Chapter Text
She hated doing this. hated doing things she didn't agree to, but she had to do it. She wasn't strong enough to kill the creator.
"Key Point G." The creator called her to the mirror sea, its voice, a robotic mixture of male and female.
The sea gave way as she was summoned from beneath the sea, the coldness replaced with howling winds screaming at her. There the creator stood, its features overshadowed by the hooded cloak , staring at countless monitors that viewed a singular naval base and the surrounding seas.
"Is it time?" G said in her monotone voice. She knew what it was.
Simulation mist.
The creator's barbaric plan to help Azur lane get stronger by breaking them both physically and mentally. The simulation would summon countless monsters and the vile entity that was corruption. The mist made her sick as it was worse than everything the sirens had ever done. The monsters were stronger and more cunning than the sirens and more cruel as nearly every monster would force themselves onto the Ship-girls, rape them and force them to carry their offspring, not caring if the mother would die. She hated the simulation and wanted to destroy it but fear of the consequences kept her loyal.
It was better to be compliant than to be a test subject of the Creator's "experiments".
"Indeed." The creator confirmed as the sounds of its fingers hitting keys made her uneasy. "Commence the simulation."
"As you wish." It was a routine at this point. The creator wants her to do something, she'll comply. no matter how cruel it was, but Deep down, her conscience was screaming at her. Telling her that it isn't worth it, that her counterpart and her sisters would suffer. the words were eating away at the compliance that had been built over time.
Yet, it wasn't enough to break through and stop her actions though. She put her palm on the terminal next to the creator, the terminal mockingly humming as it confirmed her input and sank to the endless sea around them.
The simulation had begun.
X-x-X
The base was under attack. It was a late morning when the clouds began to surround the base, dimming the area and engulfing the sun entirely.
It didn't take long for them to appear. Their roars sounding like a thousand voices warning the ship-girls of what's approaching.
"Hornet, how many are there?" The commander's voice was barely heard as the whining sounds of bombs being dropped and the eruption of flares shrieked over him. her hellcat's leaving her flight deck.
"Hard to tell with all of this fog! Hornet said, irritation in her voice.
The fog barely let out any light as the sunlight was only a few rays. the poor visibility hiding the armored giants. The only way to see was through exploding bombs, and flares. The whining sound of bombs being dropped shrieked at Hornet's ears before Belches of fire forced the fog to dissipate, revealing the army of giant monsters that was slowly gaining ground were lit on fire. Despite the successful hits, the monsters were not slowing down. The sounds of shells being ejected from cannons overlapping with the motors of planes flying above her. The shells were barely doing anything to them as the monsters were wearing armor that was somehow thick enough for most of their shells to ricochet. The only thing that could go through the armor and hit the monster's flesh was the shells that came from the guns of Fusou and Yamashiro but due to their slow reload time and the monster's constant movement, it wasn't hitting anything that would kill them.
''What is that armor made out of!?'' Hornet thought out loud as she saw her bombers hit one of the armored giants, only for it to do nothing as the monster continued to advance, the fire continuing to singe its armor. The monster seemed to notice this as it looked at the fire on its chest-plate but nevertheless continued to walk.
"Damn it! I can't use my planes." The irritated voice of Ryuujou was vaguely heard from the handheld radio. Hornet checked on her hellcats; her view cleared to see the cockpit of the planes. The light carrier was right as the giants were close enough to their allies that the plane's payload would harm them. however Hornet noted a strange behavior. The giants were looking down constantly, staring at the smaller Ship-girls. adjusting their steps to avoid stomping on the ship-girls as if they didn't want to accidentally kill them.
Hornet didn't know if this was mercy or a way to taunt the ship-girls that were firing on them.
Deciding to ignore the thought, Hornet unsummoned her ship form and ran back to get a better position for her planes to be effective. The rest of the carriers doing the same. During this time, the radio static turned silent before a voice echoed out of the radio.
"Can anyone hear me?" The voice of Hornet's sister, Enterprise, boomed through the radio as Hornet retreated away from the battle. Enterprise would have joined the others but she stayed behind to escort the commander to the bunker that the base had in case of a bombing run.
