Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Plowing through the waves, Air Defense Princess softly sighed as she tapped one clawed finger on her throne of sorts. She was... bored. Her last fight was against those fleets sent out from Iwo Jima by the now dead Fortification Princess. Since then she had spent her time tracking down stragglers and the odd Abyssal Q-ship. Said Princess was among those that killed her Little Laughter after all. But it had left her bored as she had been cruising around this area of sea for over a month.

Soon though she was brought out of her thoughts as a rumble beside her caused her to turn and look at the Abyssal Destroyer that had made it's way close to her. Reaching out, she rubbed it gently on the head much like her own Princess had done so long ago. Especially now that they were close to the time her Princess had often given her fleet gifts. While another rumble came from the Destroyer beside her, ADP smiled down at it. Part of her could still remember coming across the group of feral Destroyers.

And much to her surprise they started to follow her right off the bat with just a command.

With a chuckle, she shook her head as she turned her head and looked back in the distance where she could see a floatplane high above the water. "Ignore them, they have done nothing to us so far. Why, I do not know but it is best not to go looking for trouble."

There was still a frown on her face as she watched the distance aircraft, it's shipgirl somewhere much further. For the past day or so she had been shadowed by them, though why was beyondd her. And it was not just her as her Destroyers had picked up Submarine contacts at the edge of their sonar, only for them to disappear. It was rather odd that they just shadowed her and her Destroyers at the edges of their radars. Not attacking, just... watching.
Needless to say, it was getting rather annoying and she kept having to fight down the urge to head over to them and demand to know why.

However, she shoved down those urges each time they popped up. If they were willing to leave her alone, she would let them. After all, she just had a handful of Destroyers and-

Suddenly, her head whipped around with her musings cut off as she focused in on one of her Destroyers performing a patrol with her sister. They were fifty miles away and steaming through the cold, North Pacific waters. Just close enough to get radio signals from the Japanese mainland. But it was not those signals that caught said Destroyers' attention though, rather they picked up an Abyssal signal. Slowly, a grin spread across ADP's face as she turned her head in that direction. "Fufufufu. So one snuck close, so one snuck close. And without the shipgirls knowing? How interesting... But I wonder which fleet..."

Eyes narrowing, it was only the work of moments for her to connect to the mind of the distant Destroyer. When she had first used the connection that Princesses and Demons had with their fleets, she had been shocked. Then, ADP had been happy at feeling how her Destroyers felt towards her care. At times, she wondered if that was how it felt for Little Laughter when she had done the same. Right now though, she could feel the warmth of the Destroyer surrounding her own mind as she used it's senses as her own. Pure joy at the attention being given to it. With a mental pat, she focused on the signal itself and froze.

No, it couldn't be.

From the Japanese mainland came a signal from someone that belonged to the same fleet she had. The fleet of the Northern Princess from the Bering Sea. Except besides the impossibility of there being other survivors, something she had hoped for, it was more that the signal identified the owner as being an Abyssal Demon. And ADP knew for a fact that there was no such thing in her Princess' fleet. Her Princess had used Flagships to handle the duties normally assigned to Demons in other fleets. And yet, there it was, a slowly fading IFF with distance, but sure it enough it was a friendly one. Impossible...

Her hands clenching, ADP glanced at them and froze as she remembered the fact that she was a Princess now. Who was to say that others like her did now exist? Survivors who had become more then they had been? And maybe they might join her in her fight against those who slew Little Laughter. It was all too soon that the signal faded away and she called back her Destroyers as she continued to stare in the direction of the islands, all boredom gone from her thoughts. Perhaps... she would stay for a time.

Perhaps, and find the source of the signal which made her heart ache.

Meanwhile, a large distance away, Enterprise leaned back in her seat with her arms behind her head. Looking up in the rearview mirror, she just blinked a bit before smiling. "How you holding up there, kiddo? Bored yet?"

With a blink, Harry turned his attention back to Enterprise and snorted. "Nope! Haven't been around here for years though, Enterprise and it's kind of neat seeing things again."

Only tilting her head to the side, Enterprise hummed a bit. "Well, glad to see that you're enjoying yourself then. Though why Princess won't let me continue to drive is beyond me. Honestly, I don't see why you exploded at me back there."

Eyebrow twitching, Yamato turned and gave the famour Carrier a glare. "That is because, E, you somehow got us on Shikoku when we were heading for Kure! I, Yamato, cannot believe how you got lost when the route we were supposed to take was written down! And now I may be late for Yahagi's Awakening!"

Slowly blinking, Enterprise waggled her little finger in her ear. "Yeah, yeah. Not my problem that the route was written in fucking Moon Moon. You know that I barely read that shit and we'll still get there from here in plenty of time since it connects to Hiroshima. Besides, it's not like you're much better or do I need to remind you of that time you got us lost in California and we ended up in Death Valley of all damn places when I fell asleep?"

Cheeks reddening and puffing out, Yamato turned narrowed her eyes at the smirking Enterprise. "It was not my fault that you Americans labeled your roads so odd! Several of them had the same names, not to mention you all drive on the wrong side unlike civilized people which made it more confusing!"

Just snorting, Enterprise gave her a look. "It was totally your fault, Princess. I had the whole route marked on a map. Also, what civilized people? If Japan was civilized, they would drive on the right like normal people, not on the left."

Listening in as the two bickered back in forth, Harry grinned a bit. 'So tsun tsun.' With a shake of the head, he looked out the window at the countryside of Shikoku as they drove along. Movement in his arms though caused him to look down at the form of Barghast who was there before he pulled out a bag of peanuts. "Want some?"

Quickly, the Abyssal Hellcat nodded before tilting it's head back and opening it's mouth wide. Chuckling, Harry poured the bag of nuts into the fanged mouth as Yamato glanced in the mirror and ignored her argument with Enterprise. "Anyways, Harry-Chan. I, Yamato, would like to mention that we'll be entering Imabari then on to Onomichi soon."

With a nod, Harry shot her a grin. "Cool! And I can't wait to see Kawa-San again either. Hopefully she likes the supplies I made for her."

There was a small smile on Yamato's face as she sped along the road, just below the speed limit. "I am quite sure that Kawa-San will enjoy it." Eyes drifting to the locked storage box secured out of the way, the Battleship nodded. "After all, you did put your heart into it."

Also looking back, though leaning out of her seat to do so, Enterprise frowned slightly as she took in Barghast. She still could not believe the argument that Hoppou had put up to get her brother to take said Hellcat with them, not that she was too bothered by it. Rather, her interest laid in something else. "So, Kiddo, what's the deal with you wearing that bracelet that your sister made you? Kind of odd bringing it along, you know?"

Glancing down at the black metal that made it up, Harry shrugged. "It makes it easier to control Barghast when I wear it. So that he doesn't go and wander around freaking people out. Also, I've been practicing with it."

Eyebrow raising, Yamato hummed a bit. "Oh? How so?"

On Harry's face there was a smile as he lifted up said arm. "Well... I can switch off the other ones if I need to since Wanko added that to it. I can choose to have them all on or just one. Especially since having all of them on can creep people out." With a shrug, he lowered it. "Right now, I got Hoppou's going since I got Barghast with us."

Thoughtful, Enterprise nodded as she moved fully back into her seat. "Huh, Hoppou's? That's the one that gives you the IFF of a Demon from her fleet, right? Or something like that anyways."

Harry nodded with a shrug. "Yeah, pretty much."

With a small frown on her face, Yamato cleared her throat. "Just remember, Harry-Chan, please leave that bracelet and Barghast well away from the Summoning area while we Awaken Kawa-San into Yahagi, okay? We do not want to chance it interfering somehow in the process."

Nodding, Harry gave her a salute. "Hai, Yamato-Oba!"

That brought a small smile to Yamato's face while Enterprise shook her head. With a chuckle, she held out her hand. "Hey, kiddo, I'm a bit hungry so mind passing me one of those sandwiches in the cooler? Preferably with a Coke?" Moments later, she had said sandwich in hand and placed the can into the holder to leave it settle a bit. "Thanks, Kiddo."

His smile growing a bit, Harry just nodded while ignoring Yamato giving the Carier an eye roll. "You're welcome, Enterprise."

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 29: S0ngD0g13

Jaw and Akizuki: Shade-Tree Mechanics
.....................................

Jaw grinned wide. "And the Tin-Can Mafia strikes again," the teen said as he read the note attached to the box, then slit it open with his pocketknife. "Hey, Lil Sis; the new motor just came in from Johnston back in the States. Gimme a hand right quick?"

Akizuki came over to where her ELF was parked in the McAmis driveway, and they got the trike up on jacks. "Where do you need me, Jaw?"

Jaw nodded toward the open storage shed. "There should be some jack-stands in there; we'll need at least three." After she returned the pair set the stands up under the trike and Jaw crawled under it, laying on the ground as he'd ceded the padded creeper to 'Zuki. "Okay, first step is unhooking the batteries; we already did that, so next we unbolt the motor and transmission from their mounts. Looks like we'll need a half-inch socket; should be one in the top of my toolbox and a half-inch-drive ratchet."

Akizuki pulled the tools out and Jaw showed her the bolts. The pair very carefully removed the one-horse motor and the transmission, then Jaw looked over the new motor.

"Hmm... Yup, we'll need to fab mountings for it," Jaw remarked. "See, the stock motor's just a modified hub-motor like's used on regular bikes, and the new motor's a five-horse air-compressor motor."

Akizuki nodded sharply. "Okay. How do we make the mountings?"

Jaw slid back under the vehicle and Akizuki joined him. "See that bracket?"

"The one to adjust the chain-tension?"

"Yup. Here's my idea..."

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

Six hours, ten skinned knuckles, one singed eyebrow, two runs to the PX for more sodas, a run to the go-kart shop off-base for transmission parts, and a run to the Chow-Hall for takeaway later, the motor was mounted and the new transmission mated to it just as the sun was beginning to set.

Jaw wiped his hands on a shop-rag, then chuckled at Akizuki and the grease-smudge on her cheek. "Hey, Lil Sis, catch." He tossed an inch-and-three-quarters combination wrench to her. "Smile for the camera, Akizuki," he said as he pulled out his phone.

The photo, once he printed it and hung it up, showed the Destroyer-Girl dressed in mechanic's coveralls with the top tied around her waist over a black tee, one of Jaw's ballcaps turned backward over her hair, grease-smudged cheek, and the wrench across her shoulder in a pose that Kaylee would later describe as 'adorably badass'.

Jaw and Akizuki cleaned up the tools and then tossed their coveralls in the wash. When Akizuki came out of the bathroom in her normal outfit, Jaw was waiting in the kitchen with a six-pack of Stewart's Root-Beer. "Feel like takin' her for a test-drive, 'Zuki?"

As the pair pulled out of the driveway, they tapped their bottles together and Akizuki hooked Jaw's phone up to her radio, then started a song playing...

 

[darthcourt10]

MagisterAurelius

Harry Leferts said:
Yeah, that... would not end well, for anyone.​

Maybe not Harry. This is just a bare bones snip mind you, nothing fleshed out....

----------------

The contingent of shipgirl escorts all looked on in horror at the epic clusterfuck that surely was going to ensue. Someone must have slipped the duty detailer decaf or a mickey because before them was the battleship Pennsylvania and the carrier Aso scheduled to be on the same patrol. Utter silence reigned. Until Aso opened her mouth.

"Let me be clear you filthy gaijin barbarian. Once the Abyssals are driven from the sea, you're next."

Pennsylvania just stared. Everyone was sure that the angry Standard would summon her rigging and end Aso right there. Then Pennsylvania... chuckled.

"Finally! Somebody who admits to their real intentions instead of all that fake politeness crap! This. This I can work with!" As Aso's frown turned to confusion, Pennsylvania continued, "You at least admit you hate us and want to strike me down. I feel the same towards you. And as soon as the Abyssals are done then we can finish things."

Aso nodded. "I agree! I, too can deal with you. My own side won't let me express how I feel and wants me to hide it with this comradely bullshit. Thank you for relieving me of having to act out that kabuki."

Pennsylvania smirked. "All right then, let's go kill Abyssals!"

"Yosh!"

As the two steamed out to the patrol the rest of the force all had one collective word. "Dafuq?"

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Giving a nod as they were let through the gates of the base at Kure, Enterprise glanced over the back of her seat with a chuckle. "Okay, Kiddo, we're finally here." The sight that met her caused the Carrier to raise an eyebrow as she curled her lips up in amusement. "What are you doing?"

Harry glanced up from the clipboard he had in front of him and smiled a bit. "Just making a final check of what I got." His gaze then went back to the papers on it. "After all, I need to make sure that I do have everything. I got some food for Kawa-San before she gets awoken and more for after."

With a hum, Yamato glanced in the mirror at Harry. "I think that I would be interested in what you might have, Harry-Chan."

The black haired boy shrugged a bit before making notes. "Well... I got a bunch of barbecued bologna sandwiches. They seem to be a big hit back in Yokosuka." Unnoticed by him, both Enterprise and Yamato's mouths began to water at that. Saying that they were a big hit was putting it mildly. Every time he cooked them, they soon vanished despite the amounts he made. "I also brought some other stuff, like wizarding treats. Kawa-San wanted to try some so I got chocolate frogs, cauldron cakes, pumpkin pasties, butterbeer, that sort of thing."

Moments later, having shaken herself free from her thoughts, Enterprise raised an eyebrow as Harry glanced in a locked box. "And what's in there?"

Frowning, Harry scratched his head. "Um, some Firewhiskey that Teitoku asked for me to deliver to the one here. He had Mum pick it up and wanted me to deliver it personally."

It took a second, but then Enterprise snorted in amusement while Yamato barely held back a giggle. Both of them knew that said drink had become somewhat popular among shipgirl Admirals. Why was beyond them though. Shrugging, Enterprise shook her head. "Whatever."

Soon after, Yamato parked the van they were in and Harry was unbuckling his seatbelt when he saw something. For a moment, he grinned before he looked at Yamato. "Stay here for a moment, Yamato-Oba! This is going to be good."

Confused, Yamato watched as Harry threw open the door and began running. "Why would he..." Then she realized why and sighed in bemusement. "Oh, Harry-Chan."

Meanwhile, Kawa was walking as she was talking with Agano beside her. Since the discovery of being an Natural Born, she had spent a lot of free time on the base. Mostly, it was with at least one of her new sisters. All of whom had welcomed her with open arms. Oddly, despite Agano being the "Oldest", the others had turned to her for help when they had questions regarding being human that they could not ask some of the human personnel about, and that Admiral Shimada disappeared when they tried to ask her. Today though was the day she both looked forward to and dreaded a little.

Her Awakening into the shipgirl Yahagi.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she sucked in a deep breath to try and calm down. Not that it was very easy. Especially with the rumor that once she was done with her training as a shipgirl and doing some light duties, she was to join the same group as Yamato, her hero. Every time she thought of it, her heart skipped a beat. She, Kawa, orphan of Kure was about to live her dream of being beside Yamato. Sure, it was a shipgirl, but that made it all the better. Though she had odd dreams sometimes involving Yamato dressed as a Japanese noblewoman and her as a samurai. Sometimes with Enterprise as well, which caused no end of embarrassment when she woke up. But such things were normal, right?

What was not normal though was a black haired missile which slammed into her stomach and nearly drove the air from her lungs as it shouted. "KAWA-SAN!"

Seconds later, she started to chuckle as Harry twisted her around and away from the van he must have come from. "Harry-Chan! You actually came!"

Pulling back some, he huffed as he gave her a look. "Of course I came! I promised you that I would, didn't I? And I brought all sorts of stuff for you."

There were sparkles in Kawa's eyes as she nodded and tightened the hug a bit. Part of her noticed Agano's eyes widening and jaw dropping, but dismissed it as being due to Harry's actions. "Sounds cool. Some of those magical treats that you told me about?" At his nod and grin, she laughed. "Then I'm looking forward to trying them. From the way that you talked they sound pretty good."

Kawa froze though at a voice behind her that carried the hint of concealed laughter. "As a matter of fact, they are quite good." Slowly, Kawa turned around and boggled at the sight of Yamato, her hero, standing right behind her. In the Battleship's eyes was a massive amount of amusement and she bowed a bit towards the teenaged girl in front of her. "Hello, Kawa-San. Or do I call you Yahagi-Chan?"

After not getting a response for almost a minute, Enterprise elbowed the Battleship beside her with a grin. "Nice going, Princess. I think that you broke her."

Softly snickering, Harry nodded. "And that is how we break the Kawa."

Her brain rebooting, Kawa whipped her head around in disbelief. "You knew that she was coming and... And distracted me!?"

In reply, Harry only grinned wider and nodded. "Yup. That I did."

Moments later, he was in a headlock with the girl growling at him. "Harry-Chan, you little..." Realizing that Yamato was there and softly laughing behind her hand, Kawa squeaked as she had pure embarrassment cross her face and bowed low. "I-I am so, so sorry, Yamato-Sama! My behavior is-"

She was cut off though as Yamato placed a hand on her head and gently ruffled her hair. "You got nothing to apologize for, Kawa-San. Not you, of all people." Moving her head up, Kawa could see a soft smile on Yamato's face. An expression of pure fondness. "Now, no more embarrassment, hmm?"

Blushing brightly, and with an awed look on her face, Kawa slowly nodded. "H-hai, Yamato-Sama."

Gently placing an arm around Kawa's shoulders, Yamato began to guide her away. "Good. Now, I, Yamato, would like to speak to you and get to know you as you are now. Harry-Chan has told me many good things. Speaking of... Harry-Chan?" Getting an acknowledgement, she continued. "Bring us the food? I think that I and Kawa-San have much to talk about before her Awakening."

All Harry did in reply was roll his eyes before smiling and walking back to the van to get the food. When he reached it though, he noticed Agano and Enterprise following him and when he gave them a raised eyebrow, they simply shrugged. "Kawa-Chan needs this talk with Yamato-Sama."

From where she was beside the Light Cruiser, Enterprise jerked her thumb. "What she said. Besides, Princess has been looking forward to speaking with her for some time now." Opening the back of the van, Enterprise glanced around before blinking at seeing a familiar Destroyer. "Huh, there's Ushio. But who's the JMSDF Lieutenant beside her?"

Glancing over, Agano softly chuckled a bit. "That's Hoshikawa Umi-San. Apparently she knew Ushio-Chan and were friends with her from before she awoke as a shipgirl and joined the JMSDF so that they could be beside each other. You should have seen how happy Ushio-Chan was when she arrived here, both of them share quarters in the Destroyer Dorms with Umi-San being the 'Dorm Mother'." A small frown crossed her face as she thought back. "A few weeks back though some of their other old friends showed up. One of them, Miya-San, kept on about how now MizuMizu wouldn't break up or something."

Just blinking as she tried to parse that, Enterprise finally just shrugged. "Huh, I see." Grabbing one of the boxes with an ofuda on it, she hummed. "Anything else happen?"

Agano hummed a bit before glancing at Harry. "Not much, though I would look out for Aso-Baka." Seeing their looks, she quickly added some more information. "Houshou-Sama is dating an American dog trainer here on the base. Aso-Baka did not take it well at all, though she doesn't say anything. Not after Houshou-Sama took her aside... Never seen Aso-Baka that white before."

That caused Enterprise to raise an eyebrow. "Houshou's dating, huh? And a dog trainer?" Frowning in thought as she considered what she had been told, she nodded some. "I think that I know who. His niece is a Natural Born and patrols the Inland Sea, right?"

While Agano nodded, Harry took out the box of materials and handed it to the Light Cruiser. Then he took the last one of the food boxes himself and shut the back of the van. Loaded down with food, the three started off towards where they could see Yamato and Kawa slowly walking and talking.
______________________________________________________________________

Having left his bracelet that Hoppou gave him, as well as Barghast, back at the van, Harry leaned against the railing. Down below, Kawa stood on the small wooden raft as it was towed out by Maruyu. Glancing up, the small Submarine could see Kawa nervously fingering the cheap, though good looking Yukata she had been provided. Cheap because it would vanish and be replaced by her shipgirl uniform when she Awoke. Good looking because just being cheap did not mean they had to look bad. "You okay, Kawa-San?"

For a brief moment, Kawa froze before she nodded. "Hai, just a bit nervous is all. I thought that I was ready but now..."

On Maruyu's face there was a smile as the Submarine nodded. "I might not really understand since I was summoned, but I can guess that it would be a big deal. But we're all here for you. And look, Harry-Chan came all the way down from Yokosuka to bring stuff to help. Then you got Yamato-Sama and Enterprise-Sama as well here. All for you!" There was a small upturn of her lips. "I'm kind of jealous."

Blushing, Kawa crouched down a bit. "Don't be. But, Maruyu-San?" Getting a hum, she patted her small companion on the head. "Thanks."

Maruyu only smiled at her. "You're welcome." Notcing where they were, she nodded. "I'll be right back up." Then, after lowering her mask, Maruyu dove with barely a ripple. Going under the raft, she quickly attached a rope to the small hoop on the bottom of the raft. Running it out behind her, she swam to the bottom and then flipped back a tile. Beneath it was another hoop which Maruyu ran the rope through and began to tighten it. It did not take her long as she tilted her head back and observed the raft to know when she got it properly secured. Quickly tying it, the small Submarine rose up from the bottom and broke the surface before giving a thumb's up. Getting a nod from Admiral Shimada, Maruyu turned back to Kawa and patted her foot. "Just relax, everything will be fine."

