A/N: Just letting you all know, I may start working on chapters for others stories here in a little while. So if the updates for this slow, it's probably that.

Unless I died.

Probably the first one though.

—/—\—

Pacific didn't know what she was walking into. All the message she'd received from Southern consisted off was a lot of incoherent screaming and the faint voices of her Empress's, someways off from the Queen, trying to calm her down somewhat. But given that the message was largely comprised of these two factors and went on for maybe fifteen minutes, the Pacific Queen had come to the fair assumption that it hadn't gotten any better.

Pacific knew that part of the reason for her sudden impromptu visit to her southern ally was simply to see what had gotten the queen so worked up. She'd never heard the Queen raise her voice, let alone scream bloody murder like the message she'd received.

Southern was easily the most laid back of the four queens most of the time. She'd say of all of them, but as vexing as it was, Pacific knew that title belonged to the traitor of the north. She'd never seen Arctic show any sort of emotion towards the four of them, despite how hard they tried or how far they attempted to push the woman. Nothing garnered any reaction from her, and it nagged at Pacific more than anything, who wanted nothing more than to see the Arctic Queen scream in rage. Howl in sorrow. She wanted to know that the ice bitch could feel pain.

Pacific knew that she herself was none so immune to anger. It seemed to radiate from Indian. Atlantic could launch into terrifying tirades because of it. But Arctic never showed it. Now matter how much the four of them tried to antagonize her. It had no effect.

So hearing the usually laid back, reserved Queen try her best to deafen those within earshot was both something greatly intrigued her and worried her. And given that Indian was in no position to come and deal with it and there was no chance that Atlantic was going to bother with it, it fell to Pacific.

Approaching the concealed entrance to Southern's main base of operations, Pacific put her footing on solid ground, followed by two of her Empress's, Shantar and Sulu. As the three touched down on solid ground, the door to the main base opened, pulling them in with the current of water that flooded into the chamber all before it slammed shut behind them. At that, the room began to drain, cycling the water back out as the pressure in the room suddenly lessened. One reason the humans would never find any of their main bases of operation. This depth was past crush depth for even the most modern of their submarines.

An insurance that this war would go on in the Abyssals favor for the foreseeable future, whether that be months or years, she had yet to see.

Sure, they had scattered topside island fortresses, armed and manned by Abyssals that made their standard waterborne battleships and princess classes look like toddlers. But they were of little importance in the name of Abyssal logistics.

Listening as the door before them gave a sharp, damp hiss, it slid open with mechanical grandeur, steam escaping the cracks between the door and it's holding, allowing the three inside the compound. Immediately, the metallic smell of Abyssalized blood filled their noses, prompting Sulu and Shantar to recoil from the sheer scent. It was not something they in particular knew well, nor should they. They were in charge of Pacific's surface raiders, daring whatever foolish ship that they found on the water's surface to run.

They loved hunting tired prey.

They were far more accustomed to the smell of freshly spilled human blood of the sailors that tried to put a fight and the people that yearned for survival more than they bowed to logic. The blood of humanity was a priceless commodity that Pacific encouraged her fleet to bask in when ever they could. Being in young or old, men or women, she did not care. As long as it spilled in droves, dying the waters of her stomping grounds that so very erie crimson.

The carrier they'd bagged in the opening weeks of the war still rang fresh on her tastebuds.

Slaughter was simply apart of Pacific's nature.

And the one redeeming factor of Humanity was that there was always plenty of sustenance to get her hands on. Whether it be picked from the ocean's surface... or harvested from the shores.

The beauty of war is that when one's loved ones are no longer living, no one would bat an eye if someone suddenly went missing.

Who would miss them? Their families?

Laughable.

A cruel smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, showing some of the razor sharp teeth that filled her predatory grin. Pacific knew that in no short words, she could easily be described as a monster. Something for a parent to tell their children about as a story to scare them at night.

Except she was real.

So very real.

And she so loved living up to expectations.

She suppressed the feeling that was now coursing through her body as she glanced about. Dried puddles of blood decorated the floors and walls of the corridor they found themselves in. Given that it was clearly old however, she lessened her guard somewhat, assuming that whatever had done this had been dealt with. Raising a hand to her Empress's, she halted their progression before quickly pointing two fingers down a conjoining corridor. The two got the message, and split from their queen just on the off chance that there were intruders.

Though, if it was intruders at this depth, Pacific needn't even ask of who it could be.

Walking down the corridor further, she found that the splatters Of blood and gore never really let up. Just came in smaller, but wider spread splotches of presumable devastation. Holding a moment, she eventually came to a point where the corridor let out into a rather large, inviting room. Well lit, the darkened metal of the floor easy to see.

But not a soul. Though Southern didn't invest as heavily into her surface forces as Pacific thought she should, there would at least be a few Princess classes here and there. But so far, it was almost as if she and her Empress's were the only ones present.

Her mind was drawn away from that train of thought when one of the doors on the left side of the room, admitting who Pacific recognized somewhat slowly as one of Southern's empresses. Mawson if her memory served correctly. Taking another look around the room, she looked back to the Empress, calling out to her.

"Mawson." Pacific called. Due to the quiet of the room, and the shape, her voice carried over with ease. The Empress jumped in surprise somewhat, a fact that Pacific suppressed her amusement with. The Empress whipped around after so, in which she spotted Pacific. Shaking herself from her surprise, she immediately approached the Queen.

