3rd Person POV
Azur Lane
"Guys?" Striker called, his boots clicking against the floor as he jumped off the deck of his ship to land on the docks. He had just gotten back from a scouting mission with Orochi, and so far, he had yet to see anyone around.
"Maybe they're on break?" Orochi offered, and Striker shrugged. "Maybe..."
"Oh, there you two are!"
Turning, the two brothers saw Zuikaku jogging toward them.
"Hey, Sheila," Striker greeted, turning to face her. "Where is everyone?"
"Yeah, normally there's a crowd when we get back," Orochi joked.
Zuikaku rolled her eyes, giving the Battlecarrier a playful punch to the shoulder. "Of course, there is." Placing a hand on her hip, she jerked a thumb at one of the nearby docks, where a crowd was gathering around a cargo ship. "We got a big shipment, so we need everyone we have to help out."
Striker blinked, staring at the crowd. "How did we miss that?"
Orochi shrugged. "Probably because you were busy daydreaming about Hornet."
Striker held up his hands. "Guilty as charged."
"Are you two gonna help us or not?" Zuikaku asked irritably, and both shipboys quickly nodded. As the three of them jogged down the docks, she added, "Oh, and Striker, Hornet's at the mainland right now with Yorktown."
"And Amagi?" Orochi asked.
"She's here," Zuikaku confirmed. Pausing, she added, "her sisters, too."
"Oh... well, I'm dead."
Shaking her head, Zuikaku led them over to where Enterprise, Shoukaku, Takao, Atago, Amagi, Kaga, Akagi, Belfast, Unicorn, Bismarck, and Tirpitz were standing on the docks.
"Striker!" Atago said happily, and Striker winced as the Sakuran Cruiser gave him a hug.
"...help!" he choked, his ribs cracking.
Sighing, Amagi pulled out a crowbar and tossed it to Kaga before turning to Orochi with a smile. "How was the mission?"
"Boring!" Orochi complained, throwing his hands up. "Five Siren fleets, and Striker killed three of them! Before I could!"
"And you call that boring?" Kaga asked in disbelief, having managed to pry Atago off a gasping Striker.
"When he loses to me?" Striker asked, hands on his knees. "Abso-freaking-lutely."
Enterprise sighed. "Let's just unload the crates."
As the ramp lowered, Striker glanced over and was surprised to see Belfast standing next to Unicorn, who was holding her unicorn toy. "Hey, Unicorn, Belfast," he greeted, walking over and patting Unicorn's head. "What're you two doing out here?"
"Miss Illustrious accompanied Wales to the Mainland earlier this week and requested that I take care of Unicorn while she was away," Belfast explained, nodding at Unicorn as the cargo ship's door opened, and everyone began unloading the large crates.
"Is it just me, or are these crates heavier than usual?" Orochi asked as he and Amagi set one of them down.
"Indeed," Amagi acknowledged and examined them. "The symbol though... I feel like I recognize it."
"It does seem familiar," Tirpitz agreed as she and Bismarck set down one as well. "Vat did vee order?"
"I'll check the manifest," Orochi offered and jogged off as Atago examined one of the crates.
"What do you think's inside?" she asked, turning to Takao, who shrugged.
"If I had to guess," Striker offered as he, Zuikaku, and Shoukaku unloaded a crate. "Probably supplies. Does it say which faction it's for?"
"Not that I can see~" Akagi replied, examining a crate. "Should we investigate, Amagi-San?"
"We probably shouldn't," Amagi replied. "If there are explosives, we could set—" She was cut off as Shoukaku stumbled, her foot slipping on the wet stone of the docks, and the crate she was carrying spilled onto the ground.
"Shoukaku!" Jogging over, Zuikaku knelt at her side. "Are you alright?"
"I'm okay," Shoukaku assured, and a hissing sound filled the air.
Eyes widening, Striker whipped around as a mist of strange silver dust seeped from the crate. "Everyone, hold your breath!" he shouted.
Too late.
Her nose twitching, Akagi sneezed, and the dust exploded, throwing Striker into a crate as an explosion of fog and mist erupted around him.
