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Ladon's POV
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after my long night battle with Enterprise last night was interrupted by another night battle out at sea as we needed to respond with a defensive force to counter the attacking the Sirens,who decided to attack in the middle of the dead ass night 

it was not just some Siren force either as it was some large force consisting of hundreds of Sirens,which took us the entire remainder of the night until dawn to finish destroying,by the time we got back to base,the sun had already fully risen and all participating members of the defense force were tired beyond belief,which included Me and Enterprise

at this time,I could really feel how Sis was everyday as I really just wanted to lay in my bed the entire day but being one of the leaders of Eagle Union,that really was not an option for either Me or Enterprise nor would we have taken that option either way,to compromise with our need of sleep and need of work,we both chugged down about 12-24 whole containers of highly expensive but also highly effective coffee I bought during our secret vacation while Enty wasn't looking a while back

to Belfast's dismay,the maid really didn't have much authority to tell us off nor did she dare try considering we were primed and loaded with coffee,that will keep us awake for the entire day,no matter how much work we have,apart from this,there was not much difference from any other day we have in the base,so naturally everyone continued with their day like normal while Me and all other Faction Leaders discussed the next series of events for Azur Lanes plans

Q.E:are you sure,you and Enterprise will be alright,it'll be perfectly fine if you both take the day off for today

Bismarck:she's right,no harm in delaying the plans by just a day,better than risking both of you in a fight

Enterprise:we'll be fine,this is nothing short of calculated

Ladon:she's right,not like this is the first time I've had this much coffee in a single moment anyway,we'll be fine

Nagato:Ladon,you're denting the table 

I looked down to my hand that was instinctively and repeatedly hitting the table with my fingers as I was leaving small dents on the table with every hit which was now quite large dents in the table as I quickly retracted my hand and stopped

Ladon:that doesn't count

Jean:why did the hell did you all pick him as a leader for one of the major factions

Yat Sen:because he can still kick your overconfident ass whether he's fueled with coffee or not

Ladon:doesn't matter,the point is today,we're progressing with the plans to fight the Sirens

Richelieu:what is the plan,Ladon?

Ladon:well,we all know,that these lesser humanoid Sirens and production models really aren't much without orders and objectives

Veneto:yes,their quite like mindless swarms

Ladon:well,if that is the case,then why don't we just get rid of the thing,that gives them orders

Q.E:hold on,are you saying,you want to go after their higher ranking officers?

Nagato:the higher ranking Sirens are heavily protected,if they learn that we're hunting them,they surely won't come out to us,how do you propose to find them

Ladon:we're not going after the officers yet,it wouldn't matter if we do

Enterprise:they'll just return after recreating their bodies,so our effort would be meaningless

Bismarck:then what are we after?

Ladon:we're going after the tech and machinery,that let them come back to life

everyone apart from Enterprise,looked at Me with slightly widened eyes as they most definitely did not expect Me to say what I said,their attention was now fully on Me as they waited for Me to continue what it was I had to say

Jean:hold on,machinery,that brings them back to life?

Ladon:yes

Soyuz:do you mean,their ports or docks?

Ladon:no,nothing like that

Soyuz:then what do you mean,Comrade

Ladon:to explain this,you need to know the key difference between ships like us and the Sirens we face

Richelieu:and what would that be

Ladon:ships like us are created from Wisdom Cubes,our entire being is materialized energy from our Cube,our ship is the same but it's material form is altered to match that of what it is supposed to be,Sirens are the same but the key difference is,we have a core,a center part,that makes us whole,Sirens do not

Q.E:please elaborate that,I don't quite understand

Enterprise:from what Ladon said,studies believe,that Sirens are incomplete builds of some kind,they have a materialized body,a materializable ship and mind,that adapts overtime but they lack a piece,that completes them-

Ladon:a Wisdom Cube

Jean:hold on right there,you're saying we're all made of Wisdom Cubes like those Siren scum but you're saying,that they don't have a Wisdom Cube??

