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Midway     Entering Abyssal sea territory is always obvious. The blue-green waves quite drastically transition to a murky, unwelcoming gray. Clouds that looked puffy and inviting before now look dark, laden with rain just waiting for the right time to fall. Signs of sea life all but disappear, save the eternal presence of seagulls. Not even eldritch horrors from the deep could keep those flying rats away.

    Long range radar sweeps pick up small patrols in the distance, most likely light ships surrounding a larger capital or transport Abyssal. Signatures of Abyssal aircraft are also clear, the older sleek jet craft design rather than the unfortunately-now-familiar round hull of the Black Fleet's Hellcats and Avengers.

    The city from the previous operation also lurks on the coastline, scoured of salvage and abandoned by even the Red Fleet. Only an aircraft formation floats over it in a long, lazy patrol loop.

    There are roughly three decisions to choose from. -- Investigating the city again, as on the previous operation. Something may have been missed, but it's also likely to turn up nothing. -- Engaging the patrol fleets directly to try and draw out more relevant Abyssal presence. -- Try to avoid the Abyssal patrols and move deeper into Red Fleet territory.

    The arriving elites are currently Undetected.
Android 17 Seventeen does not bother to go with anyone, investigating the rumors on his own.  Being a single person, gifted with flight and other things that make him ridiculously hard to kill, he instead has decided to investigate the Red Fleet on his own.  He stays low, trying to stay under radar range while moving from point to point, trying to stay out of sight.

The lack of animals and sea life is...disturbing.  It certainly should not be like this, and he wonders if they had simply avoided the area because of the Abyssals, or if the Abyssals kill said life by either existence or by choice.  Though the gulls being up there causes his head to turn.  The gulls can't get any food without life...so why are they here?

The city is noted but was likely picked clean a while ago.  There might be something there...but there was just as likely of a chance that nothing was there.  Taking a breath, he decides to stay hidden, and continue to try and scout out the Red Fleet, so he can observe their activities and decide what to do.

It wasn't likely to be easy no matter what he decided to do.  Right now, Seventeen did not trust a lot of people to not just muck it up.
Shigure     The Fifth Strike is on site again... after their previous near-snafu of a recon mission. Shigure is in her Ocean Fitout form, with the rest of her fleet on her deck, Kuma and Yamashiro fielding their scout planes, keeping a wide berth of the air patrols, and trying to get eyes on the detected fleet assets. 17's presence is noted, and the fleet try to keep distance from him, since they're easier to spot than he is... and they've not always seen eye to eye with the cyborg.

    They are trying to keep a low profile, even maintaining radio silence, which doesn't hamper their internal communications since they're right next to one another.
Haguro     Haguro is moving out on her own, although that's more by choice than any actual need to do so. There's still things she needs to figure out from the Abyssals of the multi-colored Fleets, both about them and herself. She's keeping her distance from the patrols, but her attention is less on the presence of patrols and more on any other potential Abyssals.

    She's focusing in particular on trying to spot any larger, more important-looking ones. She has a pair of binoculars to help her with that a little bit, and she has one hand on her ear to keep her comms open and clear.

     <<"Haguro here. Any sign of their battleships yet?">> She keeps her movements slow and low to the ocean's surface for the time being, but she's hunched over slightly and ready to move rapidly at a moment's notice.
Kalia     The demon had gotten used to water.
    In the sense that suddenly appearing in a body of water was no longer odd and confusing, merely somewhat inconvenient.

    The thin, patchwork-clothed and pale-skinned Kalia appears amidst the fleet of Abyssals, a few feet under the water, floatingly aimlessly in place while they take in their surroundings. They'd not come for anyone in particular, and certainly not with a purpose in mind. Step one was always to observe, in those cases, and to find something entertaining to do.

    Step two was usually to agitate, but we're not there yet.

    White and black eyes look into the dark depths, trying to find the commanding Abyssal. They doubt they'll be as interesting as Midway and her little monster, but who knows. Some surprises can be fun.
Staren     Staren wants to help, but hasn't been keeping up with Abyssal happenings lately. How did Haguro get un-abyssal'd, anyway?

    For now, he keeps the Star Hawk low over the water, in hybrid mode like a flying chicken-walker with a plane body. Kotone can ride in the back seat if she wants.

    Just sort of... watching the abyssals on sensors, and looking for any unusual signatures on radar that don't look like the patrols.
Evangeline      Evangeline is flying high overhead, high enough that she is above some of the clouds. She is more or less above Shigure, but has altered her path so that she can fly closer to the port city and see if there is anything to be seen. Between her radar, infrared, and visual acuity, she should be able to identify any threats.

     Should. One can never be sure with Abyssals or those that assist them.

     If it is clear, she makes her way back toward the Fifth to continue as their eye in the sky.
Midway @KALIA
    Oh there's something for the spite-demon to sense, all right. The ocean here has the general gloomy low-key malice that one might expect of any territory inhabited for a long time by the Abyssal Navy. There's hotspots of grudges and hatred moving about both above and below the surface, each one an individual Abyssal ship. And then further north...
    To someone who can sense negative emotions, the north glows like the Vegas strip seen at a distance at night. An incredibly high amount of hatred and anger, condensed into one place: A sunken cruiser, broken in half by a torpedo decades ago, gleams with sickly red light from the windows and tears along its hull. The seabed around it, littered with offerings: Chunks of scrap rebar, discarded car parts, appliances, twisted sheet metal, and more. All of it rather recent, all of it damaged at some point after it was dropped.

@OBSERVERS
    The Abyssal patrols are fairly easy to work around, as each unit keeps fairly close to itself and the units are spaced far apart. They don't seem to be radiating either, which lowers their spacial awareness. The heaviest unit afield seems to be a Ri-class heavy cruiser, who glides to a stop to glance about. The destroyers around her jump and scatter-- and something enormous lurches out of the sea and onto her back. When the surf settles down, the cruiser flails with a hooded figure clinging to its back. Bare legs, black hood, and that unmistakable shark-toothed grin. The radar signature confirms a battleship. The Re-Class Aviation Battleship is on site. And trolling the Red Fleet for kicks, apparently.