As she did so however, Pacific could make out the littlest signs that something was wrong. The Empress was clearly exhausted, a fact that Pacific knew Southern to typically take care of. And it looked as if the Empress was unfocused and unsure.

"Queen Pacific." Mawson greeted. "I trust that you are here because of Southern's message... or... at least what we called a message, considering it's contents...." The Empress said, grimacing somewhat as she looked away from the Queen before her. It was clear that the Empress wasn't exactly fond of what they'd sent, but it puzzled Pacific for a moment, the way she'd worded it.

"Was.. it not Southern who sent the message?" Pacific asked carefully.

"No!" The Empress suddenly shrieked. "We haven't been able to get her to do anything since Arctic stormed the base and basically told Southern that she now has Somov. Our Queen has been unreceptive to anything we've tried so we Came to the conclusion that the only thing that might shake her out of it now would be another Queen. And given that you were the closest in position to the base, we sent you the message!" She hastily explained. "We've had to take up everything! Supply lines, patrols, making sure new units are being created. Everything! She's literally unable to run the smallest and simplest of operations! Even just scout patrols are too much for her to try and manage right now." The Empress told her.

Pacific looked past the tone the Empress had elected to take for the moment. She focused on the words being told. If she was right and Southern was having a full on breakdown, that complicated a lot of things.

Pacific knew that this was in the end, better left to Indian. Though, the more she thought about it, it was literally best left to herself. Given that she didn't even bat an eye when Atlantic jumped off the deep end every time she seemed to be in earshot of the Queen.

Still, it had to be handled. Southern's forces were the only reason that her own weren't constantly chased out of the Pacific as a whole. Southern had pockets upon pockets upon even more pockets of heavily armed, modified units tossed across the Pacific. The same named queen knew where a good portion of them were located, but she assumed that she'd also passed a fair margin of them in her travels without even knowing it.

Not to mention, but Southern had her own networks across four oceans of the world. No human even looked at the water without her knowing about it. For reasons that should be clear to anyone analyzing the situation, Southern was the one Queen that they couldn't have languishing in this war. Even if Atlantic or Indian had a breakdown like this, Atlantic's sanity would return sooner or later and Indian would simply kill something and be okay.

"I presume then that's why the base is so barren?" Pacific asked, wearily eying a corridor off to the side. It was odd, seeing barely any forces wandering the halls. Even a few Princess types would have alleviated the feeling.

"Yes. We divided up the forces stationed here to surrounding, smaller bases. We're still hesitant to call ourselves in the clear when it's been proven that Arctic knows exactly where to find us. It's more precautionary then required however."

At that however, a door to their left opened, admitting Shantar and Sulu into the room. Upon spotting their queen, they neared the woman as they glanced at Mawson, who in turn shook her head in exasperated motion as she gestured for them to follow her, leading the three from the large open room.

The three Pacific based Abyssals offered simple nods at that, Pacific leading with Sulu and Shantar to either side, cautiously glancing down each hallway they came across, only to visibly relax when they found no one there, only to repeat the process for the next hallway, so on and so on.

The three followed after the Southern Empress without issue, making way through the mostly empty Abyssal base.

As they did so, they could faintly make out the noise of someone screaming in the distance, their words unintelligible, their rage profound. Shantar and Sulu flinched somewhat, but Pacific remained unfazed. If she really was expected to break Southern out of whatever funk the queen found herself in at the moment, then it was likely to get worse before it got better. But of course, she was going off of what she knew about dealing with Atlantic. She really didn't know how Southern was going to take to her presence.

Her questions, her wondering, all of it was rather short lived however as Pacific neared what she could only assume to be Southern's personal chambers, immediately followed by the sound of something rather large hitting the wall once again.

"Riiser!" Mawson shrieked from outside the room, rushing into the room without bothering to check for any sort of danger. And immediately found her face connecting with what looked to be a piece of metal bar, the weapon in question in the possession of the Southern Queen, who looked about ready to kill something, her eyes wide and beady as she looked at Pacific in an unfocused motion. Only for a moment though before she scurried onto her bed, bar wound back as she If was going to hit a baseball.

Pacific narrowed her eyes in annoyed way, watching the Queen a moment before glancing at Mawson, who was holding her head as she crouched down. And Riiser, who was someways put into the wall, a fact that Pacific imagined that Southern had something to do with. Taking a moment to go over the situation, she resigned herself to the fact that she most likely couldn't proceed without getting into striking distance from Southern and her newest weapon. Taking a moment, she gestured for her Empress's to check up on the two other Empress's before turning her attention to the Queen before her.

Most of the time, Pacific wondered why they hadn't already won the war considering their many advantages.

But, there were times like this, that briefly made made Pacific wonder why they hadn't already lost the war. That train of thought however was stopped by Pacific telling herself that the hit Mawson just took would've taken off a normal human's head. Which was exactly right. There was a reason no human had encountered melee range with an Abyssal for longer than a few seconds.

In the early days of the war, one of the Abyssal favorite things to do was board enemy vessels, ripping holes into the side, before reaching the deck and reeking twelve kinds of hell on board before the surface combatants could sink it.

As Pacific wearily eyed Southern, she sighed a moment before looking to the Queen. "I don't suppose you wanna come down from there on your own, do you?" She asked solemnly. When the queen's only response in turn was further pull back her swing, as if daring the Queen to come a foot closer, Pacific offered only a sigh at that.

