"It's been decided by the higher ups and myself that all newly summoned ship girls will hereby hold the rank of Ensign. Promotions will be made based on actions both on and off the water." Anya informed the seven as they stood in front of her desk.

The seven were currently decked out in their NWU's. Or, four of them were. Lexington, Bristol, and Ellyson had rather elected to wear their summoning outfits. Enterprise gave a nod.

"So it's for sure we hold a full rank now?" The carrier asked. Anya gave a nod in response.

The day's date was August 7th. It had been a full week since the riggings had arrived. In that time, each and every one of them had put more than enough practice time both on and off the water.

"Yes, you seven are officially Ensigns of the United States Navy. Although, make no mistake. There were some who thought you should've started lower. And then there some that thought you should be raised all the way to a five star admiral for your past service.... It was an interesting discussion to be sure...." Anya recalled, thinking back to the multiple person discussion, few people sticking out to her more than others. "But anyways, that's not all what I called you here for..."

"Then what might've you called us in here for, Admiral? It has to be quite important...." Langley reasoned. Anya gave a nod in response.

"And it is." Anya informed her as she leaned back in her chair, the black fabric making Anya's own NWU's stand out against it. "Today, you seven will be deployed in a joint operation with a selected set of the Japanese ship girls."

"Wait, really? We're going on Sortie on such short notice?" Lexington asked. Anya gave a nod.

"Yes. Your first sortie will occur today. But it's not short notice by any means. This has been in the works since you girls got your riggings. It's just that the Captain and myself finally feel that you seven are adequately prepared for it." Anya informed them.

"So what exactly does this sortie entail?" Arizona questioned. Anya looked to the Battleship as she answered, leaning back in her chair as she did so.

"We'll go over that as soon as the full force gets here." Came the response.

Fortunately for the seven, they didn't have to wait long as Ishigara soon entered the office. He was closely followed by Mutsuki, Kisaragi, Fubuki, Shirayuki, Shigure, Yuudachi, Tenryuu, Tatsuta, Takao, Atago, Shokaku, and Zuikaku.

Ishigara came to a stance as the girls traded short greetings with eachother, albeit some more grudgingly than others.

Anya gave a sigh. This wasn't new though. Even though the girls had some connections among eachother's ranks, there were still plenty of cold shoulders to be had. For example, Arizona with Shokaku and Zuikaku.

Although the Super Dreadnaught had made some ground with a few of the ship girls here, she still had ill feeling towards the Japanese carriers that called Yokosuka home. The feeling was not one sided though.

Zuikaku would attempt to get a reaction out of the Battleship whenever the two ended up within earshot together. The attempts varied from different verbal insults to bringing up the past. It never got much in results though. Either Arizona blew the Japanese carrier off or Shokauku intervened, resulting in a very miffed Zuikaku either way.

Anya watched as the girls interacted for a moment, Takao and Atago taking it upon themselves to include Arizona in their conversation. A feat which Arizona seemed almost to happy to oblige if it meant Zuikaku would not get the chance. Then she realized something was missing. Or, someone.

"Admiral, I thought you had said that Nagato and Mustu would be in attendance as well?" Anya asked. Ishigara gave a nod in response.

"I did. But It would appear that Mustu was not feeling up to snuff today. She assured me she was fine to sortie, but Nagato would have none of it. Last I heard, the younger of the two was barricaded in their room, enforced of course....." Ishigara recalled. Anya raised a brow as she looked at the man.

"Then I assume you have a backup plan?" She asked. Ishigara gave a nod in return.

"Of course. However.... It may not go as smoothly as we had hoped now...." Ishigara explained. Anya was about to ask when movement caught her eye. Looking over towards the door, she found someone in the middle of an army crawl, slowly skirting around the edges of the room.

Kongou, Anya realized with a sigh. She watched as the fast battleship's crawl continued, soon followed by Hiei, who had somehow curled her entire body into a ball. The second of the four was slowly rolling behind her eldest sister, soon followed by yet another crawling Kongou sister.

Anya watched as the four Kongou sisters edged along the wall, bumping into Sofia's desk quite a few times. The captain gave a huff as she looked down at the four, watching as they corrected their course and continued on past the American captain.

The room was dead silent, every pair of eyes now on the four as they continued their false stealth trip. Slowly turning her chair around, Anya kept her eyes glued to their leader, watching as the four slowly came to a stop in front of her.

"Oh, for heaven's sake...." Anya sighed as she stood. In doing so, Kongou launched upwards, soon coming to a stance in front of Anya, a wide grin on her face. Her sisters soon followed suit, all looking at Anya with their attention on full.

