Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

August 23rd, 2027, 11:44 AM, 162 Nautical Miles Away from Base, North

Huan Ch’ang and Carabiniere scoured the sea, looking for whatever they had spotted off in the distance. However, they couldn’t get close enough to see what it was, the thing just ran from them. As they did one last attempt to get a closer look, the sound of distant thunder echoed in the distance; the dark clouds up above were ready to pour down on them if they didn’t return to base.

“We’ve got to go back now, Carabiniere,” Huan Ch’ang informed her. “The storm’s about to hit us, and we’re supposed to return now.”

“You’re right,” Carabiniere agreed. “But I think we were close to finding something.”

“I think so, too. I’ll call the others.”

The two then started to skate down south, planning on regrouping with the rest of the patrol before making their way back to the base. As the battlecruiser informed the others of their withdrawal of the route, the destroyer continued to scan the waters around them for one last attempt to spot that thing — to no avail.

As they grew smaller and smaller, an angular object rose out of the sea and hovered just above the water. It lingered up there as it watched the two KAN-SEN disappear over the horizon. Not long later, Glitch rose out of the ocean; deactivating its camouflage system as the drone latched itself on their back. Raising a hand to its head, it began a communication with someone.

“Good work, we’ve got a lot of valuable data based on what you sent.”

“Cutting it real close there with the girls, which may I remind you that you were explicitly told that combat was prohibited during these tests?!”

“Ignore her, but yes, that was risky operating close to them… What? Oh, about that. We’d still need to test the R-7V’s capabilities under extreme weather, and given that you're about to be within a storm…”

“That’s right, you’ll be staying there for another few hours. And luckily for you, no one should be out while the storm is going on.”

“While yes, once these tests are concluded, you are allowed to commence combat with the girls once more — we’d like to deter you from doing so.”

“That drone you currently have is not a cheap thing. And given your track record in fights, that’s most likely going to be destroyed.”

“Continue with the tests once the storm hits you.”

“Have fun being by your lonesome while you do that.”

Chapter Text

August 23rd, 2027, 10:47 AM, Mundus Somniorum

“We’re getting close, I can feel it!” Bremerton declared as she and Shinano sat on the couch. “Let’s see what his high school life is like.”

“Hai… Shikikan-sama’s anger is beginning to flare up… Only a matter of time…” Shinano agreed. “But I promised Archerfish-san that… this one would meet her in an hour…”

“That’s fine, we can do that another time. I also want to get out of here, meet up with some of my friends. Yo, Ikari! We’re calling it a day.”

“V̵̡̤̥͉̘̙̩̌E̴̘̓̎͆̀͒Ȑ̸̢̢̤͉̘͕̦̲͕̻̲̯̺͚͌͛̎͒̆͗̅̃̉̑͌̚ͅY̶̧̟̟̻̺͙͎͎̗͓͈͓̺̐́̊̐̐̓̐̍̇̕…̴̡̰̙̯̖̩͇͎͍̹̳͚̟́ͅ” Ikari was saying before stopping mid-sentence.

“Is there something wrong?”

Suddenly, the white void they were so accustomed to faded into darkness — not too dissimilar to that found in the halls outside. It was as if someone had turned off the lights in a room. The only things that had light were Ikari’s door and the TV, which now had static displaying.

“Well this is interesting…” the cruiser bemused, both women rising to their feet. “Seen anything like this?”

“No,” the Sakuran shook her head. “Ikari-san! What is happening?”

But no answers came from the entity, not even it was strumming the guitar it played.

“Ikari?”

A single red beam then shot across the room from the door to the TV, similarly to how memories were shown on it. But when it hit the screen, the red glow from the door disappeared; along with the TV noise — plunging the room into complete darkness. A moment later, the screen flickered back on to show what appears to be a white wolf symbol. Before they could question what was happening, the guitar started to play once more; this time, coming from the TV. As it played, the screen started to glow red like the door.

The two women watched as the screen was soon completely red, minus the white wolf symbol in the middle. Once it was done, the music began to get louder as the display became glitchy. Forming their riggings, the glitchy screen looked like it was coming out — no it was coming out of the TV towards them.

A dark, void-black, claw that could barely contain its form bursted out, and slammed down onto the floor, burying them in. Then another claw popped out and did the same thing, this thing was trying to climb out of the screen. The KAN-SEN were too stunned by this to act, as what appeared to be wolf’s snout tore through and into their world.

“What the hell…?” Bremerton muttered as the torso and a leg made its way out.

