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Owner	Pose
Nagato	Mid day. Plenty of light left for an operation. The open ocean's breeze whisking around the hair of the 'massive' fleet the Admiral's taking, to the point she's hired a bit of outside help as well to join in. The lead ship, Nagato herself, is out in Ocean Fit, the mighty battleship holding at least three people on board her deck: Staren, Karal and Nagato's personal 'seaplane': Gaonoir. The rest of her fleet... Yuna, Yamashiro and Musashi are sailing alongside her in double line.     "We're here to eliminate the enemy. There's no turning back from here. I've sent a transport fleet ahead of us to scout the areas and to recover supplies. To everyone here... you have my utmost respect fo your service to the Fleet. Let's finish this." Nagato's voice echoes from the ship's speakers, a booming voice filled with confidence and leadership echoing over the ocean. "It is here that I promise that we will not have what happened at E two happen.     With a bit of radio contact, the sound of turrets loading and spinning around.     "Orders are air support is a priority. Yuna and Gaonoir, take care of any aerial contacts that aren't allied. Everyone else, take care of any surface contacts. Good luck everyone and find victory on the dawn's horizon!"
Shigure	Yamashiro is also sporting her Ocean Fit-Out. She's a bit smaller than the Flagship, but her immense Pagoda mast rises toweringly over the more modern of the two Battleships. Turrets cycle, resounding sounds of shells loading into the breeches echoing across the water.     She can feel it. A 'tang' in the air of sorts. An oppessive, overbearing sensation she can feel at the very core of her being. "Oneesama..." she muses softly to herself. Before relating her unease to the fleet over the radio. "I have a bad feeling about this..."     Her launch rail angles out from her aft-deck, and the Type-0 Scout plane growls to life, materializing on the rail, before being shot from the catapult with the hiss of released steam. The bi-plane rolls, and angles out to do an overflight, giving eyes in the sky.
Yuna Kagurazaka	For all the confidence and resolve in her voice on the radio, Kagurazaka has a very familiar flock of butterflies in her stomach as she sails into battle alongside Nagato and the others. It's not just that it's her first combat deployment since her new set of gear - replacing the set which was stolen by Yari during the catastrophe that was mission E-2 - was completed and cleared for full use; it's not even the fact that this *is* a deployment where combat is expected in advance. Maybe it's the knowledge that this is the last big push, or - just possibly - the finality in Nagato's orders: 'We're here to eliminate the enemy.' Not push back, not break through, but eliminate. Even Yuna's knowledge that a sunken Abyssal can resurface as a Fleet Daughter doesn't really take away from the weight of that one specific word. Her duty is to deal with hostile aircraft; she can do that, and it doesn't trouble her conscience - kanmusu pilot faeries survive being shot down on a consistent basis, their Abyssal counterparts (if they have any) are basically drones, and Yuna's never had a problem with taking down drones. So that definitely helps. And then there's the hope that some of the Fleet Daughters lost earlier in Operation Rei-Go might turn up from sunken Abyssal ship-'girls,' which would be the best possible thing. But still, there's just ... something. She can't identify it. All Kagurazaka can do is focus on her role within the mission, and support her comrades as well as she can. To that end, she quickly 'polls' her equipment fairies, confirming that her cannons and her anti-aircraft guns are loaded and ready for immediate firing. The turrets mounted on her rigging traverse briefly, elevating and lowering their barrels, then angle up towards the sky. She's as ready as she can be.
Gaonoir	Gaonoir's ears perk a bit at the mention of strange uneasy feelings from other members of the fleet. Chuffs softly and flicks his visor down over his eyes, pausing a moment as the various digital sensors and other readouts come up. "All the more reason to be careful." The digimon gets down into position, assuming a stance much like the starting line of the race. A low thum becomes audible across the deck as his engines start to wind up, but he's not taking off just yet. No need to reveal his presence now when it could still get the jump on their potential opposition. But he's ready to launch as soon as the moment comes. "You got it Admiral."
Wo	The movements of the fleet daughters these past couple of months had not escaped the notice of the Abyssal fleet. While, by pure coincidence, some of their attacks had been directed at a certain group still known only as the 'others', the goal and trend of the strikes was crystal clear. All of this had been leading to this moment, as the error margins shrank and the theater of the final battle became resolved from the statistical background noise. One of the Abyssal's greatest strongholds at the edge of the Curry Sea, which even the fleet daughters usually stayed clear of. It is here that they had long subverted and taken over the surface dwelling populace, and converted the facilities for their own use. As a result, even from over the horizon, the large island that functions as their local sea base manages to jut out, appearing much like a mecha-organic foundry and factory, 'veins' across the black, metal surfaces pulsating with a crimson energy.     The heavy presence of the Abyssal fleet here has tangible environmental effects, as well. The closer one grows to this ganglion of terror, the sky subtly darkens, and the blue seas begin to give way to an inky blackness, before even further ahead, they almost seem to run bright red with blood. This is a sight many fleet daughters might not even consciously remember -- getting this close to such a concentration is usually a bad idea. But today is different, if they can withstand the faint electrical charge to the air, felt as a light tingling against the skin. The very atmosphere feels oppressive, and yet...beckoning one further into it.     It is within this zone of influence that the Abyssals have gathered their own armada. When Nagato had mentioned how numerous they are, she wasn't kidding. Ru-class and Ta-class battleships, some with red auras, are everywhere, flanked by those sleek, shark and whale-like destroyers. A Wo-class also is in charge of a detachment of two Nu-class light carriers, as well as a Tsu-class light cruiser. Behind them all, a particularly large radar signature, one that is impossible to miss even at extreme range. It's the so-called Seaport Princess, or Darwin by a more familiar name, in her Leviathan form, making her as large as her namesake, practically. Even though she is the last line in the sand, it is still Wo's force to direct.     Though they all move forward on a course aiming to intercept, they still aren't quite in range, just yet. At least, for their weapons.
Lin	Karal Rei Lin's first time out on the open ocean! Which means that she's lucky she's on a massive battleship that's not terribly prone to rocking around.     She's never HEARD of sea-sickness, but her hyper-trained sense of balance was all kinds of thrown off for about a half hour.     Which is why she's spent that time doing various light exercises. Gymnastic manuevers like backflips and midair somersaults, handstands, and a few other minor things to... well, gain a feel for being at sea.     Another thing she wasn't counting on was the sun shining off the waves, but that's been less of a problem to adjust to!     At the moment, she's standing by the port railings up on deck, a hand holding on while she looks out over the seas... grinning all the while.     Her first time on the open waves! Oh is she EXCITED to be here.R     "Understood!" The redhead snaps back after goingg over those orders.     Still... she's wearing a getup that looks appropriate for Japan's distant past and armed with a sword. It doesn't even look like a terribly magical sword. One might question just what she intends to DO as a Syndicate mercenary.
Staren	FOUR MINUTES AGO     Staren flies over the water, some distance behind the fleet but rapidly catching up. In fighter mode, the Star Hawk rather resembles a shiny F-14 with FAST packs and some kind of extra gear on the underside. "I'm sorry I'm not one for using Fleet Daughter equipment... but I do have my own ways to help! And I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to help you take the fight to the Abyssals sooner!" Staren glances over his HUD. Everything is showing OK status. " Enemy base coordinates locked in. Air support, stay clear of in front of me for a few seconds. Firing in three, two, one..."     From under the wings, where there are usually pods with several mini-missiles each, instead there are pairs of single, larger missiles. They take off now, trailing smoke as they fly over the water and up into the air, rapidly receding from visibile range. AND THEN     There's a stuttered krak-krak-krak-krak-krak-krak-krak-krak-boom as eight missiles fly over the fleet at supersonic speed, already shrinking specks in the distance when the sound hits, and then they're gone. TWO MINUTES AGO, OPEN OCEAN     Eight stage ones break apart, the casings opening and empty boosters falling away as altogether, thirty-two smaller missiles launch, four from each platform. NOW, THE FLEET     The nature of that extra gear on the underside of the 'fighter' becomes clear as it unfolds into arms and legs, slowing down over Nagato for a landing, finally transforming to humanoid mode as it touches down on the deck. The left shoulder-pack opens, revealing yet another missile rack. "I appreciate that," he replies to her comment about keeping the deck steady. "Getting ready for round two..." NOW, GATHERED ABYSSAL FLEET     Thirty-two missiles streak down from the sky towards the Abyssal base. Soundlessly because they're flying /faster than sound can keep up/. Of course, the Confederates probably have ways of dealing with this, but it's Staren's hope that they won't expect it, and at least /some/ of the missiles will get through. They're packed with high-tech future explosives! They make a pretty powerful if surprisingly focused boom if they hit, or if they're detonated in mid-air!
Crimson Sea	"Sir," a voice sounds out within a dim, crimson-lit steel room. Figures shift, and a single form turns slightly. A single, faintly glowing blue eye fixates on the voice's source. There's a hesitation before the girl continues, "...A-abyssal fleet movements have increased. They're mobilizing. Chatter indicates an enemy force on the move, East-Northeast at long range."     "Composition?" The man's response is steady, icy cold.     "Indistinct small contacts surrounding at least two large warships. Displacement suggests battleships. With what we've heard about this enemy, I'd suspect a lot more than what I'm actually seeing, here."     "Riding into battle on the back of your leader," Drowned Soul in the Frozen Midnight Depths rasps out as he turns his attention back to the frontal window. Rising from the command seat, he steps across the bridge, "Inform the Captain. Unless she has other orders, we shall maneuver into the most advantageous position and begin our attack."     "Aye, sir."     The Deathknight unfolds one arm, reaching out to place a white-gloved hand on the glass. With a swipe, he wipes away the foggy condensation, exposing the inky blackness of the deep sea beyond. Impossibly, engines thrum to life, and the concealed warship Obsidian Hammer rumbles into motion deep beneath the surface where no battleship has any right to be moving.
Xiao Li Yu	Xiao Li Yu has been awfully curious about this Abyssal and Fleet Daughter stuff for a while now. Just that she hasn't quite found the chance to go have a look for herself. It always sounded so busy and troublesome! But not today! Today she was going to head out and see what this was all about!      And so here she was...not actually dressed any differently than usual. Blue cheongsam, white labcoat, her usual lazy getup. Her hair was lazily pinned back into an updo and her arms were folded into her sleeves. No weapons could be seen on her person as usual. Ah, but she did float in the air, a pair of anklets radiating raw magical energy into a thruster-like form.      The scientist peered about at the darkened skies, the inky black seas, and the sickly looking factory structure off in the distance. "My my my..." Completely ignoring the combat formation, she floated down next to a Ru-Class and casually asked. "Do large numbers of you naturally cause this sort of phenomenon by simple presence? I must know!"      The missle volley coming in their general direction is given a brief look. "Oh dear." She didn't actually move to intercept them though.      No way, why would she do that?
Yari Takane	~Elsewhere~ Yari Takane has on her finest kimono. She's out with her foster daughter, having a lovely meal, just as the reports come in. A sigh, and she hugs the lovely little Linh, before handing her off to a Fed babysitter. Duty calls. Just before she leaves, Yari snatches the thrown scarf her way, quickly tied around her tail. ~Here and Now~ Yari only had time to slip on some protective water-proof armor beneath her kimono, and slip out towards the Abyssal base. After so much time working with the Abyssal subs, slipping into the water and using magic and pure skill to act like a faux-sub is becoming almost second nature. The missiles overhead have her wincing, but there's little she can do while taking a stealth approach. She'll just have to trust in her allies! Her target? A certain Admiral-Ship loaded with what seems to be a number of Elites from a quick binocular-based peek. Or, that's what she can guess. While the ninja doubts she can outright face all of them at once? There's a chance those missiles are coming from that ship. It'd be bold, just like the Admiral to do so. And so, she risks her life by trying to swim out close enough to get in range for an attack. Underwater, she makes several handseals, trying to lay an illusion over herself of calm waters and maybe a dolphin. Yet, she doesn't rely on it. The illusion is a momentary distraction, as the ninja lies in wait, sucking in a breath, and leaping out of the water at the last minute. She'll try to be passing the ship, land on the deck, and toss a flurry of kunai at Staren, Kara, Gaonoir, and the deck of Nagato herself! More handseals, and those kunai seem to multiply into a storm of lethal metal. Yet, sharp eyed persons might notice something dripping off of the fishing line attached to each multiplied kunai. Sharp /nosed/ persons would smell a mixture of several accelerants: kerosene and gasoline primarily. Yari bites down on the line, then flicks a golden lighter at the fishing line. It's also impossible to miss the bevy of small glass bottles filled with various substances, and explosive tags. A litany of various quickly-made explosives that fire is racing to, the ninja working towards a massive explosion to catch the Union and Syndicate elites board! But will those on Nagato be able to stop her!?