"Kongou! Reporting!"

"Hiei! Reporting!"

"Haruna! Reporting!"

"Kirishima! Reporting!"

"The Kongou sisters are ready, DESU!" Kongou declared, her grin ever present. Anya merely stared at the four for a moment before shaking her head. After herding the four fast battleships back to in front of her desk, she then looked at the collective group of ship girls.

"Alright." Anya began "How many of you know why you're here?" She asked. When she saw each and every girl had their hands raised, she gave a satisfied nod. "Good. You all know you're here to be briefed then." She concluded.

Tenryuu gave a nod. "We know that much. But we don't know why or where...." Tenryuu answered. Anya gave a nod.

"It's because we've kept it on the low for right now." Anya explained as she looked to the girls. "The residents of Miyake island have been reporting quite a few Abyssal sightings over the last few weeks. You're being sent to investigate, and if required, dispose of any Abyssals should you find any." She explained. She got a few nods in response.

"Wait... if this is just a scouting force, why send so many, poi?" Yuudachi asked, standing next to Shigure and Bristol.

"There are a lot of people fearing that these sightings mean the Abyssals are gauging their chances at attacking coastlines again." Anya informed them.

It wasn't that hard to believe though. After the Kanmusu had first been deployed to San Francisco, letting them up against the Abyssals, the mysterious hostiles had receded from the coasts, sticking to attacking the odd ship here and there that were stupid enough to brave the oceans. If these sightings were to be believed, it could represent more than a few problems.

"Damn.... If they're this close, then they might be specifically targeting..." Arizona faded off as Ishigara picked it up from there with a nod.

"Japan, yes. There are fears that these sightings mean that there is a new wave of attacks aimed at Japan specifically. This is unknown at current time, but the JMSDF is taking it as certain, especially with the fishing industry still trying to rebuild from the last attacks...." He explained. Enterprise gave a nod.

"So it would be best to shut it down in the early stages if there are in fact attacks coming..." The Yorktown class concluded. Anya gave a nod in response.

"Exactly. Which is why we're deploying this selected group. But make no mistake, this is also to see how the seven of you have progressed through your training." Anya said matter of factly, her gaze landing on the seven Americans. "Now, you're probably wondering who will be lead ship...."

"That would be good info to have..." Zuikaku stated, her arms crossed as she looked at Anya. Her tone was borderline agitated and that didn't go by Anya unnoticed. Anya looked to Zuikaku for a moment, Ishigara shooting a glare to the carrier from behind the American admiral. After a moment, Anya nodded.

"Flagship will be Arizona." Anya informed them. Arizona looked surprised while Zuikaku looked as stoic as she could manage, even though it was clear she had different ideas of who would've been assigned as flagship. "This won't be a problem will it?" Anya asked, her tone taking one of a no kind of nonsense. She looked straight at Zuikaku as the girls nodded, some more than others. After a moment, Anya gave a final nod.

"That'll be all. You all will set out in fifteen minutes." Anya explained. The girls then began to exit the office, but not before Anya spoke again.

"Arizona, if you would hang back a moment?" Anya called out as the girls, along with Sofia and Ishigara exited the office. With a shrug of her shoulders, Arizona hung back until it was just her and Anya in the empty office. Turning to face her Admiral, Arizona found the woman watching her a moment. "There's something I wish to discuss...."

"If you're worried about Zuikaku, don't be. I can handle her" Arizona declared. Anya shook her head.

"No. This isn't about her. This is about you. I've been informed that you've been having constant nightmares since your arrival on base here...." Anya began, her tone taking on a softer sound. "Is this true?" She asked. Arizona watched Anya for a moment before shaking her head, offering a small chuckle.

"No, Admiral. It's not. A bad dream here and there, yeah. But nothing like what you're talking about." Arizona reasoned. Anya gave a slow nod in return, a nod that clearly told the battleship that she didn't buy it, but Anya waved it off.

"Very well Arizona. If you say that you do not, then you do not. I will not push it any further. But on the off chance that these bad dreams do become worse, please come to me." Anya stated. Arizona simply smirked.

"Admiral, I don't think-"

"Promise me Arizona. I don't want to make this an order...." Anya restated. Arizona hesitated a moment before giving a small nod.

"I promise Admiral." Arizona finally said. Anya gave a nod.

"I'll hold you to that. Now go on. You've a fleet to lead." Anya said, dismissing the battleship. Arizona gave a hesitant nod before turning and leaving, rushing to catch up with the others.

