan’s mind…” Shinano pondered, never having done anything like this before.

“T̶͉̯̋̄̒̄̆͘Ŕ̴̢̹̺̬͓̟̣͎͔̦͙̃̉̀͒̍̓̈́̑̔͝Y̶̧̖͇̗̠̘͌̅́̈́ ̴̨̼̙̤̖̣͆̆̓̇̿̓̆͗̈́̈̍̕Â̷̡̢̨̛̹͕̻̠̜͚̖̫͗́̓̈̄͆̈́́͋́̿̂͛Ŝ̵̡̥̮͙͈͉̝͓̯͍̺̭̈́̿̒̂̾̐̽̂̉͐̓̚͘͜͜͝ ̶͙̩͚̖̞̈́̏̿́͌̎́͌͌̊͋̚͘ͅY̷̥͓͙̪̦̳͔͚̜͌̌̉͆̀̂̈͂̌̂̔̍̈́Ờ̸̫̺̘̯̗̑͊̋͒͊̂̋̐̉̏͐͝Ú̶̡̩̜̻̻̞̞̠̞̉͛̂̓̊͑̃̅͊̇̇̚͝ͅͅ ̸̞̯̻̩͈̲̳͕̦̍̎̕͘ͅM̶̲̥̹͕̳̯̪̲̥͈͚͍͉̿̈́͂̆̋͠Ì̸̡̩̱̬̞͈̃̐̐͊̂͒͌̂̓̂̊̓̏ͅG̵̮̻̗̘̤̥̙̳̤̊̔͒̋̃̕ͅH̶̳̻̤̪͚̳̣̲̟̆͝Ţ̵͇̮̟͚̰͖̙̬̯͉̺̺̒̿ͅ,̷̢̬̘̣̤͖̞́͊̓͂́̓̽͗̎͂̾̈́̓̚̕ ̶̧̪̺͇̰͙̦̱͈̯̀̐́̍̆̓̄͐̇̊̔͋Y̸̯̻̺̦̫̬̠̣̰̺̲̼̣̥̝͗͌̾͐́O̵̡̩͔̮͉̠̤͌̌̔Ų̴̨̪̣̾̀̆̇̊̎̔͘ ̴̢̪͚͎̤̀̽͆̈́́̐́̓̾͆͑̿͝Ẃ̸͈͖͔̪̲̭̈́̆͌̊͂̒̊̋͊̎̔̋͜Ó̸̢̨̟̩͇̯̥̠̤̘͎̰͇̀̂̐̾͌N̸̖̓̓͋̋̓'̸̮̿̐̒̾̾̒̈́̕͝T̶̨̮̤̪̖̗̐̏̊̒ ̵̧̨̛͖̙̞̺͔̫̫̺̺̺͂̄̂̑̒͛̃ͅG̸̯̝͙̥̼̜̐̄̈́͒̀̑̿̍̅̀͑̒̇̕͝E̷̡̗̥̬̱͓̻̙̘̻̱̥̋͊̇̃̽T̶̘̟̤̯̲̬͗͂͜ ̶̧͉̭̘̮͉̯͍͖̮̄͊́͊̒̇̽̏̿̀͂͘͘͠͠M̸̨̡͓͖̼͉̝͓͙̺̉͆̽͊̋́̌́͗͛̌̆̃̔̈́U̷̻͌̈́̃͜͝͠C̴̛̛͙͑̈́͗̓͛̓͋̿̒̀̄̿̄Ḧ̵̛͙̪̱̮̮́̋̈̅͘͠ ̷̧̛̛̩̩͈͛̄́͆͒̑̇̇̋̽̎̈́͝D̶̡̫͕̈́̔͂͝Ô̴̡͎̼̟̫͍̲̪͚̪̟͂̌̑̇́͑̿̂̉͘̕N̸̢̻̫̠̬͑͐́́̀̅̍̀̓̏̀̂͠Ȩ̵̼̠͉̟̟̱̲̲̫̲͐̓͛͂̄̕̕ͅ ̵̛͇̱̳̙̯̭̀̓̅̾̓͒̕͜͝ͅẂ̵̨͓͈̙̀̅͛͒̓͋̈́͋͐̇͑͘̕͝Î̴̢̧̭̬̪͔̻͚̙͔̻̗̰̺̿̎̓͑͋̐̽̄̑̕͠T̵̛̞͎̞̮͍̝̹̼̏͛͂͂̒͂͆͋̓̐̀̚̕H̸̯̒ ̸̡̤̭͎̙͈͙̒̎̌̇̍́́̌͂͗̈́́̚͝͠Ţ̴̞̝̩͐̔̿H̸̢̢͇̘̮͇̝̘̪͓̞̑̈́͆̊͆͌̂̈́̾̆͜͜͝Á̸̭̻͎͎̣̝̖̤̞̼̫̮̰̫́̄͗̇̿̉̀T̷̨̨̳̩̥̝͈͈͖̣̾́̐̊̈́̎͒̊͊̏̂̽ ̶̨͇̫̝͖̞̰̪̞͓͇̬͒̐̌̑̍̀̒͐͊̾̌̌̀M̶̡̬̪͓̠̳̺̝̑͛͂̏E̴̛͈͓͖̺̲̳͈͋̎̾̽́̏̽͘̚͜T̷͚̰͖͂͊͗̈́̑̈́̃̀̚͠͝H̷̳̪̒́̀̾͐̒̓̒̌̽͌̀̕͝Ơ̶̢͉̰̪̮̯̾̀͋͒̃̊̌͌̀̾͝ͅͅD̸̡̧̨̛͕͈̩̱̝̙̥̘̜͖̭͕̽̈̐̀̽̒̑…̷̛̟̖̪̳̿̔̑̍̏̎̿͑̄͛́͘͝ͅ” Ikari stated, the sturming of his guitar soon filling the space.

