Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Sliding into the booth with practiced ease, Arthur gave a nod to the woman across from him while setting his tray down. "Amelia."

Across from him, Amelia Bones gave him a small nod before she used her finger to wipe up some sauce dribbling down her chin. "Arthur. I do hope that your day has been going well?"

For a brief moment, Arthur considered how the two of them looked at that moment. Two people in what appeared as business clothes sitting in a booth at a fast food place in downtown London. Unable to help himself, he chuckled as Amelia popped her finger into her mouth. "As a matter of fact, it's been going well. Mostly meetings now that the students are heading back to Hogwarts today on the Express. But still rather quiet, thankfully."

Taking a sip of her drink, Amelia sighed as she set it down. "Well, I suppose that makes one of us then. Though, granted, in my case it has been mostly meetings as well."

With a hum, Arthur unwrapped his burger and took a bite of it. Yes, he had a meal done up by Molly, but days like this had him in the Ministry past dinner so it was best to save it. He knew that in a few hours he would be thankful for the homecooked meal after all. "I'm sorry to hear that, Amelia. Though I do wonder about something..." Getting a nod from her, he frowned. "Why ever invite me to a McDonalds?"

Only snorting, Amelia put down her own burger for a moment. "Because I would like to keep these meetings between just the two of us, Arthur. Far too many ears at the Ministry and loose lips. And places like the Leaky Cauldron are right out as everyone goes there to perform business these days. Besides, this place is so charmingly Muggle can you imagine certain people thinking that we were meeting here?"

The idea of Lucius Malfoy trying to listen in on them while in a Muggle restaurant made Arthur chuckle. He could just imagine said man asking where the silverware was. Shaking that image out of his head, Arthur sighed. "And as to why you hold them in McDonalds? Because I could go for pizza one of these days."

In Amelia's eyes there was an amused sparkle and she tapped one finger on the table. "Well, for one thing we're surrounded by noise. Much harder to listen in so no need to use magic that could attract attention to hide what we're discussing from anyone. And even if a Muggle overheard a bit, they would probably dismiss it as the two of us either having a lunch date or business meeting." She then took another bite and dabbed her lips with a napkin. "Also, I quite like the taste, especially their chips." Her lips still twitching, Amelia gave a slight tilt of the head. "Though next time I suppose that I could go for pizza. But you should choose."

Now smiling, Arthur set down his food and chuckled. "Very well. As a matter of fact I know this rather nice pizza place not too far from here. Molly enjoyed it when I took her there on a date several weeks ago."

Considering it, Amelia finally nodded. "Then I suppose that next time it will be pizza then." Her expression then shifted to one of a frown. "I suppose that you are wondering why I asked for the two of us to meet."

Now turning serious himself, Arthur swallowed the bite of food in his mouth. "I will admit to be curious, Amelia. Usually there are reasons for these off the book meetings."

Grimacing, Amelia shook her head with a grumble. "Well, to start off with you would not happen to know where I might find some rather big crows, would you?"

Eyebrow raising, Arthur considered the question and why she might be asking. "Not off hand. How big of crows?"

Her eyes becoming hooded, Amelia scowled. "Big enough to hurt a human rather badly as individuals."

Slowly, Arthur had a fake thoughtful look on his face. "Big enough to harm a human? Not quite sure that I have heard any such thing. Granted, a few years ago there was that attempt by one witch to try and scare the ravens out of the Tower as they freaked her out. But when she tried a piece of it fell and sent her to Saint Mungos. But then, I doubt that you mean something like that. And to harm a human? Doesn't sound legal."

The smile on Amelia's face held no humour, or rather, it contained dark humour. "Oh, no humans would be harmed. You see, a few years back I came across this Muggle article from the continent about exploding toads."

Suspecting who was now involved, Arthur hummed a bit. "Exploding toads, you say? Sounds rather ghastly."

Very slowly, Amelia nodded. "Oh, indeed it was. It seems that there was this pond in Germany, I believe, where toads were exploding. Crows, it seemed, had figured out how to peck out the livers of still living toads. And so, the toads would puff themselves up in an attempt to go and ward off the crows, but be unable to stop themselves and so leading them to explode. I want to see if such a thing could happen to a certain human-shaped toad we both know."

Tsk'ing, Arthur shook his head. "Now, now, Amelia. Don't call Delores a toad." At her look, he continued. "After all, that would be an insult to toads everywhere." That got him a snort of amusement. "So then, what seems to be the issue with her this time."

Frowning, Amelia took another bite of food as she considered things. And then sighed. "She is still up in arms over what happened on the Solstice. While the reasons are beyond me, she still thinks that we could cover it up."

Now with his own lips tugged down into a frown, Arthur shook his head in disbelief. "Even before muggles became resistant to memory charms, it would have been impossible to cover up even if we arrived right after the fact with all the Ministry backing is. Now, several weeks later? Not a chance. It doesn't help that was not the only place such an event occurred at."

Simply waving him off, the head of the MLE pursed her lips tightly before finishing off her burger. "You attempt to explain that to her. She's obsessive over such things. Considering your position, I thought it best to warn you."

While Arthur thanked her, she frowned. "That said? She's minor in the grand scheme of things. No, it's something else that is the current source of my woes."

One word passed Arthur's lips as he gravely nodded. "Hogwarts?"

In reply, Amelia nodded. "Hogwarts." Looking to the side, she chewed on a fry in thought. "I've been unable to determine what is going on there. Not because of Albus blocking me, but rather the Minister. For some odd reason he's blocking an investigation by stating that Hogwarts is no concern of the Ministry. And when I went to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures... MacNair stated that it was not their duty as no one was sure that it is a creature doing it. Considering how active Lucius is, I suspect he's involved. Same with some movements to get Dumbledore out. Which makes me suspect him seeing as he does have an axe to grind and the poltical connections to make things... messy."

Arthur frowned in thought for several seconds. "Lucius could indeed try and force Dumbledore out I suppose. But it would be rather risky under most circumstances. Granted, these are not most circumstances unfortunately considering what has been happening. And there are those unhappy with him hiring shipgirls as security." A thought then occurred to him and he turned to Amelia. "What would happen to them if Dumbledore was to be forced out?"

Her finger tapping against the table, Amelia finally shook her head. "Nothing in all honesty. Their contract is with the school and for the whole year. So even if Dumbledore was to be forced out, they would still be there." Seeing the curiosity, she smiled thinly. "Albus asked for me to look it over. Needless to say, it is ironclad as it were. And then we also got Augusta as well as Miss Nagato. Both of them have already stated that if needed, they will send guards to look over Mister Potter and Mister Longbottom. In young Mister Potter's case, I suspect that those would be shipgirls."

Much to her surprise though, Arthur shook his head. "I'm not quite sure about that actually. Now, I do think that she might send shipgirls, but there is also the friendly Abyssals, such as those Re-class."

Leaning back, Amelia frowned in thought. "Do you really think that it might come to that? Because I do not think that many would be so understanding of it like we are."

A frown on his face, the red haired wizard rubbed his face. "I would not discount the possibility. Times are changing, Amelia."

Deep in thought, Amelia picked up one of her fries and examined it before popping it into her mouth. Quickly chewing it, Amelia swallowed and snorted. "That is putting it rather mildly, Arthur. But yes, that is true enough. Though I did hear a rumour that one of those Abyssals are after your twin sons."

That got a chuckle from Arthur as he grinned a bit. "Ah, yes, Revina. Molly has heard all about it and has considered inviting the dear over."

For several seconds, Amelia just stared at him in disbelief. "Molly wishes to invite her over?"

Smiling, Arthur gave a hum. "Yes, apparently she wants to meet her. Especially as she is showing interesting in Fred and George. The fact that a young woman is showing interest in those two has her attention."

Very slowly, Amelia brought her drink's straw to her lips and then took a sip. She had heard things about this 'Revina' from Susan, including things about her and how she acted around the twins. Then Amelia blinked as the pieces fell into place and gave Arthur a look. "And the fact, I suppose, that I have heard that she runs the two spare has nothing to do with it? Correct?"

The smile on Arthur's face widened just a touch. "Perish the though, Amelia. Would Molly really do that?"

Eyes narrowing, the witch snorted which made the wizard chuckle. Then the two of them turned to other things. Both of them had things to cover after all.

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 35: S0ngD0g13

Virginia and Charlotte...
...................................

The Admiral stared. Blinked. Stared a bit more. "Say again?"

The Shipgirl before her desk held her salute and spoke clearly. "Ironclad USS Virginia reporting, with asset, Ma'am."

"Asset? That is a very large spider, Virginia." She motioned to the creature in question, as large as a Jack Russell Terrier, sitting by Kaylee's leg.

The spider lifted a foreleg and spoke in a high-pitched, childish voice, "Ack-row-man-cha-la Charlotte Mack-Amis re-portin', Ma'am." Her diction was that of a small child's, Shimada noted.

"Just how old are you, Charlotte?" the Admiral asked.

"She hatched about a week ago, Ma'am," said Virginia. "I don't mind shooting the big ones or smashing the eggs, but when Charlotte came out of hers and stared up at me, I just couldn't bring myself to hurt her. I mean, look at her; she's such a cutie, Ma'am."

Admiral Shimada sighed. "You realize that my sending you there was supposed to be a punishment detail, yes?"

Kaylee nodded sharply. "Yes, Ma'am. And it was, especially after my camp ashore was raided while I was away and my rations stolen. I'll say that there were edible, if noisome, things aplenty, and leave it at that."

"And yet you bring back a pet, Virginia."

"She's an asset, Ma'am, or a potential one, at any rate. I did my homework beforehand and found out Acromantula had valuable products, at least in the Wizarding World; the silk is used for high-end clothing, and the venom sells for upward of a hundred Galleons per pint. According to Akizuki, who asked Nagato's boy, Harry, it's five Pounds English to the Galleon, so if my numbers are right, one pint of venom goes for a hair over seventy-two thousand Yen."

"You may, possibly, be onto something, Virginia. That said, I'm still on the fence about allowing you to keep her. Do you know how large Charlotte will grow?"

"Her mama was seventeen hands in height, Ma'am; that's five-foot-eight, draught-horse-size."

Shimada paused and thought silently. "She gets quarantined, the same as any new animal brought in, and she gets a checkup from a vet. The fact she's only a week old and speaking understandable English shows she's intelligent; I leave it up to you and your uncle to find out if she's trainable. If, and I do mean if, she can meet or exceed the same standards as the MWDs at the beginning of their training within two weeks after being released from quarantine, I'll permit you to keep her. Otherwise..."

Virginia nodded, knowing full-well what the Admiral's 'Otherwise' meant. A large predator, which Charlotte undoubtedly was, with a typical diet of 'anything it can catch', was not something to be idly released on a populated military base; untrained she'd be a danger... "Understood, Ma'am."

The Admiral nodded. "Good. You're dismissed; take Charlotte to the Veterinary Clinic and then go home and sleep. You're scheduled for a patrol at 0500 and it's 2130 right now."

"Aye, Ma'am."

Charlotte lifted her foreleg in time with Virginia's salute and said, "Good Even-in' Ma'am."

As the pair turned and walked out, Shimada could hear Charlotte ask, "Gin-ya? What's a vet-nary clinic?"

Admiral Shimada poured herself a stiff shot of sake from her bottom drawer and downed it. "I hope this doesn't come back to bite me on the ass..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Year Two - Secrets and Shipgirls Part 3

START

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Steadfastly ignoring the boy across from her, Hermione continued to munch her way through her dinner. Thankfully, Madam Pomfrey's skill was such that she was able to go home after that first week and so still spend Christmas in her house with her parents and sisters. It still did not help matters though that Hermione had to deal with said sisters' teasing... Or her mother's.

Hermione blamed her one of her sister's love of anime.

Meanwhile, people were watching a grinning Harry staring at Hermione as they both ate. By this point, it had been going on for at least a half hour, going on forty minutes. And pretty much everyone was wondering what was going on. Those in the know though were already exchanging bets and such, like Ron was doing with Neville. "Five Sickles says that she snaps in the next five."

Glancing at him, Neville shook his head and snorted. "Eight Sickles and a chocolate frog says she lasts seven."

Both Ron and Neville shook hands at that and then turned back to watch. Granted, they could see Hermione's eyebrow twitch, which meant that she had heard her. But they didn't care much about that. Four minutes passed and then Harry reached into his pocket. What he pulled out though caused even more confusion as it was a cat toy. In particular, one of those fuzzy things on a stick. Slowly, he reached across the table with it towards Hermione.

Closer... And a twitch from her.

Closer still and yet another twitch.

Finally, it was practically inches from her face which Hermione twitching madly as Harry grinned and wagged it. More then one could have sworn that they saw the veins on the bushy haired witch's forehead pop out some and throb. Several seconds later, her breath came out an angry hiss, which belied the sweet tone of her voice. "Harry..."

His grin widening, Harry nodded with a hum. "Yes, Hermione? What is it?"

Eyes narrowing, Hermione scowled at him. "May I ask you something? What... exactly... is it... that... you... are... doing?"

Tilting his head to the side, Harry chuckled. "Oh, nothing at all. Just having some fun." Neither Harry nor Hermione noticed McGonagall following the toy with her eyes from the staff table. "I'm just feline purr-fect. Mainly be-claws it is good to be back. Really, it's the cat's meow here you know?" Getting another growl from her, Harry snickered. "No need to be so catty, you know? Kitten much to be in a better mood."

Suddenly, Hermione's face went blank as their food was replaced with desserts. "You know what, Harry? You're right! I should be in a better mood." Then, before Harry could react, she grabbed a cupcake and lunged across the table, smashing it into his face. With a nod, Hermione sat back down with a smile. "Now I feel much better."

Across from her, Harry just smiled as he retracted the toy. "That I suppose was my just desserts. Oh well, at least I can have my cake and eat it too. Not to mention that was just the icing on top as well."

Yet again, Hermione twitched much to the amusement of others.
____________________________________________________________________________

Sitting down in the squishy armchairs near the fire, Harry sighed some and leaned back. "You know? I really need to know where to get these, they're awesome."

Only chuckling, Ron shook his head with a smile. "Find that out and I'd probably join you in buying some."

A book open in front of her, Hermione sighed some before shaking her head. "There's a store just off Diagon that sells them. Honestly, it's in-"

The three boys then chimed in at the same time as Hermione. "Hogwarts: A History."

Extremely amused at the look on Hermione's face, Harry shrugged some. "What? It's true." Then he looked down at the book and frowned in thought. "I wonder if they are as bad as Jane's?"

That got a snort from Hermione. "No one is as bad as they are... or as good." Closing her book, she shrugged. "So how was your holidays? I heard some stuff from the Light Cruiser Information Network about it being... exciting."

Blinking, Neville looked back and forth between them. "Light Cruiser Information Network? What's that now?"

Harry waved his hand around. "It's one of the gossip networks among shipgirls. In that case, Light Cruisers. Destroyers have the Tin Can Mafia for example as theirs. Think of it as being like the gossip network here in Gryffindor, but extended worldwide."

For a moment, Neville considered that and then slowly nodded. "Huh... Okay, so what happened?"

Leaning back, the green eyed member of their group smiled a bit. "Well, for one thing, Naka and Harder got drunk on Christmas. Due to that and some stuff, there's now a second Naka."

Eyebrows furrowing, Neville frowned as he tried to put together what he had just been told. "Wait, wait... I know Naka but I think that Harder is a shipgirl?" At Harry's nod, he frowned. "Um... so does that mean..."

In reply, Harry's expression turned serious. "Yes, Naka must now make Harder an honest woman." After a few moments of Neville staring at him, Harry finally snorted. "The two of them ended up in the Summoning Room and somehow summoned the first Naka. The one who's hull got destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake. Trust me, there's been a lot of jokes about it."

While Neville scratched his head in confusion, Ron frowned some. "That's got to be weird for the two of them."

Softly snorting, Harry shook his head. "You got no clue. Anyways, before I go on, how have things been with you and Ginny? Found anything out?"

That caused Ron to grimace and shake his head. "No, absolutely nothing at all. Ginny's clammed up about whatever it is and keeps avoiding us. Fred and George think that we should give her some space, but... I'm not too sure about that myself."

A frown on her face, Hermione leaned forward some. "That does not sound good. But maybe it might not be bullying? With how many went home for the holidays, chances are any possible bullies did too."

All Ron did though was just shrug and sigh. "Hell if I know, Hermione. But we didn't see or notice anything at all. And we managed to keep a pretty good eye on Ginny the whole time." Seeing their expressions, all the red haired boy did was roll his eyes. "She got away from us a few times, but we didn't let her out of our sight as much as she thinks." Chin in his hand, Ron had an expression like he had been sucking on a lemon. "And yet we still don't know what is going on with her except she's been spending a lot of time in bathrooms or in the girl's dormitory."

Knowing that was about all that they could get out, Harry scratched his head. "Huh. What about the Chamber? Anything about it at all?"

That got him a snort from his friend before Ron shook his head. "Nope, nothing. Percy thinks that whoever it was went home for the Holidays... Well, when I asked him yesterday. He spent a lot of time with Supprin and Ooyodo when they visited on Christmas. Heck, he disappeared with the two of them somewhere."

Lips twitching, Harry snickered. "I heard Supprin and Ooyodo-Nee had these smiles on their faces the next day. Revina though kept going on about the Twins on the other hand."

Unable to help himself, Ron chuckled a bit and leaned in. "Batty that one is, was chasing Fred and George everywhere... Not that the two of them ever escaped her long. I swear that Hogwarts herself was helping her with how Revina kept managing to find them when they got away."

Hermione gave him a frown and then glanced around with narrowed eyes. 'Hmm...' Shaking that off, she sighed and leaned forward when she noticed that Harry was now looking at her. "My holidays were nice after the first week. Got sent home and spent them with the rest of my family... Grandpa kept going on about my ears, though Cleo did not help matters asking where she could get her own."

Snorting, Harry shook his head. "That had to go down well."

In reply, Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "You got no idea. Honestly, sometimes I wonder about Cleo." Her expression then became thoughtful with a frown. "Other then that... I think that Upholder is a bit frightened of me now. Maybe a bit angry as well."

Eyebrow raising, Harry frowned at her. "Upholder? Afraid? Why, because of what happened?"

Gazing into the fire, Hermione slowly nodded. "I think so actually. Mainly because when I came onto the base the day before Christmas, Upholder took one look at me, had this odd expression on her face and turned red before she whipped around and marched off. Apparently she took a mission on Christmas Eve until sometime in February. In fact... she should be getting back sometime after Valentine's." The Light Cruiser wouldn't admit it, but both that and the memory of Upholder's actions actually hurt. "Hopefully she'll accept my apology for my actions."

The expression on Harry's face was one equal parts knowing and exasperation to Hermione's confusion. Oddly, there was also some amusement there. "I thought that you disliked her?"

If anything though, Hermione frowned. "It's not that I dislike her, Harry. Nor do I really dislike the others, it's more..." For a moment, she trailed off as she tried to grasp for something to say. "In all honesty, it's just that I would rather their antics to anger. Or to for them to just calm down some from their usual actions."

With a grin, Ron snorted. "Right... So in other words you don't want them to avoid you?"

Blinking, the bushy haired shipgirl nodded with a smile. "Exactly! We do have to work together after all, so I would rather not have them angry with me." A shudder ran through her. "I... would rather no Submarines to be angry with me. Hence why I hope that what I did for an apology is accepted for what I did. Even though I was under the influence at the time of... catnip, it was still me." Hermione then looked at Harry. "Thank you for not releasing the video by the way, or any of the pictures."

However, Harry just waved her off as his lips twitched madly. "I wasn't going to release it anyways, Hermione. After all, it would need an explanation to say the least and CGI wouldn't exactly cover it. And being that magic is still covered up..." He then shrugged some. "So don't worry about it."

Neville meanwhile had an interested look on his face as he turned towards Hermione. "By the way? What sort of gift did you give them as an apology?"

Chin propped up by her fist as she gazed into the fire, Hermione glanced at him. "Oh, it was the pages from that book about magical kingdoms and towns lost under the sea. You know, the one that I was going to hand out piecemeal to them in order to distract them? I thought that just giving it to Upholder along with a letter of apology should help her understand that I am sorry for what happened."

Grinning madly, Harry snorted in amusement. "All you did was turn super affectionate, Hermione. Nothing worse then cuddling her close and nuzzling her all over while purring... Well, besides when you licked her chin."

Face red, Hermione tried to keep her dignity intact by looking away. Key word, "Try to keep it intact." As now Ron was grinning while Neville was smirking a bit, though the normally shy boy also had a red face, it had obviously failed. "Yes, well... I was still under the influence and thus need to make amends. Hopefully Upholder will forgive me for my actions."

All three boys only shook their heads and chuckled before Neville spoke up. "Um, not much on my end I'm afraid. It was mostly boring stuff..." Suddenly, his expression brightened some. "I did ask Gran about Slytherin though and any heirs. She said that she doubts that any are actually here in the school. Apparently the last known line of heirs were a family called the 'Gaunts' and... um..." Trailing off, Neville had an odd sort of grimace on his face. "They as a family no longer exist and without issue..."

That caused Ron to frown and furrow his eyebrows. "Wait, without issue? How'd that happen? Unless any close relations died before the last of the family did. Did You-Know-Who wipe them out so that he could be sole heir?"

Slightly green, Neville shifted some. "Um... they had no close relatives..." At the confusion of his friends, the brown haired boy grimaced. "They... er... apparently were great believers in purity of blood so... Um, they didn't 'Sully' themselves with potentially 'Dirty blood' by using potions to have a single son and daughter, who would then be married to each other and would themselves have a single son and daughter. For the past three hundred years at least."

For almost a minute, the other three stared at him with sickened expressions before Harry finally shuddered. "Ugh, okay, scratch that then." Clapping his hands together, he tried to smile. "Anyways... to get that out of our minds, I got some great news!"

Eyebrow raising, Ron looked at him. "What? Did Gangut finally meet that author she is always commissioning work from on Shipgirls Online? I know that she keeps asking him... What was his name again, I-Idiot?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Only in Japanese, Ron. Anyways, no, she hasn't met him in real life... Yet. I almost expect her to use Russian intelligence to track him down or something." He then spread his arms. "I'm a uncle!"

The clock ticked as the seconds passed in utter silence. A minute went by, then another as more then just his three friends stared at him. In fact, it seems that most of those still down in the Gryffindor Common room had overheard him and were now staring at him. Finally, Katie spoke up from where she stood. "Um, you're an uncle, Harry?"

Slowly, Harry nodded with a grin. "Yup! Through Hoppou as a matter of fact."

More then one mind crashed and burned as they tried to comprehend that before Hermione raised one finger and spoke with a weak voice. "Through... Hoppou. Hoppou who looks like a ten year old... Through her, you're an uncle..."

Only grinning still, Harry chuckled. "Yeah, surprised me too. Seems that one of the Destroyers she created survived and became a Princess. Blackie Smokie was the name that Hoppou gave her when she was just an Abyssal Destroyer before the others attacked her and she calls Hoppou 'Mommy'. Which makes me, her uncle."

Closing her eyes, Hermione took aa deep breath as people murmured and rolled their eyes. And then, while Harry was looking around in confusion, she reached out with a copy of Jane's and bopped him on the head. "Idiot."

Rapidly blinking, Harry just shrugged.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

Harry Leferts said:
Settle is the Admiral at Pearl. He's... unique, to say the least. He's the guy from KanColle Quest just toned down a bit.​

Thank a lot, but I ended up not needing it. Now then. After a really, really weird wiki crawl, I ended up with this below. It does touch on a headcanon that I have regarding KanColle in general, so be forewarned for brief darkness and weirdness in general.
-----

Hiryuu stood at the end of the pier, watching the sun sink behind the water. Pearl Harbor was, as a base, extremely important for those ships trying to cross the Pacific Ocean. It was also right smack dab in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, filled with Abyssals who were just waiting to return and take the Hawaiian Islands as they had in the early days of the war. Thus, Hawaii had been heavily fortified, and it was actively ensured that there were always fresh Shipgirls stationed or passing through. She had arrived escorting some of the new contingent from Kure. She sighed wistfully, thinking about what the island chain must have been like before the war started.

Nowadays, it seemed everywhere you went at least three people were wearing some kind of uniform. Even friendly interactions carried an undercurrent of fear—every nation with ocean borders had felt the effects of Blood Week, but in Hawaii, it was so much more than a memory—the Abyssals had swarmed the chain, forced people into hiding, and it wasn't until a joint force of American, Japanese, and Australian girls had hit the islands that they had reclaimed even one. It had taken three years of bitter fighting to regain complete control of the fiftieth State. Three years that Hawaii would never forget. Hiryuu wished that it had never happened—that she could have seen the islands as they were, bright, full of life and beauty.

It seemed like it would never be.

Hiryuu groaned, and clapped her hands over her cheeks twice. "Well!" she said, as brightly as possible, "Nothing to be done about it! It's late, I should get dinner." She turned on her heels, and nearly tripped over her own feet in shock.

Sitting on one of the mooring posts, hunched over with her arms hanging down by her sides, the scuba-masked face of a Ka-class Abyssal stared back at her. The smaller girl looked like nothing so much as a gangly, distended owl, staring silently up at her. Quietly, Hiryuu began to close her hand, feeling for a familiar weight there. And then, the Abyssal's arm came up, holding a live, flopping fish. Hiryuu felt her eyelid twitch

"Heeey Katie!"

