Inside the bunker, a door squeaked open, as a blue haired girl poked her head out of it.
Cleveland: Are they gone?
Helena:...I'm not picking them up on my radar...they're gone!
She opened the door the rest of the way, as the other girls stepped out from the room.
Hammann: Thank goodness! It was cramped in there!
Hornet: It wasn't so bad, we were at least safe right?
Helena: Yeah...but why did they leave so suddenly?
Cleveland: I don't know, maybe they were told to return?
Hornet: Whatever the reason, lets get out of here in case they come back
Helena pulled out a handheld searchlight, taking the lead as the others followed behind her.
...
Hammann: Do you hear that sound?
Hornet: Hm? What sound?
Hammann: It...almost sounds like dripping water
Helena: Well, it is an old bunker, it's bound to have faults in it by now
They continued walking, eventually picking up the dripping sound as well. What they found was that it came from the other hallway ahead of them.
Hornet: Alright, who's ready to get their feet wet?
Hammann groaned at the thought while Cleveland only smiled. That's when Helena turned the corner to spot the dripping sound.
Helena: Oh my God!
Cleveland: Whats wrong?!
Cleveland pushed past Helena, ready to start a fight, only to freeze up once she saw what Helena saw, the others also saw it too.
It was a Siren pinned to the wall by a sword through its mouth.
Hornet: That's...that's not right...
Cleveland: So uhh...I guess we found why the Sirens gave up on us
Hammann: The dripping came from a dead body?!
They felt fear build up in them, but they moved around the corpse and continued walking down the hall. Hornet also turned on a light to watch behind them, just in case of whatever did that to the Siren was still in there with them. They soon reached an intersection of halls, which confused them.
Hammann: Which way now?
Helena: I'm not sure...but we have to choose
...
Cleveland: Why not right? Any objections?
No one argued
Helena: Guess we're going right
They turned down the hall and shined the light down it...
Helena: HOLY HELL!!
The other 3 saw Helena recoil in complete fear and disgust, so they slowly turned the corner to see what she saw.
A Siren with the top of its head shaved off, with cuts covering its whole body.
Hammann backed away and puked down a bit farther in the hallway. Hornet leaned up against the wall and slowly fell into a panic. The only one still moderately fine was Cleveland, who eventually wrangled the group back together and took them away from that carnage.
Hammann:*ears down* What kind of monster could do that?
Hornet: I...I'm not sure...I just hope it's satisfied with the Sirens
Helena: M-me too...
——
After searching for several more minutes, they finally saw a speck of light that didn't come from their searchlights, filling them all with joy.
Hammann: There it is! The light!
She was about to run forward, but got yanked back by Cleveland.
Cleveland: Oh no you don't! What if you getting separated was what that thing wanted? If you're caught alone there's nothing we can do
Hammann thought about it, only nodding in silent agreement. The group turned the corner that separated them from their freedom, but stopped immediately after.
They stumbled upon a bloodbath.
...
They said nothing, only slowly walking towards the bodies and looking them over as they passed. Hammann nearly hurled again after stepping on the ripped flesh of one of the Sirens while Cleveland practically had to drag Helena through the corpses since she froze up being near them.
Finally, they made it out.
Hornet: I thought I'd never see the sun again!
The group was completely ecstatic at their escape, especially Hammann, who could barely stand at the moment from the fear she had going through her during the bunker run.
Cleveland: Thank God...but, what now?
Helena: What do you mean?
Cleveland: I mean, do we report the bodies? Or should we just leave and never look back?
...
Hornet: I'm not sure, but I would say we report this...if there's something here that tears even Elite Sirens to pieces, then we need to be careful
Helena: Yeah, we need to do that
Cleveland: Alright then, let's ge-
*rustle*
*rustle*
The girls slowly turned to a bush nearby the bunker that led deeper into the forest. It was moving, and as far as they knew, there wasn't any major creatures living on the island.
Cleveland summoned her rigging, aiming it at the spot and preparing herself to fire at whatever came out of it.
