Azur Lane: Savior

"Enterprise! We're finally made i-" Washington was the second one to arrive to the scene and stopped her words immediately, she looked at her friend and the other figure. "Looks like you've also met her." She gave the mysterious figure a silent hungry gaze, waiting for a battle to take over.

Victorious was third to arrive as she hold her staff tightly. "Don't charge alone in the middle of battle please." She noticed the figure in front of Enterprise. "We've meet again... Mysterious ship."

The META didn't bother glancing at the goddess-like carrier as the command ship arrvied to the storm's eye. "You are also here..." She muttered silently. "Seems like we can't trust Antiochus afterall." 

"We are finally face to face. Do you still remember me? I didn’t expect to see you again so soon!" Washington snorted. "You've just made a biiigg... trouble for poking the eagle's nest."

"During the previous attack, we let you go in order to protect the New York Harbor. Today, we don’t have so many concerns to defeat you!" Saratoga jumped from the command ship. "I thought we could maybe become allies after you rescued North Carolina and company, but in light of what you did..." Saratoga's voice grew louder. "The attack of NY City... the harbor... We should've known better, you're no different from the Sirens!"

"Though at first glance they seem different, the electromagnetic readings emitted by the storm in the Bermuda Triangle are identical to those of the Winter's Crown!" Victorious checked her record from her rigging and matching it with the current giant device behind Enterprise META. "That incident was your doing as well, wasn't it?!"

The mysterious Enterprise scoffed. For her, no matter what it takes, they need to get back to their destination, though it will take some time, she need to stall some time before they could really go. She hastily draw her bow, mirroring Enterprise, and aimed directly at her. The two stood poised, their eyes locked, ready for the impending clash. 

"Enterprise!!" Victorious shouted to get her attention.

"Stay out of this, Victorious!" Enterprise retorted back.

"What are you thinking, Enterprise?" The figure in front of her asked.

"To get an answer from you." She replied with a glare.

"You are the only person i wanted to avoid directly." She glanced at the command ship. "But, in the end, you were also a lifeless puppet controlled by Antiochus." 

An unknown wording was out from the figure's mouth, Enterprise didn't understand what she has just said. "Anti...och...us?"

"They really made you become a foolish person, so naive that you think you can free from their grasp." The META continued. "Even if you bring that thing to me, it wouldn't change my mind." She glanced at the command ship again for a moment before looked at Enterprise again.

Enterprise realized what did she mean about it. She widened her eyes. "...Everyone, protect Commander! It's not us that she's after!"

The META shook her head. "That's not him who i am after, at least... Not until i could seek answer from the person i care the most."

Enterprise turned again to the META as she still aimed her arrow towards her. "You haven't answered my question! Are you friend or foe?!"

Enterprise META turned slightly but she stayed silent. She looked towards Enterprise in the eye, her void blue eyes piercing through the gaze.

"ANSWER ME!!" Enterprise raised her voice.

A sword suddenly landed between them, the sword cut through the air and exploded it with a loud roar. Suddenly a figure blitzed through the person in front of her and kicked her away. Inside the fiery explosion, a silhouette of a woman was seen. The sword she grasped pierced through the fire around her. 

Enterprise slowly arose as she gradually recover from the kick. "What... is this..." She looked towards the woman that was gripping her sword, the sword was pointing towards her. "What is this déjà vu im feeling..." 

The figure, Takao META spoke to her ally. "I told you, don't make unnecessary contact in this timeline." She unsheathed her sword halfway. "I'll help you hold them back and do what you need to do." 

The META nodded at her, "There are a lot of them. Be careful."

"Understood. Go." Takao asked her as she disappeared from the location.

"Where do you think you're going?! Come back! Answer me...!" Enterprise tried to chase the woman but Takao hold her off with her sword. 

"You have no right to face her yet." Her eyes, devoid of any emotion glared at the girl.

Enterprise nearly getting cut in half as she stepped away from her. She took out her plane towards the META swordswoman as it instantly exploded on mid-air before it could harm the woman.

