Iowa’s Revenge (Book)

## Chapter: 1

Missouri awoke to the loud, piercing moan of her sister Wisconsin’s horn. She slowly opened her blue-green eyes, letting the dawn’s golden light fill them. The crisp November air slowly brushed up against her great metal body as the young, warm sunlight washed over her, covering her from bow to stern, and she opened her large mouth, filled with hundreds of razor sharp teeth that were akin to that of a dinosaur’s, each tooth of hers encased by black gums that were wet with saliva. She yawned, taking in a deep breath of the morning air, which felt like ice as it poured down her metal throat and down into massive steel lungs which pushed the air back out. Her pink, snake-like tongue, decorated by veins underneath which pulsed as her engine thrummed softly was hit by the frozen air, an uncomfortable feeling which caused her to shut her jaws with a moist click. Missouri’s mind was waking, yet her body was asleep. The water was calm, it flowed against her hull softly, and as she puffed out each breath, she watched the hot steam from it fade into the air until she released another breath. The cold air was challenged by the heat of the dawn’s sun, which warmed Missouri, comforting her. She let out a relaxed, pleasurable sigh, enjoying the sensation of the sun as her mind completed its wake. She was ready, now, for a long day of patrol. She thought to herself, flipping through worries and plans, such as the threat of danger, and her dominating instinct to protect her fleet. Wisconsin’s deep horn bellowed once more, as the rest of the ships began to come out of their deep slumber, a deep, peaceful rest they had been longing for since the attack from the previous day, the attack from Yamato and her fleet which led to the violent destruction of South Dakota, Alabama’s best friend. The event had scarred Alabama’s mind and mental health badly. Yamato had shot at South Dakota, a shot that ripped through her, followed by another and another until she was nothing, and it had all happened in front of Alabama’s eyes. Yamato laughed wickedly at Alabama’s screams and cries of shock and horror, and promptly left her alone to suffer the loss, telling her that seeing her in pain and anguish would be more satisfactory to her than killing her. Alabama was inconsolable. She cried and wailed for hours, cries so pure, so sad and pained that it made even Texas, the oldest and largest of them all shed a tear. Only Wisconsin could calm her enough to sleep, and Alabama stayed by Wisky’s side that night, comforted, but never sleeping, her mind shattered by what she had seen. Her mind had played it over and over again. The shots, the explosion, South Dakota’s screams, Yamato’s taunts and laughter. And they continued playing like a broken record player throughout the night and into the morning, but this morning, despite her sadness, she could cry no longer, as if she had exhausted her tear ducts. The white around her purple irises was bloodshot from the crying and lack of sleep, her body and mind tired, broken. At the moment, Alabama was moving around in circles, slowly and aimlessly, her mind empty, the feeling of cold, sadness, though, remained. She stared off into the distance, looking at nothing, the familiar thousand-yard stare possessed by others who had gone through similar experiences. Eventually, Alabama found herself by Missouri, who focused her teal eyes on her. “Missouri?” Alabama asked in a quiet, shaky voice. “What is it?” Responded the massive Iowa-class ship. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what’s happening. I can’t tell if this is real or not. What is my life now? Is it true she’s gone?” Alabama replied, her eyes leaking crystal-like tears. Missouri gazed at Alabama, feeling sorry for her, wishing to comfort her in any way, but she knew that she could only calm her temporarily before the memory would strike again. Yet still, she offered words of comfort. “Alabama, you must understand that South Dakota is indeed gone. I know you witnessed it, and you have never seen such a thing before. You aren’t the only one to see a friend destroyed in front of you. It happened to Wisky, I’m not sure if she told you. You must learn how to cope, Alabama. There is nothing else you can do. Focusing on negative things brings down your performance. Please, try to focus on something positive. You’ll move on from this, understand?” Alabama didn’t know how to respond, though she only gazed into the Mighty Mo’s eyes with sadness and understanding

## Chapter: 2

Several minutes had passed since Alabama had left, and Missouri couldn’t help but worry for Alabama. The effect that yesterday’s events had left on her was causing her extreme mental harm. She couldn’t control anything she was feeling, or how she reacted to those feelings. Would she begin lashing out at others because of her feelings? Missouri wouldn’t be surprised if she did. One of her sisters, Iowa, had been acting fairly odd recently. She seemed much more aggressive and on edge than she had been in the past. It wasn’t because of the last attack, no, the behavior had begun about a month or two before that point. Iowa was always known to be edgy and rude at times, and she was a tad bit self-centered. Being the first of her class, she thought she was superior to her sisters, and even the others around her, but this behavior had been increased to another level. She acted as if she hated everyone, calling them rude names, yelling at them for doing something that inconvenienced her, bossing them around like she had power over them, and seemed to be more alert than before, constantly searching her area for enemies, as if she was expecting to find trouble at any moment. She hardly slept at night, always keeping an eye out for threats, like she was holding a magnifying glass to the sea, looking for even the smallest sign of danger. But, unusually enough, she didn’t seem anxious or even remotely alert before the previous day’s attacks, and was very quiet before and after all had settled. Missouri thought about this, questioning why Iowa had changed her behavior so much, and then seemed to drop the act right before the incident. Wouldn’t she have noticed that something was coming and tried to intervene? What had gone through her mind to induce her to act in such ways? Missouri did not know, but tried to push her worries aside. She was, of course, still disturbed, just like all the others. That attack was so sudden, so random. Why didn’t anyone notice before it was too late? Something similar had happened years ago, but on an even greater scale. It had been so horrible that new rules had been put in place around everything, especially those whose job it was to patrol and keep watch for danger. How could yesterday have been missed? Nobody knew. Missouri looked to the sky, then in front of her, attempting to distract her mind. She still had several hours until it was her turn to be on patrol, and decided that she would rest before that time. She took in a breath of fresh air as the sun continued to rise, and shut her eyes, the soothing sensation of sleepiness returning again. However, she was soon interrupted by a voice that she knew very well. “Hello, Mighty Mo.” Said the voice, a voice that was smooth and soft, yet rough and scratchy with a Boston accent. This was Massachusetts. Missouri was fond of her, but was always too anxious to say anything to her about how she felt, leading her to feel nervous around her often. “Good morning,” Missouri said after a couple seconds, feeling tense, “how are you?” “I’m glad you asked,” Massachusetts responded with a slightly irritated tone, “because Iowa has been getting on my nerves this morning. When I went to ask her if she had been keeping watch at all, she told me to shut up and back off. I figured she might be upset after what happened to South Dakota, and asked her if there was anything I could do to make her feel better, but she looked at me and had this look on her face I’ve only ever seen on Yamato. So threatening… It was like there was fire behind her eyes. I left after that. A little while later, I was with Alabama, just talking to her, y’know? She needed my comfort. Wisky’s been sticking by her side, comforting her. But since she was busy this morning, I decided to hang around. As we were talking, Iowa came by. I noticed, and when I glanced over at her, she snarled at me and told me that I should be getting ready for work rather than stay by Alabama. When I told her I still had some free time, she scoffed at me and left. Something’s up with her, I say.” Missouri took a moment to go over what she had been told. “You’re not the only one wondering what’s going on with Iowa,” she began, “and I’m starting to think something happened to her, and she’s not telling us.” “Something?” Massachusetts asked, “What kind of something? A mental problem? A physical problem? What would she hide from us? She’s always complaining about what’s bothering her, Mo.” Missouri frowned, unsure of what to say, unable to think of what could possibly be setting off Iowa. “Well, I don’t know.” She said eventually, “I would ask her, but after hearing what you said she did, I have to admit I feel nervous speaking to her. But I just want to know what’s on her mind. You know what? I’m going to go talk to her. I…” She trailed off, looking at Massachusetts, thinking about her. “I’m not going to let her push you around. Or… or anyone, for that matter. Goodbye!” She said, feeling flustered. And then, Missouri left, questioning not only Iowa’s behavior, but her feelings towards Massachusetts

## Chapter: 3

Not too far from Missouri was Wisconsin, who was speaking with Alabama.

“Hey, Alabama,” Wisconsin began, “I don’t want to alarm you, but I’ve been stationed elsewhere. There’s some rising tension with the Japanese, especially after what happened recently. I won’t be able to stay with you where we normally rest for the night, and I don’t know when I’m supposed to return. I’m sorry.” Alabama’s eyes went wide. The thought of being alone sent icy, freezing chills through her. Being alone, especially at night, was one of the many things that sent her into panic. “What?” She asked, hoping that she wasn’t hearing Wisconsin correctly, “You can’t leave! Please, don’t leave me! I’ll have nobody to keep me safe.” Wisconsin felt very saddened. “I’m sorry, I really am.” She said, “Listen, you’re going to be okay. Look around you. You’ve got Missouri, Hornet, Massachusetts… everyone’s trying to do what they can for you, even though they’re busy. We love you, Alabama. We’re here for you.” Wisconsin then looked over on her port side, and noticed Texas not too far off in the distance. “Wait,” she said, quietly and suddenly, “I think I’ve got an idea. I’m going to ask Texas something. Don’t panic while I’m gone, okay? I’ll be back soon to check in, but then I have to leave.” Alabama had tears in her eyes, but tried to hide it. “Y-yes, Wisky,” she said, stuttering slightly, “you g-go on and do that. Please come back after.” Wisconsin saw the tears in Alabama’s eyes, and smiled softly, reassuringly. “I will. Don’t worry.” And with that, Wisconsin slowly moved close to Texas, who was resting. Nervously, she came closer, and opened her mouth to speak, but shut it again, hesitating. Texas was very intimidating. She was a savage-looking steel beast, once one of the deadliest ever, a giant dreadnaught who at one point could have taken on the entire world at once if she felt like it. But now she was beginning to rust with age, and was involuntarily showing her age in her attitude and new physical limitations. Despite this, she was still not one to be messed with, and she hated being woken up and didn’t care for long conversations. “Texas?” Wisconsin asked quietly. Texas, awoken from her sleep, was upset by this. “What do you want?” She growled. “I need to ask a favor of you.” Wisconsin said. “It had better be good,” Texas said in her deep, almost masculine voice, irritated and uninterested, “what is it? Spit it out already, I don’t have all day.” Wisconsin sighed, then looked at Texas, whose magenta eyes burned holes into her. “Look… I’m not sure if you’re aware of how Alabama is fee-“ “I am quite aware,” Texas interrupted, “get to the point.” “I’m being stationed somewhere else for a few days, and-“ “I know.”

Wisconsin rolled her eyes. “I just wanted to ask if you could look after Alabama for me,” she said, becoming a bit irritated herself. Texas thought for a moment, her lips parting slightly to reveal a small glimpse of her yellowed, aged teeth, a few chipped, broken or completely missing, signs of her aging, battle-hardened body beginning to degrade with time. “Please,” Wisconsin said, becoming desperate for an answer as Texas took her time to think, “please take her in. She *trusts* you, Texas. You know how powerful you still are, and she knows that, too, and that’s why she trusts you. She would feel safer than ever around you. Maybe you could provide more comfort for her than me.” Texas was still considering, deep in thought, magenta eyes still focused on Wisconsin with a faint glare. “Fine,” she said, after what seemed like years of anticipation, “I’ll do it. I’ll take over your spot for you at the docks, where I’ll be with her when night falls.” Wisconsin smiled. “Oh, Texas! Thank you! I was worried you wouldn’t be willing to take care of her.” Texas didn’t say anything back, but instead looked at Alabama, who was in the distance, and slowly began to approach her. Wisconsin followed not too far behind.

…

Meanwhile, New Jersey, one of the Iowa-class sisters, had just finished refueling and was on her way to dock and get a few hours of rest. As she got closer to her destination, however, she noticed Iowa and Enterprise, a large, but very timid and shy aircraft carrier close to each other. They appeared to be arguing, but New Jersey wasn’t able to tell what they were discussing until she got closer. “I was just spending a few moments sleeping! I kept waking up last night. I’m tired, and I have permission to rest!” Enterprise shouted. “I don’t care,” Iowa barked, “you’re in *my* spot, and I’m sure you have some other task to do elsewhere, don’t you? Bombing runs?” New Jersey’s engine skipped for a moment. There was Iowa again, her unruly sister, putting down her own allies again for whatever reason. *What is she going on about now?* New Jersey thought, *Why is she always like this? What’s gotten into her? Oh, poor Enterprise. She hates conflict. I’m going to stop this.*

The two either took no notice to New Jersey approaching them, or were too deeply involved in their argument to care. “Get out of my space, you don’t even belong here!” Iowa snarled, “You’re just a pathetic, good-for-nothing carrier who can’t fight even if she wanted to protect herself and her crew! I’m sure you’re a disgrace to your captain, since you’re so shy and so oppositional when it comes to fighting. All you do is stay behind and cower in fear, just like Alabama. You do nothing!” Though she felt fear, Enterprise didn’t back down. “Most of the time, the planes and other ships do the work for me, don’t you understand?” She asked, trying to calm the situation, trying to convince Iowa that she was wrong. All she had done before the argument was taking a short nap, but she was in the little spot at the farthest end of the docks, the part that was dimly lit at night which Iowa had recently claimed as her “territory”. “Whatever”, Iowa said dismissively, not caring for anything she was being told, “you still barely do anything at all. You don’t have a place here if you’re not willing to step up and fight. You and Alabama are destined for the scrapper’s torch.” “Excuse me?” Said a third voice. Coming in between the two as if to separate them was New Jersey. “What is going on here?” She asked.