Nagato:I am very lost

Ladon:when our bodies are created something needs to supply the energy needed to materialize the object,the Wisdom Cube used is what gives us this energy and it is what gives us this energy till this day 

Enterprise:basically,when we're created,the Wisdom Cubes split into different parts of the subject once the material form is ready to be made,the Wisdom Cube reconstructs inside us in an energy based form and feeds our body with the energy we need

Ladon:it's why we get tired,why we get fatigued,why we get energized and why we feel anything at all,this energy form based Cube is the source of everything we feel,it's our center and it's why the Sirens don't get tired,it's why they don't feel anything at all

they all just looked at Me and Enterprise with very confused face as if they were looking at some deranged duo as they all stared at us like we had taken more than just some coffee and had been seeing a lot more than they have

Jean:anyone else think,they shouldn't have that much coffee

Q.E:I was thinking just that,before this entire meeting but we're already here

Bismarck:ok,let's say this is true,how does this relate with their machinery,that brings them back to life

Ladon:simple,the energy we get from our Cubes is limitless and endless,so all we have to do when exhausting it is wait for it to regenerate but Sirens don't have Wisdom Cubes so they don't have this endless and limitless energy,thus they don't heal,not without some kind of external factor

Richelieu:what your saying is,whatever damage is done to them is permanent until they manually fix themselves?

Enterprise:that's exactly what it means,unlike us,who will heal over time and only need ships repaired

Veneto:but if they don't tire out,wouldn't that mean that they can fight endlessly as long as they don't take major damage and if that is the case,why haven't they done that yet

Ladon:simply because,it doesn't matter if you can fight endlessly if in the end you will never win

Nagato:what does that mean?

Ladon:with Wisdom Cubes giving us energy,we can do more than we can think it's just about having the energy to do it,with the Sirens,they will never tire out but they will never be able to do more than what their bodies can do,their performance is stagnant and always be the same

Yat Sen:because they can't feel anything or have no real motivation to pass their limits,they can't compete with our performance in fight apart from rigging

Ladon:exactly

Bismarck:ok but that doesn't answer,how it relates to their ability to come back to life

Enterprise:to shorten it up,they can't come back to life,they simply aren't dying

Jean:now I'm even more confused

Ladon:during the battle with the Orochi,I was able to kill,Observer,Tester and Purifier,take note of the weeks on end of peace we got because of this

Nagato:it was a very long time until we got attacked again and Siren activity severely dropped in the time afterwards

Ladon:that's because when I killed them,they didn't die,they simply lost access to their bodies but their minds lived on

Q.E:which means,all they need is another body to take over and they'll be good to go again

Enterprise:yes,but the process needed to recreate the body takes very long since Siren's aren't made the same way we are

Ladon:unlike us ships,that are made from the collected data of the Wisdom Cube,Siren ships and bodies are manually made by machines,creating a ship is easy for them but making a humanoid is not,this is why they many more production models than humanoid Sirens 

Enterprise:the machines they use have to completely create and materialize the bodies of the humanoid Sirens,the stronger the Siren,the longer it take,so if a high ranking Siren dies,it take them very long to reorganize 

Nagato:which is why,you want to target these machines?

Soyuz:if we destroy these machines,they won't be able to return to any body and they won't be able to make any more 

Bismarck:ok then,is there any proof of these claims you said?

Bismarck spoke with a type of tone,that said she really wasn't believing,what we were saying,so in response,I leaned forward in my chair and rested my head on my palm using my arm to support myself as I looked at Bismarck with an unamused face

Ladon:the concepts studies began in my earlier years of creation which was LONG before any of you,it's had about a decade or two of research put into it,nothing big,the head researcher for this is also the same person who made Me being in such a high position gave her a lot of open contacts and resources,including the data and info I ripped from the cold dead bodies of Siren I tortured back in the day,those bodies gave us the data to start this whole study,so I'd say there's quite a lot of proof for you to look into

I gave Bismarck a smug smile as I continued to rest my head on my palm as she shot Me an annoyed look before reclining back into her chair in defeat

Nagato:if we're going after these machines,do we know where to look for them

Ladon:I'm glad you asked,because I just got this,this morning-

from inside my jacket,I pulled out a folder labeled Top Secret and tossed it onto the table for all of them to see as even Enterprise looked with interest as I haven't shown her the contents of the folder yet either

Nagato was the first one to grab it as she opened it up and quickly looked through and scanned the contents if the folder as I waited for her to see the nature of the contents of the folder before saying anything further

it only took a few moments before Nagato through the folder back onto the table with a curious face as she turned to Me for whatever confirmation she needed regarding the contents of the folder she looked into

Nagato:is everything in the folder true and accurate

Ladon:it's not getting more accurate than that

Veneto:what did it say,Ms.Nagato

Nagato:the folder is a detailed report regarding the location of the Siren's reviving machinery,including the size of the structure it's in,it's defenses and the nature of the surrounding area 

Bismarck:you got this info this quickly

Ladon:we're fighting against time here,I'd like to strike before they do

Enterprise:where are we striking then?

