5504/AOH: Dark Sky Atoll

AOH: Dark Sky Atoll
Date of Scene:	01 October 2017
Location:	<AOH> Dark Sky Atoll
Synopsis:	The location of the Black Fleet's headquarters and leader has been discovered. The Hikari Defense Force and allies mobilize to bring an end to the Black Fleet's cruel leader, the Abyssal Princess of Progress, Midway.
Cast of Characters:	Midway, Shigure, Neuroi Girl, Reina Kinney, Gaonoir, Leyanne Mace, Nagato, 385, Kotone Yamakawa
Tinyplot:	Abyssal Operation Hydra

---

Midway has posed:
    These are the coordinates provided by Dreadnought Water Demon, now called Arkansas. A splotch of territory in the middle of the ocean, far from any sea lanes or inhabited islands. The middle of nowhere. A dense black cloud holds in the sky, threatening rain, while the waters are stained an ugly gray-blue by the dingy cloud cover. In the center is a very small island, home to a weather-beaten lighthouse whose lamp burns with a dull red flame rather than the rotating spotlight most would expect.

    Dark Sky Atoll.

    At the edge of the Abyssal territory, a group of fleet girls wait, discussing tactics amidst themselves. Those who attended the battle for Hawaii would recognize the tallest pair, the blonde Iowa and her dark-haired sister Missouri. Enterprise, with her short brown hair and unique flight deck, listens intently to the two newcomers. By their rigging, both are heavy cruisers, one with wild orange hair in untamed wavy curls, the other with pink hair in a side-tied ponytail. By the argumentive words exchanged, their names would be Wichita and Portland, having a heated discussion on how to approach the Abyssal defenses-- Wichita favoring a rapid and decisive attack while Portland argues for a protracted battle of attrition to wear down enemy air power. Both battleships seem to be considering the merits of the plans as well, but no decision has actually been made.

    Given the indecisiveness of the battleships and Enterprise refusing to weigh in, a tiebreaker may be in order to get this group involved in today's operation.

Shigure has posed:
    Shigure and her sister come sailing up to the group, rigging in place but no weapons aimed. They're all allies here, even with the memories of hostility bubbling up to the surface. Something about this place makes the two destroyers uneasy, even beyond the fact it's an Abyssal Homeport.

    The darkhaired sister speaks up. "Whichever plan we decide on, the enemy will not simply wait forever for us to act first." she says in that soft, but firm tone of hers. "Whether we break through to assault Midway directly, or wear down her escorts will soon be a moot point."

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     Although she can't attend every battle, the littlest Neuroi known as Evangeline always tries to help her Fleet allies. As the discussion turns to the subject of airpower Evangeline tilts her head lightly. "...if the concern is air cover...I should be able to keep the fleet well covered..." she says. She doesn't know if these newer ships know about her, but if Nagato has talked about her at all they probably know she is a powerful airborn combatant. "...and...unless we have many long range artillery pieces...a battle of attrition could result in more casualties against a force of unknown size...I think a fast strike would be better..."

     Of course, the Neuroi Girl's soft voice with its minimal inflections might not even be heard over the general noise of the others talking.

Reina Kinney has posed:
Normally, there'd be a cry of, "Heeeere's Reina!" As the ponytailed red-head arrived on the scene. At least if she were in a good mood or something like that. Of course if she were attending a briefing or something serious like this (or even her yoga class), you'd see she just enters with a stern look on her face. And that is exactly what happens here as Reina sails up in her boat. Her weapons aren't armed yet, but her senses are definitely on high alert based on how she's glancing around occasionally.

"Whatever the enemy has planned for us," Reina states in a firm tone, "They'd better be ready because I'm not going to let them defeat us! We will be victorious!" Reina slaps her right fist into her left palm to emphasize her point.

Gaonoir has posed:
As usual Gaonoir is here as the Fleet's air support, flying up with the rest of the group to hover at the meeting point. "She's right. They're not gonna sit around with thumbs up their bilgetanks waiting for us. Either way." The canine gives a toothy grin. "Air power ain't gonna matter. I'm here."

He reachs over to slap Evangeline on the back with one of his large metal gauntlets. "And this time I ain't alone in the skies either." Doesn't matter if the robot girl is a bit timid, he's loud enough for both of them.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Shigure's escort contains, among others, the freshly-repaired (again) PT boat FMS Leeroy Jenkins. He's not carrying depth charges the back like the last battle; his Bofors gun is free, unlimbered, and occupied by a mouse in red armour. The rest of the boat's crew are similarly armoured, with the more exposed gunners wearing heavier suits. All the armour has built-in floatation devices, just in case of mice overboard.

The boat skims lightly across the waves, three gas turbines singing together as the mice orbit the group. Instead of mice overboard, this seems to be mice over-bored.

Nagato has posed:
    The coordinates provided lead to ... the middle of nowhere. The clouds in the sky fill the Battleship with unease as she sails behind her fleet going through plans inside her head. This was it, hopefully the final battle with this Abyssal fleet, then she'd be able to focus on the Bootleg Fleet and end two birds with two sorties. Nagato's ship form soon arrives, holding those who can't go on water or need a launch rail to go off of to get in the air. The voice echoes from the ship... "Shigure is right." she affirms, "An air battle would be good to wear down any air support the area may have, an immediate surface battle will suffice as well to catch them off guard."

    Coming to a stop behind the entire group, Nagato echoes on a hmm. "We have Evangeline and Gaonoir, two good anti aircraft flight specialists. We have Kagurazaka who's anti-aircraft kills rivals some of the Akizuki-classes. We have Enterprise, an amazing carrier and we have enough surface power to break through."

    While it doesn't look like it, everyone could feel Nagato looking at them, "We'll institute a two pronged attack. Carriers and aircraft will advance first, followed by the smaller surface ships to provide anti-aircraft and surface shelling support while the heavier ships move in with the powerful surface shelling." there's a sense of authority in the Admiral's voice, as if trying to finalize the plan with everyone around.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
After reviewing Shigure's report on the interrogation of Dreadnought Water Demon, aka Arkansas, Yuna found herself seized by curiosity. She knows the final battle still needs to be fought, and she doesn't intend to leave Dark Sky Atoll in Abyssal hands - or more accurately, she doesn't plan to leave the liberation of the atoll to the other fleet daughters; she intends to be there with the rest of her allies from Hikari. But she hasn't forgotten her prior meetings with the Dreadnought's 'little sister,' Destroyer Water Demon - and she really wants to know who the Destroyer is, outside of her Abyssal identity, without the 'upgrades' which were forced on her by the Midway Princess.

As she sails towards the rendezvous point with Nagato and the others, Kagurazaka isn't sure if she's figured out the Destroyer's true identity or not. She *thinks* she's narrowed the list down, and she has a preferred guess, but ultimately, it's not *that* important. What is important is that the Abyssals will be defeated ... and hopefully, that their Fleet Daughter forms will be freed to sail alongside the shipgirls and allies of Hikari, to help protect the peace of the oceans.

Kagurazaka looks a little sheepish as Nagato mentions her anti-air record, but she's not about to argue the Admiral's assessment. "The only thing I'd *like* to ask is, if Destroyer Water Demon shows up - or *when* she does, I should say - I'd like to be the one to engage her. But anti-air takes precedence for me," she agrees, "and I'm not going to be picky if somebody else winds up in position to take her on directly."

She pauses, looking around at familiar and unfamiliar faces alike. "I know the Hikari fleet has its own benediction before battle, but -" She looks more pointedly at the black, heavy cloud for which the Atoll is named. "- there's a prayer of mine that feels just as appropriate. I ..." She looks more sheepish, "I prayed it for myself before setting out, but the last part of it - if nobody minds my quoting it?"

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
They have been given a location bu the Dreadnought, Kotone is going to trust aht it's good and he's already equipped in the gear she needs for htis operation. She would be moving in formation. She's quick to form up with the other who are forming up she looks at American ship spirits, she knows many of them, some of their names are burned into her world's mind just as much as the Yamato and others. She checks her rigging one last time before she forms up.

"Ahoy."

She's quioet otherwise she's thinking about which way this is going to go. She knows this isn't going to be asy no matter what is chosen she also gives look to Admiral Nagato and then to Yuna as well. She nods about the two pronged attack it sounds like an good plan to her when all is said and done.

Midway has posed:
    "They're here," a voice murmurs in the darkened halls of Dark Sky Atoll. Red eyes roll upward, then glance down to the side, "Rally what ships you can and wait for my signal." The figure leans forward, hauling herself out of the seat she had been resting on, "I will see to them personally."

At the surface...
    Iowa cradles her chin, regarding Shigure and Yuudachi's arrival, "Oh! That's a very good point, yes!" Eyes closing, she wiggles her fingers, "Also, hihi~!"

    "In that perspective," Missouri closes her eyes, nudging her glasses up the bridge of her nose, "Then the swiftest strike is the best option after all. Especially, as the flying girl points out, we do not know their actual air strength. As great as our air strength may be-- I recognize your skill from Hawaii, Gaonoir--we need to be prepared for theirs to be greater."

    The red-headed Wichita puffs out her chest, arms folding with a rather smug look on her face. Portland deflates with a 'jeez' of defeat. The pinkette glances up, though, as Nagato draws closer-- No, it's not a surprise, she's been on the cruiser's radar for her entire approach. A superstructure like that is hard to miss at a distance. Tilting her head, she nods once, "Soften them up with an airstrike, then move in for surface combat. Alright!"

    Wordlessly, Enterprise has already lifted her flight deck, slotting a magazine drum into the underside. She waves it in an arc, spraying out bright white bullets that transform into blue F6F fighters, which begin circling while she loads in another magazine.

    The lighthouse door opens while Enterprise is preparing her air wing. The person who steps out is a pale woman with long white hair, clad in a flowing dress. Resembling a ghost, she steps down the island's sandbar and, without missing a beat, out onto the water. As she draws closer, the details come into focus-- Stubby horns part her hair on either side, and a brace of hellish spines surrounds her neck, obscuring her mouth behind a wall of black spikes. She has no rigging visible, even when she comes to a stop and spreads her hands to either side. Her eyes carry a dim red glow in the fading light, the final sign if any were needed to identify this woman as an Abyssal.

    "Bring me your flagship," she states, her voice level, "That we may parlay."

Leyanne Mace has posed:
the mice listen to their orders and nod, taking their stations. THe tubes and Excocets are brought to ready, and the braces of machine guns and cannons locked and cocked. The boat drops from its planing as the call for parley goes out. The driver lets the fleet pull ahead, letting them get into a position where Leeroy's fast-attack capacity is at its best.

Gaonoir has posed:
Gaonoir flicks back an ear. "Eh. Suppose she's got a point there." He's not worried about facing superior odds, but there is the entire group to think about. A concept he's still coming to graps with considering. "Whatever they've got, we'll take care of it tho--"

The voice calling from the island cuts him off. Gaonoir turns his head in that direction, squinting a little behind his flight visor as the scanners built into it zoom in on the figure walking down to the beach, calling out a flagship. A soft growl rumbles between his fangs, echoed by a faint whine from his jetpack as the engines warm back up to full power even though he remains at a hover.

Sensors unzoom from the figure, broading his range to monitor the entire island instead. Metal gauntlets clench into fists as he leans a bit closer to Evangeline hovering next to him. "Be ready. I don't trust this isn't some kind of trick..."

Shigure has posed:
    Shigure and Yuudachi both turn their heads towards the island in unison, their hairflaps crackling with electricity as their radars spike at the Abyssal's appearance. "Flagship, radar spike from the island. Princess-class." says Shigure, ratcheting her rigging cannons out on their gimbols, then grasping the handles as they flip out. Yuudachi's eyes flare red, to match those from the Abyssal herself... but she holds herself back, only grasping her handcannon from her belt and forming up between the rest of the fleet and the Abyssal.

Nagato has posed:
    Once everyone's in the air and off the battleship, Nagato flashes slightly and soon, the Battleship is in all her glory, the coat-wearing admiral's stance that of stoicism. "Since everyone's in agreement." she sails forward, guns aimed towards the island. "All ships...." she starts, listening to everyone's ruckus and "Prepa..." the level voice catches her ears from far away... they want the Flagship, huh? She sails forward, "Everyone, hold. If something is to happen to me, immediately go into action."

    Nagato's voice carries as she moves to the front of the fleet, "Flagship and Admiral Nagato of the Hikari Fleet, I've heard your request for parlay. I am not above having a peaceful resolution to this if at all possible." though, in the battleship's mind, she knows that may not be possible, "Princess-Class Abyssal, what is it that you request of me, I will hear your thoughts upon this and give them due consideration."

    She understands her fleet's unease about this sudden request for parlay, her guns slowly lower as a more peaceful approach. Wonder what she wants....

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     "...I would like to hear it..." Evangeline says to Yuna concerning the prayer.

     The command is given for the airstrike and the soft metallic whisper that accompanies Evangeline's anti-grav flight grows louder as she prepares to move in. But before she moves, that princess-class appears. Evangeline quickly brings her weapons to bear, pointing her arms at the Abyssal while both arms and the small panels on her legs' wings start glowing a sinister red.

     The only reason she doesn't fire is because of the call for parlay. She pauses a moment, then slowly lowers her arms and the dangerous red glow dies down from all her weapons. "...do you think she wants to try and settle this peacefully..?" she asks softly. Those not right next to her might notice that her words come not only from a large red watch around the middle of her left arm, but also over the radios at the same time. "...or...is it some kind of distraction...?" Evangeline starts scanning for other targets.

     At Nagato's command, Evangeline raises her arms again and that red glow returns. She is ready to fire at a moment's notice.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Enough people want to hear it that Yuna bows her head for a moment, and recites the last part of her personal prayer:

    "I pray that no matter what happens,
    No matter who may face us as an enemy,
    No matter how dark the storm or the night,
    I pray that we will not falter."

Granted, when she's praying it just for herself, Yuna usually uses 'I' rather than 'we'. But in this context, the plural makes a lot more sense. Kagurazaka bows briefly but politely to Iowa and the other American shipgirls, then starts shifting her focus towards the battle ahead. But before they can sail into combat -

A call for parlay?

It's unusual for Abyssals to do that, so far as Kagurazaka's experience goes. But ... again, her thoughts go back to Destroyer Water Demon's visit to Shiraokadai. That *could* have led to a general all-out battle in Yuna's home city ... but it didn't. Abyssals *can* talk, rather than 'speaking' only with guns and torpedoes.

