"Status report!"
"Sir, we received an SOS signal identical to USS Isabella's first at 10:30, running up until 11:11, slowly moving eastward back towards the Philippines. We tried repeatedly to establish radio contact, but the presence of Abyssal's is jamming our signal."
That was ill news. Under normal circumstances, Johnson would have written the light cruiser off as sunk already.
However, he was under strict orders to not treat this as a standard operation. Though even without those orders he would have been suspicious about the situation. USS Isabella had been allowed to make landfall once before, so her being sunk was unlikely.
Which meant capture was on the table. And that was arguably worse. Abyssal's did not tend to take prisoners. Let alone shipgirl ones.
"Furthermore, we've been receiving another radio signal of unknown origins. Unencrypted. But it's not in English or Japanese, sir."
"Can you track the signal? It may be our mystery Luzon."
If it was Luzon, that merely raised more questions. However, she might be able to provide several answers. Provided they could find her.
"Yes sir. It's faint but trackable. Should I send a request for one of the carriers to deploy one of her scouts to check out the area?"
Johnson paused. They would likely need all the air cover they could get once the Abyssal forces became aware of their presence. However, having eyes in the sky would prove useful before they sent out the scout group to pick her up.
"Very well. How much longer until Mackerel and I-402 arrive at the rendezvous point?"
"A half-hour, sir. I-402 made it sound like she had important information for you."
Johnson raised his eyebrow. That was peculiar if nothing else.
"And she didn't transmit it?"
"No sir. All she said is that she felt the information was too important to let be released over radio transmission, so she wished to deliver it personally."
Odd. Considerably odd. Whatever it was, he certainly hoped the information was as certain as I-402 was implying it was.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Pain was the first thing I felt. Wracking pain, across every inch of my body. My eyes opened slowly, groggily, like keeping them closed would keep away the spasms making their way through me.
I tried to raise my hand to cover my eyes from the bright, burning light that hung above my face. I tried again. And again. And again.
Why wasn't my arm moving?
Slowly, my head turned, tilting over to look at my arm. My eye's widened, as I tried to raise my other.
I whipped my head around, only to find it was in the same state. I panicked, struggling with as much strength as I could muster, fighting against the chains that bound my remaining limbs. But my response was weak, hardly enough to rattle the chains in the first place. Tears were already beginning to well up in my eyes as I fought.
I needed to get free! I needed to get out! I needed to escape!
"I'm surprised. I expected it to take longer for you to wake up."
My blood turned to ice. No, it was here. Slowly, my head turned towards the glowing blue pits staring at my face, its mouth cruel grin.
"Of course, I didn't expect you to be such a nuisance, either," it hummed, something dark twisting in its hand before it fell from my line of sight.
Slowly, it stood, tail swishing behind it like a cobra, bobbing back and forth. Each step it took was like a glacier to me. Advancing, but agonizingly oppressive, a mighty, unstoppable wall that one could only flee from.
But I couldn't run. Couldn't flee. I was chained in place. With nothing but my fear.
"So. If you don't want this to hurt," it slammed down a blade right next to my skull. It was probably meant to be some type of knife. But to me, it was too jagged, a hunk of black Abyssal steel. "You will tell me everything you know."
That was incredibly generic. Not that I'd tell it that, but still. Tell me everything you know? That's not partially useful or specific.
"Such as?" I bit down on my urge to be a smartass. As cathartic as it would be, I'm still being interrogated by the eldritch abomination with a knife. Me doing that would shave a few years off my life. At best.
It chuckled, running the flat of the cold blade against my cheek.
"You aren't exactly in a position to be playing dumb. The reinforcements. How many are coming? What is their formation? When will they arrive?" its eyes bored into my skull like drills.
"It's coming," I paused. Well, yeah, that's about the extent of my knowledge of what's happening.
"From?" the knife ground against the table, a grating sound that made my ears want to die.
"That's it. That's all I know," I blinked. "Wait, you expected them to tell me anything more? The person trapped behind enemy lines and could become compromised at any moment? That's"
I screamed as a knife buried its way into my still good leg, twisting as it went. Right, Eldritch Abomination with a knife.