A bit more relaxed down, Kawa nodded. "Thank you, Maruyu-San. I appreciate this."

Smiling, Maruyu only shook her head. "You're welcome and it's no problem."

Her duty now done, Maruyu swam back towards the ladder with Kawa watching. Swallowing, she tried her best to ignore how her stomach was now doing flip flops. It would not do to get sick from nervousness after all! Especially with Yamato right there watching with a smile on her face! Granted, at least some of her nervousness was due to her hero being right there watching. Not helped at all by how she had come all this way for her, Kawa! Just an orphan about to be a shipgirl.

Okay, best to get her mind off that.

And yet, the fact that Yamato was there also helped. After all, she did not want to embarrass herself in front of the Battleship. But it was so damn hard not to! trying to put her best stoic expression on her face, Kawa closed her eyes as the Admiral began the final preparations for the ceremony. She could feel the raft gently rocking beneath her as she took calming breaths to try and relax. 'I am relaxed... I am relaxed... why are they taking so long!?'

Shaking off the small surge of panic, Kawa swallowed again. 'Okay, okay, what did Hikari-Sensei say to do when being nervous while public speaking? Right! Imagine them in their underwear!' With a nod, Kawa relaxed some and did just that as she opened her eyes.

Right as she realized that the smiling Yamato was right in her line of sight with Enterprise beside her.

Up where she stood, Yamato blinked a bit and tilted her head slightly as she realized that the teenaged girl down below was going bright red for some odd reason. 'I wonder why? Is it because everyone is watching her?' After a moment of thought, Yamato nodded to herself, not notcing Kawa go a bit redder. 'That must be it.' Softly chuckling, Yamato gave Kawa a bright smile. "So kawaii."

Enterprise only rolled her eyes as she snorted some. Then her attention was grabbed as the ceremony began down below. As it continued, and the water in the pool became more and more agitated, Enterprise could see the ghostly hull around Kawa changing. Where before it was only solid enough to be identified as an Agano class, now it was solidifying in a way. The lines of the hull, the bridge, the turrets, and other items becoming more and more clear as she awoke. At the same time, Kawa began to glow brighter and brighter with motes of light gathering around her.

Where she was, Kawa found it harder and harder to see past the slowly growing nimbus of light around her. She could see the materials that Harry had brought and added to the rest vanish in small sparks of light and flow towards her and add themselves to the aura around her. Blood pounding in her ears as her heart beat faster and faster, harder and harder, Kawa's last sight before the light overwhelmed her sense of sight was Yamato watching her with a soft, proud smile on her face. A smile that Kawa returned.

Then she could not see nothing but the light as she felt power slowly flowing around and into her. Part of her felt the yukata that she was wearing disintigrate and something else forming around her body. Kawa nearly giggled as she had one last thought: 'I wonder if this is what a magical girl transformation feels like?'

It was then that she felt it. Something that was mentioned to her by other Natural Borns when they awoke.

Her heart. Just. stopped.

And in the span between one moment and another, a time that both did not exist and yet extended off into eternity, Kawa knew that her heart would never again beat. That she had crossed over a line that could not be uncrossed. Never again would she be just another orphan girl.

Before any thoughts really had time to form, her boilers lit. And then her engines roared to life and she felt pure power rush through her body as the raft beneath her shattered from her new weight. It was heady, something far better then any adrenaline rush one could feel. Outside, everyone watched as the light pulsed and then burst apart revealing Kawa was now Yahagi in her new rigging softly smiling. As the last motes of light drifted away, Enterprise blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Is it just me, or did those look like cherry blossoms?"

Yamato only quietly giggled.

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 30: NotHimAgain

Aw, now I get to know what happened to Umi! I'm so happy!

Iiiiin other news...

One of my classes this year is Lyric and Dramatic Voice, and I think I'm going to really enjoy it. Tonight, our first meeting, we read and analyzed a poem by Yeats, and inspiration... well, see for yourself.
-----

Slowly she drifts awake, her bedroom ceiling coming into view through a tired cloud of dreams. As she lifts herself up on her hands, she idly wonders what time it is. The room is bathed in darkness, her possessions visible to her as shadows upon shadows. Except… they're not.

She looks over at her window, curiously. The curtains flutter and glow, light too bright to be the moon shining through them. She slides her feet over the side of the bed, ignoring the slippers set there for the morning. Barefoot, she glides to the window, and slides the curtains open. And there, glowing with the light of her own beauty, is her. She hovers like a daydream by the window, her glow illuminating the world around them. She smiles, and taps at the window hopefully.

She reaches down, undoes the clasp, and slides it open. She looks up at her hopefully, and she smiles down at her in appreciation at a job perfectly done. She lowers her hands through the window, pale and ethereal and she reaches up to take them.

"Jane! No! Stop!"

Harry? What is he doing in her room? She has opened her window, why did she do that? She looks up at her to see a face that, were it not for her beauty, she would have called a snarl. Harry continues yelling, but her hand closes around hers, and suddenly wind is roaring in her ears and she can no longer feel the ground underneath her feet, light, she feels light—

And suddenly, she is settling into a pair of familiar arms, cradling her and holding her close, and Aunt Nagato is standing before her, silhouetted in ethereal light like Athena or some knight, beautiful and terrible.

"Come on then," she thunders, "Try and take her." The light lingers a second longer, and then is gone. And she begins to feel her head clear, and her room begins to solidify in her eyes. There is her desk, her dresser, her bed, the curtains flapping.

"Shouldn't we go after it?" Mutsu-mama says, and she looks up to see it is indeed her who is holding her. Nagato leans forward, and she hears the window squeak shut.

"No need," she replies, turning away and running a hand lightly and gently down her hair. "It's not going to get past Regina."

As if in answer to her, an unearthly scream resounds through the air for five seconds. It is silenced by a vicious snap.

What was that? Was it her? Something killed the beautiful… the beautiful… It reached out to her… It took her hand—it was going to—going to—

Terror rides the burst of adrenaline that shoots through Jane's body, and she stiffens as she realizes what just happened. Curling into Mutsu-mama's breast, she begins to sob and weep softly. Mutsu-mama brings her up to the crook of her shoulder, and whispers to her.

"It's alright now," she says comfortingly. "It's alright. It didn't get you. You're safe."
-----
Well what did you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 30: S0ngD0g13

The Ironclad and the Unryu-Class...
..........................................

Virginia had finished her patrol and sent Rebel, Scuffle, and Skirmish back to the kennels, and now sought to her other patrol-partner...

The entire patrol Aso had been complaining, and not quietly, about 'That Filthy Amerikahito despoiling Houshou-Okaasan'. The Ironclad was hard-pressed to hold her tongue while out on the waves; Kaylee McAmis was only fifteen but she'd long-ago internalized her father's and uncle's view on professionalism when on the clock. But Kaylee Virginia McAmis wasn't on the clock now...

"Aso-san? A word, please? If you're not especially busy?" she asked the Carrier after finding the Unryu-Class on her way to the Mess.

"I'm a bit busy at the moment, Virginia-chan," Aso said dismissively. "Some other time?"

Kaylee nodded. "Fair-enough, Aso; I'd be happy to wait for a better moment... If this weren't so important. Now heave to and drop anchor, Aso. You and I need to have us a talk."

Aso stopped and turned, her lip curling in annoyance. "And who are you to order me, Little Girl?"

Virginia's lips drew up in a grin that more a baring of teeth. "Just a friend, looking out for a friend, seeking to head trouble off before it comes knocking. Your comments on our last patrol were 'bout to end up with you having a Religious Experience."

"A 'Religious Experience'?"

Kaylee held up her fists, tightening them until her knuckles popped. "There was about to be a Righteous Laying-On of Hands."

Aso stiffened as the humanity seemed to drain out of the Ironclad-Girl's face. "You wouldn't-"

"I would. I'm pretty easy-going, in all honesty, but you do not want to see me angry, Aso. The man you were insulting on patrol, the dog-trainer? Have you met him? Do you know him?"

"No!" snapped Aso harshly.

"Then you were speaking in ignorance. If you've never met him, what makes you qualified to judge him? Moreover, if you've never met Mister McAmis, why do you fear him so much you won't insult him to his face?"

Aso snarled and advanced a step. "I'm not afraid of him!"

Virginia bared her teeth further and advanced herself. "Yet you don't face him person-to-person, but cast aspersions on him behind his back like a coward." She kept advancing, straight on until she was forcing Aso backward into a nearby alleyway. As Aso felt her back touch the brick wall behind her, she swung at the shorter girl.

Kaylee ducked the sloppy punch and grabbed Aso by the hair, getting in her face. "Who your mother dates is her business, not yours. Secondly, James McAmis has treated Houshou with the utmost respect and courtesy since the day they first met; there has been no 'despoiling'. Lastly, whether or not you were talking out your aft from ignorance, I will not countenance you casting aspersions on his honor again, Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force Aircraft-Carrier Aso of the Unryu-Class, because he's my uncle, and I take my family's honor very seriously."

Kaylee summoned her Rigging and Aso felt the muzzle of a twelve-pounder howitzer against the underside of her chin. "In short, the next time you shoot your mouth off..."

Virginia snarled in Aso's face. "... I'll shoot your mouth off. Understood?"

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

As Kaylee walked away, she was satisfied, and simultaneously dreading Houshou's, Uncle James', and Admiral Shimada's reactions...

 

[darthcourt10]

Wildrook Omake: "Innocent Jersey"

"So, what's the deal with the term 'Heart-Shaped Box,' anyways?" Jersey asked them. "I kind of heard it from a song at one point."

Everyone in the mess hall just STARED at Jersey.

"Other than the fact that I get one from Crowning on Valentine's Day," she added. "Filled with chocolates, I might add."

Iowa and Crowning just looked at each other.

"She first met you when she was summoned," she muttered.

"You're her sister," Crowning retorted.

Haru was just laughing at the absurdity of the most foul-mouthed Shipgirl ever met being the most INNOCENT of them all.

"What's so f**king funny?" Jersey asked Haru.

"Nothing," she muttered. "The irony just hurts. Guys, just tell her."

Iowa and Crowning took a deep breath.
--
Within Harry's room in the naval barracks.

"THAT'S WHAT IT MEANS!?!" Jersey yelled, startling them.

"What was that?" Hermione asked Harry.

Harry then sighed. "Jersey being the last to figure out what certain terminology means," he muttered.

Ron just shook his head. "Is that even possible?" he asked him.

"It happens more often than you think."
----
That's all I've got, but yes, someone's going to blurt out what it means. Harry and the kids are dragged out of the room by then.

And I can see this happening in Belated Battleships, too!

This was inspired by Emile from The Runaway Guys being innocent when he mentioned that he heard the term "Heart-Shaped Box" from Nirvana.

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 31: S0ngD0g13

The Fallout...
....................................

"You did what, Kaylee Virginia McAmis?" James asked, his voice quiet. "You realize you were out of line, right? You fucked up hard, Darlin'." He sighed. "I can't go to bat for you on this, Kaylee. Come on; better to deal with it now."

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

"You did what, Virginia?" asked Shimada.

"I cornered Aso and had words with her, culminating in my telling her that next time she shot her mouth off, that I'd shoot her mouth off. With one of my howitzers under her chin, Ma'am," Kaylee responded, standing stiffly at Attention.

"You realize, I hope, that you have made a very egregious error, Virginia. I cannot let you go with just a slap on the wrist over this. You mentioned 'waiting until you were off the clock' to find Aso; you're a member of the United States Navy, Virginia, and that means unless you're on leave, you're always on the clock, and even then you're subject to the UCMJ. If you'd gotten into a fistfight that would be one thing, but you deliberately pulled a deadly weapon and threatened an allied servicemember with it!"

Kaylee stiffened, her eyes wide.

Admiral Shimada sighed and marshalled herself. "I understand that you're young, and that Aso's comments regarding your uncle were themselves out of line; rest assured, she will answer for that. But as for you and your behavior, what's going to happen is this." Shimada looked the teenage Ironclad in the eye.

"You are to be removed from the Patrol Roster and Restricted to the Cruiser Dormitory until such time as a JAG Officer can investigate under Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and determine whether or not you should be Court-Martialed. From where I'm sitting, off the record, the charges would be Article 90, Assaulting a Superior Commissioned Officer; Article 117, Provoking Speeches and Gestures; Article 128, Assault; and Article 133, Conduct Unbecoming an Officer. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Good." The Admiral pressed her intercom and spoke. "Kiso, Agano, escort Virginia to the Cruiser Dorms. After that, find Aso and escort her here."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts Omake: "Kaylee's Punishment"

Oh God, I just had an amusing thought...
_____________________________________

"What."

When she had been told to report to the Admiral's office for punishment, Kaylee, also known as the Monitor Virginia had a number of ideas. Peeling potatoes like in those old films or cleaning washrooms with toothbrushes had come to mind. Or the most boring duties possible. Maybe even lots of long patrols.

But not this.

Leaning back in her chair, Admiral Shimada ignored the disbelieving stares she got from both Kaylee and her uncle. "You heard me. Magic is real and so are wizards and witches. Dragons and the like as well. They've kept hidden by wiping people's memories of magic that they see, though that is failing."

Cleaning his throat, James ignored the impossibility of what he was hearing. "Right, assuming that is true, then why would you want Kaylee? And what does that have to do with punishment."

The smile on Shimada's face was not nice. Not in the least for all that it was filled with dark amusement. "It seems that a wizard or witch who lived on one of uninhabited islands had some rather... nasty pets. Ones that have gotten out of control since the abandonment due to the Abyssals and taken over the entire island and are now a danger for anyone who may land on them. Hence, Kaylee is being sent there kill them."

With a glance to her uncle, Kaylee took the small booklet and blinked at the first word, "Acromantula? You want me to kill some spiders!?"

Lips turning upwards, Shimada chuckled. "Big spiders. Big, bloodthirsty spiders who are also rather intelligent while being extremely aggressive." Seeing the shudder run through Kaylee, her smile broadened. "Being as you're a shipgirl, you are perfectly safe and able to break through while they can't harm you. It's going to be a bit disgusting though."

Looking over Kaylee's shoulder, James frowned. "Killing eight legged critters normally are. How big are we talking? Normal? Tarantula?"

Tons dry, Shimada looked forward to the reaction she would get. "Small dog sized to that of a house." Seeing the wide eyes, and shudder from the shipgirl, she smirked. "Congratulations, my dear. Your punishment is to be an exterminator."

 

[darthcourt10]

Deus Omake Crosspost: "Submarine Aquarium"

Yeah... change of topic, have something posted by Deus over on SV:

Submarine Aquarium

"Teiiii~Tokuu~~~!" Kongou squealed as she smothered Admiral Goto within her modest assets.

"Murph! Urphm! Murph!" Admiral Goto tried to say something but his mouth was buried right above where her stomach should be. He knew her game however; she gets grabby like this when she wants something or permission for something. Removing his hands from the paperwork on his desk and putting them over her shoulders, he gently pushed her off and breathed. "All right, what is it this time?"

"Well, Harry, Akashi and Yuubari created a subtank near the destroyer dorms."

Admiral Goto's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at that little tidbit. The first thought that ran through his mind was an energy tank from a 2D game on the Nintendo so long ago before dismissing it. There's no way that they're making something like that. The words 'Repair Fluid' came to mind before dismissing it; they already have buckets for that. "A subtank?"

Kongou sounded her agreement. "The desstroyers are very FASCINATED about it."

That caused him to become more mystified, "How?"

"COME!" Kongou took his hand and pulled softly, eliciting him to stand up from his seat, "I'll show you."
*Break*

Admiral Goto blinked as he saw the incredible sight before him. "Well, I'll be! It really is a tank."

Right infront of him standing about ten feet in height, fifteen feet in length, ten feet wide and elevated by three feet off the ground by concrete pillars. The giant Submarine Aquarium was a beautiful sight to behold as it glistened with the beautiful morning sunlight and deep inside its slight blue tinted water were submarines, instead of fishes, in miniature swimming left and right, bobbing themselves up on the surface to sun themselves and/or otherwise crash diving down to the bottom.

And standing mesmerized by the whole thing were the Akatsuki sisters whose faces were hugging the glass, a fascinated gleam in their eyes and, believe it or not, a very un-ladylike drooling from Akatsuki.

"Ah! AaaahhHH!" Akatsuki moaned as she pawed the glass with her with her palm.

Admiral Goto turned away as a slight flush spread on his face. The little destroyer either didn't care or more likely didn't notice but she's very much acting like a cat with the way that she's wriggling herself which unfortunately caused a cascading reaction among her sisters. He could feel a headache coming in. His horoscope said that a storm's coming his way and he wondered if this was it.

"I – I wanna drop a depth charge." Moaned Akatsuki, utterly fascinated by the hypnotic miniature submarines as they swam leisurely.

"Me too!" Ikazuchi agreed, her eyes twinkling.

Inazuma merely giggled in response. The admiral blinked in sudden surprise. That was new and it brought an unexpected chill up and down his spine reminding her a certain cruiser. There's no way that a sweet girl like her would become someone like her. He could be wrong but he refused to acknowledge it.

"Khorosho." Verniy quietly added her own.

The admiral kept watching them in silence. It was fascinatingly odd to see them wriggle in a synchronized manner as if they were subconsciously following the same sub every single time.

A puerile giggling erupted from their side making Admiral Goto and Kongou turn to see the one and only chuuni-momboat with a smart phone in her hands.

"Tenryuu?"

"You're recording this?"

"Well yeah! Can you blame a mom from recording her children's cute moments? This one's definitely going on youtube."

Kongou opened her mouth … only to close it after a few seconds.

"Where did they get all this glass?" Admiral Goto asked. Sometimes he wondered if there's only himself out here and the shipgirls.

"Actually, it's not glass." Said Kongou.

"That's aluminium." Tenryuu replied.

"Aluminum?!" The Admiral screamed in surprise. Did Yuubari actually managed to do what he think she just did? Star Trek will never live this down.

"YES!" Kongou hugged him again. "Akashi and Yuubari set it up last night and Harry ENCHANTED it to be transparent."

Admiral Goto deflated a bit at that. So it is enchanted instead of actual science. But still…

"And the subs?"

"Harry's presents to the submarines last Christmas. He also enchanted them to move when there's a fairy inside."

"Ah, so that's what those mini-sub pens are for."

"So, How about it? Can we keep it?" Asked Kongou. "It will help keep the destroyers and Hoppou entertained and it's also relaxing watching-."

Ikazuchi suddenly screamed causing the three adults to jerk at the unexpected surprise. Ikazuchi stood, pointing an accusing finger at the aquarium. "It's a shark! A shark!"

Her sisters blinked at her in surprise before following where her finger was pointing. It wasn't a shark, obviously, but rather a submarine that looks oddly familiar. Before Tenryuu could say anything three of the Akatsuki sisters ran away screaming arms flailing while Verniy followed closely behind.

The sub tapped the Aluminum wall three times before backing up and resumed its swimming.

All was quiet…

"So… Can we-" Kongou started again.

"Yes!"

 

[darthcourt10]

smthng

You know, the rather heavy stuff the thread descended today made me write. I actually kinda-sorta feel like I'm getting back to a writing mood. For the first time in a long while.

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

"Kuso-Aso!"

Aso could do nothing but stare at the little girl in a green dress, who had just shouted rudely at her. In a clear, obviously delighted little-girl voice, while smiling a megawatt smile and running at her. A second later she had to take a step back, as the girl slammed into her and started hugging her legs.

"Kuso-Aso! You came!"

Aso just continued to stare at the girl, who hugged her with all her power. Meanwhile, she boggled at the phantasmal flight deck painted in green, brown and black camouflage pattern that she could see overlaid with the girl.

"Katsuragi-chan! Don't say that kind of things to your sister!" Hosho's admonishment shook Aso out of her fugue, and also caused the girl to let go and give the older carrier a puzzled look.

"Hosho-mama?" the girl asked in quizzical voice.

The mother of Japanese carriers knelt down to admonish the girl. "Katsuragi-chan, kuso is a bad word. You should not use it on anyone."

The girl's face gained a puzzled look. "Where did you even hear it?" Hosho wondered.

The girl immediately brightened up. "'Bono used! Called Aso Kuso-Aso!"

Hosho sighed. "Of course she did. Listen, Katsuragi-chan, don't listen to what Akebono says, okay? She often uses bad words."

Again the smiled dimmed a bit. "Okay, Hosho-mama. 'm sorry."

The older carrier ruffled the girl's head. "That's okay Katsuragi-chan. Now, I need to talk to Aso a bit. Go find your mother, okay?"

"Okay, Hosho-mama!"

After the girl had disappeared to the next room, Aso managed to raise a trembling finger and point at the doorway. "Hosho-sama... Was that..."

"You do recognized your elder sister, don't you Aso-kun?" Hosho replied, an eyebrow raised.

"She was just, just... so small," the younger carrier said in an unbelieving tone.

"Well, that is just to be expected, given that she's just three."

Aso gave Hosho a disbelieving look, causing the older carrier to nod. "She's the youngest spontaneously manifested natural born on record, Aso-kun." Hosho gave her troublesome daughter a look. "And even she has heard of your reputation, already."

"Mother!"

Hosho sighed. "Aso, I can not... I will not order you to change your opinions, but you simply must change your attitude."

"Why?" the young carrier cried out. "So that those gai-"

Hosho whipped her head around and gave Aso a look. "Aso! We have guests!"