Sanary Rondel	Sanary's been looking forward to this. Well, maybe not looking forward so much as wanting to get back at the Fleet Daughters for causing her allies among the Abyssals so much grief. That, and getting shot at repeatedly. She's not quite fond of that, either, which is why she's opted thick padded armor instead of her usual chunky green affair. Considering all the explosive shells she's ran into the last few times, she definitely needs the padding more than deflection!      <<"Rondel here. I'll try and keep you safe as much as I can today. Just don't get yourselves killed out there before I can patch you up, huh?">> Speaking over the comms, the healer is hovering by the Wo-class who isn't /the/ Wo, her legs swaying about under her lightly while a massive axe (her Charge Blade, to be more specific) rests against her shoulder. She raises an eyebrow at the mention of something incoming, channelling magic into the air around her to start forming a cloud of weird gray pellets.      If it's long-range shelling, then the only option is to intercept them! Sanary takes a deep breath before sending the pellet cloud hurtling out roughly towards where those missiles are headed. They're not all that strong, but they don't need to be if she's just using to try and get them to prematurely detonate, right?
Sarracenia	Princess Sarracenia is a bit unnerved by this area herself. Although the sight is impressive, the blood-red water and the feeling in the air take away any appreciation she might have for the architecture.      This has not stopped her from bringing in one of her galleons to support Wo and the other Abyssals. The wooden ship is quite long and broad, especially for being a wooden ship. Over a hundred feet long, and nearly 50 wide, with cannons bristling all over it. Including one cannon on the underside that is as big in diameter as a person is tall.      And to top it off, the wooden ship is actually -flying-. Where sails would go on the masts, there are instead quickly spinning propellers. The ship holds position above the Abyssals. As the call goes out about the incoming missiles, the many piranha plant sailers aboard the ship scramble into a formation as Sarracenia raises her hammer from her position on the bow of the ship. Then, she lowers her hammer.      "FIRE!"      The many plants start spitting fireballs up in the air, creating a flak field for the incoming missiles. They are unlikely to get all of them, but at least some of them should be caught. And the giant cannon on the underside fires. A shell the size of a car comes flying out, but does not fly like a typical shell. Instead, the huge bullet with the shark-face starts tracking Nagato and moves on an intercept course. Whether it hits Nagato or the water, the huge shell explodes in an even more huge blast!
Taro	When compared to the fleets both below him and fast closing in, Taro is going to be a relative mote in the sky. He appears in midair in a dark flash of a transserver teleport, wings snapping open as soon as he materialzes to keep himself aloft.     He'd mentioned to his fellow Confederates that he needed to make a detour. The purpose of that detour is held close in both arms while he gets his bearings - a Very Large Particle Rifle that's nearly as tall as he is, at once both darkly sleek and ungainly. Obviously not meant for him, though he's seemly intent in weilding it.     A very target rich environment. This seems the opportune time to field test this design before he gives it to its intended wielder.     The android dips a bit to one side as he hefts the stock onto his right shoulder to make it a bit less ungainly for him, but then quickly straightens out his flight path. Or straightens it as much as the additional mass and drag allows.     Motion and heat signatures catch his attention, and his eyes snap in the direction of the horizon. His wings snap open full to hover and to brace himself as he draws the rifle up higher to fire at the incoming barrage that he knows is coming for them, even if he can't see it himself just yet.     And there's a streak of argent across the sky, followed by a small thunderclap as the rifle fires.
Wo	The Ru-class, one with a radiant red glow around her, simply gives a glance toward Xiao Li Yu for a long moment, eyes seemingly a solid white unless she takes a really good look, and sees that they're just really pale. It seems this one isn't much for converation, but a Ta-class buts in from further back in the formation, pushing her counterpart further ahead with the outjutting of a hand. "That's right. Whenever there are a lot of our kind around." Several of the accompanying destroyers gargle and buzz between each other, shifting in the water to 'point' upward. "Eh? What are you kids going on about? High-speed radar contacts? Missiles?"     Staren is only half-correct in his assumptions. The Abyssals don't have any specific anti-missile defenses of their own, but they aren't completely alien to the concept, either, especially after almost two years spent in the multiverse. While it's far from fool proof, their anti-air batteries have proven sufficient for dealing with similar threats in the past, and several of the battleships and cruisers train their guns skyward to begin setting the defensive screen. A certain, and familiar-to-some, Wo-class carrier begins forming tarnished metal around her, which actively welds itself together (with still red-hot joints) into the rough shape of a full-sized, proper ship version. This allows another set of guns to fire anti-air volleys to further thin the missiles' numbers. Despite all of that being combined with Sanary and Taro's efforts, though, some missiles do get through -- they're supersonic, after all -- and strike the by-far easiest target.     The Seaport Princess visibly winces as the explosions go off against her armor, and one enormous, raised claw-like hand, but these installation types are tough -- representing facilities, more than ships. It's going to take quite a bit more for her to be badly affected, and a second salvo wouldn't be quite so unexpected. Despite that, she isn't enraged just yet, her black-rimmed eyes instead only staring out in a passive sort of sorrow. "If only they hadn't come here..." But there is no avoiding it, and just as Nagato had said, no going back. The gigantic coastal batteries that Darwin possesses for guns fire, not shells, but crimson beams, which momentarily part the ocean beneath their trajectory before it splashes back into place, releasing steam. Despite that effect, they aren't physically hot -- anything they strike is instead subjected to the full depths of Darwin's intense sorrow. Burning might have been preferable.     Eventually, the rest of the Abyssal fleet begin to move into firing range of their enemies, and open fire freely and indiscriminately, though avoiding striking positions where their allies are currently known to be. The Ru-class and Ta-class battleships' shells create large columns of spray, as they encroach closer and refine their firing solutions. The carriers, meanwhile, begin to launch fighters and bombers; the 'standard' Wo-class that Sanary had come across, and her Nu-class companions, send off the standard-sized 2 meter wide fare. But the quasi-ocean fit out Wo sends out what are essentially full-sized aircraft, which are shaped like surprisingly modern stealth fighters, complete with a glassy red cockpit (unoccupied). The destroyers and light cruisers that aren't directly escorting something begin to pull ahead, so they can get close enough to use their own guns, or even release torpedoes.     The chaos is truly beginning to take hold, now.
Shigure	Return fire was expected, and as the brilliant red beam from Darwin scythes across the water, Yamashiro turns hard to port, breaking formation from Nagato and barely clipping the edge ofo that monster weapon's attack. Some hull plating warps and melts under the beams influence... and it looks like the Dreadnaught won't be rejoining formation any time soon. Battleship turn radii are measured in football fields, after all, and she threw herself hard port to get clear of that beam.     This leaves her alone, and vulnerable, sailing off at an angle from Nagato and the others. "Bring main battery to bearing 2-7-0. Maximum elevation... if we cannot join the main assault directly, we will at least provide long range shelling. FIRE!"     Eight reports mark her cannons loosing their shells in high angle trajectories into the paths of the oncoming lighter Abyssals.
Lin	HORRENDOUS noises signify the start of battle. Noises Lin's never heard before. HUGE EXPLOSIONS, great guns going off and... and what are those RAYS OF LIGHT criss-crossing the waves?! "WHA-?!" She'd been expecting monsters. Pirates. Raiders. Maybe other things... but not this.     The sheer unfamiliarity fills her with a flash of dread. Did she make a mistake taking this contract?     A dire tingling racing down her spine, icy cold and burning hot at the same time, speaks otherwise. Reacting to the faintest splash that shouldn't be, guided by preternatural instinct, Karal's hand goes to her sword before she's even seen what's coming.     And a good thing.     The air RINGS with the distinct clang of metal on metal as Karal draws her sword and strikes down incoming kunai with UNCANNY precision.. and SPEED. Can human arms move that fast?!     Unfortunately for Lin, the oddly graceful dervish of steel's insufficient to protect her fully. Only her vitals remain untouched, as every Kunai that might pierce her center of mass, that approaches her face, or might strike an artery's turned away by her blade. Sparks fly as several nasty tips embed themselves into her. Thick leather proves impenetrable to about half the storm of Kunai but some are forceful enough to penetrate.     Lin staggers back... and only then does she see just WHAT emerged to claim her life.     Just in time to react to the fire racing at her. "HYIIIAT!"     With a desperate slash she cuts the lines binding her in place, curved blade having no trouble with it. Then she leaps BACKWARDS.. but not quite fast enough. A nearby few jars explode a bit too fast for her. Though outside the blast itself, glass shrapnel and flaming debris pelts her. It's a marvel that she manages to backflip a few times down the deck before skidding to a halt, swearing and patting down flames before she's fully ablaze.     Scorched, bleeding lightly, and with a handful of kunai stuck in her clothes, Karal Rei Lin snarls out, "No idea who or what you are, but that's the ONLY time you're sneaking up on me!"
Nagato	And here, Nagato would think having the first strike from Staren's tech would make this a very decisive victory. Nagato thought very wrong. Listening to the reports coming in over radios and around her, the woman would nod, angling her guns upwards. "Type One AP Shells loading." she's ready to support that long range shelling, but when they seem to get the upper hand... that missile traveling from that wooden ship, the incoming laser, and now that damnable ninja launching napalm fireworks on her deck!     "I've been boarded! Musashi, join long range shelling. Everyone, focus and eliminate the enemy. We have an installation as well. Those who can, load type three shells." a pause, "I cannot go back to Land Fitout in this situation. I don't want to drown my passengers." Nagato thinks a moment, this is a tough one. "Gaonoir, launch, get off my deck. Staren, go back to aerial mode and get rid of whatever's firing that laser."     The laser barely misses Nagato, scraping along her side and ruining the paint job on her port.. then that Banzai Bill crashes right into her side and it sets her rocking side to side. "I'm hit. No penetrations and my citadel is fine. I don't thnk I can take direct hits from those!" she comments to those on her and on the radio. "GET GOING!"
Wo	To Yamashiro (KUMA):     With the battle so suddenly reaching a high pitch, and the near miss, it would be easily excused for Yamashiro to fail to notice something, even closeby. It doesn't help that the Abyssal weather effects naturally can reduce visibility, especially with that steam still hissing off of the Sadness Laser's track. It's precisely the cover needed for a certain someone to appear, out of the blue, a tall shape made all the moreso by the platform geta cladding her feet as she steps across the waves. "It's beautiful, isn't it," comes an all-to familiar voice, though with a distinctive reverb to it? "Everyone is suddenly struggling for their very lives." The woman lifts a robe-sleeved arm to her grotesque tengu mask, but with that twisted form of a pagoda hair ornament and voice, there was no doubt who it was even before she removes it.     "I've learned so much since we've been apart, my sister," she adds with a smile, the same sweet and subtle one she used to give, but now tarnished with the words that come from her lips. "This struggle is where real strength is born. Where we can perfect ourselves, or destroy that which keeps us from it." There it is again. That 'perfection' she seems to seek. She gives a light laugh, raising her fingertips to her mouth, "Would you honor me with a dance? I would like to test that spirit again, now that you've awoken." It doesn't seem like she's actually going to take no for an answer, though, as she's already launching herself forward on the water with a surprisingly agile kick!