Stepping a single foot closer to the bed, Southern made the first move, sending a wild swing with the piece of metal at the approaching Queen's head. Quickly ducking under the hit, Pacific grabbed Southern's wrist, yanking her forwards as she brought her other first crashing into the side of into the Queen's head. The movement sent the Southern Queen spiraling off of the bed and onto the floor on the other side of the rather large bed, her metal weapon clattering to the floor. Pacific shook her hand a moment before walking for the edge of the bed, eyes glued to where the Queen had gone down at.

But when she finally looked over the edge, she found the sight of the Queen's feet scrambling under the bed, where she assumed the rest of the Abyssal was no located. Letting her head roll back in both slight amusement and agitation, she landed on the floor with a thud, her feet making contact with solid ground.

Only to have her feet ripped out from under her as Southern immediately latched onto the woman's ankles, bringing her down to her knees, hard. Pacific seethed in pain at the contact before trying to turn. But she found it impossible with Southern having grips on her ankles the way she did so. So, Pacific resorted to measure two.

She kicked back under the bed, giving her a noise of satisfaction that came from a grunt of pain from a particular queen. Feeling the grip on her ankles lessen, she immediately ripped them from under the bed where she turned around, laying on her stomach as she went to get after the Queen.

Reaching a gauntleted hand under the bed, she went to reach for any part of Southern she could get a hand on. But as she reached under the bed, what felt like multiple sharp objects pinned her skin, piercing it hard and prompting the Queen to pull away her hand in a rapid motion. Just past the armor of her gauntlet, she found multiple puncture wounds in her arm, grouped together, almost as if...

"She bit me...." Pacific breathed in realization. Annoyance swelled to anger as her eyes narrowed. Renewing her charge once more, she launched herself under the bed, willing herself to find Southern in the darkness of the space.

The four Empress's present only watched, their expressions varied.

Sulu and Shantar had witnessed their Queen dealing with her fair share of craziness. They were no stranger to Atlantic's... episodes. But compared to what they were watching now, they seemed like a world away. Atlantic's episodes could be prove to be far more terrifying than anything the two Empress's were familiar with. So watching.... what equates to trying to drag a scared animal from out of it's cage was a welcome sight.

Mawson And Riiser were only watching with befuddlement however. They'd heard the stories of what Pacific had to go through with Atlantic on the norm. On one hand, they were mortified that their queen was behaving in such an unbecoming manner. On the other hand, it was amusing to watch someone else have to deal with their queen in this state besides them.

Something the four Empress's quietly agreed upon.

The sounds of something hitting the underside of the bed sounded through the air. And again. And again. Two this time. The empress's watched the bed for a while until eventually, Pacific emerged, slowly crawling backwards as she had a grip on both of Southern's ankles. Much to be what seemed the other Queen's chagrin as she tried to grab for anything that she could. Which wasn't much considering her position.

As Pacific began to stand, she yanked Southern fully out from under the bed. And before the queen could get a grip on any part of the piece of furniture, or her earlier weapon, Pacific swung the Queen by her ankles to the side, slamming her into the wall to get her a fair distance away from the bed.

Riiser and Sulu hit the deck as the Queen went soaring just over their heads, slamming into the wall behind them. The two Empress's quickly scampered out of the way as Pacific made way for the Queen, already more than willing to toss her around some more. But as Southern began to slowly pick herself up and off of the floor, Pacific eased up somewhat as she watched the Queen rub her head somewhat. Waiting a moment, Pacific held her tongue until Southern finally looked up.

"Southern?" Pacific asked, somewhat cautiously. Queen in question only glanced up at the Queen, looking surprised to find her here.

"Pacific..? What are you doing here?" She asked. "Why are we in my chambers?" The queen questioned, glancing at the four Empress's a moment for good measure before glancing back to her fellow Queen. Pacific sighed, muttering something about Atlantic and memories before looking to Southern.

"What do you remember? Of the last couple of days?" She asked. Southern looked at the woman with a perplexed expression before her brown knit together in thought as she went over what she knew. Which, ended up being very bothersome, because it wasn't a whole lot. Specters. Shadows of incomplete memories. But nothing concrete. Nothing after....

"She has Somov...." The Southern queen breathed in a super cooled, ragged breath. Anger swelled, bringing her breath down a degree further as she began to seethe. The white haze of her eyes burned like white phosphorous, unwilling to relent, willing to burn those responsible into a grave fitting the crime. But before Southern could become further agitated, Pacific put a gauntleted hand on the Queen's shoulder.

"There's no use worrying about that at the moment. Atlantic still has no idea of where to start looking to Caribbean, and my guess is that Arctic is taking no risks with Somov. You'll have to do without for a time. Look, do you remember anything after that? After Arctic left?" She asked. Southern looked as if she wanted to say something about leaving Somov to her fate, but Pacific was ultimately right. They'd made no gains in looking for where Caribbean was being kept and Pechora had been multiple dead ends all wrapped up in one, easily accessible package. After a moment, Southern shook her head as she slammed her fist into the wall.

"No. Nothing concrete. I have flickers, embers of memories. But there's nothing that provides context of why you're here and why there's a Dent in my wall." Southern said, glancing at the Queen. Pacific nodded at that.