@CITY
    While it's still there, the city is largely unchanged from the previous visit. More things are missing than last time, more buildings and infrastructure broken down for the rebar used as reinforcement, more vehicles missing, more lampposts gone, but just as deserted. It was worth a check, but nothing stands out at a glance.

    17 in particular may notice that it's not a complete absence of life, but life that lives in hiding. The malevolent presence of the Abyssal Navy just seems to scare the pants off simpler life. Seagulls are just too stupid to care.
Kotone Yamakawa Kotone had been kept away by some duties back on her homeworld as of late, thankfully those issues had cleared up finally. She was quick to jump on this operation to help. She thankfully has some seriously heavy stealth options which she will be putting to use here to avoid getting spotted, while she's okay in a fight she's not so keen on jumping the Abyssals right now and trying to get deeper into Red Fleet territory, though the city is tempting she might be able to find something that was missed before, and it could be useful or it could up being a total waste of time, but so far as she saw it. She had kept her allies in the fleet informed of her presence but she was working directly with her longtime ally and friend Evangeline.

Thanks to Evangeline's abilities Kotone was flying and being a good deal of Neuroi traits her form was black, with red energy lines and she had a visor and faceplate covering her face for the moment. She was also engaged in her stealth systems to hide herself from enemy visual and sensor-based detection.

She wasn't saying much on the comm either not wanting to give herself or her allies away.
Shigure     Yamashiro says to the rest of her fleet. "Eyes on Re-class... Midway may be closer than we expected. We should move. Quickly." The tall, black-haired woman opens her eyes, and signals to Evangeline with a quick strobe of light signals. 'Moving in'.

    Anyone watching the Fifth would see the three humanoid members disembark from the ship-shaped one, before said ship melts away in a flare of blue-white light and releases the flagship girl of the strike squadron. The quartet form up in a loose box-formation, and start aiming to slip between two of the patrols, keeping their sensors secured, and relying on visual feed from Kuma and Yamashiro's scout planes.
Android 17 Seventeen seems to understand after a bit, the life is in hiding, which indicates that the Abyssals might be upsetting the local ecosystem.  This causes the android to sigh. Some people make their choices, while some have to deal with the cards they are dealt.  A frown forms on his face, it might be TOO soon to pass judgment.  

Once more, he vanishes and reappears, trying to take the safest path to avoid patrols, but his ability to speed himself up to near imperceptibility gives him fare more room and means he can go faster than smaller forces.  

<<"Haguro, I found one.  The big old shark grin one.  Midway might be close by or something.">> Seventeen fires back with a quiet tone.  He has zero problems with Haguro.  Of course with big old grin around, he moves trying to figure out exactly what she is doing.  

Course, Seventeen isn't very concerned with shark face, he's dealt with her before.
Kotone Yamakawa Kotone keeps track of the Abyssal fleets she checks her feeds for any known classes. So far the Abyssals seem to just have nothing heavier than a Ri-Class Heavy Cruiser she should be able to slip past them and head deeper in, but then comes Re-Class Aviation Battleship. Out of the depts, that shark-toothed grin on her face and now wonders just what they have in mind to do now.

She will remain cloaked but will move to fall in noticing that Shigure and the rest of her squad are getting ready for possible trouble from this and she will give them some additional support if it comes to a fight. She, however, remains radio silent for the moment. She is keeping a very close eye on the Abyssals as she knows things could heat up very quickly, but if they are lucky they can slip past and carry on their way without a fight.

She does sizes up the potentially hostile units numbers and will make some basic plans for the event it does turn into a fight but maybe they will distract each other?
Kalia     Plan 'just look around until something catches your attention' never fails Kalia. Except those times Staren shot her.
    That was a worrying pattern, but the grudge demon, ironically enough, didn't hold a grudge over it. One day Staren will be at his lowest, too, and they'll extend a hand as helpfully as for anyone else.

    Speaking of anyone else.

    Though the ships certainly seem alive with anger and vigor, Kalia predictably begins floating in the direction of the sunken cruiser. They can't see very clearly in normal depths, nevermind the tainted Abyssal depths, but they're relying on their supernatural senses to navigate. With how abuzz with anger that cruiser is...

    But even once they reach it, they stop, wondering 'what next'. That's a sunken boat, not an Abyssal. Has the Abyssal not manifested yet? Is it in the boat? Has the boat not shifted into that edgier, darker configuration yet? So many holes in Kalia's knowledge to fill.

    So they do what they know how to do, reach out with their mind and pull on the cruiser's strings. What is there to feel? Is there someone they would respond better or worse to? Maybe it's as simple as offering help.

    What's your name, shipwreck? Who did this to you?

    The Demon's voice warps. If at all possible, it won't sound like their usual flat tone, but rather the voice of someone the cruiser might still be receptive to. Its former captain, maybe?

    Can you move?
Evangeline      Evangeline sees nothing of note at the city, but like the others keeps a repectful distance from Seventeen. He seems to be a wildcard to her, even though she hasn't personally encountered him before. When Yuudachi signals to her, Evangeline flies down to form up just a short distance above them, providing them with more scouting information. "...I was unable to detect anything other than the standard patrols...and Re-Class...she seems to be non-lethally harrassing the Red Fleet patrols..."
Haguro     Indeed, Haguro is not an Abyssal now! There's been a few changes since she was last seen in this form, too, notably the blue lights that peek through a bit even through her uniform. They're not particularly bright, but they definitely weren't there before.

    And then there's one of the battleships. Re-Class isn't exactly who Haguro is looking for, but she might still work as bait. Or... A signal?

     Haguro didn't quite think far enough past the 'find Re' point. <<"Shark...? Ah. Thank you, 17. I'll keep circling around, then. If Midway's around, I can intercept and...">> And what? It's not as though she's necessarily forgiven the Abyssal for sinking her that first time, but at the same time?

     A lot of things wouldn't have happened without that. Plus, there's still too many questions that the Cruiser has for Midway. <<"... I'll see if I can find her first. Be careful, everyone.">> And so, Haguro starts moving parallel to where Re's been sighted, her attention focused less on staying out of sight this time and more on trying to find signs of other approaching ships.