Staren	Staren's monitoring his missiles' telemetry to see how many make it through. Some are shot down /very/ early by Taro, others by closer defenses to the base, and fewer make it through than he'd like. Still, some /did/ make it through...     Now he's got local matters to worry about. Kunai lodge in his leg armor. "Rrgh, someone's here!" he warns, looking about for the source, only for his eyes to fall on Sarracenia's Bullet Bill. Well, he's supposed to be Nagato's anti-air, right? In the Star Hawk's right hand is what looks like some kind of mecha assault rifle with a drum magazine -- he turns and starts firing full-auto at the bullet bill, trying to bring it down. If that takes more than a couple of seconds though, he has to stop, as he sees the fire approaching. The kunais were annoying, but /that/ could be a problem, even in his giant war machine. The mech suddenly freezes, drones crawling over it to cut strings and remove kunais. Seems like it can't move at the same time, though...     "Just a moment! Iiiii'm dealing with things!" Staren shouts over the radio back at Nagato.
Gaonoir	Well it certainly didn't take long for things to escalate. Looks like the Abyssal & Co. were expecting them this time. Gaonoir crouchs down and wiggles into position, engines spinning up higher as he gets ready to takeoff as the firefighting erupts all over the seas. Likely intended to use the launch rail again to get some additional speed. Up until his sharp ears catch the breaking of water off to a side of Nagato's shipform and he snaps back up onto his feet, just in time to see the form bursting up over the edge of the deck and flinging dozens of projectiles. Reflexively the Digimon reacts with his own speed, a brief blurr as he snatchs the majority of the ones hurtled in his direction out of the air. Several managed to imbed in his metal-clad arms all the same. He doesn't even finish grabbing them before he can -smell- what's attatched to them. You know how badly that fuel mixture smells? And she's already setting off the end of the lines. With a snarl Gaonoir ignites his jets and in a plume of fiery smoke more or less rockets straight up from Nagato's deck, with the strings of quickly combusting gas bottles dangling in the wake. Just scorch marks and exhaust left by the time Nagato gets to saying to take off. But they're probably preferable to what those makeshift explosions would do. Unfortunately Gaonoir doesn't have time even with the abrupt takeoff to both get a clear distance from Nagato AND dispose of the dozens of kunai-gasbombs dangling from his form. So while not causing critical harm to Nagato it still award's Yari's sneakery with a nice big explosions in the sky. As the smoke and embers fall away from the blast Gaonoir coughs out a few fumes, and reachs back with one hand to clenchs the end of his bomber's scarf and snuff out where it's smoldering. "Well, that happened." He grunts, shaking some of the smoke off. There's a big flying ship made of wood trying to shell the Fleet... And then notices a familar ping off his sensors in the air. "And look who else is here." Metal-clad fists clench at his sides as they start to crackle with dark ripples of energy. "Hey, Taro! Just so you know, nothing personal. This is just business and you happen to be on the other side right now." With that out of the way his engines roar back to power and he breaks from his hovering position, even as he shoots a couple of small blasts at Taro. Then turns midair and chucks several more of the energy bursts at Sarracenia's airship as well.
Crimson Sea	"Sir," Crowsnest's voice sounds through the darkened bridge once more, "Combat has broken out on the surface. One of the dreadnoughts has broken out of the enemy formation." She turns in her seat and reaches out, pushing some markers around on a map.     The uniformed figure examines this turn of events, then touches his finger down, "She is going to swing her guns starboard and attack the enemy with her full arsenal." Hand moving, he taps a smaller black object, then draws his finger along a new course, "Bring us here. On her port side, and prepare to surface."     "My my, Keelhaul," a third voice rings out, prompting both officers to stiffen. The Deathknight turns in place and raises his hand in a salute, while the woman leans past him to tap her finger on another marker, "I'd rather we go fer... this one. Bring all guns ta starboard an' prepare ta surface on yer mark."     "Aye-aye, Captain." MINUTES LATER     As battle rings out across the sea, the surface about 1000 yards off Nagato's starboard side begins to bubble, as if boiling. What first breaks the surface is the V-shaped prow of a warship, stark black. This surges out of the sea at a sharp angle like a surfacing submarine, already starting to settle down even as the first and second gun batteries emerge, followed by the unmistakable bridge tower, the stacks, and the after gun battery. As the bow settles into the brackish black water with a great spray of sea and salt, the fantail lifts out, the entirety of the warship now in view.     All three gun batteries, three-barreled each, are already fully turned to face the trailing Yamato-class super-dreadnought, water pouring from their bores, and the entire warship appears to be made not from steel but from some oily, subtly-shifting black metal.     Smoke coughs from the central funnel, as if the vessel was breathing for the first time in decades, though she already slices ahead at a good thirty knots in the opposite direction of the Fleet Daughter formation. One of the doors alongside the bridge swings open and a woman clad in a white uniform steps out, the brim of her officer's cap pulled down over one eye. Lips curling into a fanged smile, the Silent Wolf of the Crimson Sea thrusts her hand out. The Obsidian Hammer's guns open up one after the other, blasts of black smoke and thunder travelling down the warship's side, hurling shells directed at the sides and back panels of the mighty Musashi's forward turrets, currently trained in the direction of the rest of the sea battle.
Shigure	It's not long after her rudder straightens out, that those honeyed words reach the younger sister. She has no head, nor eyes to glare with, but the palpable sensation of anger would be more than noticable to the 'Fallen' elder. "Sister." comes the cold response. "You think you've found perfection with the Abyss? This isn't perfection, sister. The Abyss is /lying/ to you!"     CLANG!     "GYAH!" The kick lands at midships, and the entire frame of Yamashiro's Ocean Fit-out /bows/ as it skids sideways in the water, kicking up a plume of that inky, blood-soaked water. The darkness is illuminated for a few moments by the ship vanishing into motes of blue-white light, revealing the normal human-sized form of Yamashiro kneeling where her shipform once stood, clutching her side with a grimace of pain. "There's still time, Sister... you can come back to us. To your family. Michishio misses you. /I/ miss you." she says as she stands. She doesn't retaliate yet, but stands ready for the next attack.
Yari Takane	Yari gets more than she actually thought she would. Between Staren pausing, Karal forced to slice up kerosene-soaked string, and Gaonoir lifting off into the air? She'll take one for the Abyssal side. Still. She has /issues/! Namely, she's on board Nagato with one particularly persistant Elite to deal with. One eye closes as she hears Sanary's words over the comms. "I'll return in one piece, Captain." She promises. She has all of her attention on one person, however. The ninja's tail sways, peering at the Exalt that manages to cause a majority of her lines to fall limp, kunai taken easily. The ninja's body is entirely tense. She can't help a smile. "You're fast. Ensign Takane, Confederate Elite Forces. Glory and honor, Ma'am." Offers the Au Ra to the Exalt, with a slight nod. Her head tilts just slightly. "'Only'? Are you trying to insult me, Ma'am? You'd be surprised." Both eyes close, and she ducks behind one of Nagato's communication towers for cover. She'll make several hand-seals, and then a clone-Yari leaps out in a blurr, wielding a knife to try to stab Karal! Real-Yari makes a run-about, trying to circle-around, several handseals later, and take Karal Rei Lin from behind with a blast of lighting magic!
Xiao Li Yu	"Hmm...I see." Xiao responds to the Ta-Class before things get ridiculous. With Sanary, the Abyssals, and Taro unloading onto the missiles, she just watches with a vacant sort of smile on her face. "Well...I guess I should get to work." That said, she floated upwards into the air, eyeing the battlefield casually as both sides began to engage.      ....The scientist's gaze eventually fell upon Yuna in her quaint little Fleet Daughter equipment. "How cute." She smirked and removed her arms from her sleeves, producing a pair of black, hi tech gauntlets. "Let's test a few things out~"      She pointed her palm downwards in Yuna's direction, gem in the center crackling. "Thundaga." Lightning surged across her form, gathering into her arm, which she then fired as a thick, concentrated beam of electricity right at the provisional fleet daughter!      Hi there.
Taro	Between the fighters and the heavy ordenence, the sky above the fleets is getting rather crowded. Taro pushes himself higher to remove himself from the line of shelling fire. No nimble tricks this time, as he's not yet willing to risk losing his oversized rifle. Said rifle is still humming, charging but not yet charged.     A previously known but not yet familiar signature approaches, and the android priest areches an eyebrow at Gaonoir, their crossing paths here was not expected. There's no malice in his expression, though, just a scowl of concentration as he makes a gntle swoop. It's too slow to avoid the blasts, but enough to interpose his left shoulder and arm to avoid the rifle from being hit. The energy crackles and hisses as it dances across the surface, and his arm twitches as some of it works its way into his systems. Unpleasant.     "We all have our roles to play," he answers with a grunt. He makes another wide swerve to face the opposing fleet again, passing by the digimon without retaliating.     He makes a note that this thing is terribly unweildly in flight.
Sarracenia	One thing a giant wooden airship does not have is maneuverability. The beam shots from Gaonoir punch into the deck of the ship, but with its size the ship manages to stay in the air. Sarracenia hangs on as her ship rocks a bit, then looks up at Gaonoir before looking back at her crew. "Bring the broadside to bear, then fire at will!" she says as she starts digging in her purse.      The giant cannon on the underside of the wooden ship fires again almost as soon as that first Banzai Bill impacts Nagato, and while moderately slow the giant shell promises another heavy hit. And, once the ship has rotated 90 degrees, the dozens of cannons along the side start firing. Soon the air is filled with even more shark-faced tracking projectiles! These are only the size of a person, though. Still, they explode pretty dangerously upon impact!      Sarracenia finally finishes digging in her bag, and pulls out...a teddy bear! Well, close. A teddy raccoon! Sarracenia gives it a hug, and then...she is in a full body tanuki suit! She dashes across her ship's deck, then leaps into the sky! The raccoon tail on her suit waggles and she sails up into the sky, right toward Gaonoir. When she closes in, she swings that heavy hammer of hers with full force!
Sanary Rondel	No incoming attacks? Perfect. Sanary grins slightly as she floats higher into the air, balancing her charge blade against her shoulder to keep her hands sort of free. Without having to worry about anyone attacking her just yet, she now has the chance to unveil her SECRET WEAPON:      A fanny pack. It's what's inside the fanny pack that's the real threat, though, as the healer withdraws... A thermos! She takes a long sip of the blue liquid swirling inside it, shuddering a bit at the sensation of even more raw magical power coursing through her. Just as well, since there's a lot of allies to focus on today, and they've gotten as spread out as they are.      <<"Ooookay. If you got anything that needs a lot of power behind it, I've got you covered!">> Sanary sounds just a little jittery as she focuses her magical energy outwards, a green light cloud expanding from where she's floating. A few lines of similarly green energy even shoot out from that cloud, 'linking' the healer to some of her allies that might actually be able to make use of the boost to their natural healing and drawing from an additional energy source: Xiao and Fusou.
Yuna Kagurazaka	That's an awful lot of Confederate support for the Abyssal forces ... not that Kagurazaka is particularly surprised. If this was as much of a final battle as she anticipated, of *course* the Abyssal Fleet would have called in whatever assistance they could get to thwart the Hikari fleet's offensive. And then somebody tries throwing a really big, really thick bolt of lightning at her. The flare as Xiao Li Yu gathers up the lightning is a forewarning; Kagurazaka is already breaking formation and slewing away from Nagato and the others before the Thundaga spell descends; the fringe currents alone and the superheating of air and water are enough to elicit a loud yelp of pain from the blonde, and she stumbles briefly as the impact disrupts her balance and her focus. She recovers pretty quickly, though, and looks towards the source ... This isn't really good. She was armed for fighting the Abyssals, and the woman who just attacked her may be Confederate but she's definitely NOT an Abyssal herself. In all honesty, Yuna would prefer to be in one of her Light Suit's variant forms - Flight Form would be ideal, really - and while Elner could probably handle transforming her from kanmusu gear to Light Suit while allowing for a switch back to her light-cruiser loadout, it would take a few seconds that she might not actually have, plus the time it would take to combine with Erina or Marina. All she can do right now is try to hold her own - and keep the Confederate mage from turning her attention to any of Kagurazaka's allies. For now, the best she can do is fire a volley from her turrets, aiming the shells and timing the detonations to loosely bracket Xiao Li Yu, potentially showering her with the anti-aircraft shrapnel - but trying to keep the explosions and shrapnel spaced to minimize injury to the mage.
