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"W-what's going on?" Akagi said in nervousness. As she turned to the Observer.

"And here I thought you would know an attack when you see one..." She replied with a shrug.

"That's not what I meant," Akagi responded. "We had a deal, we'd take care of your enemies and make your invasion easier. In return, you'd leave my people alone."

"Oh, of course, yes. The 'proposal'." said the Observer. Tapping on her chin playfully.

"The proposal was nice and all," The Observer said while circling Akagi. "But your usefulness to us has ended."

"What...?" said the leader of the Empire. Suddenly the weight of her decisions piling on her. 

"Don't get me wrong, that deal, was a pretty great one for us." She sat down on a rock, seeing the battle unfold. "You'd do the dirty work for us, and we'll be just on the sidelines, sitting pretty and wait till the end."

"But this opportunity is too good to pass up. A chance to wipe out Azur Lane's aces and the Empire's in one. Swift. Attack." She smiled.

Akagi only realized that this chain of events. Will doom her entire faction. Her face said nothing but regret and horror.

"At first, the Eagle Union wasn't a big threat to us. Took things into piracy and attack wherever it went. Choosing battles that fit them best, and it didn't harm us in the long-term." Observer explained the chain of many events before it led up to this. "It all changed when Enterprise, Wales, Illustrious, and Eugen came out of nowhere and started turning things around."

"And in the wake of the last battle that damned Azur Lane defeated us, I really did think that we finished all the ships that were sent out there to kill us. Then Hood came back alive and well, this is her first time fighting again in the front-lines, and she looks better than ever." The Observer glared at Hood, but Hood couldn't see her in such long distance.

"What's the other change?" Akagi asked, then the Observer smiled. How could she forget?

"The otherworlder, of course." replied the Observer. "I could never think that the 2nd otherworlder that would stumble here would get this far."

Akagi did not have much understanding of the 1st otherworlder. The Sirens threw her a bone, and they handled the situation, and she never heard of the 1st otherworlder since then. 

"I and the Purifier handled that 1st one so well. Manipulating him to our side and wants to do havoc all over the Azur Lane base. I wonder what he's doing now, though. But that doesn't matter right now."

"You may not know this, but he and 4 little destroyers took down my flagship. A whole raiding party was taken down by 4 destroyers. No one in the history of leading a fleet has ever done that before. It was impossible until he did it. If he can already do that much damage with 4 destroyers, then imagine if he has a full fleet."

"Huh...?" Akagi just stood there dumbfounded. She only heard of this incredible achievement by Caster only just now.

"He'd be unstoppable." The Observer gritted her teeth.

"So, I'm terribly sorry for what I'm about to do." She said, putting her hand on the shoulder of the despair-filled leader of the Empire. "I'll make sure it will be a painless death."

Before Akagi can do anything about it, the Observer punched her in the gut and wrapped her tentacles around her. 

"I get that you're trying to get revenge after what is going to happen." And the Observer gave one more punishing swing at Akagi's face. 

She released Akagi and looked down on her as she was crawling and coughing up blood on the ground. 

"So I'll let it slide..." she added.

Instead of saying anything, Akagi just watched the Observer go teleporting away from her portal with a condescending wave. 

Akagi was left alone. She doesn't know what to do now. All of her people will be killed. 

"My... People..." She whispered under her breath. Imagining the feeling of watching her friends die before her. 

"I couldn't protect them..." As her despair is slowly creeping in. Seeing no more solution or miracles in sight.  

"Is this how it will end?" Her eyes start tearing up. It's over. 

From Akagi's perspective, it was all fitting that one person she didn't want to see was now standing before her. 

Caster was here. Coming out of the bushes to see her. And he heard everything in that conversation.

"What good timing..." 

"Did you come here to laugh at me?"

Caster stayed silent. Her tone was filled with fear and resignation.

"I came to your base looking down on you, now here we are, looking down on me."

"Go ahead." She lowered her head with more tears streaming down her face. As gunfire was the only ambient sounds in the background. "Laugh. Laugh on what I've become."

"I won't." He shook his head slowly.

"THEN GO AWAY!" She screamed. As she picked up a clump of dust and threw it at him. But he stood tall. 

"IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU, THIS WOULD HAVE NEVER HAVE HAPPENED!" As rocks replaced, the dust was getting thrown at Caster. But it was just pebbles. 

"I COULD HAVE PROTECTED THEM ALL, BUT YOU JUST HAD TO COME HERE AND RUIN IT ALL!!! AND THEY'RE GOING TO DIE AND IT'S GOING TO BE YOUR FAULT!"

"GO AWAY!"

"GO AWAY!"

"GO AWAY!"

"GO AWAY!"

"GO AWAY!"

"GO AWAY!"

After the long, long shouting of the same two words, and as she was still screaming them, the despair. Finally took over her and her throwing whatever she can see at Caster stopped. She was crying a river with the number of tears she was shedding. 

Caster knew this feeling before. In his long life as a soldier, he was kidnapped and took hostage more than once before. And he had felt also the despair when the enemy blackmails him with his own platoon. His family. And he lost... 

Way more friends than one can count. 

Experience rounded out his repertoire of talents and decorated achievements he got. But he wasn't anywhere near what he was perceived to be. 

One could call him a 'mess'.

"Please..." Akagi... Her shouts just became weak pleas. "Help me." 

At this point, Caster could just not spare Akagi and the Empire. Since, well, they were the ones that declared a fight with them. And no one in the base, his fleet, would question it at all. Since Akagi was so condescending last time the 2 met, it would be just a fine choice. 

But he remembered the same words were said by... Himself. Long ago. Except for the emotional outburst. The tragic memories were replaying in his head. 

So, in surprising fashion. He silently walked up to Akagi... He took off his Navy Hat and gave it to Akagi. 

"Please do hold onto this for me." 

Akagi shuddered in fear. As she looked up at Caster. He didn't look like himself. A younger Caster. And behind him was a blooded up and a battlefield filled with flames. With soldiers screaming for their lives. And he was wearing a different uniform. 

At this point, she realized that... Caster experienced just as bad or even worse situations than Akagi. And she realized that Caster wasn't just a 'normal' otherworlder. 

Back to reality, Caster stood up, and he turned around to walk down the mountain. Then a huge gust of wind blew over and the dust near Akagi got to her eyes.

After she finally got the dust off her eyes, she noticed that Caster wasn't walking by himself. And she gasped at the realization. 

"A-ma-gi..." She said trembling. Now she had an explanation. His aura was scarier than the one he gave off at the Azur Lane headquarters. 

Her beloved older sister... It was at that point, her view of the otherworlder was turned upside-down. And it made her realized that on why she got nervous about him at the headquarters. Because how it reminded her of her older sister. 

In the latter part of her life, before the last battle of Azur Lane against the Sirens in the 1st war, Amagi was a destructive force that no one can contend with. With a few select ships that can give her a run for her money. Even out of her prime, her presence alone made other factions hesitant to pick a fight with the Empire. 

Tales of how she took down waves upon waves of Siren attackers by herself, putting Bismarck, the most powerful ship in her generation, on a stand-still, this was one of the many, many stories and legends that she was associated to.

In fact, this is one of the many reasons that the Empire is the biggest Empire yet by number. Because of the crazy legends that she created. 

Amagi's achievements were so ridiculous, (in a good way) that some other ships of the Empire picked up the famous line: "Victory is assured when Amagi has entered the battle."

It would seem that the Goddess of Victory is assisting the otherworlder towards victory. 

Word Count: 1554 Words. 

5:22 PM
4/26/20