The two of them turned to see Aylwin walking towards them, waving cheerfully. Hiryuu gaped and the good-spirited destroyer skipped over to stand beside her. "You decided to return my sweater yet?" The submarine (who, now that Hiryuu looked closely, wore a ratty pullover that had once been violet) stared stoically. Then she flipped her head ninety degrees, looking none the worse for wear hideous grinding noise notwithstanding. Aylwin glared balefully.

"Sure," she said flatly, "be like that. Hey there, Hiryuu. How's it going?" The Japanese girl turned, twitching, to stare at her American ally.

"How's it going?" she asked, raising a trembling arm to point at the Abyssal (who's fish seemed to be dying). "There's an Abyssal submarine! Right there!"

"Yeah, so?" Aylwin replied, giving her an odd look which Hiryuu honestly didn't deserve. "Haven't you got a princess living over in Yokosuka? Her friends come to visit too, right?"

That… Actually, Hiryuu didn't have a response to that. "But still!" she shrieked.

"Okay, okay, fine," Aylwin said, a plaintive tone that implied she didn't really want to deal with this. "Hiryuu, Katie, Katie, Hiryuu. Great, we're all friends."

"No We're Not!"

Katie didn't move. Aylwin huffed, grabbed Hiryuu's arm, and dragged her away. The carrier girl stumbled and shrieked, but she was off balance and Aylwin had a good grip on her. When they stepped onto the concrete sidewalk, the Destroyer grabbed her shoulder and forced Hiryuu down to her own level.

"She's harmless," she hissed. "Hell, there's one of the new carriers that she likes to hang around, the crew swears she's their damn albatross. She's not going to try anything, and we want to keep it that way. Did no one tell you about this?"

"What—But—Why?!?"

Aylwin sighed. "She started showing up about three months ago. Just popping up out of the water, sometimes trying to give people fish she dragged up from God knows where. Phoenix thinks that she must have been in a skirmish and taken a hit to the head, trust me, the most she's ever been is a bit annoying." Hiryuu tried to press down the frustration, the shock, and the Oh Holy Lord in her stomach, and gave Aylwin a hurt look that could have split a glacier.

"But what if she's not?" she insisted.

"Then we'll be ready," she replied with a shrug. "But I don't get that feeling from her. All this girl wants to do is give us fish and sleep in weird places." That raised an alarm bell or two.

"Weird?" Hiryuu asked, trying to appear calm. "Weird how—"

She stopped, feeling the wetness on her back. Feeling the weight, the metal pressing lines into her scalp. She looked down to see two arms flopping over her shoulders, and a pair of legs wrapped around her stomach.

"Oh yeah," Aylwin said noncommittally, "She does that, too."

Hiryuu's shriek may not have been enough to wake the dead, but it sure enough woke Hornet. The American carrier charged over in her adorably frilly nightgown, skidding to a stop on bare feet, and began to scream at the top of her lungs. In the end, Hiryuu felt like she might be getting punished for something. What it was, she had no idea.
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Record the Recording

Harry Leferts said:
Acromantula, it seems, will eat anything not a plant.

The fleet of Abyssals closed in on the coastline, unmarred and without a single shot fired from their guns. As they came ashore, one of the Demons briefly wondered why there was no shipgirl response. Surely at least they would have encountered a patrol?

Shaking that thought from her mind, the Demon joined her sisters in searching out prey. If those shipgirls would allow them purchase then who were they to refuse? Free lunches were, after all, free if you took them from others.

Minutes later, the Demon started to get an uneasy feeling. From the wariness her sisters displayed, she was not the only one who felt something was wrong. There was nothing they encountered as they swept the coastline and surrounding areas, not even any animals let alone humans. What buildings they came across were empty.

So they proceeded further into the forest. As they went that feeling only grew in intensity. But Abyssals were not known for heeding any sort of warning, and the Demon was not about to metaphorically bare her throat to her sisters by leaving. She kept on moving with her group, into the too-quiet forest.

Suddenly, one of the presences on her mental network disappeared. The Demon and those with her whipped about as they scanned the nearby environs and volleyed enquiries, but any answer they got was as clueless as they were as to what happened. The wrongness of the feeling could be smelled now, but the Demon would not be dissuaded from her hunting.

She should have fled then.

Another presence was lost, with much the same reaction as the first but with more fear. What was doing this?! Some of the Abyssals started to work their way back around to the last known location of their missing sister was. But then they disappeared, too.

The Demon snarled. What was doing this she knew not, but she would have none of it. She turned on her lights, cocked her guns, and ordered her entourage to keep a lookout. She slowly made her way towards where her sisters disappeared, but kept her wits about her; the foilage in her way was snapped and splintered as she made like a woodchipper through the forest. She was no fool, after all, and there was no reason to give whatever was doing this concealment from their wrath.

The smell of oil greeted her as she came across what should have been where her sister was but there was only a slick of the black gold on the ground. She immediately turned to those Abyssals under her command, but to her dismay one of them was gone. The Demon ordered the trees destroyed; as much as she would have enjoyed it she wouldn't risk starting any fires with her sisters still in the forest.

As she angrily smashed another tree two of her minions went missing. A second passed, and then one more. That tore it; she ordered her remaining ships to her as she started shooting the forest. The innocent plants could offer no resistance to her maddened rampage as ammunition was expended like fireworks on a holiday. She was loud and destructive.

And when she finally stopped, only having enough sense to not unload all of her ammo, she noticed that she was alone. There was nobody around. Her entourage was gone, and her sisters were dropping like flies! Finally, she broke.

The Demon ran. Ran as fast as she could. Away from this horrid place, away from the graves of her sisters. It did not help. She saw what was a clearing to the coast, and ran right towards it, seeking escape.

Instead she was moving one moment and was on the ground the next. What happened? The Demon looked, and what looked like thin strands were caught on her legs. She pulled, and the trees the strands were anchored to snapped. Cursing under her breath, she stood up.

There was a hairy head of eyes and very big pair of fangs staring in her face.

The Demon screamed and threw a sort of slap in panic. While this would have been enough to kill a man, the monster in front of her was only sent back some way. Regaining her wits, the Demon aimed her cannons.

And there was pain in her sides.

Spiders were on her. Spiders were on her. They were biting and crawling. They were squished as the Demon danced this way and that, and she was trying so very much, even as the poison and the webbing sent her way intensified.

No!

The Demon only had a few moments to take a look around and see that she was completely surrounded by a horde of giant spiders, their fangs clicking and glistening, their legs pip-pattering, some of their spinnerets still having webbing dangling off of them as they advanced upon their hapless quarry.

And then they fell upon the Abyssal.

 

[darthcourt10]

Shaithan

Radio GaGa

Out in the North Sea a freighter was anchored at the Dogger Bank. No containers were aboard, instead a massive assortment of antennas and satellite dishes poked up from her deck. Various versions of the Jolly Roger flew from the masts and a truly massive one was hoisted from a tower on the bridge.

On her aft her old name was no longer visible, but on her sides and her aft, her new name was proudly displayed in massive letters. Radio Pirate.

Before the war she had been one of the many, many freighters that carried the goods of the world over the oceans.

A mere year ago her crew had, on a milk run, run into several cruiser type Abyssals. There had been no survivors, her cargo had gotten plundered and she had been set adrift.

For several days she had drifted north, until she felt something new. Someone had boarded her. Several someones in fact.

"Well, we found the wayward freighter," one of the girls grumbled.

"No survivors," a second said.

"And the goods are gone, too," a third added.

Five more girls had boarded her and begun to look through her, cataloguing the damage.

If they had bothered to look up, they might have seen her aboard the bridge tower and she could have told them of her predicament. Her machinery had been worked over by the Abyssals who had stripped out parts to repair themselves. Sure, it was repairable, but she would need to be towed quite a ways south. She doubted anyone would want to do that for an old girl like her. She had been commissioned over thirty years ago. There were newer, bigger and faster girls than her, girls that needed less fuel and who didn't have their machinery stripmined for spare parts.

"Ahoy!" a new voice shouted. Several new voices joined in.

The morose freighter girl boggled. Those were sailing ships. Ships that flew the Jolly Roger. And they sailed towards her.

One of the girls of the first group gave an exasperated sigh. "Girls, those bloody pirates are here," she reported with a grimace.

One by one the pirate girls climbed aboard.

The leading girl stood proudly on her deck, a cocky smirk on her face, her hair wild and unbound, golden earrings glittering in the light. Her tricorn hat was adorned with feathers from various exotic bird, a parrot sat on her shoulder and her clothing looked like she had beaten up Errol Flynn for his costumes. A golden tooth glinted and she gave the first group of girls a rogueish grin.

"Aye, we be here," she said grandly. "And I be carrying an offer," she continued, waving for one of her girls to step forwards. "Five thousand gold doubloons from New Spain for the ship and for you to tow her to the Dogger Bank," she stated grandly.

"So, you wish to buy the ship. Why? For all that she still floats, she went through a chop shop," the leader of the first group of girls said.

The pirate grinned. "Ye know what many gals miss?" she asked.

The leader of the girst group frowned. "What?" she wanted to know.

The pirate laughed. "Hah," she exclaimed before looking expectantly at the girl who merely looked at her with bemusement.

"Ye be kidding," she said tonelessly. "Ye've been missing Radio. Many girls remember tuning in to Tokyo Rose, the BBC, Voices of America and a host of other radio stations. Don't look at me like that, I had a lot of time to read up on history," she stated. "And I plan to give them that. Radio broadcasts they and the people in range of my broadcasting station can listen to," she continued grandly.

The other girl eyed the pirate dubiously. "And how are you going to finance keeping at sea?" she wanted to know. "Or repairing this poor girl?" she added.

"We have enough money," the pirate said archly.

The other girl glared, but said nothing. "Very well," she allowed. "We'll see to it that the ship is towed to where you want it," she concurred.

The pirate held out her hand and had her subordinate bring over the chest full of gold.

One of the other girl's subordinates counted the gold before her leader stored it in her rigging.

The non-pirate girls had left her, beginning to slowly tow her south. They had been relieved by two battleships taking over towing duty.

After four days, they had reached the Dogger Bank. Smaller ships had been waiting there already, filled with material, tools and fuel.

And then several pirate girls from various nations and human volunteers had begun working on her.

Her old name was scratched off, her new name proudly displayed. She was a bit annoyed by that, but not too much. Her days of carrying freight were over, even if they were hard at work restoring what they could of her machinery.

Massive anchors had been brought for her, securing her on the spot chosen for her.

Under the watchful eyes of professionals, her deck was strengthened and most of the rails for containers she once had were removed. Instead, radio masts were erected on her deck. Her interior saw more space reworked into crew space, accomodations and radio studios. It would be somewhat cramped, but she couldn't help but marvel and the work that was done.

There were comfy chairs, sofas and other seating furniture. There was lots of wood where feasible. At some points furs hung on the walls. Paintings were scattered throughout the living spaces, a library had been built in an annex that had been connected to her bridge and so many things more.

Currently, she lounged in one of those beanbag chairs, watching the humans huddling together and watching some sports event. Evidently England was losing badly, to the surprise of nobody.

"Well, what do ye think about what we have made out of ye?" a voice behind her asked.

With a surprised squeak, the spirit of the former freighter jumped up.

She glarded at the pirate behind her. "It's something, alright," she admitted. "I like the new accomodations and the living room areas. A bit cramped, but overall, they're meant for a close group and ensuring them feeling comfortable together, aren't they?" she asked.

The pirate nodded. "Aye. We want to bring in lots of people, we have four main frequencies on which we will broadcast," she stated grandly. "And that means there will be quite a few people staying here for longer times. It was that old German pirate that gave us the idea to make it as comfy as possible, even at the expense of it being a bit cramped. We want the people who work and live here to look back at this time in their lives and say "It was a great experience," and to feel welcome as soon as they come here," she explained.

The former freighter nodded. "And the radio equipment?" she wanted to know.

The pirate gave a sheepish grin, while the men let out a mighty wail. England had just lost the game. "I can no longer be an actual pirate. If I tried, I would quickly be run down and put in chains," she said slowly. "The few that still try to be pirates have not met any success and the various great powers frown on these attempts. And they crack down as harsh as possible on them," she explained. "And then I read about the war, about radio propaganda and news stations back then," she continued with sparkling eyes. "And then the later radio stations that were dubbed pirate radio, radio stations that operated from the North Sea," she added. "I had a new plan. I gathered friends, we did our best to gather funds and now we are here, ready to give shipgirls and humans a new pirate radio operated by actual pirates," she finished grandly.

The former freighter grinned. "It sounds good," she said slowly. "I remember some of the older girls on North Sea duty fondly remembering listening to pirate radio in their youth," she mused. "Heh, my first captain sometimes muttered about missing Tokyo Rose," she added with a soft smile.

The pirate girl grinned. "So, you approve of becoming a radio ship?" she wanted to know.

FPS Radio Pirate grinned. "I do approve. I must admit, I feared I would simply be written off, either scuttled or towed to the breakers," she admitted. "But this new lease on life, I approve of. I can't wait to start broadcasting," she added with a massive grin.

The pirate leader laughed. "Well met," she chortled. "Now come with me, let us begin broadcasting!" she stated grandly.

Twenty minutes later Radio Pirate listened as Quedagh Merchant began her first broadcast.

"Hello, North Sea! Do not adjust your sets, do not change channel, you are right where you should be!" she stated bombastically. "You may ask yourself "Who is that sexy voice and why is she in my radio?" and to that I answer you, that I am Quedagh Merchant, proud pirate and owner of the Free Pirate Ship Radio Pirate. And for what I am doing in your radio? From this day on we will be broadcasting nonstop. Radio Pirate, your Pirate Radio from FPS Radio Pirate, with all the music and the news you could ever want or need," she stated hammily.

"And for the very first song we're playing for all of you out there, here's Queen with Radio GaGa! Enjoy!" she claimed loudly while the music started playing.

With a grin she turned to her studio crew and Radio Pirate. "It's a great day for piracy!" she stated with happy tears in her eyes.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking into the small restuarant, Taichi frowned as he looked down at the piece of paper in his hand and then back up as he muttered under his breath. "A noodle shop? Why would Imouto tell me to come here of all places...?"

He blinked though and turned at the sound of a nervous whimper. "Um, Taichi-San? This is the right spot, right?" Behind him, a thin teenaged girl gulped some as she played with the hem of her sweater, her voice rather musical. "It's just, that this doesn't look like the sort of place to have a meeting...?"

Just as he was about to comment one of the other people snorted, this one wearing a pair of sunglasses even though it was dark out. "I sort of agree with Seki here. A noodle shop? You sure that your sister was not having us on?"

A frown on his face, Taichi scoffed a bit. "Natsumi-Chan is a lot of things. An annoying brat at times, but she is also someone that I trust. She said that we're to meet two people here that will help our group." Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. "Frankly, we sort of need it."

With a grimace, a second girl, this one shorter then the first spoke up. "You sure about that? I mean... I may be new this time and everything, but I've read the manga! This stinks of the Yakuza!"

Moments later though, a hand reached out and whapped her on the head as a third girl spoke up, this one looking like Seki. "Stop that. What have I told you about those manga you keep reading? They'll rot your brain they will."

Ignoring the bickering, Taichi only shook his head and blinked as he noticed a older man walk up. Once he reached them, the kitsune shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, hi, Oji-San. Uh... hate to ask you this, but we were supposed to meet someone here and-"

Before he could get much further, the old man held up a hand to stop him. "I know who you are looking for. They actually asked that I keep an eye out for you and bring you to them once you arrived..." With a smile on his face, he gestured for them to follow him. "This way now."

Simply sharing a look with the rest, Taichi began walking with them following. However, several seconds later, he stopped in front of a booth and gestured at it. "Right here, Hime, your guests are arrived."

Just as he came into a view, a very familiar voice answered. "Thank you, Jiro-Kun. We'll take it from here, but I would not mind much if you bring us some food as this will be a very long chat, I think."

All Taichi could do was stare at the sight of the person in the booth as the old man chuckled and nodded. It took him a few seconds to recognize it as Naka in the booth. Naka was well known for the two buns on her head and orange dress. But the young woman in the booth had on a crisp white blouse and black skirt as well. And instead of the usual buns, her hair was instead in a braided ponytail that went down her back. When combined with the glasses perched on her nose, one would likely give her a once over and dismiss her as having a resemblance.

Taichi though could smell her scent though and recognized her voice. A snort though caused him to realize that Naka was using her phone to record his reaction and he snapped out of his gaze. When he turned to where the snort had come from though, he did a double take as there was Harder. Unlike Naka though, the Submarine was more tomboyish with a tanktop and a silk shirt over it. She also had a cap perched on her head as she smirked at him. "Heh, Natsumi was right on the dot about your reaction, Kid."

Now looking between them, Taichi worked his mouth for several moments before he glanced down at movement. Said movement being Naka crossing her legs a bit. 'Hose... she's wearing hose...'

Unable to help herself, Naka grinned a bit before gesturing at the rest of the booth. "Come on then, have a seat. Trust me, Jiro makes a pretty good meal of noodles and we'll have a talk."

Slipping in, Taichi looked at the others as they followed him, but then realized he would be the one doing the talking. With a deep breath, he cleared his throat some. "Well... when Natsumi-Chan said that she had someone for us to meet, I didn't expect... well you..."

If anything though, that caused Naka to become bemused as she leaned against one fist. "I suppose not. But then, Natsumi-San wanted me to get your reactions to being surprised. So... surprise."

Across the table from Taichi, the male of his group raised an eyebrow. "You look a lot different right now then usual, Naka-Sama."

That got him a scoff from Harder who crossed her arms. "Of course she does." She then jerked her thumb at Naka who was snickering. "Do you know how hard it is for her to get around without being swarmed? But both of us know how not to be recognized."

Waving her hand around, Naka winked. "A change of clothes to a totally different style, same with my hair. And wouldn't you know it? No one seems to really realize who I am." Seeing Seki look nervous, Naka's expression became gentle. "Relax, nothing bad is about to happen."

Only frowning, Taichi glanced towards the front of the store. "Uh, how sure are you that we won't get bothered? I mean, no offense, but..."

Naka's expression shifted to an almost predatory one. "Jiro-Kun won't let anyone bother us, trust me on that. I know that for a fact." A chuckle escaped from her. "After all, he served on me when I was just a ship."

Eyes widening, Seki gasped some. "Is that why he calls you 'Hime'? Because he served on you?"

With a small smile, Naka nodded. "Hai, that is why he calls me Hime. In fact, he treats me as a member of his family, for which I am thankful. He lends me his shop here when I have need of it and no one, not even the local troublemakers, will bother us here." Shaking her head, the Light Cruiser gave a hum. "It helps that his place is neither upscale enough, or low enough that stuff like this would catch attention."

As drinks were set down, Taichi gave a nod to the waitress who smiled back at him before leaving. Taking a small sip, he set down his glass. "So, um... I guess that Natsumi-Chan has already talked to you?"

Hands clasped in front of her face, Naka nodded as she chuckled. "She approached me as a matter of fact. Also gave me recordings of some of your performances as well. And to be perfectly honest? I can see why you're having trouble getting support from the industry."

Opening his mouth as his group sighed and hung their heads, Taichi was about to say something when Harder shook her head. "Let Naka finish first, then react."

With a thankful nod to her friend as well as a smile, Naka turned back to Taichi. "I said that I could understand it. Not that I actually agreed with it." Reaching out, she took her own drink and sipped it before continuing. "Those bastards look for certain aspects. For example, a mixed group like yours would turn them off. And same with the music style you use as it's not J-Pop. Sure, they might try to grab... Seki-Chan, was it?" As said girl nodded, Naka continued. "Seki-Chan here. They wouldn't care about her being shy or anything, they would just care about her looks and voice, nothing else. They would force her to sing what they want, how they want. Control what she wears and so on. She would be chewed up, used, and then spat out without much to show for it."

Just frowning, Taichi glanced over at Seki who's near twin was comforting. "But you?"

Suddenly, Naka grinned in a manner that was rather shark-like. "I don't give a shit that you're a mixed group. Or your style of music... Hell, I see it as unique and what was old is now new again. Each of you separate probably have a ton of music experience, no doubt. And as the old saying goes... what one man may consider garbage another may consider a treasure. And you are a treasure, one that I would be rather happy to have."

There were shared looks between Taichi's group. But before they could say anything, Jiro appeared with the waitress again and set down the bowls in front of them. "Here you go, Hime. Nice and hot for you."

Brightly smiling, Naka broke her chopsticks with a giggle. "Thank you, Jiro-Kun. It looks delicious as always."

From her spot beside the Light Cruiser, Harder smirked. "Yeah, you make some of the fucking best noodles there are around here. And so does your granddaughter here."

Said girl chuckled as Harder gave her a wink. "My, my, Harder-Kun. I thank you for the compliment, but I think that my husband would have words with you if you keep making me blush."

All Harder did though was shrug at that. "Sorry, but that's too hard for me not to do. But bring him around sometime ya know and me and Naka here..."

That got her another bunch of giggles when Naka gave her friend a slap to the back of the head as Jiro shook his head in amusement at the antics going on. Most would be insulted, but he had grown used to the Submarine by this point and saw the humor. And when one added in that he was used to Americans coming in, it barely bothered him anymore. Some more small talk occurred and then Jiro and his granddaughter bowed some. "I hope that you and your company enjoy the meal, Hime. As always, just give a shout if you need anything."

Chuckling softly, Naka only shook her head, "I don't think that I have much to worry about. You always make sure that we get the best service." Once Jiro and his granddaughter was gone, Naka gestured at the food. "Well? Go on and enjoy, it's all on me. Besides, Jiro-Kun's food must be eaten to be believed."

Bringing some of the noodles to her mouth, Seki's sister blinked as she chewed. Expression brightening, she smiled. "They're good!"

Harder though snorted at that. "Yeah, just like Naka said."

Meanwhile, Naka just gently shoved the Submarine before blowing on her own noodles. "Now then, let's get down to business and discuss offers, hmm?"

With looks among them, Taichi nodded as did the rest of his group. "Okay then? I guess?"

In reply, Naka smiled some.

 

[darthcourt10]

Tiypo/NotHimAgain Omake: "Manager of the Idols"

NotHimAgain said:
Naka: I will RULE the Idols! Ahahahahahaaaa!
Sendai: Nakawat
Naka: Oh nothing. I just really, really wanted to laugh evilly.​

Three Mics for the Destroyers green hope in their eyes,
Seven for the Submarines in the depths impossible to gauge,
Nine for the Youkai so eager to rise,
One for the Manager Queen on her bright lit stage,
In the Land of Yokosuka where Shipgirls lie.
One Manager to rule them all, One Manager to find them,
One Manager to bring them all, and in the limelight bind them,
In the Land of Yokosuka where Shipgirls lie.

 

[darthcourt10]

K9Thefirst1

New Palace of the Ancient Atlantic Gate Princess, The Meteor Seamount, west of the Azores, West by Southwest of St. Brendan's Isle. The Archives. Informally known as "Reivana's Quarters."

The chamber could only be described as massive, with walls easily a hundred feet high, a hundred sixty across, and a length nearly four times that. The walls were lined with rows upon rows upon rows of shelves, and the interior space packed with towering cases of every sort so densely that the room was inaccessible for many Abyssals, and the fact that the entire Palace was underwater was the only thing preventing the vertical storage from being inaccessible due to the fact that ladders didn't even have the space to service both sides of a case corridor. The cases and shelves were loaded with all manner of surface materials: Rusty machinery, corroded electronics, fetid cloth and paintings, barnacle-encrusted statuary, and books. Thousands and thousands of waterlogged books, all gathered and meticulously cataloged from hundreds of ships lost at sea over the years. In the furthest corner from the entrance, in a space surprisingly clear of storage, floated a Re-Class at a desk. On that desk was a collection of boxes that she had found in the wreckage of a mail plane recently downed nearby.

From what she had gathered from methodical (some would call it 'obsessive') examination of the wreck, the plane was likely forced down from cruising altitude, likely by the downdraft of the storm that had been raging above the surface of the seamount ever since The Princess had relocated here from the Azores all those years ago. Apparently the storm above was much more powerful than usual at the time. Or perhaps the plane's sensors had malfunctioned in some way, tricking the pilot into thinking he was higher up than he was expected to, or the natural Electro-Magnetic distortion native to Abyssal fortresses mislead the pilot into drifting into their airspace. Whatever the case, the human craft entered the Area of Exclusion above the Palace (no matter how much Stab said otherwise, the Re-Class refused to call it a Denial of Interloping Lift or Derigible Objects field), and the Anti-Air sentries stationed on the surface shot it down. The Re-Class did not find any human corpses, so it was likely that the crew managed to evacuate the craft before it crashed or sank. Much as the Re-Class resented the crew's rudeness to deny her a direct source of information, even she had to admit the lack of air and the great pressure of nearly nine-hundred feet below the ocean was likely to be disagreeable to their constitution. Humans were frail like that.

Thus her only option was to gleen what she could from the cargo.

And it was not a poor haul either! Apparently the aircraft catered to first class, high priority mail. Therefore, it was loaded with tons of packages containing fascinating artefacts.