For a few moments, the two carriers stared at each other. Then Aso averted her eyes.

"Well?"

Again, there was a short pause. "I apologize, mother."

Hosho nodded, "Very good. I forgive what you were about to say."

Aso winced at the implications, as Hosho continued. "Now please, let us leave that particular matter behind." The elder carrier paused to lick her lips. "How have you been, daughter?"

For a while Aso just stared at the floorboards.

They were just like the last time.

"I got into another fight, mother," she finally muttered, causing Hosho to let out another long sigh.

"Oh, Aso-kun..."

The quiet in the room was heavy for a few moments, until Katsuragi chose to run back. "Aso! Wanna play?"

The carrier looked at her... her tiny elder sister. "Play?"

Katsuragi nodded emphatically. "Play, Aso!"

Hesitantly, Aso glanced at her mother, who gave a slight nod. Trying to summon a smile, the young carrier then knelt down next to the girl. "What do you want to play, Katsuragi-chan?"

Katsuragi held out a plush fighter plane. "Air combat! I give Zero!"

Gingerly, Aso accepted the toy. "What's the Zero doing then, Katsuragi-chan?"

"The Zero flies! Goes wrooom! Combat sortie!" Katsuragi waved her hand around, making airplane noises.

From the corner of her eye Aso noticed a young civilian coming into the room. Hosho immediately intercepted the woman, and started conversing with her in a quiet voice. Aso, for her part, nodded at Katsuragi. "Okay, the Zero is on a combat sortie."

Still smiling, Katsuragi pulled out another fighter plush. "Is enemy, Wildcat! Dogfight!"

Katsuragi started making airplane noises, waving the Wildcat plush around. Her smile widening from hesitant to real, Aso started doing the same. Then Katsuragi suddenly dropped the plush. "Wildcat shot down! Zeros strong!"

Aso nodded, "Zeros are strong, Katsuragi-chan!"

Katsuragi nodded back and drew out another plush. "New enemy, Hellcat."

Getting into the game, Aso made her Zero make a diving attack. "Zero is so strong it immediately shoots down the Hellcat, too!"

Katsuragi just grinned back and shook her head. "No, Hellcat wins! Thach weave!" She waved her hand to emphasize the point.

Aso paused, causing Katsuragi's grin to falter a bit. "Hellcat wins!" the girl insisted.

For a few moments more Aso faltered, until Hosho cleared her throat. From the corner of her eye young carrier saw her mother frown, and quickly made the plush dive down to the ground. "Okay, the Hellcat wins, Katsuragi-chan."

Katsuragi nodded, and her grin came back full force. She quickly pushed another plush into Aso's hands. "Now Aso gets Reppuu! Stronger!"

"So Reppuu wins against Hellcat, Katsuragi-chan?"

The girl nodded enthusiastically in reply and dropped her plush. "Reppuu wins Thach weave! Very strong!"

Aso made the plush Reppuu make a victory roll. "And now Reppuu rules the skies. What next, Katsuragi-chan?"

Katsuragi quickly picked up the Zero and handed it to Aso, before picking up the Wildcat and Hellcat. "Now Abyssals attack! Everyone fight back together! Friends!"

That made Aso pause.

* * *

A/N: Please don't mind the anvils. And because Aso is also a person under all the stupid.

And since the story already has Wokyuu and what are clearly hisahiko-brand Abyssal destroyers following ADP, why not hisahiko's Katsuragi too? Who calls Hosho Hosho-mama, because Hosho is the mom of all japanese carriers. She also has mama, who is her real mother.

Oh, and Katsuragi's real name just needs to be Misato.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Standing with his back against one wall, Harry looked over the room that they were in. It was only an hour after Kawa was fully awoken, but the party in celebration was already in full swing as it was. Over on one table were trays of food as well as drinks laid out for the people at the party to enjoy. Everywhere in the room were people having fun or talking, such as one corner which had Ushio and her friend Umi discussing something. 'I wonder if I'll ever get tired of parties like this?' Shaking it off, Harry turned and grinned at the sight of Kawa trying to gulp down a sandwich. "Hungry?"

Quickly swallowing the last bit, Kawa nodded. "Yeah, I'm practically ravenous." Taking a swig of Butterbeer, she let out a sigh and shook her head. "Thanks for bringing some food, Harry-Chan."

All Harry did was shrug some before scratching his cheek. "Well, I had plenty cooked up anyways. Hopefully it's enough."

Raising an eyebrow, Kawa glanced over at the table where she could see the food laid out on it. There were at least two trays filled with the barbecued bolgna that Harry had made and were steaming. How an ofuda kept them warm the whole trip from Yokosuka the Light Cruiser did not know. And when asked, Harry only told her it was magic and laughed. "I think that you brought plenty of food."

Harry shrugged some as he noticed an American teenaged girl in a grey coat walk up to the food and look it over. Even from where he was he could see the symbol of crossed guns as the girl talked to an older man next to her as she began filling a plate and making two sandwiches with the barbecued bolgna there. "Yeah, every one seems to be enjoying it at least."

With another swig of her drink, Kawa shrugged some. "Don't blame them. It is pretty good after all. And some of these wizarding treats are good too..." She glanced to where Enterprise and Yamato sat at a table blindfolded. The two shipgirls were sitting and grabbing a jellybean from a bowl and then taking a bite with various reactions. "Though some, I wonder about."

Glancing in the same direction, Harry shrugged some. "Yeah, when they say every flavor, they mean it." When he looked back at the food table, he could see the grey clothed girl now looking over a chocolate frog box in confusion before she opened it. Moments later, she gave a shriek that caused people to look at her as the frog leapt out and landed on her face before leaping off. However, it's freedom was short lived as Maruyu appeared and grabbed it midair and bit the head off. "And that's not mentioning the others."

The newly awoken shipgirl snorted as the American gave Maruyu a look as the grinning Sub showed her the frog was just plain chocolate before finishing the rest off and walking off. Then the laughing guy next to the American got a punch to the shoulder from her. "True enough, I suppose." Looking down at her bottle of Butterbeer, she finished it off and set it aside. "The Butterbeer is pretty good though."

Only shaking his head, Harry snorted. "I prefer the pumpkin juice myself. It's really good."

Eyebrow raising, Kawa looked at him in thought. "Really?" At his nod, she hummed a bit. "I'll have to try it one of these days then."

Both of them lapsed into silence before Harry finally looked over to see Kawa looking down at her hand as if in deep thought. "How are you feeling?" When she glanced at him with her question obvious on her face, Harry nodded towards her hand. "About what's happened?"

Frowning, the Light Cruiser resumed her examination of her hand. "I'm pretty okay with everything in all honesty. I mean, I never expected to be able to become a shipgirls but now? Well... it's odd, but it feels like a part of me that I never knew was missing is now where it should be. Back to what I was always meant to be. It's... odd, but in a good way."

Head tilting to the side, Harry frowned a bit in thought. "Like there was always something there, but you just couldn't really grasp it? But now that it's come to the fore you have to wonder how it was that you never missed it before."

Just snapping her fingers, Kawa pointed at him. "That's actually it. I can feel the power in my veins now, my boilers working, and everything. It's wierd, but I can't imagine how I lived without it." Tilting her head back, Kawa stared at the ceiling above them. "I've changed a bit, but mostly physically. I was never this fit after all." She then turned and gave Harry, who was smiling knowingly, an odd look. "But how did you know?"

Softly chuckling, Harry took a sip of his own drink and shrugged. "Well, Inazuma-Chan as well as Ikazuchi-Chan and Tenryuu-Oba described it like that. And I can sort of understand myself." At the confusion on Kawa's face, he shook his head and gestured with his hand. "My magic."

There was a small frown on Kawa's face as she considered this. "Your magic? But you've always had your magic though."

With a hum, Harry scratched his chin. "I guess? You're right that my magic was always there, but it was always under my skin. Like you being a shipgirl I think. Sometimes, it came out a bit but it was so fast..." Trailing off, the black haired boy shook his head. "Then Junyou-Oba, Ryuujou-Oba, and Haru-San taught me how to use it. All of a sudden, I could feel it and it felt so good. I don't know if I can really describe how it felt when I first used my magic properly the first time."

On Kawa's face there was a thoughtful smile on her face before she shook her head. "I think that I can guess actually." Both of them shared looks before she decided to change the subject."Anyways, I heard that you're staying the night and then heading out in the morning for Sasebo?"

Harry gave a short nod at that. "Yeah, we're heading down for Uncle John's and Mutsu-Oba's wedding. I'm helping out some with Jane there, it's going to be my job to keep an eye on Hoppou. Wanko is going to be helping out along with Regina and Revina by handling the outer perimeter of the area to free up some of the shipgirls. It's going to be pretty great, though I got to head back to Yokosuka afterwards for Miyuki-San's and Daisuke-San's wedding as well."

Eyebrows furrowing, Kawa slowly nodded. "So tomorrow is the twenty ninth... when is this other wedding?"

The black haired boy gave a small smile. "It's on the thirty-first. Haru-San is going to be holding it in the Shrine at Yokosuka and I'm to be at the party." A grin crossed his face. "I think that the two of them will enjoy my gift to them."

In reply, Kawa raised her eyebrow in thought. "I see..."

Shrugging, and calming down after a burst of snickers, Harry nodded. "Yeah, I think that they'll enjoy it. Of course, i got to go back to school soon after New Year's... Anyways, what are you going to be doing?"

A frown on her face, Kawa blinked some as she bit off the top to another bottle of Butterbeer before chewing said cap. Swallowing, she chased it down with some of the drink in the bottle before shaking her head. "Mostly going to be training to get used to being a shipgirl for the next few weeks. Then they're going to be putting me on light duties such as patrolling the Inland Sea."

While he nodded some, Harry noticed that Kawa's gaze had drifted back to the game that Yamato and Enterprise was having. Granted, the Carrier was now retching into a bucket with Yamato smirking. "And then you're going to be joining Yamato-Oba's and Enterprise's group, right?"

Blushing brightly, Kawa nodded as she played with her bottle some. "Hai. I-I'm not really sure if I should though. I mean, Yamato-Sama is all for it, but... To be in the same group as her? That's a dream come true for me... And then, well..."

Only reaching up and placing his hand on her shoulder, Harry nodded some. "You're going to be with them and since they're based in Yokosuka you'll be leaving Kure behind."

After a few moments, Kawa nodded. "That's... part of the problem. Before, it wasn't a big deal if I joined the JMSDF. I was just an orphen you know? And sure, I might miss the others at the orphanage, but we all knew that we would be separated." Her gaze then turned to one section of the room in particular where the rest of the Aganos were talking about something, the lead ship biting down on a rock cake Harry got from Hagrid. "But now I actually have sisters, a family. And I know you understand what a big deal that is, Harry-Chan."

Knowing what she meant, Harry only gave a nod. "Hai, I know. But they can always contact you and you can always get time off to visit them here in Kure, and vice versa. Especially with how the war is going."

Simply considering that, Kawa's lips slowly turned upwards into a smile. "You're right, Harry-Chan. And it's not like I won't have friends in Yokosuka and I can always contact my sisters, right?" That got her a nod from the twelve year old beside her and she chuckled. 'Still a couple months away though..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Within moments of the van coming to a stop, Harry was already opening the door and getting out. As soon as he got out though, he turned and held out his hand to help Maruyu out of the door with said Submarine smiling at him. "Thank you, Harry-Chan."

Smiling back, Harry only shrugged a bit. "You're welcome, Maruyu-Chan." Once Maruyu was on the ground, he then held his hand out to help Akitsu Maru who gave a small nod of thanks. "Both of you ready?"

There was a small smile on Akitsu Maru's face as she chuckled. "Yes, I have my uniform ready." At the look she got, the shipgirl shrugged. "I feel more comfortable in a dress uniform."

Meanwhile, Maruyu grinned a bit. "I got a new dress just for this, Harry-Chan. Kiso-Nee-San helped me choose it along with Taigei-Nee-San. Both of them think that it looks good."

As he was nodding, Harry heard running footsteps and turned to see Jane running over. "Cuz! You're finally here!" Skidding to a stop and hugging him, she grinned widely. "And you're not late due to getting lost."

Off to the side, Enterprise was grumbling a bit as she crossed her arms. "Oh come the fuck on, it was once. Besides, it was not my fault."

Turning her head, Jane gave a small snort. "Enterprise, everyone knows about you getting lost."

Yamato elbowed Enterprise in the side with a small smirk. "Yes, Enterprise. Everyone knows about you getting lost."

Eyebrow raising, Jane gave the Battleship a look. "Just like they know that you got lost in the US?" Ignoring how Yamato was now hanging her head and Enterprise snickering at her, Jane turned to Harry with narrowed eyes. After giving a glance around, she leaned in. "Do you have the stuff, Harry?"

His expression becoming serious, Harry also nodded while glancing around. "Aye, I got the stuff, Jane. It took some doing and a lot of work and materials, but I got it for you. Needed to call in a favor or two as well."

Reaching out, Jane clapped a hand on his shoulder with her lips pursed. "Thank you, Cousin. My nation and I thank you for your hard work. But I need to see it."

Only nodding, Harry walked to the back of the van as the shipgirls watched in amusement at how the two were acting. After opening the hatch door, he pushed it up and then reached in for a suitcase. To even greater amusement from Enterprise who was watching, she noted that said suitcase had combination locks on it. Holding it, Harry looked it over before nodding to himself. "This? This is the major one."

Quickly going through the combination, the locks clicked and Harry flicked his thumbs to unlock it. Then, slowly, he lifted the top of the suitcase and then nodded as Jane's eyes sparkled a bit. Gently, she reached out with a hand and then paused as she looked over at the serious looking wizard beside her. "I don't believe it, you actually did it."

Harry only nodded as he looked down at the waterline model of Mutsu made out of rock crystal. At the waterline, it became a block with sculpted waves and bubbles in the crystal itself as if she was on the waves. "Wasn't easy, Jane. Had to get all the quartz through the mail and work at it. Also had Professor Flitwick cast some strengthening charms on it." He then pointed at other suitcases. "Those are the copies of it. Had to ask a Seventh Year Ravenclaw for the duplication and she asked for a picture of me and an autograph."

Solemn, Jane only nodded and hugged him. "I thank you, this is so much better then an ice sculpture." Then her eyes caught something and widened. "Is that...?"

There was a smirk on Harry's face as he lifted a small figurine from the suitcase. "A crystal figurine of Uncle John and you? Yup! I can quickly attach them to the rest of it when we set it up. You got the base?"

Within moments, Jane shook it off and nodded. "Bases, actually. And yeah." Reaching out, she closed the suitcase and relocked it. "I got one for each table for the reception so that light will be shining up into the sculptures. This... this is going to be perfect!"

Frowning, Harry shook his head. "Just remember that the copies will only stick around for a few months. The main one will be around as long as it's not smashed."

Jane though just waved him off. "As long as they look good for the wedding. Still, Cuz, that looks amazing!"

As he shrugged, Harry rubbed the back of his head. "I've gotten a lot of experience with shaping crystal and stuff. It's really basic transfiguration so it's not that hard. And it was a lot easier then with Iku-Chan's and the others' gifts as those I really had to get it all right." For a moment, there was a frown on Harry's face. "Professor McGonagall keeps giving me these odd looks. Like she's deep in thought about something."

For a brief moment, Jane gave that some thought before shrugging it off. "Probably nothing."

Taking the suitcase, she waved for Albie and Archie nearby to come over. Once both Submarines were there, Albie glanced at the suitcases and then her. "Something wrong, Jane?"

In reply, Jane only smiled a bit and then pointed at the suitcases. "Can you go and put those someplace safe until we set up? They're for the reception."

Both Submarines nodded with serious expressions and gave her a salute before going to work with Harry grabbing two himself. As all four walked off, Harry looked around. "Is Louisiana here yet?"

Looking over her shoulder, Jane gave a nod with a chuckle. "Yeah, she's been at work since this morning setting up things for her end. She must have really put a dent in the wild pig population on that island with how much meat she brought back." A frown on her face, she looked over at the nearby mess hall. "She set up her smoker about an hour ago, so I think that she's starting to cook now... Something about making sure that her sauce is ready too."

That only made Harry nod. "Yeah, that sounds about right since real Southern barbecue takes a while to cook up." As they walked, Harry could see various shipgirls and personnel running from one place to another. "So is it true? SECNAV sent down a representative himself?" At Jane's nod, the black haired boy let out a low whistle. "They are really taking this seriously."

With a serious nod, Jane snorted. "Of course they are! This is big, huge! Mutsu-Mama only deserves the best you know and so does Daddy."

Also with a serious expression, Harry only hummed. "They really do, Dess. Uncle John is pretty awesome." It was then that he noticed a car come to a stop and blinked as Ooyodo got out along with Supprin. But it was the third member of their group that really made him boggle a bit. "What the..."

Just glancing over, Jane blinked a bit. "Miss Supprin? She's going to be there as a representative of Miss Wanko, Cuz. It's like how Haida and Athabaskan I are representing Canada, Miss Tiger is here for England, Australia for... Australia along with the Australian Admiral's Niece. I thought that you knew that?"

However, Harry shook his head with a frown. "I did, but it's not that." Seeing the confusion, he waved a hand around. "It's more why they got Percy with them. He should be back in England after all."

Tapping her chin, Jane shook her head as she glanced to Smolzona who glanced down at her tiny clipboard. "Zona."

Only nodding, Jane chuckled a bit. "Seems that he's Supprin's escort. After all, it helps if she's taking a human date to the wedding."

A frown on his face, Harry slowly nodded. "Makes sense..." Unknown to Jane, he had a different thought in his head as well. 'I wonder if this has anything to do with how he wants to go into the Ministry? Ooyodo-Nee and Supprin know that as well...'

Eyes widening, Albie gestured with her head at another car. "Look at that! I think that's from that island in the Atlantic, um... Saint Brandon?"

Only giving her a glance, Harry shook his head. "Saint Brendan's actually. And I'm sort of shocked that they're openly sending someone here..." Then he frowned a bit. "Though maybe I shouldn't since they've been mostly rumors on the non-magical side. It kind of makes sense I guess to send a small contingent."

Watching in as the people get out, Jane's eyebrows raised a bit as she noted one of them. "Huh... I think that's that shark woman that I've seen in the pictures that Radetzky posted on Shipgirls Online. You know, the Mayor's adopted daughter?"

As he nodded, Harry looked over the others before coming to a stop at the sight of one of them in an unfamiliar uniform as her fox-like tail swished behind her. "I think that's Thunderchild too! She looks just like she does in the pictures."

Thoughtful, Jane slowly nodded though she raised an eyebrow at the older man and the boy beside him. Both of them were obviously father and son with horns and bat-like wings coming from their backs. Add in the tails and Jane blinked a bit. "Huh... Dragons?"

Harry looked over and nodded. "Dragon blooded I think they call them." Seeing the boy stretch some and breath out smoke, he shrugged. "Something about dragon ancestry in them."

Scratching her chin, Jane only nodded as she did some calculations in her head regarding the guests. Such as giving some of them more meat for the reception dinner. 'Hmm...' After a few seconds, she nodded and then looked back at Harry. "By the way, you think that Miss Haru and the others can do what they said? Because it would be a really tight fit otherwise."

With a glance around, Harry gave a chuckle. "It's not that hard, they just need to expand the space enough without it being noticeable. According to Junyou-Oba, that's easy to do as long as you're not showing off."

That made Jane relax some as they continued to walk.

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 32: S0ngD0g13

A snippet to tie up a loose end...
.............................................

Prinz Eugen stepped out of the cab aboard Yokosuka two days after Harry had returned to school, adjusted her cap, and keyed her radio. "Nagato, Nagato, this is Prinz Eugen; are you busy at the moment?"

"Eugen, Nagato here; I'm free. Meet at the Mess?"

When the two met, Nagato took in the German Cruiser's grave countenance and paused. "Is something the matter?"

Eugen shook her head as if to clear it. "Nein, it's nothing. Just caught up in a memory for a moment. Congratulations on your sister's nuptials, by the way. I saw Naka's video; I wish I could have attended."

Nagato nodded and smiled. "It was quite an event. But surely you didn't come all the way out here just to congratulate Mutsu and John, Eugen..."

Eugen drew a breath. "Do you remember the operation we and the British undertook to eliminate the Northern War Demon? The one who challenged Gibraltar to a duel?"

"How could I forget? You were there, weren't you?"

"Ja, I was there. I even spoke to Skadi during her two days' rest. She asked a favor of me, Nagato, und to my regret I haven't been able to fulfill it until today. Skadi claimed distant kinship with Hoppou and asked me to deliver an item to you, to hold in trust for your daughter." Prinz Eugen withdrew a long object wrapped in cloth from storage and laid it on the table between her and Nagato.

Nagato unwrapped the cloth to reveal a scabbarded sword of Viking make, its hilt worked with Nordic runes and its grip well-worn. When she drew it from the scabbard the blade was engraved with knot-work that ended in stylized eagle-heads.

"Skadi wished me to deliver this to you, to hold for Hoppou. Seeadler, Sea-Eagle, she said its name was."

The pair stepped outside and Nagato gave the sword an experimental swing; the blade seemed to scream like its namesake raptor as it clove the air. Nagato returned it to its scabbard and wrapped it again. "Thank you, Eugen, for bringing this blade to me. I'll see to it that Hoppou gets it when she's ready."