Once the other leg and a tail popped out, the thing started to stand up on its two hind legs and stretched its arms into the air. The entire entity was what one would think a werewolf would look like, but completely lacking any color or shading; it was almost the same height of three Shinanos when it stood. But it also looked like it could barely contain the shape, the outline contorted around it constantly — making it hard to define where it would begin and end.

“A̷̢̩̘̖̯̰̭̫͉̮͔͈̮͋̍̇H̸͔̪̟̠̝̮̲͊͌̀͝ͅḨ̴̦̹̥̻̬̭͗̂͑͘…̶̖̞̻̌͋͋̿͗̽̿̿͊ ̶̧͖̱̣͙̪̊I̴̳̦͈͉͊̀̅̏̅̽̍̈́̊T̷̨̧̞͓̜̲͕̗͓̫̥̹́͗̍̃͛͂͑̐̑̿̒̇͝ ̴̡̧̥̭̠̱̗͙̪̠̬̱͂̈̓͒͆͆̋̐̈́͆̓̈́̍͗͜͜͝F̷̠͒͂̎̈̍̎̿͝͝Ȩ̷̨̰̜͔̼̜̝̎͑́̉̀͒̿̉̄͝Ȩ̴͈͍̟͆̓́̿́̄͗̈͌̔͋͛̚͝͠L̵̠̬̰̦̩̯͍̝̠̳̗̯̈́S̶̛̞̺̦̙̝̳̲̱̥̗̥̓͊͂̄̓ ̴̧̨̛̹͚̭̤̺̯̫̻̪̘̱̖͍̅̾̚G̵͉̠͕̫͖̻̣̳͉͔̯̀̓͑̔̈́̃͒Ǫ̷̨̖̘͇̹̦̻̪͉̓̈̂̏̽͌̆̾̂̊͘͘͝͝O̵̧̙͉̙̫̖̙͍͉̎̈́̄͊̎̑͐̎̒̏͜͝ͅͅD̸̢̘̹͖̫̫͚̰̻̥̤͕̈́̉ͅ ̵̢̨̰̬̞̱͙̣̉̈́͂̈́͗̓͛̈́̊̇̍̕͝Ţ̶̨͔̹̳̯̥̹̗̏͐̄̊̑̂̋̑̄̍̽̕Ǫ̸̡̮̺̞̜͙͙̮̘̀̃ͅͅ ̸̢̖͉͈͕͇̳̤̯͔̰͕͇̙́̐̍̈͝B̸͉͕̐̃̍̽̂͋͘̚Ě̸͔̱̠̫͓̱̜̲̞̃̔͒̽͐̂̅͜ ̵̗̱̗̱̺̫͇̬̲̯̇̀̀̈́̐́̇͊̇̉̒͂̕͜͠ͅĄ̴̨̺͉̤̳̯͎̰͓͈͓͍̈́̀͒́́̈́͜B̵̡̛̰̤̱͋́͑̀͂̚̚L̴̡͕͎̼͙̗̯̰̭̑̉̀̈́̈͊̒͘Ę̶̝͕͎̜̳̖̖̮̠̘̣͖̰̏̀̕ ̷̨͚̳͉̱̳̟̖̳̇̋̈͊̓́̋͆̾T̷͇̞͈̤̖̪̖̐̐͐̓̐̿̈̿͝ͅO̵̡̧̡͎̜̖̘̣̯̞̪̻͂̌̈́̓͂̐̓̃̉̑̍ ̸̢̡͙̪̟͚̘̺̝͚̔͆͑͆̇̈́̂̓̕͘̕S̸̢̯͇͊̑̒̎̆̈T̴̛̺̱̈́̐͌̆̀̓̋͘R̵̬̱̖̥͙͍͉̜͙̲͙̣̈́̄͐Ë̴̢͕̮̥̜͇͍͎͍̑͐̑́͆͗̽̋͋̍͝T̸͎̰̯̪̣̫̝̪̘̬̅̑͜C̶͖͎̻̹̭̻̦͋̎̊̽̋͜͝H̵̙̞̟̭̼̤̙̊͊̍͒͆̏̿̑̍̅̒̀̕ ̵̘͕̲̞̞͒͋͊̇́̈́̀̕͝A̸̢̡͕̝̝̫̙̳͊͋͑̎̾̍̽͋̾̚͘G̵̛̛̛͖̭͍͙͑̂̔͋͑͌̕A̸̡̤͇̞͗̈́̒̿̊̈̔͛̑̎͠͝͠Ì̵͕̘͔̗̖̲̮̮̙̞͐̿̓́͗͂̌̍͝͝Ņ̴̡̧̲͉̳͖̝͓̤̺͕̝̩́̾̉̔͑̃̚͘,̶̨̼͔͇̘̊͂” the thing spoke, alerting them of who it was.

