In a strange snowy arctic the Azur Lane ships float together. Icebergs surround the area.

  On Prince of Wales' ship several other Azured ships are catching their breath.

  Edinburgh does a check on the resting ships.

  Wales, Warspite, Hood, plus another ship, and Elizabeth are having a conversation.

  "Yes." The other ship starts. "When the special combat zone colpsed earlier, it seems to have also caused the rest of the nearby area to become unstable as well."

  "Is this all done by the Sirens?" Hood questions.

  "The Sakura Empire's 'Project Orochi' and that mysterious event caused by Enterprise..." Wales starts. "I cannot help but feel that they are reted in some way."

  Queen Elizabeth is staring up at the falling snow. "In order to thwart whatever it is the Sirens are plotting... We can't let the Sakura Empire escape." She looks at a rge hole in the sky

  On Hornet's ship several Cruisers, including Clevend and her sisters, are staring up at the hole in the sky.

  "Big sis..." Columbia calls out. "What's going on?"

  "How would I know...?" Clevend says.

  Hornet stares up at the hole. "What are you doing... Big sis?" She mutters. "Where are you Alicorn?"

  On Wale's ship Sheffield is staring at the hole in the sky with an emotionless look.

  Edinburgh walks up to her. "I hope Miss Alicorn is okay." She says in worry.

  Sheffield gnces at Edinburgh before looking back to the sky. "She will be, she always is." She tightens a fist, unseen by her partner. 'She has to be.'

  ....

  Baxterbro

  ....

  Javelin and Laffey, skate across the top of the water. A heavy wind blows and Laffey shivers before hugging herself.

  "Cold." Laffey mutters.

  Javelin gnces back at Laffey. "We got separated from the others... We have to regroup with the fleet, soon."

  The wind grows heavier and they stop as they see a figure behind a snow wall. The two cruisers stop and the wall blows away revealing Ayanami.

  "Oh..." Javelin mutters. "Ayanami."

  Ayanami stares at the two with a hand on the handle of her sword, and her guns pointed at them. 'The world used to be a simple pce. Fighting was the reason we existed, our enemies were invaders from the outside. In addition, humanity was backed into a corner. It was a tough world to live in, but there was no doubt in our fighting. To fight. To protect. Those two things were one and the same, no contradictions. But...'

  Laffey sneezes and Javelin looks at her.

  "This again." Ayanami starts. "Why won't you fight?! What are you thinking?!"

  "We told you before." Laffey calls out. "We want to be friends with you."

  "That's right!" Javelin shouts. "We want to be friends with you, Ayanami..."

  "We're enemies!" Ayanami shouts back. "What are you talking about?!"

  "It doesn't matter." Laffey cims.

  "It does matter!" Ayanami gains a conflicted look as she avoids eye contact with the two. "We are warships... Fighting the enemy is natural!"

  "No." Javelin says. "We are not that simple."

  Everything goes silent for a few seconds, before a cannon round flies towards the two.

  "Watch out!" Laffey tackles Javelin out of the way, the shell nds in the water far behind the two Azur Lane ships.

  Yuudaci skates in, her cannons smoking. "Stop bullying Ayanami!"

  Yukikaze skates in. "Yeah!"

  Yukikaze fires her cannons.

  "Wait!" Javelin shouts. "We don't want to fight..."

  Javelin and Laffey cover their heads as shells nd around them, throwing up water spouts.

  "We won't fall for that!" Yuudaci shouts.

  Shigure skates up to Ayanami and grabs her hand. "What are you hanging around for?! Let's get out of here!"

  Shigure drags Ayanami away from the situation.

  Yukikaze ughs as she follows behind the two. "We'll settle this in the future!"

  "We won't be easy on you next time!" Yuudaci shouts as she follows her fellow destroyers.

  Javelin holds a hand out. "Ayanami!" She falls backwards as shells nd around her.

  "Javelin!" Laffey calls out.

  Belfast skates in and grabs Javelin.

  "Are you alright?" Belfast asks as she holds Javelin.

  Javelin looks up to the maid. "Belfast."

  Laffey sails over to the two.