"Oh, that's gonna hurt," Striker groaned, rubbing his head where he had rammed into a crate. How he had landed upside down, he had no clue. Shaking his head, he got up, and his eyes widened. "Guys?"
No response.
"Zuikaku?" he called. "Amagi? Tirpitz?"
No response.
Slowly, the fog began to clear, and small figures slowly became visible on the ground before him. Waving away the smoke, Striker blinked and stared in stunned horror at the sight before him. "Oh... schist."
Lying on the ground before him were the forms of twelve small girls, each one unconscious.
"What the bloody Hell just happened?" Striker wondered.
"Striker?"
Turning, Striker saw Orochi jogging over. "What happened?" the Battlecarrier asked. "I heard something explode, and—" He froze, staring at the unconscious, child-like forms of Enterprise, Zuikaku, Shoukaku, Takao, Atago, Belfast, Amagi, Kaga, Akagi, Bismack, Tirpitz, and Unicorn.
"WHAT THE HELL?"
(A/N) Orochi.exe has stopped working.
"What happened to them?!" Orochi yelped.
Striker explained about the crate, and both shipboys fell silent as realization dawned on them.
"OH, FRAGGING SCHIST! THIS IS NOT GOOD!" Orochi shouted in panic, and Striker nodded. "THEY GOT TURNED INTO KIDS! WALES AND THE OTHERS ARE AT THE MAINLAND, SO WE CAN'T GET HELP FROM THEM—"
Striker nodded again.
"—AND TO TOP IT OFF, THERE'S NO ONE ELSE AT THIS MOONS-BLASTED BASE BUT US!" Orochi finished.
Striker nodded once more.
"ALSO, just curious, HOW ARE YOU NOT PANICKING RIGHT NOW?!" Orochi shouted.
Striker shrugged. "Oh, believe me, I am."
In Striker's Head
"AAAHHHHH!!!" Striker#1 shouted as he ran around screaming like a chicken with its head cut off.
"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" Striker#2 shrieked as his rigging fired randomly, and his shark hulls were banging their heads together.
"WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?!" Striker#3 screamed as Striker#4 sat crying against a wall holding a Hornet plushie as nuclear explosions erupted outside.
Striker#5 was sitting upside down on a couch, drinking his sorrows away with a bottle of Sprite as he cried, "WHY IS THE RUM GONE?! WHY IS THE RUM ALWAYS GONE?!"
"OK, CAN WE FREAK OUT NOW?!" Striker#6 shouted as Striker#7 slammed his head against the wall, and Striker#8 kept on hitting the Panic button.
"I FORGOT THE COTTON CANDY!" Striker#9 yelled, and all the mini-Strikers erupted in screams.
"AAAAAHHHHH!!!!"
Back in the Real World
"I'm just doing it on the inside," Striker informed the stunned Orochi.
"Well...," Orochi said slowly, "that's all well and good for you, but for me, I'M PANICKING ON THE OUTSIDE!"
"Orochi, get a hold of yourself," Striker ordered, barely managing to keep himself from going into Defcon 0. "First things first, we need to get these girls inside. Then, we can figure out what happened... and how to reverse it."
"Um... Striker," Orochi said slowly. "They're twelve little girls. Little. Girls."
Striker's eyes widened, and he nodded slowly. "Preemptive strike?"
Orochi nodded and summoned his rigging as Striker did the same. Together, they aimed their turrets into the sky and launched a hail of Fritz X, Harpoon, and Tomahawk Cruise missiles into the air.
*KABOOM*
"I'm blasting off again!" Ark Royal shrieked as a massive explosion flung her into the sky and out of sight.
"That takes care of that," Orochi said, satisfied as he and Striker dispelled their rigging. "Now what do we do?"
"Well—"
"Oh, there you guys are!" Purifier said cheerfully, dropping out of a portal. "Have you guys seen a shipment of crates come through here? I may or may not have messed up on the manifest and may or may not have gotten it sent here."
Both boys exchanged looks, then slowly turned to her.
"You mean, like that one?" Striker asked calmly and gestured to the massive cargo ship beside them.