“Ikari?” Shinano questioned.

“T̷̜̣̊̿̓̋̇Ó̷̖̘͓̖̺͚̬̰̠̬͈̺̜̥̿ͅÖ̴̝̺̞͎̝̮́̅̔̾͊̆͐̿̽͐̎͘K̷̛̮͕̳̰̘̯͇͍͂̎̉̂̍̂̾͗̎͗͆̍ ̷̢̨̛̥͙̗̘̥̖̖̫̲̖͓̠̥͋͗̎̄̈́͒̈́͌͌̕Y̸̧͔̻͎̼̼̫̙̤̱̦̘̳̅̾̾̽̍̃͗͒̒͘̕̚͠O̸̫͆̔̊̕U̸̧̫̪̟̲̗̜̱̤̽̔̚Ȓ̷̨̛̤̭̟̝̆̉̈́̿̄̒ ̴̢̲͙̹̻͕̩͔̠̭̅̿̔̓̀̍́̏́͊͘̚͝ͅT̵̫̽͆̄̓̌̀́͑̎̚͘͝͝Į̷̫̻̼͉̘͉̤̋́̾̌̈͑̉̃̊̅̇͆̋̎͝Ḿ̷͚̘̖͔̥̻͚͉̒͒̏E̷̡͉̫͉̘͔̍̑̎̆̈́͊͜ ̸̡̽̐T̴̨̤͚̖̦̟̳̯̰͕͖̙͖̽͆O̷̡̧̡̨͎̱̩͚̟̤͈͖̩̪̺͗̿̈́͑̋͂̅̇ ̵̛̪͙̘̤͈͓̦̗̝̣̘͑̽̀͆͂̈́́͋̃̈̂͂͝F̸͚̺̳̊́͂̾̀̏̈́͌̆̑̚Į̶̡̳̬̲͖͎̲̆͑͗̈̂͝͠Ģ̶̦̼̳͎̞̯̰̪͊͋̅̅̂͊͐̒U̵̥̝͚̟͕̩͖̱͖̪̩͓̓ͅR̵̟̪̋̎̀̽̀̊̾̚͠Ę̵̪̌ ̵̢̡̛͓̗̤̞͓̤͇̘̩̖͈̅̈̃̃̾̄̊̈́̂̃͑̚͜Ţ̷̡̟̲͍̼̪̺̈̎́̿͂̎̓͆͗̋͝H̷̡̳̘̜̩̙̱̙̠̤́̃͋͑͑̈́͗͗̇̈́͒͒̽̂͝Ă̶̞̖͒͑͝Ț̸̡̡̝̘̥͇̉́̀͑͒ͅ ̷̨̛̏̽̅̾̐̂͑́̅͂͘̕͝Ò̴̡̧͔̝͙͈͎͎̼̤̱̩̜̉̂͑̆̊̅Ủ̴̥̽̆̒̃́͌̏͝͝Ţ̸̮̗̮̰͇̯͍͇̱́̅̿̍̓̀̓͆̕͜͜,̷̨͇̞͔͇̹̒̐̅̅͋̚͘͠ ̸̨̯͍̖̪̭̝͊̿̎̂͑ͅS̷̨̫̏̌̐̽͋͆̾̂̈́̑͛͝I̴͇͈̩̯̭͙͎̅̓͂̈́͆̉̊̓̇̽͂L̵̟̤̖̼̆̆̈̈́̿̽̑͊̄̚̕͝V̸̧̢̧̜͇̭͚̝̘̬͕͆̎̌̿́͌͑̚Ę̵̧̧̝̥͕̙͚̩̳͖̬́ͅṞ̴̠̰̦͕͇͂̈͐̑̐̀̅͆̀̑̒̇͘̚ ̶͔̮̫͉̎͑̆̃̏͊̽͒͘̕͝ͅḞ̵̯̻͙̥̄̚Ỏ̵̧̢̭͚̬̠̙̋̒̀X̴͓̹͑͆͛̄͆͋̍̎̓͐̚,̴̺̙̀̌̇̈́̃̒̈́͆ͅ” Ikari said. “N̸̮͒̈̂͋̈́̈́́̅O̴̜͈̝͌́́̍́̏͂̄̔̓̅͝ͅŴ̵̡̡̢̨͉͎͖̤͕̰̟͕͒̃̃͗̆ͅ…̸͖̫̈͑̃̌̿̾̚”

In an instant, Ikari swiped its claws and scooped up Bremerton and Shinano in a tight grip. With thunderous steps, Anger made its way to the exit.

