Azur Lane: Savior

With the fleets separated from Greynar, Saratoga and the Eagle Union fleet were trying to find a way to break through the iceberg. Unfortunately, they were still stuck on how to get past the massive iceberg. Saratoga was uneasy as time was running out, worried that the Commander might be on danger. Hornet seemed to notice the lack of Sirens as they gone past some fleets they encountered.

"Hmm? The Siren Fleet's counterattack seems to have weakened since just now?" Hornet said, gaining everyone's attention.

"Ah, did they split up their forces to chase after the commander? That's not good. Still can't contact the commander, Colombia?" Saratoga turned to the cruiser behind her.

Colombia replied with a shook. "I haven't stopped calling, but I can't get in touch with the Commander or Pamiat. Looks like there's a strong jamming system that the Sirens has. Moreover, this mirror sea is a bit different from the usual mirror sea."

Saratoga clicked her tongue in frustration. "Just when we thought we'd surpassed their jamming system... These Siren bastards..." She pouted, her mouth curling in a disgruntled expression.

"Then we might just need to go directly to the stronghold." Hornet patted her back. "Cheer up, Sara. Being like this won't fix the problem. We should put trust in Commander and Northern Parliament fleet."

"Okay, then we should- huh?!" Saratoga rigging beeped as her recon plane stumbled upon something. "A gap in the iceberg?"

Hornet noticed her changes in expression and checked her recon plane. She was also surprised to see a gap between the iceberg. "Someone seems to be fighting there..?" There was some hazy figure in the gap, the Sirens was also fighting them at the moment. "Is that why the Siren defense weaker than it was?"

Since their planes couldn't get a clear view of the area below due to the distance from the iceberg, Saratoga immediately called for her recon plane and instructed everyone to follow her. It took some time to navigate through the gaps in the iceberg. The Siren fleet was on its way, but the Eagle Union fleet managed to break through the enemy lines without much trouble.

Upon taking a closer look, Saratoga identified the figures but before she could say anything, several salvo went to her direction, South Dakota appeared before her just in time and shielded her from the attack. 

"Huh? Did i miss my salvo? You Siren pawns are getting smarter." The fierce woman before her grinned.

"Gangut, wait." Kirov stopped her friend from acting rashly. "This is the real Eagle Union fleet."

Gangut went silent and widened her eyes. "A- ah.... Блядь!! I almost done it and betrayed Azur Lane."

Saratoga recovered from the attack, immediately walked to them in an angry voice. "Hey!! What the heck was that attack! You could've hit us badly with that!"

The Northern Parliament girls gave her a wry smile. Gangut was the first one to speak and apologized to her sincerely. "Sorry! I didn't mean to do that, but even if it hitted you, your damage control equipment is the best in the world. Even if it was an accidental hit, it shouldn't be a big problem can it?" Gangut gave her a wry smile.

Dumbfounded by the woman statement, Saratoga retorted. "Wha- what kind of logic is that?!!" 

Kirov decided to take a step and calm the both down. "Hahaha, all right, all right, comrade from the Eagle Union. I am Kirov from the Northern Parliament, and these two are from Minsk and Gangut. We apologize for our rude first meeting as it was just a situational preventive to check if you guys are Siren pawns or not."

"I get that it's better to be safe than sorry, but did you really have to fire live ammunition? Do you guys often fire at each other here?" Saratoga asked, raising her brow.

Minsk replied to her question with a wry smile. "No? I don't think we do that to ourselves. We usually communicate via communication." 

"Gaaahhh!!! Then why—" Saratoga was about to say something and calmed down immediately. "Never mind that, i guess you guys also got some hard time coming here so i understand how it's a bit hard to identify someone in the middle of battle." 

"Thanks for your understanding." Kirov nodded to her.

Hornet joined it with a bright smile. "Now that it settled, are you guys with the Commander?"

The Northern cruiser nodded to her. "Our main fleet has already met up with Comrade Commander, and we are searching for your traces according to the Commander's orders. Meanwhile, Comrade Commander is advancing to the stronghold as of right now."

Hearing the good news, Hornet cheered. "Commander is okay? That's a relief!"

"By the way," the Northern destroyer called out to Saratoga. "Were you in command of the operations when the Commander was away, Miss... destroyer?"

"Pfft..!!" Hornet almost choked out hearing it.

Saratoga eye immediately locked to Minsk as she slowly took a step in front. "Sorry? Who. Do. You. Say. Is. The. Destroyer?! Hmmm..??" 

"S-scary..." Minsk murmured under her breath. "Sorry, i just thought it's rare to see a carrier like yourself, usually a carrier was like Miss Hornet over there." She pointed at Hornet beside her.

"....Ruuuuudde!!! Alright then, let's do a challenge while we make our way to the Commander! I'll show you the strength of Eagle Union's carrier!" Saratoga challenged them boldly.