"You expect me to believe that? With your crew burning how many documents during the boarding? What do you know?" it ground out, as my teeth bit into my lip to keep myself from screaming as it twisted the knife again.
Tears were already welling up in my eyes, both from the physical pain and from the fact I realized why I was so sluggish. The familiar feeling of my crew was gone. They'd been with me since I woke up, and yet now?
Still. They went down fighting. I couldn't ask for more than that. I wasn't going to let their sacrifice go to waste, either.
"I know nothing. I just know that they're coming," I grimaced, the knife being buried deeper into my flesh, scraping against the bone.
"You expect me to believe that?" it growled, barring down on me.
"Whether or not you believe it is irrelevant. It's the simple fact of the matter," I had to resist adding a 'whether you like it or not', at the end. Blood was already oozing its way out of my leg, some twisted combination of red and black.
It stared down at me for a moment, before slowly extracting the knife from my leg. I stifled a hiss of pain as the blade finally came free, covered in red and black sludge. I think it was oil? It better be oil.
"Is that so?" It rubbed a cloth over the implement, not that I'd honestly notice the difference. "Then bring in the girl."
Wait? What? No. NONONONONONONO! How! Luzon is faster than any of them! How did she, no. Unless they had a late war destroyer, there was no way!
There was no way. It was bluffing. It had to be. Continuing pursuit in its state?
"You would have led with that from the start," its eyebrow rose, turning slightly towards me.
"Oh? And what makes you think that?"
"You were by yourself. You are slower than she is. Unless you somehow chased her down with me on your back like a sack of potatoes, she's not here."
It paused for a moment before its mouth began to twist into a grin.
"You should have fallen for the bluff."
Well. Shit.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Sir, I think my scout plane has found our missing ship," Kaga's lips twitched into a slight frown as she read through the contact report. The Admiral in charge of this mission nodded, signaling her to continue.
"She's around 124 degrees east, and 16 degrees north, currently turning towards the Southwest," she watched as an officer placed a thumbtack on the map at her reported position.
"She's heading south-west?"
"I believe she spotted my plane first, sir, and changed course. I don't know if she realizes if we're here to help her," she paused for a moment, mulling over part of the report. "She's also very small, sir. Smaller than a destroyer, I think."
That caused a few eyebrows to rise.
"Interesting. Do you think you can use your aircraft to guide her towards us?"
"Yes sir. Though I cannot make promises as to the result," she nodded, looking at her watch. Mackerel and I-402 should have arrived by this point.
"If it keeps her from going further out into the open ocean, I'll take it. A destroyer squadron will be sent to pick her up."
He paused for a moment, likely lost in thought. Likely American, though that didn't need to be said. Shimikaze wasn't here, and even if she was, the small ship was keeping remarkable speed. Even the blistering swift destroyer would be hard-pressed to keep up.
The door opened to the sound of wet feet against metal, signaling the submarines had arrived. I-402 was strangely shifty, nervous, even. Whatever information she had, she felt it important enough to not dry off first. Kaga hadn't met the aviation submarine before, but she could see the resemblance in appearance between her and her sisters.
A shame she lacked the personality of I-400 and I-401, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. Kaga watched as the submarine's eye's flickered across the numerous ships and human personal present. Which was quite an impressive force.
Kaga, herself, of course, alongside Akagi. Ryuuhou had joined them as well, due to the other fleet carriers needing to remain on home defense, or simply on other missions. Kongo and Hiei rounded out their pure battleship component, alongside numerous other cruisers and destroyers from both Yokosuka and Sasebo.
The US contingent was more impressive. Bunker Hill leaned in one of the corners, the lower half of her face covered by her turtleneck. Shangri-La stood near her moody older sister, alongside the Essex version of Lexington. Further reinforcing the three late war carriers were Gambier Bay and White Plains. Three US battleships were also present. Sasebo's equivalent to Nagato, South Dakota, followed by Iowa, and her strange, newly summoned half-sister, Georgia. Georgia was, as she understood it, on loan from the continental United States, as were some of the other unfamiliar faces.
However, such as with Iowa, she recognized enough faces through joint combat operations, so there was unlikely to be any issues.