"Look at the enemy in front of you! Yes, i will be your opponents!" Takao pointed her sword at Enterprise. "Let me see what the difference is between this timeline and the null!"

She started the fight with a huge leap from her location. Enterprise, getting caught off guard with her speed was forced to block the incoming attack from Takao. The META shipgirl kept doing multiple attack towards her as she needed to block all of it, Enterprise was in a tight situation before someone could help her. Saratoga helped Enterprise with her assist, she helped the carrier to escape the combo of slash using her dive bomber plane. Enterprise then backed off taking distance from Takao and shot her arrows.

The arrow got deflected by her skillful parry technique as she raised her speed towards Enterprise. The META looked at Enterprise with a disappointment as her odachi sword unsheathed, preparing to make a slash to Enterprise with no feeling of guilt.

"Enterprise!!!" Victorious shouted as she finished her build-up for her staff's energy to shine brightly and summoned a pillar of light to the META location.

The META dodged to the side but she met again with another pillar of light. Takao clicked her tongue and stepped back as she couldn't get closer to Enterprise. Looking at the direction where Enterprise META went to. She noticed that other fleets has started to appear inside the eye of the storm. Switching her rigging mechanism, her sword begin to make a whirling sound. 

She slashed the air as a dark aura cloaked her sword. The sword produced barrage of slash that shot straight to Enterprise with a fast speed. Enterprise went bend down as she crashed to the water and pulled the string of her rigging bow then shot multiple arrows at once. The arrows that was shot was quickly deflected by Takao with her odachi. The META ran up to Enterprise while deflecting more arrow that was hurled towards her. 

Enterprise was prepared to defend the sword, but she is surprised when Takao suddenly changed her direction towards Victorious and Saratoga. Victorious, caught off guard by Takao sudden change of target, pushed Saratoga that was standing beside her then blocked the slash using her rigging. The META dodged the arrow that was shot by Enterprise behind her and swung her sword to the side. 

Victorious felt that the slash almost touched her body but she manage to retaliate by bending the sword slash to the side, she fell to the side while tried to deflect it since it was very heavy to block the sword slash.

Takao, unable to slash Victorious with her only power, went back to her initial location, she watched the fleet with cautious.

"Sh-she's strong...!" Victorious struggled to stand after she recovered from the attack.

"Sure enough, our judgment was correct. This time singularity that ANTI-X deliberately hid..." Takao said as she began unsheathed her nodachi. "This timeline, hidden out of sight by Antiochus is differs from all others we've seen. Even the other time when we manage to slash that tower."

Greynar who was looking at the fight, struggling to remain calm as a pain seeped through his head. The familiarity he felt and heard was ringing inside his mind. All was because of the singularity's signal frequency was resonating with the S.A.V.I.O.R, he felt a connection to somewhere else but he couldn't tell where did it come from. The singularity, as far as he remembers was something that connecting a place to another, and it was something akin to a portal that connects to another dimension.

'What is this pain...' He muttered in his mind. 'Ugghh... that thing is... why is that thing is here...'

Enterprise stood still in front of Takao, she noticed that Essex and Baltimore had arrived beside her. 

"Tell me... What exactly is it you're planning?! Why did you side with the Sirens and attack NY City?" Enterprise decided to asked the enemy in front of her.

The META ship gritted her teeth. "Idiots! The attack on New York Harbor was just a plot by ANTI-X to lure you here. You were simply being used by a bunch of machine brains!" She continued. "As for us, we are nothing but a group of remnants living in the ashes, the last flare burned out with the past of the future."

"Then why—!" 

"You cannot even begin to fathom the burden that we shoulder." Takao META prepared her nodachi as she hold her odachi on the back. "Leave us be, and pray that our paths never cross again."

She did a double slash with her nodachi sword to Enterprise, the META didn't even need to move from her position to make her attack hit the carrier in front of her. Baltimore went in front of Enterprise and put her rigging in front to shield the attack. Essex then launched her corsair squadron towards Takao as she used her odachi to tank the damage and her nodachi to rapidly slash the swarm of planes. 