Wo	FUSOU, in her human-sized form, just kicked an entire ship, yes. She leaves her leg extended for a moment, as the dust figuratively settles, and she waits for a more proper Yamashiro for this kind of engagement to show herself. She still wears that serene expression throughout this, as she paces the remaining steps forward, as elegant as ever. But there is also a distinctly machine-like purpose to her gait, now. It goes without saying that she's changed. "The Abyss, of a sort," she responds. "But not the one you know. They are weak." She actually spares a glance backward, at this point, towards a certain quasi-ocean fit out carrier that is among the Abyssal's ranks. She still remembers the rush of snapping that one in two -- maybe she'll get that same thrill again, before the night is out.     But there is far more pressing business, such as that sister of hers. With this, that smile actually fades somewhat, as her suddenly cold eyes regard Yamashiro's humanoid form. "...you still think that way, after everything that happened? Back in that time." Then, just as suddenly, it returns, as she levels all of her cannons, and with a gesture forward, wills a full battery of strikes against her own, uncorrupt sister, from close range! "Then prove to me how wrong I am, if you truly can," comes her sweetened tone, as the ringing dies down. It doesn't seem like talking it out will avail anything. If only Shigure were here, then maybe... "Hmmm?" She pauses for a moment, feeling a vitalizing energy within her, "It seems my efforts are appreciated. I suppose I will accept it, for now~."     Meanwhile, the main Abyssal fleet continues its movements forward. The shells being exchanged grow slowly more accurate with the closing distance, and a couple of the Battleships take solid strikes; one Ru-class and Ta-class, respectively. The latter is attended by a Ro-class destroyer, painted in a distinctive scheme, which opents its mouth toward her to fire not a shell, but a jet of sea water to try and extinguish the parts of her that were suddenly on fire. The Abyssal fighters, meanwhile, accompany a wave of bombers, that begin (somewhat) indiscriminately shelling the vicinity of Nagato and her allies. The jet turbines scream, though a gurgling and buzzing sound can be heard, as though the aircraft are chattering between each other.     Further back from the rest of the formation, that ridiculously large installation, the Seaport Princess, looms slowly larger. Her batteries don't fire nearly as fast as the other Abyssals, and that's likely a good thing for the opposition, but once she has a full charge, she once again lets loose with the Feels Cannon. Every so often, she takes an errant shell. Though she's showing visible damage, she doesn't seem badly affected yet, besides her expression growing ever more remorseful.
Staren	Thanks to Lin, Staren's now free to take to the air! The drones stop and the mecha moves again. The Star Hawk leaps and transforms to hybrid mode and starts to fly up... when he sees the air below fill with bullet bills. "Oh /come on/?! Where do they even /store/ that many?!" <<Hang in there a bit longer, Gaonoir!>> Staren sweeps the NG-202 handheld railgun, as well as the gatling railgun on the back of his mecha's arm, across the field of bullet bills, trying to shoot down as many as he can!     Unaware that up above, Taro is charging for another shot, and ignoring the digimon...
Shigure	Fusou and Yamashiro should both know that engaging in an artillery duel will avail neither of them. So it goes, when FUSOU fires her main battery, Yamashiro gathers, and swats the shells right out of the air, angling her armour as it were, pushing them into glancing blows that only leave black scrapes along her arms, and tears in her billowing sleeves. "I remember that time full well, Sister." she snaps back curtly. "We fought with bravery and honour until we fell, and the survivors told our story with reverence." she adds, before kicking off and closing the distance.     She ducks under FUSOU's guard, and aims a palmstrike into her midsection, before ducking and going for a roundhouse legsweep, getting those cannon barrels in the way at the same time, throwing her weight around to best effect. "We're a fleet, sister. Stronger together than the mere sum of our parts."
Gaonoir	And Gaonoir turns his attention back to his bigger target. His visor zooms in on the airship's deck, catching sight of the Princess running across the deck and... turning into a raccoon. And taking off into the air. By wiggling her tail. Okay, this is a bit weird even by Digimon standards. Weird enough that the few moments of trying to figure out just what is going on is enough for Sarracenia to catch up to him and swing her hammer! It catchs the cyborg jetdog square in the chest, but being they're midair and there's nothing to brace against, the impact is enough to send him tumbling head-over-tail a few times before Gaonoir pulls himself back upright and flares his engines for stability. And now the airship is still trying to bombard the fleet besides that. He was going to deal with both, but his hand has been pressed and Taro's going to have to wait. Gaonoir twists and dives, hurtling back towards the battle. Got to do something about those broadsides. Shadowy energy crackles around his form and the jet-powered digimon goes into a roll that, thanks to his great speed, starts whipping the air into a churning force around him laced with the aura of shadows leeching off his form and making it even more powerful. "TENEBRAE TORNAAAADOOOOOO!" The resulting powerful vortex of wind and darkness hurtles with pummeling force towards Sarracenia and her barraging airship.
Lin	Such a show of honor AFTER a sneak attack's not what Lin was expecting. One eye widens slightly... but in the end, she grins. A bit too innocent of a grin for most warriors, but plenty enthused about what looks like a challenge to her.     "Karal Rei Lin, mercenary of Grantine village!" And she's already managed to sheath her blade without any fuss. Yet this is hardly a good thing, or any sign of peace. One hand remains on the scabbard, gripping it tightly. the other hovers near the grip. Yari may have seen a stance like this before....     And Lin's blue eyes flick back and forth to track Yari's movements. The moment she sees Yari-clone she acts. "SEEIYAT!!"     Faster than the eye can see she's clear PAST the clone, a flash of steel drawn through the air - and Lin skids across the deck, untouched by the knife. When the clone then bursts into a cloud of smoke though... "What the-- GYAH!!"     She tries. Oh, she TRIES evasion. Her instincts scream and she listens, leaping to the side. The lightning strikes her in the side instead of her center of mass, sizzling flesh hard and getting Lin to stagger down to one knee...     "Hah... haha... looks like holding back won't do."     Wiping blood from her arm from the earlier kunai strike, she rises... grinning again. "Fine, not like it matters out here!"     Lin drops back into her sword-drawing stance, eyes closing for only a moment. Essence courses through her body and spirit in torrents. Through her muscles, through her bones. Muscles along her limbs ripple and flex, tightening and strengthening.     And some of that power leaks out. No, MOST of it does, after it's used. It shines upon her forehead, forming a sunburst mark. It billows forth from her skin into first a flickering aura, then into a raging bonfire of power. Golden-white light of the ideal sunrise shines from her and reflects blindingly off NAgato's hull. At its fringes the gold shifts to rose red and deep violet here and there, looking very much like the sky at Dawn.     Focus on that at one's peril, though.     For in the next instant... "VOID-SLICING WIND!!"     In the span of a single heartbeat, Lin's gone from where she was... and all but upon Yari with a ferocious slash for her sides, aiming to possibly even CUT THROUGH her and keep on going if not stopped!
Nagato	Nagato slowly sails around, all four guns trained towards the farside, so she can hit some of the heavier ships. She doesn't say much of anything, everyone has their orders, everyone's doing everything they need to do. Then... another Banzai Bill and bullet bills. "What in the world?!" she curses something under the breath. Nagato's own anti air starts firing up towards the Gunship in the sky, knowing that Kagurazaka's busy handling things in her own way.     Meanwhile, Musashi's reloading after a recent shelling, pulling a couple of white shells into her hand. "Heh, they never know what hit them." Musashi smirks. "Angling... and..." the firing of shells not from her or Nagato catches her attention, slowly turning around. "What in..." the shells smash right into her backside, sending her forward. "God damnit, what the hell?" she turns around and smirks at the ship before her... "Heh, a battleship? I don't care who your captain is or your affiliation, you dare attack a Kanmusu... I'm going to sink you now!" the noise of shells loading up echoes from Musashi.     "Yamato, too bad you're not here, you'd enjoy this." and with twelve rapports firing, white shells are launched in an arc towards the the black metal ship, "Let's do this, or can you not even go into a human form, ship?" She starts to run across the water, heading towards Crimson Sea's ship... hopefully to get close enough to let her next rapport ring very true. Or see the Captain.
Xiao Li Yu	Xiao lowered her hand after firing that bolt, watching as Yuna dodged quite well. "Hmmm...I see." She mused aloud, tilting her head. Interesting. That bulky armor didn't look terribly aerodynamic. So it was their ability to glide over the water that made up for the weight?      Let's find out!      ...After dealing with this shelling volley! "Whoops~" Xiao intoned playfully, raising her gauntlets, which expanded out into black metal shields that covered her torso well enough. The explosions and schrapnel sped past her, battering her shields and slicing into her legs and coat a bit, but otherwise? ...It wasn't terribly worrisome. She winced a bit at her bleeding legs, but Sanary's BIG GREEM HEAL CLOUD soon took care of that.      Once it was past, the researchered reverted her gauntlets back to normal and peered down at Yuna. "Hmm...you have such intriguing equipment. But your attacks are rather....hm." She smiled and then outstretched an arm, causing that gauntlet to break apart into six orbital blades. "Let's see just how well you respond to a two pronged assault!"      Xiao smiled, and then recited. "Blizzaga." Her body didn't glow this time. But rather, the blonde would feel the air and water beneath her suddenly grow terribly cold. "Upsy daisy~" And with a directing of her gauntleted hand upwards, several spires of solid ice shot up under Yuna's feet! But it didn't stop there. From above, those six orbital blades went rigid, then then all fired at the provisional fleet daughter. Top and bottom. How would she deal with this?
Taro	The rifle's whining thrum evens out, and its blinking yellow indicator light on the side of its targeting sight switches to a steady blue. Not that Taro can properly use the sight...but since it's synched to his own inbuilt targeting systems, he doesn't really need to.     He again climbs to what he hopes is a height that keeps him out of the path of both opposing and friendly fire, then hovers there in a repeat of before, wings fully spread to brace himself. He finds their own fleet's fighters and bombers in the way, making it difficult to get a fully clear shot at the ships that they're also targeting, and he's not willing to leave himself vulnerable by waiting. And so...     There's another arcing flash of argent, this time aimed at the incoming artillery fired by the Hikari fleet. If some of those shells detonate close enough to damage those that fired them, he certainly won't object.
Wo	She knew, certainly. At their size and configurations, guns are for long range, or when you already have your opponent pinned. It stands to reason that FUSOU opened with their version of a taunt. "They said we were flawed. Cursed." With a broad swing of an arm and elbow, she aims to hook Yamashiro right on the chin as she closes the distance, before the other battleship weaves and ducks, planting a solid strike to her stomach. The snap of pulled taut muscle fiber echoes out, instead of a metallic clang, as she soaks it up. Perhaps sensing instinctively, from their close bond in another life, what is about to happen next, the ship flips backward from her hands, with surprising agility given her frame, to evade the much more debilitating leg sweep.     "Every remodel, a reminder of how we weren't good enough," she continues, once she catches her wind again, and quickly gets back to her feet. She lunges, herself, right back into the thick of it, propelled as much by her momentum as the mass of that twisted battleship rigging. "Are you truly happy being only that? How can you protect--" Her speech cuts off, as her normally calm and and sweet speech turns into a snarl, "I won't, let you take this from me!" With that, she aims to twist her body and catch Yamashiro across her shoulders, before throwing her into the ocean's rippling current, if successful. "Not when I'm, this close!"
Crimson Sea	Incoming fire is about what was expected-- Heavy shells strike the Obsidian Hammer's sides while the warship is turning, some disappearing inside while others glance off in showers of crimson sparks. No matter the result of the impact, though, there is no tell-tale squeal of stressed steel. Rather, the shells from Musashi's broadside striking the Hammer's sides produces a sound not unlike the wailing of a great number of people in pain. As their target closes in, those triple-gun turrets swing aside and away from her while they reload, settling on the somewhat more distant Nagato, in ocean fitting.     The ship does not respond when addressed, because it's just a ship made out of the crystallized remnants of countless tortured souls.     What does respond, does so with a colossal splash scant meters in front of the charging super-battleship. An anchor trailing on a chain, both made from the same horrific metal, slams into the sea and sinks immediately. The plume of seawater settling reveals a descending figure in a white naval uniform, trailing that chain from the sleeve of her outstretched arm. When she strikes the water, her feet plant on it as solidly as they would ground, and her hand disappears into the waves for just a moment.     Clutching something, the Silent Wolf of the Crimson Sea hauls her anchor back out of the water in an arc, intent on catching Musashi mid-stride and swinging her, anchor and all, overhead to introduce her into the sea on the pirate's other side.     While the chain retracts and the anchor returns to Crimson Sea's hand, the Obsidian Hammer's guns go off again, this time targetting the weaker armor on the backs of Nagato's aft turrets. As their thundrous report fades, the woman grins, "...Th' Silent Wolf o' th' Crimson Sea, at yer service. Dread Pirate."