The rustling soon grew louder, with Helena also summoning her rigging for combat while Hammann stood ready to deploy hers.
Hornet: You guys are on your own here, I can't summon planes in a forest
They watched the bushes, sweat building up on their brows as the sounds got louder and louder. All culminating in the culprit popping out of the bushes.
Cleveland: Huh?
They found that a Siren had dropped out of the bushes, covering in bruises and minor cuts, most likely from the bushes and rocks. She looked up after her fall and found the group of shipgirls there in front of her.
Siren: You...you're alive?!
Cleveland: And how are you? I thought all the Sirens here were killed?
Siren:...It's a monster
...
Siren: She tore us all down like nothing...she psyched us out and forced us to make the first hand, then she tore it off!
Hornet: Who's she?
Siren: Please, I don't care what you do, just please take me with you! I don't care how I'm treated I just want out of here!
Cleveland: H-hey, calm down-
Siren: I can't calm down! That...thing murdered everyone!
The Siren froze up, which the group noticed as she stopped talking immediately. They saw her look at her foot...
There was a hand grasped around it.
Siren: No...nononono!
She grabbed onto whatever ground she could, but to no avail as she was still dragged deeper and deeper into the bush.
Siren: Please, you want our secrets? I'll tell you everything I know! I'll help you build new weapons! Anything!
Hornet ran forward and grabbed her hands, pulling her and trying to get her away from whatever was pulling her in. Yet, even with her carrier strength, it wasn't enough as she was also slowly dragged in from the strength of the assailant.
Hornet: Can you stop standing around like idiots?! I need help!
The others joined her, trying to prevent the Siren from being killed.
Cleveland: Keep pulling!
They pulled with all their might, and eventually, they freed the Siren, pulling her out of the person's clutches, and landing in a pile.
Hornet: Oww...is everyone good?
Cleveland: Yeah...just give me a minute...
Hammann: I think I hurt myself...
Helena stood up first, picking up the Siren and dusting her off.
Helena: Now then, you're good...who was that?
Siren: I...Determination said her name, but I was panicking and didn't hear her well...
The Siren hugged Helena, who awkwardly returned it.
Siren: Thank you...thank you so much! I was surely going to die if you didn't help!
Helena: It's...alright. But the thing is, are you going to keep up your end of the bargain?
Siren: Yes! I most definitely will!
The rest of the group stood up, finally all ready to get off the island.
Cleveland: This was...certainly something
Hornet: I know...if I never have to see this island again, it'll be too soon
They continued onwards, now with a Siren in tow in their group. They eventually made it to the waterfront, riggings deployed and ready to sail.
Cleveland: So then, what island is this?
Helena: Uhh...I'm not sure. But when we get back, we'll have to warn everybody about it
They all jumped into the water, going through a final check before they head out.
...
Cleveland: Alright, I got everything. Are you all prepared?
They nodded, so she turned to their Siren prisoner.
Cleveland: Are you?
Siren: I am, but still shaken a bit
Helena: That's to be expected, you nearly died there
"Nearly...but let's change that to actually"
The voice sounded from the jungle, and the girls whipped around purely on instinct.
A pair of amber eyes stared back at them.
Siren: No...stay away!
The eyes turned to the Siren, narrowing and scaring the lights out of her.
Siren: S-stay back...
Mechanical whirs could be heard coming from the person.
Siren: STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!!
Two mechanical talons shot out from the darkness, grasping the Siren's ankles and dropping her to the ocean surface. The shipgirls reached out to grab her, but were too late as she was dragged into the forest, screaming bloody murder the entire time.
They stood in paralyzed fear as the scream were swiftly silenced and replaced with choked gurgles, before falling into silence once more.
Helena: We're leaving, NOW!
They set off, looking over their shoulder to make sure that they weren't followed by the person. They weren't chased, much to their relief.
But their nerves were on edge the entire time, as the amber eyes stared them down, all the way until the island escaped over the horizon.
...
Hornet: When we get back, we warn everybody to stay the hell away from that island
Cleveland: I hear ya...