"Well then. Wales, I and Warspite shall return to the Queen. She must've been waiting for us." Hood says, ending the questionnaire.
"Understood, you can count on me to take care of our guest here. Go, report to the Queen." Wales replies, giving her the green light to go.
"Yes. Warspite, come along, it's time to report back to our Queen." Hood tells Warspite to go with her.
"But I haven't asked anything about him yet!" Warspite interjects, disappointed she couldn't ask anything about me.
Well, I would answer her questions, but a commander's order is top priority.
Everyone here is very curious about me, huh…? Oh well…
"Don't worry, Warspite, I can answer your questions at a later date. Your Queen is waiting, and I am in no position to hold her back from meeting her subjects." I told her, reassuring her I will satisfy her curiosity.
Hearing this, Warspite nods in affirmation. Hood curtsied in respect, and taps her smaller friend's shoulder.
Then, the two made their way towards where I presume their Queen is.
Must be one benevolent Queen, for her subjects to act like that.
Ugh, I don't want to remember any of that now…
With that, Wales and I, or more accurately, Wales herself pushed the wheelchair.
We made our way towards the docks. I'm actually not sure if it would fit my plane.
I mean, once, I had a hangar on Terminus Island. It was fairly huge, but it only left a few meters of clearance from my wings and the wall. In other words, it was cramped.
But what else do you want? Exposing the superweapon to the cold weather? Are you stupid? That would pose a threat to the overall running condition.
It was a barren, frozen land. Nothing was there, except a few captured oil fields. At first, it does bother me, though only a little, such as frozen SWBM ports, caused by the moisture buildup on it, then freezing, sealing shut.
It was lonely, but frankly, I… don't mind.
All the peace and quiet, except the occasional cold breeze was there for me. No humans, no nothing. I was free from the hateful eyes of those Aurelians there. Hah, I used to not care about it, but now, I feel something about it.
These feelings… what a drag…
What the hell am I thinking? I should be focusing on the docks, how the hell did I somehow think about Terminus?
Stop it, you're merely a weapon.
Back to the matter at hand.
"Wales, are you TRULY sure it will fit?" I asked her again. It won't hurt to just confirm, right?
"Don't you worry, I am sure it will fit. You have my word." She replied.
Alright, whatever she says…
We continued our journey to the docks. There was nothing along the way, except the gentle breeze blowing onto my face.
This feeling… Ah… I've felt it countless times, yet, it still felt new. Then again, it's my first time feeling this as a human.
Along the way, I saw a room full of girls. I presume they're other shipgirls, like everyone else.
Hm, seems to be a place to socialize, and eat, perhaps?
"Gleipnir? What are you looking at? Oh? The cafeteria?" Wales noticed me staring at the room.
Am I really THAT easy to read? Haah….
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." I told her.
"Do you want to go there?" She asks again.
Damn it! The Airborne Fortress… it's there, unguarded. And every second is being wasted every time we stop to talk!
If this continues on, only hell knows what's going to happen.
The enemies are going to have a good time if they ever find the Airborne Fortress.
"Not yet, Wales. Later! The Airborne Fortress is still out there, and every second we waste will be one more second the enemy gets closer to it!" Raising my voice, I spoke to her,
Damn it, it's not the time to eat! Refueling can wait for later, I'm downed anyway and it'll just leak out from the pipelines…
"Hmph, how indecisive." In a muffled voice, Wales mutters out.
She might be trying to not let me hear her.
Hmph, I can still hear that!
"Huh? What was that?" I asked again, even if I heard it.
How indecisive… Grrrr, how dare she insult me…
"Nothing." You're already caught red-handed!
But fine, I'll drop it.
With that, I shut myself up until we reached the docks.
There's seagulls all over the place, signifying this place is brimming with life. The beautiful blue waters of the base, truly captivating. But….
"Wales, this place won't fit! It's too small!" My worries came true.
Haaah… that's why I said that… this place won't even fit a third of the Airborne Fortress….
Sometimes, I even wonder, why do I have to be so big…
"What do you mean? This should fit!" Wales says, unconvinced by my statement.