Shigure	Yamashiro shifts her weight, springing back up to her feet with a twirling hop the leaves her in a ready stance. "I've grown beyond that cursed existence. I'm stronger now than I ever could have been by lingering in those dark thoughts." She shifts her weight, and countergrapples her elder sister, gritting her teeth as black smoke belches from her smoke stacks, engines pushing harder now. "You think you're... close to perfection?" she growls back, shifting her weight and dropping backwards, slamming one platform geta'd foot into FUSOU's midsection to flip her up and over, or try to anyway. "You're further from it now than you ever were before!"
Yari Takane	"Nnn. What a shame we met like this, Miss Lin." Offers Yari, with mostly legit sorrow. Mostly. Part of her loves a good challenge, after all. And she well knows that grip to the scabbard. She's more than happy she tried her particular approach, as her clone is sliced neatly in half. Lightning flares for the /second/ sneak attack, and yet, the woman manages to live. Yari is nowhere near as adept in sword-drawing, but she doesn't have to be. The umbrella in her sash is enough, and as that blade lashes out? So too does Yari counter in that instant. Far too slow, she realixes it at the last moment, leaping up into the air! Kara's blade lashes into her own half-drawn blade, slicing it apart, only to bite into thigh and then tail as she flips over Karal with ninja-agility! There's a crimson spurt of blood from the Void-Slicing Wind, and Yari has her teeth gritted. Only ninja magic has kept her from being sliced utterly in half! There's a half-second of recovery as she lands, bleeding heavily through her kimono. The shattered umbrella-sword is dropped. Mostly. A few handseals, and she catches the 'umbrella' end, and then in a blurr, she rushes for Karal! Umbrella snapping out, the end aimed for the back of her head or an arm if she can manage it aboard the Nagato-bote! She'll then pull the trigger! A shotgun blast comes for Karal! "...That was a little too close." Admits the ninja, even as she tries to murder her opponent!
Sarracenia	Perhaps not surprisingly, huge hunks of solid metal are not overly suceptible to being shot out of the sky. Especially when they are self-propelled and tracking their target. Those shark-faces seem to sneer all the more as Bullets and Banzai continue toward Nagato. Those Bills hit with railgun fire are bounced back, but they continue on their way like grinning aerial terminators. Each Bullet Bill that impacts explodes like a missile, and the gigantic Banzai Bill again rams if it can and detonates like a mini-star.      The airship, however, is not so lucky. The wooden ship is first caught in Gaonoir's shadow tornado, and timbers start to shiver as the ship starts to spin with the energy of the storm. Then, those shells from Nagato strike, sundering the hull and splintering timbers all over the place. Soon, the wooden ship is spewing smoke as its engines start to catch fire. It probably won't last much longer, and the sea will claim another victim. The crew is already starting to deploy escape craft. The cannons must be on auto-fire, because as soon as one shell hits another is launched, be it Bullet Bill or a Banzai Bill. With how the ship is starting to burn and spin, this will probably be the last salvo from the airship. Still, that's another couple of dozen Bullet Bills and another Banzai Bill to worry about!      Sarracenia herself chases after Gaonoir, her raccoon tail flicking back and forth to propel her along. "You obviously wish some more of my hammer!" she exclaims, then comes spiraling in to add more power as she tries to smash Gaonoir with all her might and the heavy hammer. How does she even carry that thing?
Wo	Perhaps something in Yamashiro's words, or someone she mentioned, struck an uncomfortable chord. That normally, unsettlingly placid expression on FUSOU's face, while not quite panicked or confused, is somehow uncertain...yet, certainly angry. "Of all, I would have expected you, to understand me," she hisses, mid-grapple. It is only after Yamashiro takes advantage of her leverage and FUSOU's relative distraction, by planting a foot to flip her, that the battleship once again attempts to regain her composure. She draws herself quickly back up onto her voluminous sleeved arms, giving a light laugh, "Ah, I let my temper get the better of me. How unbecoming..." Except the part where it perfectly fits her current condition.     "Once I deal with you, those sorts of distractions won't exist anymore." Making a more concerted effort to remain within her mental control, which is actually quite a feat for the Abyssal kind on average, she resumes her own attacks. Closing in, she gives several palm strikes in a rapid succession, before moving in and imposing an elbow. Normally, they wear pads - which are more for the fighter's protection, than their opponents'. These are Abyssal elbow pads, though, and have jagged teeth-like extras. "It is a little sad that I will have to sink you, though. It's so nice to dance with you again, my sister."
Sanary Rondel	Still no shells or anti-air anything sent her way? Well, that's still falling in line with plan B, at least. Sanary draws in a long breath as she steadies herself in the air, keeping her energies focused as she redirects energy from the cloud towards her allies. If she can't draw the Fleet Daughters' (and their allies') attention as a decoy, the she'll just make sure her own have an unfair advantage until then!      FUSOU and Xiao aren't the only ones to get this healing and energy boost, though. As Sanary scans the battlefield, she notices that more Confederates are starting to get into the thick of things. Flying closer towards the battle proper, she directs a few more lines outwards to provide Yari, Crimson Sea, and Sarracenia with that same healing boost and direct access to her magic reserves.      Of course, with her energy split among so many people, the healer's already having some trouble focusing on much else around her even as all those green magic lines converge right on her.
Yuna Kagurazaka	And the mage is getting healed, to judge by the cloud and by the post-cloud lack of bleeding. ... Well, not that Yuna's *unhappy* that the Confederates have a healer on their side - it cuts down on the chance of hurting her too badly - but it makes things a lot harder nonetheless. "If you're curious about my equipment," Kagurazaka retorts, "why not just ask Takane about the set *she* stole off of me last time we met?!" Yeah, she's still a little upset about that. Xiao doesn't give her a lot of time to be upset, though; just the sight (and sound) of an invocation tells Kagurazaka to go evasive again. But it doesn't give her enough warning time to actually get clear; one of the ice spires actually drives into her right foot, and the blonde lets out a shriek of genuine pain. The blades descend at practically the same moment - And she goes under, vanishing into the cold depths, terror clutching at her heart even as the taste of the sea forces itself into her mouth, threatening to reach down her throat as well. But she won't be there for any follow-up; there's a brief flash, and then Kagurazaka simply *isn't there*, teleported away by Elner at something bearing entirely too much resemblance to the last second. It'll be a bit before she could try and rejoin the fight, anyway.
Nagato	The Airship is falling. The anti aircraft fire is working its wonders, more so when the amount of shells coming her way is reduced.. They still slam right into her, creating a few holes here and there above deck! "Nnngh, I'm hit, fires on deck!" And with more Banzai and Bullet Bills on their way, who knows how much more punishment the Flagship can take. This has already turned into a heavy brawl and it's far beyond the organized fleet battle. Then again, no plan survives contact with the enemy.     Speaking of surviving, the Obsidian Hammer's shells crash right into those aft turrets, the explosions from the shells rocking the boat and sending the back turrets exploding, wrecking the turrets and the ammo stores in her aft section. Nagato's firepower's been cut in half. There's a loud, echoing scream coming from the battleship from the damage that she's sustained. She's not listing, fortunately so her passengers (And the enemy boarder) don't have to worry about dropping into the ocean.     Meanwhile, Musashi's grin fades, the ship doesn't respond in the way she expected... the sound of souls... It's almost worse than the Abyssals. "You poor ship." she grumbles, only to get connected with that anchor, sending the super-battleship coughing and skidding along the water, blood dripping from the strike. "What the hell?" she coughs a bit, pulling herself back up with a scowl upon her face.     Then the Introductions start. "Second ship of the Yamato class super battleships. Musashi... I'm not pleased to make your acquaintence." she comments, taking a brief look at the white dressed 'admiral' looking person before her. "Such a disgrace on what you did to that ship. I think we're going to have a few... problems." the kachunk of turrets loaded, she doesn't even bother looking at the ship this time. Her true target... the Dread Pirate before her. "Sanshiki. FIRE!" and another twelve rapports of shells are sent off towards the dread pirate, exploding out into a massive quantity of hot shrapnel, magnesium and other not so nice things to flesh towards her. "Now sink!"
Shigure	Yamshiro flips up onto feet again with a fluid, practiced motion which belies her status as a Super Dreadnaught. She turns, just in time to get a series of palm strikes to her midsection, turning aside one or two before she backflips away from that elbow strike, barely missing those harsh teeth.     She gathers again, and with a report from one of her cannons, launches herself into a momentum-enhanced spin-kick aimed at her sister's head. "One shall come out of this still standing, Sister, and with every last ounce of strength I possess, it will /NOT/ be /YOU/!" she roars, firing another blank shell as she slams her first foot down, adding momentum into a high over axe-kick, trying to bring the elder sister down.
Gaonoir	The airship is leering and breaking, between the blast of energized tornado Gaonoir slammed into it and Nagato's own counterattack. The thing is still managing to sputter off some shots, even as the crew is ditching their... does it count as sinking even as it's falling out of the sky? Whatever, doesn't matter. But there's still the matter of Sarracenia trying to hound him, so Gaonoir can't spare the time to wind up another big attack to try and put a final nail in its oceanic coffin. This time, however, he is ready for her hammer. As the massive weapon swings towards him Gaonoir grabs the massive head in his large metal hands, using his own thrust to counteract Saccacenia's momentum. Which ends up looking more like a mid-air tug-of-war. "Cute, toots. But you gotta wait your turn." This is a bit of an odd turn for the previously only cares about himself warrior. But the Fleet, and his Tamer, and a few others have helped to get a few things through his thick head when it comes to supporting teamwork. Instead of striking back at his attacker, Gaonoir just keeps her stalled in their little lock of opposing forces while focuses on his tactical scanners. Where is that familiar ping, he saw it once befo -- Ah. Smart, when higher altitude. No wonder Staren didn't track him yet, even with the massive energy cannon blasts. Being essentially living programming does have it's perks, as Gaonoir is able to flash through the data from his visor's scanners as fast as any military super-computer and packet the telematry back to Staren.
Crimson Sea	Single visible eye closing, Crimson Sea holds one hand out to the side, "What, y'think /I/ built it? 's flatterin', lass, but I found 'er that way." She yanks on the chain dangling past her hand and the anchor lurches back up out of the water, interposing itself between pirate and furious warship just as the point-blank barrage goes off. Shrapnel striking the Burdon causes the same sort of tormented wailing, while shards that zip past it to either side shred the outliers of Crimson's officer's surcoat. Flecks of blood stain the white uniform as well, while she shrugs her way out of the jacket and discards it into the waves behind her.     Her hand snatches the chain just shy of the anchor's shackle and she wrenches it up in an arc behind her, spinning it on the chain with a great swooshing motion.     "That ship's older'n I am, y'know. Th' last great war produced 'er. Just as yer seein' now. Same war what built you, if yer claimin' that name an' title." Her head tips forward, obscuring her eyes behind the black visor of her officer's cap, "If somethin' like that bothers ya, why don't ya take it up wit' th' same empire--" Fingers tightening, she drops into a lower stance and hauls on the chain, bringing the anchor's steady spin into a new arc directed right into the side of Musashi's heavy rigging, "--THAT BUILT /YOU/."