“Nothing, J, back off.” Iowa said. She didn’t want New Jersey here. What was *she* doing here? All Iowa wanted to do was obey the feeling of anger that ran through her, this burning, tearing feeling that teased her mind. “Iowa, leave her *alone*,” New Jersey said sternly, feeling terrible for Enterprise and disappointed at her own sister, “she was tired! Don’t you understand that all of us are feeling the impacts of the fight from yesterday in different ways? She’s tired, and she just wants some rest. Let her take a nap for a few hours.” Iowa wasn’t listening, though. “Back off. Now.” she said with nothing but aggression in her voice, her yellow eyes glaring as she began pointing her weapons at New Jersey threateningly as the urge to fire ran through her, pulsing, burning, screaming! New Jersey felt a quick surge of shock and fear shoot through her insides. “What are you doing?!” She yelped, terrified that Iowa might actually attack. Iowa couldn’t hold back the urge, and locked her weapons into position. “Get… out… of my… sight.” She growled, breathing heavily between each word. Iowa wanted so desperately to fire, to keep New Jersey away from her… but something suddenly clicked inside her, and suddenly, she lost control of her weapons. Something was holding her back. “Iowa, no.” said a metallic voice from a speaker on her hull, “What the hell are you doing?! You can’t do that, ever! I was going to pull away when this argument got worse. I even thought you would have stopped when your sister pulled up.” That voice was Iowa’s captain, who had taken over her controls to prevent any harm. “We’re heading to dock. That’s an order. We’re going to have a bit of a chat once we get back.” “Fine,” Iowa said back, “I don’t care.” And soon, Iowa was gone, leaving Enterprise and New Jersey by themselves. “I’m sorry,” New Jersey said, “I don’t get it. What’s wrong with her? She’s never been this bad. But… when she aimed at me… why did she do that? Was she really considering…?” New Jersey trailed off and fell into silence, still shocked. “I don’t know,” Enterprise responded, “but I’m glad she wasn’t able to. She scares me.” “I’m sure a few others can agree, Big E,” New Jersey said back, “hopefully, her captain can knock some sense into her. She’s going too far.”

“Yes,” agreed Enterprise, “it’s almost like she’s turning into another version of Yamato.” The mention of Yamato froze New Jersey for a second. “Oh, Enterprise. Don’t say that. I… well… never mind. I think you should get some rest.” “Of course.” Enterprise said, going back to the space Iowa had claimed for herself.

## Chapter: 4

Night had fallen, and most of those who were around were resting for the night, except for Iowa and New Jersey, who were supposed to be on patrol. The two had not spoken since the argument from earlier. New Jersey did not know if she could trust Iowa any longer. Was Iowa truly intending to fire at her and Enterprise? The thought of her actually doing something like that made New Jersey feel sick. Her own sister couldn’t possibly consider such a thing. She had always been sort of aggressive in the past, but she never intended to harm anyone, at least not up until this point.

The night was cold, and tension and fear could be felt in the air, an infectious disease of a feeling that took hold of anyone around, forcing itself down their throats as they breathed, flowing into their systems, sickening their bodies and minds with stress and worries. But the sickness was different for all of them. For some, it would induce fear and shock, and for others, aggression and an urge to fight. And for the rest, it was somewhere in between the two lands. Tonight, Iowa and New Jersey were on opposite sides of that spectrum; New Jersey fearful and uncomfortable, Iowa bitter and heated. The two had been drifting apart from each other, both of them looking for a space away from each other until the dark completely enveloped them. Away from each other, the two could focus on their task without wanting to argue again, distracted by the thought of encountering danger. Both had been on patrol, silent, for about two hours, when Iowa suddenly felt confused. She wasn’t able to think right, like something was holding her mind’s capacity in its grasp, pulling it away from her. She also had a faint sense that she had been noticed. She looked around her, searching to see if anyone was around. “Is someone there? Is there a signal? I think I’m being watched,” she said, her voice flowing into the speakers on her hull. She waited for a response from her captain, but strangely, there was none. Perhaps he had gone to bed, but what about any personnel who were still awake? Wasn’t there always a team who kept things in check at night? Becoming irritated that there was no response, she asked again, impatience in her tone. “Is someone else out here? Check the radar. I’m being watched.” About 40 seconds went by, and still no response. Then a minute. One, two, three, four. Five minutes later, and still nothing. Now Iowa felt slightly nervous. This was like a new feeling to her. She was always so angry, and never felt fear, but now, here it was. It lightly cut at her, like a tiny itch that couldn’t be scratched. Why wasn’t anybody responding? The feeling of watching eyes upon her increased. Fear mixed with anger. She was ready to fight whatever was coming at her. Then suddenly, a signal beeped and a message from whoever was nearby played through her speakers: “I can see you, Iowa. Can you see me?” The voice asked, menacingly, yet somewhat playfully in a way. “I know you’re over there. You’re not alone.” At first, Iowa was puzzled, not knowing or remembering who was speaking, until she recalled, and spoke back. “Yamato? Is that you?”

In the background of all the drama, before the attack, the cause of all Iowa’s aggression and hatred towards her peers, the voice which had been commanding her to lash out, twisting her mind and crushing her dreams was here. It was Yamato. She had noticed Iowa was always sort of bitter towards everyone around her, and had slowly been manipulating her over time, telling her lies and misconceptions about her fleet which she slowly came to believe, despite her refusal to listen to Yamato at first. Once they began to speak to each other, Yamato was able to easily play around with Iowa’s feelings and thoughts. Such a powerful ship like Iowa could be very beneficial to the other side. Sure, Yamato and her sister, Musashi, were the most powerful of their fleet, but they were the only two “big bads” they had. More could be useful, but budget constraints had prevented more like the two from being built. Now, the Japanese were resorting to other options, and stealing Iowa for themselves was their goal, and they were using Yamato to do it, knowing her to be quite skilled at manipulation.

Yamato soon responded to Iowa. “Yes, of course. Who else could be looking for you? I doubt your “friends” would be, not after your little threat. Impressive, you’re finally giving in to your urges. Good girl.” “How did you know what I did yesterday?” Iowa asked, still not entirely willing to listen to her. “Did you notice anything odd crew-wise tonight, after you had docked for a bit and they were changing shifts? Anything about “new recruits”?” Iowa thought for a short moment, recalling her unanswered questions from just moments ago.

“Well, yes.”

“Tell me. Give me an explanation.”

There was a pause as Iowa re-evaluated her choices. Should she keep talking to Yamato? She didn’t realize that she was behind the aggression and outbursts, and she didn’t want to be talking to an enemy. There was a little voice in her mind, a voice of reason, a preventative measure, desperate to stop Iowa from continuing to go down this path. “No,” it was saying, “No, no, no!” It tried to scream, “No! No! NO!” But it was shut down as another voice took over. “Follow, follow, follow! FOLLOW!” It shouted. Then, without another thought, Iowa continued the conversation. “Well, I felt I was being watched.”

There was a chuckle from Yamato, and it sounded metallic coming through the radio. “Right you are,” Yamato said, her voice smooth and silky, “tell me more.” The tone of her voice fixed Iowa’s focus, trapping her, exciting her slightly in a way she didn't know how to describe. “I tried contacting my crew, but they didn’t answer.”

“Did you notice anything strange going on with the crew before?”

“No, not at all. I don’t pay attention to them unless I want to, which I never do.”

“What if I told you, Iowa, that those “new recruits” were some of my country's own men, who have stolen the identities of others? They did it so well. We were all very surprised when they managed to get through checks… anyway, what I mean to say, Iowa, is that your original crew is no more. My country’s men took them hostage, killed some, even. Now, they’re the ones running you. They didn’t respond because they were likely too busy… taking care of business, if you understand.”

Iowa did not know how to respond. She was shocked. How did she not notice anything was off until the moment she felt watched? How could they have taken over so well, and what would happen to her now that she was under control?

“You see, Iowa, you belong to me now. To *us*,” Yamato began in that soft-as-silk voice, “Whether you like it or not, this is your future. Don’t you know how badly we need someone like you? Sure, I and Musashi are good enough, but we need you. Maybe we can get your sisters here, too. Oh, that thought excites me so much! What an amazing, wonderful thought! But I have you, just you, for now. I had my eye on you the moment I saw you. I knew you could be capable of so much more destruction if I could get you over here. Seeing how you’ve been treating others, I think you’re a perfect fit.”

Iowa took a moment to let everything settle in her mind. Perhaps Yamato was right.

“Are you sure?” She asked, only very slightly doubtful.

“Oh, yes, I’m sure,” Yamato responded. “Your sleek, metal body and rough personality is *perfect* for me. For everyone. Come over to me, I’m straight ahead. Let’s see each other in person, face to face.”

And the two met each other, speaking for a few hours. Each sentence Yamato spoke bent Iowa’s mind further and further, until she was completely convinced that joining the other side was best for her, and was becoming more loyal to her by the second, and with Iowa under Yamato’s control, she was no longer her own self. Iowa was now a plaything for Yamato, a pawn in chess. She could tell Iowa anything, and she would believe it, and she used this as an opportunity to mess with her other feelings. Not just hate and rage, but sadness, fear and love, and the latter of these is what Yamato enjoyed messing with the most. If she could get Iowa to love and trust her on every level, there would be no chance of her wanting to leave her new allies.

After a while, the sky started to become light.

“I have to go before they notice me,” Yamato said softly, “you go back for now. Keep up the act, show them you hate them, but don’t injure anyone. Threaten them enough to let them know you don’t want them around you. If they fear you now, they’ll be absolutely terrified of what I can turn you into,” she said, chuckling with glee, “and that’s exactly what I want. The more fearful they are, the more likely they are to make mistakes in battle, as fear distorts their ways of thinking. And when they come across me and see you by my side, dear Iowa, they’ll be in for a shock. Now, go back. I will return to pick you up tonight. Same place, same time. Make sure nobody notices. Understand?”

Iowa smiled as the last bits of care for her fleet melted away like a candle, burning, dripping, turning to puddles that would be forgotten about, and the flame burned brighter and hotter with Yamato’s influence.

## Chapter: 5

When Iowa returned to the shipyard that morning, she found herself surrounded by Missouri, Massachusetts and Texas, who were very concerned. “What happened? Where were you last night?” Asked Massachusetts. Iowa said nothing and only glared at her. “New Jersey told us you disappeared last night when you were on patrol. She couldn’t leave her spot to come look for you,” Missouri began, “and when her captain tried to communicate with your crew, there was no response. Iowa, what is going on?”

“None of your business.”

“Tell us, Iowa. Where were you? New Jersey was very concerned. You weren’t even visible on her radar.”

“Back off, Missouri. Don’t question it.”

Texas then spoke up. “Stop being so stubborn and spit it out!”

But Iowa only sighed impatiently. “Get out of my way, I have things to do,” she growled, “and I’m not telling you anything. You don’t need to know.”

Missouri looked at Texas and Massachusetts. “Could I have a moment alone with Iowa, please?” She asked politely, “I think it would be best if she and I talked alone.” “Of course, Mo,” said Massachusetts, “come on, Big T. Let’s go.” And so, the two left Missouri and Iowa to speak.

“What did you do last night?” Missouri asked, starting to sound stern. “New Jersey was worried sick! You may not be getting along with her, or any of us for that matter, but she was still worried. Don’t you know how dangerous it is at night with tension so high after what happened? You could have been attacked!”

“Missouri, it’s none of your damn business! Get away!” Snapped Iowa.

“Iowa, I just want to know! Don’t speak to me that way. Treat me and others with respect for once!” Missouri said, becoming heated, “I don’t know if that fight broke you enough to cause you to act out like this, but you need to stop! I heard what you *almost* did to New Jersey and Enterprise. What were you thinking? What’s gotten into you?”

“Get away from me, or else!” Iowa screamed.

Missouri didn’t know how to respond, fuming with rage and very upset at Iowa. Finally, she spoke. “Fine, I will.” She began, hot tears of anger and sadness filling her eyes, “If that’s what you want, then I will. I don’t know what’s wrong with you, Iowa. I just don’t know. I’m going now. For now, stay out of my sight.”

Iowa smiled, an unhinged smile that sent chills through Missouri like ice flowing through her. “My god, you’ve gone mad, haven’t you?” She asked, disturbed by that smile of delight, that thrill Iowa was getting from verbally attacking Missouri. “How the mighty have fallen…” Missouri said quietly, backing away, leaving Iowa by herself. “Oh, by the way,” she said as she pulled away, “we just got word that we’ve got a new addition to the Navy. Her name’s Montana. Be nice to her, because she can *easily* put you in your place if you act up. Goodbye. Next time I see you, you’d better treat me with some respect, you understand?”

Iowa was too fixated on the powerful emotions that flowed through her. It felt like a constant electric shock, so much energy. She said nothing, still baring her teeth in that twisted smile.

“Fine, say nothing, then. It’s better if you don’t. You’re insane. Why hasn’t anyone done anything about your behavior yet? I thought your captain would have done something by now. Has he lost his mind, too? Oh, I wouldn’t be surprised. Goodbye.”

Iowa chuckled sadistically at the mention of her former captain, and watched as Missouri left, and then, she slinked away to refuel for the day.

…

That afternoon, Iowa was resting peacefully, letting the warm sun warm her. Everything was quiet and the wind was blowing gently. However, her sleep was soon disturbed by two voices. “And that’s Iowa over there,” said New Jersey, “now, I think it’s best you stay away from her for now. She’s been very aggressive lately. I don’t know why. But you can handle that, right? Besides, you’re bigger, stronger and overall an improvement compared to us Iowa-class ships.”

Iowa’s eyes flicked open at what New Jersey said. *Bigger? Stronger? Better than me?* She thought, *Not on my watch. Who is that?*

“Good to know,” said the new voice, a voice which was full of pride and strength, a voice that anyone who heard it would feel impressed yet intimidated by. “So, she’s a fiery one, isn’t she?”

“Yeah. She was kind of rude before, but never like this until after what happened the other day, Montana. To be frank, she makes me nervous now.”

“How unfortunate it is to be afraid of your own sister. I’m sorry. I’ll keep an eye on her.”

“Great idea. When she sees you… I don’t think she will be happy. Keep that in mind.”

“Certainly, New Jersey.”

Then, the two went elsewhere, not noticing that Iowa had been awake and listening to them the entire time. Iowa was enraged. Nobody could be better than her! And now, Montana was the biggest, baddest ship. The Iowa class had been surpassed by her. Iowa couldn’t believe this. This was bad news for her and Yamato as well. Now there was a new big threat that was in their way. Was Montana capable of taking down someone like Iowa or Yamato? The thought danced around her mind, calling to her, not leaving her alone. She shut her eyes again, thinking about Montana, and now, a plan to get rid of her.