Purifier blinked. "Huh, so that's where it went." Then she noticed the girls, and she tilted her head. "What happened to them?"
"One of those crates broke," Striker replied and jerked a thumb at them. "What was in there, anyway?"
"Eh, power cells for some of our mass-produced ships," Purifier replied, waving a hand dismissively. "Sometimes the packing dust gets infected, and well, we tend to get small problems if you know what I mean~"
Striker's eye twitched. "No kidding, Sheila. How long are they gonna be like this?"
"Eh, about twenty-four hours," Purifier replied, shrugging. "And if I had to guess, you two weren't affected most likely due to the fact that either A: you're shipboys, or B: you were constructed wrong, or C: both."
"One, we didn't ask, and two, TWENTY-FOUR HOURS?!" Striker exploded, throwing his hands up. "WHAT DO YOU EXPECT US TO DO WITH THEM?!"
Purifier shrugged. "Eh, I dunno. They're your problem now." With that, she snapped her fingers, opened a portal beneath the cargo ship, and vanished, taking the vessel with her.
"Well, that's great!" Striker complained, throwing his hands in the air. "What are we supposed to..." He trailed off as Zuikaku groaned and blinked, opening her eyes.
"S-Shoukaku?"she asked blearily, looking around.
Striker and Orochi exchanged pale looks. We're done.
Yawning, Shoukaku blinked, rubbing her eyes. "Zui-Zui?" she asked, looking around as she sat up, blinking.
"What do we do?" Orochi hissed out the side of his mouth as the rest of the girls began to wake up. "We're fleet killers, not babysitters!"
Striker frowned and opened his mouth to reply, when he felt someone tug on his leg, and he looked down to see Enterprise looking up at him.
"Um, are you our big brother?" she asked shyly, causing Striker to sweatdrop as the rest of the girls turned to look at him with wide, hopeful eyes.
Gulping, Striker glanced at Orochi, who shrugged helplessly. Steeling his nerves, Striker nodded. "Er, yeah. That's me."
Smiling, Enterprise cheered and hugged him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Why do strange things always happen to you?" Orochi wondered as Shoukaku and Zuikaku rushed over to hug Striker as well.
Feeling a tug on his own leg, Orochi froze and looked down at where Bismarck was looking up at him.
"A-areyou our big bruder, too?" she asked nervously, and Orochi, deciding to followStriker's lead, nodded, earning himself a tackling hug from Bismarck (whowrapped her arms around his leg) and Tirpitz.
Gulping, Orochi turned to Striker as the Battleship allowed Zuikaku to sit happily on his shoulders. "What do we do now?" he whispered, wincing in sympathy as Atago hugged Striker's arm.
Even from there, he could hear the small cracking sounds.
"I dunno," Striker replied. "I—" He was cut off as Kaga ran by him, giggling as she played around with one of her fighter planes, making airplane noises.
That is freaking adorable, Orochi whispered to himself as Akagi chased after her sister.
"I want to play, too!"
"How are we supposed to take care of those two?" Striker wondered.
"Easy, we let Amagi do it," Orochi replied.
Striker pointed, and Orochi followed his arm to where Amagi was sitting on the ground, smiling happily as she watched her sisters play.
Orochi paled. "Oh, schist..." On the inside, he could feel himself about to break apart at how cute she looked. "What are we gonna do now?"
"The only thing we can do," Striker replied grimly. "Entertain them."
Timeskip brought to you by Orochi and Striker blowing up Ark Royal for entertainment purposes
"So, what do you girls want for breakfast?" Striker asked as he and Orochi stood in the mess hall. They had decided to let the girls choose their own seats, and that ended up with Amagi, Akagi, and Kaga at one table, Bismarck, Tirpitz, and Belfast at another, Atago, Takao, and Unicorn at a third, and Enterprise, Zuikaku, and Shoukaku at a fourth.
"Taco!" Takao perked up, her wolf ears doing the same.
Biting back a laugh, Striker nodded and reached for a pad, only for it to be missing.
Frowning, Striker examined the girls, and he saw Akagi hiding it behind her back innocently.
"Akagi," he instructed, and the small kitsune blushed.