"It doesn't fit. That's what I'm saying. How about we go towards the outskirts of the base?" I offered.
Generally, the outermost of the place is the most spacious. Heck, I think it's just the ocean.
"Fine, let's go." With that, we departed from the docks, going to the outermost of the base.
A bit of walking and pushing, we arrived at the outskirts of the Azur Lane Base.
"We've arrived." Wales informed me as she stopped the wheelchair.
I nod in acknowledgement, and then…
Wait, how to summon my ship? I do remember summoning my wings and unsummoning the Airborne Fortress, but to summon it, I have no idea…
Ah, I'll ask her.
"Wales, question. How do I summon my ship?" I asked her.
"It's our instinct. Just feel it, and you will see it." Oh, so it's the same as when I summoned the wings? Alright.
Raising my right arm, I imagined the Gleipnir to materialize.
Thousands of bright blue cubes start to form, as the damaged black fuselage of the Airborne Fortress starts to form.
I glanced at Wales. Her face was plastered with a look of terror and amazement.
Ugh… I'm not even trying to murder every single one of you, don't make that face!
The Airborne Fortress then finished materializing. It's still in the sorry state it is in, like me.
Charred marks on the top of the fuselage, smoke trailing from the SWBM ports…
Grh, that wing almost falling off makes my stomach churn. This is going to be one bitch to repair…
Another glance at the girl beside me, and I saw her thinking, instead of being afraid. Hmmm, wonder what she's thinking.
--------------------------
3rd Person POV
--------------------------
With the condition of the stricken Airborne Fortress, Wales thought to herself, 'Such a massive craft, something that brought him down must be very powerful. And I haven't seen what he can do yet, I can only hope whatever shot it down doesn't know about us.'
"Gleipnir, about where you're from. Nations, no, Factions. Are you sure you're not from Ironblood?" Calmly, she asks the male.
"Negative. Hmmm, Ironblood, I heard Hood throwing that word around while you three were interrogating me. What is it, exactly?" Gleipnir, having no idea what an "Ironblood" is, questioned her.
"They're a faction. Both them and the Sakura Empire were our allies in the past." She answered.
'Hmm? Were their allies? What happened?' Hearing that piqued his curiosity.
"Wales, if I may ask, what are these factions you're talking about?" Another question, mouthed out by the curious male.
"Certainly. Factions, there exist numerous of them in this world, but I think, there are 4 major factions. First, Eagle Union, one of the major factions of the Azur Lane. They're located in the west, called North America, and in terms of Naval firepower, they're currently superior in numbers for they hold the entire western borders."
"I see, continue, please." He allows her to go on explaining.
"Next, us. We are the Royal Navy.
We currently hold the most powerful navy in terms of naval firepower in Europe, and we have the same capabilities as the Eagle Union when it comes down to numbers." She continues.
'Hmm, Europe… What is that? Can I wipe them out in a single night?- What the hell am I thinking?! They saved me!' Wicked thoughts start to rise in his mind, but no, not this time.
"Then, the Sakura Empire, one of the Azur Lane's most powerful navies in the world, until they diverted their goals and switched sides to the Iron Blood. The Sakura Empire holds the strongest navy in the east. They also have the same capabilities as the Royal Navy and Eagle Union. But their rivalry against Eagle Union will never fade." She describes the Sakura Empire.
'East? Hmm, is it reminiscent to Sotoa? I've never been there though, only saw the name on tactical maps inside me.' Again, the Airborne Fortress thought about her words.
"Lastly, Ironblood.
The Ironblood is the most dangerous of the four major Factions. For they hold the strongest technology and equipment in mankind's history, and their ideology is the cause of the major factions to fall into turmoil. What makes them dangerous is their capabilities, they might be lacking in numbers but their weapons they hold are the most destructive above all. Be careful." She continues explaining, this time, the Ironbloods.
'Huh? That sounds awfully close to Belka… could it be-?! No way in hell!'
"DAMN IT, THE BELKANS ARE HERE TOO?!" He screamed in rage, realizing the source of trouble, the Belkans, followed him here.
"Gleipnir? Belka? What are you rambling about?" She begins to question the sanity of the male kansen.