"I-402, I heard you have something to report?" Admiral Johnson spoke, nodding towards the aviation submarine.
"Ah, yes," I-402 stammered, "At around 12:30, my pilot that had been picked up by the US cruiser reappeared amongst my crew."
Kaga noticed confusion among a few of the humans, though most of the shipgirls and Johnson showed a dour expression.
"He said she had been captured during a holding action against the Re aviation battleship from 10:25 to 10:29," more frowns and dour looks rippled their way through the crowd. Not that Kaga blamed them. "She subsequently suffered a boarding action."
Kaga visibly winced, while her partner went as pale as a sheet. A reaction shared by many shipgirl's present. Having another ship's fairies come aboard wasn't an uncommon thing, but unwanted, no, hostile ones? It left a very deep pit in her stomach. To be taken and seized like that?
It was best not to dwell on it.
"And that was the bad news," Mackerel spoke up over the din of confused voices and mumbling that had taken hold. South Dakota sent the submarine a harsh glare, but her interruption had served its purpose, quieting things down.
"Yes," I-402 looked down at her feet. "My pilot managed to survive long enough to give me an approximate location to where the cruiser is being held." I-402 advanced slowly, picking up a thumbtack, before placing it on a map.
Kaga didn't fail to notice a soldier's eyes begin to widen in the back before he began to type furiously at his station. Still, that didn't look too far. Easily within range of strike craft.
"Sir! Those coordinates are within strike range!"
"Of carrier aircraft or of our main guns?"
"Both, sir!"
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Is she close yet?" Sims frowned at her sister, Mustin, as she shouted at her.
"Kaga says she's still a little way out, be patient," Sims almost mimicked Omaha's words. They'd been engaging in this back and forth for the better part of an hour. The worst part was, they had to be guided by a Japanese carrier. If being stuck out here wasn't bad enough.
At least they were escorting the fastest cruiser. That way she could at the very least get some action in the main fight. Provided they arrived for that.
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
She hoped they arrived for that.
"You've said that a dozen times by now! What makes you so sure?" Mustin glared at the cruiser, likely just as annoyed as Sims was about missing the fight. But at least she knew how to keep her mouth shut about it and focus on the task at hand.
"Firstly, you've asked me about a half dozen times. Secondly, because that's Kaga's aircraft in the distance, meaning Luzon is close. On that note, we should probably slow down," Sims could tell by the tone of the light cruiser's voice that she was giving an order, not making a suggestion, as she began to decrease in speed.
"But why! If we're so close, shouldn't we rush in and pick her up," Mustin whined, but like her sister, was beginning to slow.
"Think about it like this. You're a small vessel, possibly a torpedo or patrol boat, running away from what you think is an enemy aircraft, when suddenly, three destroyers and a cruiser jump out at you," Omaha paused for effect. "What do you think would be their response?"
Mustin, for once, kept quiet, accepting the wisdom of the older cruiser. Sims could see why. Running the other direction in a panic would probably be the first reaction, and if what Kaga said was right, then even if they ditched Ohama, they wouldn't be able to keep up.
Which was always in the cards that Kaga could very much be wrong. But as much as she didn't like Japanese carriers, that was still a bet that was too risky to make.
"She's here," Buck spoke up for the first time since their deployment, pointing out over the water. Sims squinted, barely making up a faint outline of a figure. Despite all her sensors saying she was close, Luzon appeared minuscule. Her height put her at an even younger age than Sim and her sisters.
Strangely, she hadn't seemed to notice them yet. Either she was busy looking at Kaga's single plane, which remained at a distance, or her hair was matted entirely to her face, obscuring her vision.
Sims could believe both of those. Slowly, but surely, as Kaga's fighter broke off, Luzon became aware of their presence.
Sims had to stop herself from wincing. Luzon, for lack of better terms, looked terrible. Awful, even. Her eyes were inflamed almost bright red. Tears were still fresh under them, running down her face in messy wet splotches. Her hair was a tangled mess of knots, Sims unable to tell where one part began and ended.
She was aware the boss wanted a proper rundown of events, as any information would be useful. Especially as Luzon would have witnessed everything.