“I̶͍͍̤̗̒́̐̋́͗̃̐̈́͘ ̵̡̪̥̹̻͚̻̓̈͂M̶̨̖̮̩̞̦͚̪̀̓̿̍̋̉̔̃̕͜U̸̢̡̢̬̺̯͖̹̫͍͍̞̮̦̓̌S̷̹̯̜̫̥̦͔̫̯̼̞̗̮̘͐̈́̏͂̈̓̀͂̚͜Ţ̸̧̳͙̩̱̊̋̈́̇͋̌̚ ̸̢̟̼͔͎͓̬̌̽͗͌͗̄͒̆͗̀̍͌͝Ȩ̴̨̨͈͇̺͈̙̯͓̺̔̂̐́͝S̵̨͍͍̒̓̐̓̈́̆͐̓̒̇͑͛̚̚͠C̸̨̢͇̮̗̘͔͉̻͔̼͇̓̾̋̃̌̓̀̕͝O̵̡̡̮̺̯̤̣̤̙͎̣̮̤̩̓̓Ŗ̷̗̜̥̺͔͇́͆̿̀̎̌͒̋̉̑T̵̜̻̗͔̗̅̃̅̂́̓̅̀̽̉̚̕͘͝͠ ̸̢͔̞̙̗̖̺̑̂Y̶̡̫̩̹͈̑̍O̸̢̗͇̩̠̮̤̭̝͑̃̾̏͋̎̃́̀̕̚͜Ư̶̢̬̫͔̟͍̣͈̬̠̭̮̫̭̞ ̸͔̞̹̻̝̘̙̳͂̃̀͊̈́̈́̀̚͜͝Ț̶͋͛͂̾͗́͗͗̑̾̀͝W̵̮̯̻͔͙͈̰͋̎͋̅̈̈͘Ó̴̳͐̐̒̿͊̍̆͊̕͘ ̵̡̨͕̪̥͍͔͖̫̜̾́́́͐̈́̅̐̋̃̅̌̎͂Ó̵̺̤̹͈͎̺͊͆̎̋͌̑̔̕Ȕ̸̡̡͈̩̦̻̐͒̋͐̀T̷̲̖̺͙̀̇̒̉̒̈́̕.̴̖͈͔̇̊́̀͋͑̓”

“Let us go!” the Union girl demanded as she and the Sakuran struggled to escape its grasp.