"Oooh! Just look at this Stab! A genuine Whatsit!" The Re-Class said, examining a laptop she had just removed the bottom of the case from. "Look! It even has stringy-gills and a spinny fin!" From behind, the Re-Class's tail head lifted up from where it rested on the floor. Judging by the dim purple and green glow of the vacuum tubes screwed into the rear-right side of its skull and rapid arcing of electricity between the mini antennae and transformer grafted into its rear-left skull, it was decidedly unimpressed by the find.

"Sure sure," it said, speaking with the voice of a boy just into his teen years, "big woop Reivana, another boondongle."

If Reivana was wounded by her tail's disinterest, or even noticed, she didn't show it. Instead she hugged the laptop to her chest and sighed in satisfaction as she looked at her horde of Surface Artefacts.

"Just look at this stuff Stab. Isn't it neat?"

"Whenever you bring in more junk, I think to myself 'her collection has to be complete by now, right?' Nope."

"I just wish more of these books were in better shape, so that I could learn about what these things are, and what they're used for. Why do the humans need to make their most precious things so vulnerable to sea water?"

"Uhh... Because they don't need them to be water proof? Think that might be it?"

"..."

"It never crossed your mind, did it."

Reivana was spared further embarrassment by Stab's vacuum tube's glow brightening and transformer antennae's voltage skyrocketing, turning the surrounding water into a localized bubble of steam, along with the relevant buzzer noise.

"Welp, the Princess has called us to Court. Seems like she's ready to pass sentence on the Fuckup's fuckup at St. Brendan's."

Reivana sighed as she put the laptop back in it's box before powering on to the fastest path to the Throne Room.

"I know the Princess hasn't given her a name yet Stab, but you shouldn't call her that. She is her daughter, and thus ought to be considered a princess in her own right. Even if she isn't sovereign of anything yet. She just had a setback is all."

"Oh? Then what would you call her then? Screwing things up is literally the only thing she excels at!"

Reivana took in a breath, finger in the air to accentuation her point... And when nothing came to her she paused in her travel, putting that same finger to her chin in thought as she 'hmm'd' at the question.

"Weeeellllll?" Stab implored, his grin belonging to an individual who feasted on fecal matter.

Reivana merely growled in irritation and shot forward, making for the throne room at top speed, her tail laughing all the while.
------

In the throne room, the massive chamber, decorated in the height of Gothic Grandeur, was packed tightly wall-to-wall by nearly all of the Abyssal fleet that had sworn absolute devotion to the Ancient Atlantic Gateway Princess. Those that could not, watched the proceedings through the high windows that lined the noble hall. At the entrance surrounding the great coral doors, the wall was coated in a vast atlas of the eastern Atlantic, with their ancestral home, the Azores island chain, placed in the very center, with all the patrol routes from the first days of the war plainly marked. The better to show to all that laid eyes on it how the island chain was the true center of the universe, and as a constant reminder to the Princess, but most of all to all of her subjects as they left on their missions after being briefed, the full enormity of their failure. Of their inability to honor the loss of so many of their comrades and allies. Of how their Princess, in her compassion to her subjects, fled her very throne in order to spare their worthless existences from the wrath of the Surface Dwellers and their Shipgirls. And at the other end...

At the other end towered a massive tiered dais of stone and metal, a long flight of stairs leading up to the very throne of their Princess. Pipes and pistons worked through arcane energies, indicator lights across a dozen stations provided information to the offensive and defensive capabilities to the throne and palace. At the middle tier stood their ruler's second-in-command: Ocean Liner Demon. No one knew her true identity under her helm, but those in the know had their suspicions, only three ocean liners had triple screws and four funnels, and only one not only had the bitterness to be a probable Abyssal, but had the brutality in her first life to earn the title of Demon. At the peak of the throne, in shadow so deep only her silhouette could be seen apart from her smooth, creamy legs, and her glowing red eyes, sat their Princess. Ancient Atlantic Gateway Princess. Slouched in her throne, she eyed her subjects with an apathetic gaze that still held a hint of benevolence... Until her eyes fell on the one this collection was concerned about, in which the gaze turned to one of disgust.

Near the foot of the dais, kneeling on one knee and head bowed, was a lone Princess-Category Abyssal of a curious appearance. Amidst the sea of hair black as pitch and white as snow, hers was red as fire. And while all in attendance with human skin had flesh as pale as milk, hers had just enough of a tint in color to pass as human. Along with her lack of abominable augmentations the teenage-looking Princess looked so out of place to be seen as absurd. And she had failed miserably in the most sacred task assigned to her.

"Daughter."

At the force of her Sovereign's voice the Princess flinched, and with great reluctance raised her head.

"Mother, it wasn't my fault! My forces were unable to-"

"Silence wretch!"

The girl averted her eyes from the Princess on her throne, her teeth grit in humiliation and suppressed rage. At the top of the throne, Ancient Atlantic Gate Princess crossed one bare, thick thigh over the other in slow, deliberate action, her domineering red eyes aglow from the shadow.

"Were you not commanded to take the Isle of Brendon?"

"The surface dwellers had defenses tha-"

"Answer the question."

"I... But... Y-yes... Mother."

"Were you not charged with full authority to plot out, survey, and analyze the island, scope out their defenses, and coordinate a plan of attack to capture the island? So that it may be used to reclaim my throne and your birthright?"

The princess on trial's head shot up to look at the shadow, a look of defiance and desperation on her face. Outrage was palpable in her voice.

"The demon you gave me was insubordinate at every turn! I needed to prove that I was right and-!"

"You were not summoned here to grovel you insect," the Princess bellowed, patience clearly long gone. "Answer the question."

"...Yes mother."

The shadowy figure of the Princess on the throne slouched to one side, the swell of her full bosom swaying with the shift in weight.

"And in carrying out your plan, you lost every asset gifted to you, and lost not only what would have been your own fiefdom - a gift from Us, your Mother and Sovereign - but lost our last, best chance to reclaim what is rightfully Ours?"

Before the Princess, the demi-princess clenched her teeth in fury. Her fists were clenched tight enough to turn her knuckles as pale as the skin of any Abyssal in attendance as her body trembled.

"...It wasn't my fault."

"Liar."

The figure on the throne leaned forward, just enough for her pale forehead, and a crown of black and red horns encircling her head like a tiara, to peak out into the light. The silhouette showed the Princess leaning with her elbows on the arms of her throne, hands intertwined with each other.

"You not only failed to properly screen the island to observe its defenses aside from the foreign defenders. You simply did not bother. In fact, you did not bother to use your submarines at all, leaving them here."

"With the magic humans gone they were defenseless!" the unnamed princess declared, standing tall and defiantly, "I didn't need such lowly cretins!"

"Do it."

Without further instruction, Ocean Liner Demon fired a 12-pounder gun at the unnamed princess, striking her full in the mouth. Voice muffled by the net encircling her lower head, the princess tugged and tugged to free herself. In time it became clear that it would not move unless the Princess commanded it. A blush of humiliation covered the visible part of her face as the unnamed princess returned to her kneeling position.

"As We verified earlier," the Ancient Atlantic Gate Princess continued, as if nothing had interrupted her to begin with, "your second in command brought these failures in intelligence gathering to your attention, and you ignored her. You also surfaced your fleet to close to the island, allowing the residents to detect you and begin their evacuations and ready their defenses, turning what could have been a single all-consuming raid with a mild clean up into a guaranteed slog and insurrection.

"Next, rather than bringing your cruisers and battleships to the front, you proceeded to place your carriers front and center, and well inside the rapid deployment range of the defender's fleet. This decimated your air cover. Air cover that could have wiped out the defending fleet while they were engaged with your fleet's naval artillery. And could then proceed to obliterate the surface dweller's presence on the island, and pin down any survivors while your artillery got into position.

"Now, daughter. Explain yourself."

With a gesture the netting fell from the unnamed princess's face. Huffing in rage over the string of insults and slights brought to her face, the demi-princess merely pointed at her mother.

"It's not my fault! It's yours! You gave me weak-willed, disloyal garbage! If they had any merit worthy of being in my fleet they would not have died so easily!"

"You are as incompetent as you are stupid. And neither trait has a place under Our authority. You have failed Us for the last time daughter. Leave or die. Your choice."

The demi-princess stomped her foot in defiance.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"...Is that so?"

"You need me, you said it yourself! I'm your long-term plan for success-"

"Challenge accepted."

Any further tantrum throwing was stopped by an explosion, followed by the unnamed princess falling to the floor, blood clouding around the stump of her left knee as her severed lower leg drifted away. From her throne, the end of a large cannon common to Spanish and Portuguese forts of the 16th century was poking out from the shadows, the muzzle smoking despite the submarine environment. A swarm of shadow imps oozed from the shade hiding the Princess and began to reload the cannon. The demi-princess looked at her stump, deep in shock.

"It seems We won your challenge. So We issue one to you. If you can make it through yonder door, you are free to live and make a life for yourself out in the world. You have sixty seconds."

The demi-princess abyssal stared in incomprehension, glancing one way and the other, looking for an ally, a sympathetic look, and finding none. All in attendance were either glaring at her in varying degrees of apathy and hate... Or worst of all not even bothering to look her way at all.

"Fifty seconds."

Finally registering that, no, this was not a trick, the unnamed Abyssal demi-princess let out a choked sob and rolled over to crawl for the door. Fist over fist, she pulled herself to her only avenue of survival. She tried to get her remaining leg under her and stumbled. She tried a second time with more success, hobbling on three limbs until she managed to balance on the leg, hopping for the door.

BOOM!

...Until her mother fired a second time, taking her right leg out from under her, sending her back to the floor, her fingers an agonizing few inches from the great doors.

"...Thirty seconds."

With an expanding cloud of phosphorescent blue blood trailing from her stumps and semi-hysterical sobs echoing from her mouth, the unnamed Abyssal made the agonizing crawl for the door. With no offers of help from the gaurds flanking the entrance the pitiful girl hopped the best she could for the handle. She somehow managed to grab it on the first go... But didn't have the angle to easily turn it.

"Ten seconds."

Sobs turning fully hysterical, the girl flailed to rearrange her grip on the handle.

"Five."

With a thud the demi-princess fell forward with the opening of the door onto the cold floor.

"Four."

The unnamed Abyssal crawled on her forearms, dragging her body through the threshold.

"Three."

With a cloud of blood flowing behind her, the girl, by some miracle, managed to complete the challenge with time to spare. Barely. The demi-princess crept forward two, three feet before she realized that the countdown had stopped. She turned her head around, turning onto her backside to look into the throne room, staring incomprehensibly at the door frame. For what seemed to all like an eternity silence reigned in the throne room. A laugh that was more of a mad bark than a sign of merriment echoed in the chamber, and descended into a hysterical cackle as the Demi-Princess sat up straighter to look her mother in the face.

"HA! There! I did it! See Mother, I did it-!"

BOOM!

The headless corpse fell back to the floor.

"Oh dear," The Ancient Atlantic Gate Princess deadpanned, the smoking cannon retreating into the throne, "a rogue princess had infiltrated Our castle. How fortunate that We were able to kill it before it could kill any of Our subjects. Thus We end today's court. Be about your business."

With no further ceremony, the assembly of the Azores Fleet dispersed, the corpse of the former demi-princess trampled on by all choosing to leave by the main entry. As the crowd thinned, Reivana pouted while Stab smiled like the cat that ate the canary.

"Say it."

"Choke on coral."

"After you say it!"

Further banter was stopped in it's tracks when Reivana felt an oppressive hand grip her shoulder, forcing her to spin until her eyes met the eye-slits of Ocean Liner Demon's helmet.

"Her majesty commands your presence in her apartments. Now."

"Geez," Stab whispered in Reivana's ear, "weren't ocean liners supposed to be classy?"

"Not now Stab!" the Re-Class hissed.
------

...I may or may not have been inspired by Darth Vader. We haven't really seen any Abyssal Princesses being royal, rather they've been mostly shown as Warlords roving about the seas. I kinda wanted to experiment with a Princess that acted like a sovereign, someone who has not only laid claim to territory, but has succeeded in building it up, so it's quite likely this princess has been around since before the official start of the Abyssal War. She may even be the only one left from that time. So I based her on a typical player for Crusader Kings: Brutal, unfeeling towards emotional attachments, and caring only about furthering and/or securing their power and territory. Ancient Atlantic Gateway Princess can be nice, even friendly... But only if it serves her goals. Anything else is unimportant. Princess Celestia she is not. I know I originally meant for this to introduce Reivana... But Ancient Atlantic Gate Princess just caught my imagination.


Appearance-wise, as an OC I don't have any official art. However, as the representation of the Azores, she embodies the promise of the wealth and unconquered lands of the New World, and the lust for the same, to the European Powers - especially Spain - in the late 15th through the 17th centuries. Ergo, any female drawn by tsuda_nanafushi (NSFW artist BTW) would be a good base to work from. And ask about her daughter's name all you want if you are curious. But she never had one. She was unworthy of having one. She was an experiment in Dynasty, and a failure at that.

As for Reivana, just take a typical Re-Class and add some 40's Sci-Fi mad scientist gear to her tail's head, sparking electricity bits and all. As for her personality... Well, Season 1 and 2 Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic would be a good place to start.

Also, expect edits. Harry mentioning Meteor triggered my Do or Die reflex, so I posted what I had already.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

That was... dark.

So, this happened. What inspired it was a long story, and I'm not entirely sure I'm allowed to talk about it, but here you go.
Something 'Bout A Rose

-----

"Hey," Nemo said, and Takumi turns to give her an appraising look. "Why do you suppose we fight?"

"What do you mean?" he asks, because he's never given it much though. Nemo sighs heavily and looks up, staring into the night sky. The lights of the city are behind them, drowning out the stars with their flagrance, but the Milky Way shines through the artificial light as strong as ever.

"I don't really know," she admits, and he's surprised—Nemo hates admitting that she doesn't know something. "It's always fighting, day in and day out, humans and Shipgirls and Abyssals. I guess it's just…" She turns her gaze to her bare feet, scrunching her toes in the sand, and curls her lip the way she does when she's having an emotion and she hasn't quite figured out how to say it yet. "Humans fight to protect themselves, right?"

"I guess we have to," Takumi agrees. "Big scary world out there, you know." Nemo gives him one of her looks, the ones that say 'you're a moron, but you're worth the effort.' He's never told her, but he thinks that those are his favorite looks.

"Poor little humans," she says dryly. "And then you've got Shipgirls. Them, they fight to protect humans. It's… It's what they are. I think they carry it with them, the drive to protect people… Or, that's the impression I've gotten. But Abyssals? We fight humans, we fight Shipgirls, and we fight each other… But why do we do that?"

It seems very solemn to Takumi. One of those questions that seems small until you actually ask it. He can't claim to have ever been good with those questions, and it's one of those things that he'd thought Nemo would have a head for. But though she's a genius at math and science, though she talks him into bringing her Shakespeare and poetry, she's never shown any more talent for those questions than he has himself. He nearly asks if they never explained it to her directly, but he can't ask the question. Somehow, he feels, that would be unfair to her.

"That's a good question," he says meditatively. "You think maybe—" He realizes what he's going to ask—you think maybe it's in your nature?—a second before he completes the sentence and he clams up completely, but the look on her face tells him that she heard the question regardless.

"Maybe it is," she admits. "Maybe all we are is a bunch of savage wolves, tearing into everything around us, even ourselves, but…" she pulls her knees in close, hugging them tight. "… I don't want it to be."

He looks over at her, and remembers how they first met—how a curious girl decided to leave her home and take a closer look for herself, somehow obliviously dodging obstacles, and how a boy tired of the world wandered down to the beach to look at the waves a while, and how suddenly they were staring each other in the face, as if there wasn't a war on and they were just two people who had happened to meet. He remembers buying ice cream and carrying it down to the beach for her, and her joy and wonder at a treat she'd never even conceived before. He remembers her almost accidentally stealing his physics textbook, so engrossed she'd been in the workings of the world.

He wraps an arm around her and pulls her in close. Her peeved whine turns into a purr (when she'd first done that, he'd burst out laughing and she had dumped a handful of sand in his hair), and she nuzzles his side.

"I've got to be home in half an hour," he says almost carelessly.

"You've still got five minutes, right?" she asks.

Takumi grins, knowing that five minutes will stretch into seven, which will then turn into eight as he watches Nemo speed out into the night, until there is no wake and no dot on the horizon, and then he will drift slowly in the general direction of home.

"Always," he says.
-----

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Two weeks coming back to Hogwarts, Harry and the others were heading back from where Hermione was getting a checkup from Madame Pomfrey. As they walked, Neville frowned a bit in thought. "Why is Hermione still getting checked even?"

Harry glanced at him before shrugging some. "Well, I guess she needs to make sure that everything is alright. Sure, she was able to handle most everything during the holidays, but she wants to make sure that everything is alright."

Raising an eyebrow. Ron snickered a bit. "Well, did you see her ears?" At the looks from the other two, his snickers increased. "They sort of had this peach fuzz on them."

That got him grins from both Harry and Neville before shouting caused them to look up with the black haired boy frowning. "What the... Is that Filch?"

Eyebrows furrowing, Neville gave a small nod. "Yeah... And it sounds like he's really angry..."

"THIS IS ENOUGH! LIKE I HAVE NOT GOT ENOUGH TO DO I HAVE TO MOP ALL NIGHT! NO, THAT'S TOO DAMN MUCH! YOU DAMN STUPID GHOST, I AM GOING TO DUMBLEDORE, JUST YOU SEE!"

Both of them turned to find that Filch was ranting as he made his way down the hall away from a slowly growing puddle of water. It was when Harry glanced in the direction of it's source that he really blinked. "Wait... is that Myrtle's bathroom?" Sharing a look, they walked over and could hear sobbing inside before Harry opened the door and walked in to find the bathroom flooded. 'What in the...?' Then he put that aside and waded in, part of him thankful that no one ever used it which meant that the water was as clean as it could be. "Myrtle? Are you okay?"

The sobs became sniffles for a moment. "Harry? Is that you?"

All Harry did was nod some as he glanced around to try and find her. "Yeah, it's me, Myrtle. But I want to know if you're okay?"

His attention was then grabbed by the stall door to Myrtle's stall flying open with a bang before the water in the overflowing bowl exploded outwards and a pale missile shot out. "HAAAAARY!"

Moments later, Harry stumbled back as Myrtle collided with him and began to hug him. Off to the side, Neville blinked and then rubbed his eyes. Taking another look, he turned to regard Ron. "Uh... is it just me? Or is Myrtle actually hugging him?"

Slowly, Ron nodded as he watched Harry stroke the ghost's hair. "Uh... yeah? I mean, he is hugging her and vice versa." Then he frowned some as he spotted something else. "Wait... is she looking more solid then normal?"

At that, Neville blinked and felt his eyebrows raise. "Um, I think that you're right. She does look a lot more solid then she normally does..."

Both boys shared a look at that while Harry finally calmed Myrtle down enough. "Now, now, Myrtle. Everything is alright."

Wiping at her nose, the ghost sniffled a bit. "Sorry, you must think that I'm a blubbering fool right now."

However, Harry only shook his head and snorted before pulling a napkin out and handing it to her. "Not at all, Myrtle. Now, what has got you so upset now?"

Just dabbing her eyes, Myrtle gave out a small sniffle. "Well... you know how this year has been a bit hard for me, right?" When Harry nodded, she gestured to her toilet. "Well, I was in the U-bend thinking about my death again-"

Eyebrows raising, Harry looked between her and the toilet. "Wait, you were in the U-bend? Wouldn't that be sort of uncomfortable?"

Giggles escaped from Myrtle as she gave another sniffle. "No, it surprisingly isn't. Sometimes I squeeze myself into them to get away from it all and just think. With the pipes and such, I find it peaceful... though sometimes someone will flush it and send me out into the lake."

Part of Harry wanted to ask her more about said things, but filed it away for a later date. "Huh... So you were in your U-bend..."

With a nod, Myrtle frowned a bit. "Yes, well, I was in my u-bend just thinking when I heard someone come into the bathroom. It's sort of late and with everything I came a bit more into the bowl to listen when someone dropped this big, heavy book on my head! Then they flushed it and forced me back into the pipes with it blocking me from getting out. But, um... I was able to build up enough pressure to force it back up but it sort of... broke my toilet?" Seeing Harry's lips twitch, she huffed a bit and crossed her arms. "It's not funny, Harry!"

Unable to help himself, Harry snickered. A moment later though he turned that into a cough as Myrtle gave him a look though there was some amusement in her eyes. "Right, of course it's not funny."

As Myrtle gave a sharp nod, Ron glanced around and furrowed his eyebrows. "Uh... how the heck did you get enough pressure? I thought that there were spells and stuff to stop that."

Myrtle glanced at him and shook her head. "They only activate when the toilet is flushed to force the water one way. It expands the pipes some alongside with a charm to make the water and another is a short of banishing charm variant that forces the water at high pressure down the pipes. The exanding charm works if there's anything in the pipes to expand them to fit whatever is in them to prevent blockages. It's quite fascinating and... Really, it's a lot better then about three hundred years ago when they built this bathroom. Back then, they would just sort of... do it right where they stood and vanish it from what some of the other ghosts told me."

That got a grimace from Harry and the others before they shook their heads with Neville muttering to himself. Coughing as he caught a bit there from Neville insulting purists who fought against indoor plumbling as being too muggle, and not wanting to think more on that, Harry turned back to Myrtle. "So how did you force the water back up?"

Straightening her back, Myrtle smiled. "There's valves down where groups of pipes connect. You can lift them up or down in either direction though usually the valves in the bigger pipes are in the open position all the time. The smaller ones are closed unless the water hits them to prevent flooding from the lake. Anyways, a long time ago I found that I could force one closed if I wanted to and control other aspects of my bathroom, see?"

Waving a hand, Myrtle turned on the faucets and they could hear one of the toilets flushing. Eyes widening, Harry stared a bit. "Huh, I've heard stories of ghosts flushing and turning on farcets, but never thought there was much truth to them."

Only shaking her head, Myrtle chuckled a bit. "Well, it's not that hard... or at least for me." She tapped her chin in thought before shaking it off. "Well, since the water can only flow one way down the pipes when being activated, I just held the valve close while turning on every sink and flushing all the toilets except for the one in my stall. Eventually, the pressure built up that the book came flying out... and broke my toilet as well."

Nearly as one, they turned to regard said toilet which was still overflowing. Raising an eyebrow, Ron coughed a bit. "Yeah... that might be something of an issue. I mean, that doesn't happen often, right?"

In reply, Myrtle shrugs. "Not really, no... Well, there was that one time during when Harry's mother was here." At their looks, she began to giggle. "A group of Slytherins including Bellatrix Black-" No one noticed Neville twitch at this. "Had been going after muggleborns. Unfortunately, no one could get any proof so Lily asked me about the pipes and I explained some things. I don't know what she did, but she somehow gave them the runs, bad, and while they were on the toilets dropped dungbombs into free ones while closing the valves. You should have heard the screeches and screams. And that was when she was in Fourth Year..."

Eyes wide, Harry snorted a bit in disbelief. "Wait, my mother, my biological one that is, did that? Really?"

Softly giggling, Myrtle nodded some. "She did actually. And before you ask, it was hilarious as anything... Though that only made your father fall more in love with her, despite her vicious streak when getting revenge. Something he had experience with more then once."

The group went a bit silent as Myrtle had a fond smile of remembrance. After all, she did like Lily, though at the time she did not quite know why. Only that she had reminded her of someone. Eventually, Harry leaned over to examine her head which made her blink. "You're not hurt though, are you? If it came down on your head and you couldn't get past it..."

Blushing slightly as Harry was now examining her head, Myrtle bit her lip and moved back some. "No, I'm not hurt, not physically anyways. It was a bit of a surprise I suppose, but nowadays it wouldn't have made me cry though I was hurt that someone just seemed to throw it at me." Her mouth working for a moment, the ghost finally continued. "It was mostly Filch."

A frown on his face, Harry tilted his head. "Filch? What did he say?"

With a sigh, Myrtle shook her head. "Just his usual sort of insults. Though this time he was mentioning getting Dumbledore to allow him to... exorcise me. For us ghosts, that is painful at the best of times. But considering that the Ministry bound me to the school grounds, a spell to try and force me from them... I really do not want to think what that would do to me."

Having seen the thunderous look on Harry's face, Ron shook his head even as Neville winced. Both of them knew how Harry took threats to just his friends. Add in that Myrtle would have likely become blood family in a sense if she had not been murdered? Neither did not want to see what Harry would do if given a chance to stew. Clearing his throat, Ron looked around. "So... did you see who threw the book?"

Finger against her chin, Myrtle only shook her head. "Sadly not. But the book is right over there."

Eyes following her gaze, they found a thin, leather bound book in the water. Walking over, Harry reached down but was stopped by Ron. "Whoa, there Mate. Be careful... "

Confused, Harry looked over at Ron with a frown. "Why?"

Glancing around, Ron shuddered some. "Some books can be dangerous. Dad told me about some... Like this one book that burns out your eyeballs if you read them. Or Sonnets of a Sorcerer which curses you to speak in limericks for the rest of your life. There was even this one book that forced you to read it forever so you had to learn how to do everything one handed."

Thoughtful, Myrtle nodded some. "I remember one a few years after I died that was cursed to cause people who read it to babble in tongues and go insane. Apparently someone was a fan of Lovecraft and snuck it into several libraries. Took a lot of work to get track all the copies down though from what I heard."