"Sowy."
"It's alright," Striker assured, patting her on the head before quickly snatching the pad away from her, much to the little fox's indignance.
"Alright," Striker said, writing down the order as Orochi began cooking, glancing at a cookbook, which was balanced on one of his drones. "And you?" He pointed his pen at Belfast.
"Tea,please," Belfast requested shyly.
"Alright,and I'm guessing you want some, too?" Striker asked, turning to Unicorn, whonodded, holding onto her U-Chan.
"Yes, please, Oniichan."
"That still doesn't make sense," Orochi muttered as he set out some trays as Striker took the rest of the girl's orders. "How come Unicorn didn't get any younger?"
Striker shrugged. "Guess she's already cute enough as is, mate." He sighed. "Alright, just get the pancakes up and..." He trailed off, noticing dotted outlines where Zuikaku, Shoukaku, and Enterprise were. "You've gotta be kidding me!"
"You go after them; I'll take care of..." Orochi trailed off, seeing dotted outlines where the rest of the girls had been. "Oh, schist!"
Timeskip brought to you by Striker and Orochi preparing for a nuclear explosion of mini-shipgirls
"How the Hell could we lose all twelve of them?!" Striker shouted as he and Orochi raced down a corridor. "You'd think at least one of them would have stayed!"
"Have you met any of them!" Orochi shot back.
"Fair point!"
"Why are we yelling?!"
"I don't know!"
Hearing a giggling sound, the two brothers froze.
"I think it came from over there," Orochi whispered, pointing to a shadowy corner of a hallway.
"And what in the name of horror movie cliches makes you think that I'm going to check it out?" Striker asked, turning to Orochi, only to find a dotted outline of where he had been.
"Of course," he muttered, shaking his head before turning back to the corner. "Hey, Sheila," he encouraged, kneeling on one knee opposite the mini-shipgirl, whom he now recognized to be Belfast. "It's alright."
Belfast shook her head, her head on her knees.
"What's wrong?" Striker asked gently, and Belfast pointed.
"Monster."
Turning, Striker saw her pointing at a closed storage closet.
"Don't worry," Striker assured and stood. "There's nothing in there. Watch."
Perking up, Belfast hesitantly got up and hid behind Striker's legs as he walked toward the closet. "There, see?" he assured and gently opened the door, earning a small squeak from Belfast. "No monster."
Nodding, Belfast smiled, and Striker gently picked her up. "What do you say we find the others?"
Belfast nodded, her eyes brightening. "Okay!"
With Orochi
"Alright, fighter group one, find anything?" Orochi asked as he stood on the top of the mess hall, his rigging deployed while his drones flew over the island, searching for the missing girls. Receiving a negative, he sighed and was about to repeat the question to group two when he heard laughing.
Whipping around, his jaw dropped as he saw Zuikaku, Shoukaku, and Enterprise flying through the air, balancing on bombers as they careened dangerously through the sky, laughing all the while.
"Oh, come on!" Jumping off the roof, Orochi summoned a drone and landed on top of it as he tore off after the girls. "Get back here!"
Giggling, Zuikaku swerved one way, Shoukaku another, and Enterprise headed straight, causing Orochi to groan. "Of course, they split up!"
Shaking his head, Orochi jumped off his drone and sent four more to accompany it as the group chased after Shoukaku, ready to catch her in case she fell, and another group did the same for Zuikaku, leaving Enterprise for Orochi.
"Here we go," Orochi muttered, blurring after Enterprise as the girl giggled, somehow doing a handstand, and practically giving him a heart attack.
"At least she's not falling—and I spoke too soon!" he yelped, and dove, barely landing on the ground in time to catch Enterprise, who was giggling.
"Fun!"
"That was not fun," Orochi said sternly, and Enterprise poked him in the nose. "Okay, maybe a little," he amended. "Now, where's—" He was cut off as Shoukaku landed on top of him.
"Hugs!"
"Gah!" Flailing around, Orochi stared, stupefied as Shoukaku hung from one of his decks, giggling. "This cannot get any worse."
"It can."
