"What's the report Shokaku? Is the Princess still around?" Arizona asked, watching the horizon for any sort of movement. The white haired carrier nodded, looking to the battleship.

"Affirmative Arizona-San. The Princess is still among their fleet. She shows no sign of leaving or turning around from her current direction of travel." Shokaku said. Arizona nodded as she looked back to where Musashi, Yamato, Maryland, Bristol, and Ellyson were still tangling with the approaching battleships from the rear.

After a moment, she contacted Tenryuu over the radio again.

"Tenryuu. Come in. Tenryuu, are you there?" Arizona asked. She was greeted with a response a few seconds later.

"Tenryuu here. The civilians are turning back and we're finishing up with the rest of the destroyers present. Shouldn't be too much longer." Tenryuu reported. Arizona nodded as she replied.

"Alright. Be advised, we have confirmation of a Princess on the water to the East. She is armed and among a heavily armored fleet. Regroup with us ASAP." Arizona ordered. She heard Tenryuu suck in a breath before breathing it out in an exasperated motion.

"Really? A princess? No shit?" The light cruiser asked.

"No shit. It's a princess and she's already gearing up to make our lives for the next little while a pain in the ass." Arizona said. Tenryuu sighed from her end.

"So what are we looking at then? The last princess couldn't step onto the water. She was land based. Is this one not?" Tenryuu asked.

"Correct. So far, she's launching planes as her main force. She's not attempted to confront us just yet, but we're preparing. Zuikaku recommended we call her the Aircraft Carrier Princess. A side note, her planes are Hellcats. Or thus far anyways." Arizona said. Tenryuu sighed in response.

"Fantastic.... The uh, the Princess. She isn't by an chance under those Storm clouds is she?" Tenryuu asked.

"That's where Shokaku confirmed her to be. Be on guard on your way over here. And watch out for any other stray Abyssals out scouting around for her highness." Arizona replied.

"Alright. We'll meet up with you all in a bit." Tenryuu replied. Arizona gave acknowledgement before tuning off of her Radio, turning her attention back to her immediate surroundings. And just in time for a yell of pain to sound through the air, it coming from the rear of the fleet.

"What happened?" Nagato asked over the sounds of the waves, which in turn were starting to become less than favorable. Soon enough, she received an answer from one of the battleships fending off the approaching five.

"Maryland took a hit to the arm!" Musashi called before promptly firing off another salvo, keeping the approaching battleships at bay. Maryland gave a shake of the head, firing off a salvo of her own.

"It's just a minor wound! I'll be fine!" Maryland called back to the two as she dodged a few incoming shells. Arizona watched her a moment longer before looking to Nagato.

"How is Mustu's group doing with the Abyssals on their side?" Arizona asked. Nagato nodded as she watched Maryland a moment longer as the fleet continued on their way. The distant rumble of thunder let them know that the storms were still present and very much active as the storms continued to transforms the waters into something less than favorable.

"They're finishing up over there. No more Abyssals have made themselves known to them so they'll be regrouping with us rather soon." Nagato said. Arizona nodded as she looked to Shokaku.

"How is the Princesses's fleet looking? Still the same?" She asked. Shokaku shook her head.

"They've added eight destroyers and 2 light cruisers to their ranks. The Princess still hasn't made any course of action observable however." Shokaku said. Before Arizona could respond however, a shell struck Shokkau directly in the back, sending the carrier tumbling forward.

As Zuikaku rushed to her sister's aide, making sure she was still in one piece, Arizona looked to the distant battleships. Clearly, the shell that had struck the carrier came from the Re-Class if the smile now upon her lips was anything to go by. That, and the freshly smoking barrels of her guns.

"Nagato? Can you take the reins for a moment?" Arizona asked. Nagato nodded as she looked at the American.

"Yes. Taking things into your own hands I presume?" Nagato asked. Arizona nodded.

"Exactly. Oklahoma, fall in. We're gonna go tangle with some Abyssals." Arizona said as she turned towards the rear of the fleet, soon going forward. Oklahoma fell in behind her as the two made their way to the rear of the fleet.

As they did so, the dog fighting overhead took another twist as a new wing of Corsairs were put into the fray, giving the Abyssal fighters something new to worry about. That, combined with the Anti Air fire the girls were putting up when they could were keeping the Abyssals on their toes.

Taking aim at the five approaching battlewagons, Arizona and Oklahoma made the smallest of adjustments. Them, when the two were satisfied with their calculations, they waited only a moment.