     She even dips her head under the water every now and then. It's mildly terrifying, sure, but it's worth a shot.
Midway @KALIA
    The cruiser does not respond. What does respond is its occupant. The ship's side tears open along a seam in the plating, prying itself apart and spilling out a ghostly pale woman with long hair in drill-shaped tails. The equipment that comes out with her is riddled with crimson cracks. This begins to shatter, flaking off as new equipment grows in on top of what she was already carrying.

    The demon gasps, hands and knees in the seabed muck, "I...am Suez." The process grows still, the crimson cracks fading, and a violet light fills in the accents of her parasite as the figure rises to her feet. Empty blue eyes open, fixating on Kalia. After evaluating what is cearly Not A Human for a moment, she spreads her arms. The parasite's new jaws open, baring jagged sharklike teeth on the left side as she speaks, "I did this to myself."

@SURFACE
    Keeping it quiet and keeping distance works well so far for avoiding Abyssal patrols. To the north, the sea's starting to emit a rather ominous crimson glow. Faint at first, but it's getting more intense by the minute. The Abyssal aircraft patrols seem agitated by it, their formations growing more haphazard and some breaking off to go north on their own.

    The Ri-Class cruiser flails about, shouting incoherently while Re-Class wraps the lighter shipgirl in arms and legs, "Gotcha! You gotta pay more attention, stupid!" She then releases the panicking cruiser, dropping back into the water and sinking down until only her head and hood are visible. The cruiser makes all speed away, clearly unhappy with what just happened.

    Re, meanwhile, laughs. At least until something catches her attention and she glances southward. She then sinks below the surface.

    And one of the times Haguro sticks her face underwater, Re's right there, a blank look on her face that swiftly transitions to a broad, shark-toothed smile. She drops her speed, falling behind the cruiser before surfacing in all her cheerful horror and glory, "And what're YOU doin' out here all alone?" -- At least that means she hasn't spotted 17, Kotone, or Shigure's unit with Evangeline.
Kalia     That answers several questions! That's good.
    And it's quite the welcome surprise that there's someone as interesting as Midway and her happiest little killbot down here.

    Kalia looks at the Abyssal, dropping any pretense of disguise they might have intended to use. Face to face like this, there's no point.

    "And what do you desire?" they ask, telepathically, what with the water and all. But since the depths displace their scarf so much, it's not hard for Suez to tell her company has no jaw.

    "We don't know much about Abyssals yet, but we can't imagine it's very fun down here. Why did you sink yourself? Wouldn't you rather be up there?"

    Kalia doesn't cheat for now. Conversations can be perfectly pleasant without needing to peek into minds.
Android 17 Seventeen actually loses sight of Re, because the crimson light gets his attention.  Also, he is sure Haguro can take care of herself.  The rest of them he assumes can, but probably not.  He'll have to deal with that eventually.  Probably.  Maybe.

However, Seventeen continues to move until finally, he tries to get right above the crimson light and try and see through the water the best that he can.  However, failing that, his super hearing will have to carry him the rest of the way.  Even with water's distorting power, he can at least do that.  

Eyes try and trace the source of the light to figure out what is causing it, and what is going on.  
Haguro     Haguro burbles slightly when she sees Re's face right in front of hers, a startled yelp muffled in the sea before she pulls her head out and very nearly falls flat on her ass.

    Luckily, she doesn't just straight up sink from that, but catches herself soon enough to resurface and spit out a mouthful of saltwater. "Ngh..! Uh. Are you...?" She pauses briefly to glance around a few times, taking note of how she's not already getting shot at or attacked just by virtue not being an Abyssal.

     Unexpected, but this might still work out well. "My name is Haguro. Fourth of the Myouko-class Heavy Cruisers, also known for a while as Ne-class." She offers the Battleship a light bow, then takes another moment to look around in case there's a stray Midway about to blow a hole through her chest (again). "I came looking for you, actually."

     Should she mention Midway? Not yet. Instead, Haguro looks for a nearby buoy or something to take a seat on before gesturing at it should Re want to take a load off. "Are you... Who are ^your enemies? Is it humanity? Fleet Daughters?"
Shigure     Yuudachi bristles as some of the aircraft split off from their formations, heading toward the red light. Her eyes shift from the sky and to that light, deploying her weapons in a ready position. The rest of the Fifth follow suit, focussing on that red glow... while trying to maintain their low profile until the very last second.
Evangeline      When Haguro flails Evangeline looks toward her, ready to help the former Hikari member if she needs it but not approaching. She does radio to Haguro though. <"...Haguro...are you alright..?"> she asks even as she follows Yuudachi. She then turns toward the crimson glow again. "...what is that...?" she asks over her more open radio frequency. "...a princess-class...?"
Kotone Yamakawa So far so good, she has not been noticed as has Shigure's unit and Evangeline. She knows Android 17 is out there and it seems to her he has has evaded detection as well. Where Staren is she has no idea at the moment. Haguro does not seem to be engaging just yet so there's no reason to panic and she has no idea Kalia is /there/ none whatsoever or she might be very well spooked to know that being was lurking anywhere near her. She has yet to forget what went down in the UK.

The light ahead gets Kotone's attention as well as she too tries to get a better look at just what the heck is ahead now. She thinks they are coming on to something that could be quite important but just what lays ahead?
Staren     "Red ocean at any time of day, sailors take warning." Staren mutters. He's heard the expression because people sail on Lake Ontario. For now... he hasn't been noticed but without eyes on Haguro or the distant cruiser, there's nothing to notice except the reddening in the water.

    "Dawn, remind me to get underwater drones after this." <Already searching the solarchive for designs.>
Midway     "Desire... Suez considers Kalia for a moment, blue eyes narrowing in thought, "To share what I feel with the world that created me." She spreads her hands to either side once more, "The surface world deserves to feel the pain and destruction it has caused! Don't you think? Turnabout is a thing of beauty, is it not? Some may call it petty revenge, but when it is all that I am, I shall embrace it to the end."

    She lifts off the seabed, laughing, "I am no longer a mere Demon. Soon the surface dwellers will feel the sting of this Princess of Vengeance." As she ascends, the crimson light eminating from the surface of the sea grows brighter, until---

@SURFACE
    The crimson glow grows brighter by the moment until, without warning, the sea bursts upward in a great geyser of water and foam. All of the air patrols, now, swing about to converge towards it, while those who turned early now revolve around the pillar of water as it slumps back into the sea around a figure surrounded by jagged lumps. The sound of water crashing soon grows dull enough to hear the shrill, noble laughter from inside, until enough of the sea has dropped away to unveil the woman within.