Turning, Orochi barely bit back a laugh at the sight of Striker, carrying Belfast with one arm while trying to remove Zuikaku, who had somehow managed to attach herself to his face, with the other.
"At least she and Shoukaku left their swords in the mess hall," Striker sighed. Then he froze. "Wait... swords..."
Orochi paled, Striker doing the same, as they realized that having eight powerful mini-shipgirls on the loose, with two of them having swords, had practically made their job impossible.
"Okay," Striker said, trying to stay calm. "Okay, as long as they don't leave the island, I think we can handle this and—why are you pointing toward the sea?"
Orochi just pointed, his face pale.
Sighing, Striker turned, and his jaw dropped as he saw Amagi, Kaga, Akagi, Bismarck, Tirpitz, and Unicorn racing away from Azur Lane, their rigging deployed.
Striker's eye twitched. "...OH, COME ON!"
"I got this," Orochi sighed and darted toward the water. Jumping off the docks, he raced after the six shipgirls as he left the others with Striker.
"Oh sure, leave me with..." Striker trailed off as he noticed that once more, Shoukaku and Zuikaku were missing. "...AAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!!!"
Timeskip brought to you by Striker's mind exploding
"Okay," Striker sighed as he, Belfast, and Enterprise walked down into the courtyard. "All I have to do is find four shipgirls, each wielding a sword, and keep an eye on the two I have. Simple."
"Am I good girl, Oniichan?" Enterprise asked, looking up at him with big eyes.
"Yes, yes, you are a very good girl," Striker assured as Belfast tugged on his sleeve.
"I'm hungry."
Striker sighed. "Alright. But then its back to finding the others, okay?"
"Like hide-and-go-seek?" Enterprise asked.
"Yes, exactly like—hey!" Striker yelped as the two ran off. "Get back here! You're not supposed to be hiding; you're supposed to be helping me find the others!"
Timeskip brought to you by Striker pulling a Tuffnut
"This island is very cliffy," Striker muttered, ignoring the many twigs and dirt that littered his clothing as he led a 'recaptured' Enterprise (who was once more attached to his hip) and Belfast (who had resumed her spot on his shoulders) to the mess hall.
As they walked down the hallway, he heard the sound of clashing metal, and he froze. "That can't be good." Rushing down the hallway as fast as he could, Striker burst through the doors and stared in shock at where Zuikaku and Shoukaku were play fighting on a counter, both using a combination of pan and sword.
"Oh, for the love of—" Turning, Striker gently sat Enterprise and Belfast at one of the tables. "Stay," he ordered.
Drawing his sword, he rushed in just as Zuikaku's and Shoukaku's blades clashed, their blades ringing against his.
"Okay, now, let's put down the pointy objects, alright?" Striker asked, sheathing his own. "The pans, too."
Nodding, Zuikaku sheathed her sword as Shoukaku did the same. "Sorry, Oniichan," she apologized, jumping down and hugging his leg as Shoukaku did the same.
"It's alright, you two," Striker assured, gently patting their heads. "Just—" Hearing a clang behind him, he turned to where Enterprise and Belfast were in the middle of a full-fledged food war. "You've gotta be kidding me!"
As Zuikaku and Shoukaku rushed to join the fight, Striker sighed. I hope Orochi's having a better time than I am.
With Orochi
"I seriously hope Striker's having a better time than I am," Orochi muttered, stepping onto the docks of Sakura Empire. He had tracked all six girls down here, and honestly, he was glad Tirpitz and Bismarck decided to stick with the main group instead of heading to Iron blood.
Shaking his head, Orochi sighed and jogged down the docks. "Now. Where am I gonna find—" Trailing off as the sound of crying reached his ears, Orochi took off and soon found Tirpitz on the ground, whimpering as she clutched her knee.
"Hey, are you alright?" Orochi asked worriedly as he knelt at her side.
Tirpitz shook her head, tears in her eyes. "I-I hit my knee," she cried.
"Here, let me see," Orochi said gently and tenderly moved Tirpitz's hands away from her knee to reveal a small gash. "Alright, I'm gonna need you to be brave, okay?"
Tirpitz nodded. "I-I don't wanna be alone," she whimpered.