Only a moment before the 22 combined 14 inch guns exploded with pent up fury, sending shells soaring over the heads of the three already engaged battleships. Surprising the three a moment, Maryland looked back to them.

"Hey! What gives? We've got this!" Maryland shouted. Arizona rolled her eyes in reply as she gestured to Maryland's arm, which looked like it had just calmed down from the bleeding brought on by an Abyssal shell.

"Cause that certainly gives me the impression that you've got this completely under control." Arizona mused as she and Oklahoma fell in line with the Yamato sisters and Maryland. "Plus, my legs were getting kind of tired just standing around. So I figured why not make it even numbers. Five of them, five of us." Arizona said. Maryland sighed before nodding, looking to the approaching battleships.

"Sounds unfair in my opinion." The battleship said. Arizona laughed in response as the five battleships took aim at their Abyssal counterparts, their one and only goal being to send the five to the bottom.

Not agreeing with this, the approaching Re-Class fired her guns in disagreement with the course of action. This in turn set off the other four battleships, the twin Ta's and Ru's doing the same.

The Abyssal shells fell among the five fleet battleships, pinging off of riggings here and there. But they struck no major hits against the five.

Musashi fired her guns in return, the other four not far behind as they sent the shells flying across the water. And these shells, much unlike the shells of the Abyssals, met their targets with much less forgiving aim.

This proved true to begin with as two of Musashi's shells burrowed themselves into and through one of the guns towers of a Ru-class battleship. The Abyssal let out a roar of pain at the action as the shells continued to fall among the five.

Another shell, this one belonging to Yamato, impacted the Re-Class's tail. Although not cutting through the armor of the limb, the shell certainly made itself known if the sizable dent now present in the armor of the was anything to go by.

Looking at this a moment, the Re-Class looked back up to the battleships in a fury, only for a moment before a fourteen inch High Explosive shell, courtesy of Oklahoma, struck the tailed battleship in the face, exploding a second after.

As this went on, the trading of shells between the two groups of five shells with each other, the dogfighting overhead had taken a new turn in favor of the Abyssals as the Aircraft Carrier Princess's altered Hellcats broke into the airspace overhead.

Instead of the usual Navy Blue the fighters had been previously known for, they now showed off an Abyss black as their main color. The stars on the sides and wings were reduced to a pale white. The underside of the wings sported the normal teeth design so common among the Abyssals. The cockpit seemed to be emitting an erie red haze as the altered and scarred fighters began to nip at the tails of those of the allied fleet.

"Fuck that noise." Coral growled as the carrier proceeded to put a wing of her own Hellcats into the air. Midway and Franklin following their youngest sister's lead, the 24 freshly launched hellcats took no time in following after their evil twins, their intentions all but good.

As that went on overhead, the battle on the water was heating up fast as an Armor Piercing shell ripped through the head of a Ta-Class battleship, halting the approach of the Abyssal. Instead, the girl flopped to one side, the Pacific soon overcoming the remains. This only seemed to infuriate the other four if the roar of rage the other Ta-Class released was anything to go by.

"Yeah, I got one!" Oklahoma gave a cheer, not on normal for such a celebratory manner. But this was a rare event.

"Don't get too happy." Arizona said. "Ta classes are one thing. That Re-Class is gonna be the real problem." The Pennsylvania class girl warned, eliciting a call nod from Oklahoma.

"Shall we focus on the one Ta and the two Ru's then for the moment?" Maryland asked as she ducked under a rogue shell, one that would have hit directly in the face. Musashi nodded.

"That sounds advisable. Arizona, if you and Oklahoma want to focus your efforts on the Ta-Class, the three of us will focus on the Ru-Classes. And then, we will all focus on the Re together." Musashi said. Arizona nodded.

"Sounds good. Bristol! Ellyson! Fall in behind the two of us. We're gonna see if we can get closer to the Re so you two can start throwing her some fish." Arizona ordered. The two destroyers nodded as the group of four began heading to the left, Arizona and Oklahoma already tanking shells from the Ta-Class. In return, they were giving their own shells.

Else where on the water, within the fleet, the three Atlanta sisters had been presented with a bounty of planes to shoot down. And so they had, the three sisters lighting up the sky with a plethora of shells and casings. There was so much skyward flak, that an Iowa would be proud. Positioned among the Carriers, the Atlanta sisters were making the altered Hellcats regretting their decision to come towards the fleet. That combined with the friendly Hellcats already in the air, the Abyssal Hellcats were dwindling in numbers.