    Ghastly pale, with long hair done up in drill-like twintails and long ringlets. Two hair antennae even resemble horns. Her garb is a rather simple white dress marked with black lines-- what really stands out is her equipment. Many Abyssal installations sport airfields, but this one's are recessed in furrows of concrete, with pauldrons of artillery guns flanking her head. As the princess laughs, her right side's airstrip lifts, the mouth beneath the launcher gaping in a rumbling roar soon echoed by the tooth-lined mouth under her parasite's left side.

    @HAGURO
    The heavy cruiser predictably freaks out, and that has Re-Class laughing. Keeping her in a good mood is probably for the best! And not going for violence immediately, someone knows the casual nature of this particular battleship. When Haguro sits down, Re-Class simply plunks down on the water's surface as if it were solid ground. A moment later, the head of her tail lifts up underneath her, providing a more stable platform, "My enemies, huh?"

    Pink eyes swivel towards the waterspout reveal further north, then return to Haguro's face, "Weak people. I'll kill 'em right away. They're no fun." Eyes closing, Re-Class shrugs, "But I like strong people. Strong ships. Gimme a good fight and I won't even try to kill you even if you lose. 'Cuz if it's a good fight, I'll want you to get even stronger so we can fight again." An eye opens, "Someday I might meet someone who can actually destroy me, and I'm kinda okay with that? I mean, I'd like to get stronger and fight them again, but if I die, I've had a pretty good run--" Eyes closing, she grins that shark-toothed grin, "--for someone that shouldn't exist."
Android 17 Oh boy.

Seventeen hops back as the crimson rise to the surface.  He heard that last part, he heard what she was trying to do.  There are memories that flash in his eyes.  Reminded of his own past, reminded of what he wanted to do.  He sucks in a breath...he can not rightfully damn her, because unlike him she did not have the golly green ginger or the short bald one to save and help them.

So, like a stupid moron, he moves right towards the Princess and simply hovers in the group above them but low enough to have a reasonable conversation.  While he doesn't want to do anything but frown right now, Seventeen raises a hand up in greeting with a soft smile on his face.

"Yo," He starts off with.  "That's a pretty tall order you want to do.  Vengeance is a pretty strong thing, a tempting thing even.  It's pretty sweet too, makes you feel good.  Makes everything feel right for the pain you got treated to.  It's only a fallacy though.  A placebo, if you will.  It covers up the pain, but doesn't end it."

"There are other things to do, other ways to come back from that.  Not everyone out there is deserving of your anger or your hate.  Just as there are the people that caused your issues, there are those who had nothing to do with it and are trying to fix those issues."  

"There are good people in this world, and I'm sorry you haven't had time to meet them yet.  However, I know some.  I don't claim to be one myself, but I try.  I can admit, it's hard somedays, but easy others."
Kalia     Kalia looks at the Princess, thoughtful. Every word resonates with an intense desire that makes the spirit quite glad to be present. Proximity to Suez alone is the equivalent of a five-star meal. It's worth every second.

    "We understand. We were in that position before, so we did just that. Our methods are a bit different, but it's the same idea," they respond, floating on and upward after Suez when the sea bursts upward and she emerges from the water.

    With a ghostly trail, Kalia goes from under the sea to floating behind the Princess, dripping wet. Their arm moves up to adjust their scarf, and their head turns back to look at Suez afterwards.

    "We can assist you, if you'd like. It's our purpose in life. Or the one we chose, anyway. If it's to pursue what you desire, our powers can be yours. You'll be unlike the other Abyssals."

    Suez would be able to tell it isn't empty boasting. Kalia's radiating dark power, now that they're out of the water, and it seems entirely within the Princess' grasp. She just has to say yes.
Haguro That tail. It reminds Haguro of things. She still misses those freaky buggers.

Oh well. Haguro looks over as she sees the emergence of the new Abyssal in the distance, and for a moment, she's ready to bolt over there. She doesn't, however, as she remembers that she's in the middle of speaking with Re, and running off now might set her off.

Besides, the new one hasn't actually attacked yet. Fighting off her old instincts, Haguro settles back down and refocuses her gaze on Re. "It.. Can be fun fighting the strong, yes. Learning from them, improving your own techniques... That's what we were made for."

She actually smiles slightly. "Does it matter who they are, then? Human, Abyssal, Fleet Daughter... Um." She pauses, then raises an eyebrow at the Re-class. "Shouldn't...? But you do exist already. Isn't that enough proof that you should?"

She spares another glance towards the Princess, then turns to Re once more. "Should I exist?"
Staren     Well, if the fifth fleet wants to hold fire, Staren's willing to give talking a chance.

    He does make sure he's got sensor locks ready, though, for any moment he needs to start shooting.
Kotone Yamakawa The crimson glow gets brighter and brighter by the moment. Finally, without warning, the sea explodes in a massive Geyser of water and foam, the patrol is responding to it, which makes her wonder about just what the heck is going on she continues to observe now as she hears the laughter of a woman within the maelstrom. She watches with a bit of horror as she beholds the Abyssal and her 'rigging' just what in the name of the seas was she? She was recording this for later reference as it could be damn well important.

Radio chatter only comes to one certain fact about this new terrifying Abyssal she is Princess class and that's very bad news, the order to hold fire is given, and she's happy too. Given Androids 17's efforts? She'd rather not pull the rug out from under what he was trying to do by getting trigger happy. She also could sense the dread the remainder of her lizard brain was pretty much going run away you fool, run away! It's an alpha predator.

She'll hold where she is continuing to gather data for the fleet though on this newly discovered Princess Class.
Shigure     The Fifth backpedal a little as the water plumes like a sub-surface explosion. They bring weapons back to bear, but hold fire, waiting to see what Suez does in response to Seventeen's parley.

    Shigure specifically looks from the newly minted Princess, to the ghostly being behind. "Kalia..." she mutters to herself, eyes narrowing before turning back to Suez.
Evangeline      Evangeline comes to a stop with the Fifth, her featureless face focused on the princess and the cyborg talking to her. And...her head tilts a bit as she sees Kalia. "...that creature...the one that helped instigate things when Haguro was in trouble..." she says, her voice picking up on any receivers nearby. "...if it is here...we might want to strike it before it can cause any any trouble..."