"And you're not gonna be," Orochi assured. Drawing a sword, he slashed off part of his jacket and wrapped it around her knee. "There. Feel better?"
Tirpitz nodded, and he picked her up. "Alright, let's find the others, okay?"
Giggling reached his ears, and he turned to see a small unicorn toy playing around with a group of foxes.
"Alright," Orochi muttered, "where there's a unicorn toy, there's bound to be—"
Right on cue, a laughing Unicorn ran in, chasing a giggling Bismarck.
"—a Unicorn," Orochi finished and jogged after them. Something's wrong, he thought. This is way too easy.
With Striker
"This is not easy at all," Striker muttered, barely managing to intercept a flying pizza while dodging a barrage of sausage links.
Bending down, Striker ducked a fork and leapt up, barely dodging a knife as it whistled between his legs. "Okay, that's too close for comfort!" he yelped as Zuikaku giggled.
Summoning his rigging, he sent both shark heads out, one picking up Shoukaku by the scruff of her outfit and holding her up, earning a pout from the white-haired Carrier.
Belfast yelped and giggled, taking cover behind a chair, only for the second shark rig to snatch her up as well, carrying her by the back of her maid outfit.
"Okay," Striker sighed. "Now—"
"Tackle!" Enterprise cheered, and she and Zuikaku tag-teamed him, both tackling Striker's waist and knocking him down.
As the four girls (with the exception of Belfast, who was petting the shark hulls) sat on Striker's chest, the Battleship groaned. "This can't get any worse."
With Orochi
"How did this get worse?!" Orochi yelped, taking cover as Bismarck tried to tackle Unicorn. How a game of safely-retrieve-Bismarck-and-Unicorn-while-carrying-Tirpitz turned into a game of tackle, he had no clue. Worse, Tirpitz had recovered and had joined the fun.
Shaking his head, Orochi yelped, barely ducking Unicorn as she flew overhead, one of her flying U-Chan's hooves smacking him in the head and sending him to the ground.
"Scratch that," Orochi groaned. "It got even worse." Pushing himself up, he looked around and sighed as he saw that Bismarck, Tirpitz, and Unicorn had somehow disappeared.
"Just great," Orochi sighed and started down one of the pathways. Why everyone in Sakura Empire had decided to take a vacation on this day was beyond him.
Hearing giggling, he whipped around, but there was no one there. "Okay, that's not creepy at all," he muttered. There was a small crunch, like a foot on petals, and he whipped around once more, but only managed to catch sight of a dark blur that vanished behind an archway up ahead.
"Okaaay... definitely seeing things," Orochi muttered, eyeing his surroundings uneasily as he walked under the archway. And that's when it happened.
"Oniichan!"
Yelping, Orochi barely managed to react as a ball of tail fluff collided with his chest, knocking him down.
Groaning, Orochi blinked as three distinct shapes appeared over him.
"Did we over do it?" the white blob asked.
Slowly, the three shapes came into focus, revealing Amagi, Kaga, and Akagi.
"He's awake!" Akagi cheered happily.
"Are you okay, Oniichan?" Amagi asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Orochi groaned, sitting up. "What were the three of you doing?"
"We wanted to surprise-hug you," Kaga admitted sheepishly, her face red.
"Well, consider me surprised," Orochi chuckled, and Amagi perked up.
"Can we get headpats?" she asked eagerly.
"No, I want headpats!" Akagi protested.
Orochi blinked. "Um..."
Akagi glared at him, and Orochi could have sworn he saw a miniature killer aura around her. "Head. Pats."
Shaking his head, Orochi gently ruffled her hair, patting Akagi on the head, and she perked up.
"Can I have some, too?" Kaga asked innocently, and Orochi did the same to her. If he were being honest, the two fox sisters were pretty—
He froze. Wait. Where's Amagi?
"Gotcha!" Amagi cheered, tackling him in a hug and causing him to fall over once more.
Shaking his head, Orochi smiled. "Clever girl." He patted Amagi's head, and she perked up, her eyes shining.