Kagurazaka keeps her turrets turned away from the Abyssal forces ahead, the rifle-styled cannon kept down by her side, hanging on its strap and only steadied by her hand rather than raised or ready for firing. She can snap back into combat mode in a hurry if the parlay turns out to be a distraction - but rather than being suspicious, she wonders whether the parlay and negotiations might lead to reclaiming the atoll *without* plunging into the fire and fury of battle. She'd be glad if the battle was avoided, although she doubts mutually-agreeable terms are going to come easily. Still, you never know - and she's always been one to hope for the best.

Reina Kinney has posed:
Reina is listening to Yuna's prayer. She's not very religious personally, but she'll take whatever divine assistance she can get. In fact, she's gritting her teeth a little as Yuna is praying.

Then comes the call for a parlay. Reina is surprised.

"In a place like this?" Reina mutters to herself. "Can't be right."

Nevertheless, Reina's lowering her weapons for the time being to show she's not hostile at all, but she will raise them again at a moment's notice. Unlike Yuna who's hoping for the best, Reina's got a pang of suspicion and uneasiness within her. An eye narrows into a slight glare as if she's expecting something to happen...

Midway has posed:
    "Nagato," the abyssal woman intones, her voice maintaining that level tone, "Admiral of the Hikari Defense Force. Regular opponent of the battleship princess Samar. That you have been operating this far north has been most unwelcome. But not without its benefits." She leans slightly to one side, raising a hand, "That you are here at Dark Sky Atoll tells me that one of my more worthless creations has provided the location to you. No doubt you have also been provided with my name. The logical conclusion is that at least one of them is still functional in your possession." Those fingers curl in a possessive gesture.

    "In exchange for not killing you and everyone you've brought to my door, I would have you return my property to me. You are already wasting my valuable time, so do not waste any more than my patience will allow in producing the Dreadnought Water Demon or the Jellyfish Princess."

    Sonar picks up flitting contacts beneath the surface, but only at the very edges, and so quickly in and out of range that it's uncertain what it actually is. More comprehensive depth scans can find numerous large wrecks strewn across the bottom. Most of them appear to be aircraft carriers, with multiple smaller shapes darting amidst them like fish in a reef. But there's no clear indication that any Abyssals are gathering under the surface in preparation of an attack.

    Missouri narrows her eyes in thought, her guns swinging around. Portland takes to her left, while Wichita moves to Iowa's right and Enterprise moves behind and between them, racking the bolt on her flight deck to lock in the latest magazine.

    "She wants those back?" Iowa's gaze switches to Nagato, waiting to see how the Admiral will respond to such an ultimatum.

Gaonoir has posed:
"I dread to think of what she would intend to do with a 'failed creation'." The thought actually makes Gaonoir twitch a bit internally, just knowing what his former master would do with his 'failed' works.

After a few pings off the fring of his sensors his shifts a bit, looking lower, and getting the same readout from beneath the water as Shigure is, which brings a growl to his lips once more as he clenches his fists tighter, the appendages starting to glow...

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is moving in she hears what she needed to do and she's busy launching planes even as she's heading forward, she grabs arrow after arrow mostly fighters are going up for the moment she will save her bombers of various flavours for for a little bit she gets a few scouts launched, her form with the bow has vastly improved too. She also had done it without using any additional upgrades to herself either.

She watches as the planes take flight she keeps an additional fighters are launched. She does however hear the called demand of the enemy. The warning of wrecks come and then it fully sinks in where they are, a certain place where a number of ships were used for targets of nuclear weapon tests after the second world war at least on her world and it was seemingly a common thing on many others.
% She tries to not think about that too hard about the ships down there but that doesn't last long as Nagato makes a very good point on the allied Comm. There would be ships both allied and Japanese who deserve their rest again. She's ready to engage now and she's pretty sure it's going that way.

Nagato has posed:
    "Of course, Midway." the battleship replies back, listening to the demand with idle curiosity, "While you are correct, one of your own has given my fleet this location, however, I am afraid that I have news that would be of considerable importance to you." Nagato takes a few steps forward, "The two you called Dreadnought Water Demon and Jellyfish Princess no longer live. I can, however, assure you that even though they were prisoners, they were not mistreated. Unlike the stories I heard from you to your underlings."

    There's a frown from Nagato's face, more pronounced as she glares at Midway, "As a result, I cannot accept your request. You have my apologies, for what they're worth. They feared you. They abhored working under you and your... modernizations. A demon with no remorse... As such, not as a Paladin but as the Hikari Defense Force's Admiral, You will be put down." she turns back, looking at her fleet.

    "We shall find victory on the dawn's horizon! All fleet, weapons free!"

Shigure has posed:
    No sooner has the order been given, than the pair of Destroyers peel out of formation, breaking out to the flanks so their torpedoes can be brought to bare. As they maneuver, though, their air radars are scanning for incoming contacts, their turrets tracking in the air, while they maneuver.

    Once they get clear of the others, they loose their torpedo spreads. Shigure doing a little bunnyhop to clear the water enough, while Yuudachi pulls the torpedoes from the launch rails, and hurls them like throwing daggers. The results are the same either way.

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     Evangeline listens to Yuna's prayer even as she keeps her weapons trained on the princess-class. "...she does not want peace..." Evangeline says after hearing the Abyssal's speech.

     When the command is given, Evangeline's whisper of flight becomes a scream as she takes off like a rocket. She fires her full power Breaker Beam as soon as she is clear of Nagato, carving a swath of destruction across the water, hopefully across that princess, and then on to the island beyond. Her beam reaches only a few inches into the water, so anything below is pretty protected. But where the beam hits the land there is a violent explosion that leaves a fairly deep furrow in the ground.

     With her first pass complete, Evangeline then banks around and waits for the counter-strike from the island's airforce. She hasn't seen any aircraft yet, but she has seen Abyssal airpower before. And she is awaiting the cloud of fighters that always makes her feel like one of her larger bretheren when they are attacked by Witches.

Gaonoir has posed:
'Weapons Free' was all Gaonoir needed to hear, plumes of exhaust blasting out of his jets before the final syllables are off Nagato's lips. He rockets at an upward arc in a surprising burst of speed from a standing hover, but the 'Mach' isn't in his species name isn't for looks. His scanners and sensors are on full alert, ready for the first side of enemy aerial forces. "Com'n Abyssmals, shows us what you've got! We may be of different worlds but we're both spirits of war, guns and fists is how we show our respect! Get out here so I can put your trouble spirits to rest in an oppropriate manner!"

Okay so it's partial taunting, partialy paying respect warrior to warriors. Either way, Gaonoir's looking to get some attention so he can get work living up to the claim.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Midway's demand is simple enough - and, not really to Kagurazaka's own surprise, completely unacceptable. The blonde idol-turned-warrior frowns at Midway's words - or rather, at her demand - and her expression darkens further at the two senior Abyssals being described as 'property'; it takes something of an effort to keep her hand from grasping her rifle and positioning her finger along the trigger.

But she knows better than to break the parley before negotiations are concluded, even if they were predestined to failure. Kagurazaka is wholly unsurprised by Nagato's response, and when the Admiral gives the order, 'weapons free,' she's ready to prepare for battle. A thought to her equipment fairies, and the turrets angle upwards in preparation for firing; she grasps the fifth of her guns properly and raises it for firing, her knees flexing just a bit as she prepares to accelerate ...

And then she does exactly that, sonar watching out for trouble beneath the waves, but the bulk of her attention focused on the sky, through her own two eyes as well as the radar manned and monitored by her fairies. "Anti-air, form a cordon in front of the capital ships," she calls out. "If the Abyssal air power wants a piece of us, they're going to pay buckets for every shot they take!" ... yeah, she may be jumping the hierarchy a bit, but Nagato trusted Kagurazaka as a flagship - she wants to live up to that. And she DOESN'T want anyone to spend more time in docks (or hospital) after this fight than they absolutely have to.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne Mace hears the order from Nagato. "Weapons free, weapons free!" She repeats. At the bow of the ship, the two mice manning the exocet launchers duck down behind their heat-shields, double-check that they've got tone from Shigure's radar illumination, and fire. The two missiles shoot forward with a cough of smoke, arcing through the air as they deploy. After a few seconds, the rocket motors ignite and send them skimming across the waves, barely above the surface of the water, towards Midway. She considers Saratoga and Arkansas property? The mice have a real, real big problem with that.

"Missile one, away. Missile two, away!"

Kicking up a big rooster-tail, Leeroy begins to accellerate, the mice not wanting to be chugging along slowly when shit goes live. On the back, Leyanne brings the Bofors gun up and swings it in Midway's direction, ready to take care of any air threats that come her way.

Reina Kinney has posed:
"Weapons free!"

That's what Reina was waiting for someone to say. Preferably Admiral Nagato. It's almost like her sixth sense could predict that this was going to happen. "I knew this was gonna happen, so let's get this over with!"

Without missing a beat, Reina accelerates to rapid speed while firing off her cannons at the same time at the aerial threats. "It's on now!" She says with a battle cry.

Midway has posed:
    "An expected reaction," Midway's eyes narrow slightly, "Enjoy what little time you and yours have left." She leans back, skating backwards. Crimson flames flash behind her, manifesting into a great pale sphere. This parasitic rigging strains until it splits open, revealing a mouth filled with blunt teeth and seething with internal flames of its own. A pair of airstrips unfold from inside, swinging out to Midway's sides as she skates back, away from the torpedoes already in the water. White orbs start launching down her airstrips, taking to the sky. Those hateful, advanced Abyssal aircraft. Fighters start filling the sky at an alarming pace.

    She stops short of the island, however, and Evangeline's beam sweep overshoots, carving across the beach and stone as a result and highlighting the Abyssal princess with the explosive aftermath. She spreads her arms to either side when the Exocets impact, briefly highlighting a crimson sphere around her before she disappears in a cloud of smoke and flames. Even as this starts to clear, and she's still there, artillery from the American battleships arcs in, splashing the water around her. Several shells strike that shield, as well, springing off into the lighthouse behind her. The mouth on her rigging hinges open, unleashing a roar like tearing metal, as it starts disgorging even more attack planes into the air above her.

    "Well, that's as good a signal as any," a pair of pink eyes blink beneath the surface. Some distance away, just outside sonar range, the Re-Class Aviation Battleship springs from the sea. Landing on all fours, her tail snaps its teeth, lunging forward and discharging a spread of torpedoes into the water from the side of the Hikari formation.

    "You act like you don't want this," Destroyer Water Demon springs forth on the opposite side. Thrusting out her gauntlets, the fingers straighten and launch out as torpedoes as well. Beside her, Heavy Cruiser Water Demon hurls a spread from her left two gun-tails, jettisoning the ordnance from their mouths.

    "I'd rather we relocated and tried again, honestly..!" Reaching up, the taller of the two tugs her peaked cap down, the brim obscuring her glowing eyes, "But I don't have a problem with an ambush if it's to get revenge for Dreadnought!"

    Missouri tenses her jaw, swinging her guns around, "Contacts on both sides! We're surrounded!" Portland's eight inch guns, already traversed, open fire, before she has to shield her face from shells raining on her from the Heavy Cruiser Water Demon.

    "Sink," Midway's voice speaks, level in tone but somehow audible over the sudden gunfire and explosions of the battle, "Burning and listing. Again and again. Until you beg for the cold. Until your soul breaks. As many. Times. As. It. Takes."

Shigure has posed:
    Shigure and Yuudachi peel away again, their torpedoes sailing harmlessly through where Midway used to be. The pair of destroyers link back up again, then turn to face Re-class's location as she appears. They move. "Torpedo shots trashed... shifting to engage long contact on starboard flank." reports Shigure, the Nightmare of Solomon and the Faithful Hound moving around the incoming torpedoes to pincer the small Aviation Battleship. Their secondary AA batteries also fire up into the swarming Abyssal Hellcat and Hell Diver and Revenge planes above, constantly juking and jinking to avoid being caught by any ordinance coming their way.

    <<We'll have to work together, remember, she might be small but she is a Battleship.>> radios Shigure to her sister. <<Yeah, I've like, got it. We've got this!>>

Gaonoir has posed:
"Yeah, that's more like it." Gaonoir is practically grinning as Midway unloads her airstrips and starts filling the air with the craft from them. Darkness from his shadow powers krackles around his limbs in shimmering speckles of black and purple as he dives directly into the launching swarms, bomber scarf flapping about behind him from the speed in lieu of a cape.

"GAOGA RAAAAAAAAAGE!"

Speed doesn't refer just to his travel, as the Black MachGaogamon becomes a literal blur of motion as he barrels into the ranks of Abyssal aircraft, lashing out in a whirlwind of punchs with his massive gauntlets and kicks from his bionic legs. If he can kick a few into the other flier formations as well, all the better.

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     And the sky fills up even more quickly than Evangeline was expecting! As all those Abyssal aircraft start swarming out from Midway, Evangeline shifts beam modes to her multi-vectoring beams. Small but highly accurate beams start firing from her wings and the ends of her sleeve-like arms as she darts past the princess-class again. She spares a few of those small beams for Midway as she passes, but with the sky getting cluttered Evangeline focuses on trying to keep the ships protected. Her beams fill the air like rain, but her aim is always such that no beams impact her allies. Sometimes a bit close for comfort, but never quite a real hit.

     "...I know the rage and despair of war...my kind has been at war for decades with the humans of our world...but rage itself is a terrible reason to fight...surrender now and you can spare both your girls, yourself, and everyone else a lot of heartache..." Evangeline radios over an open frequency. Even as they fight, she is hoping that the Abyssals might see that there is a better way. "...surrender...and you will be treated fairly...much more fairly than you are now...even by your own leader..."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
And there's Destroyer, thinks Kagurazaka as she spots the familiar Abyssal girl out of the corner of her eye. The vast aerial assault being launched by Midway and her forces is stunning, almost awe-inspiring in a horrifying way - but Kagurazaka knew, just as she says to her allies, that this was going to be a hard fight.

It doesn't change her resolve in the slightest. Seeing Destroyer Water Demon actually *reinforces* Kagurazaka's determination - if Midway is the one who 'modernized' the girl after Yuna fought her back at the oil refinery, torturing her for her failure in the name of 'strengthening' her for future battles, then the Savior of Light can't overlook that. In a way, it all goes back to the same basics that Yuna Kagurazaka has made the basis of her tenure as the Savior of Light: Not merely to destroy enemies, but to save friends - even and especially to save the friends who had been enemies up to that moment.