"Oh? A challenge, sounds fun." Gangut grinned fiercely and pumped her fist.

"Seriously! I'm sorry!" Minsk apologized, but her apology was silenced by Gangut's laugh.

Kirov chuckled at their interaction. "Sounds like this will be a long journey."

"Haha, i hope not..." Hornet commented with a wry.

As the Eagle Union fleets along with Kirov's fleet worked together to get back to Greynar. On the other side of the mirror sea, his fleets was already inside the central area of the Siren's stronghold. Towering ice walls surrounded them, and the sea became increasingly turbulent, leaving less space to avoid attacks. The ice walls were densely packed with defense cannons, and between the cracks in the ice walls were patrol fleets. In stark contrast to the cold and quiet exterior, the scene was bustling with activity.

"I didn't expect that the ice and snow fortress that was motionless right under our nose actually had a lot of mysteries inside." Chapayev commented as she looked around inside the stronghold.

"We should've just destroyed it long ago." Rossiya said, she sighed silently. "What we thought was just a pile of rocks, turns out to be a huge boulder."

"Why hasn't the Northern Parliament take any action?" The Commander asked.

"You see... The Northern Parliament suffered huge losses when the Sirens first appeared. Although the situation has improved since then, the Sirens entrenched in the polar regions have almost consumed all of our energy. Not to mention, when the White Tower appeared it's thanks to you that we manage to repel most of them." Rossiya explained. "Although several joint attacks had been carried out, the results, as the Commander knew, were all in vain. As was with the case in NY City, it can be difficult to justify mobilizing forces to areas that have not presented as a clear threat."

"Then what about the Command's action? What do they say about this?" 

Chapayev then answered his question. "Because of the events of the Crimson Axis, wars broke out frequently in major seas. Not only did they have to deal with the Sirens, they also had to go to war with their former allies. On top of that, there's the replacement of the command center and the reassignment of jurisdictions... The Royal Navy and the Eagle Union are probably too busy dealing with their own issues."

He nodded in understanding, aware of the events unfolding around the world. The Sirens' attacks had become more fierce than before. Observer, the mastermind behind it all, had spoken to him about the divergence from the story he previously knew. He recalled the time they rescued Enterprise from the remnants of Bon Homme Richard—an event that did not align with the original narrative. This discrepancy struck him deeply, reminding him of the unpredictable nature of their ongoing struggle.

"The Sirens seem to be evolving," he said, deep in thought. "Even if their direct offensives have lessened, their underlying conspiracies haven't ended. Their strategy might be shifting, but their threat remains just as potent."

"По сути ничего не меняется. Меняются лишь наши представления о сути. (In essence, nothing changes. Only our understanding of the essence changes.)" Rossiya commented.

As the fleets roamed inside the stronghold along with attacking some Sirens fleet. Rossiya has gotten a message from her ally about Eagle Union's whereabouts and right now they have rendezvous and on their way to the coordinate Chapayev has provided for them. 

"Understood... Yeah the coordinate are exactly that." After Rossiya took off her communicator, and she turned to Greynar. "There's a message from Kirov. She's successfully joined up with the Eagle Union fleet and is making her way here."

Greynar nodded, but he still keep eyeing at her. "Speaking of which, that's a communicator, right?" He was interested in their communicator.

"Yeah, this is our communicator device we use." Rossiya presented it to him.

"Does the Northern Parliament have a way to bypass the Mirror Sea's jamming effect?" He asked in curiosity.

Rossiya raised her brow and noticed his interest on the device. "Comrade Commander, are you interested in that piece of technology? Don't the Eagle Union also got the technology for it? In fact-"

[Just a bunch of thieves. In your culture, yes, like that fire-stealing Prometheus, vile thieves.] Rossiya's word were cut off short as an unfamiliar, alien voice rose from the transmission. 

"Who's there?!" Rossiya and the fleets was on alert as the voice resounding throughout everywhere.

[Uninvited, you come. So rude, so foolish. This place has nothing to do with you, and the experiment wasn't meant for you. Even so, you remain ungrateful. Do you seek the truth buried here?] The voice echoed.

'Omitter...' Greynar silently thought. 'She has finally showed herself, and... Is that some drama script?'

[Yes, begone, thieves in the night! Plunderers! Face destruction and sink by my hand!] As soon the voice said it, the ice walls around them begin to move in a unpredictable way.

"The ice walls are closing in around us!" Grozny alerted everyone.

"Woah! It's spectacular... No, I mean it's terrible!" Pamiat commented. "We need to get the hell out of here!"

The stronghold stirred like a behemoth given life by the mysterious Siren voice, rough winds and waves forming as sheets of ice deformed and convulsed. The weather also became worse, with dark clouds covering the entire sky, making it almost impossible to see even during thunderstorms. The entire stronghold, no- the entire mirror sea was beginning to move.