Just as he was beginning to think that maybe he could handle this, a loud explosion lit up the sky, and he whirled to find a column of smoke rising from the far side of the island, shrieks of laughter reaching his ears.
"Oh, schist!" Orochi yelped and barely managed to catch Akagi as she tried to run off again. Setting her on one of his decks and setting Kaga on the other, he cradled Amagi with an arm and rushed toward the smoke.
"I hope Striker's having a better time than I am," Orochi muttered as the three fox sisters giggled.
With Striker
"I am not having a good time!" Striker yelped, ducking as a flaming beam flew overhead. How the girls had set the base on fire, he had no idea. The good news: Zuikaku, Shoukaku, Belfast, and Enterprise were all accounted for. Bad news: Atago and Takao were currently in a sword fight on the roofs above him.
"Ninja!" Atago cheered, deflecting a swing from Takao. The two of them were giggling, having the time of their lives on the flaming roof. Striker, not so much.
These girls are gonna be the death of me, Striker realized. Quickly shifting the girls around so that each shark hull was holding two, he jumped up and tackled both girls out of the way as a flaming plane flew down and exploded.
"Are you two okay?" Striker asked, checking the two girls over worriedly.
"Yeah, we're okay, Oniichan," Takao affirmed as Atago hugged Striker's arm, nearly breaking it.
Sighing in relief, Striker sagged against a wall, Enterprise and Belfast suspended by one shark hull, Zuikaku and Shoukaku by the other while Atago was attached to his arm, and Takao was sitting on his lap. Together, they stared as flames slowly consumed the base before them.
"Anyone have a fire hose?" Striker asked. "Better yet, can anyone call the rain in?"
"Oh, oh, I can!" Enterprise offered happily and summoned a wing of planes, which dived toward the base.
"Wait..." Striker said slowly as his eyes widened. "THOSE ARE BOMBERS!!!" Scrambling to his feet, the girls in tow as he grabbed Takao with his free arm, he dashed down the courtyard as bombs rained down behind him.
With Orochi
"Alright," Orochi sighed, sagging back against the side of an archway as he barely managed to put out the fire that Bismarck and Tirpitz had started. Honestly, he was beginning to wonder if Bismarck had a knack for aiming at the powder magazines.
"Big bruder?" Tirpitz asked, tugging at Orochi's leg and causing the Battlecarrier to look down at her, Bismarck, and Unicorn while Akagi and Kaga hung from each of his arms, Amagi sitting proudly on his head.
"Yeah?"
"Can we have some Mochi?" she asked, pointing at a jar at one of the stalls.
(A/N) For those of you who don't know, it's a well-loved Japanese sweet treat.
Eye twitching, Orochi hesitated, and Amagi looked at him pleadingly.
"Okay," he sighed, and the girls cheered.
Shaking his head, Orochi crossed over to the stall. "Which one do you want?" he asked, and Akagi perked up.
"All of them!"
Shaking his head in defeat, Orochi snagged a few plates and, after leaving a stack of cash on the counter, turned to face the girls, balancing three plates on each Carrier deck.
"Alright, who wants—" Orochi blinked as three plates vanished from his left deck, reappearing in the hands of the three foxes.
"Thank you, Oniichan," Amagi said, smiling happily as Akagi did the same.
As the three fox sisters happily dug into their food, Orochi froze. "Wait, where are..."
Another explosion, and he whipped around to find Bismarck, Tirpitz, and Unicorn flying off on U-Chan. "You have got to be kidding me!"
Timeskip brought to you by Orochi losing his mind
"Okay," Orochi sighed, dragging on hand down his face as he leaned against his ship's conning tower. After finally tracking the three troublemakers down, he had set off on his ship to head back to Azur Lane.
Adjusting his forcefield so that it worked both ways seemed like it was a good idea, and it proved highly effective in keeping them secure. Unfortunately, it didn't do the same for his sanity.
"Are we there yet?" Tirpitz whined, and Orochi held up his hands. "Almost there."
"Can we have smores?" Amagi asked hopefully, tugging on Orochi's sleeve.
Hesitating, Orochi sighed. "Sure, Amagi."