Nagato:the center of the Pacific

Ladon:from what the reconnaissance fleet said,they found all high ranking sirens converging on the base for some reason,so it's safe to say,that this base is their main stronghold and it's probably safe to say,that this is the only base,with the revival machinery,due to the needed size of the machines and the power needed to use them

Soyuz:do you already have a plan in mind to attack the base already?

Ladon:I do,I've been planning this attack for quite sometime after the reunification of Azur Lane as an alliance 

Yat Sen:do we have everything we need for it?

Ladon:we pretty much do but there are some small contingency's I need to prepare still before we can launch the attack

Q.E:What do we have to do,if we can quicken up the pace of whatever preparation is needed the better,if we have a shot to end this war,then let's take it

Ladon:not so simple,this is the main hub of all the Sirens,they won't hold anything back in defending this place and we have to expect,that millions of hostiles will be there to stop us and even though I said,that I'd like to strike before they do,we still have to play cautiously moving forward

Richelieu:what is it,that you wish to do then

Ladon:for now,I'll handle the preparations,for all Factions,I want a large scale Siren hunt to commence,every hostile we destroy before the fight will greatly contribute in the supposed final battle

Bismarck:you want everyone to hunt down Sirens?

Ladon:as many as we can send without exhausting our forces,it'll be bad if we get caught in a bad spot while we're preparing,so I'll leave it to you all to command our forces,while I get everything ready

Enterprise:you can count on us then

Ladon:great,that'll conclude this meeting then

with the meeting over everyone apart from Me stood up and left the meeting room as I remained to continue thinking of how to foolproof the attack plan before the actual attack,everything was pretty much in place and all I needed was to level the details but a certain feeling in Me and the constantly nagging inner voice of my darkside told Me,that this was not enough at all

AN:this whole part is Me being big brain with plot,so sorry

Timeskip brought to you by Ladon carrying a Lil E while he stood in front of a gravestone

Ladon:how long will it take to finish

???:not long at all,I can probably have it done by the end of the moth or even sooner

Ladon:great,I'll leave it to you then and don't tell anyone,once it's finished just tell her what I sent to you and have her sent to the base

???:sure then but will you tell her

Ladon:no,I'll keep this as a surprise and a secret for now

???:why though,this seems like something you shouldn't hide from her

Ladon:I'll be honest with you here,my intuitions are almost always on point and I don't feel like I'm lasting much longer

???:WHAT!?!?!what's going on there,what's happening

Ladon:calm down,nothings happening yet but I'm starting to feel like my time's running out and when it happens,I want something to make sure Enty and Sis don't go haywire when I'm gone,so-

???:so,you want this to fill the gap,that you might make

Ladon:yeah,can you-

???:yeah,yeah,I told you I can already and I will but you better not be throwing your life away alright

Ladon:I won't,not until these Sirens are all at the bottom of the ocean

???:good,I'll talk to you again sooner or later,I've got to get to work here

Ladon:alright,talk to you later

I hanged up the call and dropped my radio as I looked back to my somewhat small stack of paperwork,everything we needed to attack the Siren stronghold was almost ready,we just needed verification on a few things and to wait for the completion of others,once we get all of those out of the way,it won't take us long to make a plan of attack since I already had one

it was definitely a process but it would be well worth it if if we can destroy the only revival machinery the Sirens have and it'll be even more worth it if we can kill the high ranking Sirens right after,since they wouldn't be able to come back once we do 

as I worked on my paperwork,the thought of what to do once the war was over crossed my mind,after all,everything I wanted to do was pretty much achieved before the war had ended,I wanted to give Laffey a world where she didn't need to fight and even though there are still Sirens at sea,she's barely seen action after the Orochi fight and I wanted to be able to live without the need to follow orders or to get away from the war and I was able to do it with the addition of having Enterprise by my side while doing it

there wasn't much I wanted apart from those things and now,that I look at it,I had nothing to look forward to apart from ending this war,I had nothing to look forward to,I wanted nothing,I had nothing to gain afterwards apart from peace and rest