“Can’t be sure until you try it~ Now… How do we go and break it down…? Oh, I know! I can use my rigging—” the sub concluded. Doing as she said, she summoned her rigging (at least an imaginary version of it) and aimed it at the door. “I’m surprised that it actually worked.”

“When one is in this realm… you can summon most things into existence…” Shinano explained.

“Wait, then just think of the memory then. Or remove the door.”

“One must have intimate knowledge… of the object in order to do so… Additionally… Outsiders are not able… to manipulate the owner’s room… with their thoughts…”

“Wait, what are you going to do?” the Baltimore-class asked.

“Gonna use my torps, duh.”

“But won’t they need water to work?”

“Huh… I guess, but let me try first,” she said, priming her torpedoes at the door. When she pulled the trigger, they managed to fly through the air, and land directly onto the door – smoke flooding the area.

“I̸̡͙͚̼͔̯̝̗̱̗͚͚̣̞͊̐͋͌͐̓͜ ̴̡̨̛͖̞͍̥̣͈̼̱͔̳͂̒̾̈̆̈́͊̚͜͜͜Ţ̵̤̤̫̱̬͚͕͓͍̙̣̬̏͌͂̉̽̐̅̇͊̀͘̚͝͝O̸̢͖͈̺̺͐̋̄̓̽̓͂́̐͑̉̄͝L̴̨̻͔̞̠̄͋̅͊̓̈́̚͝ͅD̵̞͙̗̖̓̈́́͌͌̐̋͋̾͠ ̷̢̧̡̛͍̙̭̲̪̼̱̽͗̀̈̅̍͛͋̓Y̶̦̝̠̲̬̖̦̩̭̟͖̰͍̖̓̏͊̑͒̔͗̈͘͜Ở̷̲̟̳̰̰̤̹̯̩̰̲̩̄͂̈́͂̉̕̚Ũ̵̺̱̈́̑̀̃͒̐̅͆,̷̢͚̖̦̩͕̻́̽̅͂͝ ̶̼̋͆̎̕Ì̴̧̛͕̮͉̺͔̠͖̺̰̈́̎̑̈̍͘̕T̵̼̺͓̰̦̉̾ ̷̡̡̳͖̼̩͙͙̺̹͎̱͚̜̟̿̈̀͌̏̓͌̀̋̐̑̽̽͘W̷̨͇̘̥̟̤͎͚͇̻̑̋̓̓̾͋̉̀͠Ŏ̷̧̭̻̞̥̟̗̬͈̣̻N̷̬̠̻̖̻̳͎͓̟͍̜͓͇͎͂͗̔͛̏̀͝'̴̬̲̻͇͙̳̭͍͉͈̬̗̌̉͂͗̂̎̀̊̅̐̅̎̚̕͝T̸̹̣̫̫̩͑̍͊́͛̑͊͆̔̃͊͊̄ ̸̡̡̛̛̠̥͈̩̙̩̖̮͓̯̳̤̃̏̽͌̓́͘͝ͅḌ̵͉̗̭̩͕̯̳͓̗͍͚̊̀̾̆̓͐̓̉͑ͅƠ̸̡͎̹͇̖̙̰͉̤̳̌̉̄̈́͐̑̚ ̸̼̮̟̠̮̯̜̏̈́̍̍͘͜M̸͉̠̜̭̺̥̞̥̜̈́̐̐̾̕ͅŮ̶̧̢̻̥̣͇̼̮̔̌̃̌͝ͅC̶̢͓͎̪̗͔̠̹͚̼̣͔̮̺̭̏̂Ȟ̴̼͚̖̿̉̓̀̄͂̀̌͛̚,” Ikari’s voice said as the smoke cleared. What laid before them was an intact door.