“I̵̧̧͖̱̳͕̩͍̪͠ͅ ̶̢̳͉͚̙̱̪̩̥̥͖͍̬̖͗̌̂͠H̷̡̡̡̡̗͙̰̤͓̠̝͔̉̍̂́͑̈͊̎ͅͅA̸̢̳̣̩̘̜̍̂̆̾̈́̏̕V̵̛̘̘̫͓͕͓̍E̷̱̎͗̽̀̓̍̓̆͆͒̍͌ ̸̯͓̦̐̾͊̈̏̋́̐S̶͉̙͙̪̰̗̬̎͛͋͋͑͛̈͊͌̓́͘͠͝Ǒ̵͖̗̙̬̲͉̪͑̔͐̈́̉͝M̸͚̣͇̅̎͛̀͊̋̊͂̕͜Ę̴̛̛̠̬͔̖͕͕̭͇͉͍͎̀̌̽́̎̾̒̊̈́̀̕͜͝͝ ̴̢̥̱̞͔̣̩͖̦̩̫͙̮̙̜̈́͝͝R̶͖̗̣̬̥͙̓̓E̷̼̼̟̦̭͚̹̞̮̳̬̳̼̤͐͊͂̑͌͐͗͆̈̎͗̈́̓̕͜D̷̡̨̧͚̜̥̣͎̯̫͔̼̤͉̺́̂̓E̷̛̱̙̽̀̋̌͌̑̊̓́̄̈͒͠C̸̡̼̗̺̲̗̹͍̬̗͖̥̗̳̓͐̓̉̓̈́̈̀̇́̇͛̄͘͠O̷̜̯͂͋̒̈́̔͊̑͛̒̈́́͝͠Ŕ̶̟̣̤͈̅̃̄͗͑̑͌̈́̇̉͘͠͠͝Ą̴̲͕̬̊̐̍͆̿̾̎̑̔͒̾̀͘T̴̰̩͉̜̫̓I̵̠̹͚̿̀̊͗̀͂̀̅̽̕Ǹ̵̪̣̮̫̎̓̀͐̍͂̐͘͝G̴̖̹̯̙̩͗͘ ̶̛͎̬̞̳̮̮̲̰̀̈́͌͊̈̇͊͌́̾̎T̵̫̗͇̝̋̏̚Ơ̸̢̮̮̩̞̓̐̀͊̿̈́̐̓͆̇̍̒ ̷̰̯̫̜͖̮͔̫̻͋D̸̫̼̙͖͉̬͍̻̈͒̎̌̋͂͑̈́̅̊̓̕Ơ̴̢̨̛̭̙̝̥̞̮͔̺̳̹̍͑̋̿͌̿̿͝,̴̛͙̭̰̱͖̝̰̬̺͕̝̔͛̀͗͋͆͒̀͊̕͝ ̶̠̗̫̜͖̰͎͕̯̪̇̓̅̔̈́͝Ä̸̛͔̫͇͓̮͕͙̗͙́̈́͂̃̆͘͘Ñ̷͔̻̲̎̽̑͜ͅD̶͓̜̣͕̟͗̄͆͑́̀̌̈́̍͂͘ ̷̼͍̖̬̦̯͉͔̼͔͇̝̺̯̙̂̽̓̃̔͊͒Ĭ̶̤̺̘̭͇̤̂͐̂̕͜ͅ ̷̤̏̐̆̾͌̎̈́̃͗̊̒͝Ȓ̷͉̻̩̙̥̼̖̳̂̋̇̒͊̋̎͛̈͛͐͛̕̚ͅA̷̢̧̨͉̗̣̮͚̺̝͕̱͐̂͊̅́͗͒̔͗̃̊̀T̶̛͎̭̑͛̐̏̆̑͊͗̅͝͝H̷̢̛̯̜̠̏͛͐̐̅̈́̓͘͝E̵̡̻̬͓͕̫̰̯͙̥̞͚̙̪̘̓̈́̈̀̑̆͒͘Ŗ̶̛̼͇̬͕̥̫̀̄͛̋̈́̐̋͛̀̾̌̌̚͠ ̵̛̳͎̣̰̏̍̌̈́͂͑͐͛͗͊̀͝H̷̨̝̭͙͔̫̐̃͝Ā̷̢̬͇̹͍͇͓̞̘͕̯̠̈́͋̒͗̉̒̅́͗̊̉͝ͅV̴͈͓͍͎̺̯̫̠͆̂̎̾͜E̶͈͐̈́͛ͅ ̵̨̨̖̞̞̻̻̥̞͇͉̌̇Ý̶̡̬̳̗̩̻̲͖̘͓̤̰̯̱͛̓̓͒͆̊̉̍̑̒͘͜͝O̸̢̨̨̘̘̻̞̜͙̯̼̊U̶̢͓͖̙͔̟͚̫͍͉̼̹̙͂̒͊͂͛̍̿̋͊̃̋ ̷̲̠̰̱̐͌͐̌̎̒̐̎̽͠T̶̟̠̟̦̹̦͚̲̥̐́͒̿̂͑̌͘͝͝W̸̧̧̰͇̼̥͖̠͙̮͋͗́̎͗͐͘͘͠͠O̷̧͚͎̻̰̎̔̌̉́̔̏̅͒ ̶̡̧͙̺̪̮̻̃͆͒͗̎͜Ņ̴͇̮̪͙̗̤̹̹̤̹̤̲̰̠̒̿͊̊̈́̈̈̓̈́̕͝Ö̵͉̱̗͔͖͇͖̬̖̳̮̫͇͇͜T̴͈͓̦̲̞̰̳̫͊̒͊̈́̚̚ͅ ̸̡̰͉̘̙̼͈̳̦͎̺́̈́͐̑́̈́̈̌H̵̛͓̭̮̏͂̇͑̆̿́͐̈̀͠E̷̯̮̣̰̪̜̥̼̥͍̼̠̥̍R̷̛̞̩̯͔͚̠͉̻̱̝̟̱͍̃́̏̒́̒̎̋̈́̆͜Ȩ̷͙͇͙͖̘̮͉͕̝̗̹̘̿͛̕.̸̢̧͓̼̬̣̯͚̲̹͐͘ ̴̩̖̖̿͌͆̎̋́͐̅̓̂͐́̽̓͝Ṕ̸̢̢̛̝̜̜̻͓̭̣͇̺̐̆͗̀̎̄̂̕ͅL̶͆̿͌̒͐́͘͘͜E̸̖̔̑͂̾̋Ą̷̢̠̻̻̯̠͇̗̲̮̲͇̅ͅS̸̡̡͔̮̦̭̯̰͎͚̫̎̊̎̈͋̎E̴̥͓̰̮̦̳̠̰̻̞̰̰̠͑͋̄̌͑̃̅́ ̷̝͍̩͚̂̓͐̄͊̕͘C̶͙̻̭̥͍͍̣͋̔́̅͗̐́Ǫ̵̛̺̦̗̺̝̯̬̖́̇̈́̐̈̅̽̍̈́M̷̢̥̟̿̓̀Ë̵̢͎̺͍͙̿͠͝ ̵̨̡̦̘͒̆̀̐̅̀͋̊͝B̸͉̤͕͍͕̟͈͚̰̋̃̒̂͒̏͛̌̽̂͊̆̈͋̕A̴̛̰̞̭̱͋͊̄̾͆͆͗͂̽͜C̴͍̖̪̗̗̺̭͙̪͎͙͌̌̌̏̈́̌̈́̕͘͝K̵̗̪͂̀̈̓͛̅̕͘ͅ ̶̧̙̗̟͉̼͉̞̼̪̺͇̉́̑̄̚͜͜͝ͅI̴̢̧͖͖̥̼̘͈̩̣̟̳̝̥̘̅̒̆̍̌̊͐̒̀Ñ̶̫̝̫͇̲̜̈̉̔̽́͆̓̓̾͆̆̂͠ ̸̛̳͔͕̱̘̻͑͑̆̌́̉̿̍͑̓͜͝ͅṰ̵̨͕̯̟̟̥̗̣̰̫̮̜̮͚͆͌̕H̸̨̲̞̟͔̲͔̗̏̈́͜͝Ṙ̴̠̫̻͓̪͎͋͑È̶̢̨̼̞͓̯̼͇̞͈͍̜̭͎̑́̐Ę̵̪͎̰̻͚̹̜̞͍͚̱̭̈̈͗̈̄͑̌̈́̔͑͋͜͝͝͝ ̷̦̥̄͂̾̈͂͗̔̈́̚͝͝D̷͚̞͇͚̯̠̘̯͉̯̫̖̙̀̏͗̊̊͝ͅĄ̸̤̙̠̜̫̬̫̫̦̜̫̼͛̉̋͆̎́̚Ỷ̴̮̜͆̄̂S̴̢̛̥͎͚͚̗̖͙͈͎̘̤̩̃̌̈͌̉̒̔̓̇̔͘͝ͅ…̵̬̮͕͓̳̠̗̜̦̥̉͐̆͑” the Wolf instructed them, opening the exit and stuck its arm out — being too large to exit with them.