"Apparently you snapped. Started screaming bloody murder. Your Empress's called me into deal with it, which, as of now, I'd say I have." She said, glancing back at the four Empress's a moment before looking back to Southern. "Anyways, that aside, your base is a mess and your Empress's are floundering with how much work they've had to pick up. Leaving the mental breakdowns to Atlantic. It's more her thing anyways." Pacific said as she offered Southern a hand.

The downed queen accepted the gesture, coming to her feet as she steadied herself before offering a quiet nod to Pacific, soon letting her go as she rubbed her head. "If its any consolation prize however, though Arctic is a thorn right now, the humans will pay for her actions. After all, word is that Atlantic's growing bored." Pacific told her, the same cruel grin from earlier pulling at her lips. Southern couldn't help but do the same, already well aware of the implications.

The last time Atlantic got bored, she raised a human city to the ground. New York if Southern recalled so. Yes, that sounded right.

"So? Where is Atlantic striking away at this time, then?" The Queen asked. Pacific shrugged at that as she looked back to Southern.

"I do not know the exact specifics, that much she would not tell me. But it is on the same coast as her first plunder, that much I am sure of." Pacific told her with a nod. Southern nodded somewhat at that for a moment before looking to Pacific.

"Arctic is in possession of a new kind of Bio-weapon. It's the reason I had to let Pechora go. Otherwise-" she tried to say before Pacific cut her off with a hand.

"You need not explain yourself to me. I'm not one quick to anger like Indian or Quick to act such as Atlantic. If you deemed it the best course of action, than it was. Simple as that." She said, prompting Southern to simply nod. With her nerves on that regard quelled and her mind embracing the returning calm to it's waters, she settled herself to the fact that Somov was gone. At least for right now. However, as she opened her mouth to say something, her voice was buried under Pacific's, now barking orders to her two Empress's.

"Go with Mawson and Riiser and see if there's anything that you two can find to help them with. If Southern's forces collapse, we have nothing to base our support off of." She told them. Sulu and Shantar suddenly nodded somewhat at the order as they looked to the two Empress's a moment, the two looking to their counterparts in a questioning manner. Southern's empresses held a moment before nodding, leading them out of the room quickly and quietly.

"Pacific...?" Southern asked in a questioning manner. When the Queen's response however was to walk for the door, raising a gauntleted hand for the door control to the right, Southern felt her nerves skyrocket as she watched the woman effectively lock the door before her. When the other queen turned back to face Southern, she simply offered a small chuckle at that. "Pacific, what are you doing?" She asked. The Queen only offered a sly, knowing chuckle at that as she let her hands fall to her sides. And immediately, Southern knew she'd had something planned as the Queen's gauntlet slammed into the floor, the armor sitting still as Pacific stretched her hands a moment.

When the taller of the two Queens was now standing directly in front of her shorter counterpart, Pacific only offered a small, predatory grin.

"In your hazed state, you disrespected me and my very presence itself." She said, holding her arm, to where Southern could very clearly make out the rough shape of a bite mark. And very quickly, Southern gathered that it was her that had laid the mark upon the Queen before her.

"I apologize-" Southern tried to say, but found herself quieted immediately as Pacific's grin tugged wider at the corners of her lips, for once, giving the Southern Queen a sense of unease. "Pacific, I-"

"Mmm, no apologies." Pacific hummed as she stepped closer to the Queen before her, her tone going low and quietly demanding. "You'll make it up to me in another way." She said as she placed a hand to Southern's chest, pushing her back onto the bed.

A normally made bed would have cracked. Wouldn't have been able to stand up to the stress of the Queen landing so abruptly upon it. But it wasn't normal and this wasn't a normal situation. The piece of furniture groaned, it wanted to give, but it remained firm as Southern now laid upon it, the Queen looked up at Pacific in surprise.

"Fair warning. I do bite." Pacific said, Southern letting out the smallest of gasps as she felt the other Queen's lips press to her neck as she felt Pacific's hands make their way to her hips.

"But... what about Atlantic..?" Southern tried. Pacific only offered a wordless laugh, but gave no other response than that as the two slowly began to lose themselves in the throes of pleasure.

A long while later, a breathless Southern was silently wishing that in all of her haze, she'd bitten Pacific harder.

—/—\—

Captain Phillip James King of the Royal Australian Navy was very much in what he would call an uncomfortable position. But it wasn't being on Yokosuka itself, no. Nor was it being in such a close proximity to the ship girls, a large majority of which he was still trying to learn names. It'd been four days after all, it didn't take that long for him to adjust to something.

Which would've been fine in most cases. But Yokosuka was no where close to most cases, that much was clear.

But of course, those already present on base had been so welcoming to his presence. Admiral Ishigara was always approachable about anything considering the ship girls. Any questions the Captain had, he readily answered.

Admirals Johnson And Herkunft had helped him settle in somewhat, more of the former than the latter. Given that Herkunft's time on base only best his by a few days, it made sense.

And there was always a laugh or two waiting to be shared with Captain Algerona. So, Captain Phillip King considered himself a lucky man to be able to nab a position like the one he'd been stationed at.

But, Admiral Johnson had come up with the idea of allowing King to get a feel for commanding some of the girls by offering him a brief command of a contingent comprising of some of the more experienced American and Japanese ship girls. The fact that he was commanding some of the most well known figures in modern standards was astounding to him, but even that wasn't the problem itself. Though, it was a direct link.