"Loud and clear, Sis." Hornet heard others confirming that they could hear the Grey ghost.
"Good." Hornet heard silence as Enterprise seemed to formulate a plan in her head. it didn't take long before she answered. "I need everyone to lure them towards the base."
...
"ARE YOU INSANE!" Hornet winced as Hammann shouted what everyone was thinking, The sound of shells ejecting making itself known as the cat-like destroyer was still battling the monsters.
"I'll explain on the way, just keep luring them towards the base." That was all Enterprise said as she went silent. Despite common sense telling Hornet to not follow Enterprise's plan, everyone was getting desperate as their shells seemed to not penetrate through their armor. So, everyone reluctantly followed the order and began to lure them towards the base.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Sis." Hornet can't help but say out-loud as she retreated back to the base.
X-x-X
Enterprise kept her eyes on the ocean, waiting for even the smallest of movement that forced the waves to move away. Thanks to her planes, Enterprise has a general idea of where the monsters would be heading towards next. The plan was to lure the monsters towards and fire the base's coastal batteries at them, their ammunition strong enough to sink a battleship.
"Sis, are you sure this plan of yours isn't going to backfire on us?"
"What choice do we have, Hornet." Enterprise acknowledged Hornet's concern as her planes returned to her flight deck. "The guns have the firepower we need to penetrate through their armor."
However, the sounds of skittering legs made her focus her attention at the guns.
Enterprise turned to her right and In front of the gun was a giant spider, its size dwarfing the gun. It was unmanned thankfully, but the relief was short-lived as the spider began to spin its web on the gun, attempting to disable it. Enterprise summoned her bow and aimed at the spider. However, Gigantic waves of water involuntarily threw themselves towards Enterprise, drenching the eagle union carrier.
Instinct took over as she looked at what caused the waves to hurl towards the base. When the carrier looked back, her eyes involuntarily widened as a shadow eclipsed her.
It was an armored western dragon. Its height being close to 25 ft long head to tail, with a wingspan of 15 meters. The dragon's fiery red scales were overshadowed by Its damaged armor, scorch marks darkening the dented metallic armor.
Enterprise continued to stare at the dragon's turquoise eyes. readying herself to use her planes at the dragon if it tries to do any sudden moves, Ignoring her instinct's demand to get in a better position to fight the behemoth. The groaning sound of metal quickly reminded Enterprise of the spider that was nearly finished with jamming the coastal gun with its web. Enterprise quickly turned and fired her arrow, the arrow turning into Hellcat bombers.
The dragon reacted first as its left hand jolted awake, Backhanding with the armored side of its hand and destroying the bombers before they reached the ashen-gray skies. The wreckage doing nothing but darkening the armor. Enterprise attempted to fire again but the dragon's right palm dragged itself towards her and grabbed the Carrier, the ferocity of the grab gave her no time to dodge it.
"Nnn'' Enterprise grunted as the rough scales coiled around her. her hat disembarking itself away from her head as The dragon lifted her up to its muzzle, its piercing eyes staring at the carrier with intimidation. Enterprise didn't let the stare intimidate her as she stared back at the dragon with the same intimating anger in her eyes. The dragon seemed to ignore this as it stared at the Coastal gun that was now completely covered in webs, effectively jamming it.
Once the dragon confirmed that the gun was inoperable, it took to the skies, a giant wave left in its wake, taking Enterprise with it. Enterprise used the dragon's ascension to verify the situation with the coastal guns. Years of mentally being in her plane's cockpit allowed her to be used to seeing blurry images on the ground, Unfortunately, despite being blurry, Enterprise noticed that there were other spiders that were in the process of jamming the rest of the guns with their webs. She tried to wiggle her arms free to communicate with her allies but the dragon rectified that by slightly squeezing her, pain flaring even more as a reminder of her predicament.
The only thing she can do is watch as the dragon flew towards an unknown location. Enterprise felt the air slamming into her as the dragon kept gliding in the air, the smell of gunpowder assaulted her nostrils as the dragon dived down to where her allies were, fighting the giants that were advancing more and more towards the base. a small part of the ocean being forced away as its tail skimmed the water. The dragon's grip on Enterprise loosened-
-Before it dropped her into the ocean from a safe height.