Once it placed them down on the floor, the two tried to make a beeline back in, but Ikari shut the door; locks and chains soon surrounded the door. Bremerton fired her rigging at it while Shinano pulled out a blade and slashed at it, but to no avail.

“What the hell was that about?!”

“This one doesn’t know… But I feel something bad happened to Shikikan in real-life.”

“Shit, is that why all of that happened?

“Perhaps… We must investigate out there. I’m afraid we won’t be getting answers until three days from now…”

Chapter Text

August 23rd, 2027, 12:36 PM, Base, Docks

“Made it just in time!” Libeccio cheered, as the rest of Patrol Group 19 made their way out of the water. “And even before the storm could hit!”

“Would have been a pain to run in the rain to get to the Command Building,” Giuseppe Garibaldi added.

“We must complete the AAR, remember?” Carabiniere said.

“Yeah, yeah. You guys can do that, I’ll just say a few things and be on my phone.”

“Once we’re done with that, how about some curry — I’ll make it myself,” Chi An offered.

“Oh… Joy…” Tai Yuan sarcastically said.

“Don’t get us wrong, Chi An. Your cooking has gotten significantly better since you started, but I wouldn’t trust you in the kitchen by yourself,” the masked battlecruiser elaborated.

“Come on!” the Empery cruiser pleaded. “I only ruined three dishes last time I cooked!”

As they were talking amongst each other, with the sound of distant thunder reaching their ears, someone was walking towards them. Looking up, Carabiniere saw that it was Howe, who was looking depressed — an atypical emotion for the woman. Her eyes also had a reddish tint to them. Another oddity was that she would usually be with the Commander whenever they came down to welcome back a patrol.