…

Night fell, and Iowa was busy being on patrol once again, and so was New Jersey. New Jersey had warned Iowa not to go far, but of course, Iowa didn’t care. She needed to get out of here. Her new future was now, and she no longer cared for her ex-allies. There was not a single speck of care, respect or love for them anymore. They didn’t matter, they were only irritating to her, like buzzing gnats on a summer day, but they were gnats that she could finally get away from. As soon as Iowa was out of New Jersey’s sight, she received a signal. A message had been sent to her, and a familiar voice spoke. “You’re close,” said the voice, “I’m straight ahead, like last night. It’s time to leave.”

Iowa smiled at this message, and eventually found herself in front of Yamato, who grinned at her arrival, her fiery orange eyes fixed on her new ally. “So, you’re here. How do you feel now that it’s finally time for you to throw away your old fleet?” She asked.

“I feel… I don’t know how to explain.” Iowa said.

“Ah, no matter,” said Yamato, “that’s fine. I’m sure you are still getting used to this, turning over to me. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that your crew sent me a *lovely* message.”

“What message?”

“We’ve got a new threat to look out for, haven’t we?”

“Oh, do you mean Montana?”

“Yes, *Montana.* Successor to the Iowa class. Oh, I don’t know how to feel about this. I’d have been nervous before, but now that I have you…” she paused, quietly laughing to herself, “together, I’m sure we could get rid of her with relative ease. I think if Musashi worked with us to take her down, it would be so easy, so overkill. Montana doesn’t stand a chance!” Yamato cackled wickedly. Iowa felt so fixated on Yamato at this point, but she didn’t know why. “Tell me,” Yamato began, “what do you think of me? You’re ready to join, aren’t you? You fit in so well. Beautiful, yet terrifying. Your eyes, Iowa. They’re such a wonderful color. Golden like the sun… they match you so well.”

Iowa felt somewhat flustered at the compliment. Was Yamato… flirting with her?

“Thank you,” she said, “I trust you. You’re so powerful, and so menacing. I like that. I… I like your voice.” Yamato smiled, excited by this. “Oh, you do? I didn’t think you’d be so quick to admit it.”

“Admit what?”

“You love me, don’t you?” Yamato said, grinning. “You do… I can tell.”

Iowa didn’t know what to say. Did she love Yamato? She couldn’t tell. She liked her, but she couldn’t tell what way she liked her. Yamato moved closer to her, nose to nose now.

“Yamato, I… I don’t know. I’m not sure.”

“Well, you’re going to now.”

Suddenly, without notice, Yamato kissed Iowa. Iowa was surprised. She didn’t know how to feel. It was a long, slow kiss. Iowa had never experienced such a thing. Not knowing what to do, she closed her eyes and gave in. It was a loveless, cold kiss. There was no love at all. It was like touching a fire that didn’t burn, like eating something with no flavor. Neither of them truly loved each other. Yamato had become so obsessed with Iowa that she had developed “feelings” for her out of her psychotic mind’s influence. Her body and mind made her feel attracted to Iowa, but Yamato couldn’t tell that her mind was forcing her to feel this, forcing her to act on her urges. And Iowa, having been brainwashed by Yamato, couldn’t use her mind properly anymore. Whatever thing that happened could change her opinion or feeling towards anything, and now, her mind was tricking her into falling in love with Yamato. After what felt like forever, Yamato pulled back slightly, gazing into Iowa’s eyes.

“Now, how do you feel? You beautiful thing, you beast… tell me you love me. You’re mine, Iowa. Oh, Iowa, love me…”

Iowa took a moment to process what happened, as her mind twisted it, turning the feeling of surprise and discomfort into the opposite. Now, she felt warm, overcome with a feeling of love. It felt unnatural, alien to her.

“I love you, Yamato,” she said softly.

“That’s it. That’s what I’ve wanted to hear for so long, Iowa. I knew you’d enjoy this. Now, follow me. We have a bit of a long trip from here.”

Iowa followed Yamato, delighted to begin her new life. The two drifted away from the outskirts of the shipyard, and Iowa smiled, overjoyed to be leaving her ex-friends. Now, they would have much more than just an attitude problem on their hands.

## Chapter: 6

It was only close to 0400 when New Jersey took notice to Iowa’s disappearance. She had began to develop this sensation which gnawed at her nerves, made her feel unwell and anxious. Something wasn’t right, and she was quick to ask her captain. “Have you heard anything from Iowa lately? Where is she now? Something feels wrong.” She asked.

“No, not as of late,” replied her captain, “I’ll check the radar. Only blips I’ve noticed were yours and Iowa’s.”

There was a pause.

“That can’t be right,” he said, “that’s not good.”

“What is it?” Asked New Jersey worriedly.

“She’s snuck off again. I knew that this wasn’t a good idea. If only they’d decided to have Mo keep an eye on her. I guess they thought Mo was better off resting.”

“Oh, no, not again. Now what? We can’t just leave here. We’ve got patrol until 0500.”

“Well, Big J, I don’t think we have a choice. I’m going to speak to the admiral, and see what he thinks we should do. I’ll let you know when he responds.”

“Yes, sir.”

A few tense minutes passed, New Jersey becoming increasingly worried by the second, worries and what-ifs flurrying inside her mind like a blizzard. Did Iowa understand how dangerous it was for her to be alone in the dark, out of the shipyard’s sight? Why was she taking off again, and where was she? Would she return at daybreak? What if she was hurt? And why would her captain and crew just allow her to take off into the night? New Jersey felt as if time had slowed down, each second lasting hours, each minute lasting years. Finally, she heard her captain speak.

“I just got a response from the admiral. He says we can come off patrol early, and to look around a bit, but not to go too far off from our original location just in case.”

“Is anyone else awake? I really don’t feel like leaving here.”

“I’m not sure, J. Wait one moment, Texas and Alabama are.”

“I want to go talk to Texas. Maybe I’ll ask her if she’s seen Iowa. Why are they awake at this hour? They haven’t got anything to do.”

“We can go see her, she’s not too far away from here. Not for too long, though. Gotta keep it short. I’ll bet Ally had a night terror and Tex is comforting her.”

Eventually, New Jersey made it to Texas and Alabama. And sure enough, poor Alabama had indeed had a night terror. She was crying and shaking wildly, and Texas was quietly whispering and singing gentle melodies to her, hoping to calm her. “Shh, it’s okay, sweetie. It’s all over, I’m right here,” Texas was saying, “it’s going to be alright. There, there…”

New Jersey didn’t want to disturb Texas and Alabama, fearing she’d cause Alabama to panic more upon hearing the news, and she also didn’t want Texas to become angry for being interrupted. Hesitantly, she whispered very faintly: “Texas? It’s me, NJ. Can I tell you something real quick?”

“Hmm?” Texas mumbled, “What is it? Look, I have to keep by Alabama. She’s having a panic attack. Whatever it is, it had better be important.”

“Well, it is very important, Tex. I think it might be better if I whispered it to you.”

“Go on ahead, but like I said, make it quick.”

New Jersey crept up very close to Texas and whispered: “It’s Iowa. She’s gone again. I was going to go search around, but I can’t go too far. Have you seen her at all?”

“Oh, for…” Texas groaned. She looked over at Alabama, who was slowly but surely coming down from her panic attack, and lowered her voice to a whisper so as not to bring Alabama’s anxiety up again. “She’s gone again? When did this happen?”

“I only noticed about 15 minutes ago,” replied New Jersey, “and got permission to look around a bit. Have you seen her?”

“No, not recently.”

New Jersey’s engine ran cold for a moment.

“Well, when was the last time you saw her? How long ago?”

“I saw her at 0100 with you when I was trying to sleep. I fell asleep soon after, so I didn’t see her leave.”

“Oh, great. I wonder… maybe Mo and Mas saw her. They’re resting nearby. I’ll go see if one of them is awake.”

“Go ahead, J. Nobody’s stopping you. I’ll bet she’s so angry at all of us for whatever reason that she ran away. Hell, she’s going to get herself killed out there.”

“Tex, don’t say that.”

“Well, it could happen.”

“Stop it. I’m going to Mo.”

…

At 0600, everyone was awake and acting on edge. Word had gotten out that Iowa was gone and hadn’t returned. Alabama, of course was upset, but deep inside, she felt slightly safer without Iowa around threatening others. Texas was acting like her usual self, brushing it off and acting as if Iowa was only having a childish temper-tantrum and was hiding somewhere not too far off, ready to come back after her meltdown. Missouri was taking it seriously, of course, worried for her sister. Massachusetts was nervous as well, but didn’t seem to be as anxious as some of her other companions. She was acting particularly defensive as well, confronting Texas and trying to convince her to take the disappearance seriously. Montana was trying to keep her cool, trying to appear fearless as usual, but even she was on edge. Taking it the worst, however, was New Jersey, who felt so foolish to have not noticed Iowa leaving once again. After the first time, shouldn’t she have been keeping a watchful eye on her location? Why didn’t anyone notice she was leaving? She felt like an idiot. Had she been watching out, this wouldn’t have happened. Everyone was constantly checking for signs of Iowa, but there were none. It was as if she had suddenly vanished into thin air! An entire search of the shipyard was conducted, but after several hours of searching, it was called off. Iowa really had left. Where could she have gone? How would anyone be able to find her? Enterprise had sent off some of her planes to fly around the area and search, but they too returned with nothing. Everyone was on high alert, noting Iowa’s attitude problems and her first disappearance. But she had returned that time, early in the morning.

At this point, it was getting close to 1800. The sun was beginning to set, and yet no sign of Iowa. There was now a heavy feeling of dread and sadness that hung over all, combining with the feeling of anxiety (and anger from Texas). Nobody knew exactly what to do, and there were rumors and theories flying around about what happened and why, swarming around the others like angry bees. Some thought that Iowa was too upset with everyone for comfort and took off to find some peace, and others thought that she strayed too far away from the shipyard and was attacked or captured by somebody. But no matter what the reason was, everyone was highly stressed and was indicating their discomfort in separate ways.

Soon, the evening faded into twilight. The twilight died, and night took her place. All was quiet now except for faint chatter between the ships, and the occasional plane flying overhead. It was difficult to catch sleep for many. Even Missouri couldn’t fall asleep. She had the company of New Jersey, but she had already fallen asleep, exhausted from the panic and searching. Missouri felt lonely, without anyone to talk to. Everyone else was in their own preferred resting spaces. Missouri couldn’t help but feel disturbed at the sight of Iowa’s empty spot. She was still quite upset over her sister’s behavior, but felt terrible about her disappearance. It was a terrible loss. Iowa was such an important ship, and despite her arrogance and negative attitude, was once well respected by all. And now, she was gone, maybe never to be seen again. “Hey, Mo,” said a voice. Of course, it was Massachusetts. She had pulled up beside Missouri and was settling in for the night. “You seemed lonely, so I thought you might enjoy my company.”

“Of course! Thank you,” Missouri said back, feeling a bit warmer than usual now.

“I see NJ fell right asleep, heh? Not surprised at all. What a long night for her.”

“Yes. She was out like a light moments after I dropped anchor.”

“Well, that’s what happens when you get more stressed out than you need to be for one week, eh?”

“I guess.”

“Hey, girl, you feeling okay?”

“To be frank, Mas, I am not. My sister’s gone mad and ran away.”

There was a pause as Missouri let out a long breath of warm air which quickly froze in the cold, night air. Missouri gazed at the dark, cold sea which stood before her, looking for any sign of Iowa. “If only she would just come back. God, if she’s hurt, I will never forgive myself for arguing with her. I don’t know what got into her, Mas. I don’t know why sh-“

“Shh, Mo. Calm down,” Massachusetts said calmly and quietly, “we’re doing all we can to fix the situation. I’ve heard that Hornet and Kidd are being sent out… somewhere… I didn’t catch what they said, but they’re going out to search. It’ll be okay. Iowa knows how to defend herself, Mo. You know that. And if there’s anyone who knows her the best, it’s you. You seem to really understand her. Wherever she is, and whatever she’s up to, I’m sure she’ll come around and see the error of her ways. She’ll be back in no time. Give her a day or two, and she’ll be better.”

“But Mas, she’s been acting like… I don’t know, Godzilla for the past few days, with no change, and she kept getting worse until she just ran away. Do you think she will return?”

“Of course! Deep inside, she loves you and all of us. She’s just having a rough moment. Eh, she’s a fiery one, but we can all act out sometimes, just differently than others. Say, look at Ally. She’s stressed, and it’s causing her to have nightmares. Iowa is stressed, and she’s acting aggressively because of it.”

Missouri understood what she was being told, but she didn’t know if Massachusetts understood how extreme Iowa’s aggression had been. “I don’t think you understand how seriously angry she’s been. Aiming at New Jersey, threatening Enterprise and I. What if she was really intending to hurt one of us?”

“Well, Mo…” Massachusetts broke off and sighed into the frigid air. “Mo, it’s nothing to worry about right now, and neither of us are gonna get shut-eye if we keep thinking about what’s bothering us. Think about something that makes you happy.”

“Like what? I feel terrible right now.”

“Maybe your best friend? She’s right next to you.”

“New Jersey…? Wait, Mas…”

Massachusetts smiled softly. “What, are you surprised?”

“No, I have many best friends. I don’t choose favorites. You’re a great friend, Mas.”

“Have you ever thought about being more than friends with anyone, ever?”

“Well… yes, I have, before.”

“How sweet.”

“With you, Mas,” Missouri said quietly and a bit shakily.

Massachusetts smiled widely, and laughed to herself. “What if I said the same thing, eh, Mo?”

“Oh, I… really?”

“Obviously. Haven’t you noticed?”

“Not until now.”

“Oh, Mas, I didn’t mean to wait. I should have said something earlier.”

“That’s not a problem. Now that we’ve got that out of the way… come here. I think you might need something quick from me to fix you up before bed.”

## Chapter: 7

Meanwhile, not too far off from Japan, was Wisconsin. She and Indiana, a South Dakota-class ship, had been constantly searching the area for enemies. They had been given orders to collect as much information as they possibly could in order to better prepare themselves for any attacks.