A few moments later, she had done so. She found the rest of the fleet waiting by the the launching chamber door. Noticing her approaching, Lexington turned her gaze to the battleship.

"There's our fearless flagship. We were wondering if you got sunk before you even touched the water." Lexington mused.

"How'd you figure that?" Arizona grumbled in response, looking at the carrier as the door began to open.

"Cause Admiral looked like she was getting ready to blow a turbine...." Bristol added, looking more nervous than anything. Arizona shook her head in a dismissive manner.

"What about you? You look about ready to pass out....." Arizona observed.

"It's because Admiral gave us a job.... Don't wanna disappoint...." Bristol muttered. Arizona gave a small laugh at the answer before her own nerves began to make themselves known to her.

No. She wouldn't let that get to her. Pushing her nerves back down, she waited with the others as the door fully opened, the first to step in.

Leading the way, soon followed by the other girls, Arizona made her way down to the launching lanes. She could tell just by the footfalls that the Kongous were hot on her trail, behind them a varying order of the other girls.
-------------------------------------

Arizona stood on the water, adorning her full rigging, along with the Kongou sisters as they awaited the rest of the fleet to launch.

"So you are our flagship, DESU! Are you nervous?" Kongou asked, looking over at the American battleship. Her sisters did so as well as Arizona gave a shrug.

"I mean, yeah honestly. But truth is I'm not too worried. If I don't do a great job, it's not exactly like you girls don't know what you're doing...." Arizona reasoned. She found herself stopped short as Haruna spoke up, wagging a finger at the Super Dreadnaught.

"That is not a good outlook to have Arizona-san. A flagship needs to be sure of herself and ready to lead. It is you after all who we will be looking to for leadership." The third of the Kongou class said.

"Mhm. Haruna-neesan is absolutely correct! A Flagship must be the perfect image of power and leadership! They must not doubt, for if they do, then we have already lost." Kirishima declared, her fist raised into the sky in a dramatic fashion. Hiei gave a nod.

"Indeed. Arizona-san, you are our flagship. You must have confidence in yourself! We believe in you! Your Admiral believes in you! So must you!" Hiei said, in a rather yelling tone. Arizona gave a slow nod, speaking after a moment.

"You four are pretty passionate about this.... Anything else you this passionate about....?" Arizona asked carefully.

As if setting off a nuclear bomb right in front of her, the four Kongou class girls quickly adorned wide grins. Well, three out of the four. Haruna merely adopted a slightly larger smile.

"ADMIRAL!"

"KONGOU-NEESAMA!"

"Tea....."

"VICTORY!"

Arizona shook her head, her ears now ringing from the sudden answer. She supposed though that she walked right into that one.

A few moments later yielded another set of the girls launching, the five carriers that were apart of this fleet.

"Sounds like there's a party going on out here..." Lexington chuckled as she glided over the water towards them, her bow clutched in her hand. She came to a stop near Arizona as the other four carriers followed suit.

"Hey Arizona. What did Admiral want to talk to you about anyways?" Enterprise asked. Arizona gave a wave of the hand in a dismissing nature.

"It's nothing you need to worry about. Especially not right now." Arizona answered, brushing off the question. Enterprise looked skeptical for a moment before giving a shrug in response. Arizona was about to say something when the next set launched, bringing out the five cruisers apart of their fleet.

"Seriously! What the hell does 'Pan-paka-pan' mean?!" Atlanta yelled, her arms in the air as she looked up at Atago. Tenryuu, Tatsuta, and Takao simply laughed as heavy cruiser in question merely smiled, giving Atlanta a pat on the head.

"There would be no fun in it if I told you that." Atago answered, her hand still on Atlanta's head. The light cruiser merely offered a growl in response.

"Just cause your chest weighs more than a gold bar doesn't mean you're better than me...." Atlanta huffed. Atago merely laughed as the five linked up with the rest. They were now only waiting on the destroyers.

A few more minutes of waiting resulted in the launching door opening for the final time, deploying the eight destroyers that had been selected. The already present girls watched as the destroyers approached them, Bristol and Yuudachi in particular happy to be on the water.

As the eight approached the rest, Yuudachi caught sight of something. Letting out a surprised shriek, she sailed straight over to Arizona.

"You have torpedoes, poi!?" Yuudachi asked excitedly, looking at the dual torpedo tubes strapped to the battleship's thighs. Arizona gave a nod as the other five Japanese destroyers crowded around her, trying to get a look. Arizona looked to one of the other girls for help, finding it in Takao.