After a few moments, Harry went into one of the stalls. Roughly a minute later, he came back out with a wooden stick and shrugged at their looks. "Toilet paper is made from wood pulp. Transfiguration from paper to wood is pretty easy." Upon reaching the book, he stuck out the stick and then flipped the cover open. "'Huh... the date says that its from the 1940s and belonged to... a T.M Riddle?"

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 22: Barricade

Harry Leferts said:
I suppose so... but the whole thing did make sense for me in my head. Naka's not stupid and here has some business degrees at least. She knows that presentation is a huge thing when meeting people. Imagine if she was in her usual uniform negotiating a contract with them compared to business wear.

Still something that would cause stares though.

*-*-*-*-*-*
Naka:
"I am a warship, and proud of it. When planning ahead, I attempt to use as much of my armaments as possible, to put me in as advantageous position of strength as possible. So if I show a little leg, and a fractionally lowered bustline, or crossing my legs a bit when I know they're looking, while we're in a business meeting? That's me distracting the opposition into thinking I'm a harmless airhead, only good for her looks. While really I'm locking them down dead to rights over a contract heavily in my favor, and they're not realizing I did so until it's all over but the sinking feeling, after I have it all signed and sealed. Besides, what warship, or girl, doesn't like to run up the signal flags, and come into port looking like a hundred million yen?"

Harder:
"Naka? 'Weaponizing cute', or sexy, is a figure of speech, and not supposed to be an actual thing."

Naka:
"As long as it isn't degrading, as I do have standards, thank you very much, I see no issue in not weaponizing 'the sexy' as it just means those lecherous old fossils will never see the metaphorical blade coming until it's too late. I am a ninja after all, and take pride in my work, even if, especially if, they don't see it coming."

Harder:
"You scare me a little...."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Just as Harry was about to say something more, his attention was caught by Myrtle muttering to herself. "T.M Riddle? Tom?"

Tilting his head to the side, Harry cleared his throat some. "Myrtle? Do you know who this belonged to?"

In reply, Myrtle glanced at him with a small frown on her face. "I'm not sure if it is who I am thinking of. But when I was alive and going to Hogwarts there was a student here, a Thomas Riddle, but everyone called him Tom. He was a Slytherin Prefect when I was killed." Finger tapping against her chin, she frowned in thought. "I'm rather sure that his middle name was Marvolo... and the date would match..." Then Myrtle's eyebrows furrowed. "Harry, would you mind flipping to the back?"

Confused, the black haired boy used the stick to close the book and then flip it before reopening it. "Sure, does this help?"

Slowly nodding, Myrtle drifted towards the book. "It does as a matter of fact." Reading the back, she nodded. "Definitely the right time. See there on the back? It came from Winstanley's Bookstore and Stationer."

Frowning, Ron looked from Myrtle to the book. "Uh, really?"

Lips twitching, Myrtle turned toward him. "Really. I didn't go into London too often but I do remember that bookstore. A cousin of mine worked there and it was a rather nice one until the Blitz."

It only took a moment but Harry's eyes widened. "The Blitz? When the Germans bombed London?"

The ghost nodded at that, somewhat lost in her memories. "Oh yes. The store itself was one of the victims of the bombing when a bomb landed right on top of it. Which is why I think that this is genuine and it is talking about Tom. After all, one would need to actually be familiar with it to chose that name if it was faked. And I remember him going to an orphanage, so he would know about things on the Muggle side of the world."

Now intrigued, Harry circled the book and Myrtle before slowly nodding. "So you knew this Tom person?"

Having been snapped out of her memories, Myrtle blinked for a moment. "Know him? Oh no, not really to be honest. He was several years above me and in a different House. Though I did see him often enough when he was visiting the Grey Lady. Never really spoke more then a word or two with him..." She seemed at a lost before shaking her head with a grimace. "Granted, he was one of the reasons why I got bullied as much as I did."

Neville looked at her with a scowl. "He was one of those bullying you, Myrtle? Granted, he was a Slytherin and you were a Muggleborn..."

Much to his and the other two boys' surprise, Myrtle burst into laughter. "No, no, no. He didn't bully me, not at all. But he was a reason for it." At seeing their looks of befuddlement, she shook her head. "Tom was... something of a pretty boy, I suppose. Handsome, smart, a real smooth talker. He was extremely popular among both the teachers and the students."

Raising his eyebrow, Harry scratched his head. "Okay? So... How does that tie in with you being bullied?"

Simply shrugging, Myrtle snorted. "A large number of girls at school at that time had crushes on him. Olive Hornby especially had a massive crush on her. You would not believe all the times I heard her go on about becoming 'Mrs. Olive Riddle'. This despite the fact that he was several years older then her, that silly bint. Anyways... I was never interested in him to begin with. Even less so when I realized that he was playing with several of the girls. I always suspected that he was the father to Heather Lockaby's son, poor girl. Had to leave just after her OWLs and left for the Colonies in disgrace..."

Looking at the ceiling in thought, Harry frowned. "So he was a playboy then?"

After a moment of thought, Myrtle nodded. "That would be an apt description, I suppose. But anyways, I never liked him as I found him a bit too cold and distant. And that was one more mark against me with Olive never forgave me when I insulted him one time. Though... come to think of it a few days before I died, she made the comment of me liking muggles while I was in the library and as if it was dirty. Told her that my Andrew, even though he was a Muggle was still far better then Riddle. Better looking and far better personality. Didn't even realize that Tom was the next aisle over and had heard the whole thing before I spotted him when I walked off. Had this rather odd look of anger on his face, guess he wasn't used to being insulted."

Ron just stared at Myrtle before shaking his head. 'Sounds like some of the girls with Lockhart.' Turning his attention back to the book, he cleared his throat. "So... uh, the book is safe?"

Giving it a moment of thought, Myrtle slowly nodded. "I would assume so. I haven't heard of him marrying anyone so I very much doubt that it was brought by a grandchild. He probably left it behind when he graduated, some do that. And since he was a student, he likely wouldn't be able to make it too dangerous."

With a glance at Ron and Neville, Harry picked up the book and flipped through it. "Huh... that's odd."

Floating to look over his shoulder, Myrtle blinked. "Odd? How so?"

Just glancing back at her, Harry pointed at the book. "There's nothing here, it's all blank."

Eyebrow raising at that, Myrtle peered closer at the book in thought. "How very strange. One would think that there was something..." Trailing off, Myrtle was thinking when she suddenly nodded. "I wonder..."

Seeing her interested gaze, Neville frowned as he walked over and looked at the book. "You wonder what? Do you know why the pages are blank?"

Chuckles escaped from the ghost as she nodded. "Maybe." Waving one hand around, she shook her head. "Our Charms Professor was a witch named Miss Corkum and she taught an interesting charm to us girls. It was mainly to prevent people from reading our diaries by having it absorb the ink. It was only when you added the ink that it would reappear."

Only nodding, Harry reached into the small bag at his side and pulled out an ink well and a quill. "Sounds like a book at the Potter estate. So... Let's give it a shot, shall we?" Dipping the quill into the ink, he quickly wrote. "Dear Diary... what the?"

Blinking, Ron turned to look at Harry. "Uh, mate? It's talking back."

Frowning, Myrtle stared down at it. "Hmm... there are charms that can allow for one to give an object sentience of a sort. It's pretty advanced magic and can be a security feature. Usually they just insult people who get passwords wrong." Chewing her lip, Myrtle shook her head. "Still... that is rather much for a diary."

A considering look on his face, Harry looked from one to the other. "Guys? I'm going to keep talking. If I start acting weird..." Getting nods, he turned back to the diary. "Hello, Tom, I'm Harry..."
___________________________________

Feeling himself be shaken, Harry blinked some and turned. "Ron?" A look around showed him the diary a short distance away. "What happened?"

There was a worried look on the red head's face as he glanced to where Neville was covering the book with his wand. "You spaced out there for a few seconds, Harry. Nev had to knock that diary thing away from you. What did it do?"

Once more glancing at it, Harry frowned. "It somehow showed me a memory. Back when the Chamber was open last and... I think it showed Myrtle's body. But in it, Hagrid was the one who opened it."

It went without saying that it was now just Ron's eyebrow who raised. But it was Myrtle's expression that caught Harry's attention. Her expression could have been carved from stone due to the seriousness on it. "It showed you when the Chamber was open? And that it was Hagrid who did so?"

Certain that he knew why she was asking, Harry shook his head. "That was who Tom blamed anyways. Hagrid had this great, big spider hidden in his trunk that killed you and petrified things."

All Myrtle did was frown even more. "I... don't know what killed me, Harry. But I can say that it wasn't a spider that did it. With how Hagrid was viewed, sounds like Tom blamed him, though why... Maybe he knew who was doing it and protected them. Especially if they would then owe him a favour. Since he was in an orphanage he would need favours for later on."

Before anyone could say anything else though, there was a gasp and they all whipped to stare at the door. Eyes widening for a brief moment, Ron soon narrows them at seeing who was there. "Ginny! What are you doing around here?! Or so late?!"

Fiddling with her robe, Ginny was looking anywhere but at the group. "Um..." Glancing at them, she went from Harry, to her brother, then to Neville, before looking at Myrtle. Her gaze also took in the diary on the floor. "I-I was just around and... I heard someone and had a look."

For a few seconds Ron stared at her before running his hand through his hair. "Oh for... okay, let's get you back to the Tower before anything bad happens, okay?"

As Ginny nodded and glanced around again, Harry turned back to Neville. "Mind grabbing the book, Neville? We'll bring it to Gryffindor until one of the professors can come and get it."

Quickly walking over, Neville pulled out a handkerchief and grabbed it. At their looks he shrugged sheepishly. "Um, after what happened I'm not about to grab it with my hand."

Getting nods, Neville shifted it for a better grip and they walked out. They didn't get far though before there was nearby shouts and they turned to see Peeves being chased by a furious Queen Anne's Revenge. "Get back here ya scum sucking bastard! I'll keelhaul ye, you barnicle encrusted belshangle!"

Just giggling madly, Peeves looked over his shoulder. "Peevsie has to say no. But he has a present for you and his favorite person!"

With that, he tossed out his hands which had glowing green pellets. As soon as said objects hit the ground, they exploded into green gas which enveloped the group moments later. Bringing his hand to his face, Harry coughed some. "Stink pellets!"

Thankfully, Queen Anne was able to slow down enough in the mist. But she was still close enough that Harry had to jump to the side which made him hit Ron. Off to the side, they could hear Neville grunt and hear running footsteps. By the time they got out though, Queen Anne was long gone and so was Peeves. However, Ron looked panicked. "Ginny? Ginny!"

A hand on the shoulder caused him to turn and see Neville shake his head as the other boy tried not to puke. "Um, I think she ran off out of the stink. And..." Embarrassed, he shuffled from side to side. "I kind of dropped the diary back there."

Looking back, Harry grimaced. "Dammit... we can't see in that... Hey, Myrtle?"

At her name being called, she smiled some. "Want me to go and get a teacher?" When Harry nodded, she gave him a small salute. "Will do!" And with that, she as gone while Ron went off with Neville to find Ginny.

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 36: S0ngD0g13

Sorry it took me so long to post again; been fighting off a head-and-chest-cold that had me outta sorts. But, now I Present...

The Latest from Kure...
.............................................

Jaw McAmis looked at the certificate in his hand and let out a joyous, barking whoop for the second time that day; he'd busted his ass studying and finished his final exams early, so as of being handed his diploma that morning James Aubrey Wilson McAmis was officially a High-School Graduate. He decided a party was in order and set out to go shopping...

.....................................

Virginia idly sat and sipped a cup of coffee, watching a seagull glide along the edge of a field near the Carrier Range...

A baseball-sized glob of spidersilk on the end of a long silk cord shot out of a treetop like a martial-artist's rope-dart and struck the bird, entangling it. Charlotte reeled her lunch in swiftly and Kaylee smiled...

..........................................

Houshou sat on James' porch with a cup of tea while her man described his day, smiling and kissing him on the cheek before they went inside to cook...

................................................

Akizuki paused on her walk, looking around and turning up her passive sonar... She cast her eyes about the woods and listened carefully...

"Singing? Who in the world could be singing out here in the woods?"

As she drew nearer, Akizuki could hear the singing grow clearer, a woman's voice singing lowly, sadly, in a language that was both beautiful and strange to the Japanese Destroyer...

When Akizuki sighted the singer, she felt a chill run down her keel. The singer was young, female, and possessed of fiery-red hair and eyes green as summer grass. She was dressed in clothing all of greens and silvers, kneeling at the edge of a creek where the water was shallowest, and she was scrubbing a set of black Hogwarts robes trimmed in scarlet and gold against a rock.

The waters downstream from the woman were stained red with the blood rinsed from the robes...

 

[darthcourt10]

K9Thefirst1

And here's part two! Man, a mechanical keyboard seems to make it a lot easier to type things than my laptop. And it's so clicky! ^_^
------

The Royal Apartments of the palace matched what one would expect for the living quarters of an Abyssal Princess, with décor themed in dark colors and a maritime theme centered around all that was along the seabed. The main hall was dominated and illuminated by a large round table. At the moment, the Ancient Atlantic Gateway Princess was alone, studying what was on the table with an expression of assurance, as if looking at property she already owned, and the action of acquiring it was merely a formality. She ignored the sound of the door opening. She knew who would dare enter her chambers unannounced, only the Ocean Liner Demon was permitted such an honor.

"Princess, Reivana is here, as you requested."

"Thank you, Demon."

The princess turned around, leaning back slightly to lean on the edge of the table. The action combined with the back light provided by the table map highlighted the princess' curved in silhouette, through the cloth that wore her more than the other way around. The Re-Class genuflected to the floor, in order to show proper respect to her creator. Her Sovereign. Her god. Her tail kept his mouth shut.

"Reivana, welcome to my parlor. No doubt you are wondering about what has brought you here."

"I am always at your disposal Princess, to be used as you need me."

"True. Now, rise my child, and come see the map."

"Map?"

Indeed, when Reivana walked up to the table – a table that was unusually tall, forcing the Re-Class to stand on her toes as ordinarily the surface came up to her shoulders – she saw a map, one that showcased the Atlantic from shore to shore, with the general and vague borders of the various Abyssal Princesses, Demons and warlords highlighted.

"Look at it child," the Princess said, gesturing to the utter border gore splattered across the map like spilled noodles, "such a disorganized mess. Thousands of realms, each under the command of small minded, short-sighted petty warlords and princesses. If they had merely marshalled their resources and their forces wisely, they could have sent the surface dwellers and their shipgirls back to the land, never to tread water ever again. Instead, they simply waste those same assets in futile, uncoordinated attacks. Or avenge meaningless grievances in wars against other warlords, or scheming and plotting the rest control from their betters in Byzantine games. And now, the game has changed against us irrevocably."

"Princess? How so?"

From a pocket that her scant outfit could not possibly possess, the Princess produced a waterlogged, but still readable, newspaper. On the front page was large picture showcasing the Port Darwin, Northern Ocean, and a Supply Depot Princess shaking hands with a group of humans in official attire. The title proclaiming a peace treaty in the Pacific was superfluous.

"Weeks ago, three of the most important figures in the Pacific made a pact with the surface dwellers. In exchange for a non-aggression pact, they shall share intelligence and military assets. My peers no doubt call it treason, or weakness. I merely call it an acknowledgement of what I have long come to suspect: The Abyss has lost Reivana. It is simply a matter of cleaning up the clutter. The Age of Warlords has ended my child. It is time to reunify and solidify. And to make peace."

Reivana looked at her sovereign with shock, turning to the map, the newsprint, and the princess in turn as she tried to take it all in.

"But, how? If all the other lead Abyssals are too interested in bloodlust and grudges, how can we do that?"

And that, the Princess smiled a warm smile, placing her hands on the Re-class' shoulders.

"Reivana, my child, you have surely noticed what we have been doing in the decade and change since I gave up the Azores, no?"

"Well of course. We have gathered resources, built infastructre, and we have been expanding the fleet non-stop, all while taking great pains to avoid all unnecessary combat. I think the latest count was over nine-hundred destroyers, six-hundred submarines of various classes, two-hundred cruisers or light and heavy variants, and scores of battleships, carriers and mobile anchorages. Enough to retake the Home Lands."

"Indeed. Indeed, it is a force that could retake the Azores, and might hold them against the surface dwellers… For a time. Or…?"

"Or? Princess?"

Ancient Atlantic Gateway Princess' smile took on a more sinister nature as she walked to the far side of the table before leaning down on it. Her bust coming to rest on the surface.

"Or, maybe… Just maybe… With such a force we could do something more… Ambitious."

Reivana thought on that some as the princess gestured to the map with a motion of her arm. And it all clicked.

"You… You intend to conquer the Atlantic!"

"Indeed! I do!" The Princess declared, her smile turning most cheerful, "I realize that I have framed our loss of the Azores as a grave loss, but it was actually a strategic retreat. Those islands were hardly worth my destruction, and I could never field the forces needed to hold them with the resources at hand even if it were otherwise. Still, the claim of ownership, and its relinquishment, will prove to be a fair bargaining chip when it comes time to negotiate boarders. Which is where you come in Reivana. You must go to the humans, and forge friendly relations with them."

"M-me, Princess?"

"Yeah!" Stab interjected, "Seriously, her?!"

The Princess blinked at the tail that just spoke, genuine surprise on her features. She opened her mouth to speak once, then twice, then shook her head and continued as if Stab didn't speak at all.

"Of course you, Reivana. I could conquer the entirety of the Abyss, but it would mean nothing if I could not secure pacts with the surface dwellers and their shipgirls. It would mean that I would be the last one to fall. It would have been better to have never bothered the enterprise at all if that were the case. But I cannot simply go to them by myself. Not right away. Even if I were not needed down here to guide the coming war, my appearance would likely make things worse. I need an envoy, to test out the diplomatic waters, argue my case to their leaders, make things ready."

"Uh, you want Reivana to be your diplomat?" Stab balked, "She hasn't even had a boyfriend for more than a week!"

Reivana sputtered at that.

"S-Stab! I told you, he was to clingy, and unwilling to respect boundries!"

"'He was a naval mine, what did you think would happen?"

"It was an experiment into Male-Female Relationships, I needed a control!"

"A NAVAL MINE REIVANA! WITH TENTACLES!"

Further banter was cut off when the Princess coughed.

"We all have our… Tastes, Reivana. Just…. Just try to be… Discrete. At any rate. You have the greatest interest in the surface dwellers of my Elites, seeing them as intellectual equals. Furthermore, you are enthusiastic and endearing, and hardly a threatening presence. You'll be perfect."

The princess gestured for the Re-Class to approach, then began to point at the map.

"Today is the 19th of August. I want you to dedicate as much of your time to studying the humans of the land they call Great Britain, this island here. I want you to be ready to depart on New Year's Day, and thus make contact on or about January the 19th. After that I fear you will be on your own. Save for a Letter of Introduction and a Declaration of Intent meant for the eyes of their Queen that I will give you before you leave. Are there any questions?"

Still blushing from what her tail disclosed to the Princess, Reivana gave the question some thought before asking.

"How am I to study the surface Dwellers princess? All I know is what I have gleaned from wreckage and sunken cargo I've salvaged. That's not much to work off of."

"Then rejoice child. I grant you the authority to do what you have always longed to do, but could not out of concern for revealing our location, in the name of your mission."

Reivana's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets, her mouth dropped open in a gasp as she began to salivate.

"You.. You mean I-! You can't mean-!"

"Yes Reivana. You may tap the international communications cable."

"YEESSSS!!! YesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesYEEESSS!!!! OH! Oh thank you! Thank you Princess! You are a goddesss! Thank you! Thank you!"

Atlantic Gateway Princess smiled in smug satesfaction as she lifted her foot so that Reivana could better kiss it. While it was okay to be the Princess. It was good to be the Queen.

But to be the Empress would be the Best. And by this time next year, she would be well on her way to that goal, should all go well.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Harry blinked for a moment and then blinked again as he looked down the hall. "Wait... it's not there, Professor?"

With her lips pressed in a thin line, McGonagall shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Mister Potter. Whatever that book may have been it seems to have disappeared... You did drop it around there, did you not, Mister Longbottom?"

A frown on his face, Neville nodded in complete confusion. "I... I did, professor. Someone, I think that Ginny was the one, bumped into me and I dropped it. But with the stink and stuff, we sort of ran out"

Sighing softly, McGonagall shook her head and stared back down the hallway in deep thought. "I see." After several seconds of silence, she finally shook her head. "Did Miss Weasley have it on her?"

More then a little confused, Harry and Neville shared a look while Myrtle floated nearby. "Ginny?" When McGonagall nodded, Neville shook his head. "No, she didn't have it on her. We found her down past the corner there."

Just frowning a bit more, Professor McGonagall walked down and looked down said corridor. But there was nothing there and it seemed impossible for anything to be hidden. Grimacing, the Professor softly hissed. "It seems then that we may have a problem with said book. May I ask why you took a chance to write in it, Mister Potter?"

Blinking, Harry considered the question for several moments before his own lips turned down. "I... don't know, Professor. As soon as the idea came up to write in it, I felt drawn to do that..."

However, that was when Myrtle spoke up. "I was the one who gave him the idea, Professor. After all, the charm for ink to be held in the book unless written in was taught when I was alive here. Professor Corkum taught all us girls it, so I thought it was okay."

On McGonagall's face there was a look of fond remembrance. "Ah, Annalise Corkum. She was a wonderful teacher here..." Shaking it off, she hummed in thought before waving her wand around Harry. After several moments, she nodded. "Well, I cannot say that there is anything wrong with you from it. With everything going on though, I suspect that someone wanted the book to be found and placed a compulsion to cause someone to write in it for the rest to happen."

Eyebrows raising, Harry stared at her. "Why though?"

Scoffing, McGonagall shook her head. "Is it not obvious, Mister Potter? The last time the Chamber was open, Hagrid was blamed. Now it is open again and if that book makes the rounds then he may be blamed again though he has absolutely nothing to do with it. Poor man..." With some more thought, she grimaced. "I shall have to inform Professor Dumbledore when he returns from his trip in two weeks."

It took a few seconds, but Harry blinked at that. "Wait, two weeks? So the day after Valentine's?"

Very slowly, McGonagall nodded. "Aye, the day after. Professor Dumbledore there's some issues in the ICW right now and he is also trying to... secure some mandrake root to unpetrify those students already hit. Hopefully, they will be cured by April at least." She then shook her head and fixed Harry with a look. "You are sure though that it was Thomas Riddle that the book belonged to?" At his nod, McGonagall sighed and shook her head. "I remember that boy from the time that I was a wee student here."

Head tilted to the side, Harry frowned some. "Myrtle told me some about him, Professor. She said that he was cold and distant as well as... Well, he played games with some of the female students."

That got him a snort from McGonagall. "That would be putting it mildly, Mister Potter. Thomas was... quite cold. Almost calculating one might say, a true Slytherin. Silver tongued might be another way of putting it." Becoming thoughtful, McGonagall seemed to stare at a nearby suit if armor. "I will admit, he had a way with words, he did. Not just with the students, but also with the teachers as well. Slughorn was quite taken with the boy after all... Though he dropped off the face of the Earth in the 1950s after Albus denied him a job of being the DADA teacher."

Frowning, Harry looked up at her. "What about him going after Hagrid? Do Prefects normally get to go into other Houses."

Scoffing, McGonagall shook her head. "I would think not. But then, Thomas had a certain disregard for the rules as it were. In his Sixth year he acted like he was already Head Boy, which he became the next year. Such as going into the other Houses as he pleased." Her expression becoming severe, McGonagall let out a sigh. "And the teachers allowed him at the time. It did not help matters that he was given an award for a 'Special Service to the School' by Headmaster Dippet for solving the issue of the Chamber."

All Harry did was nod as he slid another piece of the puzzle into place and soon they left.

Night continued on as the hours ticked by one by one. Until, finally, the horizon lightened and the morning came. Not long after the dawn, a frazzled Ginny came running down the hallway before stopping at one of the windowsills in the hallway she had fled down the night before. Looking first one way, and then the other, she brought out her wand and tapped the middle stone once, then the stone to the left it of thrice, and then the stone to the right of the first twice. With a soft groan, the middle stone slid out revealing a cavity the size of a small cupboard. And inside...

Lay Tom Riddle's diary.

With a look around, Ginny swallowed and looked down. For several moments she seemed to fight with herself before reaching in and grabbing it. Hurridly stuffing it into her bookbag, she pushed the stone back into place. That done, she quickly left the hallway before anyone stumbled onto her.
_______________________________________________________________

Horror... had come to Hogwarts.

Far worse then any monster laying in a secret chamber. Worse even then a dark lord on a rampage. No one was left unaffected by it. No one.

In fact, some of the staff were victims of the horror. They tried, valiently, to stand against the darkness that encroached in the school. But in the end... it was all for nought. One could claim that they had been warned. And they had been in a sense. But none could have foreseen the horror that arrived.

Valentine's Day...

With singing dwarves dressed as Cupid.

"Harry, stop. Just stop narrating this like it was some sort of massacre."

Blinking, Harry turned and frowned at Hermione before waving in front of them. "You mean to tell me that this isn't? I mean, look at it."