Much as she *wants* to help reduce the Abyssals' control of the air faster than simply letting them reach her range. Kagurazaka stifles the desire to charge ahead. A solid cordon of anti-air batteries is the best way to protect the capital ships - or the rest of the fleet, really - against aerial assault, and protecting her fleetmates remains a higher priority, no matter how much she wants to engage Destroyer. Still, Nagato gives the okay to look for chances to dispense a few torpedoes Destroyer Water Demon's way ... and even as the Abyssal aircraft reach the limit of Kagurazaka's range - to be promptly met with her first staggered salvo of airbursting anti-aircraft shells - Kagurazaka is keeping half an eye on Destroyer, and on the battle around and between both of them. She just needs one opportunity and just the right angle ...

And they aren't presenting themselves. At least not when Kagurazaka can look away from shooting down Abyssal fighters.

Reina Kinney has posed:
Reina spots the Destroyer and notices how Kagurazaka can't do anything about it just yet due to the aerial fighters. Reina decides to take the initiative herself. "Readying torpedo launchers!" Reina calls out from her boat.

A few moments later, Reina aims at the Destroyer and fires off a pair of Torpedoes. "We'll get you!" She calls out.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leeroy jukes aside to avoid a torpedo sent his way, Leyanne working the footpedals and levers to track the Abyssal air fleet. "LOAD ME!" She calls out to the mouse on the other gunnery seat. After a moment getting the range from her radar, the mouse opens fire, the Bofors gun rocking in its cradle as it speaks, throwing empty casings over the back of the boat on smoky, looping trails.

Even as she fires, she listens to Evangeline, nodding in agreement. "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." Leyanne radios, even as she fires on the air contacts. "Rage causes pain. Pain causes fear. Fear causes hate. Hate causes rage, it's all a big fucking cycle and isn't it great that everybody's fucking dead now?"

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Hate, rage, fear all given form, a nightmare given form, substance body and is looking to fight. She issues orders form her planes to engage any enemy fighter planes and they do not find any enemy air units they will strafe what they canon and Kotone readies more arrows from her quiver. Dive bombers and torpedo bombers take flight to join the battle in the air she also aware there may be attacks coming from subs too.

They are surrounded now as she hears Missouri's warning and her own radar is picking it up then comes Midway she hears the voice and what she plans to do to all of them. There is a level of fear Kotone feels a shiver down her spine or what passes for it now and she does not want to be sunk she's not even sure what would happen to her here and it would likely be worse than death.

Her bombers will focus on the nemey vessels laying down fire even as she's likely going to come under fire, she moves trying to keep with her allies but not sitting still to make herself an easy target. The torpdeod bombers take the lead as they target destroyer as well trying to lend to the firepower to bring it down.

Nagato has posed:
    Her entire fleet was on a trigger finger, waiting for the Admiral to say those infamous words to bring the battle at a start. Nagato stands stoicly upon the water, acting as that unshakable beacon, watching Midway's transformation with a smirk upon her face. The ten barrles on four turrets face towards the target and Nagato's arms cross upon her chest. She's wordless, but the guns say exactly what she would say in this situation.

    All ten barrels fire off one after another, sending an arc of ten, armor peircing shells through the air in an attempt to land on Midway, to peirce the armor, that shield... Nagato's own voice audible from the gunfire, "May you find peace soon, Midway!"

    Once the shells are loosed, the Battleship breaks formation and starts moving, torpedoes on the way and shells from guns... "We shall find victory on the dawn's horizon and you, you shall sink and never return, the waters will have no place for the demons such as yourself!"

Midway has posed:
RE CLASS
    A savage, shark-toothed grin greets Shigure and Yuudachi when they turn towards the Abyssal battleship, her eyes glowing pink and trailing faint blue flames, "Aww, only the kiddos?" Her tail gnashes its teeth, "I was hopin' for another go at your boss, but you'll do. Don't bore me, now!" Lifting up to her feet, she kicks, pushing herself backwards and sliding away from the two destroyers. Her tail arcs around her side, jaw gaping in a roar. The secondary battery cannons on either side of the head, where eyes would go on a snake, open fire with small caliber artillery, peppering the pursuing Shiratsuyu sisters.

MIDWAY
    Either Midway has learned from the previous battles with Gaonoir, or her aircraft are commanded differently from her subordinates. As Gaonoir dives into the cloud of ascending white Happy Fun Balls, the planes scatter away from him, quickly darting out of reach with hisses and open mouths. Several wheel around and come back in, guns blazing, and a pair of bombers even try to drop their payloads on him from above.

    Evangeline's long range lasers have a bit more success, slicing through the Abyssal attack planes even as they scatter away. Their penchant for spreading out, however, makes getting large numbers at once a challenge. Entirely different from how the previous Black Fleet carriers have managed their planes. This also makes it harder to drop them in significant numbers by the surface anti-air batteries. Though the concentration of flak produced by Iowa, Missouri, Portland, and Wichita soon has the planes deciding to go after other targets of opportunity. Kotone's and Enterprise's fighters mix into it, with the American carrier emptying another magazine of fresh F6F Hellcats into the sky, nestled safe amidst her battleship and cruiser companions' anti-air screen.

    Nagato's broadside engulfs Midway in another cloud of smoke and fire and shrapnel. Through the smoke, faint crimson cracks can be seen, as well as the burning embers of her eyes. Abyssal planes continue to spill off her runways as she steps forward, "Peace is irrelevant. You are a machine of war." The maw of her parasite slams shut, "Your only purpose is to destroy."

DESTROYER
    "I died a long time ago," Destroyer Water Demon responds, her voice an icy hiss, "You don't understand." Swerving, she jukes through the torpedoes released by Reina's boat, only to take several hits from the dive bombers sent by Kotone. White smoke starts leaking from the joints and gaps in her gauntlets, laying a dense smokescreen behind her as she turns into the allied formation. Crouching, she minimizes her profile, and at the right moment springs up to land on the Leeroy's bow. On all fours for balance, she lifts one gauntlet to wiggle her fingers at the mouse behind the windscreen immediately in front of her. Then that same hand is lifted, fingers straightening, and four torpedoes are jettisoned in arcs like grenades. She then leaps sidelong, overboard, skidding to a halt on the water's surface.

    Heavy Cruiser Water Demon makes use of her little sister's smoke cloud, swerving into it to break contact when Missouri opens fire. The first two salvos go wide, but the shots from the battleships' third turret prompt an explosion inside the smoke, staining the white with a plume of fiery black.

    Wichita and Portland switch targets, their main batteries pelting Midway's shield from long range, incoming shells soon joined by Iowa's next salvo, prompting an explosion when at least one of them doesn't bounce.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne is in the process of bringing the bofors gun around to blast Destroyer off the bow when she waves. There's a moment of pause... and there really, really shouldn't have been. The torpedoes arc through the air.

"TAKE COVER!" Someone shouts. It's not clear who, beyond one of the male mice in the crew. The mouse at the wheel yanks it hard to one side in an attempt to minimise the harm, ducking even further behind his console. The rest of the crew dive into the wheelhouse if they can, or duck behind whatever feeble cover they've got.

One torpedo splashes harmlessly into the water on the bow. Another slams into the wheelhouse, blowing a large, round hole in the one armoured part of the boat. The third... goes down one of the air intakes. A mouse launches himself out of the engine room before a large section of the deck blows open. One of the mice is too close to the blast and goes overboard, sinking below the water for a few seconds before he pulls the cord for his flotation bags and bobs up to the surface helplessly. Torpedo four compounds that damage, landing in the water close enough to the boat to damage the rudder.

"Mouse overboard!" Leyanne radios. "And... shit, pan pan pan, Leeroy's steering gear is damaged, we're down one engine and we can't start the APU. I need someone to hide behind to make emergency repairs, right turns only please."

Gaonoir has posed:
"Well, would you look at that," Gaonoir grunts as his frenzy of motion comes to a stop and the fighters are wisely backing away, then turning to open fire. "they -can- learn." Should he really sound so excited about that? It keeps the battle interesting. He crosses his battle gauntlets in front of himself defensively, gunfire rattling across them and scoring dozens of hit flashes over his body as it rakes of his armored flightsuit.

The bombers, moving in while he's distracted with the counterfire, have a bit better luck. "Frag it!" It bings on the edge of his tactical awareness and he quickly jukes out of the way of one bomb, but the other detonates with enough force to send him tumbling through the air backwards.

The digi-dog drops towards the sea, but manages to flip over at the last second to hit the water on his feet and enough speed to skid over it before kippuping back into the air. Shakes off some of the smoke and ash from the bomb.

Erika pings up on their shared comm channel, even while she's watching safely from base over the POV view the Digivice gives her. "They're getting smarter. Gaonoir, try using the environment against them. Standard aircraft don't fair well in stormy weather, if you catch my drift."

"Oh, I get it." It brings the smirk back to Gaonoir's muzzle. "Fine then. You wanna play with new tricks..." Jet engines roar to launch him back into motion, this time skimming close to the surface as he picks up speed in a curving path. It becomes clear why for both as he nears the aerial battlefield once more and pulls up from the water... and the water starts to follow as he goes into a upward spiral. The wash from his tremendous speed is working much the same way as the high cyclonic winds of a tropical storm, sucking it up into forming whirling waterspouts roaring upwards into the fight and threatening to suck any of the Abyssal fighters into the watery raging maws. "If ya ain't gonna go back to the depths, I'll just bring the depths up to claim you!"

Shigure has posed:
    Shigure and Yuudachi only have one thing going for them against an opponent of Re-class' caliber, speed. They peel away from each other making sure they can't be effectively engaged at the same time. Shigure opens fire with her tonfa cannons, trying to keep the Battleship's attention, while Yuudachi maneuvers to get around behind, being careful of the tail as she draws her knife from the sheath behind her torpedo launcher.

    The Nightmare of Solomon leaps onto the tail if she can get into position, aiming to sink the blade into the flesh of that appendage and starts yanking it to try and cut something important.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
It's kind of unfair, thinks Kagurazaka, that Midway can keep THAT many planes in the air - fighters, bombers, it's hard to keep track of which are which until the latter start bombing runs. But at least there's no shortage of targets - there are so many planes, even with the gouges being carved in their formations, that she seriously wonders if she might run out of shells for her cannons.

But the surface battle is heating up as well, and Leyanne needs help in a hurry. Maybe not *much* help - but it's enough of an excuse for Kagurazaka to send one more volley of anti-air up to help reinforce that screen of flak and explosions, and then to veer towards the good ship Leeroy Jenkins - and more importantly, towards the Destroyer Water Demon. It's her machine guns that are picking up the slack on anti-air now, particularly with fighters encroaching further towards the big ships - closer range, arguably easier to shoot down. But by now, she just have to let the gun-fairies do their thing without direct oversight.

Four torpedoes sail out from Kagurazaka's launchers, splash into the water, and turn as one to zero in on Destroyer Water Demon - and the blonde levels her rifle, firing a regular anti-ship shell at the torpedo-fingered Abyssal. The cannon shell isn't THAT well-aimed, it's mostly a glorified 'hey you' even before Kagurazaka calls out, "Destroyer! I've been looking for another chance to talk ... but it looks like that talk's going to have to be a fight to start with! We're taking you home with us this time - and I don't mean as a prisoner *or* dead!"

And that's when the torpedoes are intended to go off ... *IF* Destroyer didn't manage to dodge them while Kagurazaka was calling out to her. But the torpedoes are another formality - Yuna's always found talking to people mid-battle a pretty good means of distracting them from hurting her friends.

Reina Kinney has posed:
With Yuna taking on the Destroyer, Reina decides to switch priorities again. She figures that Yuna wants to try to talk things over with Destroyer, and while Reina thinks that's a bit of a fool's errand, Reina nonetheless lets Yuna do as she will. It's Yuna's choice, not Reina's.

So it's back to aerial attacks again. She decides to aim her cannons at the bombers that seem intent on disrupting things. "Hey, you mind leaving us alone?" Reina calls out sarcastically as she fires upon the bombers, trying to keep them from dropping their explosives on her.

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     With the friendly aircraft mixing into the dogfighting Evangeline has to scale back her attacks, taking aim at specific craft rather than trying to down clouds of fighters at once. She thought she would be an asset here, but she is starting to wonder if she is making a dent in the enemy airforce. But, she has her orders and so goes into dogfighting mode herself. With her advanced scanners she can still target multiple craft at once. Her angry red beams reduce from a storm to precision rapid strikes, and Eva tries to coordinate with her fellow aircraft. Hits from all over cause her shield to flare again and again and pieces of her outer shell start flaking away. They are slowly replaced...but she is vastly outnumbered. Still, she tries to cover the Fleet aircraft whenever possible, taking out enemies that are on the tails of her allies.

     Her small beams lance out in every direction, vectoring around allies sometimes, vectoring at the last second to try and catch enemies off guiard. "...Admiral...I am not sure my effectiveness in such a dogfight is beneficial...perhaps I should focus my Breaker Beam on the princess-class..."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
The Battle is well underway by this point. Her planes are fighting. Her own Zeros aid the F6F Hellcats attacks moving making use of their speed and agility. While Kotone keeps tabs on that she is more focused on the destroyer but she can trust the planes to handle things for the most part. As the water Demon speaks she shudders more a bit even as her own bombers score a hit, she knows this isn't the end, far from it but it's a start. Then comes the smoke cloud and the attack on the Leeroy, she's not quick enough to respond and the smoke is making it harder to track the Destroyer Water Demon. She will send a few more fighters up as she has her torpedo bombers chase after the Waster Demon she her self keeps moving and she's getting worried could the Water Demon be distracting them for some other allies of hers to make another attack when they don't' expect it?

Nagato has posed:
    Another round of shells from the Battleship as she watches the cracking of that shield... an idea comes to her as she pulls out a blade. It's an Imperial Gunblade given to her by a certain enemy turned ally... and with a quick spin of its barrel, confirming its loaded, she frowns. With her turrets reloading, she looks at everyone and gives a bit of a nod, turning to face Midway herself, blade at the ready. "Peace has never been irrelevant." she replies over the sound of battle, "Peace has always been at the forefront of my mind, war is fought for peace with the irony that surrounds that phrase."

    Nagato turns to face Midway and starts sailing towards her, "Machines of war can know peace, it's why we fight! Our purpose is beyond destruction, but bringing peace! I've turned assassins and Abyssals to my side through trying for peace. I've recovered the two you experimented on through peace!" Nagato's face looks furious right now as she tries pouring every ounce of power into her turbines.