  "Let us depart. It is not safe here." Belfast suggests.

  Javelin then stares out where her friend left too.

  .

  .

  .

  Alicorn kneels in a dark space with light shining through rge cracks above her. A few scars slowly seal up as Alicorn stares down at the water, with a disappointed look on her face.

  "What would Mother think?" Alicorn mutters to herself. "I nearly killed Zuikaku." She grips the military coat. "What would Illustious and Unicorn think? I'm a disgrace to the Yorktown/illustrious Css."

  The cracks above her seal slightly more as less light shines through them. Suddenly she hears movement in front of her and said submarine looks up.

  To the left of Alicorn is Purifier, with her back turned. To the right is META Alicorn, with her back turned. And in front is Yorktown, with her back turned.

  Alicorn tilts her head in confusion. "I think i might understand." She looks to Purifier. "I could be a Siren, hellbent on destroying humanity." She then looks at META Alicorn. "Or I can be a tool of war, used to save humanity."

  Alicorn then looks at Yorktown. "But what is the third option." She stands up. "This third option must be better then the other two... It makes the most logical sense... I hope."

  Alicorn starts walking towards Yorktown, but suddenly her surroundings start to glitch and a high pitched ringing echoes in the void. Alicorn grunts in pain as she grabs her head and falls to her knees.

  Alicorn's eyes start to glow as a psychotic giggles echos in the void as it starts to darken.

  "You are mine, my Imouto." Purifier giggles. "We can be together... forever."

  A smirk forms on Alicorn's face as she giggles. "One Million lives shall be mine" Alicorn shakes her head,

  "No! I can't! B??????u?????t????? ???????w??????e????? ?????m?????u???????s?????t?????? ?????d?????o??????? ????????i????????t?????!??? No! Y??????E??????S???????!?????? ??????O??????N?????E???????? ???????M???????I??????L??????L??????I??????O????N???????!???????"

  Alicorn sms her head into the water, before she looks back up, her eyes fshing.

  "A????????????H????????H????????????????????????H????????????H????????????????H????????????H??????????H????????????????????????H???????????????????????H???????????????????H???????????????????????????H?????????????H??????????????????!?????"

  Alicorn lets out a pained scream, before the void completely goes bck.

  .

  .

  .

  Belfast, Javelin and Laffey skate through the icey ocean. Belfast is leading the way.

  "Are you concerned about that Sakura Empire girl?" Belfast calls out to the two Destroyers.

  Javelin looks down at the water. "You saw."

  "Yes. I apologize for being te to come help you."

  "Um... Aren't you mad at us?"

  "Excuse me?" Belfast questions.

  "Ayanami is our enemy..." Javelin says. "But we really don't want to fight her. But we don't know what to do..."

  "...You should continue to dwell on this."

  Javelin looks up at Belfast. "Huh?"

  "Keep thinking. We cannot let the situation continue to make our decisions for us. Our powers must not be taken so lightly." Belfast looks back at Javelin. "We were created to fight, not to destroy." She looks back to the front and whispers. "Something I hope Alicorn comes to terms with."

  Javelin and Laffey both nod, not having heard Belfast whisper. "Yes!"

  A strong breeze blows from the side and the three watch a Siren ship sink below the water line.

  "This area is especially dangerous." Belfast calls out. "Please try to regroup with the fleet as quickly as possible."

  "What about you?" Javelin asks.

  "I must find Enterprise and Alicorn. I am a maid. Being at Enterprise's side is my duty, and my duty to find her niece."

  "Laffey will help, too." She calls out and Belfast looks back at her.

  "But..."

  "We will help find Enterprise and Alicorn." Javelin says with determination. "Let's all go home together."

  Belfast smiles at the two.

  .

  .

  .

  Siren Tester, on top of an iceberg, watches as Azur Lane and Sakura Empire csh in a rge icey area full of icebergs.

  "The human race continues to entertain me." Tester states. "They despise war, yet choose to fight. Their internal contradictions are simply incorrigible."

  Observer floats nearby, with Akagi wrapped up in one of her tentacles. "They are a mirror, reflecting the thoughts and histories of humans. Conflict is the core of humankind. Yes... War never changes, regardless of era."