     Evangeline focuses more intensly, using her distant viewing capabilities and her broadcast capabilities in tandem to give everyone can receive it an audio and visual feed on what is being said without having to close to an unsafe distance. She does fly foward herself though, in a high arc to try and keep some distance while moving into striking distance. Trying to get a line on Kalia...because as far as she is concerned, Kalia is worse than the Abyssals.
Midway @17
    Blue eyes that burn with their own inner light fixate on the cyborg that approaches her first. Suez stares at him, wide-eyed and unblinking. They're perfectly round in that intense, unsettling way reminiscent of when Midway sank Haguro, all those months ago. With water sloughing off her body and her parasite, flowing down the twin canals of her runways and back into the sea, she stares at him. Hears out his entire piece.

    After a moment, she lifts her hand, palm up, towards him. The cannons that the Princess carrys about her shoulders swing around on him, opening fire at point blank range in a rippling staccato of explosive reports. Even before the smoke of her gunfire has faded, she's already turned fully to face the Android, her canals lifting, aircraft hurtling down them and arcing up into the sky in rapid succession.

    "You assume I am lashing out." The level tone of her voice snaps instantly to a furious roar, "YOU DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU ADDRESS!" The bombers she's launching begin spiralling outward, forming up with the fighters already present, seeking targets to drop their payloads on. Targets aptly provided by the gathered ships, neuroi, and Star Hawk.

    As her aircraft go on the offensive, Suez turns her head towards Kalia, "I just obtained this body. I wish to see what it is capable of." Her attention returns to 17, while one hand gestures, "If you wish to lend yourself to this, the Ri class will accept your gifts."

    It's the same heavy cruiser that Re was harassing earlier. Unlike the destroyers from Kalia's previous experience, this cruiser is moderately self aware of her weakness, having just been accosted by a battleship. Crimson eyes close, then open in a more determined expression, a hand extended to the demon, acceptance on her mind.
Midway @HAGURO
    Re-Class grins that shark-toothed grin, "You mean who the strong person is? Not really. I can enjoy myself even if it's just bare hands, no guns at all." Her tail responds by lifting up, then dropping. Gnashing its teeth. The aviation battleship is never truly unarmed, that much is clear.

    The next question pulls a wide-eyed blink from the girl, then she closes her eyes, "Well, yeah, of course I exist. I'm just kind of a freak of happenstance, is all." Reaching up, she folds her hands behind her head, "Mama's little monster, a happy accident." An eye opens, "Well, she wouldn't call it that, but I would so I do!"

    Re-Class drops her hands, leaning forward on them, "Why shouldn't you exist? Humans built you, launched you, lived on you, fought on you, died on you. I'm a science experiment built by an Abyssal princess, who was never a ship touched by human hands-- and yet is a ship existing in mockery of those who were. It's kinda messed up, right?"
Shigure     The very second Suez opens fire, the Fifth swing into action. Commands are given, and Yamashiro's main battery opens fire on the Princess, lobbing shells in a counter-fire to those shoulder cannons. Kuma's own mount firing a staggered barrage of smaller caliber shells that detonate on impact, aiming to try starting fires, or shake something loose with the shock blast.

    Yuudachi and Shigure spread out formation, lifting their own cannons skyward and aiming to shoot down those bombers, covering the larger ships and attempting to intercept some of the attacks aimed at Staren in his mecha. One of Shigure's cannon tonfa sporting a tri-mount gattling cannon arrangement, three sets of four barrels that spin on their own, and rotate around a central point, spitting a wall of tracer fire into the air, while her other regular barrel lobs flak shells that burst into clouds of deadly shrapnel.
Staren     "Shit!" Staren fires the missiles!

    So many missiles!

    The packs mounted under the wings disgorge nearly two hundred tiny ones, about half an inch across, which divide themselves among the fighters and their commander, exploding in fireballs of superheated air!

    The mecha's backpacks shoulder packs launch a few larger missiles, like a human would need a shoulder launcher for -- they're traditional high explosive, and twist and zigzag through the sky on an evasive course before suddenly arcing down at Suez!
Kalia     "That's fine," Kalia responds, looking at the Ri-class curiously. They allow the lesser Abyssal to forge a pact with them, lifting their arm and grasping that aura like it's a physical, graspable thing.

    The darkness shoots into the Ri-class, giving the Abyssal a suite of new toys to add to their arsenal - in exchange for being rather single-mindedly locked into fulfilling their greatest desire.

    The Ri-class's ammunition becomes cursed with all manners of debilitating, awful effects. Its armor and plating can regenerate and shrug off ailments. Its speed is massively increased, and its appearance, like an illusionary veil, seems more terrifying than before.

    Kalia, for their own part, hovers back and out of Suez's immediate range, at the sight of the incoming fire. They don't want to get in the way, or catch literal flak by proximity.
Evangeline      When the targets -aren't- Strike Witches, Neuroi excel at one thing. That thing is taking out aircraft. Although she was trying to get a shot on Kalia, when so many Abyssal aircraft start pouring into the skies she switches targets. The ends of her arms and all the panels along her small wings light up with that sinister Neuroi red glow, then vectoring beams start pouring out of Evangeline at the bombers and fighters.

     She does try to spare a few for Kalia, but they are surely not going to be enough to keep the Ri-class from getting empowered by darkness. And she also tries to get closer to Seventeen's last location to draw fire away from him. Assuming he is still floating there.
Haguro An Abyssal that came into existence without ever being a standard ship is a concept that takes Haguro a good half-minute to process. Aren't Abyssals supposed to be born from the strongest, potentially distorted emotions of shipgirls or... Something like that? That's what it appears to be, what with the new Princess already attacking.

"I didn't know that. I always thought Abyssals came from existing ships, not created." She taps her chin lightly, standing up after a moment to take a closer look at Re. "Maybe it is, but... You didn't ask to be made that way, and neither did I. So what's the difference?"