I dropped the pen I was using and reclined back into my chair as I gave some more thought into what to do after the war,I definitely wanted to live with Enterprise and Sis,I'd probably get a nice big house somewhere secluded and we'd live our pretty much immortal lives like normal people since we don't age,if I do survive this war,Me and Enty have a lot more to look forward to than just retirement,we get to have something,that gives life,that authenticity it's known for

I'd also take Laffey and her friend to that waterpark they wanted to go to and probably join them as well with Enty,we'd probably make a lot more memories and we'd probably live it to the fullest we can with everyone like Yorktown and Hornet and everyone else,the thoughts were great in my head but with the consideration of how the fight might go down,it felt a lot more like thoughts and just thoughts alone more and more

because of the realization,I shook of the train of thoughts and got back to work on my paperwork but before I could,the door to Me and Enterprise's office flew open as I looked up to see,that the co-owner of the office was looking at Me with a exhausted face 

Ladon:Enterprise?,what-

Enterprise:you need to see this,NOW!!!

Enterprise approached Me and laid down a tablet with a video prepared to play as I took the tablet and played the video,it showed a large Siren fleet mobilizing behind what looked like a Eagle Union shipgirl fleet with both fleets not firing a single attack at each other,the Eagle Union fleet consisted of ships like Oklahoma,Nevada,Arizona,Pensacola and Langley and Ranger,it even had Laffey and Enterprise among them

I watched the video until the end as the 2 fleets just sailed forward with no interactions other than the Eagle Union fleet seemingly leading the Sirens to somewhere,I laid down the table and looked over to Enterprise as I needed some answers now

Ladon:what do we know about this so far

Enterprise:not much,there have been other occurrences like this spotted with a fleet leading the Sirens and it's not just Eagle Union,it's Sakura Empire too

Ladon:Sakura Empire huh?,does Nagato know?

Enterprise:yeah,someone brought her a video as well

Ladon:hmmm,their definitely mobilizing for something and the imposters being Eagle Union and Sakura Empire is no coincidence 

Enterprise:it's not just that either,unescorted Siren fleets are mobilizing as well,in mass numbers too,what do you think of it

Ladon:hmmm,what has the other leaders said about the matter first

Enterprise:Bismarck want to send a fleet to start picking off the fleets since we're going to be hunting them down soon anyway,Q.E want to observe them with a spy fleet to learn,what their doing and Nagato wants to find where their going

Ladon:do we know where their going?,or at least a general area of where their converging

Enterprise:we're not quite sure but from what we know,it's somewhere within Eagle Union territory and it's somewhere East of the base

Ladon:East?,what's East of the base and what could they want,that they needed to bring out fake versions of us

I leaned back into my chair and Me and Enterprise both gave some thought into the possibilities at hand as we needed to find out,what their objectives are as this could potentially delay our plans of attack and ultimately be the reason the plan fails

I couldn't think of any reason for them to head east apart from converging for a large scale attack but that wouldn't do them much,since we're already all united and they are well aware of that,the clues just didn't add up

as we thought of the possibilities,the door to the office flew open again as this time,Helena was the one to barge in a panic as she look like she had seen a real ghost,she entered the room and closed the door behind her as she caught her breath before turning to us 

Enterprise:Helena?

Helena:Ms.Enterprise,we've located a general area where the Sirens are converging on

Ladon:perfect timing,where is it

Helena:both the Eagle Union and Sakura Empire clones,along with the Sirens,seem to be converging,roughly a small distance away from the remains of the Old Pearl Harbor

Enterprise:Old Pearl Harbor?,what could they be doing there?,there's nothing left of that place

the moment pieces fell into place and the puzzle was complete,once I heard Pearl Harbor from Helena,it all clicked together and I knew,what it was the Sirens were doing and I knew exactly how to stop it,or even better turn it into our advantage

Ladon:Midway

Enterprise:what?

Ladon:their going to reenact Midway,that's why they have clones of Eagle Union and Sakura Empire clones mobilizing near Pearl Harbor

Enterprise:are you sure?

Ladon:it's the only logical explanation,as for their reason for doing so,their either drawing us in for a trap or their collecting data,either way,we may be able to use this to our advantage

Enterprise:what do you have in mind?

