Petals of Soliloquy: Distant Echoes

Soaring Wings

When the light clears up, I find myself standing next to Shinano witnessing a bright blue sea. This time it appears that the Azur Lane and the Crimson Axis never unified as they seem to be going against one another. It almost looks like a training exercise though as the commander here looks like he's smiling, as is the Bismarck of this era.

"This is certainly interesting."

"This battle was the last one you fought before your alternate self retired."

"Before I retired?"

"Yeah, before you retired. You were an old man."

The battle quickly commences as both sides let loose everything they have, and Enterprise looks to Yorktown.

"I think I'll stick with my bow. Yorktown! Catch!" Enterprise shouts as she tosses the railgun to her big sister.

"Alright!" Yorktown says as she covers ground and takes aim with the rifle. The gauge quickly rises from 0 to 100 and Bismarck looks on with confusion, much like the commander did before Mikasa.

"What is that?" Bismarck asks.

"Let me give you an answer!" Yorktown replies as she squeezes the trigger, and a mini sonic boom is heard as a HE round is fired at well beyond mach 10, nearly knocking Yorktown onto her rear from the recoil, and punching straight through the Ironblood fortified armor on a battleship before it explodes, releasing a mighty fireball and obliterating the battleship in one shot! Everyone stops to see the insanely powerful shot that was just fired and looks at the destroyed battleship in shock.

"Holy mother of mary that thing is powerful!" Belfast says in disbelief.

"Did the railgun just do that?!" Enterprise and Commander Tran ask in utter shock.

"It punched right through the fortified armor like it was nothing!" Bismarck says, struggling to understand what just happened. "AND it reduced that battleship to a pile of scrap metal! In one shot!" Once the initial shock has been dealt with the battle resumes, but the Crimson Axis is on high alert, carefully watching for Yorktown as she charges up the railgun yet again while Lexington is further away taking potshots with her musket.

"It's a good thing the commander built this with a scope." Yorktown chuckles as she fires once again. This shot is directed towards Akagi, and the Sakura Empire carrier hears the sonic boom too late as it completely annihilates her carrier strip, leaving her unable to battle.

"I'm out of here!" Akagi shouts as she rushes back to the Sakura Empire docks for serious repairs, and Kaga suffers a similar fate when Yorktown shoots her.

"I've never seen anything like that!" Mikasa says in disbelief. "I have to act now!" She shouts as she prepares to fire her minigun barrage.

"Oh no you don't!" Yorktown yells as she takes aim and fires. Mikasa does not sink, but the shot manages to destroy all of her guns, leaving her unable to do anything besides command ships to fire.

"Eat this!" Bismarck shouts as she fires an energy wave from one of her jaws, but Yorktown quickly dodges and Lexington manages to shoot Bismarck in the eye! "OW!"

"It's over!" Yorktown yells as she fires one last shot and destroys half of Bismarck's rigging with the hypersonic projectile.

"SCHEISSE!" Bismarck screams as she realizes half of her rigging has been completely shredded up by the railgun. Having already crippled most of the Sakura Empire and not wanting to lose any more of her rigging the Crimson Axis quickly surrenders and admits defeat.

"And just like that we score the victory I guess."

I chuckle as I look at the Yorktown of this universe. This version of me and Yorktown seem very close.

"I don't think I could ever form bonds like that..."

"But you already have, with me, Akagi and the others."

"That is something else..."

"But before you were not in your right mind..."

"What do you mean?"

"You had nearly worked yourself to death in this universe. Even then there are times where you were not in your right mind and you were going crazy, like before."

What in the world did she mean by that?

"Shall I take you to this universe?"

It almost feels like she's distracting me from something... But I can't wrap my finger around what it is. I guess I'll lose myself a little and see what this brings.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt."

And just like that the light blinds me.