It was very foggy. So foggy, in fact, that Wisconsin struggled to get a good view of Indiana, who was directly in front of her. This thick, gray blanket which enveloped them was so dense that it distorted not only sight, but sound. Only nerve-cutting, icy fear could be felt through the blanket. Anyone could be hidden behind the fog, watching, waiting, biding their time, preparing to strike. And if anyone else was indeed behind that wall, it couldn’t be anyone the two ships would be delighted to meet.

A few minutes of silence had gone by until Indiana spoke. “Hey, Wisky, I’ve been told I should go back around where we were resting last night. Apparently, there’s been some kind of drone or something flying around there, and it doesn’t seem like one of ours. Something isn’t right about it. I wasn’t really given specifics. I remember I thought I had seen something sort of similar to a drone last night, but I thought I was imagining things since I was very tired. I’m not sure who else saw it, but a few people did. You didn’t see anything, did you?”

Wisconsin thought for a moment, trying to recall, but couldn’t. “No, I didn’t.”

“Well, I don’t know exactly what’s happening, but I’m being sent to go check it out. Something isn’t making sense here. I’ll see you around, Wisky.”

“Ok, Indy. Be careful, please.”

“Of course. I’ll report back to you as soon as I can.”

And before Wisconsin knew it, Indiana was far out of sight. Now, she was alone in the fog. The blip on the radar which represented Indiana faded away as she turned back, and then there was nothing.

There would be no other signs of life for about 30 minutes, until Wisconsin thought she heard something faintly in the distance. A horn, perhaps? She couldn’t tell, it had been too quiet and distorted by the fog. Wisconsin assumed it to be nothing more than her worried mind playing tricks on her, and shut her eyes. Maybe she was overtired and hallucinating.

Roughly five minutes later, the sound happened again, slightly louder than before, and still distorted. She thought it sounded familiar, but couldn’t understand why. She was beginning to feel more anxious than previously, and her cerulean eyes darted around, trying desperately to see through the fog but to no avail. It was pointless.

A few tense moments of total silence went by until once again came the noise, now loud, clear and menacing. Wisconsin could now see that someone was approaching her, and she then realized with horror why that horn was so familiar to her. It was a Yamato-class ship. And if she had company with her, Wisconsin wouldn’t stand a chance, now that Indiana had left.

“Uh-oh,” said her captain, “we’ve got company. Stay alert, Wisconsin. Let me see what this is all about. I’m signaling her crew now. Let’s see if they respond.”

“Did we accidentally get too close to the IJN?” Wisconsin asked.

“I don’t know, let me check… no, we didn’t. But we must have been caught.”

The horn was deafening now, and it was now clear who had been approaching.

Wisconsin was now met with the sharp, ice blue eyes of Musashi, Yamato’s sister.

The two at first said nothing, taking glances at one another, sizing each other up for battle. Musashi was smiling ever so slightly, a small little smile that made Wisconsin shudder. If the two were to fight, they both would have a fair chance at victory, but any wrong move could spell a quick end for either of them.

“Wisconsin. Fancy seeing you here,” said Musashi, whose voice was about as frozen and dark as a cold winter’s night.

“Musashi… I…”

“What do you think you’re doing around here?”

“None of your business. How did you know I was here?”

“I just happened to be passing by when there was a ping on my radar.”

“You have a problem with me being here?”

“Yes, I do, “Wisky”. You’re getting too close to our territory. You’re entering a restricted space.”

“I checked, and I haven’t reached that boundary yet. My job right now is to be here, gathering information about everything I see. Which leads me to ask, how did you know my nickname is Wisky?”

Musashi said nothing, only glaring at Wisconsin.

“How do you know? Are you spying on us? I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Quiet, now,” Musashi sighed irritably, “you’re not supposed to be here. I’ll give you one minute to back off, or I’ll leave you looking like Swiss cheese.”

“I already told you, I’m supposed to be here! I’m nowhere near the restricted area!”

“You’re very close, and you’re in my way, too. Not only that, but I’m also in the mood for a good fight. If you don’t leave, I’m afraid I’ll have to take drastic measures.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Musashi.”

“Then so be it.”

Before Wisconsin knew it, Musashi’s weapons were all locked onto her, and Musashi was being serious. Pure fear shot through Wisconsin as she realized that her life was in grave danger, with burning bullets of terror at her heart. Quickly, she aimed at Musashi, ready to strike back.

“Oh, so you *do* want to fight, Wisky? Bring it on,” Musashi said tauntingly, getting a rise out of Wisconsin, “show me what you’ve got. You know, Yamato isn’t too far away. I could call her over right now, and this would be easy… too easy!”

“I’m ready to defend myself. Try me.”

Before either of them could engage in combat, two horns blared loudly, aggressively and out of sync on either side of Wisconsin. Ripping through the sheet of fog were two ships that Wisconsin didn’t know if she had seen before, but looked vaguely familiar to her.

“What are you doing?!” Barked one of them in a British accent.

“Get away from her, you brute!” Snapped the other, with the same accent.

Musashi looked surprised at first, but she quickly became annoyed.

“Why, I’m simply taking care of a private matter. Wisconsin here seems to have drifted a bit too close to somewhere she shouldn’t have.”

“This fine ship here is nowhere near your border,” said the first ship, “and this is considered the neutral zone, don’t you recall? If she crosses that border, then you have a right to attack her. But she’s done nothing wrong.”

“You’d be violating the law if you were to fire on her now,” said the second. “Do you really want to do this? Why, you’d be either very daft or mentally insane if you were to fire in the neutral zone. Would you want to break your pride and reputation just for this? Leave her be.”

Musashi was silent for a tense moment while she considered her chances against the three ships before her, and thought about the consequences of her opening fire. Eventually, she responded.

“Fine, I’ll leave. There really isn’t a point in taking my chances with you three. Goodbye.”

“I’m glad we could help,” said the first ship, “now, leave! Good riddance!”

After Musashi had left, Wisconsin looked over at her saviors. “Oh, thank you for intervening!” She exclaimed, relieved, “Who are you?”

“My name is Prince of Wales,” said the first one, “But if you’d like, just call me Wales.” Wisconsin smiled. “Glad to meet you. And you are?” She asked the second one. “Well, I was named Duke of York, but I like York better.”

“You’re from the United States, right?” Wales asked.

“Yes, I am. Call me Wisconsin, or Wisky for short.”

“Certainly, Wisky. Have any sisters?”

“Three, actually. I’m the most recent of them. My sisters are named New Jersey, Missouri, and Iowa. Speaking of Iowa, she’s gone missing. I got the message not too long ago. I don’t know how she just disappeared. She was acting unusually aggressive before, too.”

“Maybe she ran away, or she’s hiding off somewhere,” suggested York.

“Multiple searches have been conducted, and each time, Iowa hasn’t been found. She’s not hiding, though a few of us think she is somewhere, but hidden very well.”

“What if she wandered off a tad bit too far from the rest of you and was attacked or captured?” Wales asked, “You don’t know what’s lurking out here these days.”

“That’s what everyone else is thinking. Personally, I don’t know what to think. She could be anywhere by now. She could be dead right now, and we wouldn’t even know it.”

“I’m sorry, Wisky, but I can’t help you there.” Said Wales with a sad breath, “I think your sister is okay. She’s got to be around somewhere, hasn’t she? I have faith and hope in you and your fleet. Iowa will return.”

“But if she doesn’t?”

“If Iowa doesn’t come back, or you cannot find her, I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do. Me and York were actually coming here to pass by when we caught you in a mess with Musashi, and we have to leave now.”

Wisconsin felt hopeless now as the glimmering sparks of confidence and hope in her heart faded like smoke in the air, reaching out and dying in the wind.

“Well, alright, then,” she said, defeat in her tone, “goodbye. It was nice meeting you too.”

“Be well, and keep well,” said Wales as she departed, “and good luck on finding Iowa.”

“Be strong, Wisconsin,” called York, who was just behind Wales.

And then, the fog took them, and Wisconsin felt the cold hand of loneliness on her deck, and anxiety still held onto her nerves. Except for the company of her crew, she was alone once more. Indiana still hadn’t come back, and Wisconsin feared the worst for her considering the encounter with Musashi. All Wisconsin could do now was wait for news back from Indiana.

…

Iowa had been resting when she felt someone brush up against her very softly. She opened her eyes, and noticed it was Yamato. “Hello, Iowa,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes, “you’ve been asleep all day. Why don’t you wake up? I have someone here to meet you.” Iowa yawned, still tired. “Who is it? For how long was I asleep?”

“Oh, for 11 hours. I’m sure you needed the rest, though. We had quite a long trip to get here. My sister, Musashi, is interested in getting to know you. Here she is.”

Coming up from behind Iowa was Musashi, whose winter eyes were fixated on her new ally.

“So, this is the American ship?” She asked Yamato.

“Obviously. Her name is Iowa. I’m so glad I was able to get her to come over to us. It was easier than I thought. Oh, Musashi, you wouldn’t believe how loyal she is to me already. She listens to me, obeys me, respects me… she even loves me. Right, Iowa?”

Iowa smiled warmly at Yamato. “That’s right. I’d do anything for you. Together, we’re unstoppable. You said it yourself. Now, if we could just have you join us, Musashi, we could have a trio of destruction.”

“God, Iowa! I love the way you think now that I have you,” Yamato said excitedly, grinning wickedly, “yes, of course. Musashi, what do you think?”

“I suppose we can form a little trio. We can follow each other along and do everything together, and take out our enemies as a team.”

“It’s a deal, then! Musashi, Iowa and I, going around, terrorizing our enemies, going *completely* overkill… oh, what a thought! Now, you two have some talking to do. Get to know each other. I’m going to go and get some quick service done. I’ll be back in a couple hours, so long as nothing comes up. When I come back, Iowa, I’ll introduce you to an idea I have. A beginning of a plan, I’d say. I think you’ll find it interesting,” she said with a wink, “because what I’m intending to have you do in this is something that I believe might just ensure your dedication to me, to our fleet. I will return.”

“Yes, Yamato,” Iowa said, smiling, “I can’t wait to hear about it. I’ll speak with Musashi.”

…

One day had passed since Iowa had left, and suspense and worry hung in the air just like the fog that Wisky had been caught in. Everyone was still on edge, highly alert and sensitive to any sudden noise or sound. Texas and Missouri seemed to be most alert, and Texas, despite her age and slowly degrading body, was trying her best to stay active, and was “re-training” herself, going around with Montana on her test runs and working with her, showing her how to fight, not only to strengthen herself once again, but to better prepare Montana for combat. Montana enjoyed the attention from Texas, of course. Now that she was the most advanced ship, and since she was also brand new, everyone felt a little jealous of her abilities, but were very thankful to have her on their side. Montana’s crew was treating her like she was a new addition to the royal family, and Texas said that she was glad Iowa wasn’t around to see this. Understandably, some of the others took offense to this, particularly New Jersey, who still felt as if she was the main reason why Iowa was gone. At the moment, she was speaking with Alabama, and the two were talking about what was bothering them, and were working to find solutions.

“Well, New Jersey,” Alabama began in her soft, southern accent, “I don’t think it’s your fault that Iowa is gone. I’d like to think she’s hiding out somewhere. It’s better than worrying about her being hurt… even though I’ll worry later.”

“Alabama, thank you so much. But you shouldn’t worry, either. I know we’re all upset and scared, but we can’t just worry all the time. Remember, Tex is always there for you…” New Jersey paused. “Well, she’s with Monty right now, but I was trying to say that Texas is always by your side at night. Keep talking to her. She seems like she’s been enjoying spending time with you. I didn’t think she would. I’m saying too much… well, Ally, keep talking to her about Iowa.”

“NJ, she doesn’t like Iowa.”

“Yes, she does. She’s just upset with her at the moment. She’s a tough old lady who doesn’t like to change her mind, but just you wait. She’ll start to worry about Iowa soon enough and start hunting for her, I’m sure.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. I’d never tell you a lie. If she changed her mind about you, she can change her mind about Iowa, too. She loves us all, and that includes Iowa, too. Texas is just being held back by her own emotions. She will change. That’s just how she is.”

“Do you think she’s scared?”

“At least a little. It’s hard to be fearless. We might try to act like we’re not afraid of anything, Alabama, but that doesn’t mean we don’t feel fear on the inside.”

“I think you’re right.” Alabama took in a deep breath and shook a little.

“You know, a while ago…” her voice broke and tears began to well up in her lavender eyes. “A while ago, South Dakota told me that we’d all be fools if we were fearless.” A tear dropped down into the water. “And if we were all fearless, not only would we be fearless, but we would all be dead, too.”

“Why would we all be dead?”

“Because,” Alabama said shakily, trying as hard as she could to prevent herself from weeping, “if we weren’t afraid of anything, we would just go into any dangerous situation without considering risks and get ourselves blown up.”

“South Dakota was right, Ally. Not one of us is unafraid. You know what that means?”

“What?”

“We can scare Yamato. We can scare her and give her a taste of her own medicine.”

“It’s what she deserves.”

“Yes, it is. And if she’s behind Iowa’s disappearance, Alabama, I think we should do more than just scare her.”

## Chapter: 8

Soon enough, Yamato had finally returned from getting maintenance work done. Iowa was resting again, still very exhausted and slightly sleep deprived still. Musashi was still there as well, and she too had been resting, but woke up as she heard Yamato nearby. “Asleep again, isn’t she, Musashi?” Yamato asked. “Obviously,” replied Musashi, sounding bored and impatient, “what do you want me to do, wake her up? I don’t want to, I hardly know her. She might kill me or something.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Musashi. You always overthink.”

Iowa was awake now, the buzzing chatter of the two alerting her.

“Oh, look who’s awake now, Musashi. Iowa! I’m glad you’re awake now. Remember what I was talking about before I departed?”

Iowa held back her drowsiness as she tried to recall.

“There was some kind of plan, right?”

“Yes, Iowa. And it’s a *special* plan, too.”

“Why would a plan be special?”

“Let me explain. Musashi, are you listening?”

“Yes, Yamato.”