No, his problem was currently something that the other command staff didn't have to worry about in particular. Unlike Admiral Johnson, Admiral Herkunft, And Captain Algerona, he was not a woman. And unlike Admiral Ishigara, the man wasn't even twenty five. A young man like himself? Stationed at the ship girl half of Yokosuka? It was a recipe for disaster.

That disaster being he was the subject of the never ending attention from the various ship girls, one of the largest offenders of that being a large majority of the Heavy Cruiser population of Yokosuka. To name just a few, he seemed to have caught the undivided attention of Ashigara, Blucher, and Houston. Those three were the biggest chasers so far, but that's not to say there weren't others. He knew that there were at least a few light cruisers among their ranks as well.

He was just thankful that no one among the carrier and battleship numbers seemed to be that interested. Yet.

He'd never really seen himself as one so popular with the ladies. Sure, he'd had two or three girlfriends during his high school years, but after that, it'd been straight to the Navy. His girlfriend at the time had been naught to happy about that decision, but she'd ultimately understood his decision and the two had separated on amicable terms, maybe on the hope that he'd come back one day.

But this was a whole other ballgame the Captain wasn't sure he could play, let alone keep up with. It was one thing when the girl was just that, a girl. It was another field entirely when the girl in question was also the living embodiment of a warship who's main profession was sending demons from the deep Exactly that. Back to the deep.

His first action when it had begun to occur was to go straight to those in charge, to see if he could nip this in the bud before it became further evident. He had hoped either Admiral Johnson or Ishigara could perhaps say something to them to get them to back down from him.

But his hopes were quickly dashed when Ishigara in no short terms told him that he'd have to handle it on his own. King had wanted to say something in return, but Ishigara had made the man aware of just who was after him. And suddenly, Phillip had counted himself lucky that he just had cruisers after him.

He didn't think he could withstand someone like Kongou activity pursuing him.

So, of course, he'd gone to Admiral Johnson to try and get this whole mess worked out. But she'd in no short order told him that she'd faced the same issue, and she'd lost if anything the ring Maryland had flashed him was anything to go by.

His Japanese And American counterparts had nothing to offer in the way of help. And Herkunft hadn't been on base long enough to encounter the same issue as the two of them fortunately for her.

He was already fretting the arrival of the Ship girls of his own nation. Not that Vampire was proving anything in that regard.

King supposed he'd spent a majority of his time on base, aside from settling in, talking with the destroyer, helping her get the enclosure for Sherman properly set up. The destroyer reminded him a lot of his younger sister when she'd been younger, eyes always on the horizon to what Came next. It was refreshing somewhat, to have such a familiar outlook on things at his side.

He briefly wondered if she'd believe him if he told her that he was supposed to lead their nation's ship girls. Probably not, considering the fact that King was still having trouble accepting it himself.

Taking precautionary glances to his left and right, he reached for the Mess Hall door, only to almost bump into Admiral Herkunft, dressed in civilian clothing as she lead Emma by the hand, the two German women looking at the Captain in surprise a moment before Saradia offered a smile.

"School already?" Phillip asked with a knowing smile. Saradia returned the smile as she placed a hand on Emma's head.

"She's not excited for it in the slightest, but it's something she'll have to get used to it." She said. "Stopped by for some breakfast before we get her on her way." Saradia told the man. Phillip nodded at that, offering the small girl a smile, only for the little one in question to quickly hide behind her mother.

"I take it her being here with so many new people still isn't helping?" He asked. Saradia nodded somewhat.

"It honestly depends on who the people are. She's a fan of Maryland and Bismarck and not many others so far. So what about you? Dodging the occasional Heavy cruiser?" She asked with a knowing smile. Phillip rubbed the back of his head somewhat.

"Got the Fletchers on recon duty for me. But the fact that as soon as I turned a corner, Haguro went the other way, something tells me I'm gonna have a run in with Ashigara at some point or another today." He said with a sigh. Saradia nodded.

"If you don't mind me asking, how exactly have you managed to ring lead nine of the most brawniest destroyers the US Navy ever fielded?" She asked. King flashed a smile.

"A deal I've worked out with Liz, the nine of them, and extra portions of sweets throughout the day. Most notably ice cream." He said. Saradia only chuckled at that.

"Coercing them with ice cream? You've already figured out quite the system. Is Admiral Johnson aware of your deal with those involved?" She asked. King nodded.

"In her words, as long as they're not needed for a Sortie and not put up to anything particularly dangerous, she's allowing it. Especially given the fact that eight of them are still confined to land." He said. Saradia nodded somewhat.

"Were. As far as I can tell, we received enough shipments to the base today to fit each one of the missing riggings of the girls that don't have them yet. I've not yet talked about it with Johnson or Ishigara, but I assume today will be rather busy." She said. King nodded.

"Vampire's rigging arrived this morning. Yuubari's been getting everything set up, but I'd imagine that it wouldn't hurt getting her some support staff on base with her. I mean, it was acceptable when there was just the Sixty. But we're closing in on two hundred ship girls and I haven't even summoned any forwards. I would like to think she wouldn't mind it either, lest it allow her a break at times." He told her. Saradia nodded at that.

"Well, she's one of Ishigara's girls. It wouldn't be a bad idea to run it by him perhaps if it's that much of a concern." She said. King nodded at that, thinking it over for a time before shrugging, stepping out of the way for the two. Saradia offered a small nod in thanks as she and Emma began to make way for the entrance to Base. Given that the school wasn't but a few blocks, she'd decided that it could be walked.