    "You may see it that way, as being abandoned by our creators, to only know one thing, to be a beast of war, a machine to kill and kill and kill." she clicks the trigger upon the gunblade, sending a shell into the air from it. Might be just a small caliber shell but even small things count. "This is why I fought Samar! This is why I broke from being an Abyssal and recovered my true self!"

    The closer the Admiral gets, another set of ten shells ring out. "Everyone here is fighting for peace, everyone here is fighting for what is right, everyone here is fighting to break the seas and this vicious cycle you love to perpetuate! The world has changed, Midway, and you... you're just a relic of a bygone era that deserves no place upon the future!" Nagato reaches back, "Takane... be my strength as you guide my hand with this sword..." Nagato whispers to the blade, a certain firey aura around the battleship.

    "Midway! The Hikari Fleet /will/ prevail!" and with those final words, Nagato reaches back and swings the blade with all her might against that shield, pressing against it, trying to break it with the force of a mountain! "I... will not let you have your way!"

Midway has posed:
RE CLASS
    The destroyers have speed and numbers...Or do they?

    As Shigure continues to fire on her, Re keeps her eyes on the black-haired destroyer, weaving across the waves. The occasional shell does hit her, sending off splinters of armor and creating black marks on her pale skin, but it's about as effective as one would expect for small caliber guns against a battleship of her...caliber. "You two dress the same," she remarks, "Is that because you're sister ships, then?" She leans forward, quirking an eyebrow. In the same motion, her tail's teeth gnash and it snaps at Yuudachi when she lunges for it-- fully aware she was there. When the teeth miss, it swings aside in an attempt to bowl the destroyer over, inadvertently giving her a chance to grab on and go for a ride while Re comments, "You know, you're probably thinking it's two against one. And it's true..." Her teeth flash in a sharp-toothed grin. Ceasing her reverse, the battleship suddenly lunges forward, slashing at Shigure with her fingernails like claws, "But not the way you think it is!"

MIDWAY
    Even with new tactics, the loss of aircraft is a given, as fighters and bombers spiral down into the sea. There's just so damn MANY of them, spilled out of Midway's rigging like the worst box of mini-marshmallows ever created. Gaonoir's maneuver sweeps up many of them in columns of water, but the bulk suddenly dash away from the danger zone to avoid being pulled in. This fortunately means the area immediately around Gaonoir is free of enemy aircraft, at least as long as they don't find a way to attack through the waterspouts.

    Scattered Abyssal aircraft are picked off by Evangeline's beams, but their numbers make it a challenge when they're so spread out. Something the little Neuroi's already wise to. As if to illustrate the Neuroi's point, Midway's rigging splits its mouth open again, unleashing a disconcerting rumble as it disgorges another mouthful of chattering white aircraft into the sky above her. Bombers make attack runs on the American squadron, breaking through with sheer numbers to drop bombs and torpedoes. Attack runs are made on Nagato as well, from multiple sides as she's directly in front of the Princess. Other attack groups begin to scatter, shedding their explosive payloads on anything that isn't moving fast enough. Even Kotone near the back of the formation has torpedo bombers coming in, even as a group of Enterprise's fighters harass them.

    As Nagato slams her blade into Midway's shield, there's a crack and a flash of crimson light. Cracks spread through her barrier. Her eyes shift, fixating on the battleship before her. There's a noise like shattering glass as the barrier finally breaks down, scattering around her. The blade strikes against Midway's side, then, in a spray of black ichor. Reaching down, she grabs on to Nagato's wrist, leaning down into the Flagship's face. "A relic of the past... describes Samar. Leyte. Okinawa. Dogger. Wake. Dutch. Darwin." Her grip tightens, pulling the gunblade against herself more while she leans down. Despite her placid expression, rage swims in her crimson eyes, "But I am the Princess of Progress. The Duchess of Development. I have no place in the future?" Then, and only then, does she raise her voice into a shout, "I /AM/ THE FUTURE."

    In the same moment, her parasitic rigging swings around, maw gaping, as it attempts to bite down on the turrets mounted to Nagato's right side.

DESTROYER
    The Destroyer Water Demon rises up from her landing, watching the explosions riddle Leeroy's hull. She's not satisfied with the torpedo boat's condition, however. New fingers slide forward on her right hand, and she raises her left, fingers straightening. This is when Yuna's shell zips past her, prompting the Abyssal to duck and abort her attempt at executing the crippled PT boat.

    Glancing up at the shot's source, the Demon hisses, "Kagurazaka--!" Movement out of the corner of her eye. Torpedoes. With a shout, she thrusts both hands down when the explosion throws up water around

Midway has posed:
DESTROYER
    The Destroyer Water Demon rises up from her landing, watching the explosions riddle Leeroy's hull. She's not satisfied with the torpedo boat's condition, however. New fingers slide forward on her right hand, and she raises her left, fingers straightening. This is when Yuna's shell zips past her, prompting the Abyssal to duck and abort her attempt at executing the crippled PT boat.

    Glancing up at the shot's source, the Demon hisses, "Kagurazaka--!" Movement out of the corner of her eye. Torpedoes. With a shout, she thrusts both hands down when the explosion throws up water around her, splattering oil across the sea's choppy surface. With a splash of salty spray, the small girl erupts from the water column, trailing black smoke from her gauntlets at the elbows, "You took them both from me..!" Those readied torpedoes are launched, and she charges in right behind them, fist drawn back, her face twisted with rage, "--I'll KILL YOU!"

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     With the permission given, Evangeline moves back toward Midway. She tries to pick off a few fighters as she goes, but her main target is now clear. As she closes in, she raises her arms and comes in low over the water. Her high speed causes a pressure wave that parts the waves beneath her as she charges her shot, her arms gaining a powerful, sinister red glow. She comes to a stop just above Nagato with both of those sleeve-like arm cannons aimed at Midway.

     Evangeline's soft voice comes in over the comms. "...Admiral Nagato is wrong...you have a place in the future...but only after you let go of your hate and anger and fear...and learn that war on its own means nothing...destruction for its own sake is wasteful...and progress is useless if no one is left to appreciate it..." She pauses a moment. "...what really matters...is peace and friendship...and you might understand those things if you can see past the rage of war..."

     And then...she fires. Nearly point blank range, aiming at that parasitic rigging that is spawning those aircraft. The beam is nearly as thick as the Neuroi Girl is tall, and shines like some sort of beacon as Evangeline unleashes a veritable satellite strike of energy on the Abyssal, hoping to at least disable and perhaps even vaporize that rigging in the constant explosion that ensues. The beam and explosions silhouette Evangeline and probably Nagato as the beam is held on target.

     The beam is sustained for several seconds before Eva's energy tapers off and she droops in the air a bit thanks to nearly exhausting her available energy. It will be a few moments before she can fire any other beams, even her smaller anti-air beams.

Shigure has posed:
    Shigure lets go of her tonfa, allowing the gimbols to bring them back around onto her back. She dips, barely missing those claws as she draws her own knife from the same sheath as Yuudachi keeps hers, bringing it up in an uppercut swipe as the range closes to literal knife-fight range. "We are sister ships. And together we are more than a match for you." comes the soft voice of the bokkuko. She then begins to sing softly. "Boku ga boku de aru tame ni. Ushinaccha ikenai mono wa nani? Kantan ni denai kotae wa tsurakute kurushii yo. Tatta ichido no Miss wo nando mo kuyokuyo shinaide arukeba, aiseru kana My World."

    Yuudachi clings on, one arm hooked around the 'neck' of that tail. She's working on disarming it, jamming the blade under the turret caps to try and either jam them locked, or pry them loose while Shigure keeps the Battleship's attention. She then gets an idea, sheathing the knife, then pulling a pair of freshly reloaded torpedoes from the launch rail, then jamming them into the tail's maw. "EAT THIS!"

Leyanne Mace has posed:
The FMS Leeroy Jenkins is a sitting duck. THey know it. Destroyer Water Demon knows it. And, thankfully for the mice on board, so does Yuna. THe shot across Destroyer's nose saves several lives, and prevents Leyanne's pride and joy, the sole member of the Martian Republic Navy's surface fleet, from being blown to matchwood. There's enough ordnance on the wooden boat that if even one of those torpedoes hit the magazine, there wouldn't be very many big pieces left.

A thanks is sent to Yuna and it's back on with the job. Evangeline needs fire support. The little Neuroi will find Bofors shells blasting fighters down around her, trying to clear her a path through the storm of Abyssal aircraft so she can fire straight down Midway's throat.

Down in the engine room, visible through the gaping hole in Leeroy's upper deck and hull, two mice struggle to re-connect the diesel backup engine to the rest of the fuel system. One of the gas turbines is just... gone, entirely. A few pieces of the gearbox are all that remain. The poor boat's going to need some serious repairs after all this...

Gaonoir has posed:
Gaonoir can't hold the waterspouts forever and he knows it, but that's all he needs. They've scattered some of the swarming aircraft and swallowed up others. The immeadiate space is clear, and that is mostly what he needs.

A burst of speed sends him rocketing straight up out of the spouts, letting them slowing spin down and fall away to take whatever Abyssal flyers they sucked in back to the watery depths. Already his attention is focusing more on those still in the air, trying to move past the fight between the Admiral and Abyssal to harass the rest of the fleet. Eyes narrow behind the visor, fangs barred in a snarl. But Evangeline was right, he had to worry more about protecting the rest of the fleet than her and the Admiral. "Not on my overwatch..."

As he reachs the apex of his launch, giving him as much coverage as he can hopefully get in range without putting his own fleetmates at risk, Gaonoir extends his arms and slams his armored fists together in front of himself. Numerous small ports open up in the surface of the gauntlets, sending crackling sparks of special energy drawn from his disruptive ability crackling up and down his arms.

"HOOOOOWLBACK CANNOOOOOOOOOOOON!"

The charging power releases from his arms with such force that it causes them to kick back and rock the Digimon a bit in the air as if he'd been hit with the recoil of an actual cannon. There's definately an audible *THWOOM* like one, but rather than a physical projectile, the 'howlback' disruptive energy crackles through the air to hit whatever Abyssal flyer it can, arcing amonst the swarms in every effort Gaonoir can put into trying to disable the evergrowing swarm before it disables the rest of the Hikari forces!

Reina Kinney has posed:
Reina shakes her head. "Now it's on!" She notices Ryulikon bobbing up and down and she gives a slight nod. "You're right! It's time to show them what we're truly made of!"

Aiming carefully with her right hand to avoid hitting any allies or causing any collateral damage, Reina focuses straight ahead at her target, and a circular symbol forms around her hand. The symbol begins to glow deeply, getting brighter and brighter as Reina readies her power.

And then, with a cry, Reina releases her Photon Blast. A large blast of lightning surges directly at her target. All the while, Reina remains focused dead ahead as her lightning attack shoots at the enemy.

It's only after a moment that Reina drops to one knee, having been overwhelmed by the sudden burst of power. She stands back up and looks to Ryulikon, before 'feeding' it a couple of Monomates.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Destroyer Water Demon's attention: Acquired. In SPADES.

And while Kagurazaka could handle getting punched by the Abyssal if she were in her Light Suit, she does NOT want to take a punch like that in Fleet Daughter fit-out. The torpedoes are the first problem, though, and Kagurazaka does her usual thing - dodge like a girl possessed, and use a couple of depth charges to try and blow up the torpedoes before they blow HER up.

Maybe she should have saved one of those depth charges to try and ward Destroyer off more directly, but by the time that thought crosses her mind, she doesn't have time to do it; Kagurazaka yelps and tries to duck - and her port turrets fire at virtually contact range, half consciously on the blonde's part - it's a perfect opening, too good to pass up, and in the back of her mind, she knows it.

"Please tell me what your name is!!" Kagurazaka calls out over the sound of her own guns, a note of desperation added to her voice by realizing how tenuous *both* of their survival just became. She doesn't want to get sunk by Destroyer - but she doesn't want to sink the Abyssal, either. Not yet, not with another grudge that could keep her heart caged by rage. "Were you Anderson? Hughes?" Kagurazaka continues, trying to sail *around* the angry Abyssal. "Maybe Rhind? Or did you survive Crossroads just to get scuttled somewhere else?"

By now, she's got another depth charge ready that she *could* use, but she doesn't - she's still zigging, zagging, juking and ducking, trying to hold a conversation without getting killed. This would be so much easier with her kite shield ... but there's a *reason* Kagurazaka left the Matrix of Light behind today - even Elner is only present at a great remove, close enough to monitor the battle, too far away to be noticed.

When Yuna first fought the Destroyer Water Demon, she did so with her Light Suit. The second time they met, Yuna wasn't even geared for battle. But this time, she wanted to meet the Destroyer Water Demon the way a Fleet Daughter would - as enemies, but as close to even ground as they could be.

"Whoever you were before ... I want that to be you again, Destroyer! I want you to be with your friends again, Saratoga and Arkansas ... and with *us*, *as* friends! Please -" Kagurazaka's voice breaks for a split second as she gasps, before she adds raggedly, "Please ... let go of that deep darkness, and come home ... !"

She should probably be shooting again, or launching torpedoes, or chucking a depth charge, or something. But apart from the cannonfire a moment ago, Kagurazaka's weapons are silent - or rather, she's trying to keep Destroyer's attention more with her voice than with anything else. She *could* open fire again, and she's ready to do so; her finger is on the trigger, literally for her rifle, mentally for the turrets she wears. But the part of her attention not trying to reach out to Destroyer verbally is centered on staying in motion, not making herself a target who can be readily or easily sunk. Kagurazaka came here to fight ... but she wouldn't be Yuna Kagurazaka if fighting was the only thing she did.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone is losing fighter there's no if and of butts she's going to lose fighter and she has been losing fighters in the massive fur ball going on. She loses plane worse she's coming under fire torpedoes are coming for her and most of her fighters are away she tries to launch a fighter but there's not much time to hope to get all the bombers come after her. She sees that Yuna has engaged the Water Demon but that's the last thing she notes she attempts to evade but can't quite dodge them all several torpedoes hit there's an explosion, she's not down but it's clear she's taken a hit or two and is hurt. She's staying in the fight though at lest at one injury point on her leg there's electrical arcing from the wound from the torpedo impact.

"D...damn it."

Kotone's limping along now but she's trying to get more planes into the air.