Yamato looked at Musashi, then directed her gaze to Iowa, her flaming orange eyes fixated upon her as her mouth curved into a sly smile, teeth showing slightly.

“In three days, the three of us will be leaving, along with some of our other smaller ships to help us along the way, to make things easier, and in case we need support. We’ll be traveling to a place that I believe may be very familiar to our new friend. I wonder… where could that be? Your old shipyard, perhaps, Iowa?”

Iowa didn’t know how to feel about this. Of all places, her old home was the one place she wanted to keep away from at all costs. Her life there was over. No one she knew from the past meant anything to her any longer. They were now just like leaves flying by in the autumn breeze, going by, then out of sight, out of mind, never to be seen or cared for again. Why go back? Were they unhappy with Iowa and sending her back? That wasn’t possible. Yamato was completely infatuated with Iowa at this point, and had constantly been telling her about how much she meant to her and the rest of the fleet. Iowa had already found and started her new life here, why return?

“Go back?” Iowa asked, confused, “Why? We… I can’t just go back. Are you sending me back?!”

“I know we can’t just do that, Iowa,” Yamato said calmly, “and I would never let you be sent back. You’re *mine,* remember? You’re never leaving me. Would you ever consider leaving?”

“No, of course not. I’d never.”

“Good girl, Iowa. Now, as I was saying, we can’t just go directly to the shipyard. That’s completely unrealistic. We *will* be in the general area, though. That’s what I meant. Now, here’s what we will do. Musashi, listen closely, now, because this is where you’re most important. When we arrive, Musashi, make yourself as obvious as possible. Draw attention to yourself.”

“You want to get me killed?!” Musashi snarled, without thinking before speaking, as she had a tendency to do.

“Oh, please, Musashi. Don’t be so irrational and impulsive. Perhaps one day, your impulsiveness will be your downfall. We wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

“No, Yamato.”

“That’s it. Now, I suggest you take your free time to improve that. I wasn’t done telling you what I had in store for you, so perhaps you can improve your listening skills now, Musashi.”

Musashi, feeling insulted, glared at Yamato, but kept her mouth shut, not wanting to anger her fierce sister.

“Since dear, sweet Iowa here has been generous enough to tell me everything she has observed prior to arriving back here with me, I now have some information that may or may not make our goal easier to obtain. It seems as if Wisconsin, Indiana, Enterprise and Kidd are away for now. That will cut down on some of our obstacles. Now, the old one, the dreadnaught. Texas, I think. I know you must be worried about her stopping us, Musashi, but as it turns out, she’s been retired. I don’t think we should have to worry about her. But if for any reason they try to bring her back out, both of you, it shouldn’t be too difficult to put her in her place. She’s been starting to show her age, thankfully. I couldn’t be more thankful for that little bit of information. If that thing hadn’t been decommissioned, I might have been more hesitant to enact this plan. Thank you, Iowa, for such vital information.”

Iowa blushed, and was unable to take her eyes off Yamato. “You’re welcome,” she said quietly, unsure about her current feelings.

“Usually, it seems that New Jersey, Massachusetts and Alabama are the first to respond to threats. But I’ve heard that poor, unfortunate, little Alabama has been so traumatized by South Dakota’s death that she’s mentally broken.”

Yamato cackled wickedly.

“Oh, it’s all too perfect! Just what I wanted. One less ship to worry about. And the little crybaby is so pathetic and mentally scarred now that she has to be next to old Texas in order to sleep, and even then, she has nightmares which wake her up, and she can’t be left alone at all. It’s hilarious, really. Iowa sent me some audio recordings of the thing screaming in her sleep like some kind of animal. It was quite entertaining, really.”

Iowa saw Yamato’s remark as humorous, and let out a small chuckle.

“I didn’t expect Texas to be Alabama’s service dog,” Yamato went on, “they are a most odd pairing. Ha! Continuing now, once you’re confronted, Musashi, open fire immediately. Of course, if things go wrong, you’ll have reinforcements on your side. Iowa and I will close in once attention is focused on Musashi. I’m guessing that Missouri will be arriving on the scene at this time. We will need to take her out. The smaller ships and the Iowa-classes aren’t the main target, though. They’re just an entertaining bonus.”

“Then who is?” Asked Musashi.

“I wasn’t done talking, Musashi. Don’t speak out of turn. To answer your question, though, it’s Montana. The other ships are nothing but an added perk. Perfect Montana, brilliant Montana. So powerful, so dangerous. She’s the newest, best thing they have, and she’s nearly completed her training. If we can get rid of the other problems, we can have Montana alone. And, if all three of us are still in good condition, we can *destroy* Montana. Then, we will go back to Japan and watch the United States Navy ***crumble***.”

Yamato smiled and laughed again, pleased with her idea.

“I’m sure it will be all over the news. Why wouldn’t it be? They’re an extremely powerful force. Imagine the shock across the world. With them crippled, who will be willing to take shots at us next? It will take far too long for *them* to recover in time to launch an attack on us before we have the other fleets ruined, begging for mercy. What do you think, Iowa?”

“Oh, I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Iowa said, impressed by Yamato’s thought process and interested in her plan, “so, in three days? What do we do before then?”

“We’ll need to practice, of course. Make sure we’re up to date, and in good shape. Also, we need to train you, Iowa. You’re not used to our ways of fighting. We have a few tactics that the Americans don’t know about.”

“I see.”

“Training begins in four hours. I’m glad you rested, Iowa, because we will be working well into the early hours of the morning.”

“Understood.”

…

The night air was fresh and cold as usual. The chill of the gentle wind added to the uncomfortable feeling, and some of the ships noticed small icicles beginning to form where water had been dripping from them. Alabama was with Texas, trying to sleep. Alabama was very tired. Texas had brought her along to train with Montana, hoping to get Alabama’s confidence and willingness to fight back up. Alabama had tried her best today, and luckily had shown some signs of improvement, but was still very shocked by the loss of South Dakota, and was still very fearful and lacking confidence and self-esteem. Only adding to her anxiety was the loss of Iowa. Still, there was no answer as to what had happened to her. Cold and nervous, Alabama gently brushed up against Texas, and shut her eyes, trying to comfort herself.

“Everything okay, Ally?” Texas asked.

“Not exactly, Tex,” Alabama responded.

“What’s going on this time? Anything I can do?”

“No. It’s Iowa.”

“Oh, don’t bring her up. That arrogant, insensitive…”

“Tex, stop. I don’t think you understand how bad this really is. I may not like her, and you don’t either, but she could be seriously hurt, or…” Alabama paused.

“Or even killed… we can’t afford to lose her. She’s so important, and she’s great at fighting.”

“We have Jersey, Mo and Wisky.”

“Wisky’s busy elsewhere, Tex.”

“Alright, then we have Jersey and Mo.”

“That’s not good! You’re retired, Wisky, Indiana, Enterprise and Kidd are away, Wasp is busy responding to something right now, South Dakota is dead and Iowa is gone! What would we do if danger popped up right now? Can’t you see? Tex…” Alabama felt a few tears roll down her sides. Didn’t Texas care about her fleet? Didn’t she understand the severity of the situation?

Texas looked over at Alabama, who was still against her side, weeping quietly. She carefully considered Alabama’s words, thinking about how underprepared they all were. Alabama was right. Some of the fleet’s most powerful ships were busy, and two were gone, one of them dead, the other in some faraway place by now.

“Alabama, listen,” Texas said with a sigh, “I’m sorry. I was wrong. I think you’re right after all. What *would* we do? We would be dead in the water…”

“Took you long enough to realize,” Alabama said under her breath. But Texas was too old to hear her whisper.

“Well, Ally, I think you should try and rest. You’ve had such a long day. You did well earlier.”

“Thank you, Texas.”

“Of course. I know you’re still quite nervous. Try to sleep.”

Alabama was quiet for a moment, until she looked into the magenta eyes of the rusting beast before her.

“Hey, Texas?”

“Yes?”

“Could you sing me a song tonight?”

“Which one?”

“I don’t know, but I’d like it to be about South Dakota.”

“Certainly. I’ll think of some lyrics real quick.”

## Chapter: 9

Snow was falling gently as the sky began to increase in brightness. The sky slowly changed from solid black to pale gray, and the snowflakes fell like soft feathers and lightly dotted the surfaces they fell on. The wind sighed with quiet, calm breaths, and the snow continued falling, unbothered, without care.

Hornet awoke to the soft wind whistling past her, and sensed the snow on her flight deck, which was beginning to accumulate with time. She glanced at Wasp, who was resting by her starboard side after responding to an emergency situation that had kept her occupied for most of the night. She had only fallen asleep around 0230, and now, it was 0550, time to wake up. *Poor Wasp,* Hornet thought, *if only she hadn’t been so busy. She’ll be tired all day. What a shame, she’s got some important runs and tests today.*

On Hornet’s port side was New Jersey, who was just beginning to wake. Hornet and New Jersey were now friends with each other, having connected while they had free time. Hornet had been thankful that New Jersey had stuck up for Enterprise, Hornet’s vulnerable, shy sister from Iowa’s bullying. The two had similar thoughts of the entire fiasco with Iowa. They were both highly concerned and unsure of what to do. And Hornet, seeing New Jersey upset and blaming herself for the disappearance, felt the need to step in and help her as best as she could. Usually, she wouldn’t take action on something like this, with someone she hardly knew feeling depressed and guilty, but she had developed a sense of respect for New Jersey, and couldn’t imagine how hard it could be to feel as if she was responsible for making her sister disappear. Since becoming friends, Hornet had done somewhat of a good job making New Jersey less upset, but Hornet could tell that deep inside, New Jersey was still badly stressed and felt just as guilty, as if she couldn’t let go.

New Jersey yawned, taking in the frosty air which shot at her insides with a sudden icy shock which quickly drained the drowsiness from her. She bit the air as she snapped her jaws shut, teeth interlocking with a brief *click.*

“Good morning, New Jersey,” Hornet said, “glad to see you up.”

New Jersey shook very slightly with the flowing water, and cringed at the cold snow. “Good morning.”

“Sleep alright?”

“Not really.”

“Why is that?”

“I had a nightmare. Multiple, actually. But one of them stuck out too much for me to handle.”

“About?”

“Iowa. You see, it was unusual. She seemed to be in… I don’t know, actually. It was some shipyard I didn’t recognize. Iowa was there, anchored down, and held back with chains all around her, having her completely locked down.”

“And *that* was too much to handle? You’re calling *that* a nightmare, Jersey?”

New Jersey felt slightly offended.

“I wasn’t done talking. It gets worse. She was being held down by those chains and the anchors, and she was in pain. Not physically, but mentally. She was crying uncontrollably as if something very bad had happened, and she couldn’t breathe normally, and kept saying “why me?” Over and over again, stopping only to choke on a shaky breath. And there was a fire, but it was inside her. I could see it through the windows that the guys watch from, and it was in her mouth, too. She kept crying, and smoke came from her mouth, too, and she started to say “I can’t do this! Don’t let me do this!” repeatedly. She couldn’t do anything except cry and say those words, and the fire got worse. Then there was the screaming. Hornet, it was so real. It sounded exactly like her. The fire came from her mouth and covered her in flames, and she was just there, burning, screaming and crying. Then, she just… exploded. I don’t know what it means. Wait, Hornet, what if she really is hurt?”

Hornet took a minute to visualize and process New Jersey’s dream, feeling somewhat disturbed herself at the unnerving imagery.

“Oh, that’s terrible. I’m sorry I disregarded you at first. It’s alright, it was just a dream.”

“But what if that dream was trying to tell me something? What if Iowa is hurt? What if she’s dead?”

Hornet narrowed her eyes. “What if?” She said sternly, “Are you really going on about what ifs? Oh, please, New Jersey, don’t worry yourself. You won’t feel much better. I’m certain it’s just a bad dream. You do realize dreams aren’t fortune tellers, right?”

New Jersey looked down into the water, feeling a bit embarrassed. Maybe Hornet was right, but she couldn’t help but worry. Iowa was in danger, and she knew it. And to make matters worse, she knew there was nothing she could do in her power to help her sister.

…

Meanwhile, Missouri was trying her best to shake the sleepiness from herself, but without success. Exhausted, and without energy, she looked to the sky with heavy, half-open eyes. She let the snowflakes touch her, allowing each small flake to tap her bow and her hull. She wanted desperately to go back to sleep, having not slept well the night before, but she knew she couldn’t, and the day’s tasks were more important. As she tried to keep herself awake, she heard a familiar horn behind her, and a voice she knew all too well. “Morning, Mo.” said the voice, “What’s beauty doing here without her beast?” Of course, it was Massachusetts, who stopped and dropped anchor at Missouri’s port side. “Oh, hello, Mas. I woke up several times last night, and you were gone. Where were you?”

“Oh, sorry. I was assisting New Jersey, who was on patrol. She wasn’t feeling well, so I hung out with her for a bit, but she felt too unwell to continue, so I took over. Sorry I didn’t let you know, sweetheart. You *were* asleep when I left.”

“That’s okay. I wasn’t worried or upset. Where is New Jersey, anyway? She usually sleeps here with me. It’s so lonely without her or Iowa. Or you, of course.”

Massachusetts chuckled. “Ah, Mo. I’ll be here tonight, all night. Texas is gonna be on patrol. NJ was with the carriers this morning.”

“Why was she with them?”

“Dunno. Kinda unusual, eh?”

“Yes. Well, she has been quite stressed lately. Maybe she’s friends with them. Wait, did you say Texas is on patrol tonight?”

“Yeah.”

Missouri felt a sense of anxiety build up inside her. Alabama would be alone tonight. That couldn’t happen. Alabama would have an extreme meltdown without someone by her side, and how would she be able to come out of her meltdown?

“Mas, Ally can’t be alone. She will panic!”

“I know, Mo. I feel so bad for her.”

“Well, we can’t just let her suffer.”

“That’s a fact.”

“Mas, what do you think we should do?”

Massachusetts looked into Missouri’s teal eyes, seeing the look of worry on her face. She hated seeing Missouri upset, and she knew that helping Alabama would make Missouri feel better.