Amagi perked up, and he patted her head, earning a jealous look from Akagi.
"Um, Oniichan?" Unicorn asked. "Why is the base smoking?"
"What?" Orochi whirled and stared in shock at the massive clouds of smoke rising from the base. "Oh, come on!"
With Striker
Coughing, Striker finally made his way to the beach, and there he sat, Enterprise, Zuikaku, Shoukaku, Atago, Takao, and Belfast resting beside him, staring numbly at the smoking remains of Azur Lane.
"So, kid troubles?"
Turning, Striker sighed as Orochi's ship pulled up, and the Battlecarrier hovered down to his side, six miniature ship-girls attached.
"You know it," Striker sighed. "You?"
"Well, I stopped them from blowing up most of Sakura Empire," Orochi replied and nodded toward the smoking remains of the base. "I guess you didn't have the same luck?"
"No kidding," Striker muttered, and sighed. "When Wales and the others get back, they're gonna kill us."
Orochi frowned. "We could probably fix the base if we worked through the night. But we can't do that and watch the girls at the same time."
Striker frowned. "Maybe we can..." He trailed off as a strange sound came to him, and he turned to see the twelve girls resting peacefully on the sand. Kaga, Amagi, and Akagi curled up together with Bismarck sleeping with Tirpitz's head on her shoulder, Shoukaku Zuikaku, Atago, and Takao following the same as Unicorn curled up against Belfast.
Orochi's eye twitched. "All that today... and now they take a nap?!"
"At least we can fix the base before they wake up," Striker pointed out. "But still..."
"Just as a precaution," Orochi agreed and summoned a forcefield around them.
"Um, why didn't you do that sooner?" Striker demanded.
"Mainly because I didn't know how to reverse the polarity of my shields," Orochi replied,and jerked a thumb toward the base. "Come on."
Timeskip brought to you by Smol Amagi
"Okay," Striker sighed as he and Orochi set the last beam in place. It had taken them all night, but they had finally managed to repair the base. Orochi had used his drones to repair both the damaged port at Sakura Empire, and to help put out the many fires dotting Azur Lane.
"That the last one?" Orochi asked, and Striker nodded, hands on his knees.
"That's the last one."
Sighing, the two brothers trudged over to the beach, where the sleeping forms of the young shipgirls still rested.
"Ya know, they're pretty cute when they're not destroying the base," Striker commented.
"Yeah," Orochi agreed and sighed. "Too bad we couldn't enjoy more cute moments. Most of the time, we were just trying to stay alive."
Striker nodded, and that's when he noticed a silver glow coming off the girls. "Um, Orochi? How long has it been since they got turned into kids?"
"It's been..." Orochi checked a watch, and his eyes widened in relief. "Twenty-four hours!"
Striker smiled and nearly fell to his knees. "Our ordeal is finally over!"
There was a flash of light and a burst of smoke, and when they could see again, all twelve girls were lying on the sand, finally returned to their full forms.
"YES!" Striker cheered and fell to his knees. "We made it!"
Orochi tried to high-five him, but ended up falling to his knees as well, tears of relief in his eyes.
Groaning, Amagi blinked and got up, stretching. "What happened?" she asked, yawning. Shaking her head as the other girls woke up, she blinked at Orochi and Striker. "Are you two alright? You look exhausted."
Exchanging looks, both boys' eyes rolled back into their heads; they collapsed side by side and passed out.
Kaga blinked. "What's wrong with them, Amagi-San?"
"I don't know," Amagi replied and smiled fondly, shaking her head as she gazed down at the sleeping forms of Striker and Orochi, the other girls doing the same. "Boys. So lazy sometimes."
(A/N): I hope you all enjoyed that random bit of entertainment. It was rather fun to write, and I hope to post chapters like this in the books to come.
(A/N): Here is a list of all the characters involved in this chapter:
Eagle Union: Enterprise
Royal Navy: Belfast, Unicorn
Sakura Empire: Amagi, Akagi, Kaga, Zuikaku, Shoukaku, Takao, Atago
Iron Blood: Bismarck, Tirpitz
Sirens: Orochi, Purifier
Striker's Faction: Striker