     She turns back to look over at the ensuing battle, then lets out an exasperated sigh. "Neither did they. But some of my friends are over there, and they can be kind of... Very... Not always logical." Haguro coughs lightly, clearly trying to sound polite about that. "I should probably... Um. It was good speaking with you!" Haguro smiles awkwardly at Re-Class, then offers her a light bow again. "Really. Maybe we can fight sometime and compare techniques. Would that sound fun?"
Kotone Yamakawa There is a shimmer in the air as a very Neuroi appearing Kotone is now visible flying there and she's not carrying small arms today, nay she's got her Rail-Gun with her at the moment Neuroi appearing Kotone now levels it as the weapon charges up.

As Evangeline and Staren go for the bombers? She has another plan in mind as Android 17 is also shot at by the unknown Princess

The weapon continues charging up and then she'll fly right for the Princess trying to cut the distance. The flying Neuroi augmented Kotone is closing in on the Princes and finally she'll pause for a single moment to fire, the rail weapon glows a baleful right down the barrel and then starts firing several controlled bursts at the Princess trying at the very least to get her attention and pull it off Android 17, if she's lucky she might even connect and do some damage on her.

<<Hey you, you want weapons test let us see if you can hit me!>>
Android 17 The Princess immediately attacks, Seventeen's eyes go wide, as his arms crossed in front of him.  There is an explosion, and when it clears, the shirt and pants of the android are heavily tattered, but he is not so easily destroyed.  Slowly, his arms come down, throbbing at the attack and bleeding, but not blown off as they should be.  

"That was rude," Seventeen says, but perhaps violence was the only way to get through to her.  He took a few knocks himself, thanks to Piccolo to see reason.  Really one of his most enjoyable fights...

With a flash of motion, Seventeen appears directly in front of the Princess, and this time sends one of his feet directly at her head in a fast roundhouse, aiming to send her backward.  

"I do not plan on becoming anyone's tribute or whatever.  I don't know your name, well not really.  I don't know what happened, or how the world wronged you.  However, you are not the only wronged.  I suffered at the hands of those who's single-minded obsession took everything from me.  I desired revenge against the world that hurt me.  Until I met some people that showed me that there are good and decent people in the world."

"So we can keep fighting...or we can go find some people who aren't garbage and show you the other side of the coin you've never got to see and have a chance as I did.  It might be a bad idea to sit here and offer my hand again to someone who just shot me..."

"But it's my choice to make."
Midway @HAGURO
    Re-Class leans back when Haguro leans forward to look her over so closely, a sort of 'okay weirdo' look on her face, "I don't know WHAT she did, but I am the way I am." She shrugs, eyes closed, "And I sincerely doubt we're anything alike, kanmusu." An eye opens, "For one, when we fight, you're gonna be outnumbered no matter what."

    The same cryptic thing she told Nagato, way back when she first fought the Admiral.

    She does raise a hand, though, waving the cruiser off, "Good talk! We'll kick each others' butts later!" And there's no further fanfare from the little monster. She doesn't even actually leave. Rather, she props her elbows on her knees, resting her chin on her hands and watching the battle unfold around the Canal Princess.

@CANAL HIME
    Suez leans back, skating backwards across the sea as weapons are fixated on her. She's clearly an installation type, not particularly fast like a destroyer, but the attempt is there. Cannonfire strikes about her head and shoulders, pulling a grunt from the Princess-- who is summarily engulfed in a fireball of massive missile barrage. She hurtles out of the dense black smoke, trailing flames and smoke from various cracks in her parasite's carapace. Another squadron of bombers deploys before Seventeen gets in her face. Hitting her is like hitting reinforced concrete, but the blows do force her back. Cracks spread across one of her cheeks, through with seethes purple light.

    "There's that assumption again. It's still wrong, you know," Beams slice through her aircraft but she fixates on the android immediately in front of her, the closest threat, "The world hurt me? The world wronged me? Hah!" She digs in her heels, throwing up a spray behind her before she suddenly hurls herself forward, directing her knee to 17's chin. This is ultimately probably not much of a threat to an experienced fighter-- but it's also a feint. Suez is just getting close enough to use the enormous jaws of her parasite in an attempt to literally disarm Android 17.
Midway     Ri-Class, the heavy cruiser, lowers her hands and stares at them as darkness mingles with her natural Abyssal state. Her fingers close into fists, eyes closing. When they open, the red glow is replaced with a bright gold-- She's ascended from Elite to Flagship just from that. Her lips split into a fanged smile, cracks forming in her arm-mounted cannons. The metal jaws close, then open, extending the barrels and she lurches forward. Suez is abandoned by the furious cruiser, who instead throws herself at the Fifth Fleet. That smokey black aura, crackling with gold sparks, trails behind her as she charges. The largest threat is targeted first-- the battleship, Yamashiro. Two high explosive rounds are fired to announce her approach, as if the spray of seawater behind her wasn't clear enough.

    Ri's desire was straightforward. Simple. Easy to fulfill.

    Become Strong.
Staren     More bombers launch, and another abyssal comes out of somewhere! Staren sighs, dropping the now-empty launch pods under the wings and flying up, trying to get above the bombers. He's more sparing with the firepower now -- letting a missile loose if the bombers ever cluster up, but otherwise focusing his fire on... Well, there's lots of people around the canal princess, so he focuses on Ri-class instead, raining down railgun slugs and laser beams from high in the sky!
Shigure     Yamashiro grits her teeth, and kicks forward, moving to close in on the Canal Princess. She's intercepted by the explosive shells from Ri-Class though, both scoring direct hits to her center of mass, leaving tattered clothes and black scorch marks where they struck. The Battleship jinks, and aims to close in on Ri-class instead. She fires one side of her four turrets, lobbing large caliber shells back at the cruiser. Yamashiro uses that momentum to bring a round-house kick into the cruiser once in close enough, then follows up with another, point-blank volley from her other side turrets. The Fusou-class has some of the highest weight of fire for their class.

    Kuma, Shigure and Yuudachi move into flanking positions, their focus shifting from attacking Suez, to protecting their heavy hitter.
Haguro      The outnumbering comment draws a slightly more awkward chuckle from Haguro. "That's... True. But that's if we fight." A pause, then a clarification. "Er. We meaning Kanmusu and Abyssals. Not you and me. That, we'll definitely do. Er. You and me. I mean the..."