But now Sims had doubts. Would they be able to even get through to her? Luzon's eyes flitted between them, almost like an animal that had been backed into a corner.
"Luzon? I'm the USS Omaha. We're here to help you."
And that's when the shooting started.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Yes sir. No sir. She's calmed down now. I don't think you'll be able to question her though," Omaha shook her head. This was an absolute mess. Mercifully, none of them were really hurt. Luzon didn't get the chance to launch her torpedoes, and her armaments weren't exactly the most dangerous ship-bound weapons, even against destroyer armor.
However, what it did do was give disturbing messages about Luzon's mental state. Omaha was about as far from a psychologist as one could get, but the picture already wasn't pretty.
Right now, the smaller boat sat in the center of their formation, silent, not even moving to speak. Looking down at the waves lapping gently at their feet. Ohama wasn't sure how to even talk to her.
The cruiser called Isabell probably would, but until they got her back, that wasn't an option they had.
Provided they could get her back at all. Provided Isabell wasn't in worse shape than Luzon was.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"They shall be my finest warriors, these men who,"
"Shut up!" there was a sickening crack, as my jaw went limp. Compared to everything else, it was merely a dull ache, compared to the agony every other inch of my body was screaming in. Blood and oil oozed from hundreds of cuts, lacerations, and even rips.
"You! Get one of the repair ships. Tell her to fix all the damage I've done, besides the leg," I could make out the faint tapping of feet as they ran down the hall.
"You do realize what comes next, right?" Its voice taunted, looming over me. I just stared blankly ahead, eyes locked on the ceiling, as they had been forever how long it had been since I started doing so. "Once you are patched up, I'll do this again, and again, and again. Until you break. And make no mistake, you will break."
"Once you tell me what I want to know, I'll bring you to the Abyss as gently as possible. But until you do, I'll make this as painful as possible. Think of it as payback for all the trouble you caused me."
I continued to stare at the ceiling. How long had it been since I lost the strength to cry? Maybe I still was. I can't recall. I didn't want to give it the satisfaction of seeing my fear.
But she probably could anyway.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
The fact she wouldn't talk was frustrating. Either she honestly didn't know, which had certainly slipped its way through her mind, or the shipgirl was lying.
Either way, it wouldn't matter. Time may be in short supply, but it was something she still had. Her forces would be armed and prepared for a strike at the first sign of any shipgirl activity, with both the carriers and air bases being able to land a devastating first strike. Given the distance, it would likely take a day or two for them to arrive, even at top speed.
More than enough time to finish up with the cruiser, no matter how stubborn she was about it. Who knows, maybe breaking her rescuers would prove enough to break her resolve. What little might be left.
That's what she would herself as an explosion rocked the area. Followed by another. And another. And another.
A stone found itself pulverized under her foot. Will the problems never cease! The nuisance of a cruiser was in chains! The tiny torpedo boat scared off, likely to sink the ocean! What could go wrong now!
It couldn't be an attack. Most certainly not. It was unlikely that they would assault her position without heavy elements, regardless of what information they had on her. That would slow them down, even if they rushed across the ocean to the Philippines. To her domain!
She opened her frequencies, only for panic and confusion to come through. Explosions rang in the background, as madness reined.
She snarled, barking at a nearby destroyer to stand guard.
Fine. If she didn't have time, then she'd break the attackers herself!
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
The plan had been as simple as it was brutal. All five fleet carriers would send out a strike, taking out any Abyssal's stationed between them, and USS Isabella's suspected location, with the surface fleet, built around the five battleships, finishing off any survivors that remained. Ryuuhou, White Plains, and Gamba Bay were meant as a backup but were tasked with knocking out any airfields that were in the area. The rest of the fleet would be back with the carriers, and by extension, further covered by a fighter screen and the Vestal itself.
Once the first attack wave had been completed, they were to signal back to the Vestal to commence bombardment.
And so far, the plan has worked. South Dakota saw the burning wrecks of numerous Abyssals, what few surviving were easily finished off by gunfire or torpedoes. Of course, the more bombs and torpedoes spent before they reach their main target, the less devastation there would be.