Ladon:for a reenactment,the size and magnitude of Midway,they'll need to allocate a lot of their forces to it and deploy a large number of ships to make sure it goes smoothly,along with that,the High Ranking Sirens would definitely not want to miss such a grand show,that means,they'll probably watch the show from the side as well

Enterprise:what's your point?,I'm not quite following

Ladon:with such a big force gone and the High Ranking targets gone,this would be a massively good opportunity to strike at our target

Enterprise:you want to go after the stronghold?

Ladon:all preparations are pretty much complete,the ones we're waiting for are just small contingencies,this is the prime opening we need and there's no point in missing it

I sat up straight from my chair and looked at both Enterprise and Helena as the shifted original plan formed in my head with what we need to do

Ladon:Helena,please go and alert the other Faction Leaders,that there are some changes to the plan and to meet Me and Enterprise in the meeting room,tell them to pull back all of our forces from any fighting as well,that includes the PR's 

Helena:understood

Ladon:Enty,let's go to the meeting room,we'll wait for everyone there

Enterprise:alright,I hope you know what you're doing

Ladon:don't worry,this will work,it's time we even the playing fields

Meanwhile,near Midway

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No One's POV
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while Azur Lane pulled back their forces and organized themselves for Ladon's plans,the enemy made their own preparations on much larger scales as the targets of humanity floated in the air as they watched all the Siren pawns and ships approach from within the distance 

of the High Ranking,that could be present at the preparation phase,only 4 were present to oversee the preparations of the large scale reenactment,that would give them all the data they needed for the creation of the ultimate being,the one,that would lead the Sirens and bring total doom and destruction to humanity,the one,that cannot be stopped by any force,their Empress

Observer:how long until everything is in place

Tester:not much longer,we are merely waiting for the arrival of all our actors

Purifier:ooooo,I can't wait,I want see all of it,now

Zero:detected impatience within Purifier,likeliness of success,reduced to 60% from 90%

Purifier:hey!!!

Observer:patience,Purifier,you'll get to see your fight later,this is for the Empress after all

Tester:indeed,we cannot fail this or there will be serious repercussions

Purifier:yeah,yeah,I get it

Zero:success rate,returned to 90%

Purifier:shut up short stack

Observer:has there been any transmissions from the spy we sent

Tester:not yet,they haven't sent anything back

Zero:chances of spy's death 89%

Purifier:she's right for once,it's unlikely she got away from being so close to their base,she's probably dead

With the spy

the spy laid on the water as the waves of the ocean surface carried her and the different parts of her body away as she gradually sunk beneath the waves to sink to the ocean floor,she had failed her task to spy on Azur Lane and return with the information as she was stopped by a hail of shells and dagger to her neck

Georgia:was it necessary to chop her limbs off before stabbing her in the neck

Roon:I don't know,I kind of like this side of her

Ibuki:I do not

Seattle:it's not about killing her,it's about sending a message,nobody takes the form of my friends and does bad things under their name and gets away with it

Friedrich:well,the Faction Leaders did issue a Siren hunt,so I suppose we can just say,that this was part of it

Neptune:let's not waste anymore time,they're all waiting for us on base since Ladon seems to have changed some plans

Gascogne:time to arrival deadline,7 minutes

Kitakaze:let's go then

as the Siren sunk beneath the waves,the PR's left n hurry as to get back to base as soon as possible as they were called back for a reason and,that reason was of great importance to the plan,made by their strongest ship

Back with the Sirens

Observer:a shame,we could have learned what it was they were planning 

Tester:not like they know,what it is we're doing

Purifier:I'd say,that's a fair enough fact

Observer:no doubt,that they will send their fleets to find out what's happening here and when,that happens,the Mirror Sea will activate and keep them here

Tester:with that,we'll have enough to wake our Empress,who has been asleep this whole time

Purifier:yup,do you think,they'll send the shipboy in

Zero:chances of ship,Ladon's arrival,98%

Purifier:that's what I like to hear

Tester:no doubt,they'll send him,with the ruckus we've made,I'm sure he's just itching to get back at us and because of that,he'll fuel the data the most and be the undoing of humanity

Observer:it doesn't matter,what they do now,the Empress with awaken and once she does,humanities end will draw near

Author:and that's going to be this chapter guys,I do hope you all enjoyed it,we're really nearing the end now,maybe about 2 or 3 more chapters until the end,then the prologue,and MAYBE a sequel of some kind

would you all like to see a sequel to this story in the future?,let Me know,apart from that,I hope you all look forward to the next one,until the next time

Shadowgamer254 out