Eyebrow raising, Hermione turned to regard what was going on and held back a sigh. She also held back the sudden urge to pinch her nose as well. Mainly because in front of her she had students rushing back and forth trying to avoid said dwarves. Hermione was not sure who, but when she found out she would kill them, but someone had charmed the wings on the dwarves to enable them to fly. "It's still not a massacre, Harry."

Arms crossed, Harry snorted and shook his head. "Says you."

Once more holding back a sigh, and the sudden need to slap her friend upside the head, Hermione let out a breath. "Yes, says me. Also, if anyone is to get killed it would be you."

Head tilted to the side, Harry smiled slightly in amusement. "Oh? Do tell?"

In reply, Hermione turned and gave him a look. "Harry, everyone knows that you are the ones behind the Valentines filled with puns. It's got you written all over it."

Wagging a finger at her, Harry snickered some. "How do you know that? It could be anyone really."

All the bushy haired girl did though was give him a look. "One, they've been giving singing puns in the form of Valentine's day. Somehow that is actually worse then the usual. Secondly, you keep grinning every time you hear one. Thirdly... Myrtle got several."

Brightly smiling, Harry placed his hands behind his head. "She really seemed to enjoy them." He then pointed down the hall to where Myrtle was grinning as she got another. "See? Look at her face. If only one could find out who the mysterious person sending them is."

Hermione just gave him a look while she tried to ignore how the ghost in question was now on her back laughing. "Seriously, Harry. I mean, seriously."

With his hands in his pocket, Ron nodded some. "Yeah, Mate. Everyone knows that you're behind it." He then frowned. "Even the ones to McGonagall."

Nodding as they walked, Neville grimaced. "She was giving you a look as if she was unable to be sure to be embarrassed, or to kill you right there."

Tone extremely dry, Hermione shook her head. "Now Snape, I am pretty sure wants to kill you."

Simply humming, Harry tilted his head to the side with a small smile. "Actually, I think he rather enjoyed it. He had a look on his face as if remembering something."

After a moment, all three stopped to wait near the staircase as they spotted Golden Hind swing by on a rope chased by three flying dwarves. Nearby cursing told them where Queen Anne's Revenge was, as well as off key singing revealing she had gotten cornered by dwarves herself.

It went without saying that some of her cursing was directed at Golden Hind for abandoning her to her fate.

Just shrugging as they continued on, Harry smiled a bit. "I got to admit though, I enjoyed the chocolates that everyone back home sent to me. They were really good..."

Having seen the odd expression on Harry's face, Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong, Harry? You seem deep in thought."

There was a frown on Harry's face as he shrugged. "I've been thinking about the chocolates they sent me. Maybe I'm being a bit silly about it, but I swear that they might be Honmei choco for some of them."

Only raising an eyebrow, Hermione shook her head and snorted a bit. "Who knows?"

It was then that they all stoped as Fred and George ran past, the two of them throwing prank items at a group of determined dwarves who were singing. Leaning forward, Ron frowned a bit. "Wait... how the bloody Hell did Revina not only find out about this, but manage to send them the valentine?"

With a blink, Harry turned and gave him a deadpan look. "Uh, Ron? It's Revina."

Bemused at how Harry's tone carried the idea that was all the answer needed, Ron opened his mouth. Then, after a few moments, he closed it with a frown. "Huh... You got a point."

Harry was partway through a shrug when a shout caused him to turn. "OY! YOU! 'ARRY POTTER!" Turning, the four could only watch as a dwarf rushed over to them. It made it's way through the crowd of students, which included a tired looking Ginny Weasley, by the expediant method of kicking shins. Once it reached him though, the dwarf frowned. "I got a musical message for you..."

For a moment, Harry hummed before shrugging. "Go ahead."

Partway through a speech about him not running, while twanging his harp threateningly, the dwarf stopped and blinked. "Wait... Yeh not going ta run away? Yeh are just going to stand there and let me do it?"

Voice coming out in a drawl, Harry smirked a bit. "Well, that depends on what you mean by 'Do it' as I hope you mean give a valentine. And not the other way of doing it."

It took a moment, but Hermione gave him a look. "Lewd."

Flushing as he realized what the boy meant, the dwarf growled a bit before clearing his throat and strumming his harp. "Last chance to run, boy. I'm about to start."

In reply, Harry only shrugged. "Go ahead then. Besides, if I run, I'll only get it tired."

The dwarf stared at him before sighing. "Yeh are taking all the fun out of this, I'll have yeh know."

Becoming thoughtful, Harry hummed before nodding. "Tell you what... I got friends in Japan and America. Would it make it up to you to be able to give them some singing valentines?"

Not paying attention as Hermione hissed Harry's name, the dwarf stroked his beard. "Depends on how amused we'd be doing it. And if we'd be in the same costumes or not."

Slowly grinning, Harry chuckled. "I would prefer that you keep the costumes. And in regards to who... they're shipgirls I know. On a military base."

In the dwarf's eye, there was a twinke. "Aye, that would about make it up I think. Yeh get us the valentines and we be getting them to those involved."

Rubbing his hands together, Harry cackled a bit. "I would pay for you to take pictures of their faces too. Especially Jersey's and Miss Gale's."

Crookedly grinning, the dwarf spat in his hand and held it out. "We can be doing that if yeh want. Might cost a bit, but not much. Actually, considering who yeh be wantin' to have valentines for, we can give yeh a deal. This is rather fun."

While Hermione facepalmed and groaned, Harry nodded before spitting in his hand and shaking the dwarf's hand. "It's an accord."

Extremely bemused, Ron only shook his head and chuckled while Neville snorted. "Mate? You know the type of reactions that you'll be getting."

All Harry did was grin at him. "Yes, and?" Turning back to the dwarf, he quickly wiped his hand before nodding. "Okay, hit me."

Lips twitching, the dwarf cleared his throat and then began to play, rather out of tune, some notes on his harp.

"His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled frog.
His hair is as dark as a blackboard.
I wish he was mine, he's really quite divine.
The Hero who conquered the Dark Lord."
Utter silence enveloped the hallway as people just stared at him. Several seconds passed before Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out a notebook and a pen. Clicking it ready, Harry cleared his throat. "Mind running that past me again? Just so that I get it all, mind you."

Ignoring the groans and such, the dwarf raised an eyebrow in amusement at the wizard in front of him. While somewhat embarrassing to them all, it more then made up for things with the sheer hilarity of various people running away from them as well as the embarrassment on all sides. So someone who was taking it in humor was even more hilarious to the dwarf if only for how people reacted to it. "Yeh are rather strange, even for a wizard."

Harry simply shrugged before saying his next words as if they were all the answer needed. "I'm a military brat."

Oddly, more then one person considered that all the answer that was needed after all.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

Harry is a quick thinker, turning this to his advantage. And now, speaking of lovebirds...
Mountaintop

-----

The sky is turning pink as Nemo arrives on the beach, the dimming light dying her pale skin and hair a light shade of grey. She feels triumph and anticipation welling up inside her, triumph because she has once again evaded the Shipgirls who patrol the border of Japan, and anticipation for the reason she chooses to do it at least once a week. She can already see him, seated at the edge of the waves, waving to her. She speeds up reflexively, barely even realizing that she's pulling up power that she hadn't realized she had left over.

Nemo hits the shallows as Takumi rises to his feet and she banishes the long boots that are her rigging, feet sinking down to her knees. She splashes towards him and stops literally toe to toe with him. Before she can let herself go limp and lean into his embrace, Takumi reaches up and rests his hands on her sides. When Nemo looks up, he leans down and rests his forehead against hers. Nemo nearly giggles, but that would ruin the moment. Instead, she raises her own hands to rest against his shoulders and lets the mood take her. As it stands, she pouts a little when he pulls away and lowers himself to the ground. She sits down directly beside him as always and he smiles.

"So today," Takumi says, picking up the black box, all grills and buttons—wait, had that been sitting by his feet the entire time? Why hadn't she noticed it? Was she really so consumed in his presence—

"Hey," Takumi said, lightly tapping Nemo's temple, "You still with me?" She stuck out her tongue at him and he laughed. "Anyways, I figured I'd shake things up a little and bring you some music for a change."

"Music?" she asks, surprised. She's heard music before—or Shipgirls singing during a fight when their blood is roused and the fighting is heavy. She's neither had time nor reason to appreciate it—whenever the singing isn't a discordant cacophony that would make a drunken dolphin proud, she's dodging for her life. "So, this is what you like to listen to?" He laughs and puzzled though she is, she can't help but bask in the joyful sound.

"No, no," he admits, catching his breath, "this isn't my usual thing at all. I thought about giving you some of my music, but I figured that it wouldn't stand up to your tastes. That's why I brought this—" he presses a button on the black box, "instead."

For a moment, there is silence, and then.

The music that Takumi has brought her doesn't have words. It doesn't need words. It picks Nemo up, carries her through the air, pours over her like a cool shower. She only knows of mountains by Takumi's books and stories, but she feels like she is dancing on one.

She looks over at Takumi and he gives her a crooked half-smile. She reaches to him and wraps her arms around his chest, holding him close.

"Thank you," she says, "it's beautiful."

They sit on the beach a while longer, side by side as the music carries their hearts through clouds and meadows and storms, dangerous one moment and wondrous the next. Just like always, Nemo wishes that she could sit there next to Takumi forever.

"Hey," she says suddenly, as a thought escapes through the music to reach her mouth, "I didn't ask how your day went." He shrugs.

"What's to tell?" he asks. "It's the same grind as ever. Classes, books, homework, this stuff will mean something to you someday, so on and so on. Not really my days."

"What do you think days are?" she asks, a bit ironically. It's a part of Takumi that she always found silly, the way that he leaves his life in his world behind whenever they're together—and yet, it's a bit sad. However much she wishes it, she can't be part of his life in full, the way that she imagines the humans that love each other are.

Takumi looks over at her with an affectionately incredulous face. "These," he replies matter-of-factly. "When you're here." Nemo feels her ears go hot. She feels Takumi's hand on her scalp, running lightly over her hair and mussing it up.

"You're such a romantic," she says, trying to keep her voice from cracking, her tone dry.

"What's wrong with that?" he asks. She doesn't answer, because he's right.

And they sit until the music ends. And then they sit longer, until the stars are out and it's time for Takumi to be leaving. Nemo feels his eyes on her as she speeds out over blue water and her heart feels heavy, like gravity itself is trying to pull her back to him. But she'll see him again on Friday, the day that he asked her to come back, and that knowledge will have to do for now. As it is, she calms her heart by basking in the memory of the music that Takumi brought her. Classical music, he called it, and she agrees. There's something timeless to it, in a way that is absent from the Shipgirl-Shooting-At-You songs that she's heard before.

All things considered, she nearly misses the two pings that come in on her radar. When they come closer, she begins to worry—they're Abyssals, but her faction's territory is a little ways out from the Japanese coast, which could have any number of unfortunate meanings.

Soon enough, she sees them skimming towards her, a pair of Ho-classes. Completely unfamiliar. Which means that either she's dead, or they're not going to care—as long as she doesn't reveal what's going on.

She relaxes her body, waits until they've pulled alongside her, and says "Hey there" with all the nonchalance she can muster.

"Hey yourself," one of them replies. It's a bit harder to tell with light cruisers, always half-hidden in their shell-like rigging and faces hidden behind bony masks—if they are masks. It's not something anyone ever asks or answers, which means that Nemo has always felt vaguely unsettled around her compatriots. "Never seen you before,"

"Just taking a quick jaunt," Nemo replies, playing it off as best she can without any material to work from. "I like to catch a breeze, look at the humans' lights when they come on, you know."

"Sounds relaxing," the first one agrees, but the second grasps her companion by the shoulder to silence her.

"Wait a second," she says, and Nemo curses herself for letting so much slip through, "watch the lights? As in, get close enough to see the lights from the cities?" Nemo lets herself go rigid, then lowers her center of gravity and spreads her arms slightly. To anyone else, it looks like she's ready to start firing in the blink of an eye. Inwardly, she hopes they buy it.

"Who's asking?" she demands coldly, putting ice into her voice as much as she dares. They aren't far from her Princess's territory. A little farther, and she's safe.

Well, for a given value of safe, but it's better than nothing.

"Our Princesses are talking," the second says. It's the same measured calm as Nemo, the kind that is careful not to let anything slip through. "It's probably gonna fall through, but they're talking about a joint raid on the coast."

"I see," Nemo says—and she does, the careful memorization of patterns that she uses to evade patrols could be used to get to the shoreline before being noticed—maybe. There's more in a raid group than just one heavy cruiser. But she's heard of Abyssal's running solo getting shaken down for information regardless of whether it's useful or not. A joint raid… impassively, she prays that the light cruiser's prediction proves prophetic. "Sorry, but my knowledge is mine." She's almost upon her border, where any attacks would be too risky for them to attempt. She feels her engineers running around, stocking boilers and tuning engines for the final burst she's praying it doesn't come to.

"Sure it is," the first girl says, dropping behind her. She should have gotten in front of her—Nemo drops low, and guns her engines. Water sprays in her wake as she breaks forward, crossing the border and getting as far in as she can. The radar shows the light cruisers slowing to a stop, looking after her as she jets away.

That had been a close call. She's had similar encounters ever since she'd started seeing Takumi, but usually they had been familiar to her. A pair of strange light cruisers, who she had a feeling could have overpowered her together if need be? They had been the most frightening encounter yet.

She'll have to watch her back a little better when she went to see him on Friday. Because between staying safe and being with Takumi, she'd rather be with Takumi.

-----

"We gonna call that in?" the first Ho-class asks her sister. She shakes her head thoughtfully.

"No," she replies decisively. "Not enough information. If we call this in to Yokosuka, I'd like to have a little more than 'I like to see the pretty lights.' If it's Mother you're worried about, I'll talk to her later. For now, let's just put this one on the back burner."

"It'd be kinda silly if she signed a fancy piece of paper and didn't do anything for it," her sister says. "And she knows how to dodge the patrols." It's a point she acknowledges, and yet…

"She was also running scared the entire way," she says. "And that border she just crossed? She's with the Twin Princesses—not very interested in going out and attacking actively. Either she's doing this on her own, or it's a sign of something bigger and more dangerous. Remember that scare about the carrier who was just running off to go dumpster diving?"

"Is that what it was?" her sister muses. "I swear that never made sense to me."

"Exactly. Big scare over something stupid. I'll do another run or two between here and the coast in the next few days, and if somethings crazy? Then we call it in. But not before we know it's worth it."

"I feel like this isn't our decision to make."

"You feel that way about everything."
-----


Takumi's Present

-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

Chose the Twin Abyssal Princesses because as far as I could find, they hadn't been used yet. That okay, or do I want to switch them out?

 

[darthcourt10]

smthng

The ad-hoc force already contained 25 ship girls. Still, compared to the around hundred Abyssals they had sighted, it was a pitifully small group. Their number was less than that of the humanoid Abyssals in the group they had sighted.

Thirty humanoid Abyssals who seemed to be busy with what looked like an extended party.

The alert had come yesterday - a group of panicked civilians had reported Abyssal landing force on one of the numerous small islets off Bintan Island. Of course, Bintan being near the Straits of Malacca that had raised enough concern to merit an investigation. When a recon flight by USS Cowpens had reported the biggest concentration of Abyssal forces seen in ages, concern had immediately turned into full-blown panic, and all forces within a few days travel had been alerted.

Further aerial recon had established the Abyssals all were on and around a small islet, apparently pretty much unconcerned with things like preventing enemy reconnaissance. There were Abyssal aircraft constantly circling the island, but none of the ship girl recon planes had been engaged. The Abyssals hadn't even reacted when a perhaps too-brave pilot fairy from Ryujou had flown their Saiun straight over the gathering. At low speed, and in less then two hundred meters off the ground. A flight of Abyssal cat fighters had shadowed the Saiun, clearly in a position to shoot it down at a moment's notice. But none had opened fire.

The pictures that particularly daring scouting mission had revealed had been more than baffling: the Abyssals had built a few large bonfires on the beach they were occupying, and seemed to be mostly engaging in consuming copious amounts of resources. And sunbathing. And serving the apparently three - THREE - Princess-class Abyssals in attendance.

"What are they doing?" Cowpens wondered, as she again leafed through the pictures.

Ashigara grimaced at the American carrier. "They're consuming theirs stores. Clearly they're preparing for a final confrontation."

The battleship Bismarck nodded. "Indeed. That looks like the last party they have before a battle they do not believe they can win."

The American carrier made a face and waved the photos in her hand. "Then why do they don't even try to prevent us from ANYTHING? They have CAP, but it doesn't engage our recon planes. There are destroyers clearly acting as sentries, but those aren't doing much! They didn't even try to challenge our scouts! If they're just having one last party, why are they so completely passive!?"

"Saving their strength, maybe?" Ryujo wondered.

Ashigara shook her head. "That would only make sense if they were about to settle down for a siege. And they clearly aren't preparing for that!"

For a few moments the assembled girls were quiet. Then a small voice spoke up. "Um, maybe they aren't there to fight?" Sagiri hesitantly suggested.

Every head in the task force turned to look at the destroyer, who quickly hunched down before the combined stares.

"Why makes you think so, Sagiri-chan?" Ashigara asked.

"Um, well," the destroyer hesitated. "They clearly haven't been trying to seek battle. Like Cowpens-san said, they have not shot down our recon planes, and haven't reacted to our probes. It's like, um, they don't want to fight at all." As the rest of the ship girls continued to stare incredulously at the destroyer, she hunkered down more. "It was just a suggestion. Sorry."

"I don't know, Sagiri-chan," Ashigara said in a thoughtful voice. "You're right that they've been acting unlike any Abyssal we've come across."

"'cept Hoppo, Wanko and the others," Ryujo piped up.

"Yeah..." Ashigara replied in a distracted voice. "Except Wanko and the others."

* * *

Half an hour later Ashigara slowly steamed towards the occupied island, nervously using her thumb to finger her wedding band. She really, really, really hoped this stupid idea wouldn't turn Sosuke into a widower.

Of course, given the hodge-podge nature of their task force, there weren't many girls there who had experience in peaceful interactions with Abyssals. Of course Ryujo, being a carrier was much more valuable than Ashigara, especially if a fight started. Of course they couldn't send just a destroyer there. Of course she was friends with a Abyssal princess, so of course she had experience.

Yeah, like any other Abyssal princess anywhere would be like Supprin. And besides, it wasn't like she was that close to the monster-woman - not like Ooyodo.

Still, if there was a possibility that this whole utterly ridiculous situation could be solved without a confrontation...

As one of her lookouts announced that spotting an Abyssal I-class destroyer, Ashigara shook her head and gathered her thoughts. Still keeping her speed slow, she made her way towards the lone Abyssal picket. Inside, her boilers were working at full power, making certain that should the situation need it she'd have full power available at a moment's notice.

And to hell should that damage her machinery! That what repair baths were for, after all!

A few minutes later, however, she drew close to the animalistic ship without an incident. For a few moments the ship girl and Abyssal stared at each other. Then Ashigara cleared her throat. "I, uh, come in peace. Um, under the flag of truce. Please take me to your leader."

Internally the heavy cruiser winced as the I-class just kept staring at her. Then the creature let out an almost canine yip, and turned towards the small islet. After a few seconds of hesitation, Ashigara ordered her helmsfairy to follow the creature.

It did not take long for Ashigara's to start pinging additional Abyssals approaching her and her odd escort. When Ashigara's lookout reported a Princess-class heavy cruiser escorted by a Chi-class, and some destroyers, she had to fight down the bile that tried to make its way to her mouth.

A moment later the escorts slowed down, as the Princess continued towards her. At this distance it was easy for Ashigara to recognize the Princess; it was the heavy cruiser princess that had made its home on one of the many islands in the South China Sea. The Abyssal was quite far from her home, as she typically operated closer to Philippines than Singapore.

Apparently the Princess had also decided to dress for the occasion, as she was wearing a bikini top and short pants, instead of the hoody and single tight-high more closely associated with her. She was also holding a glass of what appeared to be crude in her hand, and using a straw to suck out the oil.

The I-class let out another yip, before steering towards port, leaving Ashigara alone as the Princess pulled towards her. Then her lookout fairy reported the Princess sending pulling up a flag message asking Ashigara to turn starboard and match speed, and she no longer had the capacity to think about the destroyer.

"Yo."

Well, that was terse way to start a conversation, if any. "Hello. I am Ashigara of the Allied ship girl fleet. I come here under the flag of truce."

The Princess nodded. "I'm Heavy Cruiser Princess. We will honor the truce."

Ashigara nodded back. "Ah, good. Very good. Umm..." Ashigara winced as all the speeches she tried to rehearse while sailing towards the Abyssals somehow slip her mind.

Damn it, girl, say something!

"Ah, on behalf of the Allied fleet I've come here to ask why you're here."

"To attract attention. Mission accomplished."

Ashigara blinked. "You're trying to draw us here?" The Princess immediately nodded, and Ashigara immediately put everything to full alert. As the few fairies that had still been on stand-by ran towards their combat positions, she drew a deep, calming breath.

"Why?"

"We want out," the Heavy Cruiser Princess answered.

"Out?"

The Princess nodded in reply.

"Out of what?" Ashigara blurted.

"Out of war. To make peace. Like with Seaport Princess. And Supply Depot Princess. And Northern Princess. And Air Defense Princess. And others."

The list of Abyssals allied to the human cause made Ashigara lick her lips. "You're well-informed."

The Abyssal Princess shrugged. "They're on TV. Not hard to find."

Ashigara blinked again. The whole conversation bordered on the absurd. She was apparently talking peace with an Abyssal princess. Who watched TV.

Well, Wanko had originally heard of Hoppo's survival from dumpster diving newspapers, and Supprin was well-known for spending time in social media these days, so perhaps it wasn't that far-fetched.

"So you want to make peace?" Ashigara asked, causing the Princess to nod. "May I ask why?"

For a while the pair cruised slowly forward in peace, while Heavy Cruiser Princess stared at Ashigara. Then the Abyssal shrugged. "All the aggressive Princesses are gone, sunk by you ship girls. Wanderers have hard time with you now, too. Soon only us fortifiers left."

The Princess took a long slurp from her oil, noisily drawing the last drops from her empty cup. "You're Japanese. You know that you cannot win a war by defending. Initiative is on the attacker."

Carelessly, the Abyssal threw the cup to the side. "We cannot win the war by attacking. Not anymore. We are disorganized, you are united. We are weak, you are strong. So we want to make peace. You do not attack us, and we open the doors to our fortresses. You can focus on Abyssals who still want to fight. I get more TV. Seaport gets to search for hunks. Battleship gets to laze in the sun. Humans have more safe sea to sail. Everyone wins."

It took Ashigara a few moments to process the Princess' speech. Eventually one thing bothered her just too much. "Hunks?"

The Princess answered in the same distorted voice she had used so far. "Muscular human males, wearing only swimming trunks. Are supposed to populate beaches, and attracted to parties. That is why Seaport wanted to come the beach and have bonfires and food. Was disappointed when none came. Did we do something wrong?"

The last part was asked with what appeared to be genuine curiosity. "Well, the island is uninhabited for one," Ashigara eventually managed to reply.

A/N: Stupid idea is stupid, and I again cannot help to end a snippet in a stupid joke. Though I guess that at some point the smarter and less aggressive Abyssals would start to try to switch sides, as it becomes clear that the tide of war is turning against them. After all, the first ones to jump aboard are most likely to be the ones to get good deals!

Inspired by summer Abyssals, but especially this picture:

Though only Seaport Summer Hime turned out to be man-hungry in the text.

(I also thought about making a snippet with Kongo and Isolated Island Hime coming back from the parallel Caribbean, but that was just too silly to consider...)

 

[darthcourt10]

JayJayForce

Lurker for over a year now, avid reader, but new to this whole writing thing. Was content with such, but then the vile and dastardly Leferts infected me with the writing bug and resulted in this. Any advice or constructive criticism would be appreciated.

So hope you enjoy

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Escape

RUN SISTER RUN!

Those words would forever haunt her. The last orders of her Princess, no, her sister.

For years their fleet had silently roamed the seas off the Gulf of Mexico and the southern coast of America. Preying on isolated fisherman and the occasional cargo ship, slowly trying to build up their strength. Hiding out on the islands and hidden places of the world, dreaming of the day they could finally strike out and exact revenge on the land dwellers.

Or at least that was the original plan. Over time, as they pirated the waters, it had become apparent that the world had passed them by. Their feud was an old one, their war long since relegated to history by the rest of the world. Instead, they learnt to relish their new lives together, marvelling at the strange wonders of this new time and enjoying the lives that were stolen from them so long ago.

It was not meant to last.

She knew they were weak. Outdated. She knew too that the other abyssals would not hesitate to crush them without mercy, for such was their nature. Or that the humans, in their desperation for survival from the onslaught that had occurred would not hesitate to strike back at the smallest sign of weakness.

These new 'shipgirls' were an unforeseen development, but in the end, it mattered little. For it was another abyssal princess, she knows not who, that took it all away.

The attack had been sudden. Torpedoes slicing through the water as planes flew overhead. Weapons of war they were never meant to face. The pain and terror on the faces of those struck, the rage welling up in her at their deaths. She wished to fight, to die with her sisters, but her princess had commanded her to run, in the hope that one of them would live on.