“Crap! I hoped it would do something,”

“Hello~?” someone said from the entrance. All three of them turned toward it and saw Howe standing there.

“Howe? How’d you get here?” Bremerton asked.

“I, uh… fell asleep on that couch in the Commander’s office… again… hehe,” Howe sheepishly admitted. “I woke up in that hallway again, and remembered the way back here.”

“Isn’t it a bit early to sleep again?” Archerfish next questioned.

“But it’s three in the afternoon.”

“What?! But it was just ten in the morning when I got here! Man, time flies fast here, huh…"

"Anyways, what are you three doing here?”

“We’re helping out your boy—”

“THE COMMANDER!!” the heavy cruiser interrupted the submarine, covering her mouth. “We’re helping the Commander with a little mental problem of his.”

“Um… Are you referring to his anger, by chance?” the battleship asked, with the carrier nodding. “Then… Can I help, too?”

“Howe-san, you don’t have to help us if—”

“No, I want to help, Shinano. As one of his secretaries, and more importantly, a good friend of the Commander, I want to see the man be better. I’ve seen what that anger is… It’s terrifying… I don’t want anyone else to be on the other end of it again.”

“Very noble… Howe… Come, join us in this effort.”

“So… what are you doing?” she asked, walking over to the three.

“We’re blowing up that door!“ Archer excitedly said. “We think there’s a core memory or something behind it.”

“What else is behind it?”

“Ikari… It’s the one… playing the guitar right now…”

“Who’s that?”

A brief pause took hold of the room, as Howe expected one of the three to explain who that was, while the others were waiting for the entity itself to introduce themself. Yet, that never came; only the calm strumming of guitar strings reverberated throughout the semi-furnished void of the Commander’s head.

“Umm… Ikari represents the Commander’s anger,” Bremerton finally spoke up after that awkward silence. “And Archerfish here suggested we should remove this barrier between us.”

“I just used my torps on the door, but there ain’t a scratch on it. How about shooting at it with some AP, Howe?” the Balao-class suggested.

“Alright, let me try,” she nodded, summoning her own rigging.

“Hey, Shinano,” the pink-haired woman silently called over to the sleepy fox. “Is it me, or is Ikari a lot quieter now?”

“Yes… this one has… noticed it, too,” the kitsune acknowledged.

“Do you think it’s because Howe’s here now?”

“Most likely…” she theorized as two thunderous sounds of Mark VII guns fired. Miracuously, a small crack had formed where two of the rounds had managed to land — though they were three inches in diameter and apart by a foot.

“Woo! Nice shot, Howe! Up top!” the little one cheered, but when she turned to find Howe, she was nowhere to be seen. “Howe? Where’d she go?”

“She has… awakened…”

Meanwhile, in the Office…

“Wake up, Howe~” the Commander whispered as he gently shook Howe from her slumber.