"You are welcome, Nagato; I could hardly refuse such a request from such a warrior as she who once bore that sword."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Sitting down, Harry adjusted his suit a little bit before finally shrugging. He was sitting on the side of the aisle normally held for the family of the Bride, not that there was many of those not already in the wedding itself. Other then an older Japanese gentleman who gave a slight nod to both Harry and Hoppou, and getting a nod back, there was no one in their row. The spot though gave him a rather decent view of everything though. And one of the things that Harry noticed was that the room shouldn't have been able to hold as many people as it did.

But he actually could notice the subtle expansion charms cast on the room, though that was only because he knew what to look for.

As his gaze swept the room, he blinked while counting off who he recognized. Near the back of course was Supprin as well as Ooyodo and Percy, all three quietly talking about something. What, Harry could not tell over the soft murmur of the crowds. Then his gaze turned towards the sharkgirl who was speaking to another girl beside her with a unicorn horn of all things. For some odd reason, she reminded Harry of an old book he once caught Arizona readings. Acorna or something. The dragon boy was also there and he remembered Inazuma talking to him earlier. Though why she was blushing... Harry quickly shook that thought out of his head.

With a smile, he waved to where Naka was with a camera man, who he recognized as Sendai's boyfriend. Said Traffic Cone was not far from where her sister was along with Nevada, both of them giving the man leers. Something that the man was either ignoring or oblivious to, though Naka wasn't if her eyeroll was anything to go by. A quick glance at his phone made Harry nod as he glanced over the livestream thread on Shipgirls Online. 'Four hundred users... hope the servers can take that.'

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turned and blinked at the sight of one of the Australian contingent. "Yes?"

Only smiling, the girl held out a hand which he shook. "Amy Kirkpatrick."

A smile on his own face, Harry shook the offered hand some. "Harry Potter, Nagato's my Mum if you're wondering. You're Admiral Kirkpatrick's neice, right? Or that's what Jane told me."

Chuckling, the Australian nodded. "That's about right. Though I will mention that Tiger here is my sister as well." Both of them glanced at the Battlecruiser who was blushing slightly. "Anyways, I was wondering how much longer before the wedding starts?"

Quickly glancing at his phone, Harry frowned a bit as he went over it in his head. Then he slowly nodded some. "Won't be much longer before it starts, I think. Jane's got this down to pat." Getting a sigh in return, he glanced between Amy and Tiger with a small frown. "So... Natural Born sister or...?"

Amy smiled a bit. "I adopted her."

Still blushing, Tiger sighed a bit. "I'm right here, Amy. And I can hear everything that you're saying."

While Amy said something back, Harry felt the chair next to him shift around a bit and turned to look at Hoppou. Like him, Hoppou was in her very best clothes. Unlike him though, that meant that Hoppou was dressed in a small, white lacey dress. Raising an eyebrow a bit as he noticed Hoppou wiggle around, he sighed a bit. "Something wrong, Hoppou?"

Blinking, Hoppou looked up at him and then nodded. "Hoppou can't see, Big Brother. Hoppou wants to see!"

Just raising an eyebrow, Harry gave her a look which calmed her down. "Hoppou." Once she was calmed down, he sighed a bit. "If you promise not to move around too much, I'll switch our seats, okay? That way you can see better. But, you need to promise me not to cause trouble."

Eyes wide, Hoppou began noddding quickly. "Hoppou promises, Big Brother! Hoppou promises not to cause trouble if Big Brother switches places."

Nodding, Harry stood up and waited as Hoppou wiggled until she was now in his former seat and he sat down in hers. "There, now be good, okay Hoppou? Or else I will have you move back to where you were."

With a blink, Hoppou nodded as she then began to look everywhere that she could. "Okay, Big Brother. Hoppou will do that."

Only rolling his eyes, Harry sighed and ignored the snickers coming from Amy. Before he could say though, music familiar the world over began to play and his expression brightened as he turned to watch, Hoppou doing the same. The wedding had begun...
________________________________________________________________

"Oy! Traffic Cone!"

Sighing, Naka turned and gave a raised eyebrow at the strawberry blonde Battleship walking over. "Yeah, Jersey? What is it?"

In reply, the Battleship sucked on one of her fingers before pulling it out and jerking her thumb to where Lousiana and Harry were handling a table. "You try some of this barbecue? It's fucking amazing." Turning her gaze at her fingers, she gave a small glare. "Though it's sort of messy."

Lips twitching, Naka hummed a bit. "Hmm... I suppose that it's a bit saucy."

For several moments, Jersey stared at her before growling. "A fucking pun? Are you shitting me, Naka?"

Softly snickering, Naka nodded some. "Nope, not at all. Besides, Harry-Chan is over there helping to serve people so he can't tell them." Then shrugging, Naka shook her head. "And I've been meaning to head on over to grab some anyways, it does look and smell amazing."

With a snort, Jersey looked down at her. "Of couse it is, you don't get much fucking more American then good old fashioned Southern barbecue. And Louisiana is the shit at it." Stabbing some pork with a fork, it soon vanished into Jersey's mouth. "A-fucking-men."

Only shaking her head, Naka chuckled some. "Well, I'll take your word for it I suppose." She then held out her hand and a plate seemed to appear from nowhere in it with some. "So I guess that I'll just have some."

Frowning, Jersey looked around and then spotted Harder nearby. At seeing the Battleship looking at her, the Submarine gave a wink which made Jersey grumble. "Fucking Submarines." As the American stabbed another piece of meat, Naka had a thoughtful look as she chewed her own, much smaller, bite. Her gaze kept on shifting from Harry to Jane and then back. Something that Jersey noticed and frowned at. "Something on your mind?"

Simply swallowing, Naka pointed at Jane first. "Well... had a bit of a thought during the wedding. Jane is going to become an Admiral, that much I am sure of. I am also sure that she's going to have all the mysterious abilities of an NCO despite being an Officer. She could conquer the world to say the least."

Just nodding, Jersey thought that over before rolling her eyes. "Yeah, so? Kid's going to be good and I hope to be serving long enough to be under her. What about it?"

Naka then shook her head and pointed at Harry. "And then we got Harry over there. While he may not have the NCO abilities of Jane, he's got that charisma around him. One that makes people want to follow him into hell if needed. He's also got his magic not to mention being able to scrounge up stuff."

Her chewing slowing, Jersey only nodded. "Okay? So what? He's going to make a pretty good Admiral as well."

The Light Cruiser smirked a bit and leaned in towards Jersey. "Considering how the close the two of them are? You just know that they're going to be working together on stuff... So how dangerous are they going to be?"
It took a few moments but then Jersey snorted with a grin. "Those two working together despite being in different navies? World doesn't stand a damn chance."

Some distance away, and hearing laughter, Arizona blinked as she looked away from where she was talking with Jintsuu. Frowning some at seeing Naka and Jersey talking, the Battleship shook her head some. "I wonder what they're discussing?"

Frowning, Jintsuu only shook her head some. "Knowing those two? Probably not something that we want to know." She then turned her gaze back at the subject of their conversation, Harry's main crystal sculpture. "Hmm... How much work do you think that Harry-Chan put into these?"

Only glancing at the one at the head table, Arizona took a sip of her drink and felt the sweetness of the juice in it on her tastebuds. "I would say that he put in enough work." At Jintsuu's look, she smirked. "It's the truth."

That only got her a roll of the eyes from Jintsuu. Then the Light Cruiser went back to examining the one in front of her, mainly because there on the bow were two crystal figurines of Admiral Richardson and Jane herself somehow part of the larger sculpture. "Probably say that it's magic and then drop it. He can get annoying about it." With a glance to where Harry was still serving various people, now joined by Jane, Jintsuu raised an eyebrow. "Speaking of the little bugger, did you hear what he got John and Mutsu?"

Interested, Arizona turned back towards her with a frown. "Can't say that I have. What did he get the two of them for a wedding present?"

Glancing around, Jintsuu leaned in. "Apparently, he got them a two day pass at those baths that Nagato-San was always going on about. The ones at Bath, England for their honeymoon. Apparently there's a special bath for expectant mothers there."

That caused Arizona's eyebrows to shoot up. "A two day pass? Considering how long it would take to get to England and back..."

At that, Jintsuu shook her head. "Harry also got a portkey ready for when they want to go. I think the idea is that they're gone for two days for their honeymoon. It would be as if they didn't leave the area really."

Several moments later, Arizona only nodded at that before turning back to the sculpture on the table. The stand beneath it throwing different colored lights into it that reflected through the crystal itself. "That does sound like a proper honeymoon, I suppose... And two days is not too much either."

Jintsuu only nodded at that.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Inazuma easily maneuvered between the various groups of people at the reception until she came to one in particular and cleared her throat. "Um, I'm back. And I brought some of the punch, Toby."

When the person turned, Inazuma felt her cheeks heat up a small bit as she stared into the fourteen year old boy's golden, slit pupiled eyes. A bright smile on his face, which did nothing to help the Destroyer's blush, Toby took the offered cup of punch. "Hey, thanks Miss Inazuma! You really didn't have to."

All Inazuma did was wave her now free hand around. "I-I don't mind, Nanodesu. And please! Call just call me Inazuma, not Miss."

Slowly nodding, the boy scratched at his cheek with a small flush visible there. "Uh, okay... Inazuma."

Giving him a smile back, Inazuma sipped her own cup of punch as she examined the boy next to her. A number of his features were those that one would find on any other boy such as his sandy colored hair. But what made him stand out in the crowd were the non-human features. Not just his eyes or the fangs she noticed when he grinned. Or the fact that where there would be nails on normal humans there were instead claws. Poking out from his hair were two long horns while from his back sprouted two black wings.

Wings that despite looking too small could still carry aloft if needed from what Inazuma had seen.

Of course, there was also the tail he had which swished from side to side. Something that Inazuma's eyes kept drifting back to as there was something almost hypnotic about it. But that was not the big thing that kept grabbing Inazuma's attention. Part of that was the small whisps of smoke that drifted out of his nostrils or out of his mouth every so often. The rest became apparent as Thunderchild walked up and held out a small bread roll. "Toby, I hate to ask but as your father is talking with Miss Akashi..."

His wings shuddered a bit as the dragon boy smiled. "Now a problem, Miss Thunderchild." With a small intake of air, he breathed out a small curl of flame which made Inazuma's boilers flutter. Once he was finished, he gave the shipgirl a thumb's up. "There you go, Miss Thunderchild."

Softly smiling, Thunderchild patted him on the head. "Thank you, Toby. I do like my bread lightly toasted after all."

With that, the Torpedo Ram wandered off and was soon lost among the crowd. Blinking, Toby frowned a bit as he heard an odd sound and turned to find Inazuma with an odd look on her face. Something about it made him self-conscious and he rubbed his neck. "Um... Inazuma? Is something wrong...?"

Quickly snapping out of it, Inazuma wiped her mouth and gave him a bright smile. "Nope!" She then glanced away and chuckled. "Just thinking how cool it is that you can breath fire is all. I've never seen someone do it like that before, Nanodesu."

Despite it, or maybe because of it, Toby had a small pleased flush on his face. "Thanks, though cool? I don't think that anyone has ever said that about it..."

Frowning, Inazuma huffed some. "Well, I think that it's cool. And kind of awesome too."

Expression brightening, Toby looked at her with widened eyes. "Really? I mean, not everyone even back home thinks that. But that's pretty neat that you do, Inazuma." Finishing off the last of his punch, he sighed. "Heh, kind of comes with the territory since I'm dragon-blooded." Head tilting to the side, Inazuma furrowed her eyebrows as she considered that. Part of her wanted to ask while the other part thought it rude. However, hearing a chuckle she looked back at Toby who had a knowing look. "You want to know how that's possible, right?"

Having been caught, there was a deep blush on Inazuma's face but she still nodded. "Hai, I do want to know. But... I thought that it might be rude to ask."

Much to her surprise though, Toby only let out a growling sort of laugh. "Not really, none of the people back on the island mind telling stories about how we got our features." For a moment, he gathered his thoughts before shrugging. "According to dad, several centuries ago a group who were my ancestors were a bunch of bandits on the magical side. The Aurors eventually began catching them so..." He waved at himself. "They took Polyjuice potion with dragon bits to become resistant to magic. The adults were caught and thrown in prison while the children were sent to the island. And they were not the only ones really who messed with transfiguration trying to gain the power of dragons."

For a moment Inazuma considered that before nodding. "I can see that, dragons are really, really strong after all, Nanodesu. And magic resistant too."

Nodding, Toby frowned a bit. "Yeah... and not just dragons. From the history lessons back on the island that you've had dark and sometimes insane light wizards who experimented some. I know that the grandmother of my friend Phoebe back home was one, she's got pheonix blood." Glancing around he leaned in. "Even though she's really old, she doesn't look much older then your mom." Ignoring Inazuma's wide eyes that soon turned into a thoughtful expression, Toby shrugged. "But yeah, it's sort of cool I guess. I mean, I can do stuff like stick my hand in a fire and only feel warm."

Interested, Inazuma frowned and tilted her head. "Really?"

Just scratching the back of his head, Toby nodded some. "Yeah, really. I mean, I breath fire so I sort of have to be able to ignore it, you know? It's why outside my dad my family is mostly blacksmiths. We can just hold what we're working on inside the fire until it's hot enough and use our bare hands. Dad though was or is?" After a moment of thought, Toby shrugged. "Is the Chief Engineer on Thunderchild's hull. The heat of the engine room doesn't bother him and once I saw him fix a pipe. He just held the two pieces together and used his tail to move the solder around while using his flame to weld it together. It was soo cool!"

Rapidly nodding, Inazuma smiled up at him. "Hwawawa! It really sounds awesome, Nanodesu!" Draining her cup, Inazuma looked around before tossing it into a nearby garbage can and then grabbing Toby's hand. "Want to dance for a bit?"

Suddenly, a blush that eclipsed his earlier ones bloomed on the dragon boy's face as he looked down at Inazuma. 'So cute...' Swallowing, he summoned up some of his courage and pretended that he wasn't nervous. Unknown to him, it was ruined by his wings shuddering slightly open and his tail swishing even more. Both things that caused Inazuma to smile. "Sure, we can dance if that is what you want."

Giggling, Inazuma began dragging him towards the dance floor. "Great to hear, Nanodesu!"

A distance away, Verniy was watching with a small smirk before she jabbed her elbow into the side of the Destroyer next to her. Grunting, Johnston turned and gave the smaller Destroyer a frown. "What?"

In reply, Verniy hummed a bit. "I win. Pay up, Johnston-Chan."

Eyebrows furrowing, Johnston frowned a bit. "What do you mean?" Seeing Verniy point, Johnston looked and then boggled at the sight of Inazuma dancing with a boy. "What the fuck."
Verniy though just made a motion with her fingers as she held out her hand. "Now, pay up."

Grumbling, Johnston reached into her dress and then pulled out some bills. Counting them off, she finally slapped them into Verniy's open hand with a growl not unlike Jersey's. "I don't believe this. How'd you know?"

Only counting the bills, Verniy hummed. "It is very easy, Johnston-Chan. I know Inazuma-Chan too well."

Crossing her arms, the Fletcher frowned down at her. "What the heck is that supposed to mean? And what does that have to do with her dancing with the guy?"

There was a smirk on Verniy's face as she put away the bills. "Da, it has everything to do with it and he has everything to do with it." At the confusion, she shook her head. "He is a dragon boy with fire breath. And it is Inazuma-Chan."

Moments later, Johnston's eyes widened before she groaned, facepalming. Something that amused Verniy to no end as she grumbled "Inazuma and fire. Because of fucking course that would play into it."

Giving a slight nod, Verniy smiled. "Thank you for your patronage, Johnston-Chan. I look forward to the next time." With a whistle, the white haired Destroyer walked away from the grunting American before glancing around. 'I wonder where Harry-Chan is right now...'

 

[darthcourt10]

wildredlifer Omake: "Submarine Rhapsody"

It was Satire, it was mayhem, It Was Yokosuka.
Admiral Goto stared in disbelief at his browser watching a Parody of Bohemian Rhapsody titled Submarine Rhaposody.
Produced by Hi Hi Naka-chan Productions it was racking in the Views at a rate he found ridiculous.
It starred Iku,her sisters,Harder,Albacore,Regina,Revina,Wanko,and Hoppou.

I'm just a poor Sub, nobody loves me.
(Hoppou runs up to Iku Who is singing and attaches herself to Iku's leg in a hug)

She's just a poor Sub from a poor family,
(screenshot of Iku and sisters rolling in money fake of course)

Spare Her this life from this monstrosity.
(screen shot of a student loan Dept statement in Iku's hands with a look of Horror on her face)

Easy come, easy go, will you let me go? (Iku singing)

Bismillah! No, we will not let you go.(Hoppou singing)

Iku(Let me go!)

Bismillah! We will not let you go.(Hoppou singing)

Iku(Let me go!)

Bismillah! We will not let you go.(Hoppou singing)

Iku(Let me go!)

Will not let you go.(Hoppou singing)
Iku (Let me go!)

Never let you go(Hoppou singing)

Iku(Never, never, never, never let me go)
(Hoppou singing)Oh oh oh oh
No, no, no, no, no, no, no

Iku:Oh, mama mia, mama mia (Mama mia, let me go.)

Hoppou-Chan has a devil put aside for me(Iku looks left to see Revina), for me(iku looks right to see Regina), for me (Iku turns ariound to see Wanko Looming behind her).
(Harder comes out and Rocks out on Guitar)

 

[darthcourt10]

Shaithan

Memory

The Re-class Princess sailed through the frigid waters of the Norwegian Sea, closing in on the Shetlands. Her navigator gave her an estimation of how long until she would reach Haken's grave. Haken and her two sisters had been the three eldest destroyers, having come to life shortly after Mother had come to life. Her eldest daughters, rolemodels for all that came after them. Violent, bloodthirsty and joyful. Haken had expressed it best. "Enjoy the ultraviolence as long as you can," she had always claimed with a laugh. Even today she cherished the words of her eldest sister.

It took another two hours to reach the spot, and the Princess slowed down in a nondescript area of the sea. Here she had felt loss for the first time. Almost in trance she looked westward, from where King George V had fired on her sister and caused her to explode. She had taken more than just her pound of flesh. She had taught that battleship what exactly a Re-class was capable off. Unfortunately she had back-up incoming and tangling with the rest of KGV's sisters, Hood, her overprotective girlfriend and said girlfriends sister were prospects she really didn't want to face. Still, King George would remember this beating. "I am sorry, sister," she said slowly. "I couldn't kill the one that killed you. I mauled her, made her bleed and suffer for your death, but I took too long to finish her off," she continued with obvious recrimination in her voice. "And now, now I am alone. Have been for so long. I don't know what to do, sister," Re-class Princess admitted. "I have enjoyed the ultraviolence so long, have killed countless meatbags, sunk several warships with all hands, but now, I am lost. The world is changing. The abyss is fracturing. And the only ones I can ask for advice are the dead," she lamented. "But those are worries for the living. I have joyful news, too. I have become a princess. I returned home to our birthing place and under the northern star and the aurora borealis, I ascended. I am a Princess now, sister. And no, there are no nieces for you under construction," she said with a bit of mirth.

She slowly sailed in a small circle, remembering her eldest sister. Finally, it felt right to leave her sister's grave. Slowly she began to pick up steam. And in the early dawn's light, she could just make out the form of her eldest sister, just like back when she had led the fleet. It felt like her sister was with her again.

Training her main guns westwards, she fired. She didn't particularly care if her shells would hit the island visible in the distance, but sending her sister off with twenty one shots seemed appropriate.

Slowly, the Shetlands vanished into the morning air as the Princess moved south-east towards the Skagerrak. It had been where the Heligoland Princess had died. And even though she wasn't a sister or mother to her, she had taken the lonely Re-class in, supplied her and been there for her. Sure, she had also sent her to fight, but it had been great. Sinking those warships had been so utterly satisfying. Especially the one with that hated flag. She could still feel their burning gaze as she circled the sinking ships, ensuring that no meatbag made it out alive. Few things before and since had been so satisfying.

With a thought she sent out her planes, as early warning and to spot potential targets of opportunity. She herself lost herself in memories, remembering the past as she entered the North Sea proper.

Close to nightfall her planes returned, having spotted ships here and there, but those that would have demanded only small deviations from her course were part of convoys coming from south of Heligoland. She'd raid shipping another day.

Looking up, she saw the first signs of snow. She had to smile, she loved snow. More than once she had made landfall simply to enjoy laying in it. Idly she wondered if anyone would miss the meatbag that had kicked her when she had slept in the snow. She really hadn't appreciated that.

Once she got near the southern coast of Norway, the Princess went to High Alert. This was dangerous water. Most nations with a big navy to call upon had a big coast to protect. Not so the meatbags to the south. A truly massive amount of girls and a coastline that needed at best a fifth of the protection it had. Which meant that they could spare quite a few girls to roam the North Sea. She'd need to be careful.

Tuning in to the radio stations, she sought one that would broadcast news.

It didn't take long to find one. "... still no sign of the Abyssal that shelled Sandwick on the Shetland Islands. Officials are at a loss as to why the Abyssal would fire around two dozen shots before leaving. The attack reminded people of many coastal towns and cities of the early days of the Abyssal war, when shelling happened with greater regularity and proved just how utterly ludicrous any calls to defend the whole of a coastline are." the newscaster said.