"H-huh? Ah-! Nothing, nothing, don't worry about it." Realizing the possibility of her being a Belkan spy, he shrugs it off.
"Now… that is all… Gleipnir, how did it all come to this?" She points to the downed Airborne Fortress.
"That… I'll answer for another time." He tries to evade the question.
'Ugh, this is bad… the Airborne Fortress sticks out like a sore thumb in this condition… I have to hide it!' Gleipnir realizes the consequences of having such a massive ship laying around on a beach, and thinks for a way to hide it.
The Optical Camouflage System was heavily damaged, if he recalled correctly. Once it was damaged, he was nothing more than a giant practice target, and that's how he fell from grace above the Aurelian skies over Santa Elva.
"Ugh… how am I going to do this…" He places some hope in the damaged Optical Camouflage, and starts to try entering the state.
"What do you mean?" She asks, not knowing what he is going to do next.
"We have to hide this hunk of steel, somehow…" The OCS inside him might be too damaged to even function.
"Well… we do have to hide it..." She agrees.
She pans her eyes towards the surroundings, hoping to find a way to hide the massive aircraft, before glancing back at the Gleipnir, that...
"How about we- WHAT?! WHERE IS IT?!?" She was utterly surprised, for the Airborne Fortress suddenly vanished when her ruby eyes batted again in the direction it once were.
The gargantuan airship, suddenly lost to an unknown force? How would she report this?
Thankfully, it's not actually lost.
"It works! It works!!" Gleipnir exclaims happily at the revelation that the Optical Camouflage System isn't fully broken.
"What worked? Explain!" She demands an explanation of what "worked" and the cause of the giant aircraft's disappearance.
"My Optical Camouflage, it's not fully broken from the battle, here, look." He replied as he turned the system off with his mind.
Distortions start to appear on the space where the Airborne Fortress once took space, and then, it starts to slowly dissipate, revealing the battle-damaged Airborne Fortress.
It had gone invisible.
Such massive craft, went invisible.
"W-what just happened?!" Her mind boggled by the shocking event that took place, she asked for an explanation.
"Behold! *cough* Damn it! Uh, it's just my Optical Camouflage System doing its thing, don't worry too much about it." He reassures the shocked battleship, and then moves his gaze upon himself, or rather, the Airborne Fortress.
His memories flew back unto the past, recalling the events that happened some days, or weeks ago.
All those sorties, all those fights, all those battles, he found something in them.
Something fulfilling.
It was his purpose, after all.
To fight is a weapon's purpose, and to find fulfillment in it is an added bonus.
But then, everything that was on the receiving end suffered.
Not like they're all innocents, but still, they suffered.
The lives he had taken, and everything that he had destroyed.
But, nothing. He felt absolutely nothing.
He merely watched from above as the proton glow of his Shock Cannon lit up, and consumed everything in its path below in a resounding thunder.
He merely bare witness, as the all-consuming blue light from the SWBM he launched ate the Aurelian fighter planes, leaving only flaming wrecks that fell from grace atop the blue skies.
All those things, after he thought about it, filled him with thrill just by remembering it.
Retribution is at hand.
For what they did to Leasath, they shall all pay.
But now, the damaged raven-black airframe only made him cringe.
Perhaps, he needed something other than fighting.
"MY GOD! WHAT IS THAT?! A SIREN?!" A girl's voice panickedly cries out, breaking him from his brief trance.
She suddenly unsheathes her sword, maybe from sheer fear.
"Sister? Stop! Wait! Don't! It's not a Siren!" Wales tries to hold back her now-revealed sister.
'Huh, sister? Oh boy, double trouble.' Looking at the two girls bickering with each other, Gleipnir just stares at them and thinks to himself.
"You! Who are you?!" The longer haired blonde, Wales' supposed sister, turns her attention to Gleipnir, and subsequently questioned him.
"Hello, I- *cough* GODDAMN IT! I am Gleipnir, Gleipnir-class Airborne Fortress. That is all I can answer you right now, come back later…" After an awkward-wave-interrupted-by-a-coughing-fit, he turned the Optical Camouflage State back online.