Enterprise quickly summoned her ship to lessen the impact of the fall, her body fumbling around on the runway, her view of the world swirling around in circles before her back made contact with one of her planes
letting out a groan, Enterprise laid still on the runway, her labored breathing being the only thing that she can hear. After a minute of regaining her breath, she begin to get herself up, her back protesting in pain to keep her prone. Despite the erupting pain, Enterprise got up and immediately de-summoned her Carrier, falling as it dematerialized underneath her. Once she made contact with the sea it made her legs stumble forward before it gave out, her knees stopping her from entering the watery abyss. taking a deep breath, Enterprise checked her rigging. Despite her bow having dents on it, her rigging was still mostly in one piece, However she has no idea where she is, the fog around her making it impossible to see anything.
Fortunately, the bow of an iron blood cruiser made itself known before it disappeared, the only remnant being the ship-girl that was walking towards her.
"Enterprise."
The voice of Prinz Eugen later confirmed her presence as she de-summoned her ship and walked towards her ally, not seeming to care about the monsters that were still moving towards the base.
"You can't seem to catch a break, can you~" Teased Prinz Eugen as she put her hand in front of the carrier, Gesturing for her to accept Eugen's aid. Enterprise accepted as she grasped the cruiser's hand, Eugen lifting her from the sea, the cruiser standing upright once more.
Enterprise quietly thanked Eugen and looked where the cruiser came from, the sight of fire allowing them both to dimly see the battle. Without hesitation, Enterprise ran towards the battle, firing her bow to summon her hellcats.
Eugen shook her head and proceeded to follow the Eagle Union carrier. "you're just like Bismarck."
Enterprise didn't reply and continued running towards the battle.
X-x-X
Hornet had nearly returned to the base, the sound of fighting becoming silent as she approached the base. using this time, she decided to catch her breath as the silence brought the carrier time to think about their predicament. The day started out normal with the sun beaming at the base before it disappeared as a fog surrounded the base. giant monsters started to appear that wore armor that only a select few guns can penetrate through. Their only chance being bringing them to the base and using the coastal guns to kill them.
It sounded like a plot to a low budget monster movie.
Hornet chuckled at the thought before telling herself to refocus before Ryuujou arrived.
"What are you doing?" The draconic carrier scolded Hornet as she got closer. Before Hornet could answer, a long shadow eclipsed them both and they instinctively looked up to see what was overshadowing them.
'Was that a dragon?' Hornet thought as the silhouette disappeared from their view, noting where it came from. It took her a second to realize it was retreating from the base.
Meaning Enterprise was in danger.
Without thinking, Hornet started running again, leaving Ryuujou behind. her emotions overpowering her rationality. She didn't care that Enterprise could handle herself, she was a carrier that was going against monsters that could kill her by just stomping on her. Hornet heard Ryuujou catching up with her as she continued to run towards the base.
After a minute of running, she could see the buildings from the base. Hornet continued to run before she saw something floating across the water. The carrier got closer to the object and her eyes widened as she realized what it was.
It was Enterprise's hat. Drenched in water as if it fell off from Enterprise's head.
Hornet ran towards the hat, assuming the worst had happened.
However fate seemed to be on Hornet's side as her radio had turned on and Enterprise spoke through it.
"Everyone, listen to me. I don't know how but some managed to get into the base and are attempting to jam the guns."
Relief washed over Hornet as her sisters spoke through the radio but now wasn't a time to calm down. Ryuujou summoned their ships and sent out her planes to defend the guns from whatever was attempting to jam it. Hornet picked up Enterprise's hat before summoning her ship.
'Hopefully the dragon didn't notice us.' Hornet summon her planes as she stared straight ahead.
As if fate wanted to correct her, Hornet saw that the fog was being forced away as the shadow of the dragon began to move towards the two carriers.