As the fighters overhead battled for supremacy, a new wing of Altered Hellcats entered the airspace, already taking in the sight before them. And they already had a plan of action, one that included the bombs they were carrying and the three Atlanta Class cruisers down on the water.

To the normal fighter, whether it be Kanmusu or Abyssal based, didn't see the girls as girls. They didn't see the small frames, they didn't see the curves. They saw the masses of steel, the plethora of guns. They saw how they were back in their prime, when they battled for supremacy for the Oceans. They saw the Queens and Ladies of steel how they had been. How they had fought. How they had lived. They only saw their Steel hulls.

Steel hulls that reacted negatively when you dropped bombs on their heads.

Swooping low, hanging around just above the water's surface, the Hellcats surged past the lone battleship at the front of the fleet. Racing past light and heavy cruisers alike, they made their way for the multiple flattops, some preparing fresh wings of fighters atop their decks. And within the large group, sailed the three light cruisers.

There sailed their targets.

Flying over one of the Flightdecks of a sailing carrier, dodging the AA fire where it appeared, the six fighters narrowed in one their goal.

As they approached, the lead cruiser registered their presence. As her weapons turned to meet them, she alerted the other two. As they began to turn their weapons as well, the first opened fire, sending shells their way, the flak only strengthening as the other two joined in.

The danger, the threat, the near certain demise. It didn't matter to the approaching fighters. What mattered to them was doing their Princesses's bidding. Doing what she herself could not.

Sinking the heathens.

And why the did the Princess issue these orders? Why did she fight like this, in harms way, to sink a force that at times seemed untouchable.

Because her Queen had ordered it.

Dodging past the shells, diving straight into the fire, the Hellcats continued their approach. More than anything, ignoring the fire, they were racing each other. Racing eachother to the destination.

And just as they were about to reach it, reach their goal, they were halted. In a way the planes had not expected. Could not of expected.

Two of the carriers, two of the largest among the fleet, sailed in front of the three cruisers. And as if the ships themselves hated the six planes the most, the Flightdecks of the two popped up, ending the Hellcat's flight short as they collided with the Armored Flightdecks of Coral Sea and Midway.

Just about everyone around blinked in response at the action that the two had taken. Midway and Coral, two belonging to the largest Class of carrier at Yokosuka, had just purposely taken hits in the place of cruisers.

As if the two had already seen what was coming, likely that they had, the two sisters had moved to position in front of the three Atlanta class sisters. Then, as if they were straight from the Old legions of Rome, they had rose their Flightdecks as shields. Creating a wall, the six planes had their hopes and dreams decimated as they collided with the sudden obstacle, ending in a furious of explosion of fire and the Organic Metal that the Abyssals called their armor.

"Wha- Midway! What were you thinking!? We had them!" Atlanta yelled at the carrier. Carrier in question took a look over her Flightdeck for a moment before looking back to Atlanta.

"You did not." Midway said, looking at the cruiser for only a moment before she pulled an arrow from her waist mounted quiver, soon putting a wing of Corsairs into the air, the eight planes soon cleaning up the extra Hellcats around, disposing of them rather quickly.

"But we did! And it's not your job to take hits for us!" Atlanta said in reply, putting her hands on her hips as she looked at the carrier. Midway only turned in response, her Crimson eyes finding the cruiser, as if they were staring into her very being.

"You didn't have them. The Abyssal Hellcats were much to close. It only showed a 20% chance of them all being shot down successfully before they reached the critical point. With that, if they had struck you three with weapons or other means, there was a 70% chance that you would suffer considerable damage. On top of that, given your armor and specs, there was a 60% chance that at least one of you would've been lost should they have succeeded. But with the intervention of Coral Sea and myself, all percentages dropped to Zero. Damage sustained to Flightdecks is negligible at best." Midway said before taking another look over her Flightdeck.

After a moment, she looked back to Atlanta.

"Admiral said she wished to see the return of 41 Kanmusu of this fleet. Any variations, that being subtractions from that number, will not be tolerated." Midway said in her usual tone. But as she finished the statement, her tone seemed to drop dangerously, leaving the message hanging in the air as she turned back towards the front of the fleet. As the shiver went down the spines of those listening, Zuihou gave a shake of the head.