Slowly opening her eyes, Howe realized that she was no longer in that place anymore; having been suddenly awoken by John. Once she was off the couch, she did a bit of a stretch and asked, “How long was I out…?”

Returning to his tablet, John wrote, “You were only asleep for twenty minutes. As much as I’d like you to keep sleeping, and for me to join you, we still have a little bit of work left. ”

Nodding, she made her way to the door. As she was about to walk through it, she stopped in her tracks and turned to face her boyfriend once more.

“John… If you’re struggling with something… you know you can always come to all of us, especially me. We’re here for you.”

“You’ve seen it, huh? ” he asked, with her nodding. “Thanks for looking out for me. It’s just that I don’t want to relive that day so soon — I’m not prepared for it. But I’m getting there, one step at a time. ”

“That’s good, Love. We’re not expecting you to get over it overnight. As long as you’re taking steps to be better.”

Back in the World of Dreams…

“Shame, more salvos like her’s and we’d be through. What now…? Oh! Shinano, can I please use your sword.”

“I’ll do it… instead…”

“Aww… You’re no fun…” she pouted.

Summoning and drawing her blade, Shinano prepared a strike on the door — aiming to cleave where Howe had already done the damage. With one swift motion, her katana met the metal of the door, and a large gash had connected where the two shots had formed. The red light started to bleed out of the wounds, with something else echoing out as well…

“W̶͚̲̙̮̬̠͖̐̑͛̀̂̈̂̔́͆͘͠ơ̶̧̖̺͍͖͈͊͆̏̊̑́̄̈͝ͅù̵̡̍͐͌̈́̕l̶̢͕͚̟̮̼͓̞̟̪̓̏̈̄̊̃̓̎̾̄̈̆̚͝͝ͅḓ̶̬͈̐̓͛̈́̓̐͌͐̊͝ ̵̧͓͉̈́̂ẏ̵̛͓͙̄̾͆̍̆̂̀͐͆͘̚͝͠ờ̸̡̘̩̳̪͉͖͑̍̎̎̒̆̚͜ͅų̵̦̺̜̥̲̜̞͋ ̸̰͙͉̼̩̈́̽͑̈́̈́̉l̶̛͖̈̾̐͑͛̿͊͌̅̏̆̽e̷̛̮̘̭̲͂̓͗̏̄͒̀̄̂͂̎͐̔a̶̡̡̙̻̪̺̞̪̝͊̅̈́̏̅̾͂̓͂̈́͘͝ͅv̵̝͚̳̩͚̺̫̦͈͋̽́̈̉͛̚ȩ̶̛̱̈́̉̏̽̅̐͛̾̔͌̈́͠͠ ̴̨̳̫̪̼͔̙̗̠̖̹͓̠͉̟͗͊̌͆̇́͒̍͠m̷̢̻͙͓͚̝͎͇̥͚̥̯͙̈́̍͂́͜͝ẻ̵̹̟̗̝̳̤͇̝̭͒̄͂͂ ̵̡͍̼̘̝̞̙̿̐a̸̢̘̼͖̥̺̦̩̟̜͇̖̭͍̞͊̂̑͂l̶̢̹̤͎̖͍̪̩͙͍̺̰̈́͐̑̑̈́̽͑͜͝õ̶̗̭̜̥͉̪̩̯͍̌͌͜͜ṇ̸͉͓̳̥̞͙̾̿̂͆͝͠ḙ̴̲͓̭͚̹̟̲̬̼͍͑̐̎͜͜!̷̧̧̝͙̱̞͋!̷͙͛̑!̶̨̢̛̯͎̯̦̩̯̣̙͙͐́̿̈́̊̓̆” a voice shouted, but not the same as Ikari.

“Eeepp!” Archerfish jumped back. Once the voice settled down, she slowly approached the damaged door, and decided to have a peep inside. “Wooah…”

“What do you see?” Brem asked.

“It’s… glitchy…” she tried her best to describe it. “Things just kinda… shift from side-to-side… as if it could barely contain its shape… I really don’t know how to describe it.”