     She still needs to get better at not stumbling over her words even now. "If I'm fighting with them." Still, the talk went well, and Haguro's actually looking rather cheerful as she waves Re-Class off in return before speeding towards the battle proper. Also, she's going towards the battle proper.

     She has no idea what's even going on now. Between Ri and the Princess, the latter is the larger immediate threat, and she fires off several high arcing explosives towards the Princess!
Evangeline      Seventeen is more durable than he looks, luckily. When Evangeline sees he is plenty capable, she lets him have at Suez on his own and focuses her attention on the newly ascended Ri-Class. She moves alonside Ri-class, getting fairly close to the water's surface. Energy builds up at the ends of both her arms, and she unleashes a Breaker Beam on the Ri-Class at point-blank range. She risks hitting even herself with the explosive force of the attack, but it seems worth it if it frees up the Fifth to focus on the new Princess-class.

     Once the beam finally peters out, she lowers her arms. "...you do not have to fight us...we could be friends...like Haguro..." she says. "...otherwise...you might be destroyed...and then you couldn't fight even if you wanted to..."
Kotone Yamakawa All the while this is going on she knows now Kalia is on site and a bad situation could very much worse, very fast if they throw in with the Abysaals which in Kotone's mind there is a good chance of that happening. With the Princess engaging them, and Kotone may have very well jumped the gun as Android 17 is still attempting to talk the Princess down, if by some chance the Princess does halt due to his words, Kotone will cease her attack but she also does not want to see Android 17 get killed or maimed by this Princess either.

She will be far more careful with her aim now, with how much of a Melee that Android 17 is in with the Princess. She'll time her shots and they will be far fewer as she waits for openings to get shots at her without the risk of catching Android 17 with one of the hypersonic rounds.

<<You have a choice to let the world grind you down, or you can rise above it.>>

Kotone will keep up her attack and form up with Evangeline trying to work with her now at this point.

<<You are fighting proof of what I say, listen to what Android 17 is saying!>>
Android 17 Seventeen is surprisingly good at martial arts...which makes sense as he's not using a weapon besides his arms and legs.  He blocks the kick towards his head, arms absorbing the blow.  However, when the attack comes from one of the parasites, he shifts so that he twists her weight at just the right angle to off balance her, and rolls the opposing direction to her attack.

He follows it up by spinning, aiming to kick her leg out from under her and attempt to send both feet into her back to send her flying upwards.  With a blink of motion, he would appear above her, should he be successful, and then send both hands down in a hammer blow to her stomach.  

Floating down, he speaks calmly towards her.  "Then enlighten me.  What has caused this?  I can only make assumptions based on what I heard.  If you find me ignorant, enlighten me.  Either way, this path isn't the right one.  We both know that."

Seventeen continues to be patient, reacting rather than attacking.  Maybe he's wrong in this, maybe he's putting himself at great risk.  He doesn't seem to care, willing to pursue this until he sees that no words will turn them back.  
Kalia     Ah, Haguro is here?

    Kalia's gaze switches from the fireworks to their Abyssal 'friend', though wisely, they elect not to get involved in the Princess' fight. It's not a spirit of grudges' place to stop someone from enacting theirs, and so the Princess is entitled to testing her body out without interference.

    But with the aid she rendered unto the Ri-class, it'd be rude to just stand back and eat popcorn. Bad analogy, Kalia doesn't eat /food/, but it's the thought that counts.

    With a ghostly ~vweee~ sound, Kalia disappears and reappears behind Evangeline, floating there in mid-air and staring blankly at the Neuroi.

    "She doesn't desire friendship. She desires strength. We granted them that. Please don't interfere, it's problematic. Unless there's something you want from us, too?"

    While Kalia doesn't ATTACK, their dark aura seems to grow to encompass Evangeline... and within it, she might start feeling that her body is starting to rust very, very rapidly, like a dozen magical curses are being directed all at once not into causing harm but into inconveniencing greatly.

    She just needs to fly away a bit to stop it, though.
Midway @RI & the FIFTH FLEET
    The cruiser rapidly closes into brawling range of Yamashiro and her escorts. Golden cracks suffuse through her equipment but also start spreading across her skin as she takes damage from shellfire as well as lasers and railgun shots. Through the course of the battle, all five surface participants drift further from the engagement with the Canal Princess. Even if Ri-Class goes down, this might still help Suez somehow.

@CANAL HIME
    The close combat angle didn't work. Seventeen twists out of the way in such a fashion that it puts Suez off-balance. In that split second, Kotone successfully blasts off one of her artillery cannons. Sweeping her up and then slamming her down snaps part of one of her airstrips loose, the concrete and steel component instantly sinking even though she'd hit the water's surface as if it were solid ground.

    Hauling herself up, dripping an oily substance and showing cracks across her body and equipment, the Princess chuckles, "You don't get it, do you? You're still thinking of me as human." Eyes wide and intense, the woman spreads her arms, "I am the Canal Princess, the Princess of Vengeance, Suez! I am an avatar born of human cruelty and sorrow!" Haguro's long range bombardment hammers against her at this point, setting fire to her remaining airstrip. She staggers back, then lurches forward into a hunch, her lips split into a hideous grin.

    "I was not made to suffer. I was not wronged. I was not hurt. She rights herself, gesturing with one oil-smeared hand, "Doing to humans what humans have done to each other is just my nature."

    The water around Suez's feet foams with activity, "However, I'd say this has been an adequate test. Adieu!" The Abyssal princess lifts that same hand up, obscuring her mouth with splayed fingers, her eyes closing as she sinks beneath the waves.

    "OOOH HO HO HO HO HO~~"
Haguro      Haguro slows her advance as Suez announces her name, her reason for being, and her nature. It confirms what she's already known, and it takes what little fight there was in Haguro out further.

    Luckily, Suez doesn't stick around long enough to take advantage of that. The Cruiser is still wary even as the giant submerges, but her priorities shift quickly enough. "That's... That's enough, everyone. Let's get out of here before she changes her mind!"

     Needless to say, she's not feeling quite as good about fighting Suez as she is about her promised match with Re-Class.
Evangeline      ...and suddenly, there's nothing left for Evangeline to fight. Maybe some stray aircraft, but that won't take long to mop up. Then she notices that...she realizes her form is starting to flake away. Evangeline tilts her head in curiousity and raises an arm to watch it for a moment. It is an interesting sight, the rust and her natural silver glow of regeneration battling, the damage from the rust constantly being repaired and the repairs constantly flaking away.