Nagato has posed:
    The shattering of that barrier, the glass-like sound echoes through her ears... Nagato's through! And that means she can truely start hurting Midway, as sword strikes flesh, spraying black ichor around! Not content to rest upon the laurels of this minor victory, Nagato moves to bring her arm around for another strike as guns aim up close towards Midway, but as her wrist is grabbed, the gunblade goes further in while she stares face to face with the Abyssal Princess.

    "Princess of Progress, Duchess of Development, this isn't progress or development, this is mad science." she replies back, Nagato's eyes glaring back at the Princess with hatred in her eyes. "You are not the future!" Nagato reaches back and moves to headbutt the Princess as that parasitic rigging chomps down on one of the triple turrets, only to be greeted by all turrets firing point blank rounds in time with Evangeline's Breaker Beam!

    "You may be the princess, but this Admiral out ranks you on the seas. My domain." she winces a bit, a headache coming through with the head upon head impact. "The seas... and the worlds around have no place for you!"

Midway has posed:
RE CLASS
    "Yeah?" Re grins, eyes closed as Shigure's knife slices up her cheek to forehead, pulling a gout of black. When her eyes open again, the savage little battleship leans forward, "You guys got a lot of spunk! I like that! Let's fight a--Oh, whoop--" Yuudachi's attacks on Re's tail have gotten to the point where her tail can no longer confidently handle itself, and the rest of her has gotten wise to it. She whirls around as the blonde destroyer tries to jam torpedoes into the tail's mouth, lunging up the length of her own tail and against the small of Yuudachi's back. This simultaneously yanks the tail out from under Yuudachi, and the two go for a tumble.

    Nothing savage happens, surprisingly, as Re releases Yuudachi mid-tumble and comes to a stop on one knee, balanced with one hand with her tail rearing up, "Crafty, too! That almost cost me... Eh?" Straightening, she glances into the distant fight, pink eyes narrowing, "Huh. You guys distracted me pretty good. Later!" And with that, she drops beneath the water's surface.

DESTROYER
    "You took Jellyfish away!" Destroyer roars when her first punch misses. Her left hand's fingers have slotted back in, and she balls that gauntlet up as well. Yuna's guns go off right against her side, painting the sea behind her with oil spray, but she's in such a state that the pain doesn't register. "You took Dreadnought away!" Her second punch is a swift right cross, missing by a hair, "Your friends probably killed Heavy Cruiser...!" Her hand spreads open, revealing the cannon in her palm, and she gives chase, opening fire, "You're here to take my HOME! You're taking EVERYTHING from me!"

    Fortunately for Yuna, Destroyer is so furious that she can barely control herself. Her shots go wide, which only seems to frustrate her further. Throwing up her hands, she drops them with a scream, "STOP SAYING THOSE NAMES! It's not them!" Tears streaming, she thrusts both hands forward again, more shells fired while still in hot pursuit, "They were the only things I had left! Those aren't THEM!"

Midway has posed:
MIDWAY
    From such a high altitude, the Howlback Cannon can cover a pretty large area, even with Midway's aircraft spread out as they are. Multiple higher level bombers and fighters fly into the effect, losing control and spiralling down into the sea or crashing into what's left of the island that marks Dark Sky Atoll. Only the planes at lower altitudes manage to make it out, and the effect is remarkably dramatic.

    On the surface, Enterprise expresses an immediate thank-you gesture while reloading and launching another drum magazine of fighters, even trailing smoke from multiple bomb hits. A torpedo explodes against Iowa, but she just keeps up the pressure while fairies scramble across her rigging to assess the damage. She presses on with a tense jaw, sheltering Portland with her impressive anti-air battery while the cruiser recovers from a bomber attack of her own.

    As Reina's photon beam scatters more planes, and Leeroy's anti-air cannon drives them away, Evangeline introduces a barrier-less Midway to Neuroi lasers. Nagato's cannons go off inside her rigging, blowing a great hole out the back of it and causing it to release. Staggering back, she lifts her hands as cracks spread across her body, highlighted by the bright crimson of the Neuroi's beam. Cracks spread through her airstrips as well, and the Abyssal woman rears back in a scream of rage and pain as the light washes out her outline.

    When it at last fades, she's collapsed, hands and knees on the waves. Her airstrips are ruined, her parasite lists, smoldering. Midway shakes, but it's unclear what state she's really in.A dark shape appears in the water near Midway, and a moment later Re-Class reappears beside her. Leaning down, she helps the Princess back to her feet, "Jeez. That looked nasty, are you--"

    She's cut off when Midway grabs on to Re by the throat, lifting the smaller warship from the water. Rising to her full height, Midway lifts her gaze, glowering at Nagato from beneath her bangs, "...Progress... always has a price." Her rigging's maw opens, clamping down on the struggling battleship in her grasp. She releases, and the rigging hauls back. In a ghastly display, it chomps several times until the Re-Class Battleship has completely disappeared.

    Midway closes her eyes, the cracks fading across her pale flesh. The hole blown out the back of her parasite closes itself, and the rigging's maw opens up again. Triple-barrel gun turrets unfurl, swinging out to hang near her hips on either side.

    Her eyes open, burning with hateful crimson.

    "Progress can only be made when one is willing to /pay/ that price."

Shigure has posed:
    Shigure and Yuudachi hop back when Re-class makes her escape. "Tch, Re-class escaped, attempting to reacqui---" she turns to see the distant maw engulf said Re-class and the transformation it causes. "Steady! This fight is far from over. Fifth Fleet reforming on Flagship." she comments next as she turns and speeds back towards Nagato and the others.

    Yuudachi yelps as she's grabbed and tumbled, struggling in the hard grip of the Battleship. Luckily nothing happens and she's released to go skipping across the water a little way after the Battleship stops. "Aww. That was getting fun, poi!" she grouses, getting to her feet with a kip-up, then forms up alongside her sister ship as the pair reform.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leeroy sits at all-stop behind Nagato, the Bofors gun still blasting at whatever air targets Leyanne can see. The mice on board work to patch up the hole in the side of the boat, while down below, finally, the Deltic backup engine sputter-snarls into life, finally starting to pump the boat out and keep him afloat.

"Leeroy Jenkins here... we're pretty boned and-" Leyanne cuts off as Midway devours the battleship. "...oh, shit!"

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Kagurazaka lets out a yelp as she struggles to dodge Destroyer's cannonfire; one shell skims past her *way* too close for comfort, while the second actually detonates right next to her. Fortunately, it's her starboard turrets that take the brunt of the blast, rather than, say, her ribs and/or vital organs - but the exploding turrets do their own injury to the blonde, shredding parts of her skirt, blouse, and tights.

She has plenty to pay attention to as it is, more than enough to worry about, without having caught sight of what Midway just did. And the gruesome sight of Midway devouring one of her own underlings just feeds Kagurazaka's blossoming panic nicely - this was already going to be a hard enough battle, and if Midway is going to recover by eating other combatants, then there are only two ways the battle will be concluded: when the Princess of Predators finally gets sunk, or when nobody is left but Midway herself. Midway may call it 'progress,' but Kagurazaka ...

She'd have an easier time reacting to it if she weren't abjectly terrified. Either way, Destroyer Water Demon is now only the second worst thing for Kagurazaka to worry about - but remains the most immediate concern.

Kagurazaka pours on the speed, leaning into her turn as if she were on a motorcycle or rollerblades rather than 'skating' across the water; the turn is so tight that she nearly capsizes, but it gets her low enough to the water that a barrage which could have been a direct hit skims right over her instead. And then she comes back up - now heading straight TOWARDS Destroyer, and firing a single shot from her 'rifle' turret, trying to skim it off the Water Demon's helmet-parasite - the cannon equivalent of a smack over the head. "Whoever you were, whoever you *are*," Kagurazaka calls out, "your Princess is going to *eat* you if that's what it takes her!! You told me what you suffered already --" Her voice breaks as she sucks in a breath, gasping for air.

"I DON'T WANT YOU TO SUFFER EVEN MORE!!"

And with that, Kagurazaka just powers forward, trying to tackle Destroyer Water Demon around the waist. Maybe it's a hug, maybe it's an attempt to simply knock her off her feet, maybe it's even an effort to push her *under* the water's surface - although if her cry is truthful, that last seems a *little* unlikely ...

Reina Kinney has posed:
Meanwhile, Reina surveys the general area as she catches her breath and attempts to focus on the overall battlefield again. She proceeds to down a Monomate to try to get herself back into the game, as she's too weak to use one of her TECHNICs. Once she's regained her composure and is back in the fight, she begins to pull back towards Nagato, only to look ahead and do a double-take as...

"What the Falz? No, she can't be!"

Reina's jaw hangs open for a moment as Midway eats Re-Class. "No! It can't be!" Reina clenches her fists and scowls. "We're gonna get you for this!"

With that, Reina launches a set of missiles at the demon, aiming away from Kagurazaka and anyone else who might be in the vicinity.

Gaonoir has posed:
Gaonoir was, honestly, a bit weirded out by this. It was a little -too- similar to how the Dex Dougreymon were created to devour the digital cores -- essentially a Digimon's heart and soul -- of Yggdrassil's enemies.

A little too similar to what the computer-god tried to turn -him- into.

Fists squeeze so tightly the metal digits scraping against the metallic palms of his gauntlets was audible across the oceanic battlefield. A much more feral sounding growl escapes between clenched fangs, eyes narrowing to red slits behind the aviator visor. Partially in turning all his tactical sensors towards the regenerating monster.

"Some prices aren't worth the cost, lady," he snarks back. That's a lesson he's learned the very hard way, but as usual his edgelord attitude is coming back to the surface to hide just how OH **** NO this all feels to him.

Honestly the only reason he doesn't dive right in is because Yuna beats him to the punch. With a hug rather than a punch.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone has been injured she'd have taken worse damage if not for the rigging she was wearing, but it's clear she's hurt from how she's acting and there's the odd spark coming from where the rigging has been breached.

"Damn it..." She'll have to move faster but then she sees in abject horror as Re-Class is devoured by Midway she just stares at the sort of technological seeming horror. Re-Class was an enemy but she also knows the nature of what they fight she wasn't always what she was now.

She doesn't panic but she is afraid after all she's as much machinery as any ship is save for the remains of her brain. She really is a ghost of a sort but she doesn't want to become an actual one. The Comms rapidly fill with chatter. Nagato gives clear orders and she will follow them. Kotone moves to get into line formation and she's to focus on anti air.

That she can and will do she'll move to fall into formation she's now launching more of the fighters she carriers , sending them off into the sky one arrow at a time, soon the formation of planes are ready to cover the rest of the formation from air attacks.

"Fighters deploy they are falling into guard formation I am in formation as well, let's stop this before they go any further.

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     Evangeline...freezes. The little Neuroi just floats there. She doesn't know what to do. She just saw someone eaten -right in front of her-! BY HER ALLY! Although she is frozen on the outside, inside the little Neuroi is a swirling storm of emotions. Anger, disgust, confusion...as she thinks about it the angry red glow returns to her arms and wings. But it seems somehow much more angry than before.

     And then, the little Neuroi lets out a piercing, grating shriek that sounds much like metal being scraped along metal. But, all that comes over the radio and from her speaker is "...you are a monster...you are not progress...you are regression...falling back to primative beliefs such as lives do not matter and the ends justify the means..." She pauses as she raises her arms again, that sinister red glow highlighting her featureless face. "...you are not progress...you are an abomination...even the Neuroi would not do such a thing...if progress is to be made on this world...you must be stopped..."

     With that, Evangeline starts to orbit Midway, firing bursts of her Breaker Beam as often as she can. The little Neuroi is extremely upset...and she did not even know Re-Class! She does at least maintain the presence of mind to increase her altitude, firing downward so that the sightlines are clear for her allies. But other than that, she doesn't seem to notice anything else around her.

Nagato has posed:
    Nagato's full stop, eyes glaring at Midway with the force of the same nuke that sunk her. The stoic look that encompasses her face doesn't break as Re-Class is taken and devoured but those close to her can see her shaking slightly, "Progress is not done at the expense of others." she replies, knuckles turning white from her fists balling up. Three of her still working turrets start the reload process and her turbines start to move her, a cable shoots out from the back of Nagato's rigging to hook onto the Leeroy Jenkins, tugging the boat along with her.

    "Everyone, line ahead formation on your flagship. Stagger fire, pelt her with everything you got in time!" she shouts over the radio, "Kagurazaka, Tiny, Yamakawa, full on anti air support. Everyone else, priority is hammering the enemy down. Do not let her devour any other ships, or your rigging. We need not know what else she can do!"

    Nagato's eyes turn towards those triple turrets. "Nngh, triples..." she whispers, one of hers is still working fortunately as all her guns take aim and the sound of AP shells blasting from the ship's turrets one after another rings out in a glorious concert. "We shall win this night, you and your fleet shall be no more, this I promise you!"

Midway has posed:
DESTROYER
    Cannons reloading, the Destroyer Water Demon continues her pursuit, balling her gauntlets into fists, flexing her fingers, conveying her impatience with every action. She might be blind to what's going on around Midway, or she may just be so furious she doesn't care about it. As Yuna comes about, Destroyer lifts her gauntlet again, hurling another shell. The incoming shot takes her hat off, prompting the girl to duck as the black-stained dixie cup tumbles into the sea, but that doesn't stop her. She draws he other fist back, flexing those metal fingers into a tight fist.

    The punch whiffs when Yuna gets much closer than the Water Demon was expecting. It goes right under the singer's arm, clear of her body, and the following embrace pins her there. With a shout, she struggles, fanged teeth bared, "What do you know about what I've been through?! Let go!" Her free hand lacks leverage, but that doesn't stop her from hitting against Yuna's other side while dragging the shipgirl idol along with her struggling, "Who cares what happens to me at this point.. Let go! Let go, let go, let go! Who cares!?"

Midway has posed:
MIDWAY
BGM Change: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGYLIlCQWtw
    As Midway is confronted, she tilts her head back, eyes aglow with restrained rage. Reina's missiles explode against her refreshed barrier, one skips off and explodes behind her, surrounding the Princess with flames while she lifts one hand. Fingers flex, and the guns on her side respond by changing elevation, "Magnificent, isn't it?" A second, smaller set of triple-barrel guns emerge from her parasite, over her shoulders, and she gestures. These guns begin filling the sky around her with flak, with the larger guns focusing on the two most immediate high-priority aerial threats: Evangeline and Gaonoir.