"Commander! It seems that the Sirens' interference has escalated, and contact with Kirov and the others has been lost." Rossiya said to him.

"These damn Sirens..." Pamiat gritted her teeth. "We can't take any more ridiculous stunt pulled by them! Commander what should we do!"

Still maintaining a calm expression outside, inside his on-going panic, Greynar commanded. "We have no choice to counterattack them with all of our firepower! Hold until Eagle Union fleets arrive!"

"A calculated decision, Commander. As expected, you've taken stock of the situation quickly." Chapayev chuckled as she ready to fight the Sirens.

"Comrades, this is our homeland of the Northern United Nations, we have no way out from this rampage! For all we love, the blade of the North will tear through all enemies! Attack the Sirens! Let them know that the only thing they need to fear is us!" Rossiya said, announcing their counterattack.

As the first bullet landed on the water's surface, the fleets charged through the enemy lines. Volga dispatched her squadron planes to gain air control over the battlefield. In the enclosed space, dodging bullets recklessly was impossible. Grozny leaped from the ship and blitzed towards a Siren ship, using her weapon to disable its armaments before planting an ASW device inside. Rossiya assisted by pushing the disabled ship into the enemy lines with her rigging. Grozny then used a remote-controlled device to detonate the ASW, triggering a chain reaction of explosions that tore through the enemy fleet.

For a moment, the Siren fleets halted, redirecting their aim towards the two girls before them. In an instant, Chapayev appeared beside the fleets, piercing through one of the destroyers and creating a gaping hole in its hull. Her rigging shot an ice chain into the hole, rendering the destroyer immobilized. Using her superhuman strength, she pulled the immobilized destroyer around, crashing it into nearby Siren ships. 

As Greynar looked at the scene before him, he was reminded once again that these girls were not human. They were fully organic beings, personifications of ships, created from humanity consciousness. They were KANSEN. 

The battle raged on within the stronghold, the giant iceberg starting to crack around the fleets. Enemies appeared endlessly from the fissures, and weapons fired from all directions. Exhaustion took its toll on the girls; the Siren assault was relentless and overwhelming.

"Shit, Rossiya! How are Kirov and the others doing? They should be at the coordinates we gave them by now!" the Commander shouted, as his ship shook from an explosion nearby.

"Not yet! We can't get any news due to the Siren's interference! Something must have happened along the way!" she replied, holding her ground and maintaining her defense to fend off the enemy.

"Damn it, we need to give them some times to come her-" 

"Fret not, Commander! Saratoga's making her entrance!" His word was cut off as Saratoga's plane appeared behind him.

He turned to the voice to see Saratoga jumped from above the hole they made on the surface of the stronghold. "Saratoga!" He was relieved that they are fine now that they've reunited.

As soon they have gathered, Rossiya praised her teammates. "Good job, Kirov, Gangut, Minsk. You've done exceptionally well." 

"Hehe, this is nothing for me." Kirov said with a smug face. She looks around before identifying each of the enemies. "Heh, there's a ton of enemies...! Can you still do this, Gangut?" She turned to the fierce battleship beside her.

"Don't underestimate me, Kirov! Our souls burn most brilliantly only in the face of adversity!" Gangut replied with a smirk. "We, the Northern Parliament will never back down in front of thousands of enemies." 

"Well that's one way to say it, we also had a good time fighting those enemies while competing with the Unions." Minsk said.

"Glad we made it on time Commander." Cleveland nudged him. "So these girls are the main fleets of Northern Parliament? Which one of them that grabbed your attention now?"

Greynar shushed her. "Not right now. We're under some situation right now. You've heard the voice too right?"

Cleveland nodded. "All of us did, that might be the Siren on that thing" She pointed at the giant iceberg behind the massive Sirens fleet.

"They really hacked my communicator in some ways, this someone has the nerve to do it." Minsk commented, glaring at the Siren fleets.

"Mine too, they must have something on their end to do such things in an instant." Chapayev nodded along with the destroyer.

"Next up, it's an all-out battle." Gangut grinned. "All of us has gathered together, this will be an easy one." 

"Don't jinx it, Gangut." Grozny warned her. "That person might be a strong elite Siren."

"An elite Siren..." South Dakota slowly curled her lips into a smile. "That will be interesting to see."

"We don't have any clues what to expect, but it will be a tough battle for sure," Hornet replied with a wry smile.

"Northern Parliament Combined Fleet, prepare for battle! Give these Sirens a taste of our true power!" Rossiya commanded, rallying her friends. "Let them know that we're here to be feared!"

The Commander stepped forward to take command of the fleets. "Our objective is to target the deepest part of the Siren stronghold and destroy it. All fleets, move out!"