“Saluti, Howe,” the little soldier called out to her, but received no greeting back. Instead, Howe continued to silently walk their way.

“Um… Hey, Howe,” Huan Ch’ang also called out, only to be met with the same response.

“Howe, is there something wrong?” Tai Yuan asked.

“Where’s the Comandante…?” the dignitary next questioned.

But still, no words were emitted out of the battleship’s mouth. She simply walked past them all, and stepped down onto the water, forming her rigging. Before anyone could question what she was doing, she skated out into the open ocean and towards the raging storm.

“What was that about?” the energetic destroyer spoke everyone’s mind.

“Should we… go get her?” the calming cruiser suggested.

“Nein, she needs some time alone,” a voice answered from behind them. Turning around, it was Thüringen and Duca degli Abruzzi that were now walking toward them.

“Welcome back, Patrol 19,” Duca degli Abruzzi greeted them. “Walk and talk.”

Doing as instructed, Patrol 19 walked with the two secretaries — taking one last glance at a slowly disappearing Howe out at sea. Moving up, Giuseppe caught up with her sister and asked, “Sorella, what’s going on?”

“The Comandante is out of commission,” she spoke flatly, catching all of 19 off guard. “There was an incident at the Shopping District, and now he is in a coma.”

“So that’s why Howe was acting like that…” Chi An pieced it. “Poor, Howe…”

“Is there anything we can do?” Huan Ch’ang jumped in.

“Vestal and the others are already doing the best they can with the Kommandant,” Thüringen informed them. “With Howe, it’s best to give her space until she’s ready to talk with others again.”

“Until then, we must upkeep the operations of Azur Lane.”

Meanwhile, with Howe…

Howe continued to sail out into the open ocean, with no real goal in mind; her head facing down into the murky depths. She just wanted to be away from everything right now, to just be alone. And the only place she knew that she would find that was where you were just a dot in an empty void of blue — the sea. She was so absent-minded that the incoming rain dropping onto her body was something she ignored. Even with the flash of lightning and the crashing waves at her heels, she continued to skate out.

Eventually, she felt exhausted mentally, and just gradually came to a stop. The lone lady just stood motionless as she let the storm rage onto her body, all of this to be a bad dream she thought. To just wake up and to be in her bed, so that she may see the smiling face of John once she arrived at the office.

*Flash* *Thunder*

The strike of electricity brought a blinding light that illuminated the water she stood upon. And in that moment, she saw a stretched out shadow in front of her eyes; the head clearly casting a hood. Slowly moving her head up, she came face-to-face with Glitch — staring at her with its blue lights.

Mustering all the strength she could, she reached for her blade, aimed her guns at the menace, and entered a ready stance. But they didn’t move; instead, they simply continued to look at her. The two eyed each other for another few seconds before Howe moved in to strike them down. But her movements were not up to par as she led with a large downwards swing, and was easily dodged by Glitch stepping to the side. She tried again with another wide swing from the side, but they stepped back to avoid it.

*Flash* *Thunder*

This little dance of theirs continued as Howe swung her sword wildly at the armored foe as they used small motions to dodge each and everyone. The battleship even threw in a few salvos of her 14 inch guns, but her mind wasn’t there and she missed by a large margin. As this fight played along, she could feel frustrated by this — tears starting to well up in her eyes.

*Flash* *Thunder*

She was frustrated that this foe didn’t take her seriously to fight.

An upwards strike launched water up to the foe’s face, which did nothing as Glitch proceeded to deflect the blade with an arm. Howe tried to go for another slash, but the waves became too much for her as a large one crashed into her. It caused her to drop her sword into the water, where it remained afloat. However, she didn’t care as she continued the assault.

*Flash* *Thunder*

She was angry at Akagi and Taihou for fighting, and causing John to be injured.

Howe unleashed everything her rigging could give: her 356 mm guns, her 133 mm guns, her 40 mm autocannons, and her 20 mm cannons. Every round was fired in anger, to completely devastate her opponent where they stood. Yet she didn’t concentrate on her aim, causing most of them to miss by feet. Those that were close enough to hit were merely dodged out of the way, or simply did no damage at all.

*Flash* *Thunder*

She was mad at Enterprise and the others for not attempting to stop them from fighting earlier.