"Your aircrafts is useless against me."

"Tch, she is very strong, we couldn't overpower her." Essex said while waiting for an opportunity to arise.

"Then how about a firepower of a battleship!" Washington smirked and shot her turret to the META ship.

"If you insist to test my limit, then you are no match for me." Takao announced, an aura appeared on her nodachi, there was a glimmer, followed by the sharp, swift sound of a sword's swing.

Thousand cut appeared before the shell could explode, Takao already surpassed the speed of sound with her unseen slash.

"The hell? She easily slashed my shell?" Washington was surprised at the scene unfolding before her, it was unreal to see someone could achieve the feat of thousand-cuts.

"Washington, step back! She is no match for an average battleship shell." Greynar ordered, looking at the swordswomen with caution. "Looks like she got more power than we thought."

A surging wave of energy came forth from the ship's sword, slashing shells, planes, and the very sea in twain. This immense power was like that of Bismarck's, possibly even stronger. Takao took a glance again at the command ship, she aimed her sword at him. 

"...I had begun to believe you may be able to lead these girls. But if you truly insist on standing in our way, then I will have to show you..." 

"She is aiming for Commander! Everyone defend the command ship!" Enterprise shouted to warn every fleets in the perimeter. 

Takao's sword clashed with Baltimore before she could rush off to the command ship. Baltimore blocked her odachi but it was too heavy for her to maintain her stance. Baltimore called out to Essex to get ready and launch her plane when she gave the signal. The carrier nodded as she prepared another squadron to take off from her rigging. Enterprise followed suit with pulling her bow, aiming at Takao's feet. 

"NOW!!" Baltimore used all of her power to push Takao back and deflect the slash using her right side of the rigging.

Essex and Enterprise launched their Wildcat squadrons to Takao before she could get a chance to use her other sword. The META ship let go of her nodachi and kicked Baltimore to the side. She let a wave of aura that struck the squadron's control to be severed and disabled. 

"Not good!" Enterprise noticed that their attack are meaningless to the ship before them and went to Greynar as fast as she could to reach him. "COMMANDEEEER!!!"

Takao holds her odachi on the air, wanting to slam down the water to create a spark of shockwave that will destroy the command ship. "...If I was to destroy that thing, then—!"

A hand suddenly stopped her from swinging it down. "That's enough, we've finished what we needed to do here." 

"...Sorry, i let myself took it far." Takao sighed to herself and slowly sheathed her odachi.

"It's fine, doesn't matter in the long run." Enterprise META glanced to her counterpart. "There's no need to fight these people anymore. The beacon has been set so that the forces fighting against them can join."

"You..." Enterprise called out to her. "Why did you stop that attack."

Enterprise META looked towards the girl, she glanced between her and the command ship. "Don't start making any assumption... It's just... I don't want to feel that pain of losing, again."

Behind her, the singularity emitted a small light until it gradually turned bright. The shockwave of the dazzling light, knocked back the fleets around them. Victorious noticed that the light the device emitting is the same as the Crown-like light she have seen before in the northern pole. The Ashes begin to step into the light as Enterprise META took a last glance to Greynar and turned back, vanishing into the light.

As the light faded, the winds began to slow, the waters became placid, and the whirring of electronics returning to life could be heard throughout the fleet. The singularity which had covered the Bermuda Triangle was completely gone, as if nothing had ever happened. The storm's eye subside down and the weather was back to normal again.

'The NY command... no, precisely the Eagle Union command. They know something about the Ashes or the META ships.' He muttered under his breath. 'Observer only controlled the Azur Lane command and only some part of higher up that she controls. The order from Azur Lane command was to look for the cause of the singularity, but the Eagle Union command ordered us to destroy the Ashes... Who gave them the information about Ashes?'

Having to finish the mission by closing the singularity, although it wasn't them that closed off the singularity. Greynar ordered everyone to head back to NY harbor to get them fixed immediately and told the other fleet that didn't get inside the storm's eye to secure the path for the others that was inside. Their mission was a success with a bit of a twist.