    When Evangeline tries to tear her down with words as well as lasers, the Princess wheels around, thrusting out her hand. In addition to the flak, her main battery speaks, one of those triple turrets hurling an anti-aircraft beehive round into the Neuroi's flight path. It bursts in midair, sending out a cone of shrapnel, "Obstacles." Twisting around, while heavy battleship rounds strike against her barrier, Midway's second turret hurls a salvo of armor-piercing shells towards the much closer Nagato, "Or opportunities."

    Coming out of the rotation in a low posture, Midway kicks off, surging ahead in a display of aggression she hadn't displayed before. Hands to either side, fingers curled like claws, she pursues Nagato, "Obstacles are eliminated. Opportunities are exploited. I already know which one you are. But will you see fit to change your role before the end of this fight, I wonder."

Shigure has posed:
    Battle is rejoined. Shigure banks out to port. Yuudachi mirrors her to starboard. Once again they're lining up for a torpedo run, but instead of loosing at maximum range, they're closing to suicide-distance. "HEY! MIDBITCH, POI!" calls Yuudachi, as she draws all her torpedoes from their launchers, and summons the larger, grinning familiars. "I GOT A PRESENT FOR YOU, POI!" she hurls her weapons at the Princess, then immediately banks off starboard, aiming to overshoot behind the charging Abyssal.

    Shigure does the same maneuver, hurling her torpedoes into the charging path of the Princess, but she doesn't say anything. Her blue eyes flare like flame as she banks port, and passes within inches of Yuudachi, the pair passing a single, silent look as they turn and bring their guns to bare, aiming to fire them at the 'exposed' back of their target as they break contact and open range to come back into formation with Nagato and the others.

Gaonoir has posed:
As the attack commenses and gunfire starts to fill the air, it is echoed by the roar of turbines throttling to full blast as Gaonoir blasts back into motion. The fire from Midway forces him to roll and weave a fair bit, making several narrow misses before he finally pulls up and rockets skyward. Despite his exceptional acceleration he still needs distance to make maximum momentum, and the easiest way to do that is from above while his allies start blasting away.

In a matter of seconds the raging fight below becomes a faint echo. Distant but not forgotten, with the allies down there relying on him for help. "Erika, I need a terminal velocity calculation, stat."
Keyboard clicking carries over their shared link. "I was waiting for you to ask~"
A faint smirk returns to his muzzle as the numbers flash across his HUD. "Perfect."

At the peak of the accent Gaonoir pulls into a loop in order to turn the quickest, twisting to aim for the bright flashes of gunfire against Midway down below. His movement seems to almost slow for a few moments... Until the flares of full thrust roar out of his engines like minature volcanos, sending the digimon screaming back towards the island below. He puts his gauntlets together in front of him, fully extended as the dark energy radiates off them to engulf his entire body, streaming around him like a comet's corona.

-Hey, sea hag...-

The sonic boom of him living up the Mach is audible even in the roaring firefight, hitting the point of no return, some of the dark energy ringing away from Gaonoir as he hurtles metal fists first straight down towards Midway from above at insane speed.

-Progress THIS!-

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     Evangeline's shield flickers and snaps like a field of static as all of that flak peppers her, and pieces of her pitch black form flake away. And after the anti-air beehive smoke clears, Evangeline is...missing her legs.

     Evangeline doesn't seem to realize it, but her flight path starts to decay. Even as she starts sinking toward the water, Evangeline keeps firing her Breaker Beam, though the amount of time she can sustain it is getting smaller and smaller. Her legs are starting to reform, easily seen by the silvery light that starts flowing downward, outlining the shape of her legs and leaving behind that jet black armor in its wake.

     When Midway takes off, Evangeline tries to follow. But, with her legs only starting to reform she can't keep up. This forces her to switch to her smaller beam attacks, favoring accuracy over power. The beams bend at sharp angles to try and pelt Midway all along the back, aiming specifically for the connections for those snapping maws.

     Then, Evangeline realizes she is mere feet from the water and still falling. All her attacks stop as she focuses on regeneration...she really doesn't like touching water. "...I..may need assistance..."

Nagato has posed:
    With Yuna dealing with Destroyer, she's down a ship, and that means Nagato's going to have herself a time. She cracks her knuckles as Midway starts gaining, a slow smile coming to fruition upon her face as she whips herself around, exposing the cable upon her rigging to the PT Boat's Bofors... and with that, the triple turret on her rigging explosively ejects with a few fairies right towards the PT Boat! And, with a shot from the Bofors, the cable is let loose... along with the smell of a small fire.

    She mouths a few words for the ones in the air, a prayer of saftey or some such as the battleship comes to a brief rest.. her gunblade at rest... and two twins turned towards target. "You're right. Obstacles shall be eliminated and opportunities are exploited." she kicks back off, with Yuudachi's and Shigure's torps in the water, they look to be aiming right towards the Princess... and that's when she makes her decision. She sails right for the Princess!

    Sword extended, she fires off a few potshots from it, the small caliber shells probably just bouncing off that shield as four AP shells sail right towards her. "You're my obstacle, Midway! You... and your fleet will be eliminated!" she shouts, moving to sail right in her path... sword is sheathed and she moves to grapple with her, trying to distract her enough for the Torpedoes to do their work! "You talk about progress, but you're far from it. My aircraft... my friends. They're progress! From all walks of life, we exist together as a unit, as a family, as partners!"

    "Where do you get off saying what you're doing is progress, you devolved, hate filled spite monster!"

Reina Kinney has posed:
"Magnificent?" Reina asks, cocking an eyebrow, before narrowing her eyes. "Yeah, magnificent, all right. Real falzing magnificent! Hell, it's so magnificent I bet it would appear in the dictionary!" The sarcasm coming from Reina's mouth is a surefire way to tell that she's really angry. "But I'm afraid we have no time for games like this. We have to finish you off!"

With a sneer, Reina calls out, "Cannons ready!" She levels her cannons at Midway. "You still look pretty hungry. How about a little cannon fire for dessert?" With a boom, a single shot fires at Midway.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"*I* CARE!!!" Kagurazaka screams, *not* letting go of Destroyer no matter how the Abyssal maneuvers. It's awkward and stomach-churning, and one or both of them could topple into the water and drown at any second - most likely that would dunk both of them - but she locks her arms around Destroyer's waist, still screaming to her. "We just saw Midway *eat* Re-class like I'd chow down on a pork bun! She doesn't care about you - your life, your death, you only mean as much to her as you can help her seize victory, kill everyone else! If you can't fight for her, she'll just eat you too!!"

Her arms clench tighter as she sucks in a breath. "I don't want you to get eaten, Destroyer ... I want you to come back with us. Your sister Demons - they're still alive ... they're not part of Midway's Fleet any more. You can be with them again - and with *us*, like I offered in Shiraokadai. Abyssal or Fleet Daughter, I don't care ... I want you to be our ally and our friend! Please, help us fight for your freedom!" she pleads.

And yes, it's nothing more or less than a desperate plea. If they were on dry land, Yuna might be prostrating herself dogeza-style rather than trying to hug the hell out of Destroyer Water Demon, but that changes nothing about her desire to free the Abyssal girl from Midway's clutches. If anything, knowing the danger her allies are in as they fight Midway directly only adds to Kagurazaka's desperation - she has a *lot* of friends in danger and in pain right now, and she wants to help them almost as much as she wants to rescue Destroyer.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Midway is a word burned into the minds of several nations still on her world. She wonder just what Midway is but there's not much time for that as her planes move to intercept any of the enemy planes but she's not going to hold back she has a few bombers still up and they are going to make runs on Midway trying to district, to disrupt her assault on Nagato and she calls back. 5R
"No I would call it horrific what kind of commander turns on their own troops?!"

Kotones bombers move to make their attack runs, dive bombers for the most part in this run with a few torpedoes.

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY FRIEND!"

She calls back as Midway tries to start to turn Nagato.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
The mice help fit the turret in place, with the help of the fairies. It looks... very out of place on the front of the wood-hulled PT boat like that. At Nagato's cue, Leyanne blasts the cable free. The boat hits a wave at entirely the wrong angle, spinning through the air as Leyanne sprints from her Bofors turret to the freshly-installed triple mount of 14" guns.

"People like you, you don't know what progress is." She growls. "But..."

As the front of the boat swings to face Midway, Leyanne grins, and fires the first three-round salvo. THe report of the guns is deafening, and for a moment Leeroy is clearly visible with a bit of a bend to his keel. The boat accellerates sharply backwards, hitting the water with the CRUNCH of the keel taking further punishment. The deck doesn't sit quite level anymore.

"Why am I telling you this? You'll never make enough /progress/ to learn it."

Midway has posed:
    It's not the volume that Yuna shouts at, but what she says, that gets a reaction. She thrashes, struggling, but the struggle weakens as she listens, until she's not throwing the cruiser around anymore in her attempts to escape. The resistence by the end of the magical girl's speech is feeble, and the destroyer shudders.

    Some distance away, Midway thrusts out a hand. Her barrier strengthens, becoming visible right before Gaonoir slams into it-- causing a spiderweb of cracks like glass to cover the sphere's entire surface. She lets out a grunt on the impact, and it's enough to completely stop her forward motion. Lasers from Evangeline begin breaking through, scattering pieces of the shield as they pierce it.

    The parasite on her back yawns open, exposing its interior as it spews forth another cluster of Abyssal attack aircraft, hate-filled toothy spheres which scatter after Gaonoir and Evangeline. Ones equipped with machine guns dart off after Kotone's attack planes.

    The torpedo attacks from Shigure and Yuudachi catch her at this point, surrounding her with a plume of seawater and shattered fragments of her shield. Even before the smoke starts to dissipate, her weapons open fire again, smaller caliber secondary batteries focusing on the fleeing destroyers. Her anti-air arsenal continues to fixate on Evangeline, as she's showing damage by her lower altitude. The water begins to drop back down, highlighting the Princess' outline marked by glowing crimson eyes.

    "This 'high road' business of yours is growing tiresome," her voice remains even, "Your morality blinds you. Restricts you. Holds you back. It would be better if you simply sank here." Her posture shifts, as the spray descends, "...Ah. No. I do not think that will do at all."

    Midway's guns elevate and then fire, hurling high caliber shells right over Nagato. But what's over there that she's targeting?

Midway has posed:
    In Yuna's arms, Destroyer Water Demon has gone still, save the shaking of quiet sobs. Her free hand still ineffectively bops the idol's shoulder. Through choked breaths, she murmurs, "...What did I do wrong..? Why did the ones I fought so hard for.. why did they execute me..?" Distant cannonfire snaps her back to herself, and she shoots a tear-streaked look over her shoulder, eyes widening at the sight of incoming battleship artillery. And then a shape interposes.

    The newcomer shouts with effort, slamming an armored bracer against the shell mid-flight to knock it off course. As it explodes, briefly, Destroyer lurches in Yuna's grasp, "--Dreadnought!"

    "It's Arkansas now," the woman states glancing over her shoulder and lifting a hand to present a thumbs-up.

    Sliding to a stop beside her, a brunette in white unclips a drum magazine from her flight deck mechanism, "Sorry we're late. Arkansas isn't known for speed and I wouldn't let her out of my sight." The drum is raised, then tossed to Enterprise a short distance away, who catches it with an appreciative grin.

    "How long are you going to hold on to that?" Arkansas asks with her head tilted. A smaller shell bursts against her shoulder, shattering off the armor, and she glances towards the source, "--Later. Kagurazaka, I'm leaving this to you."

    Both Arkansas and Saratoga promptly dash away, joining the rest of the American squadron already hammering on Midway's defenses.

    "...I thought you lied," Destroyer admits, looking down, then towards Yuna, "...It's Lamson."

Midway has posed:
    "No," Midway hisses, her even voice at last carrying a hint of frustration. Her eyes are fixated on the arriving ships, her former minions, "Betrayal is unacceptable." Rearing up, as guns chew out pieces of her body and her parasite, she thrusts her arms out to either side. Rage fills her voice, even as her crimson-laced black blood splatters across the waves, "THE SENTENCE FOR TREASON IS EXECUTION!" All of her cannons open fire, but she has no focused target for her batteries. Which means that everyone in range is fair game, even those already contending with her newly refreshed air wing.

Shigure has posed:
    "Yuudachi, brace!" calls Shigure, bringing her turrets in front of her to take the incoming shells. The lower caliber strike the turret caps, some glancing off at the angle, others piercing and detonating inside, leaving a few flames to lick across the black metal. She tosses the flaming one away, where it detonates in the water, then releases the other to gimbol back behind her. "I won't fail here. Even if it takes me dragging you down with me. YOU WILL FALL TODAY MIDWAY!" The uncharacteristic shout, filled with determination and courage, may make those who know her balk... as her arm flashes under the torpedo launcher and swipe out her combat knife, charging back into close range with the Princess-class Abyssal. She's on the far side from everyone else, and is moving in to stab at exposed connections between Midway and that parasite.

    Yuudachi jinks and jukes, taking hits and /laughing/ in response. "This is getting FUN, poi! Lets have the most magnificent party!" The blonde destroyer tosses her ruined hand-cannon aside, where it plunks heavily into the water and draws her own combat knife from its sheath, moving in to leap onto Midway's back, jabbing the blade into any exposed part she can find. "Let me make some Progress here~." she coos sweetly into Midway's ear.

Gaonoir has posed:
Gaonoir is coming in too hard and fast to do much about enemy aircraft but literally plow right into it. Abyssal aircraft slam into him, gunfire rails across his form. Even under the glowing corona of black and purple energy the cracks splitting in his exterior render are visible, motes of data from the damage dissolving into the aura. Burst from the gunfire can be seen scorching off his form, eating away at the energy he has left. He might not be able to hold this digivolution much longer, so he's got to make things count.

Eyes narrow at the counter attacks, and he makes a slight adjustment in his aim even as he roars back into the battle full bore. One of the shots rips with an audible screech across the hull of one of his engines, causing it to spew out smoke as he pushes it to hold on a little longer.

At the last possible moment he comes out of the dive to angle at Midway's backside. He pulls up out of his flight posture, letting the velocity built up carry him forward as he winds back with one massive metal fist.

"Hey backside creepy! There's something in your teeth..." And swing one of the strongest attacks of this form, backed up with the momentum of his dive, straight for the aircraft spewing parasite-mouth on Midway's back to try and disable it's aircraft launching. "MY FIST!" It can try to eat his fist if it ones. The explosion-like release of energy from the hyper punch would blast inside of it then.