Wo	She should never have removed that neat tengu mask. Then her beautiful face wouldn't have had to take the brunt of a kick from her sister. FUSOU's head snaps backward in a way that couldn't have been comfortable, especially with the resounding thwack of...well, it likely isn't bone inside there, but close enough. The main signature of damage is in how it physically sends small fractures radiating across her face at the impact. When she returns facing forward, the corrupted ship stares straight at Yamashiro, and seems to be in a state of shock.     "How could you do this, to your own sister," she says, holding her face at the point of impact. "It hurts..." She hesitates a moment, inwardly seeing if Yamashiro would actually respond to such an emotional plea, and would truly retain her resolve after seeing FUSOU in pain. Regardless of the outcome, however, it is a short reprieve, as she quickly closes any distance that might remain while the other battleship is hopefully caught off guard, hooking a strong jab toward the lower rim of her ribs, with all of her thundering weight behind it. "It - truly does." But not because of who was doing the wounding, but because she is now a little less perfect for it. She continues to stalk forward, perhaps even leaving herself a bit unguarded, in either confidence or contained anger. Even Sanary's glow can't soothe the kind of pain she's feeling, at the moment. ...     Meanwhile, the Abyssal fleet has truly arrived. The shots that have been able to be spared in their direction by the fleet and their allies have somewhat thinned their numbers by the time they make it to proper shelling range, but it isn't so much about them as what they've brought with them. Now that she's closeby, she lifts her arms high, which must require considerable strength considering the size of those claws she calls hands. With this motion, two spherical objects, glowing as though they were red hot, and steaming similarly, arise from the depths. These so-called Escort Fortresses hover next to hear, and begin to fire smaller versions of the same beams she herself could, though also much faster. It seems like leaving her alone, at this stage, would probably be a bad idea.     "You should have...not come here. Look what you've made me do," comes her thundering echo!
Xiao Li Yu	Xiao smiled in a rather infuriating manner at Yuna's growing anger, not actually rising to her emotions at all. Calm, creepy, and entirely calculative. As Yuna goes under, the scientist blinks and stops to observe the spot where the light cruiser had gone down.      "Hrm. Was that it?" ...Nah, no way. That was far too easy. These things are never easy. The flash of light is proof of that, and Xiao straightens up a bit. Her blades return to her, forming back into her other gauntlet around her arm. "Short range teleportation, is it?" She murmured, tilting her head a tad.      Interesting. No doubt she'd be back. In that case...      "Black Bane." Her body became covered in an aura of sickly darkness, originating from her heart and spreading outwards. She winced a bit, but went on. "Bio." Toxic looking flecks of green followed, mixing in with the darkness.      "And now..."      ...To wait. She smirked and remained floating in the air, arms folded in her sleeves as she casually veered here and there to avoid stray shelling meanwhile.
Lin	There's something decisively STRANGE about Lin's motions. Sure, one could say they're martial arts, a formal style. And they are. But that blade should have never cut through an umbrella, let alone pass through it and continue to inflict notable injury. And yet it happened!     Her movements are wild and one might say hasty, unrefined, even wasteful if gazed upon with a critical eye. Yet they're almost mesmerizingly smooth and uncannily effective.     No spells, no outright sorcery, everything she's doing is pure TECHNIQUE.     Pure technique let that simple steel blade cleave through an umbrella with ease.     Moving fast enough that image of her previous parry's not quite faded, she sweeps a foot about and reverses her stance into the onrushing Yari! Her sheathed weapon comes up to bat away the umbrella's tip.     Not fast enough!     Realizing a split-second too late that the danger's not over, Karal opens her mouth to yell in defiance but-- *BLAM!!*     The semi-deflected barrel's now pointed straight for a thigh. A thigh that's promptly shredded to ribbons. Shot tears through leather, flesh, and muscle. Shatters bone?! ... No. Bone fragments pelt Nagato's hull but surprisingly Lin's leg remains... intact?!     But the pain, such horrendous pain that caused! Agony flares on Lin's face. She trembles and shakes, but... doesn't go down. Instead she's grinning again.     "You're just full of tricks! But getting close to me..."     Something's changed about Lin's posture in these last few moments. The air of precision swordsmanship's vanished. Instead... Yari may feel that she's now standing next to an apex predator. Not just next to... but right where that predator wants her.     Tossing her sheathed weapon skyward with one hand, Lin reaches out with the other to grab at Yari's outstretched arm... and DRIVE HER NOW-FREED ELBOW straight at Yari's gut!     The assault quickly transitions into the bloodied warrior pressing forward aggressively, open-handed strikes raking for Yari like claws. Each swing bears terrific, savage force indeed. For where they miss Yari, they gouge claw marks in hull metal. Getting hit by the Striking Fury Claws is NOT a good idea!     "... WAS A BIG MISTAKE, ASSASSIN!"
Staren	Staren shoots at bullet bills with railgun slugs!     It's not very effective...     <<I don't get it! Those giant bullets... They explode like shells when /they/ want but not when I shoot at them! Anyone know how to take them down?!>> Staren shouts over the radio.     And then... He hears Yuna start drowning. The Star Hawk dives, nearly to the water before Elner announces she's been retrieved.     Oh, it is ON now.                           [Anti-Wireless Railgun 33%]                               Staren pulls up. <<GaoNoir, you there? Do you have any way to mark the target for me? Karal, can you keep the ninja away from me for a few moments if I land? I have a plan, but I need a clear shot!>> The Star Hawk lands on the deck in humanoid mode -- its right shoulder pack unfolding and expanding into a massive 'sniper rifle'-looking weapon. Staren aims it up. "I'll give him something to shoot at..."                           [Anti-Wireless Railgun 67%]                               The other shoulder pack opens again. It's missiles. They start ripple-firing out of the launcher, a stream of 20 guided projectiles shooting up into the sky and then turning to fly over the feds, targeting the distant Harbor Princess. These are slower, flying 'only' 500 miles per hour at top speed. If they get through, they get through. If the feds shoot some down, they're distracted. It's a win-win!                          [Anti-Wireless Railgun 100%]                               Thruster ports open, nozzles angle calculated to offset the upcoming impulse. Struts with additional stabilization thrusters extend from the massive gun, as well as cooling fins. Staren waits for the targeting data from Gaonoir, since Taro's so high up. As soon as he sees the marker, he moves the reticle over it and fires, his computers automatically compensating for wind and projected movement... This time, laser drills DO NOT drill into Nagato's deck for stability -- he'll have to hope she can keep steady. Stabilization thrusters fire to offset the recoil as capacitors in the base of the weapon dump gigajoules of energy into rails inside the barrel, creating a magnetic field that hurls the shell inside down the barrel at several times the speed of sound. Beyond the physical realm, enchantments layed upon the machine imbue the departing projectile with magic power to further enhance the accuracy and might of the destruction about to ensue.     If it hits, Taro is going to have a /very/ bad fraction of a second (possibly followed by a pretty bad 'until he gets repairs') as tremendous, magic-enhanced kinetic energy is dumped into him all at once, and then the device /inside/ the shell triggers, opposing elemental energies allowed to combine and blow apart the shell in a very short-lived but forceful tempest of eldritch fire, water, and steam!     Back on Nagato's deck, vaporized coolant sprays from exhaust ports across mecha and railgun in clouds of green steam for a full second before it moves again. Did he hit...?
Shigure	Yamashiro's heart isn't so cold as to be proof against such psychological assaults, and so she's caught off guard. The jab to her midsection doubles her over as she staggers backward, clutching at the impact point. Black marks cover her formerly white outfit, and she grunts in pain from the buckled superstructure after that hit. "That pain you're feeling... sister?" she offers, backing away from the oncoming elder sibling, almost like she were afraid. "Is /nothing/ compared to what you've made me feel!" she suddenly roars, and turns the retreat into a rush, aiming to body-tackle the other battleship, throwing all her weight into the motion.
Sarracenia	Without the heavy firepower of the ship, the fleeing piranha plant people make their way toward the shore. They might have abandoned ship, which has now hit the water and is slowly sinking, but the plant people themselves prepare to help in the defense of Darwin. They form ranks in front of her and start spitting fireballs into the air, trying to protect the installation from incoming missiles and aircraft. Of course, there are only about 100 plants, and they can only cover a limited area with any sort of effectiveness.      Sarracenia blinks in surprise as Gaonoir catches her hammer. "H-hey! Release the royal hammer at once, you vagabond!" she says, tugging on the hammer with surprising strength. Then, suddenly, she quickly spins in place, and that raccoon tail comes flailing in toward Gaonoir. If it hits him, it would be like getting hit with a sock full of old batteries swung at full strength. With their close proximity, that would be aimed at Gaonoir's side. "Take that!"
Yari Takane	Oh thank the Empire! And Confeds, as her seeping wounds are offered magical succor thanks to Sanary! The bleeding lessons, and she smiles almost to herself! But not quite! She has a proper opponent to deal with! Yari squints amidst battle! "...That'd be your own inability to sense sneak attacks, Yuna Kagurazaka. You really shouldn't complain!" Hisses Yari to Yuna! An apex predator? She's fought a few kinds of animals like that. Yari narrows her eyes, and she tries to react. But Karal isn't a simple animal, or a weak /target/! Only Sanary's healing magic keeps her in one piece! An elbow reaches, and then slams into Yari's gutt! The ninja spits out saliva and a not insignificant hodgepodge of blood, only for her to bring up her tail and both legs! The open-handed strikes are met by a flurry of leg-kicks and kunai-laiden slices from her tail even as the other woman's strikes carries her along Nagato's surface! Yari's teeth grit from the assault, and she takes two final strikes on her sides. Blood flees swiftly, but she makes several ninja seals! And then offers a pure bolt of fire towards Linh. The ninja slides from the fire of both aetherial power, and the effects of pure physical force from Karal. "Was it? Then kill me if it was such a mistake!"
Nagato	Nagato's damaged, what's more holes in her hull gonna do? Sink her? Let's just not find out. She'll keep herself steady for Staren to do his thing with her front two turrets spinning around slowly, four cannon barrels aimed towards Xiao. "You sunk my cruiser... You aren't going to leave here uninjured..." the loud noise of shells reloading fills the deck-based people's ears, sailing forward to get a better angle. "Sanshiki. FIRE!" secondaries also start firing with the rapport of four barrels firing off green-ish shells into the sky, only for those shells to explode and rain down shrapnel and magnesium towards the mage... and pretty much whatever else is in the air while secondaires just fire at anything enemy wise ahead of her.     Meanwhile, Musashi gets another good look at the Obsidian Hammer, "German ship." she comments, "At least you have a good choice in armored vessels, but you're the worst captain I've seen. Letting yourself fall to this darkness." with the shells striking some, Musashi goes full steam ahead towards Crimson Sea herself, her fist at the ready but with the anchor already on its way, hitting the rigging, it shatters one of the main turrets and sends the super battleship to the side!     Taking a page from Nagato's book, Musashi's turrets turn behind her as she turns herself around to try and rush down the Captain Captain again, two of the back turrets fire, sending her speeding along the water with the last turret firing at an angle, to send the woman into the air and into a rudder kick towards the Dread Pirate. "The only thing that bothers me is how you're using her..."
Taro	The blue indicator light snaps to blinking red, the humming whine of the rifle recharging starts up once more. Not that he can hear it directly - he switched off his audio receptors before his first volley on account of the noise of this discharge. His intended recipient will want to invest in hearing protection...     He catches an incoming energy signature - something strong, fast, and....if he were one to regularly curse, a very strong ephithet would go here.     He's slow to move at first, his oversized weapon and its tenous leverage on his shoulder prvents any of the usual areal acrobatics that Staren would be used to seeing. Still, he moves to jink to the side in an attempt to avoid it, though it does no immeidate good. The shell is still on target. Then, the rifle slids across his slim shoulder, the stock boxing his ear for his trouble. He tries to compensate, but it's too much, and he pulls himself further off-balance.     He finally chooses to ditch the heavy, awkward weapon, dropping it as he turns into a tight swoop...but too little, too late.     Taro's engulfed in a shockwave of kinetic force and magical energy. The ourter layers of armor are torn away and his left wing is shorn off completely, sailing away in one random direction.     Taro himself is left in an uncontrolled tumble of a fall, unable to catch himself with one broken and one absent wing, and still twitching uncontrollably from the rampat mana-energy dump in his delicate inner systems. Even if someone is able to catch him before he meets the water, it's clear his part in this battle is done.