King watched them go a moment before pushing into the Mess Hall, only to be almost knocked over by a battleship. He knew for sure. Name, he needed a name. It was on the tip of his tongue....

"Idaho, right?" He asked, pointing a hopeful finger. When the ship girl in question offered a nod in turn, flashing a thumbs up to the man, King let a sigh of relief through.

"Worried you weren't gonna get it right?" Idaho asked with amusement. King only nodded somewhat.

"Forgive me if I'm suddenly struggling to put faces with names. An additional hundred and ten that I didn't know existed four days ago. It's a little grating on both memory and mind." He said. "I think the only real boon is that the new Japanese ship girls don't seem to hold that much of a distaste for me. Well, some of them." He said. Idaho nodded at that.

"I mean, makes sense really. The British and Australia were present, but when you think about the war for the Pacific, most people think of Japan and the US. Enterprise and Akagi. Iowa And Yamato. I mean, we had allies-" She said.

"You don't have to try and sugarcoat it. We didn't have a battleship to our name. Or a carrier, not until after the war." He said. Idaho only paused before offering the man a grin in response.

"Speaking of wartime forces, when you thinking about bringing some of your girls through? More forces from down under, eh?" Another shrimp on the Barbie?" Idaho asked, her voice slipping into a passable, yet horrific Australian accent. King would've cringed at the very sound if he wasn't more than aware of the fact that it was a harmless joke, most likely intended to get a laugh from the man.

"What've you been watching?" He asked with a slight joking nature.

"Sis might've made me watch Crocodile Dundee. All of them. Back to back to back. At one in the morning." She said, scratching the back of her head in a sheepish gesture. King only nodded somewhat at that.

"To answer your question, a few more days at most before you see any more Australian girls running about." He said. Idaho nodded at that as the two of them moved out of the doorway somewhat so that they weren't blocking it to anyone else trying to come in to the Mess Hall.

"Oh? And what's Vampire's take on that, Captain?" She asked. King shrugged.

"Between her new found liking of the Internet and most of her attention being focused on Sherman, she's really not given an opinion on the matter as of yet. Now, whether or not that'll last, that remains to be seen." He said. "But I'm not looking forwards to rushing right into that particular mine field." He said, stifling a sudden yawn that overcame him. Idaho only chuckled somewhat.

"I don't suppose that has something to do with the fact that you've got a Japanese and German Heavy cruiser stalking you, would it?"

"Shit!" He yelped as he turned to face the suddenly present threat. Only to find the forms of Pennsylvania and Arizona, brows arched at the man, as the very sudden sound of stifled laughter bounced from behind him. Giving both a sigh of agitation and relief, pinching the bridge of his nose, he went to apologize to the sisters before a laugh sounded somewhere from the bottom of Arizona's throat.

"You know, I thought the Admiral has it bad when it comes to Maryland. But, it's far easier to tell when you have a dreadnought approaching as opposed to a cruiser." She said, her lips tugging upwards in amusement. King only sighed at the statement. He wasn't going to say anything on the status of the American admiral and her chosen partner, but Arizona had a point. Battleships weren't stealthy. Okay, Washington was, but that was simply because of her past life.

"Look, all I know is that one of these days, they're gonna give me a heart attack." He said before whipping around to look at the still snickering New Mexico Class girl. "And you! What was that for?" She asked. Idaho shrugged, feigning ignorance.

"I haven't a clue of what you're talking about!" She insisted in an indignant tone before whipping around and rushing for the table that already held her sister present. King only rolled his eyes somewhat as both Arizona and Pennsylvania offered him pats on the back in apology.

"Just be glad their older sister isn't on base." Arizona offered in parting. "Then you'll really have trouble the with three of them." She said, leaving the man standing by himself in the entrance to the Mess Hall. But not for long as two figures he quickly recognized slid to a somewhat graceful stop to his left, both of them looking at him expectantly. In return, he offered a nod.

"Taylor. O'Bannon. How many, who is it, and where are they?" He asked quickly.

"Blucher and her sisters. And Ashigara with the Takao sisters. Both ten minutes out, either direction. Have shown no Will to pursue as of yet, but it's a developing situation." O'Bannon reported in a quick fashion.

"On the other side, we cant find any of the Northampton class sisters. Their room is empty and the other American cruisers are being eerily silent about the subject." The destroyer told him. King nodded, tapping his chin in thought a moment.

"I see. Thank you girls, I'll keep this in mind." He said, waving the two of them off. The two only offered quick salutes before running off, leaving the man to his thoughts. In turn, he made way for the table, finding that aside from Saradia, the rest of the command structure of Yokosuka was already enjoying their breakfast.

"Why hello there Captain. How goes the cruiser wrangling?" Sofia asked with a laugh. King rolled his eyes at the question, amusement still evident somewhat, as he took a seat next to the woman.

"Har har. For your information, it's quite the trouble especially given the fact that I don't know when they're going to appear next." He told her as he began to load a plate for himself.

"Isn't that why I permitted the use of Task Force Fletcher?" Anya asked from where she and Ishigara had been discussing something of relative importance, King picked up on that much at least. "So that you would know that exact information?" She asked with a smirk. King nodded.

"True, you did. And I thank you for that. But info can become unusable if enough time passes by." He said. "Anyways, Admiral Herkunft said something about riggings. Fair, given that we revived Vampire's I know for sure." He said. Anya nodded at that.