"KNUCKLE CRUSHER!"

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
The sound of a shell exploding on the other side of a sudden defender gets Kagurazaka to look up, and a bright smile spreads across her face as Destroyer's old comrades arrive in their new, true forms. "I wouldn't lie just to make friends with you, Lamson," she says as she lets go. "You'd never forgive me if --"

More cannonfire, way too much of it aimed at Kagurazaka and Lansom. "Talk later, survive now, and *win*!" she interrupts herself, giving the freshly-former Abyssal (still dressed like one?) a sheepish grin and a quick thumbs-up. More shells are already showering down around them, though, and Kagurazaka practically dances to avoid taking any more direct hits, machine guns and her remaining turrets stitching anti-air fire into an improvised anti-artillery screen. "We'll meet up again later - promise!!"

She reaches out with her right hand, pinky finger extended to hook with the destroyer girl's. She doesn't have time to explain the gesture, though - if Lamson gets it, they hook pinkies, and if not, Kagurazaka accelerates back towards the battle with the promise etched only in words.

And then her full attention shifts to the last remaining enemy, the sunny smile replaced by a thundercloud of fury as Kagurazaka pours on all the speed she can muster - safely or otherwise. Incoming shells are noted, and she swerves to avoid them as best she can; her turrets cease fire so the fairies within can reload for anti-air work - although her rifle remains primed to shoot Midway herself, if she gets a chance.

"MIIIIIIIIIIIDWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!" Kagurazaka screams as she catches up with her allies, guns and turrets chewing away at the Princess's aircraft in an effort to make up for lost time. "Nobody else dies here - EXCEPT FOR YOU!! You betrayed your own from the moment you bit into Re-class ... SO APOLOGIZE TO HER, FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN!!!"

She launches her reloaded torpedoes, fishing one out of a busted launcher to lob it towards Midway, then starts firing her rifle turret at Midway herself, trying to weaken whatever barrier is *there* so her torpedoes can punch through. She's not so enraged as to ignore her allies dishing out their own attacks, but there's a rare fury on Yuna's face - a rage that only comes through when somebody killed one of her friends.

Maybe she's thinking of Re-class as another friend-to-be-made? Or is she so driven to protect a new friend that she's deliberately letting her anger cut loose?

Leyanne Mace has posed:
The big mice, with the help of Nagato's fairies, throw the empty casings for the three-barreled turret overboard and manhandle the fresh rounds into position. From the canted deck, Leyanne makes re-adjustments, aiming for her centre of mass. This time, Tiny opts to ripple-fire the massive guns, rather than let them all off at once, the recoil kicking the boat back again with another crunch of tortured wood with every cacaphonous report.

The splashes and shockwaves from further shells rain down around the disabled PT boat. It's a sitting duck, or would be if Midway was aiming. Even then, the near misses are causing more planks to buckle and ribs to splinter.

Reina Kinney has posed:
That's it. Now Reina's really mad!

If she could turn red, she'd be turning so red that her hair would look trivial!

"You asked for it! Now you're gonna get it!" With that, Reina fires a full barrage of missiles at her target. "You're gonna pay the ultimate price for what you've done! I'm gonna see to it, and so are all my allies!" She does this while trying to avoid any possible incoming fire.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone's fighters engage the Abyssal aircraft the sky becomes a dance of death as the miniatures Zeros engaged the abyssal monsters. Hopefully though she can keep those fighters tied up and not going after her allies. This battle is getting to be quite terrifying honestly.

"My world races ahead in the name of progress we hack off our body parts replacing them with metal silicon and plastic and never ask if we should to the cost of such enhancements...just devouring everything around you for your own personal gain."

The Arkansas arrive she wasn't experiencing it but is happy to have the back up.

"They still had people who cared about them..."

Then Yuna comes under fire she hears the new plan to focus fire and she'll send what planes she can to harass Midway those bombers

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     Evangeline's laser fire stops completely as the water licks at her skirt, and she lets out a metallic squeal of distress. Her legs are only about half formed and she is using all her power to keep aloft when those hateful spheres come rushing in toward her. Evangeline's own shield is starting to flicker and crack, and she still can't fire until she gets her leg-wings reformed.

     But before that happens, a large rogue wave catches Evangeline about waist level and...with a metallic squeak the little Neuroi crashes into the water! With everyone so busy, the littlest Neuroi might not even be noticed slipping below the waves, and the only thing she can manage to say before she disappears is a soft "..A-admiral..."

Nagato has posed:
    The shells from Midway arc over Nagato, which catches her attention... there wasn't anything that far out, was there? Everyone was formed up upon her. Not everyone... "YUNA!" she hears the explosions of a shell hitting something, and with Arkansas's speaking...and subsequently getting hit from Midway's shells, Nagato's face turns stark white... her eyes looking back towards the targeted area, before slowly swinging towards the Princess. "Midway. You've made a grave mistake."

    "You fired upon family. You fired upon girls I saved. You fired on girls that I trust! You fired upon my heart and soul, upon the girls I swore to protect with my life!" Nagato's axe pops out from her rigging, into the air. "You're right. Progress does require a sacrifice." she comments lowly. "And that sacrifice will be you." with the twins turning backwards, blank shells fire out to propel the battleship forward and into the air, out of the water...

    "I am Admiral Nagato. This ocean is under protection from the Hikari Defense Alliance. Your punishment for enroaching on these waters... is death." Nagato aims up the guns a bit as her ascent is slowed thanks to gravity. "VIOLENT SPIKE!" Those guns fire off once more, sending her from that top arc, rapidly down towards the Princess. This axe has felled one Abyssal, it'll try to make one fall tonight.

    "Progress is going to be made, and you... are being cut from the continuation of this!"

Midway has posed:
    Destroyer Water Demon hesitantly lifts one of her giant gauntlet hands, awkwardly hooking her mechanical finger with Yuna's own pinky. But when the cruiser dashes off, the Demon simply remains there, staring after her. Eyes wander to Arkansas and Saratoga, who have joined up with Iowa and Missouri's battlegroup in shelling the Princess and helping to suppress her enormous air wing. Eyes travel from there to Nagato's battlegroup, engaged much more closely with the furious Princess. Gaonoir and Evangeline in the air. Shigure in close range, Yuudachi jumping right on her back.

    With a startled noise, Destroyer Water Demon seems to realize something. Kicking off, she skates in an arc, turning her back on the battle, eyes skimming the water, one gauntlet shielding her eyes. When she spies something, she leans in to accelerate, coming to a stop beside a floating mass. She crouches, scooping her mechanical hands in and hauling out the smoldering parasite and unconscious body of her Heavy Cruiser companion. With a sigh, Destroyer rises to her feet, clutching her fellow Abyssal while casting her eyes back towards the battle.

Midway has posed:
    Yuudachi jumps on Midway's back, and her threat is not un-heeded. The Parasite's maw opens, clamping down on the blonde destroyer-- It, too, is mounted to Midway's back, after all. Rather than repeat the incident with Re-Class, however, the Abyssal rigging wrenches, attempting to peel Yuudachi off and throw her aside. The throw is, itself, thrown off by Gaonoir's explosive punch, which also blasts a hole through the rigging's surface. Artillery slams into Midway from the front, more of her ichorous blood staining the waves. She answers in kind with her secondary battery, hammering the Leeroy as well as the destroyers that continue to hover close to her. Her main battery guns, however, swing sidelong, opening fire on Nagato at close range.

    But the concentration of firepower is too much even for her. Abyssal aircraft swarm around her, dogfighting with Japanese Zeros and American Hellcats. Bombers of all descriptions crash down, while planes marked with red circles join up with planes marked with white stars, conducting bombing runs and torpedo drops from multiple angles. Heavy caliber artillery pummels her from the front while lasers and jetdogs attack from the opposite angle.

    Midway's body begins emitting a hostile crimson light, shining through cracks in her flesh as she lurches forward, hands grasping at nothing. Nagato's axe attack slams her down with a spray of black ichor, and she remains hunched forward on the recovery. The groan becomes a scream-- and the light becomes an explosion, hurling a spray of seawater in all directions. Immediately, the Abyssal attack planes change tactics-- breaking off the attack and scattering into multiple retreat vectors. A dark shape hurtles out of the explosion, slamming against the water's surface, unfolding into pale limbs and serpentine tail as it tumbles to a stop.

    With a groan, her outfit in tatters, the Abyssal Re-Class Battleship hauls herself up, rubbing her face with one hand. After a moment, she glances back as the sea rushes in to fill the crater where Midway had stood, "Ow, jeez..."

Shigure has posed:
    Well this wasn't exactly as planned! Yuudachi's grabbed by the parasite, and even though the throw is interrupted, she's slammed pretty hard into the water at Midway's feet. She does get up fairly quickly, though her rigging is shattered and black 'blood' trickles down her right arm, trailing down the blade of her knife to drip into the ocean.

    Shigure isn't faring much better. She's still trying to cut the symbiotic rig free, but the shells keep her from getting close enough to hit anything majorly important.

    And then Midway explodes. Yuudachi is catapulted back to slam into the lighthouse on the island, a scream cut short as her body impacts the stonework and leaves an impression in it, before dropping to the beach in a pool of expanding fuel oil. Shigure fares worse, caught right at point blank. She skips across the water, letting out a shriek before the first bounce, until she comes to a rest near to Re-class, barely moving as she struggles to get back up, arms sunk down to the elbows in the water.

Reina Kinney has posed:
Before Reina can recover or react to anything, she hears an alert that there's a man overboard. She's then given instructions to recover the man overboard (or woman overboard in this case) and Reina replies affirmatively without missing a beat. "Hang on, I'm coming!" Reina says as she shifts course and heads towards Evangeline as fast as she can. "I'm almost there, just hold on!"

Once she arrives, she takes it upon herself to try to help Evangeline onto her boat. "You're gonna be OK, just hold on!" Reina finds a blanket and attempts to wrap it around Evangeline as best as she can. "Take it easy, OK?"

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Kagurazaka flinches a little bit as Midway explodes ... and another body is launched out of the explosion.

"Re-Class!!!" Kagurazaka calls out in surprise and relief, zipping over to pull the Abyssal battleship into a hug; she'd try to twirl her, but she doesn't trust her overstressed fitout *quite* that much, even setting aside the difference in body weights. It's rather less desperate of a hug than she gave Destroyer/Lamson earlier, mostly making sure she's okay after getting chowed down upon - and, of course, being glad to see she *survived* that.

Speaking of survival, though, she was aware of Evangeline sinking; that's the other reason Re-Class doesn't get hugged at much greater length. So Kagurazaka busies herself looking around, making sure that yes, Reina has rescued the Neuroi girl, and yes, while Yuudachi and Shigure got walloped they're in no real danger of sinking. Well .. Shigure might be; Kagurazaka skates over to try and help her up, ready to keep supporting her.

"We did it ..." the blonde exhales, adrenaline burning off. "We beat Midway. The Black Fleet is no more." Kagurazaka gives Re-Class a rueful grin, "Guess this means you'll be coming home with us too, huh?" She wants to go find Lamson, but she's not about to drop Shigure. Trust has to start somewhere ... even if it's just trusting a new friend to meet up later.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leeroy is dead in the water with that last salvo. His engines cough and die as the shockwaves damage cooling and fuel systems, triggering automatic shutdowns and safety overlocks. Only the low chugging buzz of his backup engine remains, and the gentle flood of water from his bilge pumps. His foredeck and stern sit at slightly different angles both abeam and fore and aft, and add to that he's not sitting entirely level in the water, either. Parts are flooded, and the bilge pumps either can't cope, or are just stopping the water getting higher.

There's a cheer when Midway goes up, one that quickly changes to a yelp as the rebounding water punishes the boat yet further. There are no crunches, but the creaks in the hull are worrying just the same. The boat's stern drops an inch or two, before stabilizing. The mice on board look around nervously, and then begin tossing any ordnance they have left overboard.

Regretfully, Leyanne motions for the fairies to begin removing the tri-gun turret. They can't afford to keep the weight on anymore. "Admiral, you want your gun back?"

Gaonoir has posed:
The Fleet, the American squad, even the reformed Abyssals join in. -EVERYONE- is turning their power on Midway. Not only their firepower, their battle prowess, but the power of courage and comraderee as well.

The cracks splinter throughout Midway's form, becoming unstable. Gaonoir grits his teeth, scowling behind his visor as he pulls back and kicks away when Nagato comes at the enemy with an axe to grind. With his damaged engine though he doesn't have the speed to get out of the way of the aftermath of Midway's collapse as well. The explosion rips away what stability he has left as it launches him high and far away from the island.

There's a tiny *PLOOP* into the ocean. Fortunately water isn't a deadly thing to him and a few moments later Gaonoir comes up in his base form, spitting out water. "Geez, what a sore loser."

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     Evangeline is hardly bouyant, but luckily Reina is pretty fast. The dark form of the Neuroi is still visible beneath the surface and it isn't hard to recover her. Once she is safely on Reina's boat and wrapped in that blanket she curls up, hugging her knees against her chest as her legs finally finish reforming. "...Reina..." Evangeline says softly. She remembers Reina even though it has been quite a while since their last real interaction. Eva stares at her for a few moments...then slowly wraps her arms around Reina. "...thank you..." As she holds it, the hug gets tighter and tighter. Not to the point where it is painful, but it becomes pretty clear that the splashdown really scared the little Neuroi.

     But, as she looks around Evangeline realizes the battle is over. Midway is gone, and Re-Class is apparently alive! "...is everyone else okay...?" Evangeline asks, still wrapped in the blanket, her pointed cat-like ears adding a cute profile where it wraps over her head like a hood.

Midway has posed:
    "Gh..!?" Re's response to being hugged is to throw her hands out to either side, just as much in surprise as it is a 'Look where my hands are!' gesture. When released, she glances aside, and her tail snakes up out of the water under Shigure's midsection, taking some of the bouyancy strain of the wounded destroyer so Yuna can tend to her. However, the battleship's eyes close.

    "You beat her, yup," Reaching up, she rubs the back of her head, "Man, I hate it when she does that..." She grips the tattered hem of her hood and tugs it back up, "But no, I'm not like those guys." Her eyes open up again and she flashes a shark-toothed grin, "There's no 'other' to convince me to become. But hey I'm no Princess, all I want outta life is a good fight once in a while. I'm not good at the strategic junk that a real war needs."