She had pushed her boilers to their maximum, her imps fuelling them with as much coal as they could in a desperate attempt to gain the speed needed. The ferocity with which her princess fought the Ri and Nu class to give her the opportunity to escape. Her guns striking down a pair of destroyers even as their own guns tore into her armour. Ducking into cover among the islands, using well learnt routes to avoid detection. The sudden surge of power that flowed into her after her escape. Her boilers feeling as if ice water from the furthest reaches of the North flooded them as she realised it was the final gift of her elder sister.

She needed to flee, to somewhere that she could never be found. Where she could live on and keep the memory of her family alive.

To the South lay a vast conglomeration of abyssal fiefdoms, each vying for power and striking out at the vulnerable coastlines and islands. In the North Atlantic, they were being met by the shipgirls, defiantly trying to claw back some semblance of control. Futile. she may of been week, but the Abyss was not. They would all perish in the end. And so would she if she went up North. Either to their guns or her fellow abyssals when the defenders inevitably fell.

No, she could only think of one place where she could truly be safe from them, where they would never reach.

For weeks she had sailed on, first South silently skirting the Caribbean and onto South America before heading East into the harsh Atlantic. Through vicious storms threatening to capsize her. Dodging patrols of fellow abyssals or those humans brave enough, or foolish enough to wander out into the oceans. Grateful for her low and compact design making her outline difficult to discern on the horizon.

Battered, half flooded and with supplies at critical levels she made it to the coast of Africa, a journey she should by no rights of made, but it was not over yet.

She spent weeks silently stalking the coasts repairing and resupplying. She spent weeks more sailing up and down the coast, looking for weak spots in the defences. Places where no one was watching and the local abyssals did not patrol.

Finally, she had found a suitable location and made her way inland. Sailing her way up rivers and lakes where she could, but mostly trudging through forests and the outskirts of villages, many long since abandoned. Hunting or raiding isolated houses for supplies. Stealing human clothing in an attempt to fool anyone who saw her from a distance.

Eventually the land became more desolate and barren and the numbers of people she had to avoid started to drop shortly afterwards. Yet she continued onwards.

Finding an isolated river flowing down from the North she silently sailed further on. When it became too shallow and her keel scrapped the bottom she proceeded to trudge through it. And finally as it and the surrounding vegetation dried up, she kept on marching.

Eventually she made it to an isolated mountain in the wastes. Like an island in the desert. She knew she had finally found her safe harbour. Where she would remain safe even as the world fell to the Abyss. Where she could live out her life in remembrance of her family and in defiance of those that took it away from her.

As she fell to her knees, the sands of the desert were stained dark with her tears.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

So yeah. This happened

Free cookies to the first person who can correctly guess where she was inspired from.

Just an idea I had exploring the world, especially thinking about Africa as I live there and it is often overlooked in media. (Harry, please tell me South Africa hasn't been completely overrun

) But seriously, don't know if it's been mentioned before, but would like to know a bit about the current state of Africa, South America and the Indian ocean. Can't imagine things are looking that good and it might serve to help with some other ideas I have floating around.

Don't know if or how often I may write in the future. Studying engineering and time is really tight for me at the moment, often can't even read everything I would like to.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

The usual Valentine's Day celebrations had been going on all day at Yokosuka with shipgirls and their significant others enjoying themselves. It was currently in the evening now and things had wound down a bit with some going out for dinner and the like. One such example was where Kongou was currently which was an area of the base. Strings of pink lights crisscrossed above tables where various couples were. And here and there were small fires burning to add to the ambience.

Kongou did not know how Haru, Junyou, or Ryuujou had done it, but somehow the fires despite their size filled the area with warmth.

Glancing off to the side, the Battleship smiled a bit at the sight of Ryuujou in a dress that had caused heads to turn sipping some wine as she spoke with her own date. How and when the Light Carrier had snagged a Folklorist was beyond most people. But Ryuujou looked happy as the two of them talked quietly with smiles. Shaking her head, Kongou turned back to her own date who seemed extremely amused. "Am I too boring, Kongou?"
Softly chuckling, Kongou only shook her head in amusement. "No, Goto, you're far from boring. I'm just observing some burning love is all."

With a glance at Ryuujou, the Admiral shook his head. "I have to admit, I do wonder when the two of them met. Hell, I did not know that Ryuujou even had a boyfriend and usually the grapevine would have caught on before now. And yet..."

A giggle escaped from Kongou as she smiled in a way that sometimes made Goto feel as if he was submerged in a warm, relaxing bath. "Dess. But then apparently they've been dating for two years now." Picking up her fork and knife, she began to cut into her meal. "Apparently, Ryuujou met him in the mountains some time ago. She was looking for herbs when she found him collecting some old stories. The two of them got to talking as Ryuujou knows a number of the old legends and before you know it..."

Raising his head, Goto frowned a bit as he swallowed a bite of his own meal. "Huh. Well, good for Ryuujou. She actually deserves happiness and all of it that she gets."

There was a grin on Kongou's face as she snickered. "Want to know the funniest part, Dess?" At the hum from Goto, the Battleship shook her head and leaned forward. "He didn't even know that she was a shipgirl to begin with or that she was Ryuujou."

It went without saying that Goto paused at that before his chewing became thoughtful as he looked over at the happy couple. "He didn't know who she was?" At the nod, he frowned some. "How? It's not like Ryuujou isn't recognizable..."

Only shaking her head, Kongou wagged a finger at him. "How else? Ryuujou was in a bit of a disguise at the time." Popping a piece of food into her mouth, the British born Returnee hummed in appreciation. "It must have been a surprise for him when he found out."

Snorting, Goto smirked a bit. "I can imagine so." Narrowing his eyes a bit, the Admiral gave his girlfriend a look. "Though this begs the question of how you know since no one else did."

Just smirking, Kongou's eyes sparkled in amusement like the stars above. "I'm an expert at Burning Love, Dess. I knew a while ago, but they wanted to keep it a secret and so I did so."

That only made Goto shake his head. Because that sounded so much like his girlfriend that it made perfect sense. Cutting a piece of his steak, he held it out towards Kongou. "Here, try this."

Warmth in her eyes, Kongou leaned forward and gently took the meat before chewing. Swallowing and then dabbing at her mouth, she smiled. "Lovely." Suddenly, her ahoge twisted around and pointed which made her blink. "Hmm?"

More then used to some of his girlfriend's antics, Goto raised an eyebrow. "Kongou-Chan?"

Slowly, Kongou turned and looked in the direction of Louisiana who was one of the cooks. Frowning, her eyebrows furrowed a bit even as the corners of her lips tugged upwards. "Hmm... My Love Sense is tingling. Which means that something a bit odd, though filled with love is about to happen."

About to comment, Goto's eyes caught something and he blinked at the odd sight. "Kongou? Do... do you see what I do?"

Confused, Kongou frowned as she glanced around. "I don't..." It was then that she spotted what he did and had a double take. Rubbing her eyes, she looked again and tilted her head. "Do you see what looks like a fantasy dwarf... dressed as Cupid?"

All Goto did was nod slowly and glance down at his food. "Yes..."

It was then that everyone turned to watch as the dwarf walked up to Louisiana and cleared his throat. "Yeh are Louisiana, right?"

Bemused at what was going on, the Battleship glanced around before nodding. "Oui, I am. May I ask why you are looking for me?"

Frowning, the dwarf looked down at the sheet of paper in his hands and shrugged. "Got a message for yeh from mon chéri..."

With that, he strummed his harp and began to sing even as Louisiana's eyes widened. From where they were, Kongou blinked and then smiled at the song as the American slowly turned more and more red at the song. Unable to help herself, Kongou giggled some. "Oh my..."

Meanwhile, the dwarf continued.

"...She is the loveliest Queen in the Bayou.
Who do her voodoo so well..."

On the paths of the base, Shinano was looking down at the odd little man in front of her while beside her Musashi adjusted her glasses with a frown. "Hello there."

The dwarf frowned as he looked from one to the other before huffing. "I'm looking fer a... Shinano? Is one of yeh Shinano?"

Blinking as she glanced at a bemused Yamato, Shinano nodded and pointed to herself. "Um... Do you mean me?"

A frown on his face, the dwarf shrugged. "Depends, is that yeh name, Lass? Though yeh do match the description I was given." At the looks, he shrugged. "A very tall, cute girl with glasses."

While Shinano blushed some and played with her uniform, Yamato nodded with a hum. "Then you have indeed found her. May I ask why you are looking for my Imouto?"

Looking down at the paper, the odd being nodded. "Aye. I got somethin' here fer her from her future Admiral."

Off to the side, White Plains smiled and then looked up at Shinano. "Harry sent you something for Valentine's Shinano! Isn't that great?"

More then a little flustered, Shinano bit her lip. "Kaa-San..."

Confused as to why this massive, young woman was calling this tiny girl "Mom", the dwarf shook it off and strummed his harp. Then he soon broke out into a tune that made all three Yamatos blink before he began to sing. "Space Battlefortress Shi-nan-no..."

Eyebrows raising as he continued to sing a varient of the "Space Battleship Yamato" theme, the eldest of the three sisters slowly turned to Musashi who was boggling. "Mushashi-Chan..."

Glancing at the slowly reddening Shinano, Mushashi grinned a bit. "I know, Onee-Sama... I know."

Even though part of her wanted to curl up, Shinano could not help the massive grin on her face that she was trying to hide behind her hands. It was a first after all, though Shinano still had steam wafting from her ears... And she didn't notice White Plains recording the whole thing.

As this was going on, Natsumi opened her door to a knock to find a dwarf there looking up at her. "Um, hi? Is there a reason that you're here?"

With a grunt, the dwarf gave her an odd look before nodding. "Natsumi Ono, correct?"

At her nod, he coughed and began to play. Hearing the music, Haru made her way through the house only to stop at the sight of Natsumi standing there. Said disguised kitsune had a dropped jaw and wide eyes. But it was the blush that caught Haru's attention and she had to listen in.

"No Pearl has ever been so perfect or pure of color,
That it could match the perfection of the soul of Natsumi!
A beauty to behold.
And a friendship to hold..."

Listening for a few moments, Haru smirked and began to record. 'Hehehehe, Onee-Chan will want to see this. Though I do wonder...'

To the south, at Kure, Jaw McAmis answered the door to his house and blinked at the sight of a dwarf dressed as Cupid. It said something that all the young man did was blink and raise an eyebrow. "Can I help you?"

What that something was though, who knows?

Meanwhile, the dwarf chomped on his cigar before blowing out a cloud of smoke. "Aye, Laddie. I be looking for the Duckies. Got a Valentine for them and tracked them here." For several seconds the two of them stared at each other. "Well?"

Just as Jaw was about to open his mouth, Kaylee poked her head into view and blinked. The dwarf also blinked as did Jaw as Charlotte was perched on Kaylee's head before the small arachnid waved at them. "Jaw? Who dat?"
Raising her eyebrow, Kayee gave a small nod. "I got ter ask the same thing, Jaw."

Before Jaw could say answer though, the dwarf spotted his quarry and kicked the boy in the shin which made him jump. Scrambling past, he came to a stop in front of the three Duckies and cleared his throat. "Singing Valentine from one Harry Potter to the Duckies..."

Then he took a deep breath and began to sing out loud to the three Destroyers, who soon had blushes at the song about giving them all sorts of food until they're stuffed to the brim. Meanwhile, Kaylee looked from her uncle, to the dwarf, and then to her cousin who was muttering curses under his breath. "... Did I eat something wierd again?"

Softly giggling and then holding her hand against her mouth, Houshou grinned. "It seems that Harry-Chan is up to his usual antics again..."

No one escaped, no one. Several miles offshore from Yokosuka the Submarines paused as they found themselves faced by a group of dwarves with bubbles around their head as they sang. Tenryuu did not know whether to laugh or take pity on Verniy when they showed up at their home.

Hamakaze and her sisters found a group on a speedboat and who serenaded them. Much to their bemusement.

Of course, once those girls were done, the dwarves turned onto the rest of the shipgirls and soon groans filled the air. Said groans were due to the sheer amount of puns in their Valentines though there were also laughs. For example, Naka was on a livestream when dwarves burst in and gave her one. Instead of being annoyed, Naka just laughed her ass off until she fell out of the chair. Some of that laughter was due to the puns, but the rest was due to the reactions of those on the livestream. 'Good job, Chibi! Good job!'
___________________________________________________________________

Stretching with a groan, Jersey sighed happily the morning of Valentine's Day at the shipgirl base in Washington. Most of that happiness was due to the day before having spent it with Crowning so that they could beat the crowds on this day. "Heh, I may not be one for all that sappy shit, but fuck me, he pulled out all the stops." There was a smile as she remembered the dinner the night before. A dinner that consisted mostly of pies and ended with one massive chocolate one.

Crowning really knew his Battleship girlfriend.

Of course, then the smile turned into a smirk. Mainly because of what happened after the dinner when they got back to the base. When Jersey gave her boyfriend his Valentine gift. Glancing behind her though, the American had to shake her head. Crowning was up and wide awake, though he had a smirk on his own face. 'Take that, Mushi-tits.'

When she walked into the mess hall though, she raised an eyebrow at the mutters and looks of amusement on various people's faces. Over the heads of the crowds, she could just see Gale looking down at something with bemusement written on her face and sipping her coffee. On one side of her was Washington stroking her slighly bulging belly with a look of utter confusion. Gale's other side had Kirishima who was adjusting her glasses with a look composed of equal parts of amusement and befuddlement. As if she was now quite sure what to think of something, but found it hilarious.

Needless to say, Jersey's hair tufts perked up much like the cat ears they so resembled at that. Anything that was amusing would be okay by her. Especially if it was embarrassing to someone. And judging by the look of amused suffering in Gale's face, it was sure to be so.

Making her way through the crowds, Jersey hummed to herself and considered the three there. At least part of her was wondering how the upcoming day would go between the three. While it was true that Gale and Washington were girlfriends, and some claimed that Gale was going to marry the Battleship soon since they were carrying each other's child, there was also Kirishima. And the rumors there amused Jersey to no end.
Granted, if they were true, Jersey would give the Warrant Officer a salute for managing that feat.

Also, she had at least a fifty riding on that fact, dammit!

However, once she got through the crowds though, Jersey stopped and stared. Right there, in front of her, was what looked like a dwarf out of some fantasy. Complete with the long, braided beard and everything. Except... it had what looked like a cloth diaper on, tiny and fake wings somehow stuck onto it's back, and a lyre in one hand.

Oh, and it was singing a song filled with puns that even though not directed at her made her want to groan.

Really, there was only one response for Jersey and it was the same one running through her head. "What... the... ever loving... fuck."

Crowning, having somehow got a cup of coffee simply sipped it in enjoyment. "It seems like it's a Cupid." Listening as the song ended, he hummed. "I will give points for all the puns there though."

Just turning, Jersey gave him a look. "But what the fuck."

A grunt caused her to turn and find the dwarf looking at her. "You look familiar..."

Up on one of the tables, Johnston cackled. "That's New Jersey! You were looking for her too, right!?"

The Battleship twitched and glared at the Destroyer. "You little shit, what the hell are you on about fucking now..."

It was then she heard the first stirrings of the lyre and turned to find the dwarf taking a deep breath after telling her she had a Valentine from a certain British boy. Quickly snapping her head around, she only found Crowning watching her with a twinkle in his eye. Then he raised his coffee to her in a salute right before the dwarf began to sing.

No.

Oh fucking hell no.

And so, Jersey did that oldest of military maneuvers. One that had been used throughout history by various commanders and countries. It was well known...

She turned and ran out of the room.

Unfortunately for her, she had a dwarf on a mission after her. He took off after her, singing all the way without a single pause as various people recorded it on their phones. Behind him, Johnston and the rest of the Taffies, Hoel cackling alongside her sister while Sammy had a massive grin on her face, followed. They were making sure to record every. Single. Bit. And they couldn't wait to see the reactions on Shipgirls Online to said video.

After all, they had to live up to Jersey's nickname for them: "The Little Shits."

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 1: eagle109

Randy The Black Knight said:
Jeresy knows what polite society is, we've all seen the dress.
Harry Leferts said:
Jersey: ... We do not. Mention. The. Fucking dress.
mikelima777 said:
Ah, Jersey, the pictures are on the internet. There is no escape.

Muahahaha.
Randy The Black Knight said:
Well, we don't, Iowa on the other hand, she does. I think she gave out pictures once.
Record the Recording said:
Suppressing the memory of The Dress?
Harry Leferts said:
Jersey: ... The fuck, Iowa!?
Iowa: Well, you posted those embarrassing pics that you got from my mom, dammit!​

*lightbulb moment*

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Ma! M'home!" With a heavy thump, Missouri dropped off the bags of groceries from her hold on to the kitchen table and floor before getting started on putting away the perishables. Iowa's father had given her a rather long list to purchase, as Tom had been struggling to coax one of the family cars back to life and because it was her turn to stay with them. Despite not wanting to leave her adopted parents alone in case another one of the nut job American wizards tried to pull something stupid, Missouri made sure to leave several of her Marines behind as a precaution. Half of them were last seen helping out Tom when she came back, what with crawling through the hard to reach spaces of the engine block, much to his amusement.

"Living room!" came the response.

Somehow balancing the last of the Greek yogurt on top of the oranges, the battleship walked down the hallway and blinked at the somewhat revealing blue dress that Wanda was unfolding. Sitting next to her on the sofa was a pair of gloves, a frilly black fan, a photo album, and what looked like those beauty pageant crowns.

"What the heck?" A memory jogged from her log book. "Hey, isn't that-"

A soft chuckle from the older woman, as well a distant look of a fond memory. "A little something from my more wilder days of youth - Mother wouldn't speak to me for weeks when she found out I had entered my university's pageantry contest and won. I had taken it out some time ago and was pondering what to do with it when Jersey saw and wondered if it would fit her. I was worried about it at first, what with you girls and your... difficulties in regards to measurements."

Missouri squinted, picking up the fan and unfolding it open slowly in case if it was fragile. There was also the fact that Jersey - and the rest of the Iowa-class by extension - were quite tall and had a slightly more muscular tone to their bodies. "And Jer actually wanted to wear this?"

Wanda winked, touching a finger to her lips. "For all the bluster and foul mouth that she is, and all the sea men within her-"

"Ma! Phrasing!"

"-when our warships are referred to in the female sense, and the history such as pinup girls and the promotional posters for war bonds? Come now, something would've left an impression."

An acknowledging grunt from the battleship, setting down the fan. "And somehow, you got Jer to actually fit in the dress, accessories and all. And pics. That wound up on the Internet."

There was that particular twinkle in Wanda's eye that nearly all parents had when it came to embarrassing photos and stories of their offspring, and was all the more willing to spill. "Jersey looked so wonderful in that dress! Truly, a queen of the sea, what with that shade of blue. How could I not share it with my friends and classmates online? My, that certainly made some of my old... schoolmates eat their words when they challenged about my dress's design at my last alumni gathering."

"Oy..." Jersey had been on a rampage when the pictures got out, both in the general public forums and the military ones. Several had feared that it would turn into a PR disaster, but surprisingly - or maybe not so surprisingly - it was many veterans that had spoken out in favor of the pictures and most pointed at the women who had performed for the USO, past and present. Granted, dealing with the aftermath of the rampage had been annoying, but Missouri would be lying if she said that she wasn't entertained any time a sailor, soldier, or Marine came up to Jersey with a print to ask for autographs. "So, what are you going to do with this?"

That twinkle came back. "Mmm... Donating this and the photos to the Battleship New Jersey Museum might not be such a terrible idea, don't you think?"

Steel and flesh sounded off as Missouri facepalmed. On the flip side, she made sure to have one of her fairies to contact Crowning for pics of Jersey's reactions.

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 37: S0ngD0g13

Harry Leferts said:
To the south, at Kure, Jaw McAmis answered the door to his house and blinked at the sight of a dwarf dressed as Cupid. It said something that all the young man did was blink and raise an eyebrow. "Can I help you?"

What that something was though, who knows?

Meanwhile, the dwarf chomped on his cigar before blowing out a cloud of smoke. "Aye, Laddie. I be looking for the Duckies. Got a Valentine for them and tracked them here." For several seconds the two of them stared at each other. "Well?"

Just as Jaw was about to open his mouth, Kaylee poked her head into view and blinked. The dwarf also blinked as did Jaw as Charlotte was perched on Kaylee's head before the small arachnid waved at them. "Jaw? Who dat?"
Raising her eyebrow, Kayee gave a small nod. "I got ter ask the same thing, Jaw."

Before Jaw could say answer though, the dwarf spotted his quarry and kicked the boy in the shin which made him jump. Scrambling past, he came to a stop in front of the three Duckies and cleared his throat. "Singing Valentine from one Harry Potter to the Duckies..."

Then he took a deep breath and began to sing out loud to the three Destroyers, who soon had blushes at the song about giving them all sorts of food until they're stuffed to the brim. Meanwhile, Kaylee looked from her uncle, to the dwarf, and then to her cousin who was muttering curses under his breath. "... Did I eat something wierd again?"

Softly giggling and then holding her hand against her mouth, Houshou grinned. "It seems that Harry-Chan is up to his usual antics again..."​

I admit, that's a helluva Valentine...
.............................................

Just after the dwarf had finished, James caught his attention and beckoned him over. "Yeah?" the singing dwarf asked.

"Firstly," James said, "bravo, Master Dwarf; your singing-voice is excellent. Second, though I don't have the gold to hire you, there's a half-box of Cuban cigars and a bottle of good homebrew mead for you if you help me out..." The dwarf nodded...

The dwarf changed his harp into a guitar and tuned it quickly. "Houshou?" James said as he put his Stetson on, smiling. "I've got a musical Valentine for ya, Darlin'."

Houshou smiled at James, her eyebrows lifting a bit, and then she blushed as her man's voice rang clear, the dwarf strumming the transfigured guitar.

"I never was the kind to wear my feelings on my sleeve;
But since I met you Girl there's been a world o' change in me.
I've got to say I Love You;
Hope you like the sound o' that,
Cause I can't keep it under this ol' hat.

Under this ol' hat,
Is the head you turned around,
And the heart you stole away the day we met;
Under this ol' hat's two arms that long to hold you tight,
And these boots I'd walk the soles off of
To be here by your side.
Every night,
In my prayers,
There's just one thing I ask:
That the man you love will always be
Under this ol' hat..."

After the song ended, Houshou was blushing and Kaylee was chuckling; the Duckies were nearly squee-ing from the romance, and Jaw was grinning like a loon despite his sore leg.

The Mother of Japanese Carriers had a quick word with the dwarf and four vouchers for free meals at her cafe passed from the one to the other before the guitar was strummed once more and Houshou sang...

"Well I've heard those city singers singin' bout how they can love,
Deeper than the oceans higher than the stars above;
But I come from the country and I ain't seen it all,
But I hear that ocean's salty and the stars they sometimes fall...

My love is deeper than the holler,
Stronger than the river,
Higher than the pine trees growing tall upon the hill;
My love is purer than the snowflake,
That falls in late December,
Honest as a robin on a springtime windowsill,
And longer than the song of a whippoorwill..."

Kaylee, Jaw, and the Duckies got to see James sweep Houshou into his arms and kiss her right there in front of them...

 

[darthcourt10]

Shaithan

Strays

Convoy patrol duty tended to be a rather boring affair for all involved. Unless there was signs of a submarine, in which case the nerves of everyone were taut and sometimes people snapped. It tended to be the young crewmen aboard the ships, but more than one captain had lost his nerves before.

Currently the situation was dull. Nothing indicated submarines and the outer patrol groups had given their all clear.

Tirpitz was bored. It would be several convoys until she could finally take her summer holidays and take the Vikings to the various festivals.

"Abyssal destroyer group spotted," her floatplane reported, following it up with a bearing.

Tirpitz grinned. Murphy had struck again. She relayed the position of the destroyers to the escort group to her south.

Internally she debated if she should detour to the south to help out the River-girls, when the deliberation was ended by her floatplane. Two cruisers had been spotted behind the destroyers, a light cruiser and a heavy cruiser. This did warrant her involvement. The Rivers could fend off some DDs quite well, having done so for years now, but cruisers tended to outmatch these girls.

It didn't take her long to reach the River-girls, and about the same time the destroyers entered radar range. With a frown she considered their actions. "They're not even trying to slow down," she muttered.

Then her plane reported something new. The cruisers had just opened fire. On the abyssal destroyers.

"Confirm!" Tirpitz barked out.

Her plane dutifully reported back. The cruisers were firing on the abyssal destroyers, said destroyers were making a beeline at maximum speed towards Tirpitz and the four Rivers.

"Okay, advance towards the destroyers, watch for guns or torpedo launches," she finally ordered.

The frigates fell into a square formation around her and her plane circled the destroyers.

Some minutes went by until the destroyers became visible.

At least one of them broadcasted a frantic "Not shoot!" and all seemed very intent to get behind the destroyer escorts.

"What the hell is going on here?" HMCS Beacon Hill wanted to know.

Tirpitz shrugged. "Beats me. Looks like the destroyers are running away from the cruisers. I'm going to take out the heavy cruiser, watch for the destroyers," she ordered, before swinging her rifles around.

Within seconds a firing solution was acquired. It would be a hipshot, but that was still better than no shot at all.

Her rifles boomed and eight shells flew in the general direction of the heavy cruiser and predictably they all missed by about a kilometer.