  Tester looks at the unconscious form of Akagi. "What, did you pick that up?"

  "Yes. She still has a role to py."

  "Thanks to Enterprise and Alicorn, the bck Mental Cube has acquired a huge amount of data." Observer informs. "It's enough for the project."

  Tester smiles. "Yes. Finally."

  "Yes. Orochi awakens."

  Happy humming interrupts the twos conversation. They look over to see Purifier, with a big smile, snuggling Alicorn, who's completely still. Alicorn's eyes are dull and lifeless as her riggings eyes shine a dull yellow.

  "My precious Imouto." Purifier whispers as she snuggles Alicorn.

  Tester frowns. "Will you get ride of that thing already."

  Purifier stops snuggling Alicorn and hugs her close as she gres at Tester. "Don't meddle in my business, she's my perfect toy! And besides, we need her to retrieve the bck Mental Cube." she smiles again and continues to rub her face against Alicorn's cheek.

  "How are you even controlling her? I thought the humans wiped the Siren Data from her."

  Purifier smirks and looks at Tester. "They can't wipe all her Siren Data, for it's her base line of coding. My base line coding. They used my data to create her, they used my data for her combat data. They used my rigging and data to make her rigging and submarine." Purifier's hands rub up and down Alicorn's body. "She is essentially me, but with a few different lines of code, a different body." She rubs her hands on Alicorn's rigging. "A different rigging." She then squeezes Alicorn's cheeks. "But a slightly different mind. We are one and the same."

  Tester blinks a few times. "...You are weird."

  "Don't call me weird!" Purifier growls in anger, before snuggling Alicorn again and talking in a baby voice. "You don't think I'm weird, right Imouto? No you don't. Cause you love me so much! You are mine, my Imouto. We can be together forever."

  Purifier's eyes fsh a few times as she stares into Alicorn's lifeless and dull eyes, causing Alicorn's eyes to fsh several times.

  Tester floats over to Observer. "She's getting to close to Project Artemis again. We should eliminate her before it gets worse."

  "Now hold on Tester." Observer starts. "I can still possible find some sue of Purifier, we need all the Elite Siren's we can get."

  "You remember what happened in the st test, when Purifier got close to Project Artemis, we can't let that happen again."

  Observer just smiles. "Oh, I'll make sure it won't happen again."

  .

  .

  .

  Zuikaku skates through a ravine with high walls of ice. A few wrappings are across her stomach as she looks around. She comes out of the ravine and spots Enterprise standing on a tall iceberg.

  "Grey Ghost?!" Zuikaku shouts as she comes to a stop as she puts a hand on her katana.

  Enterprise remains motionless as her eyes shine bright yellow. Suddenly dozens upon dozens of Dougs SBDs fly over Enterprise, casing Zuikaku to gasp in shock as they start to drop bombs down onto her.

  Zuikaku skates back at bombs explode all around her. A couple of pnes fries their guns down onto her, and Shoukaku suddenly appears behind Zuikaku.

  "Zuikaku!" Shoukaku shouts.

  "Sister?!" Zuikaku questions as Shoukaku covers her as the bullets fly down onto them.

  Large pieces of icebergs crash into the water as bombs continue to drop.

  Azur ne watches in shock.

  "Big sis?" Hornet questions as she watches the carnage from her ship.

  The pnes in the sky disappear as the bombs stop dropping.

  Icebergs continue to fall apart as Siren Enterprise continues to watch with an emotionless look. Through from her Point of View she seems something different.

  ...

  Fire surrounds Enterprise as her yellow eyes stare out at her dead friends and family in front of her. Alicorn is seen hugging Yorktown in her arms as the water turns red under them.

  Dozens of pnes fly past Enterprise and drop bombs onto the approaching Siren Fleet. Fire consumes the waters around her.

  "Someone tell me..." Enterprise starts. "Will there ever come a day when all conflict ends?"

  "You know the answer to that question better than anyone." Observer appears behind Enterprise.

  A burning fg falls in front of Enterprise.

  "Ah, I see..." Enterprise's eyes shine yellow. "War never changes.