The two girls watched in awe as the black panels ripple with distorted images of what's behind the heavily damaged aircraft, until the light has been completely refracted from the airframe of the giant aircraft.
"W-what the…?" With a look of amazement on her face, Wales' sister stutters at the sight of the humongous craft turning invisible.
"Calm down, you two, I'm not even trying to attack you, for fuck's sake!" Gleipnir spat out, swearing from exasperation bat the two.
Apparently, the look of horror from everyone who has ever laid their sights upon the Airborne Fortress doesn't sit right with him.
"O-okay…" The two stopped looking like they've just seen a ghost, and stares at the general direction of the invisible Airborne Fortress.
"Ugh… this is taking a real chunk out of me… Wales, it's all taken care of. Can we go back to the Infirmary?" Exhausted from the process, he requested the short-haired blonde to return to the Infirmary for him to rest.
"Ah, yes. Let's-"
"Oh, apologies. How very rude of myself. I am King George V, of the King George V-class battleships." The long-haired one cut off Wales, and introduced herself, bowing in apology.
"You should've known my name by now, but I'll reintroduce myself. I am- *cough* GODDA- I mean, I am Gleipnir, Gleipnir-class Airborne Fortress, first and only ship of my class. That is all, sorry for my brief introduction, I'm just not in the best state right now…" Another coughing fit, but thankfully, he managed to reintroduce himself to the blonde.
"Ah, I see, I see, continue on, Gleipnir." She says as she laid her eyes upon the male's body.
Multiple bandaged areas on his torso, and an obvious bandage on his head could be seen.
'Must be from a fight… but I don't know what happened to him exactly…' She doesn't know the cause of the wounds all over his body, but she is sure something that did it is dangerous.
'What the hell am I going to do in this state anyway? Commit genocide?' He sarcastically thought to himself after the two's reaction to the Optical Camouflage.
"Oh well… I shouldn't be exhausting my energy even more… Vestal told me to not move too much. This is where we part ways, Wales, sorry to cut your sister moment short, but I think I'm too tired…"
"Oh, yes. Well George, farewell, I'll see you around, sister." Wales said to her sister, bidding her goodbye to her sister to obey Vestal's orders.
"You too, Wales. Take care of our guest here, will you?" She replied.
"Of course, you can count on me." Wales agrees to her sister's request and turns back to Gleipnir to prepare for returning him back to the Infirmary.
"Shall we, Gleipnir?" She says as she walked behind the wheelchair, and put her hands on the handle.
"Yes, let's return…"
And so, the two journeyed back to the Infirmary, with Gleipnir being on the verge of falling asleep along the way.
"Gleipnir?" Wales tries to break the ice between the two.
It's unsettling just how quiet he can be.
"H-huh…?" He tiredly responds.
Fatigue had taken over him, and the still-fresh wounds didn't help at all.
Though, lady luck is in their favor. The two had arrived at the Infirmary, and Wales entered the room with him in tow.
"Wales? You're back! Finally! Come on, let's just let him rest." Vestal noticed the two stepping inside.
"Yes, Vestal. I'll return him back to the bed, he needs rest." Wales told her while pushing him towards the bed.
"Gleipnir, this is where we part ways. Do not forget, there will be a test for you later, when you've recovered. Rest well." The blonde informed him of the upcoming test.
"I see… Thank you, Wales. It was fun getting pushed around…" He snickered to poke fun in the… "tense" moment.
"I'll assume that it doesn't have a hidden meaning. When you recover, find me, and I shall guide you to the testing area. About your ship, I shall ask the Manjuus to repair it." Wales informs him of what to do, and his ship's fate.
"Understood." With that, Wales left the room hurriedly, perhaps to tend to other things.
With the reassurance that his ship is in good hands, Gleipnir laid his battered body on the bed, with Vestal nearby, watching him just in case something happens.
Questions run in his mind, such as what are Manjuus, who is the girl he met with Wales earlier exactly, but well, it's got to wait.
For now, he must recover.
And so, he closed his eyes, drifting into a dreamless sleep.
(Author's Note: Aaaaaanddd, Posted. Kill me if anything's wrong pls, that's all.)