The reloading time was spent refining the firing solution. The experimental improved fire control computer, a hybrid of German and American computer technology, doing its best to give a better firing solution.

The cruisers seemed almost annoyed at the interference of the shipgirls, bringing their guns to bear on them.

"Get behind me!" Tirpitz ordered the Rivers. She could take the beating these boats would undoubtedly try to dish out, a Frigate on the other hand could not.

With a grin she realized that the firing solution was ready. Again her rifles spoke, shells flying towards a heavy cruiser that had seemingly just now realized that she was about to get into a close quarters brawl with a battleship. Even better, her secondary guns had locked onto the light cruiser and were showering the abyssal in shells.

Her main gun shells clipped the heavy cruiser, on a ship it would have been impacts on the bow ornaments and shots through the funnel. No damage at all.

The light cruiser on the other hand had eaten some shells into her upper works. Something had caught fire and she was busy flailing a burning hand around.

She focussed on the heavy cruiser again, laughing as the 8" shells shattered harmlessly against her belt armor.

Her own rifles fired back, again clipping the cruiser. She bit back a curse when three shells impacted her conning tower. There wasn't a whole lot of damage, those were still only 8" shells, but sustained hits to her superstructure would lead to serious damage.

Her fourth salvo ready, she took extra care when aiming. She was faintly aware of the Rivers opening fire on the light cruiser, dousing the happles monster in shells. Her own main battery shells shot forward and finally found their mark.

Three shells violently decapitated the monstrous arms of the Ri-class causing massive damage and from what Tirpitz could tell, propagating internal explosions.

Her next salvo was on point, decapitating the Ri-class and sending her remnants to the bottom.

The He-class realized she had just run out of friends and she still hadn't managed to douse the fire on her arm. A fire that was slowly spreading.

Tirpitz turned towards the panicking cruiser, her guns having a good estimation from the work the secondaries had been doing.

Within another five salvoes, the remnants of the He-class were sinking towards the bottom. She had tried to run, but she had gotten too close. She had only achieved to die tired.

Once the He-class was confirmed as dead and sinking, she turned to the abyssal destroyers who had formed a small cluster behind her and her escorts. Five destroyers of five different classes were warily eyeing the battleship who had her guns and torpedoes trained on the.

"Not eat us?" the I-class destroyer broadcasted.

Tirpitz pulled a grimace. "No, definitely not," she gave back. She had no intention of finding out how abyssals tasted as a meal.

"Happy," the Ni-class destroyer sent.

"Bad Princess want eat us," the I-class continued. "Bad Princess eat roamers alive," she added.

"Food?" the Na-class asked hopefully.

Tirpitz looked the destroyers over and was quite surprised to realize that the girls were showing signs of what looked like malnutrition. "Can you eat whole cans?" she wanted to know.

"Yes," the Ro-class confirmed.

"Girls, I'm giving you some cans, each one feeds one destroyer," Tirpitz ordered before beginning to hand out a few dozen cans.

One by one the frigates picked up cans and began to feed one of the destroyers each. Tirpitz fed the fifth destroyer, the I-class. "Quite hungry, huh," she mused. "Are you roamers?" she wanted to know.

"Roamer. Feral. Not born to princess. Look for flagship. Found flagship," the I-class replied.

Tirpitz parsed that. "So, a group of roaming destroyers, basically the equivalent of a spontaneous shipgirl summoning," she mused.

HMCS Teme nodded. "Seems reasonable. Though, why did they call you flagship?" she wanted to know.

Beacon Hill piped up too. "Yeah, I mean look at them," she said, bringing Tirpitz' attention from the tactical implications that the abyssals could spontaneously manifest and that there was a princess that apparently ate abyssals to the fact that five destroyers were looking at her with big eyes.

"Flagship!" the Na-class hopefully said.

"Follow you!" the I-class promised.

"Flagship!" the Ro-, Ha- and Ni-class added.

HMCS Springville and HMCS Royal Mount laughed at Tirpitz' expression. "The radio did warn against feeding feral abyssal destroyers," they both said under giggles while the abyssal destroyers rubbed against Tirpitz' legs like oversized kittens.

Tirpitz gave a heavy sigh. "Oh well, come with me," she grumbled. She knew her sister would have kittens over this. Especially now that it seemed like Hood had laid a keel in her sister's slipway and vice versa. "We're close to France anyway, we'll get you to a repair ship to look you over, I think we can even swing some dock time for you," she added. The destroyers did look somewhat frail and if they had declared her flagship, she better take good care of them until she could hand them off to an allied abyssal princess. Wanko would likely take good care of them. Or maybe Hoppou. She had heard that the tiny abyssal missed her fleet, so getting new destroyers might make her happy.

The destroyers perked up and released a sound close to a purr at the news.

"Oversized cats, indeed," Springville chortled as they moved to rejoin the convoy.

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 38: S0ngD0g13

Virginia and Charlotte: Valentine's Day...
..............................................

"Gin-ya? What's Valentine's Day?" asked Charlotte the morning of February 14th.

Kaylee rolled out of her bed with a muffled thump and reached up from her tangled blankets to find her kepi before extricating herself from them. She sat up and looked over to Charlotte, beckoning the young Acromantula over. "Valentine's is a human holiday, where folks celebrate friendships and relationships. We give our friends and loved ones gifts or cards, and it's real romantic sometimes."

"Oh... Nifty," said the spiderling in understanding. "I'm hungry."

Kaylee chuckled warmly. "All the better, then; I've got a gift for you in the backyard. Come on."

The two made their way into the backyard, and Virginia pulled a cloth-covered crate out of the garage. The Ironclad reached into the crate and withdrew a flapping, cackling chicken. "For you, my good friend Charlotte, a Rhode Island Red hen for breakfast." She released the chicken and watched Charlotte try to catch the wily hen with her webs; as she watched, one of her Fairies came out of the kitchen driving a tiny cart pulled by Jaw's pet rats, Templeton and Skaven, with a steaming tin mug of coffee in the bed. "Y'all!"

"Thank you kindly, Bosun," Virginia said as she picked up the coffee.
.........................................

Meanwhile, Charlotte was thinking while she ate the chicken...

After the incident with the hairy man that Gin-ya called a 'dwarf', Charlotte slipped out the back-door and into the back-alleys of Kure, hunting gifts for her friends.

When she returned a few hours later, Kaylee was all over her. "Charlotte Arachne McAmis, where have you been? You disappeared without a word and I was worried sick for you," Kaylee scolded, hugging the spider.

"I'm sorry, Gin-ya. I was getting presents for you all."

"Presents?" asked Jaw from the doorway, just back from seeing the Duckies off.

"Uh-huh. Gin-ya said Valentine's is for giving gifts to friends and loved-ones, so I got you presents cause you're my friends." Charlotte's voice was chirpy with happiness, and it was filled with pride when she added, "I picked them out all by myself, too!"

Kaylee smiled while Jaw went to get James and Houshou. When they were all together, Charlotte started giving gifts. "Mister James, I got you and Miss Houshou cards." She used a foreleg to push two playing cards to Houshou and James, the Queen and Ace of Hearts, respectively. "I found them under a table in the A'miral's work-nest." James and Houshou smiled at the heartfelt gift, and James chuckled at hearing it came from Admiral Shimada's office.

Charlotte dragged in two web-wrapped Tupperware containers with holes poked in the lids, that were emitting loud squeaking noises. "Jaw, I got you two girl-rats for Temp'ton and Skaven. Caught'em myself!"

Jaw peeked into one container and saw the wharf-rat within. "That's mighty nice of you, Charlotte. Thank you very kindly," he said grinning.

Charlotte brought in the last gift and slid it to Kaylee. "I heard Sore-you say chock-lates are a good present, so I asked her to help me get this for you, Gin-ya."

Kaylee picked up the bar of Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate and saw the post-it note on the label, written in Soryuu's hand, explaining that Charlotte had come to her with a bunch of change and asked her to buy 'chock-late' so she could give 'Gin-ya' a present.

Kaylee laughed and hugged Charlotte, then pointed at Jaw, who was laughing himself. "Charlotte, give Jaw a hug too."

Jaw was bowled over by a terrier-sized, happily-chittering spider launching herself at him and clamping onto his head like a face-hugger.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Wanko slowly blinked as she looked down at what was in her hands. Slowly, she turned it over and frowned deep in thought before looking up at Supprin who was opening her own package. "What is... this?"

Looking over at her, Supprin frowned for a moment and took a note that various other Abyssals of Wanko's faction were now staring at her. With a mental note of their confusion, she nodded her head at the package. "It's due to a human holiday. It's called Valentine's Day."

As she blinked, Wanko looked down at the odd package once more. It was rather large and rough looking. But at the top were two curves that met in the center with the other side tapering off until they met in a point. "Valentine's Day... What is... this day?"

There was a frown on Supprin's face as she considered the question. "It is a human holiday. From what they told me some human called Valentine was executed on that day and it has something to do with love... Rather confusing."

More then a little confused, Wanko furrowed her eyebrows. "Why would executing... someone involve... love? That is... very strange..."

Only shrugging, Supprin shook her head. "There was something about him performing weddings for people that were not allowed to get married. So he broke the law and was killed for it or something I think."

Now that was something that Wanko understood and nodded at. "That makes... much more sense. But why... did Hagrid send... me this odd... box?" She then looked to the side. "Or Little Brother and Little Sister doing... the same?"

Pointing at the first box, Supprin frowned. "On Valentine's Day, humans send chocolates to those they love. They also send other gifts as well at times, such as cards and candy."

That cause Wanko to frown as she rolled it around in her head. 'Chocolate?' Opening the red container from Hagrid, her eyes widened at the various chocolates inside. A small flush spread over her cheeks at that. "So it is... a human... mating ritual?" Her gaze then swept over the two boxes from Harry and Hoppou. "But then... why did... Little Brother and... Little Sister send... some to me? And why would... Hagrid send it... in such an odd... box?"

Supprin frowned in thought before humming. "Um, family members sometimes send chocolate and candy. I think that the difference is in the shape of the box. As to the one he sent you?" She then shrugged. "Humans call that 'Heart-shaped'. So it's like they're giving you their heart."

Eyes widening and her blush deepening, Wanko slowly nodded. "I see... that makes sense... Though this... looks little like... a human's heart."

Opening her own box, Supprin only nodded as a small blush crossed her own face. "Humans can be very odd. But I suppose that makes them fun though confusing at times and in this case, it's not a big deal." Gently taking one of the chocolates sent by Percy, Supprin examined it before popping it into her mouth and biting down. Moments later she was chewing happily. 'Mmm... iron shavings in dark chocolate...' Grabbing another, she bit into that. 'And lovely crude...'

For her part, Wanko was also eating one her own chocolates when she blinked for a moment. 'Wait... Should I... send Hagrid... some chocolate... as well?' The thought of doing so for a moment caused her blush to deepen before she shook it off. 'I... am not sure... if I could... But perhaps... a card then?'

Moments later, Wanko got up and walked off to do exactly that.

Elsewhere in her faction's base, Regina was looking down at the box of chocolates in front of her with a deep blush on her face. 'Harry sent me chocolates? Me?' Unlike Wanko, Regina was often online talking with Shinano and also had an account on Shipgirls Online, so she understood about Valentine's Day. And so she knew what it could mean about getting sent a box of chocolates. 'He sent me chocolates he made!'

On her own bed in the same quarters, Revina grinned and reached over. "Wowzie! Those look pretty good and I think that I would like one of them."

Just as her hand was about to touch one, Regina's hand shot out and Revina looked up and blinked. Mainly due to Regina glaring at her with eldritch flames coming from her eyes. "Do not touch my chocolates from Harry. Or I will rip off that arm and shove it down your throat in place of them!"

All Revina did was grin at that and pull away. "Sure, sure, I'll leave them to you." She then turned and frowned at Regina's tail. "I suppose that I couldn't get any of those candies from you?"

Pausing, said tail lifted it's head out of the giant bag of candy hearts. For several moments it stared at Revina before giving a short growl. Then it dove back into the bag and both Re could hear it munching as it made sounds of enjoyment. Looking over at her sister, Regina crossed her arms. "I think, um, that was a no."

Only pouting, Revina lay back on her own head. "Oh, poop. That's no fun..."

Simply holding her chocolates close, Regina chewed her lip. "Um, didn't you get any?"

Chuckling, Revina waved her off. "Nah, not this year anyways. Probably got lost in the mail or something."

Frowning as she looked at her sister, Regina furrowed her eyebrows and went digging into the box at her feet. After several moments, she pulled out a a smaller box and smiled. "Um, I found something here for you-" Before she could continue, the box was gone and now in Revina's hands. "From the Twins."

Quickly opening it, Revina grinned at the chocolates inside the box. "Oh yeah! I knew that those two got me something!" Pulling out one of the chocolates, she popped it into her mouth and chewed. Moments later she felt a tingle spread through her and she blinked as Regina gasped. "What? Something wrong?"

Mouth opening and closing several times, Regina finally turned to her tail who's jaw had dropped open. "Um... w-well, that is..."

Still confused, Revina glanced at her own tail who ducked out of sight before reappearing with a mirror in it's mouth. It took several moments for Revina to realize what she was looking at. Mainly her with puke green hair. Cocking her head to the side, the Re Class hummed as she narrowed her eyes. "Hmm..."

Taking another chocolate, she ate it and this time she grew a massive mustache on her face and beard. With a look at her tail, Regina coughed. "U-um... you shouldn't be angry with them, I don't think..."

Eyes narrowed to mere slits, Revina turned towards her fellow Re. "Angry with them... heh... I'm not angry with them..."

As she gulped and leaned back some, Regina bit her lip. "Y-you're not?"

Slowly, Revina shook her head. "No, I'm not angry with them at all..." Then her expression brightened and a massive grin crossed her face. "I'm amazed! Those guys are so damn awesome that they gave me these prank chocolates and made me laugh!" The laughter that burst from Revina caused Regina to blink. "I love it! I just knew that they really liked me! And this shows me that they actually love me!" A sly look came over her face as she twirled one end of her mustache and chuckled darkly. "Hehehehe... now to show them how much I love them right back..."

Blinking, Regina turned and looked at her tail with it sharing a look with her. Then, very slowly, they shook their heads and turned back to their own treats. Unknown to them, in a castle in Scotland two red haired Twins suddenly stopped what they were doing to shudder. For some odd reason they felt like something had walked over their graves.

Though why the Wedding March could be heard on the wind was beyond them.
________________________________________________________________

The evening after Valentine's Day found Natsumi walking through some bushes on the outskirts of Yokosuka. Beside her, Shiromizu forced her own way through the bushes with the clouds overhead. "So... we're meeting someone?"

On Natsumi's face was an expression that could be best described as "Pensive" as she nodded. "We are as a matter of fact." Glancing at her friend, she let out a soft sigh. "She's... usually away from people. Not all due to her own preferences either."

Frowning, Shiromizu looked at Natsumi carefully and then hummed. "Not well liked, I take it?"

Bitter chuckles escaped from the kitsune as she shook her head. "To put it mildly..." For a moment, it looked like she was going to say something but finally just shrugged. "My family is one of a very few who is contact with hers. According to Oba-Chan and others, her and my Obaa-San and Ojii-San fought alongside one another during the Sengoku Jidai period along with her Imouto. We gave them shelter and so they've been in our debt... not that we really bother to worry about it all too much."

That caused the snake woman's eyebrows to raise. "So they're Vassals?"

Pausing, Natsumi considered the question before shaking her head. "No, not Vessels. But an allied family of sorts. Most kitsune really do not want much to do with them and pretend that our family is not associated with them as long as we don't rub their snouts in it."

Slowly nodding, Shiromizu hummed to herself. "I see... But why are they so..."

With a glance at her, Natsumi sighed. "Badly thought of? Not my story and if Hoshi-San wishes to tell you, that is her decision." She then passed through a final set of bushes and nodded. "And we're here."

Raising an eyebrow at the tunnel, Shiromizu only shook her head as she followed Natsumi into them. Glancing around, she could see tool marks and examined them. Checking the map inside her head, she frowned a bit as she remembered that in the days before the end of the Second World War, tunnels were dug all over the islands. 'I wonder if this is one of them.'

Finally though, they reached a section of tunnel that was curtained off and Natsumi tapped one finger against the wall beside it. Several seconds passed before there was a chuckle on the other side of the curtain. "Please, come in Natsumi-Chan. It has been far too long since last I've seen you and I have some tea waiting."

Once they walked through the curtain though, Shiromizu froze at least partially in fear. Granted, anyone would have at the sight of a Kyuubi no Kitsune sitting upon a cushion before a low table. This was not helped by the fact that it was now looking at Shiromizu in both extreme interest and amusement. Suddenly, Shiromizu coughed as Natsumi drove an elbow into her side. "Don't stare, it's rude."

A laugh burst from the kitsune who shook it's head. "Oh, do not be so harsh on her, Natsumi-Chan." Her tone then took on one of self-mocking as she spread her forelegs. "After all, it is not often that one meets one of such... august personage as myself."

Just frowning, Natsumi shook her head. "Still rude, Hoshi-San... And I wish that you wouldn't talk about yourself that way."

Tails waving behind her, Hoshi had sadness in her eyes as she shook her head. "It's my decision, Natsumi-Chan. Besides... you know how the others see both me and my Imouto." Shaking it off, she softly sighed. "Now come here and let an old kitsune see one of her favorite... kits."

Walking forward, Natsumi came to a stop as the kitsune in front of her shifted to another form. This one was similar to a Japanese noblewoman and she placed her hands on Natsumi's shoulders before examining her with a sad smile. "You have grown since last I saw you. In fact, you have become so very beautiful and so much like..." Shaking it off, she chuckled. "Never mind that. Now then, come, come, have a seat. I made us some tea when I sensed you coming. There's enough for all three of us."

Simply sitting down, Natsumi waited while beside her Shiromizu was observing the woman closely. There was something familiar there after all, but it was just out of reach. A few seconds later, she realized that there was a cup of tea in front of her and she took the cup before sipping it. "Thank you."

Much to her confusion, there was something rather odd on the kitsune's face before she sadly smiled and looked at Natsumi. "You did not tell her, did you?"

A stubborn expression on her face, Natsumi growled. "No, that is your decision and I thought that she should get to know you first. You're nothing like Her despite what most think. You and your sister rebelled against her after all."

Placing her cup down, the older kitsune nodded. "Perhaps. But being who she is, our Hahaue damaged our karma. Maybe one day we shall be cleansed of the taint of being her daughters, but that day is far off. Until then though, we shall help out where we can." Suddenly, she clapped her hands and smiled. "But enough of such things, lets talk about lighter subjects, shall we?" Her eyes twinkling, Hoshi giggled. "Perhaps in regards to a certain human boy?"

That got a groan from Natsumi which made the Kyuubi giggle even more.

For the next hour, the two kitsune just talked about various things. Sometimes Shiromizu was brought into the conversation for a time, but most she listened and tried to solve the puzzle in front of her. At one point, it was brought up that Hoshi's younger sister was also dating a human, though he only knew that she was a kitsune and not her family's reputation. Eventually though, the tea did run out and soon Hoshi set down the tea cup with a soft sigh. "Very well, I suppose that it is now time for business as much as I wish otherwise."

Bowing slightly, Natsumi nodded some. "Hai. But thank you fo the talk, Hoshi-San."

Shiromizu watched as the older kitsune had a happy look on her face. "I enjoyed it myself, Natsumi-Chan. We should do this more often I think as I see you so little as it was. Perhaps soon bring that young man of yours." Then Hoshi snapped her fingers and from thin air came a pouch that she caught. Handing it to Natsumi, she smiled a bit. "In there is everything that Haru-Chan wishes. I've gathered information through my various sources and from personal effort. I do hope that it helps."

With a smile on her face, Natsumi placed the pouch into her own backpack. "I'm sure that Oba-Chan will enjoy it." Both of them stood up with Natsumi giving the older kitsune a hug. For a moment, Hoshi stiffened before relaxing and returning it just as warmly, her tails wrapping around Natsumi. "Thank you for the tea. And I think that I might take you up on the offer of more tea sometime."

Only nodding, Hoshi pulled away and looked Shiromizu over with a thoughtful look. "I must admit, Haru-Chan was quite right about you. It shall be... interesting, to watch." Before the confused snake woman could say anything, she smiled. "And what do you think of me?"

Confused somewhat, Shiromizu frowned before shrugging. "You're a pretty nice kitsune?"

Leaning in, there was an almost dangerous look to the Kyuubi, but Shiromizu stood her ground. "Oh? So I don't scare you? You don't want to run in the other direction? What about if I told you who my Hahaue was? What then?"
With a deep breath, Shiromizu took a deep breath and let it out. "You scare me only in the way that one would normally be with a Kyuubi. I would be a fool to ignore that. But..." She then gestured at Natsumi beside her. "Natsumi-Chan here trusts you and so does Haru-Sensei. I trust in their judgement and if they say that you are alright, then you are alright."

Head tilting to the side, the kitsune transformed back into her animal form, all nine tails behind her and showed her teeth. "Even if... my Hahaue was none other then Tamamo no Mae herself?"

Eyes wide, Shiromizu stiffened a bit before searching first her face and then Natsumi's. After a moment, she relaxed. "Like I said, my friends trust you so I can as well. And you seem pretty nice anyways..." For a moment, she paused and then Shiromizu continued. "The sins and bad karma of the parent should not pass to the children."

Utter silence met her and Hoshi smiled warmly. "Thank you. It seems that even Haru-Chan underestimated you... My offer to Natsumi-Chan is also extended to you and if you ever need some help, you but have to ask."

It was only when they returned to Natsumi's and Haru's house that Shiromizu finally realized what was bugging her. And it came when she was staring at a picture of Natsumi with her father. However, a hand on her shoulder caused her to jump and turn to see Haru with a serious expression on her face. "I trust that you will not be spreading around what you just discovered? It could cause Natsumi's family some issues if known..."

All Shiromizu did was shake her head quickly. "No one will find out from me. No one."

This time, Haru only nodded and patted her on the shoulder.

 

[darthcourt10]

SkyeFire

jgkitarel said:
Okay, that is funny, and I can see the two of them turning that into a ccomedy routine.
Jaw *running around and flailing his arms* : Get her off! Get her off! Oh God almighty the spider's eating my brains!
Charlotte: WHEEEEEEEEE!!!​

Of course, Zuikaku doesn't get the gag, first time out...
-*-*-*-

"JAW!" Zuikaku shrieked, charging forward. "Hold still, I'll save you!"

Jaw paused, trying to see around Charlotte's fuzzy abdomen. "Wha--"

Charlotte went "EEP!" and leaped off his face, giving him a perfect view of Zuikaku's fist just before it hit him between the eyes.

He came to with his head in Zuikaku's lap, with her tears falling on his face. Charlotte was sitting on his chest in a tight little arachnid ball of worried misery. His eyes were swelling shut, and he couldn't breath through his nose at all from the swelling.

"Well," he said slowly, "Now ah know what the FAA was on about."

Zuikaku flinched and tried not to look like she'd been crying. The sniffle kind of gave her away, though. "What-- what are you babbling about now?"

Jaw grinned in a dopey fashion. "Gentlemen... thaw your turkeys."

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

We interrupt this discussion of the merits of the Fate franchise to bring you something that probably should have been fluff. Why am I so horrible at fluff?

Wanko advisory: I'm not entirely sure I got her... unique way of speaking... down exactly right.
Wishful Thinking

-----

Takumi spins his pen between his fingers, watching as it blurs into transparency for split seconds. He'd only heard about half of his classical Japanese lecture, though fortunately the teacher hadn't called him out. Maybe this isn't the place for it, or the time for it, but he's honestly worried.

Worried. Hah. He's being ridiculous, he knows it. Mooning over his girlfriend like this. It's just… Nemo can only get so much of the world from him, from books and boom-boxes and snacks from vending machines. He wants so badly to take her into town, show her the streets, the cars, maybe even catch a movie—though he can't for the life of him figure out what he'd show her. Today's fare is the same hackneyed blend of action, comedy, and sappy romance that has been overdone to the stars and back. Maybe he should look for something older? But then, it comes back to the one simple fact.

Nemo is an Abyssal. How can he show her around the town?

"Inoue-san?"

The voice cuts through his train of thought like an executioner's axe, and whatever conclusions Takumi has found are banished, leaving him stranded further than where he'd began. He turns his eyes upward, and the first thing he sees is a bulging top. He jerks back involuntarily, and fortunately from his new angle he can see the girl who has invaded his space better, a classically beautiful face with long black hair and dark eyes.

The double punch of annoyance and shock momentarily paralyzes his tongue and he stammers. "S-Sakurada-san? You need something?" Oh good, he remembered her name. He can't really remember much about her outside of seeing her up on the stage at the school festival—it wasn't the band. Beauty contest, maybe? She'd definitely fit the part.

Sakurada grins widely and leans in close, which nearly sends his scrambling from his seat. "You don't really seem to hang out with anyone," she says brightly, "and you seem kind of lonely, so I wanted to know if you wanted to come and hang out after school? Maybe… karaoke?" She hugs herself and if Takumi wasn't right next to her, he'd swear that she was squeeing. Then he catches a movement behind her and cranes his neck around to see several more girls who's names he doesn't know but thinks are popular on campus pumping their fists and giving what are probably meant to be encouraging looks.