"For one who doesn't talk much, she certainly has a way with words..." The light carrier said after a moment, watching the girl head back into position. Atlanta only grumbled in response, crossing her arms as she did so. Juneau rolled her eyes at her older sister's actions, shaking her head.

"Get over it. She's not hurt and she has a point. Who knows how many guns we would've had damaged or destroyed because of those planes." She said. Atlanta shook her head.

"We're supposed to protect them! It's our job! We can't just have them going and throwing themselves away like that!" Atlanta fumed. Juneau just shook her head.

"They're carriers. They're not helpless. And you can't hold the Midway sisters to the same standard you hold against someone like Enterprise or Shokaku." Juneau said, taking a glance over at the still recovering carrier. The hit she had taken earlier had shaken her up a bit, but nothing too bad. But Zuikaku apparently took offense to the Cruiser's comment, her gaze snapping to the girl in a moment's notice.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Zuikaku demanded, looking Juneau in the eyes. Juneau sighed.

"Jesus.... I didn't mean anything by it, but seriously, could you've done what she just did? Without any serious consequences?" Juneau asked. Zuikaku watched her a moment shaking her head, taking a glance at Midway's flight deck.

"No, but that's only because we don't have those flight decks. Those are stronger and give a better definition to the word armored." Zuikaku said, still looking irked. Juneau nodded, putting her hands up in surrender.

"That's all I'm saying. I'm not saying anything against you or your sister in reference to your skill. Only armor." Juneau explained. Zuikaku waited a moment before giving a nod and going back to her sister. Juneau nodded as she looked back to her own sister.

"But seriously Atlanta, don't worry about it. We're still here and they didn't get hurt. I'd call it a win all around." Juneau said, San Diego offered a nod at that. Atlanta gave a huff before grudgingly nodding her head.

"Fine." Atlanta finally admitted. Juneau just laughed at her sister as the dogfights overhead continued to rage across the sky.

Back with the battleships, Arizona and Oklahoma were trying to both sink the Ta-Class and protect the two destroyers following in their wake. As they did so, the other three battleships were nearing skirmishing range with the two Ru-Classes as they fired their guns.

"Is this going well? Because I can't tell..." Maryland said as she dodged a shell fired by the distant Re-Class, the tailed battleship staying a decent distance away from the Allied battleships. Musashi nodded.

"We are fortunate that the Re-Class does not seem to share the same sense of  brutality that other members of the class seem to relish. But let us not count our cards to soon. We still have a princess to deal with. But for right now, let us focus on sending these battleships under." Musashi said as a plane crashed down into the water a ways from the three, the organic metal of the Abyssal fighter sinking below the waves.

"Not fortunate enough or we wouldn't have run into these things on the way to Pearl." Maryland huffed, firing a full salvo at the nearest Ru. As she did so, she winced from the pain in her arm being jostled by the firing of her guns. Shaking it off, she looked up as Yamato fired a salvo of her own as well, one of her shells striking the Ru directly in the gun tower.

Letting out a pained cry, the Ru-class in turn replied with a salvo of her own, the shells striking both Yamato and Maryland as they exploded against the riggings of the battleships. Musashi answered with her own salvo, a fatal decision for the Ru as a shell ripped through the Abyssal's chest armor, putting a halt to the Battleship's advance. A second shells courtesy of Musashi tore through her shoulder, crippling the battleship and rendering half of her guns useless.

Sparing not another second, Yamato fired a salvo, sending a shell through the Ru's head and bringing an end to its foul existence. Soon enough, the three turned their gaze to the second of the Ru-Classes.

Meanwhile, Arizona and Oklahoma were still in the midst of dealing with the Ta-Class. Though they had made some decent hits on the Abyssal, the battleship was still holding her own against the two. On top of this, the two destroyers behind the battleships were throwing constant torpedoes at the battleship, keeping her alert and on guard.

As they did so, Arizona and Oklahoma continued to throw more shells at the battleship, trying to score a crippling hit on the girl. The Ta-Class in turn fired a salvo at the four. Bristol and Ellyson quickly slid behind the two older girls as the shells impacted the two.

A high explosive shell met Oklahoma head on in the stomach, exploding into flames as it scorched the battleship. Oklahoma let out a hiss of pain in turn as more shells fell among the girls.

One shell made its way to Arizona, hitting her in the leg with pinpoint accuracy. The flames soon enveloping the battleship, Arizona nearly collapsed at the sudden onslaught of heat and pain on her legs.