With only Ryuujou with her, they couldn't deter the dragon, the only option was to get as many planes as they could. up to the air. Both carriers summoned their squadrons and sent them out, trying to get their planes into the air before the dragon arrived. The sounds of the plane's engines coming to life yelled at hornet's ears but she ignored it as she ordered them to get to the sky, sending all of her planes that were in the flight deck, Ryuujou doing the same. They summoned more planes to get them into the air but the area had grown dimmer as the shadow announced the dragon presence. Instead of continuing its glide towards them, it abruptly stopped itself which forced the wind to slam into them. Hornet and Ryuujou held their ground as their planes began to involuntarily turn themselves to the ocean, some already leaving the Runaway and falling to the waters below. The carriers had time to breathe as the dragon still hovered above the ocean, Before it turned itself around, using its armored tail as a blunt weapon. The carriers barely had time to get down and lay down on their stomachs as they heard their planes be turned into nothing but scrap metal. Once it noticed that the rest of the aircraft were destroyed, the dragon took to the skies, intending to finish the planes that managed to escape.
Both Hornet and Ryuujou got themselves up and mentally controlled their planes towards the base. However, the dragon was already behind them and used its claws to slash the planes.
realizing that the dragon will hunt their planes down, Hornet grabbed her radio and pressed the button that would transmit her voice.
"Sis, we have a problem."
X-x-X
Chaos had returned back to the skies as the whining sounds of bombs being dropped by Enterprise's hellcat's yelled to everyone who was fighting the monsters.
Enterprise had joined the fight but was staying at distance, using her bombers to hopefully weaken the armor. However the armor of the monsters was still in one-piece with darkened spots being the only evidence of damage that came from her planes.
"Sis, we have a problem." Hornet's voice came through her radio as the fighting continued.
Muscle memory allowed Enterprise to grab her radio whilst still continuing to aid in the fight.
"What's the problem?" Enterprise said as she continued to send out her arrows to attempt to hit the parts that weren't armored. Unfortunately, there was very little that wasn't armored.
"My bombers are being destroyed by a dragon." Enterprise stopped what she was doing as she stared at the sky. As if on cue, she saw the same dragon that slashed her bomber in the sky, the small explosion indicating the destruction of aircraft. "Can you divert the dragon's attention away from my bombers? It would make this a lot easier."
"Got it." Enterprise didn't need to be told twice and fired her arrows to the sky, the light arrows forming into Hellcats that soar through the skies. She closed her eyes as the world slowly turned itself to that of her aircrafts cockpit. She looked around in the plane in an attempt to find the dragon. Her efforts were rewarded as she saw the dragon currently chasing down what seemed to be the rest of Hornet's planes. Without hesitation, Enterprise flew towards the dragon as it continued to hunt down Hornet's planes.
It didn't take long to get behind the dragon, its wing gliding in the air as it pursued the planes that were in front of its muzzle. Since her bombers were behind it, Enterprise used this as an opportunity to gain altitude to bomb the dragon. Her planes rose up and then dived back down to hit it. However, the dragon seemed to heard the aircraft’s engine as its head turned around and stared at the planes that were following it. The dragon fixed this problem by twirling around the air, its wings acting like an unavoidable obstacle. Enterprise didn't have time to avoid the armored wings as her planes were slammed down with enough force to completely destroy the planes. As her planes fell down, Enterprise saw the rest of the bombers being destroyed by the claws from the dragon.
Enterprise's view returned to the battle of the monster and noticed that they were now edging closer to the base. The carrier attempted to send out more planes but was forced to stop as she saw the dragon was approaching the base, gliding close to the ocean but not enough for it to skim the water.
If nobody had noticed the dragon, they did now as it practically showed itself flying above them as it glided towards the base.
Enterprise ran towards the others that were still fighting, keeping her bow at her side. As the carrier ran, she noticed that the dragon stopped at the base, its left side on the wall. She kept running towards the others as they kept shooting at the monsters. Enterprise directly joined the frontlines as she summoned her planes that took to the skies and ordered them to bomb the dragon. However the dragon took to the skies and noticed black lumps on its back.