“You know what, Missouri?”

“Yes?”

“I have a plan. Let’s ask Ally if she wants to come over and stay with us for the night. Besides, I’m her sister. It would be nice to spend time with her. She really only spends time with Tex, and you’d be happy to see her too, wouldn’t ya?”

“Oh, Massachusetts! What a great idea! Oh, I’d be so happy to spend time with her. It’s been a bit since we’ve talked.”

“I’ll let her know. I heard her pleading with Texas not to go, and it was heartbreaking.”

“Oh, poor thing. I can’t stand seeing her upset.”

“I know, it’s terrible. Considering all she’s been through. Anyway, Mo…”

Massachusetts brushed up against Missouri gently.

“You wanna spend some time alone tonight before Ally comes over?”

“Of course. I’m always up for quality time with you.”

“Great. You’ve got someone good, y’know?”

Missouri said nothing, but laughed and looked at Massachusetts with a calm smile on her face.

## Chapter: 10

The night was colder than it had been in weeks. The air was filled with sharp, icy needles which injected themselves into whatever dared to breathe in such frigid air, and the wind blew at a steady pace, thrusting the cold needles at anything in its path. The water was a black, freezing abyss, and there, rocking in the water gently was Iowa, warm with the victorious glow she had received from the thrill of training. Tonight, Iowa had been busy with some target practicing drills, where she had taken down some dummy model ships built specifically to represent members of the family she had once felt so connected to. The models included Missouri, Texas and Alabama. Of course, Iowa, having been familiar with them in the past, knew each and every one of their blind spots and vulnerable areas, and knew exactly where to hit them to cause the most damage, and this was very useful information to the Japanese. Now that Iowa had shown them where every unprotected, vulnerable area was, they had become more confident in their plan to bring down the US Navy. Yamato was very pleased by this, of course. She had watched Iowa bring down each target with relative ease, Iowa’s yellow, cat-like eyes darting around with fury and cold calculation for each next move and the unhinged smile of victory which spread across her face with each sunken target. Yamato made notes of every weak spot, and was overjoyed with how Iowa had done in training.

Iowa was resting now as the warm glow faded. She let out an exhausted breath, tired now from training. It wasn’t long until Yamato was at her side.

“Hello, Iowa.”

“Yamato.”

“I’m very impressed with your results. You did exceptionally well. I’m glad you supplied us with this important information. How did it feel, destroying targets made to look like your old ex-friends?”

“It was… satisfying. I felt like I was removing a weight from myself. Such a shame they were only fake models.”

“Ah, a shame indeed, dear. But we won’t have to wait for long to get to the real deal, Iowa. Tomorrow night, we depart.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Aren’t you excited?” Yamato asked with a chuckle. “I’ve been *dying* to do this, Iowa. Oh, I can just *feel* the thrill I’ll get from this, just by thinking about it! I ***love*** it!”

“Yes, I am. It’s time to show them, those miserable ships, what I really think of them. I’ve had enough of their behavior, and I’m not going to let them continue to be a threat to us, and especially you, Yamato. I will do everything to protect you. I will defend you with my life.”

Yamato chuckled again, with a satisfied smile on her face. “That’s what I want to hear, Iowa. Good girl. You certainly know where your loyalty lies now. I think I’ve done a good job at making you just like one of us, haven’t I, dear?”

“Yes, Yamato.”

“Excellent. Now, I think it’s time we should rest. It’s 0350, very late. Tomorrow will be a busy day. More training, then a resting period, then refueling, and then, finally, we depart. Goodnight, Iowa, my dear.” Yamato gently kissed Iowa, and dropped anchor beside her, relaxed and ready to sleep. Iowa shut her eyes, and fell asleep shortly after, thoughts of victory dancing in her mind, and the warmth of Yamato’s comfort embraced her.

…

Meanwhile, in the United States, Missouri was enjoying the afternoon, having just done some short exercises and training with Montana and Alabama. “Phew, what a workout!” Montana said loudly, “I don’t think I’ve fired so quickly before. Those targets didn’t stand a chance. And I don’t think I’ve ever pushed myself that far, either. That was tiring. They wanted me to show them how fast I could get to my top speed, and I showed them, alright. Alabama, how are you?”

Alabama looked over at Montana, tired as could be. “I’m so tired,” she said quietly, “I want to sleep.” Missouri saw this as an opportunity to bring up her idea. “Oh, Ally, that reminds me!” She blurted out quickly. “What is it?” Alabama responded. “You know, I heard about Texas. I really don’t want you to be alone tonight, I know how bad it is for you when you’re alone. I was wondering if you wanted to stay with Massachusetts and I for the night.”

Alabama didn’t hesitate to think and smiled happily. “Of course, Mo!” She yipped excitedly, “Thank you, thank you so much! Can we go over now, Mo? Sun’s setting. It gets dark too early in winter.” “Well…” Missouri began, thinking. “I was going to spend time with Wasp, but I think she might be busy. And if you’re that tired, Ally, I think you should come along now. You should be excited. Massachusetts told me that it’s been a long time since you’ve spoken to her since South…” Missouri paused momentarily, catching herself, not wanting to upset Alabama. “Since the incident, Ally. She’ll be glad to talk to you. We really only see you talk to Texas and New Jersey.” “Ok, Mo. Let’s go!” Missouri smiled softly at Alabama. “That’s it. Come along, now. Goodbye, Montana!” “See you soon, Mighty Mo!” Montana said, calling after the two as they left. The two were silent for a couple of minutes until Missouri spoke. “You’re quiet, Alabama.” “I’m tired,” Alabama responded, “I’m sorry.”

“No, Ally, it’s ok. You’ve had a long day. Hey… I’ve got a question for you.”

“What?”

“Would you be upset if I told you Mas and I are kind of… together?”

“No, why would I be?”

“Oh, I don’t know. It’s just… she’s your sister, and I wanted to know if you approved?”

Alabama laughed. “Of course I approve! I’ve seen you talk, I think you’re perfect!” She said with a bright smile, giggling still. “It’s adorable how shy you get around Massachusetts.” Missouri rolled her eyes, slightly embarrassed. “Oh, shush, Ally. I’m not *that* shy, am I?”

“I mean… you get so flustered around her, and… never mind.”

“Don’t worry. Hey, look over there. See who’s over there, next to my spot?”

Alabama noticed Massachusetts. “Mas?” She asked. “Ally!” Massachusetts exclaimed, delighted to see her sister. “Oh, come here! It’s been forever since I’ve spoken to ya!” Excitedly, Alabama rushed over to Massachusetts, Missouri following close behind. “I’m glad to see you, Ally. How are ya?” Alabama hesitated to speak at first. “Fine, I guess.” Massachusetts smiled reassuringly, noticing that Alabama felt slightly awkward, having not spoken to her in some time, and still upset about Texas. “Hey, come on. It’s alright. We’re together again, and you’re safe with us.” “Yes,” Missouri said, “we’re so glad to talk to you. Come on, why don’t we start a conversation?” Alabama started to feel a bit more comfortable now. “Well… what do you want to talk about?” She asked quietly. “Mas, what do you think?” Missouri asked. Massachusetts smirked. “Hey, I’ve got something. Ally, tell us something you know about Texas that we don’t.” Alabama thought of something quickly. “Oh, here’s a fun fact,” she began, “she told me that she used to be quite bossy when she was younger. She said she used to push others around and tell them what to do, and she thought she was better than everyone else because she was the newest, biggest thing. And she loved having lots of attention. But as she got older, she realized that she couldn’t just treat everyone badly, and as she saw newer, better ships take her place, she began to think of how she would feel if she was bossed around like how she used to act, and started to work to change her attitude. And it worked, too. It’s crazy to think about Tex acting that way.”

Missouri and Massachusetts were slightly surprised. “Wow, really?” Missouri asked, “Well, she did change quite a bit. Look at her now.” “Yeah,” put in Massachusetts, “she’s a stubborn old lady.” Alabama glared at her sister, offended. “Well… in a good way. We love her!” Massachusetts said, blushing with embarrassment. “Yes, we do,” said Missouri, “we’re glad she’s here for us.” “And for you, too, Ally,” added Massachusetts. Alabama smiled. “Aww, thanks. I’m really tired… I think I might go to sleep now.” “Goodnight!” Said Massachusetts. “Sleep well, Alabama,” Missouri said, “see you tomorrow.”

Alabama looked at the two, smiled, shut her eyes, and quickly fell asleep, thankful for their company

## Chapter: 11

First, there was silence... then, suddenly, radio transmissions began to come in, one, then two, then three, then four, with more and more coming, with frantic, panicked voices calling out as the threat of danger became apparent. Each message was about Musashi’s arrival, and there was much worry regarding the safety of Indiana and Enterprise, who were ready to confront Musashi, though they knew that Musashi likely had backup along the way. And wherever Musashi was, Yamato couldn’t be too far off. Upon receiving this information, one by one, the ships were hit with shock and horror. The day they had been fearing was finally here, and nobody knew if they were prepared or not. There was now an intense rush of fear within all, and in this panic, unsure of what to do and worried of her and her friend’s safety, was Alabama, who was breathing rapidly and heavily, intense waves of fear rolling over her. “It can’t! It can’t be!” Alabama gasped between breaths, tears streaming down from her amethyst eyes, “I can’t do this! Not now! Oh, why now? It’s over, it’s over!” Texas was quick to attempt to comfort her. “Ally, shh. Don’t you worry. I’m here. Stay right by my side, I’ll protect you if I need to.”

“She’s going to kill us all! No, no! Please, no!” Alabama shrieked, “Don’t let this happen! I can’t fight, I can’t, I can’t!”

“Ally! Calm yourself! Look, Ally, look at me.”

Alabama stopped wailing, and looked into the magenta eyes of Texas, her vision blurred with tears, the whites of her eyes bloodshot from crying and shouting. Her body shook in the water, and she struggled to calm her breathing. “Tex... Tex! Help me, please, what do I do?!” She gasped, “This can’t be! It’s not true! Not again!”

Texas looked at Alabama solemnly, feeling her heart drop as reality set in.

“It’s true,” she said quietly, letting out a defeated sigh, “it’s true. I’m sorry, Alabama. Now, I don’t know entirely what’s going on, but you need to stay right next to me, you hear? Don’t go anywhere. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. Follow me, I’m going to speak to Missouri. She’s not too far away.”

Alabama followed close behind, keeping pace at Texas’s stern like a puppy trying to keep up with its owner. “It’s over, it’s over, all gone,” she mumbled to herself, inconsolable, “poor Navy, poor friends, poor family, oh, everything gone, all gone, gone now...” Texas glanced at Alabama, feeling nothing but sorrow for her, and fear of what was yet to come. “Ally, we’re still here,” she said reassuringly, “nobody is gone. We’re going to go see what’s happened, and I’m sure we’ll make it out just fine, okay?”

However, despite saying this, Texas had a strong feeling that in the end, there would be much violence and savagery.

There was more crying and gasping, until Alabama finally responded. “Maybe,” she said shakily, “maybe it’ll be okay. I think that sounds right, Texas.”

Eventually, Texas and Alabama had made it to Missouri’s location. Missouri was discussing the sudden news with Montana, Massachusetts and Wisconsin, who had just returned moments ago.

“So, the first thing I come back to after a stressful, mentally painful week is this?” Wisconsin asked, “And it’s Musashi, too. I had a close encounter with her early in the week. What, does she still want to fight me?”

“We have no clue, Wisky.” Missouri said, “New Jersey is heading over right now, and I’ll be coming with her. Musashi might change her mind about coming here if she sees us approach.”

“Be careful, Mo.” said Massachusetts, “I can’t lose ya, y’know?”

Missouri smiled. “I will, Mas. I’ll make sure of it.”

“But, Missouri,” Montana began, “what if Musashi isn’t alone?”

“Then we can call for backup. Hopefully, it’s just her, and maybe a few smaller ships. It shouldn’t be too hard of a fight if she’s alone, though, but chances are she’ll get frightened after seeing us, and she might realize we could take her out easily. New Jersey is on her way now, so I do have to be going.”

“Hopefully you’re right, Mo.” Said Wisconsin.

“If you need help, call for us.” Added Massachusetts.

“I will,” Missouri said, “and I really must get going, there’s no time to waste. Goodbye.” “Bye, Missouri!” The three remaining ships called after her. Missouri quickly charged towards the conflict, hoping that it wouldn’t turn out as bad as the previous encounter with the Japanese.

As Missouri left, Texas arrived, with Alabama in tow. Alabama seemed to be calmer now, but the occasional tear still dropped.

“Oh, of course she left!” Texas said, slightly upset.

“You just missed her.” Montana said to Texas, apologetic, “She and New Jersey are off to go see what the problem is.”

“I was going to ask why Musashi is here,” Texas replied with a tone like a soon-to-be-intense fire starting, “because Alabama is worked up out of her mind, and she’s not going to calm down until Musashi is gone. Musashi is breaking policies and invading our space, and I will not allow it!”

“Easy, Texas. We’re thinking that Mo and NJ will be able to scare away Musashi,” said Massachusetts, “because if it’s just her, she’ll realize that Mo and NJ are too much for her to fight alone and leave.”

“Do you really think she’ll leave?” Texas asked, skeptical, “Knowing the behavior of those affiliated with the IJN, she’s going to act as if she’s leaving, but camp out somewhere, get reinforcements, and attack later, while we’re all doing this and that, here and there, unaware until it’s too late. They’re sly as foxes. Isn’t that what people say, now?”

“Tex, I think you’re onto something.” Wisconsin said, “You could be right. They are very sly... I’m sure Yamato isn’t too far away. She seems to be the boss of the ships, and Musashi is like her right-hand lady... whatever people say.” She broke off in quiet laughter at her own remark, but then collected her laughter, and then realized no-one else had laughed. Slightly embarrassed, she resumed explaining. “She has them loyally serving her, obeying her, doing whatever she wants. Yamato might be lying in wait, just waiting for us to calm down so she can attack with all her ships.”

“I think I agree with you.” Massachusetts said, quick to agree.