The Princess remembered that speech, she had listened to the enemy radio back then.

Suddenly, she got a new signal. "Hello boys and girls! It is I, Quedagh Merchant, and you're listening to Radio Pirate. your pirate radio from the hellish waters of the North Sea. Ain't life grand?" the voice of a woman was heard. "Well, let's look at the news. Now, this is unconfirmed, but we've had several sightings of abyssal jet fighters. You may shit your pants now. What's worse, no one knows where they start from, but the best guess is that new Princess that is traipsing around. Keep save girls, we need you a lot," the news broadcast ended. "And now a public service announcement. Don't feed abyssal destroyers or they'll follow you home," she continued. "And now, music to make life in this watery hell bearable. Here's Satyricon with K.I.N.G. for my poor buddies who were conscripted into guarding some snot-nosed buggers in Scotland. Last I heard, a Re-class who had watched Jaws and who has set her sight on reasonably cute troublemaking twins was there, too," the woman announced and the music started playing.

Re-class Princess grinned. This radio station seemed entertaining. Humming along to the music, she settled down for creeping towards the Skagerrak. There was no reason to rush, she would be pushing her speed to the limit soon enough.

After almost a whole day, she finally reached an unremarkable point in the North Sea. Towards the east, Denmark was faintly visible and she knew that Norway was due north. Her radar showed several ships moving at the edges of her radar range. She couldn't stay here for long, but she would say goodbye. "Heya, Princess," she greeted. "Bet you didn't think that you'd see me again," she stated with a grin. "It's been quite some time since you took some poor stray Re-class in. You really saved me back then and I'll always be grateful for that. I wish I could do more than offer my gratitude at your grave, but I hope you know that without you, I wouldn't be where I am today," she told her once commander. "Pity we never got close to shelling Hamburg," she said wistfully.

She idled a few minutes, recalling her erstwhile superior, before turning about and leaving. She wouldn't risk a gun salute here. Too much of a risk that she would stumble upon something she'd rather not.

Breaking out into the North Sea and taking care to leave the main shipping lanes, she slowly sped up again, keeping hawkish watch of her radar. Soon it became apparent that she had done it. She had vanished into the expanse of the North Sea again. A small black and white dot in an endless sea of grey and white.

She decided to listen to the radio again. "...as Knorkator who made a maths lesson into a song and told us how far it is to the horizon. Well, well, well. We all know how fun life can be. Don't watch what you're doing and suddenly you're running around with a little bundle of joy. Where I'm going with that? No idea, but I'll keep talking, maybe I'll find a tangent that brings me somewhere useful," Quedagh Merchant rambled. "Oh, that reminds me. If I find out who told the U-Boats where I keep my rum, there'll be hell to pay! Those blighters absconded with all the rum. I repeat, the rum is gone! Truly a terrible day for piracy," she lamented. "I'm offering fifty gold doubloons from New Spain as payment for either new rum or the name of the criminal who cost me my rum. Bootlegging rum isn't easy, you know," she announced. "And now, Deep Purple with Child in Time. Enjoy," she said and music started playing.

Accompanied by the moderation from a pirate and music from all over Europe she made her way towards Dover and Calais. It would be difficult. Maybe even outright suicidal. But it was the quickest way to the Spanish coast. She would force the Channel.

Waiting till dusk, she idled among the waves, shivering in both trepidation and anticipation. Forcing the Channel. The abyss had for a time forced it open, outright taunted Britain and France by moving whole fleets through the channel, sometimes in sight of the coast. A statement of power.

Those days were long gone. France and Britain had clamped down hard on the Channel. In a joint declaration the British and French chief meatbags had declared that their navies would do their utmost to ensure no abyssal would break through the Channel into the North Sea. It was what her foolhardy plan relied upon. That the meatbags did not expect a lone abyssal coming from the North Sea trying to break through.

Her screws did their utmost, propelling her towards the center of the Strait of Dover.

Almost immediately, she ran into problems. Two frazzled girls, Coast Guard by the looks of it, intercepted her. "Hey, what are you doing here?" one of them wanted to know.

"I want to go to Spain," Re-class Princess stated thruthfully. She couldn't start a fight. Not here. Not at a place where four navies were at best hours away.

The other one facepalmed. "I told you it's that mad Re-class the Didos have been talking about," she said to her companion. Then she turned towards the Princess. "Anyway, you need to wear this GPS armband. All shipgirls need to wear one in the Channel. Those big freighters can't really move out of the way, so they'll have advanced warning of a shipgirl, or, well, allied abyssal in your case, being there. There were already two accidents in the Channel today," she stated tiredly.

Re-class Princess was downright insulted. She was no allied abyssal and she was not mad. On the other hand, this would allow her to move through the Channel without having to worry about running into a massive battlegroup within these confined waters. "Okay," she said, putting some cheer into her voice.

The first girl nodded as she handed over the armband. "You can hand it over to a coast guard girl near Land's End, once you're through the channel," she explained. "Don't worry about missing them, there's girls every few kilometers down to the French coast," she added in a reassuring tone.

Suddenly, the second girl spoke up. "Can we take a photo with you?" she wanted to know.

Re-class Princess shrugged. "Sure?" she half-asked.

With excited grins that painfully reminded her of her her six Ni-class sisters, the two girls held up phones and took photos.

"Awesome, thank you!" they both shouted eagerly. "We'll upload those once we finally can end our shift," the first continued.

"Godspeed," the second one said, pulling the first one with her. "Come on, we have to take care of more things. I'm not going to search one of the subthieves for contraband alone," she muttered distractedly, her job taking the forefront of her thoughts.

"Bonne voyage!" the first one shouted before following her colleague, bickering about professionalism and hypocrisy and leaving Re-class Princess free to move through the Strait of Dover.

With a small grin and a sad sigh, she sped up into the Strait. Night and her five sisters had been the excitable ones. At least at first. Night Terror and Nightmare had been sunk near Spain. Afterwards, the sisters had been noticeably more subdued and hadn't wanted to stay in Spanish waters. Not that the others had disagreed with that, either. It had hurt, both seing Nightmare and Night Terror slipping beneath the waves and seeing how their sisters changed. If the loss of Haken had been the end of the good days, the deaths of Night Terror and Nightmare had been when their hope for things turning towards the better had been ended. They might not have seen it then, but from the now, it was so clear. Their raids had turned from daring to cautious. Every attempt to settle was also made with being able to evade the shipgirls. Even their last action as a fleet, an action Mother and her sisters had spared her from, had been one of running away. Only this time they ran to a place where shipgirls could no longer hurt them, leaving her behind.

It was only too soon that she reached the cordon of Coast Guard girls near France. With a forced grin, she handed off her armband, waved and made best speed for the Bay of Biscay. She wondered how long it would take them to realize who she truly was instead of who they thought she was.

The Bay of Biscay made its reputation proud. The weather was terrible and moving around difficult. Still she powered on, determined to reach the place where her sisters had been lost so long ago and where their hope and joy had died.

The weather continued to rage, but the Princess paid it no mind. Her navigator had confirmed it, she was where her sisters had sunken.

"Nightmare, Night Terror," she began, almost choking on her words. "I have come, my sisters," she continued, slowly circling through the sea area where they had gone down. "I have been well, at least as well as I could be," she admitted. "I've missed you so much, we all missed you," she continued. "Things weren't the same without you and Haken," she said and paused for a while, mustering her resolve to continue speaking. "Have you greeted Mother and the others?" she asked faintly.

"I have changed, have become a princess in my own right. And I can't show you how terrifying I have become. I wish you could be here," she finally said, shedding a few tears for the sisters.

And for a fleeting moment, she saw, Haken out in the front, scouting, Nightmare and Night Terror in the rear, following like excited puppies.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

With a sigh, Regina stretched a bit as she looked out towards the slowly brightening strip of light on the horizon. While the reception had ended hours before, those out and about on patrols were still on duty. And Regina was one of those along with Revina, Wanko, and Wokyuu. When she had asked Wanko, the Princess had stated that she wished to prove something which Regina had accepted. It helped that she was also making sure that no one attacked Harry.

Or at least, from the ocean. After all, she had heard something about a scuffle right outside the base. But when the MPs had arrived, all there was at the scene was the old shopkeeper, Akiharu walking around without a care. Unknown to Regina, when they asked him if he had seen anything, he had just smiled and stated that he chased off some ruffians causing trouble. None of the MPs questioned him much more due to both it being outside the base and due to something in his eyes that made them sure they did not want to know more.

At the moment though, Regina was more concerned with an incoming flight of her scouts and her tail moved so that they could land and refuel. At the distance they were, the Abyssals were relying on their planes to catch signs of anything approaching. Not that Regina or any of them thought something would happen. 'It would take someone rather stupid to try and head to such a large grouping of shipgirls and, um, Abyssals...'

Needless to say, that was when she suddenly got a call over the radio and blinked. "{Uhm guys? Natori here, Wokyuu is acting... odd.}"

From where she was, Wanko then spoke up. "{Odd? How so...?}

There was confusion apparent in the shipgirl's voice as she spoke up which made Regina glance over to where Kuma was near her who had paused partway through eating a jar of honey. Each of the Abyssals having been given a Light Cruiser to accompany them. "{Really odd. She's cruising in a fast circle while waving her arms going 'Wowowowowowowowo Wokyuu! Wokyuu! Wowowowowowowo!' I think her planes spotted something?}"

Eyes narrowing, all shyness dropped from Regina and she nodded as planes shot out from her tail. "{I am closest so I'll vector in my flights. Hold one.}" Closing her eyes, Regina's breathing slowed as she concentrated on her furthest planes, the ones closest to Wokyuu's. It took only a moment for her to hook up with them and then she was there, her mind slipping easily into the consciousness of the Hellcat. Seconds ticked by and became minutes, but then she saw what had sent Wokyuu into a stir and outside, her eyes widened in shock.

Because there, sailing through the surf and heading for them was a Princess class Abyssal.

For several seconds she was utterly silent before frowning. '{It's a Princess Class Abyssal. Eight Destroyers with her.}'

Almost immediately there was chaos over the airwaves as various shipgirls began shouting for more information. Part of her heard one comment that they were waking up Admiral Goto as he was to handle things while Mutsu and Richardson had their wedding night. Finally, Nagato's voice rose over the rest. '{ENOUGH!}' Once there was silence, she spoke again. '{Now, what type of Princess is it and are you sure that she is heading this way?}'

Wanko then spoke up with a small frown. '{I shall... check with... Regina's aircraft, myself...}'

Meanwhile, Regina could feel the prod at the back of her mind from Wanko and then opened herself to her Princess. As usual, she could feel the weight of Wanko's mind moving through hers and then linking up to her aircraft. Many had compared Re-Class to sharks, but to Regina it felt like if she was a shark then Wanko was a Sperm whale, full of power. It was then that she noticed something else though which made her blink. '{It looks like she is searching for something, Princess.}'

The Re-Class could feel the hum of thought from Wanko. It was a rumble that shook her down to the keel. Then she sort of felt Wanko give a nod in agreement. '{Yes, it does... seem like she... is searching for something. And... look at her expression... She is looking at Wokyuu's aircraft.}'

Just blinking, Regina focused in and then nodded as she watched in surprise. '{She is and she looks... is that shock and hope on her face? Why?}' Then her eyebrows raised some more. '{She is also lowering her guns as well.}'

Over the radio, Regina could almost feel the curiosity in Nagato's voice. '{Hmm... I wonder... Do you think that it's that Princess, Wanko? The one seen destroying other Abyssal fleets and seemed to be talking about Hoppou?}'

Due to her current connection to Wanko's mind, Regina could feel the deep thought that her Princess was in. All the while, she kept an eye on the Abyssal Princess approaching them. Finally, Wanko spoke up. '{Yes, it does... seem to match... the descriptions. And... if she is from... Little Sisters old fleet... and somehow became... a Princess, then... it would explain... why she is acting this way.}'

Frowning, Regina furrowed her eyebrows as she noticed something else. '{Yes, and she also feels like Lady Hoppou's old fleet. Like Wokyuu.}'

Suddenly, Wokyuu started to speak up and the Abyssals nodded as Revina piped in. '{Super! Wokyuu thinks that she recognizes her! One of Hoppou's Destroyer Flagships.}'

Nagato could be heard sighing before she shook her head. '{So lesser Abyssals can transform into Princesses. We've suspected that for a while... No matter, do you have a way to investigate before she gets too close?}'

Already, Regina was making a last few checks as she knew what was coming next. And sure enough, Wanko spoke up. '{Regina. You are to... go and... investigate. If she... is hostile... sink her.}'

Ignoring the murmurs over the radio, Regina only nodded. "{Yes, my Lady. I shall go and look.}'

Eyes wide as Regina began heading in that direction, Kuma rushed over. "W-what!? You can't be serious, Kuma! You're heading out to fight a Princess class on your own!? No way, no how!"

Then she froze as large caliber guns poked out of the mouth of Regina's tail. Just now remembering that she was next to a Re-Class Abyssal. One of the most powerful types out there, not to mention her being a Flagship class. However, thankfully for Kuma, Regina didn't get insulted, rather she was warmed for the fact that the Light Cruiser was worried for her. "Thank you, Kuma. But, um, I'm not too worried."

As Regina turned though, Kuma made her way beside her, knees shaking. "T-then, I'm going to come with you, Kuma! Because I'm a bear and... and... bears are really strong, like me! That Princess will be s-scared of me."

Blinking, Regina tilted her head a bit but then nodded. "Um, okay? I'll make sure that you are not hurt."

With that, the two headed out towards where the Princess was.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Eyebrows furrowing, there was only one word for how Air Defense Princess was feeling...

Frustration.

She had spent a day or so after catching the familiar IFF considering what she had felt and her options. ADP knew that there was a Demon out there that belonged to her Princess' fleet. She just knew it because she felt it and there was no way to fake that. There was a question that was not realy a question regarding just ignoring it. Said question in the end was given a half a second of thought before being tossed to the side like so much garbage. If there was one, just one other survivor out there of Little Laughter's fleet, she would find them. She would find them and protect them with all her being.

Now the only question was how to reach them. A much harder question and one that she considered heavily. Somehow, she did not know how, but the Demon was deep in shipgirl territory. ADP knew that more then once she had spotted, from a distance, the Big Sister of Little Laughter with shipgirls. Ones that were protecting her from what she had seen. When added in with how that one time she encountered those Submarines they ignored her, as well as how others had let her be despite what was normal? That meant...

What, exactly?

That the Demon had somehow made Allies of the shipgirls and humans? Preposterous! And yet... and yet, that was what everything pointed to. Why else would they allow an Abyssal Demon so close to them without attacking? It also pointed to Little Laughter's Big Sister being allied to them as well. Something that just a few years before would be inconceivable. But why were they allied with the humans? What possible reasons could they have for doing so when shipgirls and humans killed Abyssals...

Wait... that couldn't be it? Could it? Something so simple...Yet it made perfect sense. By working with the humans, they could kill more of those that killed Little Laughter and the rest.

Her eyes narrowing, ADP recalled her Destroyers to her and then began to move. Through the night she south and west towards a spot she had found. A indent in where the shipgirls patrolled Japanese waters. She would be surrounded on three sides by areas that shipgirls performed patrols, but it would get her closer. Perhaps close enough to feel the Demon's signal once more. She had questions and they needed to be answered.

Thus through one night and the next day she sailed as fast as she could without giving herself away, her Destroyers within a few miles of her. Once she reached the spot, she turned north-northeast into the unpatrolled area and made her way up. As she sailed though, ADP kept a close eye out. After all, chances were that the shipgirls would react badly to her presence, whether they were allied with some Abyssals or not.

When night fell again, she breathed a small sigh of relief. The time when the Sun was out was the most dangerous as airborne patrols could catch her. But at night, every Carrier except for the legendary Grey Ghost did not fly. Which meant that she could get closer as she performed a search pattern, trying to catch a signal.

But none was found.

Unable to help herself, she edged closer and closer towards the Japanese islands. In her head, she knew that she might get attacked once day broke. There was every chance of sinking. However there was a chance, a good one, of finding a fellow survivor of that horrible day. And that drove her onward.

Day was just breaking again when her frustration hit her. Where was she? Where was the Demon? Was she wrong? No, no she felt it. And there was no distress to the IFF, so they were safe. So the only question was where were they? Hearing a whine, ADP turned to one of her Destroyers and gently laid her hand on it's head before stroking the cold metal. "Shhh. It's okay, it's okay. I will let none harm you without me slaying them. Any that try will find my claws ripping them apart."

Feeling the Destroyer's worries fade, ADP smiled. When she had found them, the Destroyers were basically canon fodder. The usual way that they were used by other Abyssal Princesses and Demons. ADP though followed the same path of thought as her "Mother". Any member of her fleet was important and not to be sacrificed. With that in mind, she had trained them, taught them. And in return, her Destroyers had all grown strong under her guidence. Each one was now what the humans called an "Elite" class. The one under her hand was nearly strong enough to become a Flagship.

Briefly, ADP considered eventually making her a Demon at some point. It would help with the loneliness at times as most Destroyers were more animalistic in thought. And it would be nice to have someone to talk to instead of the usual impressions. Then she shook those thoughts off. Later, right now she needed to keep an eye out.

It was when the horizon was lightening though that her radar caught a contact. Perking up, she turned in it's direction and narrowed her eyes before continuing her path. Sure enough, it circled around her just far enough that she could see it on radar, and no doubt it could see her. Then another aircraft appeared, and another. Within fifteen minutes there was at least ten in range. 'It seems... my luck has run out.'

Outwardly though, she brought out the turrets on her throne-like rigging and took aim, but held from firing just in case. After all, more then once she had been shadowed by aircraft launched by the shipgirls, but never attacked as long as she did not fire at them. They never got too close though and, from her radar, a new group joined the first and then they began to move in.

Seconds turned into minutes as she kept her eyes to the sky and then her radar finally recognized what planes they were. Abyssal planes, so close to human territory. Needless to say, she froze in pure shock. What was going on!? How was there Abyssal planes this close to human land without a shipgirl response? Was she right in her suspicions?

Her shock was enough for them to get close and, by the time she snapped out of it, another shock hit her system as she received their IFF.

Most of them belonged to one of Little Laughter's Carriers! The one named Wokyuu, who ADP remembered being at the battle and having both her coning tower wrecked and her screws blown off. She was alive!

And then, ADP began to laugh lightly, pure happiness coming out as she lowered her turrets and then retracted them. She was not alone anymore. Others had, somehow, survived! Some of her family was still around!

The fact that the rest belonged to one of Little Laughter's Big Sister's Re-Class didn't even get much more then an acknowledgement in her mind as tears streamed down her face. Her Destroyers could feel their Princess' happiness and leapt around her, sharing in it though they did not know why she was so happy. But it did not matter because she was not alone!

When the Re-Class, who ADP recognized as "Regina" arrived, it was to one of the oddest sights her or the Light Cruiser shipgirls had ever seen. An Abyssal Princess laughing gaily with a massive smile as tears streamed down her face. While Regina and the Light Cruiser stared at her, she turned to them and felt her cheeks hurt. "Others survived... Wokyuu is alive and... and there are more!"

Even though her boilers ached, but in a good way, ADP did not care. For the first time in what seemed forever, she was happy. She could almost hear Little Laughter's laughter and feel her Princess hugging her close. And it felt so good. Closing her eyes as she bent forward sobbing, her next words came out in choked sentences. "Others survived... I... I'm not alone... I'm no longer alone..."

"I'm no longer alone..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Almost a minute ticked by as Regina and Kuma stared at the sight in front of them and tried to digest what the Princess had just said to them. Needless to say, their utter befuddlement was not helped by how said Abyssal was now laughing uproarously with Destroyers leaping in and out of the water around her like demonic dolphins. Slowly, Kuma turned to Regina and frowned. "Um, what are we supposed to do about this, Kuma?"

Considering their options, Regina furrowed her eyebrows in thought. Finally, she nodded and came closer to the Abyssal, making sure to aim her cannons away bit in a position to quickly bring them around and fire if needed. She may have been as strong due to being a Re-Class Flagship, but she was not stupid. "Yes. Wokyuu is alive. May I ask who you are?"

Laughter subsiding, the Princess stared at her for several moments as she calmed down, tears still streaming from her eyes. "She is alive? She is alive?" Closing her eyes, she sighed happily. "I am glad to hear that. As to who I am..." Her voice trailed off as the Princess frowned in thought. "Little Laughter called me... Blackie Smokie. I was one of her Puppies until..."

Tapping her chin, Regina slowly nodded. "I remember seeing you once. She called you that because of how your flak would look like black smoke..."

When her eyes closed and lowered, Kuma glanced at Regina who was frowning in thought. 'Until those Abyssals attacked.' Suddenly, she blinked and looked up. "Wait, you were one of Hoppou's Destroyers, Kuma!?"

Regina stilled as the Princess' eyes whipped around to stare at Kuma with an intensity that made the Light Cruiser flinch. However, Regina moved to place herself between the Princess and Kuma as the Princess spoke. "Yes, that was Little Laughter's name, that was her name. Did you know of her?"

Smiling weakly as she realized that she came rather close, Kuma nodded as she transmitted what they had found back to the rest. "Um, yes? I mean, I know of her."