“What else…?” Shinano questioned, coming over to her.

“It’s a long hallway… looks like there are cells flanking each side. I see… two bright orbs at the center of it all… A lot of claw marks, though. They are everywhere…”

“Do you see… Ikari?”

“Nothing… Should we continue?”

Gesturing to move to the side, Shinano and Bremerton then took a look through the door, and saw what she was describing was fairly accurate. It looked like a dungeon inside, with claw marks lining the walls, floor, and ceiling. Many of the bars of the cell had been broken off, but strangely organized into a pile. At the far end, two white pedestals sat in what appeared to be a circular room, a white light shone from above onto two spheres sat atop. They couldn’t see any other distinguishing features, or even the supposed owner of this place — perhaps Ikari was hiding within one of the cells.

Moving back, the carrier nodded and waited for the submarine to be a safe distance away from the door before preparing another strike. However, when she made contact, her blade was repelled.

“Curious…”

“What now? I don’t think we can continue this path now,” the cruiser asked, mulling something in her head.

“Perhaps… we should take a break… Besides… I think I owe… some time to you, Archerfish…”

“Really?! Oh, great! Let’s go now!” Archer rejoiced as she hurriedly led the fox out of the Commander’s mind, leaving Bremerton by herself.

“Alright Ikari, spill it,” Bremerton called out to it.

“Ẁ̵̩̹̝̪͒̄̃̋̏̐̈́̉̀̃͑̈́̚͠Ḥ̴̛̛͑̋̔͑͛̃̐̉̅̔͝͝A̵̢̢̛͕̯̭̲͊̓̒͑̀̀̇̆̑̓̒͘͝T̸̯̮̫̾̏̄̋̎͜ ̷̨͍͍̭͙͍̗̘͇̃̎̃͛͋̈͂̉̑̈́͌I̸̧̦͖̝͇̒̿̅S̷̭͖͊̌̑͛͋̇̍́͑̌̋͘͠ ̷̡͉̥̙̠̌̀̔̎̂̆͋͗̋̚T̶̡̧̖̺̮̖̹̹̲͈͔̱͉̳͆̈̏̃Ḧ̶̨̪̙̱͕͈͉̆̃̾͋̇̆͂̎͐͊̋̕͝E̵̺̹̫̭͊̔Ŗ̶̖̲̟͍̈́̽͝E̶͎͍̯̟̥͌̓̋̽̍̂͋̾̐͘ ̴̰̲̟͖̥̱̳̮͈̹̝̲̈ͅT̸͎̃̾̚͝ͅO̵̦̻͓̠̭͑̌͗͂̕̕ ̸̧̢̜̪̜̼̭̩͕͆͌̽̔̃̃͝S̷̙͈̮̟̱͙̗̀̌̓̍̊͑̐̂̃̕͜͜͝͝ͅͅA̴̛̛͉̒̌͒̾̓͆̚͠Y̷̡̮̰͙̝̤̺̰̩̗̞̦̞͛̍̄̂͗̅̀͒̕ͅ?” the entity questioned.

“Why were you suddenly so silent as soon as Howe showed up? Why was she the only one to do anything against that barrier you hide behind? What did we just hear?” she bombarded it with many questions. While doing so, she took another peek through the holes, but still couldn’t see anything that could be Ikari.