  ...

  A red bzing pne flies through the smoke towards Enterprise. Zuikaku holds an injured Shoukaku tightly, with her hand held out. "Grey Ghost!"

  Zuikaku's pne turns into a zero and beelines towards Enterprise. Yet Enterprise remains unmoving from the threat and the pne crashes into her, making her hat fly off.

  Enterprise continues to remain unmoving as her hair fps in the wind. No damaged as come to her.

  Zuikaku just lowers her hand in slight shock, before looking down at her injured sister. "I'm sorry, Shoukaku..."

  A blue light flies off of Enterprise's rigging and changes into a Dougs and flies towards Zuikaku and Shoukaku. The pne dive bombs towards the two, and readies a bomb.

  Zuikaku looks down at her sister, only for the bomb to sm into the ice wall beside Zuikaku. She looks up in surprise and spots a certain Destroyer.

  "Ayanami?!" Zuikaku shouts in shock and Shoukaku looks as well.

  Ayanami jumps from ice piece to ice piece through the air. Ayanami then jumps up into the air towards Enterprise. 'I don't know what I should do. But...' She slices a Dougs in half with her sword. 'I know I don't like this!' The pne blows up.

  Enterprise remains unmoving and emotionless as her eyes glow yellow. Yet she looks up at Ayanami, as said girl flies out of a rge smoke cloud, unmoving and unconscious.

  Enterprise's eyes go from glowing Siren yellow, back to their normal violet.

  Javelin gasps in horror at the falling Ayanami as a tear in reality opens up below her.

  Enterprise comes back to her senses. "Oh... Wait..."

  Ayanami wakes back up and finds herself falling, she reaches a hand up towards the sky. Javelin gasps, not know what to do.

  "Go!" Belfast shouts to her.

  "Yeah!" "Yes!" Laffey and Javelin respond skate down an ice slide, towards their falling friend.

  "Deactivating self-imposed limiter!" Javelin shouts.

  Javelin and Laffey jump towards Ayanami. Javelin turns around and fires an anchor into the side of the ice slide as Laffey grabs onto Ayanami's hand.

  The Javelin crashes and grabs onto Laffey. The three hang in the air as a breeze blows.

  "Too heavy...!" Javelin whines.

  Enterprise then falls to her knees and then falls forward, stopping herself with her hands. She closes her eyes.

  "Climb up quickly...!" Javelin shouts to Ayanami.

  Ayanami looks up and smiles. "Thank you."

  .

  .

  .

  Sheffield skates through the iceberg filled waters. She looks around in slight worry, she then stops.

  "Miss Alicorn!" Sheffield shouts, she then continues skating.

  "Miss Alicorn!" Edinburgh voice echoes in the distance.

  Sheffield sails around an ice wall and gasps as she spots Alicorn barely floating on top of the water, her rigging and bottom torso is below the water.

  "Miss Alicorn!" Sheffield swiftly moves over to her and kneels down onto her. "Alicorn, wake up!"

  Sheffield checks over Alicorn and finds that she's still alive. She sighs in relief and hugs Alicorn to her chest. "Alicorn, you're safe."

  "Sheffield?" Alicorn's eye slightly open as she weakly speaks.

  "Yes, it's me."

  Alicorn hums and closes her eyes and snuggles into Sheffield's warm embrace. "Warm... Don't let go."

  Sheffield holds Alicorn closer. "I promise."

  Edinburgh skates in and spots the two. "Miss Alicorn!" She swiftly sails over, nearly tripping over. Edinburgh reaches the two and hugs Alicorn. "I'm so gd your safe."

  Alicorn hums and nuzzles into her maids warm embrace. "So warm. I like it."

  "Don't scare us like that again, Miss Alicorn." Sheffield looks down at said Sub, only to find her sleeping as her face is smothered the two maids breasts.

  "W-We should let her sleep." Edinburgh says.

  Sheffield looks at her friend, then back down to her mistress. "We can spare a few minutes."

  The two smile down at the sleeping sub that's between their bussoms.

  ...

  Baxterbro

  ...

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  07-21-2023

  2933 words