He considers the offer for a moment. In the maybe two or three interactions that Takumi is able to dredge from his memories, Sakurada has always struck him as a decent, reasonable girl, one who he wouldn't mind spending time around. However, karaoke can go fairly late, and today he's meeting up with Nemo in the usual place. Furthermore, the open-ended nature of the offer makes it difficult what activity and where she wants, which runs into the same question. And finally, the girls looking on, Sakurada's weird smile, and the fact that the whole classroom is overridden by a mutant discomfiting silence all scream that he's being asked out.

He can be a little odd in the head sometimes, but he's certainly not dense.

"Sorry," he says apologetically, praying she takes it well, "I have a previous engagement tonight. No offense."

The light seems to go out of Sakurada's eyes, just a little, and she looks down a bit forlornly. Takumi doesn't feel like he let her down easily at all, but at the same time he feels that continuing the spectacle would only make her feel worse.

"Really?" she asks. "What about tomorrow?"

He is being asked out.

"I'm sorry," he repeats, "That's not going to work out."

"Ah," she says. "I see. Sorry for wasting your time…" She steps away carefully, as if one wrong step will send her tumbling to the ground. Takumi sighs. What, he wonders, would Nemo have said about this whole affair?

If people knew about Nemo, this probably wouldn't have happened.

He wished he could take her around the school, up to the roof where they could look out on the soccer field and watch practice. She'd love it, he knows she would. She's found awe and joy in everything he's shown her, from that first accidental meeting.

"Hey," he said, staring at the sea monster who's looking at him so curiously. He wasn't sure what he'd thought she was as she skirted the distance, but he thought that they both know he probably wouldn't have waved at her if he'd known.

"Hello," she replied, staring at him. It's odd, he'd never thought that a deadly manifestation of darkness and evil would have such an inquisitive look in her eyes. "Sorry… could I ask a question?"

He looks at her, then down at his hands. The only possible thing he could fight her off with is an unopened bottle of Ramune, which he rather doubted would work. He looked back up. "I don't really think I could do anything about it," he admitted in what was hopefully a dry tone. She blinked in confusion, before her shoulders jerked once and he thought he heard an odd breath from her.

"It's just…" she explained, "I was wondering why you waved at me?"

He shrugged. "I guess I felt like it," he explained. By the way her shoulders fell and she was silent, he guessed that wasn't the answer she was hoping for. Well. Unhappy Abyssal, probably not good for his health. What could he do…

"I'll give you my Ramune if you don't kill me," he offered, holding out the bottle. She stared at him, then down at the bottle, then back up at him.

"Uh… That… no promises?" she said, fumbling words into what sounded more like a question than a statement. Reaching out, she gingerly took the bottle from his hand and held it up to her face. She turned it around, shook it briefly, turned it upside down.

Then she shoved the whole bottle into her mouth and began to chew noisily. He wondered if he should laugh—probably not, she might not like that. The situation was just so bizarre that he wasn't sure what else to do. Finally, she swallowed, and made a put-off face.

"That… it wasn't bad," she admitted, "but the glass, and the glue from the label…" From the angle he was looking at her from, her collar was covering her mouth, but he thought she must be sticking her tongue out. "Bleh. How do humans eat that stuff?"

"Well," he said awkwardly, still not sure how to respond to what he had just seen, "you're not actually supposed to eat the bottle." She blinked owlishly.

"Really?" she asked. "Then what are you supposed to do?"

He felt a laugh escape that time, suppress it as he may have tried. "Okay, look," he said. "There's a vending machine right up there," he pointed up the beach towards the walkway that lead down to the sand, "I'll go get another bottle and show you what I mean. Kay?"

The slamming of a door brings him back to the present. Sensei walks into the room, holding his folder aloft. "Alright, everyone!" he calls out, slamming the sheaf of papers down on the podium. "Seats now. Just about time for classes to start. In five… four…"

As the bell rings and everyone slides into place, Takumi returns to his thoughts. Now that he thinks about it, Nemo would actually try to get along with Sakurada. The image comes unbidden, Nemo surrounded by the girls of his class, her costume exchanged for the school's blazer and skirt, and he smiles.

"Now then," Sensei says, grabbing a piece of chalk and walking up to the board, "Normally now we'd be continuing on to the lecture—social reforms imposed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi," he sounds out, writing out his words at the top of the board. "But—" and his hand runs over his writing, turning it into a white smear, "I thought we should spend our time in discussion instead."

"Sensei?" Takumi, and the rest of the class, look over at the speaker. Tachibana, one of the popular girls at school and one of Sakurada's cheer squad, has thrust her hand into the air. "Is this about the treaty?" she asks. The girl beside her seems to be looking at him, but his mind has already gone someplace else. The treaty... That's…

"If by treaty you mean the one that has created an alliance between our own fair navies and the forces of three—"

"THAT'S IT!"

It takes everyone staring at him for Takumi to realize that he has more or less jumped out of his seat and cried out at the top of his voice.

"Ah… sorry," he admits, sitting back down gingerly. "Personal matter, just had a breakthrough." He hears the imperious harrumph from Tachibana's friend, the teacher bringing the class back to order, but it doesn't matter. Now that he knows what to do, sitting the whole day through in class is going to be torture. It's a happy thing that he sits beside the door.

-----

"So, the Twin Princesses," Goto says, tapping a spot on the map. "You're certain that there's nothing we can do other than fight?"

It's a bit unsettling and more than a little frustrating. The intelligence provided by the new allies places the territory controlled by the two at less than a day's journey from the Japanese coastline. It's a thought that Goto finds to be unpleasant at best.

Wanko shakes her head. "Not exactly," she explains. "The twins are… very isolationist. They won't venture… outside of their territory… and they…. Don't look for fights… But if you enter… and you aren't… one of theirs… They'll attack… with prejudice."

"Brilliant," Goto grumbles. "Simply brilliant." In other words, they can avoid conflict with the Twin Princesses if they keep everyone out of that stretch of ocean. That can be arranged with general warnings and announcements, but people slip through the cracks regardless. And again—unallied Abyssals directly off of the coast. "Is there… anything else we can do here?"

"Admiral Perry?" Ooyodo snarks. Goto groans, running his fingers over his eyelids. "Sorry. I thought is was a valid suggestion."

"I don't think we have Admiral Perry's… advantages," Goto explains. Ooyodo considers this and nods. "And I'm guessing they won't be interested in greeting a diplomatic envoy, would they."

"I… don't know…" Wanko admits. "But I don't… think so."

Goto examines the map. Attacking and rooting them out violently is the obvious solution, but given the lack of intel… The Twins were a relatively new player in the north Pacific, but they had set up shop suddenly and violently in the last year or two. It wasn't until the alliance and the new intelligence it had brought them that they had learned anything beyond "their territory starts around here." Add in the fact that they are seemingly disinterested in conflict as long as it wasn't brought to them and you have the beginnings of a powder keg.

"Brilliant," he repeats.
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

K9Thefirst1

Harry either needs to slow down the timeline, or I need to speed up my writing... Likely the latter. Anyway, here's part three.
------

January 29st, Entrance to the English Channel

Reivana missed her appointed departure date by a good week. In fact, once she figured out how to splice into one of the undersea cables without alerting the humans to the effort, she had been so engrossed in her studies that she hadn't even taken the time to provision until well after January 3rd. Fortunately the Princess had been understanding, especially when the Re-Class showed the ample collection of notes she had made. Government, culture, politics, in the four and a half months she had been studying Reivana was confident that she could engage in casual conversation with just about anyone once she made contact. So she left nearly ten days late, but she had made excellent time nonetheless. And now, just ahead according to her navigators, lay the United Kingdom, and her mission. Her vital mission, one that could save or doom her Princess, and vicariously the entirety of the Abyss in the Atlantic.

No pressure. Nope, not a single PSI of pressure. Well… Maybe a little. As Ocean Liner Demon was quick to point out.
------

Janurary 9th, The Meteor Seamount

Going by their tonnage, Ancient Atlantic Gateway Princess' second-in-command shouldn't really have intimidated Reivana – a battlecarrier – so much. But there was such a presence behind that helmet that it only came natural, especially with Reivana's more introverted nature. So when Ocean Liner loomed over her, Reivana couldn't help but take a step back.

"Be aware Re-Class, that our survival is at stake. So I want you to be certain that, in your dealings with the humans, you do nothing to compromise the location or security of our territory. In any way. Am I clear?"

"Y-yes ma'am."
------

Reivana waspulled out of her thoughts by a sharp pain in her head.

"Ow! Stab, what was that for?"

"You were having a panic attack."

"I was not!" she pouted.

Stab didn't have eyes. But that didn't stop him from giving an unimpressed deadpan expression.

"Well… Maybe a little," She admitted, "I've never been given a task this important Stab. What if I fail the Princess?"

"You get scrapped and she goes to Plan B."

"…"

"So, are you going to run in circles and fail anyway, or are you going to actually put in an effort at this?"

Reivana looked at her tail for a few moments before taking in a calming breath.

"You're right Stab. Fretting over what might be won't help. I need to actually try."

"Atta girl! So… What exactly is your plan? I mean, you haven't exactly been subtle. Hell, you haven't let me put up a friggin' CAP in case we get attacked. And you've been running towards the recon planes we come across. Hell, you've even waved at the ones that got close!"

Reivana puffed out her chest a little, her gloom melting away in her own unique brand of bookish pride.

"Exactly Stab. I am making every effort to come across as unthreatening as I can. That means the guns are to remain in the neutral positions, all planes remain in their hangers and the torpedo tubes in their housings. And by acknowledging the reconnaissance planes, we announce our intentions to be peaceful. And now that we're in radio range of the coasts, I can enact the next phase of making contact!"

"And that is?"

Rather than respond, the Re-Class produced two large flags: a white banner universally recognized as either surrender or a request for peace, and another that had a black cross of a crab and some sort of insect head on a white banner – the Princess' personal ensign. Reivana then began to wave the two flags and began broadcasting in the clear.

"PARRRLAAYYY! PAAARRRRRLAAAYYY! PARLAY! PARLAYYYY! PAAAARRRRLLLLLLAAAAYYYYYYY!"

"Wat."

"You can either shut up or you can help me not get blown out of the water by some trigger happy psycho!"

She made a good point.

"PARRRLLAAAYYY!!!!!"

It didn't take long before they got a response.

"HUZZAH!"

They just didn't expect it to be a division of submarines bursting from the sea right in front of them. So Reivana could not be blamed for being spooked and falling onto her aft. Staring aghast at the group before her, Venturer, Vampire, Vigorous, Amphion, and Undine looked down on the poor unsuspecting battleship and her tail with LOUD curiousity.

"What ho?" one of the subs declared, "Venturer, what have we here?"

"Is it not clear Vampite? 'Varily, 'tis AN ENVOY! What luck! WELL MET FAIR MAIDEN! For you have been greeted by-"

Bodily lifting Reivana up, Venturer held her close – to close – and enthusiastically began some sort of introduction ritual. At least, it seemed so, considering that it started with the whole group shouting at once, followed by the other subs continuing where one left off in a manner that could only be choreographed.

"THE KNIGHTS OF THE UNDERSEA!"

"CHAMPIONS OF ALBION!"

"SLAYERS OF THE FOUL ENEMIES OF MAN!"

"AN ACCOMPLISHED SINGING GROUP!"

"CONSUMERS OF GLORIOUS SPAM-SPAM-BAKED BEANS-AND SPAM!"

"AND SWORN DEFENDERS OF THE LADY HERMIONE!"

"WHY ARE YOU YELLING?!"

"WHY SHOULDN'T WE BE?"

"AAAAG!"

"All right you lot, you had your fun. Now run along."

Reivana fell to the sea again, and when she looked around the nutters had disappeared with nary a ripple.

"Wh-what?"

"I do apologize," her savior said, "they mean well, but they can be… An irritant at times."

Reivana worked herself back onto her props, looking up to the shipgirl that met her. Correction, shipgirls. In the center was a young woman sitting an asset of Queen Elizabeth-Class battleship rigging in a throne configuration – Reivana's intel suggested that she had to have been the famed Warspite – and surrounding her were two Dido-Class cruisers, several destroyers, and who appeared to be Ark Royal in the rear with an arrow at the ready, but not pulled.

"Now then, I believe you have been broadcasting a request for parlay?"

Reivana looked at the fleet before her for a moment before brushing herself and cleared her throat before giving a curtsey, just as the Princess instructed when meeting Very Important People. Then she went into the little speech she had prepared for this vital meeting. Her delivery was a little wooden, but it was clear, unambiguous, and penned in a manner to prevent any confusion.

"Good Afternoon, and salutations. I am Re-Class Reivana, hull number BCV-696, yard lot #40432b. I come in the name of the Ancient Atlantic Gateway Princess. My sovereign much desires to enter talks with your government to formulate an amiable friendship, producing a lasting and civil peace and alliance."

Reivana paused long enough to reach into her hold and pull out the Princess' Declaration of Intent and her Letter of Introduction, which she offered to Warspite.

"My Princess has given me this Declaration to pass onto your Queen, detailing her full intention of what she would like to accomplish with this alliance regarding the situation among the Abyssals of the Atlantic, as well as a Letter of Introduction for your superiors. I hope that we can enter talks soon and make grand steps in closing this bloody chapter of our mutual histories."

"And I'm Stab! I'm an abomination of science!"

The Sea was silent as a tomb for an achingly long time, with the shipgirls just staring at her wide-eyed. Reivana and Stab looked at each other, thoughts of saying or doing something wrong clearly running through their minds. Finally, Warspite cleared her throat and gracefully took the offered pieces of parchment.

"Ah, yes. Thank you… Reivana, was it? Could… Could you just, wait a moment please? This needs to be called in." 'This shit is so beyond my pay grade I can't even see it from here.'

"YES! Yes, of course. Procedures must be maintained."
------
It took a goodly three hours while the Admiral on the base no doubt talked with his superiors about this development, but soon enough they were all given clearance to make for Portsmouth to give their surprise guest accommodations for the duration of her stay (far enough away from the main part of the base that she couldn't glean anything of use should she turn out to be a spy).

The sun was starting to set as they pulled in, the colors of the coming twilight seemed to turn the harbor into a sea of sparkles. Reivana looked this way and that with her head on a swivel, clearly enthralled at seeing human constructs with her own eyes, to the befuddlement of her escorts. Stab was looking around to. In boredom.

"Oh look stab! A Type-23 Frigate! Ooh! OOH! And a Type-45 destroyer! I have never seen either of them in person before, aren't they-!

"Beautiful!"

Reivana paused at that. They term wasn't anything close to what she was going to say. Still, no accounting for taste she supposed.

"Uh, well, I guess. Their designs are more functional than aesthetic. Still, I suppose that one cou-"

"Not those hulks! Her!"

Taken aback at the… wistful tone in his voice, Reivana turned at where Stab's gestering was tugging her. Along the docks there was a shipgirl. From the faint shadowy outline of a hull around her Reivana pegged her for a battleship, but not one whose design she was intimately familiar with. The group followed her gaze to the other shipgirl, expressions ranging from confusion to curiosity on their faces.

"You mean Vangaurd?" One of the escorting destroyers inquired.

"Vangaurd!" the tail sighed, "Such an angelic name could only befit such an angel in physical form…"

Reivana stared at Stab in utter confusion. Her tail had never emoted like this before. What could possibly explain this reaction? Then she noticed the arcs of electricity that pulsed from the antennae at the back of Stab's head, and how they had changed from yellow to… Pink? And… And was that a stylized heart shape in the middle of those arcs? At once, for the whole group, the coin dropped, and Reivana looked into the middle distance with horror.

"Oh no."

Cleopatra looked to Dido.

"Hermione's going to have kittens." She said, not an ounce of irony in her voice. And none of those in the know had the energy to groan at the unintended pun.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking through the dungeons, Harry glanced around with a frown on his face. For some odd reason he had been having an odd feeling since dawn broke that morning. One that was slowly intensifying as the day had gone on and made him rather antsy. Most would have dismissed it as just something that they had eaten or perhaps it being their imagination...

Harry was not most people.

Due to having grown up on a military base, especially one that was sometimes on the front lines of the Abyssal War, Harry had gained some instincts. One of those instincts, the one he was feeling right now, had saved him more then once when the Abyssals had launched a surprise attack on the base. The black haired wizard had learned long ago to listen to his instincts about some things and right now? Right now his instincts were telling him that something was going to happen and soon. What that something was, he did not know.

It certainly did not help matters that Harry was obviously not the only one feeling it if how Hermione and the Pirateshipgirls were acting were anything to go by.

That morning he had seen all of the pirates up and about at their posts with full attention being given to their surroundings. A quiet talk with Revenge had netted him the information that they had been feeling the same thing that he had. Each and every one of them could feel that there was something in the air, a threat. A danger. Something was about to happen and it was likely to be bad.

Which in the current atmosphere meant it was very likely that the monster in the Chamber was about to strike again, whatever it was. Myrtle had listened to him when he had told her and last he saw her she was in an argument with the other ghosts about setting up a patrol. Oddly, the only two ghosts who seemed to agree with her were the Bloody Baron and the Grey Lady. The Bloody Baron was tapping his sword and nodding as he listened to Myrtle while the Grey Lady had an thoughtful expression on hers. Though why those two kept giving Myrtle the odd look was beyond him.

However, having reached his destination, Harry shook off those thoughts and brought his hand up to the door in front of him and knocked three times. After a few moments there was a silky voice from the other door. "Yes?"

Clearing his voice, Harry spoke up. "Professor? It's me, Harry Potter, may I have a moment of your time?"

For several seconds there was silence before Snape's voice answered with a sigh. "Oh, very well Mister Potter. But waste my time and you shall know it."

Only opening the door, Harry walked into Professor Snape's office and gave a small glance around. Along the walls were jars of various things preserved, some of them looking rather revolting at that. More then a few though had Harry fighting the urge to look closer at them due to how interesting they looked. Shaking that off, Harry focused in on the desk that was in the room where Snape was marking something. The black haired boy waited until Snape was finished writing and had placed the paper aside before he looked up at him with a piercing stare. "Good day, Professor. I'm sorry about bothering you but I had something to ask you that I hoped to get an answer about."

A frown on his face, Snape examined Harry for several seconds narrowed eyes. He wanted to hate the boy, he really, truly did. But he reminded Snape far more of Lily rather then James, more then he was comfortable admitting even to himself at times. Folding his hands in front of him, the Potions Master gave a sharp nod. "Very well, Mister Potter. Ask your question."

Taking a moment to order his thoughts, Harry took a deep breath. "It's about the selling of ingredients, Professor. I was wondering what would happen if someone came into the possession of a rather large amount of rare ingredients. How would one go around selling them without causing any problems."

Slowly, Snape leaned back and became thoughtful as he looked around his room. "I would hope, Mister Potter, that you are not considering trying to steal some from the school. That is rather frowned upon after all." Getting a headshake, the Professor hummed. "However, in regards to your question, it would rather depend on the ingredients themselves. The rarer they are, the harder it can be to sell them yourself."

With a slight downturn of his lips, Harry glanced at the chair in front of Snape's desk and waited. Snape gave him a look but then frowned at the unasked question before nodding. As he sat down though, Harry felt a flash of amusement. The rather comfortable chair was actually really uncomfortable and from what he could see, Snape's chair should have been more so. But he remembered something that Naka had told him in regards to negotiations and he internally shrugged. If she was right, then Snape's chair likely was very comfortable. "Let's say that, theoretically, someone came upon a rather large amount of ingredients from Acromantula..."

Eyebrows raising, Snape seemed somewhat amused by the question to Harry before he hummed. "That would depend, theoretically of course, on how much of said ingredients were gathered and the shape that they were in. If there was enough of them, one would need to be extremely careful not to flood the market after all."

Glancing at the jars, Harry tried not to bite his lip some as he avoided the gaze of the potions professor. "Say... the venom and fangs from a few dozen acromantula? Silk too, but that's off to the side. Harvested from someone with experience with hunting and not ruining animal parts. Theoretically, you know."

Surprised, Snape's eyebrows raised still further. But if anything, he seemed even more amused now then he was before. "I see, Mister Potter. This is a rather interesting thought exercise." Tapping his fingers on his desk, Snape leaned back. "It would depend, of course, both on how... openly, you wish to proceed on this situation if it occurred. Mind you, I am speaking from the fact that I hardly sell ingredients myself. I much rather keep anything that I harvest for my own usage as it keeps down the cost."

Just nodding, Harry chuckled weakly. "Of course."

Only humming, Snape placed his hands on his stomach and gave it some thought. "Now, one could sell to the apothecaries themselves, mind you. That is the most common solution to such things, but it leaves a rather... easily followed paper trail. And there are those in the Ministry who might look askance at someone selling a large amount of material. For one thing, you would need a license to sell to apothecaries and while officially there are set prices, unofficially depending on the ingredient there are those who might, theoretically, want for a bit of a fee as it were to file them."

A grimace on his face, Harry caught the hidden meaning. 'In other words, they would want a cut themselves of the money.' Looking up at Snape, Harry gave a cough. "What about the type of person selling them?"

Having gotten an idea of where this was coming, Snape turned in his chair to look at his fireplace. "It would depend on several factors. For example, a Pureblood may only have a small fee to see the paperwork passed through relatively quickly. One who is a Muggleborn, on the other hand, might find themselves with a slightly larger fee due to not being as... established... as a Pureblood might be. One who might be considered a magical being, or creature, would have even more issues. After all, they would fall under quite a bit of suspicion as to where they got such items and if it was all... legal and above board as it were."

That, if anything, caused the grimace to grow on Harry's face which seemed to amuse the Professor. "I see... and what other ways are there?"

Lips turning upwards into a smirk, Snape tapped one finger against his desk. "Ah, an interesting question. There's always illegal methods mind you in that there are some apothecaries that would look the other way as to where they might get such items. Not, of course, that I would suggest someone to use such methods. After all, one depends on reputation and doing such more often then not comes back to bite one in the behind. Especially if one or the other side gets too greedy as all too often happens."

With a sigh, Harry shook his head. "Yeah... I don't think that would happen in the scenario that we're discussing."

Unable to help himself, Snape chuckled before nodding. "Quite." Realizing what was happening, his face blanked and he coughed. "Another method, of course, is to use a Middleman. These are usually established families who have business holdings in such things. More often then not, they own at least partially an apothecary and thus sell to themselves, keeping their own cost down while increasing profit."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Harry frowned as he stared off. "Would that be the best way in this case?" Suddenly turning sheepish, Harry grinned nervously. "Hypothetically, of course."

Simply giving him a small nod, Snape raised an eyebrow. "Of course." Clasping his hands over his stomach, he had a gleam in his eye. "Now, one would need to do quite a bit of research in regards to who to sell to. Some families are better then others after all depending on who you are. For example, the Malfoys are one such family who is rather involved in such a business." At seeing the distaste on Harry's face, Snape internally snorted. After all, he knew more then most the dislike between Harry and Draco, one returned on both sides. "Granted, the Malfoys are usually used by other Purebloods who wish to not need to pay various fees. If one was a Muggleborn or magical being, then there are a few other families around who would be much more likely. There are even a few with heirs in Slytherin if one was open to discussing such things using their children to sound out things, theoretically."

Just frowning, Harry sighed a bit. "That... might be a bit tough."

Chuckling, Snape shook his head. "Perhaps. But one should do some research... I do know of a few students that would be knowledgeable in such matters if you wish to know more about such a hypothetical. Granted, they are in Slytherin, but understanding where potions ingredients come from, how they go through the system, and supply and demand affects them is rather useful to know."

Eyes widening a bit. "That would be a big help and it wouldn't matter to me."

Snape gave a small nod. "I see... Very well, I shall see if I can get you some extra tutoring in the subject, Mister Potter. After all, I cannot have a student fail to understand potions unless they are a complete dunderhead."

With a blink as he realized that was pretty much a dismissal, Harry gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Professor, for answering my questions and I look forward to the tutoring." Getting up, Harry was about to reach the door when Snape cleared his throat. "Professor Snape?"

From behind his desk, Snape frowned in thought. In his eyes was a questioning gleam. "I rather enjoyed this theoretical talk, Mister Potter. A shame, I think, that you were not in my House."

Blinking, Harry finally gave a shrug. "I couldn't stand Draco and things would have happened." He then gave a nod to Snape. "Hope you have a good day, Professor."

Somewhat surprised, Snape slowly nodded. "And a good day to you, Mister Potter... A good day to you." Once the door was closed, the Potions Professor stared into his fireplace for several minutes as he puzzled over what he had heard. The ending portion more then the beginning. After he dismissed that for later thoughts, Snape considered various names and their connections to funding for the Death Eaters before nodding to himself. "Sudsy?"

There was a pop and then a House Elf appeared in front of his desk, not that Snape was looking at him. "Yes, Professor Snapsy? How can Sudsy be helpings you today?"

Rather thoughtful, Snape was silent for a few seconds before nodding. "Please ask Miss Greengrass and Miss Davis to come to my office? I have to speak to them about possibly tutoring a student who needs a bit of extra help in potions."

Bowing, the elf quickly nodded, "Sudsy will do so, Professsor Snapsy!"

And with that, he vanished with a pop as Snape continued to roll over the conversation in his head. 'Hmm... I do rather wonder where shipgirls had come across acromantula as I very much doubt that they were in the jungles of Borneo...'