"Do not worry Arizona-san. None of our Battleships have torpedoes as part of their armament, so you're just a bit special at the moment." The Heavy cruiser answered. Arizona gave a silent nod as she watched the destroyers study her torpedoes for a few more moments before they finally settled down.

"Alright. If you girls are satisfied then, let's head out." Arizona ordered, gesturing in the direction they were to go. Receiving nods in response, the fleet of 23 ship girls, both Japanese and American, began their journey.

15 minutes in however, Arizona noticed Lexington preparing to launch a squadron of planes.

"Hey, Lex. What're you doing?" Arizona asked, looking back at the Essex class. Lexington looked at Arizona like she had grown a second head, her head titled in a confusion.

"I was gonna launch an air patrol...." Lexington answered, her hand still ready to draw an arrow from her quiver, which was located at her hips much like Enterprise and Langley's was located. Arizona shook her head.

"We're still in Tokyo bay. Wait until we hit open ocean to launch some planes."

"You sure? That doesn't sound too reasonable...." Zuikaku muttered from behind. The battleship nodded.

"Abyssals, as grand as they are in all of their mysterious glory, have never once decided to trek their abyss shrouded asses up into a body of water like this." She replied. Zuikaku shook her head.

"Not true. They did just that at San Francisco when they were fighting your Navy."

"I'll give you that one, yeah. But fighting isn't a word I'd use. Hunting is more fitting. That fleet had been beaten to hell before they pulled back into the Bay. Abyssals were focused on the kill, not location. And Tokyo Bay is crawling with JMSDF forces. They'd have to be completely insane to poke their head above water here."

Zuikaku rolled her eyes in response, sailing along as the fleet continued on their way, passing various vessels as they did so. Some of the occupants offered the girls waves, which were returned by a few very enthusiastic destroyers. Takao and Atago waved as well while Tenryuu shook her head.

"Wonder how long it'll be until they realize we've got new blood...." The light cruiser mused, one of her hands tracing the handle of her sword. Langley casted a curious glance to the light cruiser, her bow held to her side.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Tenryuu chuckled in response as she spoke.

"You seven probably aren't aware of this just yet, but the Kanmusu aren't some secret held close to the government. We're known world wide and have been since we assisted in San Francisco. It's one of the reasons we spend most of our time on Yokosuka. We can go off base, but we usually get mobbed. The only one of us who can handle all of the attention is Naka." Tenryuu explained. Langley looked surprised as Enterprise spoke next, looking at the light cruiser in disbelief.

"Wait... They're just allowed to know about us...? No secrecy or anything?"

Tenryuu shook her head as Takao answered.

"The public is allowed to know about us because it is seen as a Morale booster. We bring hope to the people, not just of Japan, but of America as well. And so many more." Takao answered as Tenryuu continued.

"It's one of the reasons we're known so well. There are some of our more... Committed fans that can name each one of us based on the order we came through the gateway and on what day." She explained. The seven gave a slow nod.

"That's... Kind of weird...." Atlanta said finally. Tenryuu gave a nod, soon replying to her fellow light cruiser.

"Ehhh, that's pretty tame compared to some of the stuff they do. Our fans have artists among them and they don't always use their skills for good....." Tenryuu explained, her eyes focused ahead.

"What? It's just art, isn't it? What's so bad about that?" Enterprise asked. Besides the destroyers, each and every Japanese Kanmusu currently deployed let out a small, dry laugh.

"Ohhhh Enterprise. Mind so innocent and pure of the horrors that the Internet has in store...." Zuikaku mused. The seven Americans traded a glance as Bristol turned to Yuudachi.

"Do you know what they're talking about?" The Gleaves class destroyer asked. Yuudachi shook her head.

"Nope, poi. The battleships put out a rule about it that every other class has to follow. One of the rules is that we destroyers and subs aren't aloud to see what they're talking about. It's kind of mysterious, poi...." Yuudachi answered with a shrug as they sailed on.
–————————————————
A little while later, the fleet had eventually made it to open ocean, breaking out of Tokyo bay.

"Enterprise, Lexington, Shokaku, and Zuikaku. Put up air patrols. There's four of you so we have all of our directions covered. Langley, I want you on standby by to put up your own air patrol when one of them need a break." Arizona ordered.

"Four of us? We don't need to have four air patrols. One should be more than sufficient." Zuikaku huffed. Arizona shook her head.

"No, I want four up. It maximizes our detection ranges and we won't be going into this completely oblivious. Plus, if having more patrols than normal means we all get to go home at today's end, I'm all for it." The battleship responded. Three out of the four gave nods in response, spreading out from each other to do so.