“That seems a bit unrealistic,” Montana said, “but we will be able to tell if someone else is coming. Radar, what a wonderful thing.”

Texas let out a hearty laugh at Montana’s response.

“Oh, yes, thank goodness, Monty! If it were not for it, I’m not sure where we’d all be now. Also, let me add, and to be as polite as possible, I don’t agree with your statement regarding your dismissal of my theory.”

Montana frowned, offended.

“Fine, whatever.” she said without thinking, “Don’t believe me, I don’t care. Are you saying radar will not detect enemies?”

“No, Montana. Don’t be so careless and dismissive when you speak.”

Montana narrowed her almost neon yellow-green eyes, which gleamed with a dangerous lightning-hot flash.

Alabama said nothing, fretful about adding fuel to the fire.

“Hey, settle down, now!” Massachusetts exclaimed sternly, “Don’t get riled up just yet, save that for when it’s time!”

Texas was silent as she thought about what Massachusetts said, but eventually replied. “Well, that settles things, Massachusetts. I suggest we leave it at that. Now, I need to be staying with Alabama *unless* I am needed. And Alabama,” Texas said, directing her gaze and attention to her, “If I have to go, you’ll have to go out and fight, too. Remember our training.”

Alabama cringed at the thought of going into battle, and tried to recall her training. “Yes,” she said, unsure of her fighting abilities, “I will, I think I can.”

“Good. I believe in you.” Responded Texas. Alabama smiled, feeling better momentarily. Suddenly, there was a sound like thunder that shot rays of terror through Alabama, and shook Texas’s body. Massachusetts looked to her port side to where the noise had come from, and just as she did, she saw a plume of smoke and flame erupt, shooting into the air. The explosion came with a scream of pain. In no time, there was much noise. Over the radios of each ship came out a cry of shock: “Indiana’s been hit, starboard side, towards the bow, by Musashi!” It was the captain of the Enterprise. “Oh, my...” Massachusetts said, at a loss for other words.

Montana was speechless, her mouth gaping in surprise. Alabama whimpered nervously. There was a long pause, and inside them all was back and forth, sharp, static-laced and swiftly fleeting radio chatter. “So, it begins.” Texas said grimly, “I’m afraid I was correct after all.”

## Chapter: 12

First, there was silence... then, suddenly, radio transmissions began to come in, one, then two, then three, then four, with more and more coming, with frantic, panicked voices calling out as the threat of danger became apparent. Each message was about Musashi’s arrival, and there was much worry regarding the safety of Indiana and Enterprise, who were ready to confront Musashi, though they knew that Musashi likely had backup along the way. And wherever Musashi was, Yamato couldn’t be too far off. Upon receiving this information, one by one, the ships were hit with shock and horror. The day they had been fearing was finally here, and nobody knew if they were prepared or not. There was now an intense rush of fear within all, and in this panic, unsure of what to do and worried of her and her friend’s safety, was Alabama, who was breathing rapidly and heavily, intense waves of fear rolling over her. “It can’t! It can’t be!” Alabama gasped between breaths, tears streaming down from her amethyst eyes, “I can’t do this! Not now! Oh, why now? It’s over, it’s over!” Texas was quick to attempt to comfort her. “Ally, shh. Don’t you worry. I’m here. Stay right by my side, I’ll protect you if I need to.”

“She’s going to kill us all! No, no! Please, no!” Alabama shrieked, “Don’t let this happen! I can’t fight, I can’t, I can’t!”

“Ally! Calm yourself! Look, Ally, look at me.”

Alabama stopped wailing, and looked into the magenta eyes of Texas, her vision blurred with tears, the whites of her eyes bloodshot from crying and shouting. Her body shook in the water, and she struggled to calm her breathing. “Tex... Tex! Help me, please, what do I do?!” She gasped, “This can’t be! It’s not true! Not again!”

Texas looked at Alabama solemnly, feeling her heart drop as reality set in.

“It’s true,” she said quietly, letting out a defeated sigh, “it’s true. I’m sorry, Alabama. Now, I don’t know entirely what’s going on, but you need to stay right next to me, you hear? Don’t go anywhere. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. Follow me, I’m going to speak to Missouri. She’s not too far away.”

Alabama followed close behind, keeping pace at Texas’s stern like a puppy trying to keep up with its owner. “It’s over, it’s over, all gone,” she mumbled to herself, inconsolable, “poor Navy, poor friends, poor family, oh, everything gone, all gone, gone now...” Texas glanced at Alabama, feeling nothing but sorrow for her, and fear of what was yet to come. “Ally, we’re still here,” she said reassuringly, “nobody is gone. We’re going to go see what’s happened, and I’m sure we’ll make it out just fine, okay?”

However, despite saying this, Texas had a strong feeling that in the end, there would be much violence and savagery.

There was more crying and gasping, until Alabama finally responded. “Maybe,” she said shakily, “maybe it’ll be okay. I think that sounds right, Texas.”

Eventually, Texas and Alabama had made it to Missouri’s location. Missouri was discussing the sudden news with Montana, Massachusetts and Wisconsin, who had just returned moments ago.

“So, the first thing I come back to after a stressful, mentally painful week is this?” Wisconsin asked, “And it’s Musashi, too. I had a close encounter with her early in the week. What, does she still want to fight me?”

“We have no clue, Wisky.” Missouri said, “New Jersey is heading over right now, and I’ll be coming with her. Musashi might change her mind about coming here if she sees us approach.”

“Be careful, Mo.” said Massachusetts, “I can’t lose ya, y’know?”

Missouri smiled. “I will, Mas. I’ll make sure of it.”

“But, Missouri,” Montana began, “what if Musashi isn’t alone?”

“Then we can call for backup. Hopefully, it’s just her, and maybe a few smaller ships. It shouldn’t be too hard of a fight if she’s alone, though, but chances are she’ll get frightened after seeing us, and she might realize we could take her out easily. New Jersey is on her way now, so I do have to be going.”

“Hopefully you’re right, Mo.” Said Wisconsin.

“If you need help, call for us.” Added Massachusetts.

“I will,” Missouri said, “and I really must get going, there’s no time to waste. Goodbye.” “Bye, Missouri!” The three remaining ships called after her. Missouri quickly charged towards the conflict, hoping that it wouldn’t turn out as bad as the previous encounter with the Japanese.

As Missouri left, Texas arrived, with Alabama in tow. Alabama seemed to be calmer now, but the occasional tear still dropped.

“Oh, of course she left!” Texas said, slightly upset.

“You just missed her.” Montana said to Texas, apologetic, “She and New Jersey are off to go see what the problem is.”

“I was going to ask why Musashi is here,” Texas replied with a tone like a soon-to-be-intense fire starting, “because Alabama is worked up out of her mind, and she’s not going to calm down until Musashi is gone. Musashi is breaking policies and invading our space, and I will not allow it!”

“Easy, Texas. We’re thinking that Mo and NJ will be able to scare away Musashi,” said Massachusetts, “because if it’s just her, she’ll realize that Mo and NJ are too much for her to fight alone and leave.”

“Do you really think she’ll leave?” Texas asked, skeptical, “Knowing the behavior of those affiliated with the IJN, she’s going to act as if she’s leaving, but camp out somewhere, get reinforcements, and attack later, while we’re all doing this and that, here and there, unaware until it’s too late. They’re sly as foxes. Isn’t that what people say, now?”

“Tex, I think you’re onto something.” Wisconsin said, “You could be right. They are very sly... I’m sure Yamato isn’t too far away. She seems to be the boss of the ships, and Musashi is like her right-hand lady... whatever people say.” She broke off in quiet laughter at her own remark, but then collected her laughter, and then realized no-one else had laughed. Slightly embarrassed, she resumed explaining. “She has them loyally serving her, obeying her, doing whatever she wants. Yamato might be lying in wait, just waiting for us to calm down so she can attack with all her ships.”

“I think I agree with you.” Massachusetts said, quick to agree.

“That seems a bit unrealistic,” Montana said, “but we will be able to tell if someone else is coming. Radar, what a wonderful thing.”

Texas let out a hearty laugh at Montana’s response.

“Oh, yes, thank goodness, Monty! If it were not for it, I’m not sure where we’d all be now. Also, let me add, and to be as polite as possible, I don’t agree with your statement regarding your dismissal of my theory.”

Montana frowned, offended.

“Fine, whatever.” she said without thinking, “Don’t believe me, I don’t care. Are you saying radar will not detect enemies?”

“No, Montana. Don’t be so careless and dismissive when you speak.”

Montana narrowed her almost neon yellow-green eyes, which gleamed with a dangerous lightning-hot flash.

Alabama said nothing, fretful about adding fuel to the fire.

“Hey, settle down, now!” Massachusetts exclaimed sternly, “Don’t get riled up just yet, save that for when it’s time!”

Texas was silent as she thought about what Massachusetts said, but eventually replied. “Well, that settles things, Massachusetts. I suggest we leave it at that. Now, I need to be staying with Alabama *unless* I am needed. And Alabama,” Texas said, directing her gaze and attention to her, “If I have to go, you’ll have to go out and fight, too. Remember our training.”

Alabama cringed at the thought of going into battle, and tried to recall her training. “Yes,” she said, unsure of her fighting abilities, “I will, I think I can.”

“Good. I believe in you.” Responded Texas. Alabama smiled, feeling better momentarily. Suddenly, there was a sound like thunder that shot rays of terror through Alabama, and shook Texas’s body. Massachusetts looked to her port side to where the noise had come from, and just as she did, she saw a plume of smoke and flame erupt, shooting into the air. The explosion came with a scream of pain. In no time, there was much noise. Over the radios of each ship came out a cry of shock: “Indiana’s been hit, starboard side, towards the bow, by Musashi!” It was the captain of the Enterprise. “Oh, my...” Massachusetts said, at a loss for other words.

Montana was speechless, her mouth gaping in surprise. Alabama whimpered nervously. There was a long pause, and inside them all was back and forth, sharp, static-laced and swiftly fleeting radio chatter. “So, it begins.” Texas said grimly, “I’m afraid I was correct after all.”

## Chapter: 13

In no time, Missouri was on the scene, her teal eyes reflecting with the orange glow of fire which spewed from Indiana’s sides. Thick, black smoke poured into the air, and repair crews frantically ran about Indiana’s deck in a desperate attempt to put out the fire. Indiana gasped in pain, her crimson eyes leaking tears uncontrollably. “Oh, god,” she said to herself, “it hurts… it hurts so much… oh, god…” Missouri stopped in front of her to survey the damage, and the two’s eyes met. “Mo…” Indiana said, straining her voice as she tried not to cry out in pain, “Mo, help me, Mo, make it stop,” she whimpered, her voice rising as the burning, nerve-searing pain increased, “Mo, make it stop! It hurts!” Missouri was still, rocking in the water, speechless. She tried to conjure up words of comfort, but gave up, unable to. “Mo, please!” Indiana screamed, “Just take me out! Make it stop, make it stop! Just finish the job!” Missouri felt salty tears sting her tear ducts, and took in a sharp breath. “Indy, I’m sorry.” She said, noticing the fire slowly dying out, “It’s okay, your crew is doing what they can. Once this fire is gone, you’ll be taken straight for repairs.”

Indiana was still crying, but her tears were beginning to subside now as the fire was doused with cold jets of water. Numbing agents began to flow into Indiana’s system, subduing her discomfort temporarily.

Indiana’s crimson eyes were more red than ever before, bloodshot now, from excessive crying.

“It’s okay, Indiana.” Said Missouri calmly as she could, “You’ll be alright. I need to go see Enterprise.”

Indiana said nothing, but slowly blinked at Missouri, acknowledging her.

Missouri quickly turned around and raced towards Enterprise, who was staring off into the distance, jaw slightly open with shock, watching as New Jersey, Massachusetts and Wisconsin arrived with Alabama and Texas trailing behind to confront Musashi, who was gently rocking with the movement of the sea with a slight smile on her face.

Missouri slowly approached Enterprise. “Enterprise, are you alright?” She asked, “What happened?”

“I’m fine. It was Musashi.”

“Why is she here? Why did she attack Indiana?”

“She didn’t say why when we asked her. She only told us she was looking around for someone and waiting. I don’t know who, she didn’t give us a name. We both told her she was breaking a boundary and she needed to leave, but she fired at Indiana. Now she’s over there, and it looks like she has company.”

Missouri took a moment to think, and then looked over to Musashi, noticing three smaller Japanese ships quickly approaching her, with a fourth one close behind. They stopped at Musashi’s sides, positioned around her like guard dogs.

“Well, rats.” Missouri sighed, her plan now useless, “This isn’t going to be as simple as I thought. I thought it might just be Musashi. I suspected she might have company with her, but I really thought it was only her, and that we could spook her.”

“Well, look, there’s a whole bunch of other ships coming over to stop this. Hey, I see New Jersey!”

“Right. I’m going over to them.”

“Oh, well, you do that, Mo.”

“Enterprise, what are you going to do? You can’t just stay here.”

“I don’t know. I’ll send some jets over, if I need to. But I think you’ve got this. Now go, your sisters depend on you!”

And Missouri left as fast as she could.

It wasn’t long before she was with New Jersey and Wisconsin again, and Massachusetts as well.

“Wisky, Mas, I thought you said you’d come for backup,” Missouri said, “what are you doing?”

“I knew right then at the very moment I heard the explosion that Indy was hurt,” began Massachusetts, “and I couldn’t just stay back there. Ally and I already lost Southie, and I am *not* going to let another sister get killed!”

“And I knew you were heading over and I didn’t want you to get hurt, Missouri.” Wisconsin said, “I thought at first you had been hit.”

Wisconsin looked over at Indiana, who was slowly drifting away from the scene, and Missouri took notice.

“Indiana should be alright. Don’t worry.”

“I hope she is.” Said New Jersey quietly.

“So do I.” Added Wisconsin.

Suddenly, each ship noticed that something felt something was… different. DIfferent in a way they couldn’t describe. They felt as if many sets of eyes were watching them, filled with malicious intent. The water seemed to become very cold as their anxiety built up. It was then that each one’s radar began to ping wildly, as multiple ships approached.