After a few moments, the Princess only nodded and both of the two facing her relaxed. "I see... But I admit that I am shocked that Wokyuu has become a Demon..." A frown on her face, she tapped her lower lip. "Though as I became a Princess, perhaps not."

Both of them blinking, Regina and Kuma shared a look before they turned back to the Princess with Regina speaking up. "Wokyuu? But she is not a Demon...

Now it was ADP's turn to blink in confusion before she smiled with hope in her eyes. "Then others survived! They must have survived!" She then waved her hand around in the air. "Two days ago one of my Destroyers caught a signal. One that belonged to a Demon that had to have come from Little Laughter! Like me!"

It went without sayig that Regina was now heavily confused and so was Kuma, but the shipgirl was too busy transmitting. But then Regina felt Wanko's mind jerk back some in surprise and realization and her own eyes widened at what came through the link. 'She felt Harry's bracelet...'

On her throne, ADP blinked and then tilted her head in confusion. "Harry? I do not remember a fleet member called that?" Not seeing the flinch from Regina as the Re-Class realized she had whispered his name, she continued. "But perhaps they changed their name, perhaps they had changed their name? I am Air Defense Princess now after all as well as Blackie Smokie." Then her eyes brightened a bit. "One of the Submarines? They always had long hair."

Glancing at each other, Regina frowned a bit and then blinked at the message she received. One that she knew that Kuma had also received and turned towards her. After a moment, she turned back to ADP and took a deep breath. "We have something to show you... May we approach?"

Bemused, ADP slowly nodded. "Yes you may, yes you may. After all, you are one of the fleet that belongs to Little Laughter's Big Sister."

Slowly, Regina approached with Kuma standing off the side. Then she slid the device strapped to her arm. Part of it was an IFF for any shipgirl to identify her as a friendly. However, there was also a phone strapped to it and she tapped it to send a call. Moments later, Nagato's face appeared on the screen staring out at the Abyssal. "Is this the Princess who once belonged to Little Laughter?"

Now confused as to what a shipgirl, especially one as well known even to her as Nagato wanted, ADP slowly nodded. "Yes?"

With a slow nod, the screen then blurred from movement before there was a sight which caused the boilers in ADP's chest to die before coming back with a roar. There in front of her was Hoppou's face. "Blackie Smokie! Hoppou is so glad to see you and..." Then she gasped as she saw her former Destroyer Flagship before smiling brightly. "Blackie Smokie, you grew up all big now! Hoppou is so proud!"

Regina knew that this was the most dangerous part of the whole thing. If she reacted the wrong way, there would be mere moments to react. But if this worked, and from the sheer hope in the Princess' eyes it seemed to be, then it would be big. Licking her now dry lips, ADP's voice shook. "I... L-Little Laughter? I-is that you?"

Just nodding on the screen, Hoppou hummed. "Yup! Is Hoppou!" There was a murmur beside her and she nodded. "Oh! Mommy said that Hoppou should say something to prove it. Um... Hoppou remembers that Blackie Smokie really liked eating birdies! And Spiny snappers too! And Hoppou remembers that Blackie Smokie used to like having Hoppou on her while watching shooting lights in sky!"

As old memories were dredged up, ADP's eyes blurred from tears and she could hear Hoppou ask her what was wrong. Wiping them away, she sniffled. "I... I'm just so happy! So happy! Little Laughter is alive! The most precious is still alive!"

Head tilting to the side, Hoppou just nodded. "Yup! Hoppou is alive and thanks to Mommy! She found Hoppou and brought her to Hoppou's new home and Hoppou got better. They helped Hoppou lots! And then Hoppou met Big Brother and Big Brother helped lots too!"

Confused, ADP frowned some even as she sniffled, her chest tight and feeling like it would burst. "Big Brother? Mommy? Little Laughter has both now?"

Eyes becoming downcast, Hoppou nodded. "Yes, Hoppou was hurt both in body and heart. Heart because Hoppou thought that all were gone, but Big Brother and Mommy were always there. They made Hoppou feel better, Big Brother especially!" Looking up, Hoppou had tears of her own. "Every time that Hoppou had a bad dream, or would cry because of everyone gone, Big Brother was always there. With big, warm hugs that made Hoppou feel better. But then Wokyuu showed up! And Hoppou became even happier because now she had Wokyuu, and Mommy, and Big Brother as well as Big Sister!"

Swallowing, ADP stared at her, tone weak. "What about me?"

Hoppou just blinked and gave her a confused look. "Hoppou is really happy now! Because Blackie Smokie is here and Hoppou will have her join family! Just like before, but with Mommy and Big Brother, Harry. And Hoppou knows that Blackie Smokie will like Big Brother's hugs because Big Brother's hugs make every thing feel better."

Not quite sure what to make of all this, ADP continued to listen to Hoppou explain until Nagato came back on the screen beside Hoppou. "If you want... we can have you meet Hoppou. You'll be under heavy escort because we don't want her to be hurt. And if you hurt her..."

Despite how others might have thought, ADP wasn't insulted in the slightest. Rather, she was happier then she had ever been. Her Little Laughter was alive! And she would get to see her again! As well as Wokyuu and meet Little Laughter's Big Brother and Mommy and... and everything would be alright.

For the first time in a long time, everything would be alright...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

*Twists key in lock as light turns from red to green and presses "Launch" button* Let's do this.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Sun having risen above the horizon, ADP moved closer and closer to Japan inside of a slowly growing group. In the middle, she was surrounded by not just Regina, but also Revina, Wanko, and Wokyuu with shipgirls making up the next ring of defence. And, outside that, ADP could also see human steel hulls moving around. Despite that and all the danger she was under, the Princess was calm. Not because she could fight them, she knew that she would be sunk in roughly a minute if she tried to fight. No...

It was because the whole thing had a feeling of unreality to it, a dream.

But if it was a dream, if this was all some sort of illusion, then Air Defense Princess never wanted to wake from it. Especially if the end point was what she had been told, that Little Laughter was still alive. That her laughs still brightened the dreary world. As Wokyuu and the others spoke to her and explained things, including about Little Laughter's new Big Brother, part of ADP's mind was somewhere else. Back to both the early days with her sisters and Hoppou, before that horrific day.

How they used to play in the sun and rain without a care. Times spent on lonely beaches watching the stars as Little Laughter pointed at them and they laughed. Fires made of drift wood blazing merrily in the arctic night. Such things as when the Northern Lights would drift down and grace them all with color as they danced across the heavens. Or them sheltering together against the hostile Bering Sea storms. Even memories as watching Little Laughter walk through the human towns to get candy for them.

And she was thinking as well as the times after she had gotten her own fleet of Destroyers. The times she softly spoke to them, telling them of her past. Of Little Laughter and her fleet. Sharing their own moments out on the deep, blue sea. Of the tropical nights, of landing on islands for resupply. Her first coconut shared with them as well as other fruits. Or how she sometimes stumbled across human fishing boats to the surprise of those manning them, and getting candy for some fish. Candy that she had shared with her Destroyers much the same way that Little Laughter had shared the candy that she had gotten with her fleet.

Suddenly there was silence and she looked up to find Wanko looking at her. "Is there... something wrong? You have... not spoken much."

Just blinking, ADP looked up at the blue sky, fluffy clouds here and there with a frown. From somewhere nearby she could hear the lonely call of a seagull, a sound she had sympathized with many a time since that horrible day. "No, nothing is wrong just..." For a moment, she was silent before chewing her lip and feeling like she had when she had been nearly born. "Is this all real?"

That caused various shipgirls to blink and give her confused looks. However, it was Regina who spoke up surprising not just the others, but Regina herself. "Would you like it to be real?"

After a few seconds, the Destroyer-turned-Princess nodded. "Yes, I... I would like it to be real, to be real. So very much."

Slowly, Regina nodded with a gentle expression on her face. "Then I think that should be enough, hm?" Tilting her head back, Regina considered some of her own memories. Such as being a group with not just Harry, but her other friends. Their warm bodies snuggled up against her own in such a way that sometimes she thought it all a dream herself. One that she never wanted to end. "If you want it to be real, then accept it as such and it will be."

On ADP's face there was a small, thoughtful frown as she considered the advice. Rolling it around in her head, ADP finally nodded as it was good advice. Though that brought up another thought. If she wanted this to be real, then it could be if she accepted it. But did she want to?

The answer... was yes.

Yes, she did.

Breath softly issuing from her lips, she glanced at the Battleship to the side, her brown hair falling around her head. Granted, she thought that it was one of the Iowa class she had heard about, like the strawberry blonde with sunglasses. But part of her wondered why she had four turrets instead of the three of the other. Feeling her boilers flutter a bit at what might happen, she decided to try and distract herself. "Excuse me, may I ask why you seem to have no problem with... escorting one such as myself and my fleet?"

It seemed that she had surprised the Battleship as her eyes widened before she considered the question. Then the shipgirl adjusted her cowboy hat and frowned. "Well... you are the one who has been attacking Abyssals, right?"

Head tilting to the side, ADP nodded at that. "Yes, that was me. They killed... I thought that they killed Little Laughter, that they killed her and the others. And so I was going to kill them."

That ot her a considering look from several shipgirls and the tall one she was speaking to nodded. "Yeah, we knew that. Mighty hard to mistake you as someone else. And our Subs stated that you noticed them and spoke to them, but did not attack them. There was also reports from fishermen who traded with you, though no one at the time believed them."

Confused, ADP only shrugged some as she stretched one leg, the chain that connected it to the rest of her rigging clanking a bit. "There was no reason to fight them. They were killing those that I wanted dead and were killing myself, I care not who did it. As long as they did not attack me, I would not attack them, just like Little Laughter taught us. The fishermen were the same, they were not a threat to me and mine." She then blushed some. "And they had items that we might want for."

Eyebrow raised at the last bit, the shipgirl finally shook her head and chuckled. "Well, I'll be. Anyways, since you have not shown aggression to us, we won't to you. Just don't make any aggressive moves and I think that we'll keep on fine." Holding out a hand, the shipgirl smiled. "Name's Montana, first of my class."

Not quite sure what to do, ADP suddenly remembered seeing Little Laughter doing the same with people. She then took the hand and shook it, keeping the same pressure as the shipgirl was giving her. "I am... Air Defense Princess, though I suppose that I could go by Blackie Smokie as Little Laughter named me... or any other name."

Grinning widely, Montana laughed. "That will be fine. And whooo-ey, you got a mighty fine grip there. Good to see someone who knows how to shake a hand around these here parts." Suddenly, her head turned towards the distant horizon and she nodded. "Won't be long now."

Before she could ask, ADP found her expression transforming into shock as she sat up. From several hundred miles away, she could feel it. Feel Little Laughter's personal IFF in the distance. Calling out to her... calling her home after so long. "Mother..."

Various shipgirls turned away a bit at the expression on ADP's face. Not because it was disturbing, no, far from it. But rather because it was so full of happiness and joy it was painful.

Closer and closer the two groups came. Unable to think of anything, ADP continued to stare in the direction of the approaching IFF. Her boilers thudded painfully in her chest, a good sort of pain though in her mind. It took every bit of will power she had not to go rushing off, lest the shipgirls think that she was trying to get away or attack Little Laughter.

Just the thought of them thinking so was agony.

Finally, the two groups came into sight of each other. Air Defense Princess could see the shipgirls just a mile away. Yamato and Enterprise being two of the most obvious, the Carrier having already launched her air wing. Shinano as well was there and many more. All told, there was enough fire power to likely level a small country between the two groups, ready to attack ADP at the slightest hint of her attacking.

But Air Defense Princess barely noticed all that, if she even considered it.

No, her mind was on something else. Mainly the being right beside one of the Japanese Battleships, Nagato, part of ADP's mind whispered up tp her. A small form with two reddish eyes that were staring at her in surprise, shock, hope, and many other emotions. Emotions, unknown to ADP, were reflected in her own eyes. But the former Destroyer had other emotions in her eyes as well. Nervousness and fear were the more dominant ones.

What would Little Laughter think of her? Would she be dismayed at her becoming a Princess? That she was no longer the little (though not really) Destroyer she had known? Would she dislike how she was now? Trembling, ADP stared back at Hoppou who slowly moved forward across the distance.

With each little bit, ADP trembled in trepidation a little bit more. Not even the feelings of compassion and understanding from her Destroyers helped. Swallowing a bit, she dismissed most of her rigging and stood upon the water. To those watching, she towered over Hoppou physically, but there was something else there. Like she was so small and tiny next to Northern Ocean Princess. One step was followed by another.

And then another.

Soon, the two of them stood not even fifteen feet away from each other when ADP stopped. Mouth moving, but nothing coming out, ADP's vision blurred from tears. Words crossed her mind, things to say but in the end... she could say nothing. Hoppou seemed to examine her from where she was before blinking two eyes that ADP found beautiful in a face that was so familiar it hurt. By this time, she was shaking like a leaf which made Hoppou shake her head before the small Abyssal, known among her fleet as "Little Laughter" did what she normally would with one of her fleet so long ago.

She smiled brightly, more luminous then the Sun above it seemed to ADP.

Then... then Hoppou opened her arms and spoke, her voice full of warmth and joy as she began to cry herself. "Blackie Smokie! Hoppou so, so very happy! Blackie Smokie came back to Hoppou! And Hoppou is so proud of her growing up! Hoppou wants to give you great, big hugs!"

Eyes widening, ADP stiffened as bit her lip and then closed her eyes. For a moment, she hung her head with her hair covering her eyes and clenched her fists as she shook. More then one shipgirl fingered their turrets just in case before ADP raised her head. Her expression one of pure joy, she rushed forward those last few feet with a cry ripping out of her throat. "MOMMY!"

Moments later, she was in Hoppou's arms as she threw her own arms around the little Princess' body. Hoppou nearly disappearing in the embrace as ADP freely sobbed. Burying her face into Hoppou's neck and hair, she shook as Hoppou stroked her hair. "There, there, Blackie Smokie. Hoppou is here, Hoppou is here and is okay.'

Within seconds, Wokyuu joined in, also crying freely. Hoppou extended one arm and hugged Wokyuu close while ADP grabbed them both. Looking up at Nagato, barely visible through her tears, ADP, once known as Blackie Smokie, the pride of Hoppou's Destroyers, choked out her next words, emotions covering them. "Th-thank you... Thank you so much for saving M-mommy..."

All Nagato did was nod, but not say anything to break the moment as ADP buried her face in Hoppou's hair again. The familiar smell bringing to mind happier days on a sunlit sea, similar to this one. Past and present combined to form a dream, but one that was also real. And even if it was fake... none of the three wanted it to end now that they were reunited. For a moment, ADP could feel them, her sisters. The sisters that gave her their essence to protect their mother that day, and which helped her become a Princess. She could see them in her mind as more sobs ripped their way out of her throat and she could feel them in the embrace that they were in. After so long, after so much pain... she was finally home and so were they.

She was finally home in the arms of the being who was her mother along with her sisters.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Looking back over her shoulder, Nagato could only shake her head in bemusement at the sight that met her. Mainly that of Hoppou with Wokyuu and ADP, or Aeroprin as some were already calling her, on either side with their hands in hers. None of the three had let each other go at any point and right now, Hoppou was telling a curious ADP all about her 'Big Brother'. A snicker though caused her to turn and regard Enterprise as they continued back to Sasebo. "Yes?"

Grinning, Enterprise just looked at the Battleship and coughed. "Oh, nothing, nothing at all. Was just wondering how it felt."

Eyebrow raising upwards, Nagato frowned some at her. "How what felt, exactly?"

The grin on Enterprise's face only widened at that. "How becoming a grandmother feels of course! After all, she called Hoppou 'Mommy'."

Voice becoming dry, Nagato allowed her eyes to become hooded. "I see. I regret to inform you that I do not think that it quite works that way."

However, Enterprise was not to be denied and waved a hand around with a snicker. "Sure it does. You're Hoppou's adopted mother, right? And apparently she created Aeroprin over there as a Destroyer. Thus, she's her mother. That makes you a grandmother."

Slowly, Nagato's eyebrow raised further. "And? Your point would be... what, exactly?"

Blinking, the American Carrier stared at her for a moment. "Uh, that you're a grandmother? And that makes you old?"

Internally, Nagato was snickering at the now confused expression on the American's face. "Hmm... Once more, your point? I am almost fifteen years your senior. Besides..." Now it was Nagato's turn for her voice to turn teasing. "It just means that I've one upped the others in getting grandbabies."

Finger raising, Enterprise blinked and then lowered it in confusion. However, her attention was soon grabbed when Yamato smacked her on the back of head. "Enough, Enterprise."

Turning away as the two bickered, Nagato turned back to where Sasebo was and narrowed her eyes. Her sister was there at the dock alongside her new husband, both of them disheveled. A fact that made Nagato snort as she could guess why that was. Beside them, with Barghast floating here and there was Harry. But what was odd was the van behind them backed up towards the rocky beach area that they would be exiting the water from. 'I wonder...'

What her eyes also caught was that Harry was wearing the bracelet and that now ADP was looking around curiously, her Destroyers on the surface but their guns stowed at the moment. Once they got close enough, Richardson gave them all a nod. "Allow me to become the first to welcome you to Allied Base Sasebo."

Eyes focusing in on him, ADP blinked a bit but gave her own slight nod of acknowledgement. "I am Air Defense Princess and..." She trailed off as if not quite sure what to say next and glanced at Hoppou who only nodded. Then ADP turned back to Richardson. "Thank you for welcoming me?"

Chuckling, the human Admiral shook his head. "We'll always welcome more friendlies here."

Slowly nodding as she glanced between Richardson, Mutsu, and Harry, ADP furrowed her eyebrows. "That is what Mommy said. So what happens now? Mommy stated that we would be talking about things?"

Bemused, Mutsu raised an eyebrow. "'Mommy?'"

In reply, ADP just pointed at Hoppou that grinned up at her "Aunt" with a megawatt smile. "Hoppou made Blackie Smokie. So that makes Hoppou Blackie Smokie's Mommy!"

After a moment of thought, Mutsu gained a teasing smile as she turned to her sister who was stepping out of the water. "Oh my~ A grandmother already, Nee-San And at such an early age!"

However, Mutsu did not like the glint that entered Nagato's eyes as her older sister focused on her. "It seems so, though of course that means that while you may be ahead of me in some ways through your own efforts, I am now ahead in others." She made sure to make a pointed look at Mutsu's obvious pregnant belly, which made said Battleship blush. "After all, it should be years before the same can be said of you. Or are you jealous Imouto now that I am a grandmother? You really shouldn't as I am sure that you'll have plenty of opportunity for such later on."

Blanching at the comment, Richardson grimaced before lowering the brim of his hat before turning back to the reason he was there as ADP cleared her throat. The Abyssal was not quite sure what was going on, and so dismissed it. "I am still wondering what happens now..."

Simply nodding, Richardson let out a deep breath. Of all the things to land in his lap the day after his wedding, this was the last thing he had expected. He was sure that someone was laughing at him, somewhere. And part of Richardson was certain that it was his first wife, Jane's mother. "Of course, sorry for being side tracked." Out of the corner of his eye, he noted Harry open the door to the van and the sounds of things being moved around. "Seeing as Miss Hoppou here lives in Yokosuka, it has been decided that shortly from now you will be escorted there. Not as an enemy though, but to make sure that no itchy fingers cause problems. I am sure that you do not wish to be separated from her for now."

A frown on her face, ADP brought a clawed finger to her chin as she repeated the name she was given, almost as if she was tasting it. "Yo-ko-suka..." Glancing to the side where Hoppou was, ADP nodded. "Yes, I think that I will not be leaving Mommy for some time."

Hoppou looked up at her and then smiled before tugging her. Once she had ADP's attention, she pointed to Harry was now setting up a table with some chairs and had placed plywood out to the confusion of various people. "That's Big Brother! He gives some of the best hugs!"

With another look to Hoppou, and whom waved her own, ADP stepped onto the beach and walked over to Harry who was looking up at her. Tilting her head to the side, she regarded him as he did the same to her. "Um, hi, I'm Harry and like Hoppou said, I'm her Big Brother." Just as ADP was about to say something, she paused and looked around in confusion. Then to Harry's great amusement, she reached over and picked him up before lifting him into the air and looking around. "Is something wrong?"

Tilting her head back to look at him, ADP frowned a bit. "I sense a Demon and... I am looking for it. It's right here, but..."

Extremely amused, Harry lifted one arm to show off the black metal bracelet there. "I think that it's this that you're sensing. Hoppou gave it to me as well as Big Sister and Supprin. Hoppou had it give me the status of a Demon for IFF purposes."

For a moment, ADP blinked and then blushed. "Ah, yes... I think that Regina mentioned such. Sorry."

Part way to setting him down, she paused as Harry patted her on the head. "Don't worry about it."

ADP froze at both the familiar feeling of someone patting her head and the unfamiliar one of it being a human. Then she flushed a bit as she blinked up at him and looked Harry in the eyes. In them she saw kindness and acceptance. Gently, she set him back onto his feet and could hear soft giggles. When she turned though, all she saw was Hoppou holding a mittened hand to her mouth, mirth in her eyes. Cheeks flushing, she turned back to Harry and smiled. "Then I will not, Uncle Harry." When he flinched though, ADP frowned. "Did I say something wrong?"

Just shaking his head, Harry gave weak chuckles as he waved her off. "No, no, you didn't say anything wrong. Don't worry about it."