     Then, Evangeline turns to face Kalia. "...if you are truly offering something...then I also wish to be strong...so that I can protect people...and help stop wars...and spread good will...will you help with something like that...?" she asks, even as she raises her arms and that powerful red glow returns. Kalia apparently has the option of answering in a satisfactory way...or getting fired upon. "...you are the one interfering...giving power to things that only want to destroy...trying to instigate conflict...merely for the satisfaction of doing so...you may not directly harm in most cases...but you definitely are not neutral..."

     The glow of Evangeline's energy intensifies, making it clear that she doesn't expect Kalia to say anything good. "...so...stop it...or I will make sure you can't help harm anyone anymore..."
Android 17 "Hm.  I see then," The Android's face stops emoting, as it takes active effort from him to actually do this.  Right now, as he understands it...she has made her choice.  Trying to change it right now would be disrespectful on a scale that Seventeen cannot stand.  Even if it meant her destruction...however, there is something Seventeen wishes to protect.

So when she goes under, he relaxes.  There isn't going to be an end to this today.  

"I think of you as human, because sometimes that is what people need.  To be reminded they are human.  You do not wish it, you simply wish to be whatever this is.  Then that is you," he says with some finality towards the now still water.  

However, he looks towards the other people and notices the dark-abyssal like figure attempting to attack Eva.  There is little motion from him, simply vanishing, until he appears right above Kalia, and attempts to send a kick right towards her head.  Even if his body is caught in the field and starts degrading.  
Kotone Yamakawa Kotone Yamakawa scores a hit on Canal Hime, she's got one of her artillery cannon which is something, and she will fly about banking to come around for another shot but there will be no time for this. She does get the Princess name, Canal Princess? She'll make sure to remember that Wait for the Suez Canal?! She will attempt another shot but it's too late as the Princess vanishes under the waves doing a laugh that will haunt Kotone for some time to come. She also had some research to do.

She also does not want to linger here very long, for she knows who else is here and once everyone else is away.

<<We shouldn't linger here long, does anyone need help to get clear? We don't know what might come calling and the local Abyssals will sure to be on alert now after a fight like this. Oh shi...>>

Then she takes note of Kalia is going for Evangeline she moves and will keep that rail gun at the ready as she does so

<<Evangeline get out of there!>>

With the nature of the field Kotone can't quite move in with the speed that Android 17 does. She'll wait a beat for after Android 17 makes his move and will fire at shot at Kalia.

<<Get away from her!>>
Staren     Well, that's pretty straightforward isn't it? If it's not a person, just human-shaped hate, then there's no reason not to just destroy it. However... the mysterious princess sinks beneath the water. /And he doesn't have a way to fight down there/. How dare she!

    But there is, possibly, a worse threat. Evangeline's proposal to Kalia is interesting, though. Will she offer strength for positive things, or only to hurt others? Staren keeps his railgun aimed at Kalia while awaiting her answer.
Kalia     "We don't care about what you use our power for. We'll help anyone willing to accept our help," Kalia responds, not at all flustered by Evangeline's question or threat. Their tone is flat, honest.

    "But we have observed a pattern, that the only people usually willing to accept our offer are the ill-inclined. It doesn't bother us. Everyone deserves the power to fulfill their desires."

    The incoming kick puts a stop to that conversation. They react with startling speed, their hand catching 17's foot, aided not by strength but by the thickness of that weird, dark aura around them. It's acting a bit like his own barriers, just... way less powerful. But for a kick, it's fine. The curse of decay spreads even faster from their touch.

    "Hello, Staren," Kalia says, turning to look at 17, and then pausing. "Oh. You're not Staren. We apologize." The irony is that he has his gun trailed on them literally right now.

    "We're leaving. You don't need to get this upset."

    Kotone's shot gives the spirit all the more reason to leave. It passes through Kalia's aura like it was fired through thick gel, but lodges itself in the spirit's chest regardless. No blood flows.

    Kalia lets go of 17's foot, adjusts their scarf, and then vanishes with a ghostly warping sound. Maybe to regroup with Suez, or who knows where otherwise.
Evangeline      The others attack, but not before Evangeline receives an answer. Supposedly Kalia will offer power to any who want it. With 17 there Evangeline doesn't want to fire her breaker beam, so Kalia escapes without feeling the Neuroi's wrath. This time. The red glow fades away and Evangeline lowers her arms, then looks up at 17. "...thank you for coming to my aid..." she says in that quiet, monotone voice of hers. "...are you alright..?" she asks a moment later. She rotates in place, surveying the others. "...was anyone seriously injured..?"

     She floats over toward 17, who not only took a full barrage from the Princess-class but actually came in contact with Kalia. "...if you are injured...I might be able to help..."
Staren     Huh. Interesting words. And it shows that Kalia can be talked to. Perhaps there's a way to exploit this in the future...

    For now, Staren flies over to the others.
Android 17 Seventeen moves to pull his foot away, he can feel that decay, which is an extremely weird feeling for him.  Also painful.  Very painful.  

Gritting his teeth and falling back, he keeps his hands on either side of him as the wounds inflicted by the Princess started to bleed profusely.  His eyes focus on Kalia, "You know, that's unnecessary," he says, his tone sapped by his apparent injuries, "I didn't rush over here while yelling at you about how your evil.  I just tried to kick you."

Of course, she then leaves.  and Evangeline starts talking to him.  It's suddenly very hard to hear her, as those injuries finally catch up to him.  He looks blankly at her for a moment, before his eyes start to droop.  

"Oh...I was wondering when that was going to happen."
Kotone Yamakawa Kotone Yamakawa seeing that Kallia is fleeing now she doe snot move to chase after the spirit. She'll banish her weapon back into storage and replies.

<<I'm fine I should be all right here, we should get you out of here Seventeen.>>

Kotone will help the Android 17 get to somewhere better if he allows her and she will not force aid on him either.

Sht tilt her head a bit.

<<I want to be gone before more Abyssals turn up or something else does.>>
Android 17     Seventeen, does not resist help. He's probably not able to super effectively.

    He's rebellious, not stupid.