Then she noticed that it wasn't lumps. It was the giant spiders that she saw on the coastal guns. Which meant all of the coastal guns were fully webbed up and jammed. With a mental command, she ordered her hellcats to hit the spiders. Her bombers sped towards them and again rose up towards the sky, ready to bomb them. Before it could, however, one of the monsters that revealed itself to be a troll, used its club to hit her planes. The others noticed this and backed up, only to realize that they were now at the edge of the base.
They lost. The monsters reached the base and they were going to die. but Enterprise is not going down without a fight.
The other ship-girls seemed to agree with her as they kept their riggings aimed at the monsters, no one moving to keep their aim centered at the monsters. The monsters continued to approach the base before abruptly stopping. Then their armor disappeared, dissipating in a whitish cloud.
Enterprise and the ship-girls were surprised by the abrupt stop as The monsters stopped advancing even though they had every advantage.
Was this a sign of power or a sign of cruel mercy? Enterprise didn't know.
A shadow loomed over the ship-girls as the dragon gilded around them, looking for threats. it repeated this before deemed it safe and landed with the other monsters, the spiders still on its back. Once the other monsters saw the dragon, they stepped back to the sides, staring at nothing. As if they were waiting for something.
'Or someone' Enterprise's hardened her hold on her bow, ready to fire on what-ever is approaching.
X-x-X
"Why did they stop attacking?" The creator said with confusion as the monsters it sent out were just standing there, staring at nothing.
"You checked the data, right?" Key point G didn't know nor did the creator it seemed.
It started off well. The mist blocked the sun and the monsters spawned to the world to violate any unfortunate Ship-girls. But then differences decided to show. The monsters were never given armor but the creator didn't care as it meant they were helpless and were going to think of another solution aside from firing at them. What it did care about however, was the monsters stopping their advance and staring at nothing like they were waiting for something.
"I did. it wasn't changed." The creator checked on the simulation numerous times, there was no change on how monsters would act and the only people who knew about the existence of the simulation was Key point G and its creations. Unless somebody managed to find the mirror sea they were in, entered said mirror sea without the creator noticing then somehow got to the computer. However the creator was a being of logic. nobody could have entered this mirror sea for they only summoned those it deeded necessary for the mist. so, it didn't suspect key point G to change the priorities of the mist. Their creations made sure she knew of the consequences if she attempted to rebel.
Key point G stood silent before a thought occurred to her. "You think that-"
"No." The creator answered her question. "Corruption is sadistic, but it knows when to control that Urge."
"Besides, if it was Corruption, the spider would have violated Enterprise or killed the gunmen at the other guns but it didn't. This is something else"
Key point G shifted uncomfortably as the carrier attempted to get rid of the mental image of her counterpart being forced down by a giant spider, being violated and becoming a Host to hundreds of spiderlings. it'll come back eventually but she can't deal with that image when the creator is this close to her. Thankfully, the monitor she was staring at gave her the distraction she needed for the image to fade away.
"I think I have a visual on it." After saying those words, the creator stood behind key point G, its distance close enough to watch the monitor but not close enough for G to see its face.
Key point G didn't understand why it did this, trying to hide its face but she couldn't ask as it'll ignore the question. For now though, Key point G and the creator watched the monitor that showed a cloaked figure that looked humanoid.
X-x-X
The ship-girls were confused. The monsters stepped to the side and were staring at nothing. Were they waiting for something to happen? Their questions were answered as they saw a silhouette approaching them. The silhouette seemed to know that fictional monsters were near as it continued to walk; the silhouette becoming more detailed as it kept getting close to them, revealing a black cloak that overshadowed most of its features.
Enterprise pulled her bow and aimed at the cloaked figure. The carrier didn't get time to summon an arrow as the dragon slammed its tail near the carrier; Undoubtedly a warning sign to her. Enterprise instinctively turned her head towards the dragon and saw it leaning towards her. bared teeth greeting her as the dragon's face showing anger; the turquoise eyes replaced with amber color with its diamond pupil looking more jagged as it kept staring her down.
"Don't." A young male voice said in a worried tone. the dragon stopped baring its teeth and looked down. Enterprise did the same; noticing the cloaked figure was now close to the dragon. it didn't take her long to know that the hooded male spoke.