As the last shells from all her weapons were expended, she went in for a punch to the face. It was a desperate maneuver to do, completely pointless as it would do nothing; but she moved forwards with this last gambit. It proved to be for naught as Glitch just caught her fist without moving. Howe tried to put more strength, hoping that her arm would budge an inch — but nothing happened. She was…

*Flash* *Thunder*

She was aggravated… with herself…

For not noticing the fighting that was happening. For not being able to do anything to help John then and now. For being out here for no purpose, trying to do a Sisyphean task in her current state. She knew not who she should direct this fury towards. Maybe one group, maybe everyone. All she knew was that she was just done…

And with that, she dropped to her knees, and let out everything — screaming and crying to the heavens. No matter what the heavens teared down on her face, her tears were always there; and there was nothing to hide them.

For their part, Glitch stood emotionless as they watched this broken lady wailed her eyes with so many emotions going through her head. Letting go of Howe’s hand, they loomed over the woman as she continued to stream tears down her face. With nothing else to do, they started to activate their camouflage system and slowly started to fade out of sight. Before completely turning invisible, they raised a hand up to the battleship’s head, and wiped away her tears before disappearing.

*Flash* *Thunder*

However, Howe’s tears still continued to pour out as she remained on her knees for several more minutes. Even when she could cry no more, she wanted to cry as she holdered to the sky — her catharsis over what had transpired hours ago. The Royal couldn’t tell how much time had passed, nor did she really cared at the moment.

Eventually, someone found her out there, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Come on, Howe…” Helena META called out, holding onto Howe’s sword in her other hand. “This isn’t somewhere you should be…”

Howe didn’t get up, continuing to stay in her position. The META ship sighed before helping her up to her feet, and gently tugged her arm so they may go back to the port.

Chapter Text

August 23rd, 2027, 6:00 PM, ???, Texas

Rushing down the halls to reach her parents room, Samantha held onto her phone as fear consumed her mind. King George V had just sent her a message concerning the well-being of her brother. Moments earlier, she was in the middle of an art project when she received the notification; dropping everything, grabbing the communicator, and running.

Coming to the door, she almost slipped past it due to how fast she was running — stopping herself by grabbing onto the door frame. Catching her breath, she saw that her father was sitting up on the bed while her mama was on a chair facing the window.

“Woah! Slow down, Sammy,” her father warned her. “What’s going on?”

“ Something bad happened to John! ” Samantha frantically signed out.

“What?! What happened?!”

“ He got injured and is in a coma! ”

“Dear Lord… Margaret, you heard that?!”

“Yes… I did…” Margaret confirmed, still staring out the window.

“What’s happening now?”

“ He’s in the hospital being looked over by the girls. I want to go visit, you two should also come! ”

“Haa… I don’t know if we can do that, Sammy,” Matthew sighed out. “Travel over there is going to be expensive, you know your step-mother can’t travel, and you have deadlines to meet with your commissions. Plus, we can’t do much. As much as I want the family to see Jonathan to make sure he’s safe, we are in no position to do so. I’m sorry.”

“Trust the girls over at Azur Lane, Samantha,” Mama said. “They are all capable women, who are able to handle any situation thrown at them. They are equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment and have some of the best doctors. I’m sure they are able to take care of Johnny. Remain calm, keep asking for updates on him, and wait out the storm.”

“ Alright, Mama. I’ll keep you two updated on what they tell me, ” John’s sister agreed before returning to her room. As she did, a random thought crossed her mind.

I never told Mama about their medical equipment… Well, I guess it would be assumed given what else I’ve told her.

Chapter Text

August 23rd, 2027, 1:45 PM, Base, Hospital

Howe sat in a nearby chair, looking at the unconscious man she calls her lover that laid on the hospital bed. Her body was still wet from the weather outside, her cape still shredded, her hair disheveled, and her eyes had dried up — having expended most of her tears out in the storm.

No one had entered the room ever since she entered, not even Vestal or her sisters — everyone was outside to allow her this moment of grief. Everyone knew that the Secretary needed not be disturbed. Even Helena META waited with the others, knowing the feeling of loss all too well herself. It was just Howe and John that were in the room as the sound of rain and thunder reverberated through the walls.

Weakly raising her arm, she reached for John’s left hand, and grasped onto it with what little strength she still had. Feeling the mixture of his warm hands being cooled by the environment, it filled her with dark thoughts about the possibilities for the Commander.

“Wake up *hiccup* John…” Howe pleaded. “Please… *hiccup* Wake up…”

*Beep*

*Beep*

*Beep*

*Sobbing*

*Beep*

*Beep*

*Beep*