Shokaku was the first to do so, having already been used to the water interfering with her aiming. Just like any other Sortie, she made each action purposeful and precise, her squadron of six Zeros up within moments.

Enterprise and Lexington had a slightly harder time of it. Sure, they had done on water shooting before, but it was still rather new to the two. Eventually however, the two got their planes up without a problem. Enterprise went with a squadron of six Corsairs while Lexington elected for Hellcats.

Eventually, Zuikaku got her planes up as well. The four squadrons began heading in their respective directions as the ship girls watched them do so. After a moment, it was Haruna to speak to speak first.

"That... Is still an unsettling sight...." The fast battleship murmured. Her sisters gave a nod in response.

"Hm?" Arizona asked.

"It's still weird seeing those planes as an Ally now.. Back then, if we saw those, it was gonna be a long day for everybody...." Tenryuu answered. Arizona gave a nod in response.

"Those planes brought down so many of us during the war... Yet here we are, putting our faith in them as well... Mixed feelings to be sure..." Shigure answered. Arizona gave a nod as her gaze traveled to the squadron of Zeros heading to the south.

"True. The last time I saw Japanese planes were not under the best circumstances... But think about it this way. The Sun and The Star under one flag now. Enemies no longer, only allies, intent on keeping the oceans safe.... And it'll only get better once the other countries start arriving. And... More of our fleet..."

Lexington gave a nod. "Yeah... As much as I want to say I'm confident in our current ability to combat the Abyssals... I would feel much better with a fleet like you guys have...." She said as her planes began their patrol. Yuudachi gave a nod.

"Yeah, poi! There's so many cool ships you guys had during the war. Like the Iowa sisters, poi! When will they show up?" The destroyer asked. Kongou gave a confident nod as she spoke.

"Yes! More fellow fast battleships must be a good thing, DESS! When will they join us?" Kongou asked, looking at the seven Americans. Enterprise gave a shrug.

"Well... Can't know for sure. Because there's one thing they don't have in common with us. They're still in active service..." She explained, which warranted some surprised expressions.

"Wait? They're still in service?!" Zuikaku asked, looking at the carrier. E gave a nod.

"Yeah. Although they were museum ships before the Abyssals showed up, some genius looked at them and thought that they could use em. They're part of the main East Coast defense fleet. Wouldn't mind having their AA abilities as defense out here...." To which Atlanta took immediate offense to.

"Hey! What do you think I'm here for? I'm an AA Cruiser for crying out loud!" Atlanta insisted, to which Langley put a hand on her shoulder.

"We are aware of this, Atlanta, and we thank you for that. Enterprise was just stating that more AA can never be a bad thing." Langley reasoned. Atlanta seemed to accept the logic after a moment as she settled down slightly.

"That's a-all good and s-stuff, but we still haven't gotten a-any new girls through. What I-if we don't g-get anymore?" Ellyson asked. Fubuki and Shirayuki shook their heads.

"No way. Of course you'll get more girls." Fubuki insisted.

"Mhm. I'm sure it'll just be a matter of time." Shirayuki reasoned, looking at the smaller destroyer.

"Speaking in that sense then, shouldn't we have already gotten our next girl? After all, when you girls were first being summoned, wasn't there a new one every week?" Lexington questioned.

"Sure. But we only came through individually. Never did we come through more than one at a time." Zuikaku replied.

"But speaking in that sense.... It'll be more than a month before the next group comes through..." Bristol reasoned. Atlanta groaned in response.

"God I hope not. That seems unbearable...." Atlanta said. Before anyone else could say anything, Enterprise suddenly snapped to attention, her eyes continually darting to the east in a alerted manner.

"E? You got something?" Arizona asked as the fleet sailed on. Enterprise gave a nod after a moment, looking at Arizona.

"Patrol is reporting at least a few dozen destroyers and a few light cruisers to the east. And they're changing their course to that of interception. They know we're out here..." Enterprise relayed, looking over to the east. Before anyone could say anything, Shokaku took on an alerted expression as well.

"Fighters have been discovered to the south. They're showing no signs of coming this way as of yet..." Shokaku reported. Gazes turned to Arizona as she decided what they were going to do.

"Shokaku, are you sure they aren't coming this way yet? Any evidence of carriers?" Arizona asked. Shokaku gave a shake of the head. "Alright then. Shokaku, keep eyes on those fighters. The second they even show signs of coming towards us, I want to know." Arizona ordered. The white headed carrier gave a nod as Takao spoke.