Eyes narrowing, Hoppou walked over and then wagged a hand at him. "Big Brother is not like his big Meany Uncle." Ignoring the expression on Harry's face that was both dismay and resignation, Hoppou turned to ADP who was blinking. "Big Brother had big mean Uncle and big meany Aunt. Not like Uncle John or Auntie Mutsu. They did lotsa mean stuff to Harry."

Turning back to Harry, ADP put it together and then frowned a bit. "Where are they? No one hurts family. No one."

However, Harry just sighed and shook his head. "Don't worry about it, I don't even think about them anymore. I haven't seen them for years and hopefully never will again, besides... I don't even know where they are."

Even as she frowned at the answer, ADP nodded some before biting her lip and opening her arms. She could remember that hugs helped when Hoppou had given them. Much to her surprise, Harry didn't even hesitate and soon she felt his arms around her before she practically melted into it. 'Mommy was right... they are very warm.'

Amused at once more getting the same reaction he had gotten from every other Abyssal he had hugged, Harry internally shook his head. Once some time had passed though, he pulled back and looked up at her before gesturing to the table with chairs. "Just have a seat, will you? I'll be right back."

Glancing at Hoppou, who ADP noted was already getting into a chair helped by Wokyuu, ADP took the one next to her and then turned back. At that point, her eyes widened as she spotted Harry walk out with plates that had circular objects on them piled high. There were other items as well as he set them down in front of her as well as a fork, knives. Soon that was followed by a pitcher of orange juice (ADP remembered one of the fishermen giving her some) and a bottle filled with a golden brown item. "What is this?"

There was a smile on Harry's face as he chuckled while pouring some of the golden brown liquid on some of what was before her. "Just some breakfast for you. It is still morning after all. Go on, eat up."

It was to the amusement of various shipgirls that ADP picked up her fork unsuredly and then took a small piece of pancake. Placing it into her mouth, she began to chew as her eyes slowly widened and a blush spread across her face. Swallowing, she looked at him in awe. "Its so good!"

Chuckling as he watched her practically begin to inhale, Harry shook his head. "You're welcome. But take it a bit slower so that you don't choke and so that you can enjoy it, okay?"

With a quick nod, ADP did begin to slow down not noticing as Nagato and several other shipgirls were quietly discussing something with Richardson. However, what she did notice was Harry bring out some bins and begin to place the same food she was eating into piles on the plywood that sat on shore. There were a number of piles, but they were all the same in regards to what was in them. As Harry set out what looked like metal bowls and filled them with orange juice, commenting to Enterprise that it was something called 'Tang', ADP tilted her head and swallowed what food was in her mouth. "Uncle Harry?"

Part of ADP noted that this time, Harry barely flinched unlike before. "Hmm? Yes?"

A frown on her face, she waved at what was there. "What are you doing?"

Glancing at her, Harry was struck, strangely, by the same feeling he had with the Duckies. The feeling that he needed to stuff her full of food before he shrugged it off. After all, there was time enough for that at Yokosuka. "I was just setting out food for your Destroyers." Seeing her stare at him with widened eyes, Harry scratched the back of his neck. "I thought that they might like it?"

Her cheeks reddening, ADP turned towards her Destroyers and they all moved forward before coming up onto land. Seeing Harry stand there, she smiled a bit. 'He's brave, unlike most humans.' Then she nodded and as one, the Destroyers began to feed on what was them small amounts of food. But it was more the thought that meant it and their Princess knew that. Part of ADP was amused as said Destroyers' minds shifted Harry into a spot just below her as they ate.

And she couldn't be happier, especially as she could now see first hand why Hoppou held her "Big Brother" in such high regards.

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 33: S0ngD0g13

A Virginia Snippet...
...................................

Two weeks after the Richardsons' wedding, Virginia stared across the forested landscape of the island she'd been sent to as punishment for her altercation with Aso. If the former occupants had named the place that name was lost to time; Virginia had marked her hand-drawn charts of the island with the name 'Kumo no shima', the 'Isle of Spiders'.

What had been described as a one-day detail, culling the population of feral Acromantula, had stretched out into a two-week ordeal; the eight-legged carnivores were not only sentient but also damned-canny, and they'd quickly learned to stay out of range of her longbow, forcing her to switch to her crew's rifles. She was so frustrated that right then, if she'd had her druthers, the teenage Ironclad would've simply stood offshore and shelled the island to dust and rubble, but her orders were to be careful of the environment, and she had her own reasons besides to not level the island.

It didn't help her mood any that her resupply was overdue by six days and she'd had her ration-box broken into a week prior, the meat carried off and the rest (save for a tin of twice-baked hardtack her uncle had made for her) scattered and spoiled. After that, and one furious night-action involving a camp-raiding female and a bayonet, she'd quit camping ashore and slept aboard the Boston Whaler she was using for a mothership. She'd also discovered that once the hairs were singed off, hatchling Acromantula spit-roasted over driftwood and seasoned with sea-salt actually tasted far better than it looked...

Virginia's eyes snapped to her left as a juvenile moved through the shadowed undergrowth two-hundred-fifty yards distant from her position on the south beach. She pulled a rifle out of her stores and slowly eased the Enfield's hammer back, then took aim. Turn, turn damn you; give me a better shot, she mentally groused. She wanted a shot either from broadside-on or as the spider was quartering toward her, so as to kill it cleanly while still preserving the venom glands. Aboard the Whaler and stacked in her own hull were crate upon crate of quart Mason jars filled with venom and baled sheets of spider-silk, and barrels filled with fangs.

Kaylee had always been brought up to not be wasteful when hunting, so in the days prior to her being sent to Spider Island she'd leaned on the Light-Cruiser Info-Net through Ushio and the Tin-Can Mafia via Akizuki to see what, if any, products of Acromantula were of value or use. The fangs were used in Potions, the silk was prized for clothing, and the venom was especially valued, retailing for over a hundred Galleons a pint at minimum.

The juvenile in her sights turned, presenting its side, and Virginia's rifle boomed; the heavy .577-caliber Minie bullet struck just forward of the joint between the abdomen and cephalothorax and dropped the boar-sized arachnid in its tracks. The Ironclad leapt up from her prone position on a dune and sprinted to her kill, dropped a dozen Fairies with rifles to stand security, and drew the long Green-River Skinning Knife from her belt to remove the fangs and bare the venom glands for extraction. Acromantula ate their own dead, she'd noticed, so the rest of the carcass would be used as bait to lure more in...

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

The next morning Virginia was on the beach having a breakfast of roasted spider and scrambled seagull eggs when one of her lookouts called out a vessel approaching. She stood and shouldered the Enfield she'd kept handy, then called out to Akitsu Maru as the Japanese Shipgirl started dispatching her Daihatsu to ferry supplies ashore. "Mornin', 'Kitsu!" Virginia called, smiling as she sailed out to meet her resupply. "I'm happy to see ya; been down to roasted spider and robbin' seagull nests for a week now after some of the big-bugs got into my chuck-box ashore. I've got cargo for ya to take back as well, venom and fangs and baled silk. As an aside, what happened, 'Kitsu? You were due in a week ago; you have trouble along the way?"

Akitsu Maru chuckled at the obviously stir-crazy Ironclad. "It's a long story, Virginia."

"Hell, I've got time. I've also got food, if you're hungry and don't mind scrambled gull eggs and spider. Just please tell me there's coffee in some o' those crates..."

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

So, here's an idea I had recently. If you read closely, you may recognize the source.
-----
Draco Malfoy could hardly believe his own genius! Finally, he had obtained the last component of his plan needed to avoid the bloody pirates! It had been a long, hard road, and he had nearly lost Crabb and Goyle too many times to count, but as he stalked through the halls, followed closely by his hobbling assistants, it all felt worth it. Now, all he needed to do was to test the idea in practice!

He rounded a corner, then backpedaled frantically. He bounced off of Crabb, then turned and pushed him back as hard as he could. "move move move move!" he hissed under his breath, and Crabb seemed to get the hint, falling away from the corner and taking Goyle with him.

"What's wrong?" Goyle asked in a hushed whisper, or at least as close as he could come to it. Draco peered around the corner for a brief second. Queen Anne's Revenge, taking a long pull from an unidentifiable bottle, hadn't seemed to have heard them. He grimaced. Now they would have to take the long way around to avoid getting caught. Or…

Malfoy grinned.

"Goyle," he said, clenching his fists together and feeling his nails bite into the palms of his hands, "Get the seaweed out. Crabb, you too. The flour." The two looked at him dumbly. "Hurry up and do it!"

Getting the packs off took a minute. Preparing took three, considering that Crabb and Goyle kept trying to eat the flour. But Queen Anne's Revenge never once turned to look at them. She stayed on watch, occasionally taking a pull of what was probably alcohol. She slouched against the wall humming to herself. And then all it took was a quick Aguamenti in the right place at the right angle, and they were ready.

"Couldn't we just use magic?" Crabb complained, looking either itchy or miserable that he couldn't eat.

"They're Shipgirls! Draco replied. "Ship. Girls! Magic doesn't work right on them. If we want a good chance of fooling them, we've got to play things smarter.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Goyle asked, a similar sullen pout on his own face. Draco smirked in what he imagined was a sly, foxy expression.

"Of course," he replied. "Based on my reading, pirates were very superstitious…"
-----

Queen Anne's Revenge took another drink, before looking up at the windows and sighing. It wasn't even midnight yet. When the old man had recruited them to this job, she had anticipated adventure, risks, at the least students acting up! So why were they all such good little brats? The nights, the watches, got boring! A quick break with a bottle of really good rum—no seriously, this stuff was fantastic, where did the wizards get it?—allayed some of her frustration, but it wasn't enough. No, what she needed was…

A shuffling, shambling noise came from her left. She looked up, curious. Was one of these students finally doing something naughty?

What came next… Well, it wasn't anything she was expecting.

-----

Crabb lumbered forward, his arms held out in front of him awkwardly, like a low branch on an old tree. He was soaking wet, covered in flour that clung to his face and clothes and festooned with seaweed and refuse from the lake. He smelled vaguely of fish (don't ask).

"Boogie… Boogie… Boogie!" he intoned mournfully. The pirate woman's eyebrow twitched. "I am the ghost of Robert Maynerd!" The two stood there for a moment, looking at each other. Then he said again, more forcefully, "Boogie!"

The pirate woman stared. Crabb began to feel that maybe there was something wrong with his performance. Then she looked mournfully down at her bottle. Turning to face away from Crabb, she walked away, allowing her drink to spill across the floor as she did. From somewhere behind him, he heard Malfoy cheer quietly. Somehow, he wasn't so sure that it was a cause for celebration.

And he was proven right, when another pirate lady followed his trail of wet, floury footprints back to the Slytherin dorms later that night.
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Seahowl

Curse my brain for this.

-----

For Admiral Goto, it was a beautiful morning.

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, Ooyodo was actually satisfied with their supply situation, and Harry and Natsumi had dropped by his office with some fresh blueberry muffins. Alas, it was not to be. As he unwrapped his first baked good of the day, a familiar howl ripped through the air. He could see Harry and Natsumi reacting to it even as he braced, the tremors of the ground foretelling his doom. He had just enough time to get the muffin out of the line of fire before the door to his office was smashed open, a red and white blur on an arc for his office chair.

"TEI-TO-KUUUUUU~"

Contact.

He felt his back hit the ground as he was overcome by the force of a ballistic battlecruiser, his girlfriend nuzzling and peppering him with kisses like she had before they had declared their mutual love. Maybe she was just feeling particularly needy this morning? His ruminations were interrupted as the son of Nagato spoke up, a sinking feeling fluttering around in his stomach.

"Hey Natsumi?"

He had been around Harry enough that he could picture that pose, one hand on his chin as if in deep thought as the barest hints of a wicked grin started to cross his face.

"Yes Harry?"

"You know, I never really realized that Goto-oji had so much in common with the submarines."

A plea went through the aforementioned admiral's head at that point. 'Please Natsumi, please don't take the bait. I don't know if I can bear it after this morning started so well.'

"Oh? How is that, Harry?"

Dammit. He could almost see the appropriately foxlike smirk crossing her face as the two youngsters decided to drive the nail in just that little bit harder.

"Well, it's because he has a weakness to Dess Charges!"

As the two of them started cackling, even Kongou's affections being interrupted by some giggles of her own, he let out a groan, the picture of a defeated man.

 

[darthcourt10]

jgkitarel

And I did just bastardize Psalm 23.

--------

Goto knew that Kongou's affections to him were a source of jokes at his expence. But he never found himself more than mildly irritated by that at worst. After all, he had once captained the JDS Kongou, still made sure to visit the derelict where it still lay every Christmas, and had once taken Kongou there. While he didn't quite hear it, he knew, just knew, that the spirit of the ship had called to them both. Had called them mama and papa. Besides, a bastardization of something from the Christian Bible had inspired to do this. He took a quick look around to make sure no one was there, and then began to speak.

"The Kongou is my carrier, I shalt not want.

She maketh me lie down in soft bedding, She navigates me through calm waters.

She restoreth my vitality; She navigates me by a certain star in Her name's sake

Yea, though I walk through the shadow, of the Valley of Dess, I shall fear no duty, for She is with me; her planes and her cannons, they comfort me.

She prepares a cup of tea before me, in the presence of my enemies; She anointed my head with lovel My cup, ever full.

Surely goodness and affection shall follow me, and I shall dwell in the house of the Dess, forever."

Nodding to himsef once he finished, he turned to his excess paperwork to get some more of it done before Ooyodo cam back and added to the pile. He didn't notice the wide eyes peeking into his office, or he would have investigated and found a furiously blushing Kongou.

 

[darthcourt10]

Shaithan

Mother

Re-class Princess left the final resting place of her sisters behind, heading towards the north. In the distance she saw a group of feral destroyers, but she easily pushed them from her mind. They were going south-west anyway, sooner rather than later they'd run into shipgirls. Her eyes turned to the north again, watching the endless expanse of the Atlantic Ocean.

She knew her route, almost by heart. They had been in shock back then. Mother trying so very hard to keep their morale. Making plans to give them a base from which they could sortie and where they could heal. They all had agreed that Iceland, Greenland or Jan Mayen would have good spots where they could build a base.

She remembered their desperation masked as hope. Their drive to reach Iceland, to settle down and and to grieve what was lost.

Along the way, they had run into a small convoy. Three freighters, protected by a small escort screen. The ships had been abandoned when they reached them, a yacht carrying the crews moving away at flank speed, protected by the escorts.

They had not bothered with pursuit. Instead the more humanoid members of the Fleet had boarded the ships, looking for useful stuff.

It had been a bust. While they had managed to get some food and fuel as well as a bit of ammo, overall, the cargo was worthless to them. Computers, TV sets, cars, furniture. They'd eaten some of the cargo, but it wasn't exactly a good meal. It had helped with patching wounds, but not much else.

In the end, they had not even wasted ammo sinking the ships. Re-class Princess had torn massive holes into their sides. It had, for a moment, dulled the pain of loss, seeing the cargo ships go under.

Of course, they soon had to bail. Her air group had gotten into a fight with some aircraft, Hellcats and FW-190s and while she had driven them off, they knew they were spotted.

The run to Iceland had been a nerve-wracking thing. Her airgroups had spotted enemy planes at the edges of their perception. Back then she hadn't realized that they were being shadowed, that this was merely to roughly confirm their heading, while the Grand Fleet set out to intercept them.

Hell, they hadn't realized that a second fleet had set out from Halifax, something she had pieced together over the years. Wikipedia was stupidly useful when she had a chance to use it. Unfortunately, she seldomly had the chance.

Now, her planes were circling again, following the course they had taken so long ago.

She spotted shipgirls in the distance here and there, but they were with convoys and while they might have picked up her lone planes, they gave no indication that they had. At least she didn't pick up any signals indicating that they had.

Her navigator informed her that they had passed Ireland, making the Princess wonder where the time had gone.

In her mind, the north took an almost mythical quality, a place she had to reach come whatever may.

The icy waters brought fresh memories, their frantic push towards Iceland, their hope that conquering Reykjavik would allow them to settle down, it all came back. She remembered her Mother's worry, the frantic energy of the cruisers and her own nervousness.

Onward, onward had been the order of the day. Reykjavik. Or the Greenlandic coast of the Denmark Strait. Even Jan Mayen. It didn't matter, settling down was important. Getting there even more so. Their lives depended on it.

She felt her unrest rise, felt the fear and worry of these days, when they had run to the north, searching a place of their own.

Reaching the vicinity of Iceland did not take as long as she remembered. Or maybe it did, she was no longer sure.

She knew that she would have a fight on her hands. There had been defenders near iceland back then and if her radio was any indication, they had just realized that she was coming.

With a lot of mental effort, she shook herself out of her thoughts. They wouldn't stop her. She would visit her poor sisters Night, Inglorious and Torture.

Her planes circled over her, watchful for any enemy planes. Her guns swivelled to and fro, keeping track of the various shipgirls in the distance.

She began to circle the area where her sisters had gone under, remembering the fight.

It had begun so well. No, it hadn't, she corrected herself. It had been a catastrophe from the beginning. Shipgirls had steamed from Reykjavik, opening fire almost as soon as they were in range.

She remembered surging forward, intent on crushing the defenders, one thought dominating her mind. 'A safe harbor!'

She remembered it oh so clearly. The destroyer girls attacking and feinting, Torture and Hellfire trying to drive off the destroyers.

She closed her eyes and she could hear the sounds of her bombers trying to take out the two escort carriers. She could hear their pained cries as their flight decks were shattered by explosions in their hangars.

Over to the east, a group of three heavy cruisers leveled their guns at her, firing with all they had.

In the west, the destroyers were shooting at each other, supported by Mother and the light cruisers.

And then her planes were engaged. Several flights of enemy planes tangled with her own planes, fighting valiantly to stop her planes from stopping the bombers and torpedo bombers they protected.

The next thing that happened was a loud explosion. Where Torture had once fought, only a field of debris remained.

And more shots had come in, too. In the distance one of her scouts could make out a battleline steaming north at full speed. The lead had been Vanguard, Hood and the KGVs. Behind them the venerable veterans of the Queen Elizabeth Class had followed, themselves followed by Nelson and Rodney.

She remembered Mother's pained order to retreat. The loss of Torture was already bad, there was no chance to take Reykjavik now.

She herself had thrown herself south, closing in on the enemy ships.

Hood and Vanguard had fired at her, hoping to drive her off, but she couldn't relent. Not yet. Not as long as her sisters weren't far enough away. She could disengage, none of the ships here was fast enough to catch her.

Her guns fired, scoring hits on the various girls, leaving Rodney and Nelson dead in the water.

One of the Queen Elizabeths, the one with the darker skin, had directly tangled with her, ordering her sisters to not fire on her, but her sisters.

She didn't know which one had landed the final blow, but over a dozen shots from the various QE girls had hit Inglorious, her pained wail reverberating in her skull even now. She had fired off torpedoes, in hopes of driving the various battleship girls off. It had worked, giving her the space to turn around and run herself.

Her battered air groups had returned to her, more dead than alive and their battle a defeat. Hatchet and Hammer, as well as Insidious had taken hits. Even Mother had been hit multiple times.

Taking aim, she had discarded the shipgirls. She wouldn't be able to sink them, not before they would swarm her to death. And so she had fired on the city. Unaimed, what mattered was causing chaos and destruction.

Thankfully the battleships had taken the hint. They continued firing at her, but stopped their pursuit, instead making for the city.

She had almost considered their battered fleet safe, when Night exploded.

They had run into a wolfpack.

Their retreat had taken on a note of increased urgency. Their thoughts consumed by one thought. Greenland. They had to reach Greenland.

Trapped in her recollections, she reached the point where Torture had died, heedless of the various girls around her. "Hello, sister," she greeted the light cruiser.

"It has been long since I last saw you," she continued. "I am sorry for that. I did not dare come here, where you, Night and Inglorious died," she admitted. "But it has been the right time for it," she continued. "If Haken was the end of the good times, Nightmare and Night Terror the end of our hope, then our defeat here was the point of no return. We were ground down. Night and Inglorious died shortly after you," she reported. "Within a month, only I remained. But I guess Mother told you that already," she continued. "We never were particularly close, were we? But still, you're one of my sisters and losing you hurt," she added with a thick voice. "Soon, we shall reunite," she promised. "And then I will tell you all about my time on the seas," she added with a sad smile.

Out of the corner of her eyes, it looked like the gruff and grumpy Torture took up her flanking position, the position she had held until she died.

Slowly, she moved westward, to where Inglorious had died. "Sister, I am here. I am finally here. I hope you could find peace here," she greeted the destroyer. "It's been so long. I've missed you, how you always followed Mother and I," she admitted. "You were so eager. Always looking out for us," she said slowly, shuddering when she remembered her sister. "And when you needed me to protect you, I failed. Please forgive me for that," she asked with a pained sob.

Behind her, she felt a familiar presence settle in a familiar position.

She didn't turn around, though. She knew she wouldn't be able to see her sister there, only know that she was there.

With a heavy heart she sped up, going westward. It would be a short while until she reached Night's resting place.

Coming out of her almost trance-like state, she realized that there were quite a few shipgirls in Radar range. They kept their distance from her, but they were there. They were not firing at her, either, just following.

Briefly, she wondered what they were planning, but then her navigator demanded her attention. She had reached Night's resting place.

"Sister, how have you been?" she asked slowly. "It has been a while, hasn't it?" she continued with a sad smile. "I've visited Nightmare and Night Terror a few days ago," she said and fell silent.