Crimson Sea	"When ya got no choice, ya take what ya get," Crimson responds brightly. Wrenching on her chain, she recalls the anchor to herself and swings it upward, bracing it with both hands when Musashi's foot slams into it. The impact of steel shoe to soulsteel weapon causes another sorrowful moan vibrating through the weapon. Her grin is visible, her canines pronounced like fangs.     "I found this lass," referring to the ship steaming past behind her, "Rustin' on th' ocean floor. She an' I, we're two of a kind, y'see. So I gave her life again."     Pushing with her weapon, Crimson Sea takes another step forward, planting her foot on the rolling waves. Throwing off sparks, she wrenches her anchor away. Chain pays out of her sleeve and she slings her hand out with a twirling motion, sending the chain out in coils in an attempt to surround Musashi with several hoops. Only then will she grasp and yank on the chain to tighten it in an effort to entrap the battleship within the Drowning Shot.
Gaonoir	They are technically at war right now and on the opposite sides, so Gaonoir isn't going to feel too bad about helping get Taro shot down like that. He did warn him it was business only. Nothing personal. The tail slams into Gaonoir's side just after he's finished spotting for Staren. The blow is enough to break the digimon's grip on Sarracenia's hammer. Despite being in the air it looks more like he stumbles back a step from the hit than being knocked backwards by it. But that could just be something in the way Digimon don't always follow normal physics in the first place. -Technically- he doesn't fly with the jet engines after all, they're just what gives him exceptional speed. But a few good blows is enough to make it start to show, little breaks in the 'texture' of his body showing the murky digital blackness that composes most of his body. "Okay, NOW it's your turn." Gaonoir does a midair spin, resulting in one of his mechanical feet whipping around at Sarracenia in a roundhouse kick that Chuck Norris could appreciate.
Sanary Rondel	Sanary's attention is directed elsewhere for a moment as reinforcements arrive in the form of... A giant. The healer can't help but stare at the Seaport Princess in both awe and envy, although with things as they are? She can't let herself stay too distracted. She's got a job to do, after all, and as much as she hates to admit it...      ... Maintaining links to five people at once is incredibly difficult even with that boost from the Ethers she had downed earlier. She cuts the flow of energy to FUSOU, Sarracenia, and Crimson Sea for the time being, although they'll still likely feel the lingering effects of the regenerative magic even if they can't draw power from her any more.      Yari and Xiao Li Yu continue to receive healing and magical power from Sanary, however, as she focuses her remaining energies on maintaining their links to her. The light cloud surrounding Sanary has shrunk considerably, and she's drawing more power from herself now just to maintain the links. Some of that healing energy is sent towards the Seaport Princess, but without any sort of direct link to the healer. She needs to prioritize with her remaining reserves, after all!
Yuna Kagurazaka	Yuna is well out of whispering range, even for a cheating super-ninja like Yari, because she's currently coughing out the last of the seawater that found its way into her mouth while Jiina holds her, hovering in the air a couple of nautical miles away from the fight. "Uuugh .." "Your foot will need attention when we get back to base," Elner comments, "but once you transform, you should be all right for a few minutes. Ready?" Yuna wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. "I'm not sure 'ready' is the right word, but let's do it. Marina, I want you underwater, shadow me in case something goes wrong. Erina -" There's a flicker, then a flare of light, as Elner swaps Yuna's special light-cruiser outfit - from the naval accouterments to the fuku she wears underneath them - for the sleekly armored bodysuit, boots, and gauntlets of her Light Suit. "- let's combine!" Yuna finishes without missing a beat; Jiina lets go and flits away as Erina's form goes translucent and 'phases' over Yuna's form, gravity's grasp defied once the wireframe appears around the blonde. She remains hovering while the supplemental armor of Flight Form materializes and attaches itself around her; once the secondary transformation is complete, Yuna accelerates to her top flight speed, materializing the Matrix Divider in her hands and heading back into the battle area at slightly under the speed of sound. And as requested, Marina is following her underwater, prepared to support Yuna further - if needed. Yuna isn't even fully back into engagement range yet when she opens fire on Xiao Li Yu, focused bolts of concussive radiance tearing through the air as Yuna tries to shoot the magic-using researcher out of the sky. Apparently she's no longer worried about holding back - because for all the punch that Yuna's blasts carry, she's consciously restraining them below the point of injuring her enemies. Of course, if Xiao actually gets shot out of the sky, no amount of 'stun force only' consideration will keep her out of danger.
Wo	Another convenient thing about escort fortresses (and an example of game logic as canon), they can soak up some hits of their own. Radar detects the incoming missiles, and while they're slower than the last salvo, the time to react is also much lesser from this engagement distance. Directing the one on the right with her clawed hand, the floating, toothed sphere slips in front of her, its bulbous body acting as something of a shield against the missiles, while several (relatively) smaller caliber guns open fire on the rest. Some of the escorting destroyers also join in. The end result is that the escort destroyer is badly damaged, at least that is one might suppose from its badly crumpled hull, the sudden sickliness to its hovering, and that it isn't spraying out lasers at nearly such a high rate. The Seaport Princess, herself, isn't completely undamaged, her body and rigging showing signs of mechanical stress, but holding together. She closes her eyes for a moment, before the black-rimmed gaze fixes on the enemy again.     Then, those large launching apparatus come into play. Of course, even those would have to have teeth. Abyssal fighters and bombers, lifesized and more numerous than any carrier could hope to field, begin practically pouring out, like someone let loose the flood gate. They quickly join the Abyssal craft already in the air and, if the sun was out in this region, they would likely have blotted it out by now. "I told you, not to come...any closer!"     ...     Yamashiro bit on the bait. More PROOF that she is still too weak. ...yet, in a way, it wasn't a complete lie. There is a sort of strange sensation about it. Could it be that she was actually feeling a bit guilty, with how solidly she connected afterward? Impossible, such empathies died long ago, buried in this mission. "You still hold out hope, that some piece of that sister is still there, then," she says, actually not sounding amused or mocking, in this. Her face, rather than that almost taunting, serene smile, is dead serious. "I wonder if you'll truly be able to find out."     She was somewhat unprepared for how vicious, and quickly, Yamashiro would recover, however. FUSOU braces for the impact, but there is only so much one can do when their feet phsyically leave their standing surface, even if it is the water. All she can do is ride the wave of momentum to its end. ...well, there is still one thing she can do. In the middle of having her weight thrown around, she does whisper, "--let me embrace you, sister." Using her relatively free arms to return the hold crushingly, and trying to send Yamashiro, and herself, spiraling out of control in the attempted maneuver.
Shigure	Mechanical stress starts to show more prominently on Yamashiro's rigging, and her body for that matter. The crushing grip of the Abyssal Dreadnaught is marked by the low groan of metal complaining about stress damage... but she's not done yet. Even as the pair fall in that infinite moment, she replies. "I know she is in there somewhere." to FUSOU's assertion. "I will find her."     That inifinite moment comes to an end, as with a resounding explosion of displaced water, the two Dreadnaughts slam into the surface again. Yamashiro is thrown clear of FUSOU from the impact, and the spinning adding tortion momentum to throw her out of the engagement she was in.     She's losing consciousness fast now... but is still afloat. Her scout plane senses its mothership in danger and starts transmitting SOS protocols, and circles above the stricken Dreadnaught.
Lin	Lin frowns. No idea WHAT this weird healing effect Yari's got is, but it's not good, she's sure of that.     Lin, meanwhile, is in bad shape. Pierced with kunais, fried by electricity in the side, scorched by flames and pelted by glass shrapnel... only to them have her leg pulverized. How, exactly, she remains standing with wounds that would have killed a human like her three times over isn't so clear. She SHOULD be bleeding out at the very least, but... all of these horrible wounds have not managed to inflict such damage on her. Even the shredded leg is NOT BLEEDING ESPECIALLY MUCH. The initial spurts and a handful of blood more, that's all.     Maybe she looks worse than she is.     And that ever-increasing glow has something to do with it, no doubt.     Her breathing's ragged and uneven, racked with pain and a protesting body. But she staggers only for a moment in the face of the incoming flame. Lin crosses her arms...     "HRROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!" The guttural scream's not just of pain, but pure defiance and a declaration of violence to come. And it may just be the imagination... but the deep, snarling dissonance of a tiger's roar seems present in that.     The fireball slams into Lin, but she ENDURES. The flames engulf her, the force enough to knock her off her feet... but she DEFIES this injury with beastly fortitude. Her skin's scorched, her outfit smolders, but she doesn't flinch. Instead...     She takes the opportunity to use the flames as cover, like a cat hiding in the tall grass.     FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!     Flying in low, Karal pierces the wall of fire on Yari's side like a bullet shot from a gun, arms outstretched and fingers spread like claws. With breathtaking speed she closes that distance, her expression twisted into a ferocious frenzied rage...     And the assault continues.     Just as her tossed weapon once again lands on Nagato's deck with a WHUNK-CLANK, her hands strike out, those 'claws' aiming for wrists, for upper arms. They close like fangs to pierce and rip and CRIPPLE, inflicting injuries no hand should be capable of delivering!     "This enough killin' for ya?!"
Xiao Li Yu	"Hm?"      Xiao looks over at Nagato..or rather, the giant battleship she currently is, and blinks. "Oh dear." Well, there was only one thing to do for that. It was actually very simple. She cut the power to her thrusters, falling from the sky freely. And while in freefall, she removed her arms from her sleeves, gauntlets plating off of her until they formed a small legion of floating blades.      Those blades veered through the air, coated with corrosive poisons that impacted with any stray debris from those shells, keeping her from being harmed too badly, save for scratches and burns here and there. She'll manage.      HOWEVER, Nagato's fire left the perfect opening for Yuna to come blasting through the air, gunning right for her. Several shots punch right into her, and send her flying backwards. "Kh-!" Ow ow! Damn it! Were it not for SANARY's healing, she would have probably hit the water and drifted off. But instead, she powered her thrusters back on and stopped herself, shaking, wounded, but ultimately still here.      "You know, Miss Kagurazaka..." Xiao begins, smiling wryly. "...Your refusal to use lethal force is what's keeping you from truly beating me~" Her blades all came back to her, and with palms opened, she grasped two, of them, the others merging with them to form a pair of black and gold dual blades.      "Now, let me show you what lethal force actually is." Both blades were immediately coated in that same corrosive, debilitating, poisonous darkness, like a sickly aura that corrupted everything it touched. And then she burst forward, flying right for Yuna, veering left and right to avoid any errant energy shots...and then aimed to cleave into her with with a dual slash of poisonous, darkness coated swords.
Sarracenia	Sarracenia is struck just as soundly as she just struck Gaonoir, but unlike him she goes spiraling through the air toward the water. And without a running start, she can't start flying again! But, that tail waggles, and she does slow to a safe falling speed, heading back toward the island and her gathering of piranha plants. She lands among them, then looks to the sky as those many fighters and bombers are launched. "With how damaged the Unionites are, surely they won't be able to repel so many planes!" she says, grinning a bit.      Then, she directs her piranha plant soldiers at Gaonoir. Soon, the sky around him is filled with fireballs! And like the Bullet Bills, these explode on impact, though with much less power. More like having a molotov cocktail break on you.
Nagato	With the fighting seeming to end upon her deck, she gives a brief nod. "All fighting has seemed to stop on deck. I'm retreating from combat. Board the enemy ship and destroy it." she demands from her passengers, though with Yamashiro's distress call, she gets a couple of Kongou's crew to come in and recover her. She sighs audibly and slowly starts to turn about and retreat. "It's almost over..." she turns the turrets around, slowly. There's one last large thing that isn't the Princess on the sea that she needed to destroy....     The Obsidian Hammer.     It'll take her at least another thirty seconds for her to be in firing position... and that's a long time on the sea. Meanwhile, down below on the water itself Musashi's in combat with Crimson Sea still. "Two of a kind my turrets..." she mutters, "Admiral is turning around... she's going to sink your precious ship... and I'm going to sink you if you want to be two of a kind with her." Musashi herself goes for another punch towards the Dread Pirate but the chain manages to coil around the battleship, "WH...what sorcery is this?!"