"What are our orders, Arizona-san?"

"We're going to change direction to meet the Abyssal forces to the east head on, see if we can't rattle their cages a bit. I want Zuikaku and Langley to focus fully on those forces. I want Shokaku, Enterprise, and Lexington on standby to deploy interceptors should our friends to the south decide to come play. Atlanta, stick close to the carriers. Any planes make it too close, turn them to scrap. The rest of you, engage where you see fit. You detect or see anything strange, call it out." Arizona ordered. She got calls of affirmative as the fleet changed their direction to the east, changing course to meet the Abyssals head on.

After a few minutes of silent sailing, the air suddenly filled with tension, the vague forms of Abyssal destroyers sailed into view. Bobbing in and out of the water, the multiples of black forms of malice and hatred for humanity locked their sights onto the fleet. Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Lexington drew an arrow from her quiver as she spread off from the main fleet, preparing to launch a squadron of torpedo bombers.

"They're just as ugly as I thought they'd be." Lexington mused as she launched her planes, the arrow splitting off into six TBF Avengers. They were soon followed by another 12 Avengers being escorted by 12 Zeros. As the planes drew closer to their targets, Arizona turned to Kongou.

"The second you can, light em up. Your range is longer than mine." Arizona instructed. Kongou gave a wink as her hands went to her hips, her outfit fluttering in the sea breeze as she and her sisters pulled out in front of the rest of the fleet. A few seconds passed on tense silence before Kongou suddenly jut a hand out in front of her.

"BURNING LOVE!" The fast battleship yelled as she fired off a full salvo, quickly followed by her three sisters. The fleet watched as 32 14-inch shells went soaring through the air, soon enough raining down death on the destroyers as they attempted to dodge and weave.

Arizona saw at least three destroyers take direct hits from the Kongou's, either becoming severely incapacitated or outright destroyed. But it didn't phase the rest as they charged on. As they drew closer, more and more of the girls began to open fire. Soon enough, they had entered Arizona's range. With a small smirk, Arizona joined the fray.

BOOM.

Her twelve fourteen inch cannons exploded with a thunderous chorus that threatened to silence the mighty Pacific herself as the Battleship's guns chanted the hymns of death, the first song they had sung since 1941.

One Destroyer in particular bore the brunt of Arizona's fury, soon finding itself exploding with a new vigor at the American's hands.

As the destroyer began to sink, the TBF's began their run, lowering closer to the water as they released their legion of torpedoes.

It resulted in impacts all along their ranks, the devastation easy to see. Letting out enraged calls, the destroyers renewed their charge.

The eight destroyers within the fleet took the chance to cause their own carnage. Upon the Abyssal destroyers drawing closer, each pair of destroyers took a pass in front of the fleet, each throwing her own torpedoes out into the water as the Battleships continued their attacks.

As the destroyer thrown torpedoes made their way towards the Abyssals, their destroyers immediately spotted Bristol's and Ellyson's fish trails. Moving out of the way of the torpedoes fired by the two American destroyers, they thought themselves safe. Only to run into the plethora of harder to detect Type 97 Long Lances that were so infamous for their destruction. Setting off another wave of losses, the torpedoes impacted up and down the line of animalistic destroyers. That's when the light cruisers hiding in the back made themselves known.

10 Ho-class light cruisers made themselves known as they fired off a full volley of shells, briefly filling the sky with lead as the malice bearing ammunition made its way towards the fleet.

"Kongou! Hiei! Start throwing some shells at those cruisers!" Arizona barked as she dodged the shells as best she could, taking a few grazing hits as she did so. She fired off another salvo into the still approaching wave of destroyers, albeit much smaller than it had been to begin with. As she did so, she simultaneously fired off her own batch of torpedoes, spreading the American made explosives into the destroyers. 

"OKAY!" Hiei answered with an enthusiastic tone, her guns finding a new firing solution, one that would send the new combatants to the bottom of the ocean as quickly as possible. Kongou did the same, soon enough the two sisters firing off a newly aimed set of shells.

The newly fired salvo from the two met their mark, sending one cruiser to the bottom and severely crippling another. As the two reloaded, the remaining cruisers fired off another volley. This one with much different results.

As the shells soared through the air, three met their mark in the form of Atago. Forced to brace the hit, the heavy cruiser took the impacts. In doing so, it effectively knocked out one of her guns.

"Atago! You ok?" Arizona demanded. Atago gave a nod as her still remaining guns gave retribution.

"Aye! Just need to make some repairs!" Atago responded. Arizona gave a nod.