    Some distance away, Destroyer Water Demon hefts her unconscious comrade, Heavy Cruiser Water Demon, in a princess carry.

    The Pacific Patrol Squadron, meanwhile, splits off one of its members. The battleship Missouri breaks away, shedding silver light that rapidly grows around her, From this sphere of light, the full-sized warship emerges, gliding low in the water for a few moments before bouyancy takes over and she rises to her natural waterline. While several of her gun mounts are damaged, and there's damage to her bow and superstructure, she still swings out her divots and lowers the large motor launches down either side. Large seagoing boats offered to collect those exhausted from the battle. Cruiser Portland has already flopped into one, rolling over onto her back after her rigging disappears, "Gosh, that was hard..! I'm exhausted!"

    "I will bear the burdon," Missouri's voice crackles over her shipboard PA system, "ALl hands, board me. I will return everyone to Hawaii for recuperation. We can part ways to our respective ports afterwards." After a moment's thought, she adds, "Tow the Leeroy alongside. My motor launch divot should be large enough to bring her aboard."

Gaonoir has posed:
"Oh good. I don't have the energy left in me to digivolve to a faster form." Gaonoir doggy paddles (literally) over to climb aboard

Shigure has posed:
    Shigure is lifted a bit out of the water by Re-class, then leans heavily on Yuna when the cruiser comes up. She's in bad shape, but with a little help, won't be sinking today. "I'm sorry... Admiral." she says softly, fuel oil trickling out of multiple puncture wounds.

    Yuudachi is still, almost like a corpse... that is, until her right hand clenches around the haft of her knife, and with a supreme effort, pushes herself up from the oil-soaked sand. One leg gets itself set underneath her, then the other, and with a shuddering, effort filled rise, the Nightmare of Solomon stands. Her radio is shot to hell, so a fairy clambers up onto the blonde's shoulder, and starts flashing light signals. <Destroyer grounded, require assistance.> She's not going to be floating anywhere with the damage she's sustained.

Reina Kinney has posed:
At first, Reina is caught a little off-guard by the show of affection from Evangeline, but slowly she begins to accept it. For a moment, there's a look of surprise on her face, but then it slowly begins to change into an expression that is not commonly seen with Reina. Her mouth turns into a gentle smile and her eyes lower a little to give a look of reassurance and support. Her voice takes on a soothing tone as she returns the hug to Evangeline.

"You're welcome," Reina replies gently. "I wasn't going to let you drown like that. I never leave anyone behind, no matter what." She smiles a little more. "Everything's gonna be all right. You just rest for now."

With that, Reina calls out to one of her crewmates to set a course for the Missouri, before looking to Evangeline again. "You did great out there," Reina says, still speaking gently. "You really did."

Nagato has posed:
    Nagato's strangely silent, the axe still in the flesh of that Abyssal... and as the explosion wracks her body, she holds herself still. There's a simple yes to an answer, the splash of water from her turret hitting the ocean and she drops to her knees, sinking mostly into the water. She pants out heavily, hands going white as she grips the hilt of the axe tightly, moving it slowly towards her rigging, the tattered and twisted steel remains of it anyways. Akashi's going to be furious.

    Fortunately people have recovered... at least a couple. She hears Shigure's voice over the radio but not Yuudachi's and her eyes close. WHat happened? What happened in that rage filled attack. She lifts her head up... looking around, the battle over. Eyes fall on Re-Class... then towards everyone else... then towards the horizon. Finally, she slowly rights herself in the water, legs underwater to her thighs.

    With Yuudachi's signals catching her Repair Goddess, she gives a slow exhale, a nod then speaks with a resounding voice, mixed with some pain: "ON this day, a great foe has been felled, not by one person but by the alliance of many differen't people and nations. The US Navy, the Hikari Fleet and every ally under and with them all." there's a soft breath as Nagato slowly moves towards the island where Yuudachi is. "We've claimed victory, but let it not be said that Midway wasn't without an idea. Progress requires sacrifice, but let it not be the sacrifice of your own ally to move forward. Look to them as you would look unto yourself. Only then... only then can we progress to a better nation."

    Nagato moves to land on the island... moving to pick Yuudachi up in a carry. "This is Admiral Nagato. Reporting destruction of all enemy ships. Everyone...."

    "Good work."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone watches s the battle reaches its apex as Nagato just bring the hammer or should we say now axe down on Midway and then the Abyssal dies in a way Kotone had only ever seen in movies before. She watches more than a little in awe as she goes up and then even more shock as her victim is spit free of the dying mass.

Her planes act quickly to cut down the fleeing enemy fighters they can while Kotone is more prone to moving towards her allies. She thinks about Yuudachi's actions as well it was a hell of a thing that the entire fleet has done and she stars to slow down her injuries starting to become more apparent to her as the rush of battle slows down and comes to an end.

She doesn't feel the desire to keep chasing after the Abyssal the fight is over and they don't seem to want to fight any more.

With Missouri's offer to be a rally point Kotone will take her up on it. Kotone will recall her planes catching them one after the other on the flight deck on her arm before returning the arrows to the quiver she'll make to get aboard and the moment she's on deck she just sprawls out her injuries now clear form the torpedo hits she took. There's torn synth flesh exploded internals in some places and she's leaking something that isn't bood.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leeroy struggles to remain afloat as the mice and fairies on board remove the turret. At the Admiral's order it is, regretfully, pushed overboard to sink. THe boat immediately rises up in the water, though it's still very nose-high. They're gonna miss those guns, but sadly even if he were in perfect condition a three-barrel battleship turret like that is always going to break his back.

The mice on board, those not working to keep Leeroy afloat at least, sit along the gunwales. Ceremonially, Leyanne hands out cigars from a wooden humidor, then sits down on the bow and sparks up her own Victory Dance brand stogie. Anyone else who comes close is offered one; after all, the fat lady is singing.

Now all there is to do is wait for a tow; when one arrives, they're thrown a line and Leeroy gets hauled aboard Missouri. Who is, of course, offered a cigar.

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     Evangeline doesn't let go of Reina all the way to the Missouri, and even when they board - if they actually board - Eva keeps hold of Reina's hand. She is floating again, but only a few inches off the deck. Like a lost little girl she stays close to Reina. After nearly being lost to the waves she doesn't want to go flying off over the water again just yet. And that blanket it still wrapped around her like a hoodie. "...you...help me...everytime we meet..." she says to Reina as she floats along.

Reina Kinney has posed:
"That's the primary function of GUARDIANS," Reina replies, still speaking gently. "The GUARDIANS exist to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Whether they are civilians or allies in need, the GUARDIANS never abandon anyone in danger, no matter how risky the action may be." She sighs as she looks up to the sky, as if remembering something, but then looks back at Evangeline. "It's my primary role and it always will be."

Nagato has posed:
    Nagato, with Yuudachi in arms, moves off the island and sails off towards Shigure, offering her hand to the destroyer. She does, soon, turn towards Re-Class. "You... wouldn't be the first Abyssal that I've made an ally of." she comments, speaking of a certain Wo-Class, "Even if you don't have a... person beyond the tail and body... I realize that you were acting under a tyrant of a leader, something no person, shipgirl or Abyssal should ever have to experience."

    She sails closer, towing Shigure along... "I would like you to consider something. The fleet is far more than just Abyssal versus Kanmusu. There's an entire ocean and more out to protect. There may be a time that I would like to call upon your... unique capabilities. I would like you to think on this, but I would offer a tenative place amongst us, failing that, mutual allies."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
With Missouri assuming her true ship form, Kagurazaka is happy to hand Shigure off to one of the recovery launches. She *wants* to go and help Yuudachi and Lamson and everyone else who needs recovery, too ..

"Gh -- !!" She's just about to try and set off to *do* that when she suddenly blanches, clamping a hand against her side where her uniform got shredded earlier. She didn't even realize how badly that explosion caught her earlier; she's going to have some serious bruises, at the very least.

"Just make sure we get everyone. Don't leave anyone behind, Fleet Daughter, ally, or Abyssal," she says shakily. Then she looks over at Re-Class.

"If all you want is a good fight now and then, there's no reason you can't come to Hikari with us," Kagurazaka points out, managing a smile. "Training exercises are still a thing, as long as we keep it a little genteel - and you could sail for missions with us too, if you wanted?"

Midway has posed:
    Missouri's human body isn't present. The divots haul Leeroy up onto her deck, however, and gently place the battered PT boat onto a set of blocks to support what's left of the hull, seawater running across the deck from where the earlier fight with Destroyer Water Demon had holed it. When a cigar is offered, this means that there's nobody to accept it, except something curious happens when Leyanne offers the smoke. One of the 20mm Oerlikon single guns swivels towards her, at just the right time for the stogie to get stuck in the end of the barrel. And before she can pull it loose, the gun swings back and away. Due to the heat of the barrel, the smokable has already become lit, and a thin wisp of smoke curls out above the offending machine gun.

    One of Missouri's motor launches is also hauled aboard, carrying Iowa, Enterprise, Wichita, and Portland. These four immediately disembark and the boat is hauled back out over the side and lowered, using it almost like an elevator to bring people up from sea level.

    "I can think about that all you want," Re states in response to Nagato, "But it's gonna be 'no'." She leans forward, then pushes herself up to her feet while her tail curls up behind her. Mercifully it keeps its own mouth shut while she tucks her hands into the pockets of her ragged hoodie-dress, "I don't fight some 'abyssal versus kanmusu' war any more than you do. I fight you guys because you're the most fun to fight." Her head jerks towards the patch of water where Midway disappeared, "Besides, you don't know her like I do." Eyes closing, she flashes that shark-toothed grin, "At the end of the day, I'm really just Mama's Little Monster."

    One eye opens and she clicks her tongue behind her teeth, "But we'll part on easy terms, for now. Who knows, maybe I'll change my mind later?" With that, the Abyssal Aviation Battleship descends into the sea, the last piece of her to be seen being her tail, which snaps its teeth right before it disappears.

    Back at Missouri, Arkansas helps Destroyer Water Demon lift the unconscious Heavy Cruiser Water Demon into Missouri's launch, hesitating when the unconscious abyssal mutters, "..Big sister.." under her breath. The battleship sighs, rubbing the back of her head. A glance is cast towards Destroyer.

    "How long are you gonna hang on to that, anyway?" Struck by it, Destroyer pauses, then lifts her gauntlet-clad hands to stare at them, fingers spread open. Hands lowering, she glances over her shoulder, towards Yuna near the other motor launch. She casts a glance at Arkansas, then pushes off.

    "Kagurazaka," she mutters as she coasts away. Her gloves tighten into fists, "I didn't even think twice about you when I first met you... and you defeated me." Her speed increases, "...She modernized me. Tortured me for my failure. And I tried to get revenge on you for it." Speeding up again, she draws her fists back, "You took Dreadnought away, and Jellyfish... You hurt Heavy Cruiser right in front of me. I wanted to kill you." Violet light gathers in the welded seams of her gauntlets, growing brighter until pieces of blackened steel begin to shed off, trailing in the water behind her, "But they came back. They're better. They're happy..! They're happy to see me, even like this, they're happy..!"

    Heedless of the Idol's injuries, a small blonde girl without giant robot hands rushes in on her, arms outstretched, wearing a rumpled white sailor's uniform and dress. Eyes squeezed shut, streaming tears, she tackles the idol at top speed, "My name is Lamson! I'm so sorry...for everything I did..! Please don't hate me..don't cast me away again..!"

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne Mace blinks as the 20mm takes, and lights, the smoke. She stares at it for a few moments, then laughs, pointing it out to her crew. "Hey!" she says. "It's a smoking gun!"

THere's general laughter at the comment. Quietly, some pieces fall off the PT boat, now that it's safe and secure. Even on blocks, it's not sitting properly. There's a distinct hump in the deck where the blocks are. Leyanne looks at him, shaking her head. "Gonna need a lot of wood."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"YEEOOOOOWWWWWWWCH!!!!"

They probably heard that scream of pain *in* Hawaii, but no matter how much getting tacklehugged hurt, Kagurazaka hugs Lamson back, smiling in spite of the pain. "I won't hate you or cast you away, Lamson," she promises. "It's good to finally meet the real you! You can call me Yuna if you'd like," she adds, still smiling ear to ear, genuinely glad to have made another new friend.

If Lamson wants a lift, Yuna will help her into the launch too before getting situated; as soon as they're on the Missouri, Yuna will probably be off to sickbay - but she'll gladly keep talking to the freshly de-Abyssal'd destroyer as long as she's able. And if Lamson stays close, Yuna may be clasping her hand when she falls asleep.

Never mind trashing Midway, for all that Yuna genuinely wanted to sink the Abyssal Princess. Coming away with a new friend is the *real* victory in her book, just like always.

Gaonoir has posed:
Once he's on deck Gaonoir grabs one of the cigars offered by the giant space mouse. What? He doesn't even have organic organs to be ruined by it. He watchs the reformed Lamson rush to tackle Yuna, then snorts softly as he turns the other way and folds his arms. "Hmph. Get all sentimental then."

Though once he's looking the other way he does smirk. In the end, he's not really one that should be complaining. He made his own turn from the dark side, after all.

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     Evangeline listens to Reina, then looks up at her when Reina looks down. "...it is also one of my primary duties...protecting those that can't protect themselves...and trying to foster peace wherever I go..." she says. The sudden yell from Yuna snaps Eva's head around, but when she sees what is happening she just watches quietly. It is pretty hard to tell what the little Neuroi Girl is thinking, but it is pretty likely she is glad for Lamson. "...one day...I hope Neuroi will have friends like that..." she says softly, not really to anyone in particular.

Reina Kinney has posed:
Meanwhile, Reina is listening to Evangeline, only to hear Yuna's crying out. When Reina looks, she wants to facepalm, but she knows that this isn't the time or place. "I'm sure Neuroi will," Reina replies after a moment. "It takes time and patience, but it can be done." She smiles gently.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is just happy to recover and not having to keep pushing her injuries standing up she'll listen to her friend and allies here as they chat a bit she looks to Re for a moment and she hears Re's answer it's her choice, right? She pauses at how Re talks about hersel for a moment and she sighs. She watches her leave and nods she might change some day she might not? Either way she didn't deserve to be devoured and now she gets the idea of what she wants. She wants fight and maybe that can be put to use to keep her clear of doing damage to uninvoled parties.

She also wathes a more happy occurance as Lamson reveals whom she is and seems to make amends with Yuna.

"I don't think anyone here will want to throw you away, I can promise you that."