Yuna Kagurazaka	"SHUGOSEIHEKI!!" Yuna dismisses the Matrix Divider as she calls out for her shield, and the Wall of the Guardian Star materializes with a flash on her left arm - just in the nick of time, the kite shield chiming under the impact even as Yuna's protective aura flares and crackles under the blades' impacts. "I know what lethal force is," Yuna replies, bracing her shield and maneuvering to block each of Xiao Li Yu's slashes. "I never needed the likes of you to show me something like that ... and I don't need your idea of 'truly beating you'. I don't want you *dead* ..." She flits back and away from Xiao, residual crackles of energy still flaring and arcing over her shield's surface. "... I just want you out of our way!" Yuna finishes - and her right vambrace pops open to reveal an array of pulse blasters, which she immediately aims at the mage-researcher, still 'fading' backwards but opening up on Xiao with a rapid-fire barrage of small but focused energy bolts. If the mage keeps trying to close in for a hopeful kill, she'll fly RIGHT into the teeth of that barrage.
Crimson Sea	"Ya like me Drownin' Shot?" Crimson Sea lifts a foot and plants it against Musashi, wrenching on the chain in her hand, drawing the loops tighter still, "I ain't no one-trick pirate, lass. If'n ya expected me ta fight /fair/, ya ain't knowin' what yer dealin' with!" Chain retracts into her other sleeve, until the anchor smacks into her waiting palm. Planting her foot, she yanks the chain again enough to turn Musashi, and points with her anchor at the retreating Obsidian Hammer, "Ya wanted ta sink that, aye?" Head dipping, the grin on the pirate's face grows sinister, "Wish granted. Take 'er down, Mister Keelhaul."     "Aye-aye, Captain," a voice crackles from a small radio bud in her collar.     Perhaps a bit hurridly, as Nagato is coming about with those big 41s, the black warship in the distance suddenly starts dipping in the water. It's subtle at first, at least until waves wash over the main deck. The guns rotate back to amidships positions just as they, too, start to disappear. The last thing to vanish is the tops of the radar masts, and before long the entire battleship is simply gone.     Single eye turning back to Musashi, wrapped in her chains, Crimson Sea fakes astonishment, "Where'd it go?!"     There's a clicking sound as her anchor detaches from the Drowning Shot, and she brings it around, affixing the anchor's shackle to the chain across Musashi's chest. With a laugh, she leans closer, "Would'ja like ta find out?"     And then Crimson Sea simply lets go of the Burdon of Injustice, and the anchor's insane weight makes itself very suddenly known.
Wo	As the other battleship comes to rest on the water, it's far from gracefully. She'd managed to shake Yamashiro loose, by doing something so reckless. It's just a token of how far she will go to finally feel complete, right? And yet, as she bobs up and down at the surface, and gives a glance toward her sister, being recovered and helped, she can't help but wonder -- if she was right, as the doubt begins to creep in again. Did she hold back? Did Yamashiro? "...I was, foolish," she coughs out a bit of oil. "I suppose, I will...have to let it go, this...time." With her own vision fading, and the force of the impact having smashed her considerably, FUSOU finally stops holding on, and slips back into the deep. The dreams will keep her company, as they had all those years.
Xiao Li Yu	"Ah, a shield. How quaint!" She spoke over the sound of her swords repeatedly impacting against that kite shield. "You say you know what lethal force is, but I don't see you using it!" After the last defended pair of slashes, the researcher knew better to push for the attack, and she decided to retreat right about then.      Just in time for her to get caught by that cluster of pulse blasts. "Tch-!" With blades crossed over, she defended against the worst of it, as the rest battered her already battered body. In the end, she lowered her swords as the smoke cleared, catching her breath as she stared forward at Yuna. "Hmmm..." One last deep breath, and then she shrugged carelessly. "Well, I believe my job here is done." Her swords folded, beginning to cover her arms and turn back into gauntlets.      "Any more would be foolish and perilous~" And with that, Xiao folded her arms back into her sleeves and smiled. "You would probably do something about that leg before you lose it too." A mischievous glint formed in her golden eyes then. "Ah, but if you want, we could have it amputated when replaced with a cybernetic! It would be quite grand!"      Xiao please.
Gaonoir	Gaonoir holds up an arm to use his gauntlet to shield his face from the barrage of fireballs being spat at him by some kind of plant... Which isn't so weird. He's seen plant digimon with fire powers before. Or exploding ones. A lot of them have exploding fruit or seeds or such, somehow. That and he's a bit busy trying to size up the glut of aircraft being spewed out of the Seaport Princess. Time for air support to actually be air support. To which instead of an attack he gives a sort of off-hand salute to Sarracena. "Sorry toots. You're just a cutie pie without your big bad gunship." Engines flare to raise him back up in the air, squinting at Seaport Princess behind his visor as he does so and she yells about not coming closer. "Sorry, I'm terrible at respecting boundries." There's already an electrical buzz in the air, so it only starts to get more noticable as Gaonoir taps into one of his more invasive abilities. To the point that sparks of current arc between his fangs as he starts to open his mouth, the thrum getting sharper and sharper as he builds up channeling his most disruptive technique. "HOOOOOOWLBACK CANNOOOOOOOON!" The blast that erupts from the big bad jetwolf is like a massive electrimagnetic burst going off, except instead of a bomb it's focused into a screaming beam of high-output electromagnetic waves hurtling towards the Seaport Princess, many arcs of ionizing current crackling around the stream of power.
Staren	Staren sees the explosion, and something falling in the distance. Excellent! He grins. As Nagato asks him to get off the deck, the sniper railgun folds back up and he takes off, returning to hybrid mode and engaging the abyssal aircraft, the plane-with-wings shooting its other two railguns at them, hopefully to more effect than against the bullet bills. He's used all his big guns now, so hopefully what he has left will suffice for this!
Yuna Kagurazaka	Gauntlet swords? Now *THAT* is interesting; Yuna makes a mental note to pass the idea on to Lloyd or somebody. If Xiao Li Yu is going to go and be all kinds of proud about her accomplishments, she really shouldn't complain if somebody steals an idea like that. But there are other matters which require her attention - and cybernetic legs aren't among them. Her foot is throbbing rather painfully, making Yuna *very* glad she's airborne and can remain airborne more or less indefinitely, but it'd still be best to help finish this battle sooner rather than later. Xiao's enthusiastic endorsement of amputation and prosthetic replacement is answered primarily with a withering look, "If it comes to that, I have plenty of friends in the Union who could help me out - and who haven't upset me the way you've been trying to." Then the blonde flies away ... or at least, away from Xiao Li Yu. (Elner is close enough to help watch Yuna's back now; if Xiao goes for skulduggery, Yuna will be forewarned.) She's still flying TOWARDS the Seaport Princess, and Jiina materializes next to her with a blink of light. "Jiina, Marina," Yuna says quietly. "Let's give it all we've got ..." And as soon as the three reach optimal firing distance, they begin doing exactly that. Dismissing her shield for the attack run, Yuna blasts away with the Matrix Divider and both sets of pulse blasters; next to her in the air, Jiina has manifested the independent form of hre beam cannon and is strading the Abyssal boss with intermittent but high-powered blasts. Below them, Marina launches several minitorpedoes to help degrade the Abyssal princess's defenses even further, then turns away and makes haste back out of the area; she doesn't want to get counterattacked if she can avoid it.
Nagato	Musashi makes a groan as the Drownin' Shot is pulled tighter against her, in addition to the foot being planted upon her, she makes a very angry looking face. She can't even get her turrets to round to fire at Crimson Sea. "You evil woman." she comments, only to look back as the battleship starts sinking... "What in... what about your crew! Are you MAD?!" Musashi struggles against the chains and she scowls and tries lashing out towards the Captain, though being bound has its downsides.     More so when the anchor drops and the insane weight starts to drag the battleship down. She can't even go into ocean fitout without damaging a few things around, like her Flagship. Nagato, however, has turned around enough that she can train her guns on the... oh wait, where the hell did it go? Nagato's not equipped with depth charges at all, she can't attack something that's sunk... but there's something right there she can fire at. and the rapport of four turrets send solid shot shells towards Crimson Sea, there's an anger in those shells, a deep hatred towards Nagato's enemies that comes crying out when the shells are fired... and it's here, she hopes she can not only take out the Dread Pirate, but rescue her second in command.
Crimson Sea	"HAA HA HA HAR! Ya still ain't gettin' it, are ye?" Crimson Sea revels in Musashi's struggling against the Burdon, as it pulls down on the chain tangled around her, "Well, I ain't explainin' it ta a dead woman." The Obsidian Hammer is, after all, simply submerged like a submarine due to crazy Exalted shenanigans. Not actually sunk. Though it may be a bit more horrifying from the perspective of a living battleship.     Then again--     The rumble of distant guns distracts Crimson Sea from her thoughts and from the game of tormenting the ship in front of her. She glances up, processing the plumes of smoke from Nagato's gun turrets.     Aimed directly at her.     "...Oh--"     Explosions hurl up shrapnel, water, and flame in the immediate vicinity of Crimson Sea and Musashi. A heartbeat later, a blackened shape shoots out in the opposite direction, trailing a black chain. Around when the figure hits the water, the chain fully leaves the smoke cloud, an anchor affixed to the far end, but no horn-haired super-heavy battleship girl. By the time that anchor hits the water, the seared body has already submerged, fate uncertain.
Sarracenia	"I am not a -just- a cutie pie!" Princess Sarracenia exclaims from down on the ground. Her piranha plants keep firing, but she isn't idle either. She digs in her purse and pulls out...a bomb! A typical burning fuse type that is often seen in video games. She winds up, then throws it with all her might toward Gaonoir! And she is surprisingly accurate, even at this moderate range. "Stop hurting this poor giant princess!"
Wo	The Seaport Princess doesn't relent. She has her pride as both a princess class Abyssal and an installation on the line. The coastal batteries once again blast raw emotional energy across the sea, because parabolic trajectories are for lesser beings. Yet, when she begins to have more fire focused on her, as her allies begin to peel away, it isn't anger that crosses her face. Instead, it almost seems to be shock, and betrayal, that they would turn and bare their fangs at her. "Why did you come here," she demands, in that echoing voice that easily carries over the sea, now? "This is our home! Wouldn't you defend yours, the same?" She visibly winces a little, each time Staren gets the better of one of her fighters or bombers -- though they're returning the fire as best they can, surprisingly maneuverable craft that they are.     Blasted further by a beam of intense radiation, she gives a scream of pain; it doesn't seem to cause much superficial damage, but that's probably because of what's cooking *under* the armor. It almost completely distracts her as Yuna comes in to make her attack run, but not quite enough -- while the torpedoes and blasts score solid strikes against her armor, it still leaves her enormous claw free to try and swipe or grab at her assailant. Those things aren't just for show, you know. Still, war is an often chaotic thing, with unexpected results; sometimes, even in your favor.     What had seemed to be fairly inconsequential strikes turn out to be a bit more, as the damage had piled up, sight unseen, beneath her armor and within her battered but outwardly intact rigging. It begins with a rattling, and then an enormous explosion issues, probably from an internal storage magazine. Ah, the pitfalls of taking all of your high explosives with you at all times. "--n-no, stop! At this rate, my body will--!!" With half of her rigging heavily damaged as a result, and her capacity to launch or even retrieve her planes compromised, she begins moving away, counting on the yet-heavy concentration of Abyssal battleships, and the remaining Escort Fortress, to cover her retreat. With nowhere to return to -- the Abyssal carriers, also beginning to retreat, only have so much space -- the plane cover also begins to fade, as they slowly run out of fuel, and options, having to ditch themselves into the water.     It seems...it's over, at least for some indications of being over. A strategic asset proved more important than victory.
Gaonoir	To her credit, Sarracenia does keep catching Gaonoir when for whatever reasons he's focusing on something bigger and more important. Her throw doesn't quite make it to him, but that's the beauty of explosives, isn't it? It doesn't have to directly HIT a target. It still explodes, and that blast wave is enough to knock Gaonoir out of the air. There's a loud splash, and a few moments later the battered Digimon comes back to the surface. Having devolved to his lower but more durable Adult form to survive the impact with the water. "Ugh. Erika is gonna bitch about the wet dog smell," mutters the Gaogamon as he starts dogpaddling (haha) back towards the rest of the Fleet.