"Arizona-San! The planes are heading this way!" Shokaku called suddenly, alerting the American Battleship to a new threat. Giving a nod, the blonde battleship's gaze shot to Enterprise and Lexington.

"On it! Shokaku, what kinds of planes they got up there?!" Enterprise asked as she reached to her quiver, selecting a squadron of F4U's as she nocked the arrow quickly and efficiently. Lexington copied her actions, same plane selection as well, as the two prepared to launch.

"Three squadrons of fighters protecting a few groups of bombers!" Shokaku reported as she readied her own squadron. Enterprise gave a nod as she looked to Atlanta.

"Atlanta, you had best be ready." Enterprise ordered as she, along with the other two, launched the squadrons totaling up to 18 planes. "Shokaku, pull your deployed squadron back to meet up with the new wave. Then we'll knock them out of the sky." She said as the newly deployed fighter wing vectored off to the South to meet their new friends. Shokaku gave a nod in return.

The newly launched set of 18 fighters veered South, engines at full as they flew in formation. The Zeros were in the middle as the two sets of Corsairs sat to their sides, flying a bit lower.

Eventually, they spied Shokaku's first squadron, fleeing from the massive wave of Abyssal planes, dodging what potshots the Abyssals took here and there. As soon as the first squadron was passed, the new wave of fighters pulled into a tight formation.

As if unsure of this new, sudden foe they found themselves faced with, the Abyssal planes seemed to faultier, as if hesitating momentarily.

A hesitation they would not recover from.

The allied fighter wing opened up, their guns plucking the Abyssal fighters from the sky as they mowed their way through towards the bombers. This kicked the Abyssals back into high gear, sending them into a flurry of activity as they engaged the American and Japanese fighters.

The three squadrons split off from each other, even more then as the three squadrons split off into groups of three. Engaging what remained of the Abyssal fighters, the fighters went to work.

As they did so, the Abyssal bombers thought they'd take the chance. Cranking their engines to full, they soared past the ensuing dogfight. As they did, a squad of Corsairs took immediate notice, finishing off the abyssal fighters they were tangling with. Pulling off from them, the chase began.

Taking shots where they could, picking off a few here and there, the Corsairs continued their chase. But it was clear. The bombers had made it through.

"Atlanta!" Lexington yelled, putting up another Squadron as she did so.

"Roger!" Atlanta responded as the bombers entered her view. Her guns snapped to attention, watching as the bombers drew closer. Just a bit more....

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

The air suddenly played host to a new noise as Atlanta's 16 Mark 12 rifles filled the air with a new source of lead. As if she were a trick shooter at a gun show, Atlanta plucked what remained of the Bombers out of the air, turning them to little more than burning scrap as they crashed into the waves below.

"And screw you too!" Atlanta yelled in response as she watched the last of the bombers plummet into the Pacific. Enterprise shot the cruiser a thumbs up.

"Nice shooting there, Tex." Enterprise offered as she readied another wave of Torpedo bombers to deal with what remained of the cruisers. But as she did so, a full salvo of shells echoed through the air as they splashed water high into the air around Enterprise. Ducking for a moment, Enterprise snapped back up, her vision darting to the direction from which they came.

"We've got Battleships!" Enterprise called as she spied the two Ru-Class Battleships approaching from the North.

"We have two over here as well!" Takao called as she watched two more Ru's approach from the South. Grinding her teeth in agitation, Arizona gave off a new line of orders.

"Tenryuu, Tatsuta! Focus your attacks on the cruisers! Atago, Takao, Mutsuki, and Kisaragi, give them some support! Kongou, continued engagement!" Arizona called as she changed her direction to that of a engagement with the Ru's approaching from the North. "Hiei! With me. Yuudachi, Shigure! You too. Haruna, Kirishima, Fubuki, and Shirayuki! Take the ones to the South! Bristol, Ellyson! Help where needed!" She ordered. She got calls of affirmatives as the fleet split off into a three way defense.

Hiei caught up with the American Battleship as the two destroyers sailed along behind them. Overhead flew an attack squadron of TBF's, gunning it to support the division of four as they tangled with the Abyssal battlewagons.

Arizona and Hiei fired off full salvos as the TBF's dropped their loads, sending a new wave of fish into the water.

Only taking grazing hits from the two, the two Ru's quickly moved out of the way of the air dropped explosives. Soon enough, the two battleships fired off another two salvos, sending a new wave of shells at the approaching four as their AA began to light up the TBF's, effectively wiping out three of the six American planes.