"Every single girl on base now has rigging. After Saradia returns, we'll get the battleship's, subs, cruisers, and destroyers out on the water." She said.

"And the carriers?" King asked.

Anya nodded. "Most of them. Kitty May not however. Given the fact that she never really had the same deck loadout as the rest of the carrier's, we want to make sure her planes work appropriately. If not, we may push her to World War II munitions until we can make sure everything does it's job." She said.

"What're we looking at for her munitions then?" King asked. "It's gotta be something special given that we're this worried about it not working." He said.

Anya nodded. "Most of her new air wing is comprised of Hornets and Super Hornets. She's also got a few Prowlers and Hawkeye's, but that's about the jist of it." She explained. The Captain slowly nodded at that.

"So what? They're afraid that the bow won't be able to handle the tension needed to launch her fighters? I mean, it's almost as if the bow is supposed to be something along the lines of the Catapults. Right?" He asked. Anya nodded at that.

"They would be. If they'd sent any of her planes over as Arrows." She said. "That aside however, are you aware of the plan for the other foreign ship girls?" She asked. King shook his head at that as he picked at his breakfast somewhat.

"No, can't say that I am. Why do you ask?" He questioned. Anya nodded as Ishigara spoke this time.

"Given that we have leadership on base for four countries, we were thinking that one of the four countries also take on commanding one of the extra four countries. For example, given that Japan had no presence in the Atlantic during World War II And they're already staying in the Japanese dorms, I will handle the command of Strasbourg and Richelieu." He told him. King nodded at that.

"And the Americans?" He asked.

"We're leaning towards putting Leningrad and Molotov into our numbers." Sofia said. King nodded at that.

"I can only assume that you would like myself to take over the command of Ark Royal and Cossack? Until someone from the Royal Navy shows up?" He asked. Anya nodded at that.

"Leaving Admiral Herkunft with Pola." She said. "This would give them at least somewhat of a fixed command structure so that they aren't being bounced to whoever can handle them and it also hopefully gives them a sense of belonging. We don't want them to feel ousted or ostracized simply because their countries haven't arrived yet. Speaking of other countries, how did talks with Italy and Russia go?" She asked.

"Italy... not so well. The contact in their Navy panned out. But she told me that the only reason Italy's still functioning right now is because of Big J's task force. If not for them, she assumes the country would be out of the fight by the end of the month." Sofia said. "They're in no position to move anyone here so soon." She said.

"Russia's in better shape clearly. But they've focused a lot of their support to Europe. Feasibly, they could send someone. It just most likely won't be soon. Admiral Petrov made that much clear." Ishigara recounted. Anya nodded at that.

"Well, today's gonna be busy, that much is for absolutely certain." She said with a sigh.

—\—/—

The carrier range was the normal flurry of activity. Enterprise, Yorktown, And Hornet we're busy trying to constrain the Casablanca sisters while the firing line was hot.

For the first time in what seemed to be ages, Akagi, Kaga, Zuikkau, Shokaku, Hiryuu, And Souryuu were occupying the firing line, each one prim and proper in their technique. A firing line that made both of Enterprise's sisters bristle at the thought. But they kept their thoughts wrapped up, lest they want to possibly anger those of the Japanese and their sister.

They knew however that Pennsylvania would hold nothing back if she were present. So far, she seemed to be the angriest and most on edge around the Japanese of the eight that were there that morning. The only one she didn't seem to harbor Ill will towards was Haruna. And the reasoning behind that was pretty easy to pick up on, given who the battleship was with.

They turned their attention to keeping Kit and Lo under control, the two carriers seeming to be extra hyper today. It'd been a trend ever since the Taffies had arrived and no one seemed to be able to handle them.

Bismarck Sea however was seated peacefully upon Enterprise's lap however, staying quiet and reserved as she and the carrier she was seated upon stayed quiet, much like the carriers seated to either side of the six of them.

Of course, before the current six had started shooting, the like had been Ark Royal, Unryuu, Wasp, Kitty Hawk, And Graf Zeppelin. Yorktown And Hornet had been all to eager to help the latter during her training. In some small way, Enterprise assumed that they were eager to help a carrier that hadn't been shooting at them at some point in their life. That, and the fact that the three of them were supposed to make up a new carrier division.

Enterprise knew that not just the carriers, but every new girl that had arrived over the last few days were more than excited to finally get out on the water. The only one Enterprise guessed that she couldn't very well read the emotions were of the U-boat sisters, U-510, 11, and 12. She hadn't seen a speck of emotion on any of their faces the entire time they'd been here, and a submarine with no emotion?

It gave Enterprise a really bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

She knew that she was overreacting and that the subs were allies. But it was also easy to come to the conclusion that if she'd been stationed in the Atlantic instead of the Pacific, putting her up against the German War machine instead of the Japanese, they would've been gunning for her. Even more so that the Germans didn't have ships to fight her with equal terms.

She would've been a prime target for the U-boats, a fact that made her more and more uncomfortable with each passing second the more she thought about it.

Shaking her head somewhat, she focused back in on the fact that the six holding the line were now finishing up, their last arrows being nocked. And as such, just as they were, The Admiral slid the door to the side, stepping inside somewhat. Taking a quiet look around, she found that the six at the firing line had just finished their last shots, having turned to face her. Anya nodded somewhat at that, offering a wave somewhat.