More shells fell among the four, but the two destroyers were spared direct hits because of the two battleships leading the way. Before the Ta-Class could get another salvo out however, both Arizona and Oklahoma fired full salvos. The shells tore the battered Ta class apart with ease.

Watching the battleship flop backwards for a moment, sinking beneath the waves, the beaten and burned Arizona and Oklahoma, accompanied by the two destroyer sisters looked over as the three other allied battleships brought an end to the second Ru-Class, effectively making the Re-Class the only remaining battleship on the water.

From there, the seven Kanmusu turned their vision to the Re-Class, ready to put an end to the battleship, only to find that the tailed girl had vanished from her spot on the water. No where to be seen, the seven regrouped with eachother, some more than questioning where the battleship had gotten off to.

"What gives? Where'd the little scamp run off too?" Maryland asked. Arizona shrugged.

"Couldn't tell ya. But for right now, let's not worry about it. We've still got a princess with a full fleet to worry about. So let's regroup with the fleet and make our way towards her." Arizona suggested. The other six nodded, Bristol giving her own thumbs up at the idea.

"Sounds like a good idea." Bristol agreed before looking to Oklahoma's stomach, the battleship's NWU no longer doing anything to hide the Nevada's burned and scarred stomach. "Are you gonna be ok Oak?" Bristol asked, her tone one of concerned. Oklahoma just furrowed her brow in contusion though at the nickname presented before her.

"Oak?" Oklahoma asked, looking down at he destroyer. Bristol nodded in turn.

"Oak. Everyone needs a nickname and you said you didn't like Homa. So me and my sisters are calling you Oak now. Are you gonna be ok...?" Bristol asked again, looking to the battleship's exposed stomach. Oklahoma looked at the girl for a brief moment of surprise before looking down at her stomach, placing a gentle hand along the newly charred flesh. Wincing as her hand made contact, she eventually gave a nod at the question.

"Yes.... Nothing a few hours in the docks can't fix..." Oklahoma said after a moment. Bristol gave a wide grin before turning with Ellyson and proceeded to start a race with her sister to catch up with the fleet. Arizona watched them only a moment before the battleships set on course to catch up with the fleet as well.

As they did so, Tenryuu and her detachment popped up over the horizon as well, nearing the fleet. As the destroyers paired with the light cruiser regrouped amongst each other, Tenryuu and Haruna approached Arizona.

"Arizona-san! Are you alright?" Haruna cried frantically, looking at the girl. Arizona gave a nod to the battleship in order to calm her fears before she turned her attention to the light cruiser.

"How'd it go?" Arizona asked. Tenryuu shrugged as she glanced back the Akatsuki sisters and Tatasuta, who were currently chatting away with the Bristol and Atlanta sisters.

"Well enough. Yuudachi took a few more hits than needed, but she's still good. The rest of us took a few minor scratches and hits, but nothing that's gonna keep us out of the action. Not like what's coming up apparently." Tenryuu said, hands on her hips. Yamato looked to the light cruiser in a displeased motion.

"Do not talk like that Tenryuu-San. That is sure to bring ill tidings." Yamato scolded. Tenryuu shrugged as she looked to Arizona, who nodded as they made their way to link up with Fleet.

As they did so, Takao, Atago, Mutsu, Shimakaze, and Shigure approached the fleet as well, seemingly victorious in their mission to deal with their assigned Abyssals as well. Linking up together, Mutsu approached Nagato as Arizona and the other battleships neared the front of the Allied fleet.

"Did everything go well?" Nagato inquired, looking to her younger sister. Mutsu nodded.

"Quite. The Abyssals that presented themselves were nothing that the five of us couldn't handle. Atago took a few glancing hits here and there, but nothing to warrant serious worry. My my my, Arizona-San, it would seem that you had quite the interaction with the Abyssals." Mutsu mused. Arizona nodded as she watched the dogfighting overhead rage across the slowly darkening sky. Watching one of the altered Hellcats burst into flames as two Zeroes nearly ripped it into two, Arizona looked back to the second of the Nagato class.

"Indeed. We had a Re bail on us. Not a clue where she went but she's most likely long gone by now. But the Abyssals will have to try harder than that if they wish to see us sunk. But let's not get too complacent just yet. We still have a full fleet of them to deal with." Arizona said. Those near her nodded at the suggestion as they fell back into formation, the fleet of 41 making their way towards the approaching storm, their plan on meeting the Princess and her fleet head on.