As the three TBFs that were left pulled off from engagement, Arizona gave a growl of annoyance.

"Hiei! Pick one and we'll both knock the shit out of her!" Arizona called.

"Right!" Hiei answered, as her guns began aiming. Arizona copied her motions, apparently deciding on the one to the right first. Each firing her own Salvo, the two battleships sent a grand total of 20 Armor Piercing Shells at the Ru.

The shells impacted with all the force of a runaway train, causing the Ru to let out an enraged roar as she took the hit. Shigure and Yuudachi took this chance to throw a new set of torps into the water, sending the Battleship some new friends.

The point was hammered home however, when three SBD Dauntless Dive-bombers drove the fact home as they dropped their payload on the wounded battleship. With the impact of the bombs and torpedoes combined, the Battleship let out a defiant roar as she continued her engagement against the heathens.

"Bastards are hard to put down, aren't they...." Arizona asked to no one in particular. Hiei gave a nod in response as the two Battleships fired off another salvo, once again hammering the Ru closer and closer into her coffin.

The Ru let out a roar of rage as the next salvo impacted with her, bringing with it another round of pain. Eventually, the Ru couldn't take anymore as it slowly began to sink beneath the waves.

Arizona let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding as she and Hiei turned their attention of the second of the two battleships. Once again, they hit the Abyssal with an onslaught of shells, torpedoes, and bombs. After what seemed like forever, the Battleship finally gave, falling over to one side, the Pacific claiming the body rather slowly.

"Hiei, go help Haruna and Kirishima with the other two. Shigure, Yuudachi, back to the cruisers." Arizona ordered. The three gave nods as they sped off to their respective positions as Arizona called over to the carriers.

"Is there any evidence of them having carriers out here?" Arizona called as she sailed over to the group. Enterprise nodded.

"We haven't got a confirmed location as of yet, but there's another wave of planes coming from the South. At least a carrier's worth if not more..." Enterprise informed her. Arizona gave a nod.

"Well, keep up the good work. After we finish up here, we'll see if a round of Carrier hunting pays off..." Arizona mused. Enterprise gave a nod as Arizona turned her attention back to the remaining Ru, who was trying in vain to put up a decent fight. Arizona shook her head as she rejoined the fray, finishing off a crippled destroyer as she watched the last few Cruisers go under at the hands of Tenryuu and Tatsuta. Seeing that all immediate enemies were taken care of, she gave a nod.

"Everyone all right after that little party?" Arizona asked around. She got calls of affirmative in response. Satisfied with that, she turned to the carriers.

"Do we still have planes in the air?" Arizona asked. She found her answer as Shokaku responded.

"Yes. Lexington-San and I have two squads up while Enterprise-San has one. They are currently engaged to the South, keeping the planes there at bay." She answered. Arizona nodded as she considered the options. Turning to Zuikaku and Langley, she offered an idea.

"Can you two get patrols up to the South-West and South-East?" Arizona asked. Langley gave a nod while Zuikaku pressed her question.

"Why? They already have planes down there." She reasoned. Arizona gave a nod.

"I'm aware of this. Just trying to cover the most area we can. We need to make our way to the island anyways, so knowing what's ahead of us at this point is going to be highly beneficial. Especially if their carriers are somewhere ahead of us." Arizona reasoned. Biting her lip, Zuikaku gave a nod in response. Soon enough, the two carriers had launched a squadron each, the planes heading to their indicated directions.

Watching them go, Arizona gave a nod.

"Alright. Let's head out." Arizona ordered. She got nods in return as the fleet began moving to the South yet again, this time on full alert.

Something wasn't sitting right with Arizona though. There was something at the very back of her mind, bugging her to no end. Something.... Ominous...

She couldn't place what it was. It was almost like she had witnessed it before.

That's when she heard it.

That damned high pitched whistle.

The sound of something plummeting downwards.

Sparing a quick glance behind her to confirm it, she quickly wheeled around. Some of the fleet watched in confusion as the battleship. They watched as their flagship made a beeline straight for Mutsuki and Kisaragi.

"Arizona-San?" Kisaragi asked curiously. She didn't get an answer as the Battleship collided with the destroyer sisters, knocking them a ways back across the water.

"Hey! Arizona! What the-" Zuikaku began, but found herself stopped short.

She was stopped short as the bombs planned for Mutsuki and Kisaragi struck Arizona instead.

View of the battleship was obscured as a tower of flame and smoke erupted from where the Battleship had been moments before.

Silence echoed across the water a few moments before a single terrified voice cut through the air.

"ARIZONA!"