After a while she could continue speaking, her thoughts having returned to a semblance of order. "Sometimes it feels all so unreal. Seeing you die, it feels like a waking nightmare. I know how much time has passed, but I still can not grasp it. I still want my happy Night sisters back," she admitted. "I've let you wait long enough. I'll soon be home," she said and fell silent.

In the distance, it looked like Night was playing among the waves and making her way to where she was. But after she blinked, Night was gone like a spectre. But still, her sister was there. She could not describe it, she knew that her sister was there for her, watching over her.

With a happy sigh, she accepted it, speeding up to reach the next step of her journey.

It didn't take her long, a mere day saw her reach Greenland's coast and the site of her second to last battle with her sisters. It had been frightening. Fresh from their losses at Iceland they had tried to take over a part of Greenland.

It had never been possible. An American fleet had steamed north, supported by Canadians. She remembered, in these early days the meatbags were very interested in forcing open sealanes and dislodging princesses near the coasts. Heligoland Princess had told stories of how the Baltic Sea was cleansed of abyssals. The various princesses in the Baltic had been driven from the coasts and islands, hunted towards Finland and finally crushed between the Russian, Swedish, Finnish and German navies. Three princesses had lived there. And near Helsinki they had died, their fleets, at least those that hadn't already fled or been sent away, killed to the last. And afterwards, the meatbags clamped down hard on the Baltic. As far as she knew, no abyssal had managed to sneak into the Kattegat, much less the Baltic proper.

Back then they hadn't really been aware of that. Hunger and fear motivated them, desperation drove them onwards.

Desperation had led them directly into the oncoming hammer that was nine American standards. The Colorados, Tennessees, New Mexicos and Pennsylvanias. Now, individually, or even as a class, she would have torn them apart, they were too slow to really deal with her. But with the Grand Fleet undoubtedly in pursuit, and she would be surprised if they kept the Queen Elizabths, no it would only be the fast girls, they had not an awful lot of time. Finally, her airgroups were already mangled and mauled, she would be lucky if she could spot a third of them, if not just a fourth.

With a shake she realized that past and present were blurring together, the journey ripping open old scabs that had barely hidden wounds that never had healed. At times she could see her sisters, the ones that had yet lived, their frightened desire to reach Greenland.

Soon, she saw Greenland loom in the distance. Her battered pilots had taken their birds out, had scouted through their fatigue. And in the far distance behind them, they had spotted the Grand Fleet, how it closed the Strait to them and moved south. And from the south, the Standards had powered north, seeking the battle instead of waiting for it. Later she had learned to see the wisdom of the move. The newer American girls were faster, but the Standards were able to coordinate their maneuvers in ways few other classes could.

All too soon, the Hammer had struck. The Standards had focussed on Mother and her, their guns an unrelenting force.

She had tried her best to shield Mother who was already injured. But it had been clear from the beginning that it would be futile. Their plans to make landfall in Greenland were abandoned in favor of a retreat. Rocker, Robot and Roamer had volunteered to be the rearguard, to delay them as long as possible.

She remembered their eagerness. They knew it was suicidal, that they wouldn't return from that, but protecting Mother was more important than their lives.

She remembered seeing them rush forward, into the formation of battleships. The last time she saw her sisters. They had run away, battered and bleeding, frightful of the Grand Fleet to the North, hopeful that the Americans would be delayed long enough for them to vanish into the North Atlantic.

Slowly she moved towards where her sisters had made their last stand, rejoicing in the chance for a glorious fight and a glorious death. Looking back she knew that these three had known it. Had known that their time was over. And they had decided to go on their own terms, to go out in a fight instead of being hunted down.

"Was it worth it?" she asked. "We escaped, to live for a few more days," she continued. "But for you, was it the battle you wanted? To bloody an unbeatable foe and to laugh at their prowess?" she wanted to know. "You were always the most eager ones for a fight, and you taught me all those neat tricks," she mused. "Ive used a few of them again and again over the years. And I nver got to really thank you for these tricks. Even though I was the youngest, you took your time to teach me," she told the spectres she could almost see before her.

"Will you welcome me, when we reunite?" the Princess wanted to know, looking sightlessly over the waves. Her eyes fixated on the past, looking at spectres of a time long gone. And like before, the specters of her sisters took up their position, eager to go with her.

Again, she set off, following their route that had seen them slip through the Denmark Strait in the night. She remembered the fear they all had felt. Mother had been somewhat out of it, the loss of so many daughters taking a toll on her. Hellfire had taken over as the leader, directing them towards Jan Mayen in the desperate hope that the island was isolated enough for them to find respite there.

It had been a desperate, last-ditch gamble. And like each gamble before, it had failed.

She remembered the trek north, how they fought to survive in those icy waters. Her repair crews had been hard at work, rebuilding as many of her planes as possible.

She needn't have bothered. The weather was so bad that her planes couldn't take off anyway.

And within the bad weather, four battleship girls had lurked. Bismarck, Tirpitz, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. With them had been seven heavy cruisers.

They had barely seen them come out of the storm when the heavy cruisers already opened fire. Hammer had fallen quickly, followed by her grief-stricken sister. Hellfire had barely been able to order yet another retreat before the battleships obliterated her.

She remembered charging the battleships, her smaller guns raking over the heavy cruisers and gouging deep wounds into them. Her main guns focussed on the battleships, ripping into their armor and doing gruesome damage.

Mother had called out for her, ordered her to come with them as they fled.

And she had followed. She had left the bleeding girls behind and vanished into the storm, closing up with her sisters and Mother.

It was in a trance that she reached the waters near Jan Mayen. Past and present mixing in her eyes, the calm seas she felt replaced with the terrible storm she remembered. In the distance she could almost see four battleship girls and seven heavy cruisers ready to lay waste to her sisters.

Her radar told her that one was there, but her eyes could see them.

"Hammer, Hatchet, Hellfire!" she shouted over the non-existent storm. "I have come! My dear sisters, please follow me, keep me company as I finish my journey!" she begged. "I've waited too long, but now it's time! We'll sail together again!" she promised. "I am no longer afraid," she added more quietly.

In front of her, she could see Haken enthusiastically greet her sisters. And when she looked to her side, Hellfire was there, ready to protect her flank.

"My sisters, a few of us are still missing," she said quietly. "I'll go to them, allowing us to reunite," she promised. "Let us set forth, let me follow Mother and those of us not yet with us. We'll see them at Scapa Flow!" she shouted, to the joy of her ghost fleet.

South she went, her screws churning water as she sped up for the last leg of her journey. She had lost every care for herself, only one goal loomed in her mind. Scapa Flow. She had left their fleet near the Faroe islands, after they had managed to catch a lone freighter.

She remembered Mother and her remaining sisters. Their pain and fear. And still, even though they were hungry and hurt, they had encouraged her to eat. She could still see Mother's sad smile. "My daughter, I am so proud of you. You were the best thing that could have happened to me. I love you so much, my little girl. But it is time for us to part ways. I am too weak to support you, but I heard of a princess further to the south who might be able to. Your sisters and I, we are at our last leg. Too much damage has piled up. We will not be able to survive for much longer," she had explained, while gently rocking her. Re-class Princess remembered weeping at these words.

Her remaining sisters had rubbed against her, telling her how much they loved their baby sister. They reassured her, told her that it was their will to see her live.

"My daughter, your sisters and I will divert them. We will hit their base at Scapa Flow, force them to come to us. I've had a good run. And each of my daughters makes me proud and happy," she told the sobbing Re-class. "One day, under a better sky on fairer seas, we shall meet again," Mother had promised her.

One by one she had embraced each sister, receiving a small gift from each. A crewman, a shell and a trinket.

Finally it had been Mother's turn. She had embraced her for the last time, giving her four guns. Guns she carried to this day. "Live, my daughter. Always know that we all love you," she had said, before mustering her remaining daughters and setting off for Scapa Flow.

Re-class Princess barely remembered her own way south. She had reached Heligoland several days later, low on fuel and quite ready to just give up.

Heligoland Princess had taken her in, had fed her and listened to her story.

Her navigator told her they had reached the point where she had seen her sisters and Mother the last time before they had vanished beyond the horizon.

Her eyes turned towards Scapa Flow, her boilers running hot. She didn't care that it guzzled her quite depleted fuel reserves at an alarming rate. Only Scapa Flow mattered. Living, dying, it had lost any meaning. "Weiter, weiter ins Verderben / Wir müssen leben bis wir sterben" she muttered under her breath.

It took her more than a day, but with the sunrise she arrived at Scapa Flow.

She did not slow down or even acknowledge the shipgirls that tried to contact her. They were not important, what was important was to find her Mother.

She moved into the harbor area itself, heedless of shells fired across her bow to get her attention. "MOTHER!" she suddenly shouted. "I am here! I have brought your daughters with me!" she continued.

"I am here, Mother. I can finally join you. Look, Robot, Rocker, Roamer, Hatchet, Hammer, Haken, Night, Nightmare, Night Terror, Insidious, Hellfire and Torture are here, too. We're together again!" she exclaimed.

"I have seen so much, I'll tell you all about it soon," she promised as her fuel reserves began to run completely dry.

With a tired smile she came to a rest before the spectre of her mother. "I'm here to join you, Mother. I am home," she said, smiling and crying.

"Thank you too, my spectres. We've done it." the Princess said gratefully. "Now, let us finish our journey. Initiate scuttling," she ordered with a tired smile.

Around the Princess, the ghosts of her family watched helplessly. Their sister was in pain and needed them more than ever. Their Mother raged, screaming in fury as her daughter began to sink with a happy, yet broken smile.

To their immense surprise, there was another voice that did not approve of what was happening. The harbor herself cried out in horror, remembering the suicide of an entire fleet and she was unwilling to let it happen again.

Under the hammer blows of a desperate mother looking to save her child, a large group of sisters looking to save the smallest of them and a harbor not wanting to see another ship extinguish herself needlessly in her waters, something gave.

For the first time in years, Wandering Princess and her daughters were alive, but there was no time for wonder. Their baby sister was hurting, rapidly taking on water and sinking. They circled her, rubbing against her, trying to reassure her that it was not a dream. Wandering Princess cradled her youngest daughter, sobbing as she felt her daughter slip from her.

"Let me through!" a loud voice boomed.

The various British girls uncertainly circling the spectacle made way for a big girl with a rigging they had only seen abyssalized before. It was the rigging of a harbor. An installation.

The big woman moved towards the abyssals without stopping. And the destroyers let her past, closing ranks behind her. They still needed to guard their little sister.

Scapa Flow gently tapped Wandering Princess on the shoulder. "Let me, lass. I can do that," she said softly.

Wandering Princess looked up. "Save her. Please. She is my precious little Retribution," she pleaded.

Scapa Flow nodded. "Aye. I can not let another kill themselves in my waters," she gave back.

With a sad smile Scapa Flow scooped up the nearly catatonic Re-class Princess. "Stupid wee lass," she chided. "Don't do such again," she ordered and lifted her out of the water.

Then she turned to the shipgirls. "What be ye waiting fer?" she demanded hotly. "Get those destroyers to a pier. I reckon they will behave. And have a dock prepared. Poor lass is going to need extensive care," she said before slowly making her way towards land.

"No suicide," she muttered. "There's always another way, lass," she told the unconscious Retribution.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Sipping his drink, Harry smiled as he stood close to one of the walls in the meeting hall. Part of his mind went back to the previous day when they arrived back in Yokosuka in the late afternoon to a burst of activity. As it turned out, a Princess "Surrendering" her and her fleet to them was a rather big deal. Who would have guessed?

Oddly, things did get sorted rather quickly with the Abyssal Destroyers now staying in one of the shoreside warehouses. Despite the armed guards and shipgirls of the Pre-Dread and Armored Cruiser sort patrolling the outside, there had been no problems of any kind with the Destroyers. Granted, Yuubari and Akashi was spending a lot of time there examining them under the watchful eye of Wanko. And from what Harry had heard, there were squeals due to some of the things they had found out.

Meanwhile, ADP herself had moved right into Hoppou's room much to the exasperation of Nagato. In fact, said Princess had a bit of a problem not spending every moment at Hoppou's side. Not that Hoppou minded too much as she spent most of her time regaling ADP, or Aeroprin as most now knew her, with tales of her time since that day. Under most circumstances, Harry would not have believed half of them from what he overheard, but growing up in Yokosuka and among shipgirls?

He oddly found himself believing them as odder things had happened.

Life though, went on and continued as it always had. While surprised by their new guests, the residents of Yokosuka soon shrugged and went on their usual business. One of the parts of that was the wedding between Miyuki and Daisuke. The wedding itself was held at the shrine with Haru performing it with Daisuke's surviving family and Miyuki's family there. Most ignored the fact that Miyuki's family consisted mostly of women with pale skin and hair in various light colors. One that Harry had seen had light blue hair of all things.

Harry had wondered about it and if problems would arise because while he knew that Miyuki was a Yuki-Onna, they were not exactly hiding it when he knew yokai had to be careful. Especially as the entire room was rather chilly and caused Harry to tighten his formal Kimono as he looked around the room. But Junyou had told him not to worry because it had been taken care of and to enjoy himself. Something that he was doing as he stood off to the side just watching when a voice spoke up. "Um, hello there?"

Turning, Harry had to blink at the sight of one of the younger members of Miyuki's family there watching him. It took him a few moments before he smiled at her. "Fuyutsuki, right?"

Brightly blushing, the girl nodded some with a soft smile on her face. "Hai, that is my name..." For a moment, she seemed lost at what to say before gesturing to where Miyuki was introducing her sister and said sister's daughter to Fubuki. "Miyuki is my Onee-Chan."

Slowly nodding, Harry hummed a bit. "I can actually see the resemblence." He ignored how the girl gave him a searching look before nodding. However, that was when Harry noticed that Fubuki had a bright blush on her face while Yuudachi and Mutsuki had massive grins on theirs. "I wonder what that is all about?"

Glancing in said direction, Fuyutsuki's lips twitched a bit before she shook her head. "I think that Fubuki-Sama just found out what my Onee-Sama named her daughter." At Harry's look, she giggled some into the sleeve of her Kimono. "She decided to honor her by naming her 'Fubuki' actually."

After a moment of thought, Harry snorted in amusement. "Yeah, that would cause Fubuki-Nee to become embarrassed. I'm sure that Yuudachi-Nee and Mutsuki-Nee won't let her forget it anytime soon." Suddenly though, a arm snaked through his and he found Natsumi beside him with her arm hooked into his own. "Natsumi-Chan?"

Briefly, Natsumi gave him a warm smile before turning her gaze back onto Fuyutsuki. "Hello, Harry-Chan. I saw you over here and decided that you might use the company."

Confused, Harry looked back and forth between Natsumi and a bemused Fuyutsuki. The two girls seemed to be having a silent coversation with each other. Feeling Natsumi pull him closer, Harry blinked. 'Wonder what all that is about?'

With another glance, Natsumi gave him a look over and a nod. "You are looking rather nice tonight, Harry-Chan. And it is good to see you using a formal Kimono."

All Harry did though was shrug a bit. "Well, it is a traditional wedding. And besides, you've seen me in this one before since you helped me pick it out last year."

If Harry was not confused before, now he would be as Natsumi gave him a bright smile and preened. "I did make a rather nice choice, didn't I?"

Giggles though interrupted them and they both turned to see Fuyutsuki watching them with mirth in her eyes. Seeing them look at her, she gave a small bow to Natsumi. "Excuse me, Natsumi-Sama. I think that you might be mistaken in regards to what my purpose is."

Her eyes narrowing slightly, Natsumi frowned. "Oh? And what is your purpose?"

Simply gesturing at Harry, Fuyutsuki giggled some. "Harry-Dono may not know this, but he has made himself a friend of my family." She then gave a small bow. "We are a traditional sort and his kindness tonight has shown us of his character. Among us, he shall always be welcome due to his gifts on this night to my Onee-Chan and her husband. I simply wished to know him a bit better."

On Natsumi's face there was a considering look as she looked back and forth between them. Finally, she frowned and turned to Harry directly. "Harry-Chan? What gifts did you give the couple tonight?"

Blinking, Harry shrugged as he shook his head. "Just, you know, a traditonal one of money and a gift for Miyuki-San?"

Eyebrow raising, Natsumi snorted at that. "Harry-Chan... Tell me."

A blush on his face, Harry did not notice the utterly amused look on Fuyutsuki's face as he scratched his cheek. "Um... I might have given them enough money for them to get a good base to start their inn? And some charmed earrings for Miyuki-San that make it so that she'll always be cool even when it gets really hot out?" Seeing Natsumi's expression, he chuckled. "I found them in this shop in Diagon. They're made for wizards and witches who need to go to the tropics and deserts. Sort of like a portable AC..." Then Harry frowned in thought. "I did say that I can get her more if needed."

Seconds ticked by as Natsumi stared at him before facepalming. "Dammit, Harry-Chan. The first is something to be expected. But the second? No freaking wonder..." Then she sighed and shook her head. "Never change, Harry-Chan, never change."

Not quite sure what she meant, Harry just shrugged. "Sure, I guess."

Lips twitching, Natsumi then gestured at the refreshment table. "Harry-Chan, would you mind getting me some punch?" Once Harry was out of earshot, Natsumi turned and regarded Fuyutsuki. Her examination was returned by said Yuki-Onna before the kitsune finally spoke up. "What exactly is your goal?"

Head tilting to the side, Fuyutsuki chuckled. "Not too much, just getting a measure of him and I think that I have. But if you are worried about me deciding to court him, do not be. He is interesting enough, but I do not feel like the two of us would work as it is. But, though his gift he has helped my family out more then he knows."

Frowning, Natsumi glanced to where Harry was and then back at Fuyutsuki. "How so? I understand that the earrings would be worth a lot..."

Much to her surprise though, Fuyutsuki shook her head. "No, the earrings would be enough. But it is the inn that has gotten him our friendship. He has played down how much he gave which will allow for my Onee-Chan, soon from now, build their inn or even buy one and fix it up. Our family planned to have members of our race, mostly allied familes, work there. It would provide for income and also perhaps help us find husbands of our own. With the world changing, it would be nice to have a place to be."

It was then that Natsumi fully understood and smiled. "Good, that's actually good to hear, Fuyustsuki-San. Though I think that it's best that I am happy with how you are not aiming for Harry-Chan's heart."

There was a flicker of amusement in Fuyutsuki's face before she shook her head. "You have nothing to worry about. Now, if Harry-Dono was to have any sons, they might attract our attention in that way." Her eyes narrowed a bit in mirth. "Perhaps sons with cute fox ears and tails? I think that I might like a husband who had such, especially with green eyes..."

When Harry came back, he blinked some at the sputtering Natsumi as well as her red face. Glancing at the giggling Fuyutsuki, all Harry could do was tilt his head. "Poi?"

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 34: S0ngD0g13

Another tale of Virginia on Spider Island...
..........................................

The morning after Akitsu Maru had dropped off her food and carried off the cargo of venom, silk, and fangs, Virginia sat under a palm on the south beach of Spider Island with a sail-needle in one hand and a long Acromantula fang in the other, carefully scratching a knot-work design into it; it was nearly done and ready for finishing. Virginia put the final few marks in and stuck the needle behind her ear before reaching for the bottle of white ink by her knee. The Ironclad filled in the lines of her scrimshaw with the ink and a fine brush, revealing the looping endless knots that formed a Celtic Tree-of-Life.

After the ink dried, she worked a silver coin in her fingers to flatten it and then bent it over the fang's tip for a cap before fitting a ring of worked silver over the rim. She set the drinking-horn aside, along with the carved-fang netsuke that matched it; the horn was for her uncle and the netsuke for Houshou. The teen shrugged and tossed back the last of her bottle of water, then stood and picked up the Enfield she'd been using. "Better get back to it, I reckon." She tucked her carvings away and set out into the forest, heading north...

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

Just before sunset, she found the nest, arranged in and around a crumbling, ruined hall. Merciful Mother of Mares, no wonder there's no game bigger'n a seagull on this rock; that's the biggest of them all! She stared wide-eyed at the spider in the valley below her.

It was as tall as a draught-horse, seventeen hands at least, and Virginia couldn't help but be amazed at the sight of it. She could've crouched there for hours, just watching. By all the things I hold most dear, you're the Queen of Spider Island, and a greater or more terrible queen this lonely spit of land has never seen... Nor ever will see again...

Virginia cocked the rifle and sighted carefully... Then set the rifle down and recorded the great spider with her cellphone until the battery died. Then Kaylee took up the Enfield and stood, whistled loudly to draw the Queen's attention, and squeezed the trigger when the sights came to rest between her eyes; the horse-sized spider dropped where she stood without twitching, squarely brain-shot. Afterward Virginia made her way down the hillside to the nest, reloading the caplock Enfield with hands steadied by long practice, and entered the nest...

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

It was a week later when the last of the feral Acromantula was rendered under Virginia's knife; that evening she loaded the last of her cargo onto the Boston Whaler and started back for Kure.

"Gin-ya? Where we goin'?" came a high female voice from within the Ironclad's rucksack. A tiny eight-eyed head poked out from the top.

"We're goin' home, Charlotte," said Kaylee as she looked back at the Isle of Spiders, toward the valley where the new grass was beginning to grow over the barrow of a fallen queen...

"We're goin' home."

 

[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.