Even with Vestal's guns, they were more to bombard shore defenses, rather than sink any Abyssals. Sure, a lucky hit would do the trick, but they were at maximum range. Such would be too much to ask. And once they got close, Vestal would have to cease fire support anyway, out of fear of hitting their own forces.
And the less remained, the easier it was going to be. Not only breaking in but also getting out. They were retrieving a cruiser of unknown condition. The less fighting they had to do on the return journey, the better.
All South Dakota could hope for is that this didn't turn into more of a disaster than it already was.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
There was, shaking? Dust sprinkled down along my face.
Had, had I blacked out again? I couldn't remember. But I think the dust was new. Maybe. I couldn't tell about that, either.
But the shaking was. Earthquake? Maybe. They were part of the ring of fire, right?
The burning sensation was new too. Why hadn't I noticed it earlier? Slowly, my head turned, eyes landing on a hunched creature, a blowtorch in hand, attaching grafts to my skin. Oh, I was being forgetful again.
It hurt to think.
There was another quake, followed by a loud crack. My head turned. My captor's, I think it was my captor, head turned.
That was neat. The chain was no longer attached to the wall.
I didn't want to be here anymore. Its thin fingers tried to stop me, tugging on my arm. I pushed it aside, sending it tumbling to the floor.
I didn't want to be here anymore. My fingers dug into the other set of chains, the additional leverage allowing me to pull them from the wall.
I didn't want to be here anymore. Lastly, with the other restraints gone, my remaining leg came free, metal snapping and breaking.
I didn't want to be here anymore. I didn't want to be here anymore. I didn't want to be here anymore! I DIDN'T WANT TO BE HERE ANYMORE!
Ah. My fingers hurt. And where did the thing with the torch go? It had left it right here, in this sticky puddle. That was rude of it.
My fingers hurt. I gripped the wall, balancing myself on my one remaining leg. Slowly, the door began to creep open.
Aw, what a nice, EVIL, puppy.
Splat.
Aw. The puppy is gone now.
That's strange. I didn't think I could cry anymore.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
I might as well crawl. I didn't want to crawl, but it would probably be faster. But I didn't want to crawl. Oh, I was already crawling. Then I might as well.
Look, another puppy. I jumped, fingers screaming as I punched, and beat, and tore, and ripped and.
Oh, it stopped moving. That was rude. Very rude.
Where was I even going? I needed to escape, but how? The screaming pain in my head was back, stronger than ever.
Had to flee. Had to escape. Had to run.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Was that the sun? No. Heat. Flame. Fire. But there was a breeze as well. Outside?
Yes? Safe? No, not safe. Bombs. Explosions. Get to cover, get to safety.
"You!" no. Not it. It couldn't be it. It couldn't be here! My rigging, battered and strained, slowly unfolded, resisting my commands. Listen to me! Fire! FIRE!
Shell's smashed into the dark tide rushing towards me, doing little to abate its advance. My sole remaining foot pedaled backward against the sand, trying to create as much distance as possible.
"I'm going to kill you for this!" Its hands raised. My next salvo was slow to chamber. Would it even matter? Would that be enough to stop it? Do anything more than stall for a few more seconds?
I felt my eyes close.
I heard it scream. A true scream of pain, drowned by the blast wave.
Slowly, my eyes twitched open. It was hurt? Someone had hurt it?
I closed my eyes again as there was the sharp and harsh clang of metal against metal, rattling its way through my eardrums.
It fell to the ground, the dark tide abating. In its place was warmth. My eyes opened. The woman was tall, like a tower. Massive and imposing, standing over the monster of nightmares.
"I will kill all of you!" the monster bellowed, tail writhing in the sand. "Starting with you!"
Gunfire cracked. I screamed, two colossal shells sent hurtling towards me.
The two shells never made it, a wall of steel erupting out of the sand between me and it. But I could still see it. I could see it twist and shout, bellow and wriggle, as more and more giants rained shell after shell into its body, not ceasing until it was a smear.
It was dead. It wasn't going to hurt me again. I felt my eyes close again.
"Isabella! Isabella!"