Enterprise used this time to look at the cloaked male. The clothing underneath the cloak looked like a plain shirt that was entirely black with accents of gray in some parts on the clothing. The left sleeve was gone, no rips or tears suggesting it was an intentional design. but that was not the most interesting part. his left fore-arm had draconic characteristics'.
The scales were entirely black, his left hand covered in the black scales as his finger nails looked like claws. it was only his fore-arm however as the scales formed a line at the elbow; scales abruptly ending as skin covered the rest of the arm.
This suggested to Enterprise that this wasn't armor but is an actual part of his arm.
"No more." The hooded male's voice snapped Enterprise back to reality as the dragon backed away from them, its amber eyes returning back to turquoise. As soon as the dragon joined the monsters; the hooded male put his hands up, telling the ship-girls that he was surrendering. Despite the clear sign of surrender, Enterprise and the other ship-girls didn't dare to approach him as he was still near the monsters. Seemingly understanding their predicament, The cloaked male slowly walked towards them, his hands still up in the air in an attempt to ease tension as the ship-girls still kept their guns on him.
He kept walking towards them, stopping once he was close enough for them to safely The cloaked male then put his hands on the inside of its hood, before it slowly unraveled the hood; his facial features coming to light as the hood's shadow disappeared.
all of the ship-girls' eyes involuntarily widened as his face had come to light.
his hair was colored in darkish gray, his skin was deathly pale as if he had been avoiding the sun. The ship-girls didn't pay attention to his facial features. and instead paid attention to the eyes.
The lifeless golden eyes.
'A male siren!?' Enterprise couldn't believe it. This was a siren; a male siren. She believed that every siren was female but there in front of her was a male. Yet despite being a siren, he put his hands behind his head and went down to his knees.
This was a siren; Their enemy and yet, he was surrendering to them despite having an advantage. After regaining her composure, Enterprise walked towards the siren, keeping her bow at her side in case the monsters tried to defend him. Instead, the monsters backed away from the male siren, telling the carrier that they're allowing him to be captured. Enterprise decided to trust them and de-summoned her bow, risking her life to approach the siren. She put her hand on his shoulder before she grabbed both of his hands and put them both behind his back. She checked behind her again, The monsters still did nothing, letting what she assumed to be their leader be taken. Only after making sure that the monsters stood where they were at , did she start to move the siren to the base; The ship-girls kept their guns aimed at the monsters, making sure to give Enterprise time to escort their leader out if they decided to change their mind. Thankfully, the monsters didn't move at all, allowing Enterprise to return to the other ship-girls. Only when the carrier returned, did the ship-girls de-summoned their rigging. Enterprise turned around one last time to make sure the monsters hadn't moved.
They still haven't moved an inch. The monsters stood there like statues, their eyes and chest moving up and down the only sign of life.
Enterprise deemed it safe to take the siren male to the base.
'This is a siren.' Enterprise mused . 'So, why did he surrender to us willingly?'
Something wasn't adding up but she couldn't figure it out. It was frustrating to not know but right now, she'll need to escort the siren to one of their warehouses as the base didn't have a holding cell for sirens.
X-x-X
"Should I reset the simulation?" Key point G asked. The simulation was a failure. Despite every safety measure the sirens had added to protect the mist, it had failed.
The creator stood silent for some time before it finally answered.
"No."
Key point G turned her head in surprise as the creator continued to stare at the monitor with genuine curiosity.
"It's been a long time since there was an anomaly like this." The creator added as the monitor continued to spy on the base; showing the anomaly being escorted by Enterprise, his hands still behind his back.
The creator was delighted as the screen broadcasted to it that the anomaly was being escorted by Enterprise, his hands still behind his back. Anomalies like him were exceptionally difficult to seek out. It was even more difficult to have one appear out of thin air; While it does hurt the plan it had with the mist, it didn't matter as it has something far greater than making the ship-girls stronger.
"Keep it running. I'm curious as to what he does."
Key point G wanted to object but rationality told her that the creator had the final say.
reluctantly, Key point G spaced herself away from the command that would shut down the simulation and watched as her counterpart escorted the anomaly to one of the warehouses.
'I hope you're not worse than corruption.'
[END]