“Y̷̡̬̠̲͍͕̹͕̼̓́̈́̀̓̋O̸͈̩̘̙̗̦͊̈̕͜U̷̟̜̪͑̊̾͌͆̑̾̃̂͐͠ͅ'̸͕͈̩̞̳͚͙͔͖͔̮̝̹̦͂͋R̴̞̟̜͗͋͐͋͒͒̆̇̈́̈́̋͠Ȩ̴͍̝̺̠̝̭̀̊̌̓ ̸̨̦̼͖͕̝̮͔̬̜͔̾͒̅̽͑̿̃͋̾͒̀͝͝͠S̶̢̨̝̠̰͕͇̯̄͜M̸̛̪̹̦͊̂̎̌A̶̡̛̛̬̦̮͍̽̇͌͑̾̍̐͋̌͜R̷̻̭̟̟̿́̐͊̾T̸̳̫̈́̓̀ ̷̛̦̲̱͖͖͉͙̩̰̱̯̃̋́̉͛̾̊́͛̀̏̒È̶͇̖͉̆̋̔N̷̰̺̝̍͆͗̽̉̓́̀̈́͆̚͠Ȏ̴͔̄͆̂̅͊̈́̑͂̽̈̓͝Ụ̸̦͓͇̤̻̜̂̒̂̅̃͛̾̈́̚͝ͅG̸̢̞̀̋̅͛́̍̆͜H̴̯̹̼̗̑̔͠ ̶̧̨͔̲̫̻̟̫̦̳̈́͆̀̐́͗̑͋̀̈́̃̇̃̚T̶̛̫͈̣̉̍̍̀̋̅̑̃̑O̸̭͗̒͝ ̴̡̠̥̦̩̣̠͎͔̓̂͐͐̈́̚͝Ţ̴͉̻̯̪̭̮̝̇͒̀̑̎͘Ḩ̶̭͇̣̯͚̣̄̂̈́̀ͅI̶̡̟̹̱̫̼̪̲̮̙̼͒̐̊N̵͎̹͖̯͇̪̩͎̻̹̄̋̋Ḱ̷̢̻͓͑̀͒̎͛̃̿͆͝ ̵̢̛͉̞͚̂̍̍̿̄̿̿̾͆̾͝͝͠͠O̷̘̐̀͌̉̀̽̓F̸̨͔͇̤̤̖̘̈́͊͑̑̕͝ͅ ̷̤̆̿̌̀͊́̈́́̀̿͋́̆Ţ̵͚̼̟̜̲͖̫͈͈͛̍̈́͆̈̏̍̀͗̉̈́͝͝ͅH̷̦͔͔̩͍̤̥͋̃͒̏̽̾̎͘͜͜E̵̢̩̞̱̥̙̳̼͉̯͘ ̸̡̱̟͚̙̻̬̹̆̉̓́̒̄̒͘͘̕Ȃ̵͖̭̭͍̓̌̎̄̀̂͘N̶̡̨̯̖̲̤̹̬̺̓͐͘͜S̷̡̢̰̗͖̭̱͒W̷̧̖̙̬̰͔̞̦͈̭̌̌̂̋͂̈̂͊͑̈̀̇ͅË̵̤̹͍̝̝̭̤̖̫̮̬͔̼͙́̈́͜R̴̡̛̯̘̹̘̰̖̙͍̮͙̠̼̉̇́̇͂̓͒͊̉ͅS̴̹̑͋̃,̸̢͎͎̼͎͔͕̎̐̌̅ͅ ̴̡̠̪̖͙̖͔̩̻̞́P̴̳͓͋̂Į̸̺͇̗̤̩͔̜̫̞̆̒̍̒͐̎̂́͛̓̇͘͝N̷̡̛̺̭̘͚̗̘͇̘͉̩̖̾͒̆̋́͂͛̚̚̚Ķ̴̢͓͉͍͓̼̲͒̉̀͊̊̽̓͒̚̕ ̷̟̖̖̊̂̅͗̌̏͊̔͜͠W̶̧̼̲̰̥͑̃́̇̀͜O̸͉̩͕͌̓̿̽͋̓͛̋M̸̢̺͋͋͛̏͐̊̃̀̇͋͂̈̎̐͠Ả̸̝̦̲̤̉̾̌̾̔̋͊̇̂N̴̢̧̢̡̩͓͇̘̻͔̯̫̓̈́͋̅͒̔͛̑̅͊̚̚͝,” was all it had to say before returning to its guitar.

“God, you're unbearable…” Bremerton muttered before heading for the door. “Okay… Ikari became silent right after Howe showed up… Probably because the two are dating, and so the Commander doesn’t want her to see the worst side of him, especially after saying it terrified her… And she was the only one to deal damage because… the Commander feels vulnerable when she’s around? Then that voice was most likely the Commander… And he was shouting at… probably his mother… Meaning that the moment where the floodgates were let loose! Maybe… Argh! This is exhausting! I’m going to go take a nap…”