"You ladies should know the drill by now. I show up here." She said.

"It's either with a new carrier or gear. And since the first is absent, I'm guessing that the fleet is back up to full strength." Hiryuu mused. Anya nodded at that as she stepped to the side, permitting Ise and Hyuuga into the room with them. Each armed with their own black cases, they easily set them down onto the ground before leaving to get more.

Two were marked with the ever so present pennant numbers seven and sixty three, Kitty Hawk and Wasp immediately making way for the two. The other two, now three based on the one Ise was holding, were instead marked with the Carrier's names.

Ark Royal.

Graf Zeppelin.

Unryuu.

The three wandered over to the cases as well, looking over them before Unryuu popped hers open, the other two following suit.

Popping open the cases, the five looked over their flight decks for a moment until the sight of Hyuuga putting another case down brought their attention away somewhat from that. The brightly written CV-63 was clear on the side, immediately drawing Kitty's attention to the case. Long enough but thin enough, it was clear it wasn't another flight deck.

"Admiral?" Kitty questioned.

"R&D can't see a Cold War Carrier running prop planes. So, the logical solution is to upgrade her air wing to modern fighters. Hornets and Super Hornets to be exact. But they figured that, because of this, you should have a different launching technique. So, in turn... they sent us this." She said as she laid the case on the ground, unlatching it. Getting a grip on the item within with both hands, she lifted it carefully out of the case, showing the item to the carrier before her.

Kitty Hawk had never seen something more beautiful in her wonderfully short life in this form.

"The Barrett XM500, custom built just for you." She said, allowing Kitty Hawk to heft the rifle out of her Admiral's hand, making it look like she was simply playing with a toy. Before Anya could say anything, Kitty brought it up to level, pointing out at the range as she looked down the scope, as if she were going to fire it.

"I'm pretty sure the other girls wouldn't enjoy me practicing with this ting indoors." She said with a slight chuckle, noting the 63 on the side of the barrel.

"And you would be correct with that guess." Zuikaku told her, watching the carrier carefully. Kitty only chuckled somewhat at that as Anya nodded.

"I was gonna say that I could try to teach you how to shoot it... but you seem to already know how..." she said. Kitty Hawk nodded at that.

"So I'm working with Hornets and Super Hornets?" She asked. "Are we sure they'll even function properly in this form?" She asked. Anya nodded.

"Which is why today's practice will be so crucial to figuring out exactly that." She said before the distant sounds of Naval rifles carried across base, one after the other for what felt like minutes. Blinking, Anya nodded somewhat.

"Sounds like the battleship's found their toys already." Anya surmised. "I imagine that the subs, cruisers, and destroyers won't be far behind." She said.

—\—/—

She watched the harbor quietly. They would not dare come near her. They would not come near her city if she had anything to say about it. She'd given this country all she had, and she was ready to do once more.

Watching the Horizon, she paid no mind to her surroundings. Paid no attending to the hustling denizens of the city that she called her home. After all, she was but a mere silent guardian, willing to throw herself to the fires of war so that they may never reach her shores.

She knew that if it Came, she would give the fight she'd always been meant to give. Show her enemy that this land was not for them, but for the free. That she was not someone to be reckoned with, for she would be their demise.

Suddenly, a presence registered to her, a presence unlike any other she'd felt before over her decades of service.

"Wishing for a fight is asking for trouble." A voice said, overcoming her senses. Turning, she found the figure, partly there, yet partly not. But she knew him. The voice he spoke. She knew him well. She could not forget, even if she'd willed.

She could not forget her first.

"A fight is all I have left to give." She replied, watching the man to her side. Her offered only a smile in turn, vanishing in the breeze as easy as he'd come.

"A fight is not worth your life." Another voice said, one she did not know. Turning, she found the man, watching her with a sense of knowing, his Scottish accent ringing through the air.

"My life for a hundred." She Answered back cooly, watching the man. He only looked straight ahead before leaving as quick as he'd come.

"A hundred will die." Yet a third voice said, from behind her this time. She turned to look at him, noting the uniform was not of her prime.

"So that thousands may yet live." She came back. He watched her a moment before bowing his head in thought, vanishing from her sight.

"What do they live for?" A fourth question rang through the air, the uniform yet another she did not recognize from her own time, the man before her watching her with curiosity.

"For anything that they may desire." She told him in confidence. He took her words in a moment before nodding, vanishing like the rest.

"And What is it that you desire?" A fifth voice, this time of a woman, asked. The girl turned to look at her, finding her wearing the three stars along her uniform. Watching her a moment, as the woman's blonde hair blew in the breeze, the girl offered a confident not.

"I desire a chance to show them the fighting spirit I still hold." She told her. The woman watched her a moment, green eyes studying her, before vanishing. In her place, a woman wearing the five stars of an Admiral stood before her, one eye emitting an ever so green light gaze, her brown hair in a mess.

"Then show them. Show them the fight that they thought gone so long ago. Show them that you are still this nation's champion. Show them so that they may live!" The woman shrieked before surging forward, slipping right through the girl before her, prompting the latter to shield her eyes. But when she looked back, that's when she saw it. She saw the blackness on the Horizon. She saw those monsters that had put her country to the sword.

She grit her teeth as the wind picked up.

This was not their day. This was not their home.

They had no place here, had no right to be here. And so, she would show them their mistakes.

They would pay in blood. She would take nothing less.

For her country. For her people. For herself.