“Oh, no…” Whispered Missouri.

“Not more!” Groaned Massachusetts.

“Hell!” Exclaimed Wisconsin, “Now what?!”

Wisconsin turned, and so did Missouri and Massachusetts.

They could see exactly who was coming now. It was Yamato! Their worst enemy, the deadliest and most feared ship to ever grace the seas, the one who had killed South Dakota and started this entire chain of events. Now, they were face to face with her once again, and this time, Yamato had multiple ships with her.

Not too far away was Texas, with none other than Alabama. The two had been conversing quietly, with Texas offering Alabama words of comfort and advice.

A deep, deafening, fear-inducing horn bellowed.

Texas gasped, and so did Alabama. That noise was the one sound Alabama wished never to hear ever again. Alabama said nothing, her jaw open wide in horror, pupils contracted, her body so tense with fear it was resisting the water’s movement. “Alabama, stay calm. You know what to do. Remember what I told you?” Texas said, though she herself was beginning to lose her calm. However, Alabama didn’t speak, mouth still open as if someone had put a giant hand down her throat and taken all the words from her. Alabama’s worst fear had finally come true, after all this worrying. Her sister’s killer. She feared her more than anything, and she gazed wide-eyed at the monster who was slowly coming to a stop before Missouri, Massachusetts and Wisconsin, and now New Jersey. Texas observed cautiously, looking around for other possible enemies. Like Musashi, Yamato had several other ships around her sides, seemingly guarding her, but she had seven with her rather than the four that Musashi had.

Yamato smiled wickedly. “Well, well, well,” she began in her smooth, silky voice, “look who’s come to the show. Me and my lovely little squadron. Shame we weren’t given an invitation. We’re afraid we had to let ourselves in.”

“You’re not welcome here, Yamato.” Said Missouri sternly, but not without fear.

“Oh, but I’m already here. I think you should let me stay a while, I wouldn’t want to leave so soon without playing around. Looks like playtime’s begun, hasn’t it?” Yamato said, referencing Musashi’s attack on Indiana.

“What are you doing here? Explain.” Missouri questioned, still in her firm tone.

Yamato laughed. “Oh, Missouri! Don’t question it. It’s all part of a big surprise. You wouldn’t want me to *spoil* it, would you? Nobody likes spoilers.”

“The big surprise is already here.” Missouri said.

New Jersey laughed, and upon hearing this, Yamato gave her a glare full of hatred, fiery orange eyes burning. New Jersey gasped. “Don’t hurt me!”

“Oh, I won’t,” Yamato crooned in her seductive voice, “I really wouldn’t hurt the wonderful New Jersey. At least, not *now.*” She chuckled sadistically. Threatened, New Jersey felt the urge to fire on Yamato, but realized that provoking Yamato could result in deadly consequences. Instead, she glared at Yamato with her emerald green eyes.

“So, where’s your surprise?” Asked Wisconsin, skeptical.

“Coming soon.” Yamato replied. Suddenly, her eyes went wide. “Oh, who is that coming up on us?” She asked. “Texas?”

Sure enough, Texas was on her way to the group, and Alabama followed reluctantly.

“The old, rusting Texas,” Yamato began, “how on Earth is she allowed to run? What an awful mistake she’s making. By the time we’re done with you all, Texas will be nothing but a pile of rusted scrap metal in the sea.” Yamato let out a wicked laugh.

The other ships said nothing, fearing what Yamato would do if they responded.

“And behind you…” Yamato said, this time to Texas now that she was close enough to her, “I know her. Alabama. I never forget a face.” Yamato laughed again, recalling the enjoyment she had felt upon seeing Alabama’s reaction to the death of South Dakota. She had been overjoyed after hearing how damaged Alabama’s mental health was since the incident.

“The sad, scared little one who can’t defend herself since she’s so afraid. Why I’m sure she’s terrified of *flies!* Oh, I’m surprised she’s here. I thought she might be docked, hiding away. Were you really so *daft* to bring her along?”

Texas growled. “You will *not* insult me or Alabama.”

“Who says I can’t?” Yamato asked carelessly. “Anyway… oh! My lovely little surprise is here,” she said, her tone shifting back to her previously smooth, crooning voice, “come on out, my dear.”

The ships looked at Yamato, confused. Then, they watched as another ship emerged from behind her, her shape becoming more and more apparent. First they saw a long, gray bow… then saw the hull… then the number 61 on it in white paint… and then, the yellow, cat-like eyes of none other than Iowa.

Iowa stared at her old friends and sisters with a blank, expressionless face, her yellow eyes seemingly glowing against her gray paint.

“Meet my dear, sweet lover who has been *so* useful as to provide me and my fleet with *all* the important, top-secret information about you all that we could ever dream of!”

“Iowa!” Missouri exclaimed, shocked to see her with Yamato, but relieved to see her alive.

New Jersey let out a gasp, and Alabama yelped in horror. Wisconsin glanced at Texas, who looked at Iowa, unsure of how to feel.

“Yes, it is me.” Iowa said in a cold voice, without caring about the feelings of her ex-allies. “I can’t say I’m glad to be back.”

Yamato smiled at Iowa. “Now, we know what it’s time to do, don’t we, Iowa?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Ah, Musashi is coming over to us, just in time. When Musashi arrives, Iowa, we fire.”

“Yes, Yamato.”

## Chapter: 14

Finally, Musashi arrived, and smiled at Yamato, beaming with excitement, ready to fight. Wisconsin gave Musashi a threatening glare.

“There you are,” Yamato said, “delighted it’s time, aren’t you? That smile says it all. Iowa, what do you think? Are you ready? I know you’ve been waiting for this moment ever since we developed the plan.”

“Yes, I am. I’ve been thinking, who do we shoot at first?”

“Good question, Iowa. Considering we’re all together, right in front of this lovely group, I suggest we-“

Yamato was cut off by a loud shot. Musashi had fired at Wisconsin, grazing her starboard side. Wisconsin yelped in pain, and New Jersey gasped. “Wisky! No!” She cried. “Oh, no. Wisconsin…”

Missouri said nothing, and rushed over to Wisconsin with New Jersey.

Yamato stared at Wisconsin, and then at Musashi, glaring, her mouth open with disbelief. She flicked her eyes to the rest of her squadron, her mind struggling to logically and rationally control the situation. Musashi had disobeyed her orders and fired out of turn. “Hiei, Kongo,” Yamato began, her tone fluttering with pulses of fury, “gather the others, and work together to take down the remaining Iowa-class ships. Texas won’t be much work. Damage Massachusetts, Alabama and any others severely, and leave Montana for Iowa and I. Akagi is on her way. Go, NOW!”

As Hiei and Kongo rushed forward with the rest of the squadron, Yamato turned to face Musashi, her orange eyes blazing with rage. “Look what you’ve done!” She hissed, “You may have just cost us a victory! Now, everyone’s been distracted, and we don’t have time to construct another battle plan! Why did you fire at that ship without me giving the signal?!”

Musashi felt sick with embarrassment, realizing the severity of her mistake. This was the one battle that was supposed to cripple their main enemy, a victory more rewarding than any other, and now, she could have ruined it.

“I’m sorry, Yamato,” she said, tears of self-hate and fear developing, “I’m so sorry! I thought she might attack, and I wanted to-“

“QUIET! Don’t lie to me. That’s the most pathetic, transparent lie I’ve heard from your mouth! That’s complete bull! What indicators were there that she was going to attack you?”

Musashi was crying now, coughing as she choked on her tears.

“She just… she gave me this look on her face that scared me, and I thought she might hurt me… I’m sorry!”

Yamato snarled. “You foolish idiot, you absolute moron! What have I told you about your impulsive behaviors, Musashi? I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you. I shouldn’t have brought you along, but who else would I have put in your place?”

“It’s your fault you brought me,” Musashi said, trying to defend herself, “and it’s your fault that you didn’t think of a backup plan.”

The fire in Yamato’s eyes was scorching now. How dare her sister talk back to her, and reveal her error?

“SHUT UP!” Yamato yelled, refusing to admit her mistake, “Keep your mouth shut! You worthless dimwit… if you were any other ship, I’d fire at you right where you stand!”

“I’m not worthless, and I’m not stupid!”

“What did I tell you not moments ago about opening your mouth?! You really are idiotic. Get out of my sight! Go get yourself killed somewhere else!”

With tears streaming down her hull, Musashi turned quickly and dashed away from Yamato.

“Mindless fool…” Yamato said under her breath, eyes narrowed as she watched Musashi close in on Texas.

Texas noticed Musashi approaching, and felt a rush of fear as she noticed that Alabama had been separated. Through the smoke and fire of the ensuing battle, she couldn’t tell where she was. She noticed a South Dakota-class ship in the distance, but she was unable to tell if it was Massachusetts or Alabama. “Ally, no,” she whispered to herself, “oh, no… if she doesn’t remember the training or gets too scared… no…” Texas looked straight ahead and saw Musashi coming closer. She raised her turrets defensively, ready to fire. Seeing this, Musashi quickly did the same, and fired. Texas felt her anti aircraft guns shatter, and one of her turret’s main battery guns was blown apart. Texas shook from the force of the blow, which raised her up and recklessly slammed her bow into the water and out again. Squinting her eyes through the pain, she focused her attention on Musashi, who stared at Texas, unsure of what to do. The two were at a standstill, as Texas panted heavily, fighting the pain,and Musashi looked on at Texas, now ready to fire again. Aside from explosions, there were no other noises, until an enraged scream could be heard. Texas and Musashi glanced over at the noise, but Musashi had no time to decipher who or what was coming when she was hit with a flurry of missiles and torpedoes. Texas, through half open eyes, noticed the familiar shape and lavender eyes of none other than Alabama. Alabama shrieked in fury as she bombarded Musashi, who, in pain and fear, disengaged and took off elsewhere. Alabama did not give chase, and watched as she left, breathing heavily, crying with anger. “Get out of here! Leave Texas alone!” She cried out after her. She then looked over at Texas, surveying the damage. “Tex!” She gasped, “Oh, Tex, oh, no… oh no, Tex…”

“I’m alright,” Texas said, disregarding her wounds, “I’m alright. Thanks for stepping in. I’m proud of you, Ally, but I don’t have much time to praise you. I’m going after Musashi.”

“No, Tex, no. You have to get to dry dock, somewhere safe. Your main weapons are gone, you can’t fight anymore! I’ll escort you.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m fine, I still have-“

“TEX! Listen to me, you can’t! You’re older and out of date, they’ll kill you with ease! Please don’t, Texas…” Alabama sniffled, looking into Texas’s eyes, crying. “I can’t lose you, Tex… you’ve done so much to help me. You’re like a mother to me…”

Texas looked at Alabama, and, struck by the sensation of pain, considered the damage she had received. *Ally’s right,* she thought.

“Alabama, you’re right. I’m sorry, I was wrong.”

“I’m glad you changed your mind. Wisky is hurt, but she’s coming, I just got the message. She will take you on an alternate path to dry dock, so no enemies will see you.”

“Oh, poor Wisky. But… Alabama, what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to go back out there and fight.”

“Aren’t you afraid?”

“Yes, but I know I can do this. You’ve trained me so well. I think I can handle this. You told me that if something happens to you, to stand my ground and fight. So I did.”

A loud horn blew, and Wisconsin arrived, half of her starboard side burnt and cracked, but she still seemed physically capable. “Ready, Tex?” She asked.

Texas didn’t say anything, but followed Wisconsin. “Good luck, Ally.” Wisconsin said.

Meanwhile, in the frenzy of fire and explosions, Missouri tore through the water at high speeds, having just escaped a shot from an enemy ship. She saw New Jersey ahead of her, and rushed towards her sister to regroup. She witnessed Iowa in the distance fire at Hornet, but thankfully, she missed.

*Oh, god, Iowa,* she thought, *I’m so sorry you’ve left us no choice but to fight you. Iowa, I thought we were close as sisters.*

Missouri had nearly reached New Jersey when she received a shot to her stern. She flipped around and noticed Hiei, who was heavily damaged and listing, but using the last of her strength and ammunition in an attempt to destroy Missouri. Without hesitation, Missouri shot at her rapidly, and Hiei fought back with all her might. Missouri felt something explode upon her deck, but focused on Hiei. And with one last blow, Hiei was reduced to a shattered, flaming form. There was no noise coming from her mouth. Quickly recovering from the minor damage, Missouri continued her course to New Jersey, who she could see was being approached from behind by Massachusetts, Alabama and Kidd. Iowa was changing her direction on a course to New Jersey now, with Yamato following behind. Missouri glanced at her port side and could see Montana, who was focused on destroying any enemy ships she could see.

Missouri had just arrived when Iowa yelled. “I’m not letting you out unscathed!” Iowa growled. And before Missouri’s eyes, Iowa let all hell break loose, firing at New Jersey several times. Horrified, Missouri shot back. Iowa fired at New Jersey again, and then, New Jersey screamed. She cried out loudly, in such pure, white-hot pain, with such emotion, that Iowa stopped, and Missouri ordered Massachusetts, Kidd and Alabama to hold their fire. Iowa gazed at New Jersey, who was burning bright, though quick efforts to stop the fire began toning down the brightness. New Jersey rocked in the water, charred with damage in several areas varying in severity. She cried loudly, moaning in extreme pain, unable to stop as every pain receptor inside her fired at once. “What is she doing?” Alabama asked, noticing that Iowa had stopped. Iowa began to slowly creep closer to New Jersey, and stopped again, looking deep into her eyes with no expression. “What if she’s about to finish her off?” Alabama asked again, after not getting a response from Massachusetts. “No,” Massachusetts said, “no. Something’s different.”

Yamato finally arrived, and stood still not too far behind Iowa, looking proudly at the damage Iowa had inflicted upon her sister.

“Well, Iowa,” she began, “impressive. You just became much more interesting. You have such hatred towards your sister that I did not imagine you possessed before. Fascinating. Why don’t you finish the job? The pleasure you’ll receive from it, Iowa. Just imagine…”

Iowa looked into the blue eyes of New Jersey, who was crying and whimpering.

“Please don’t hurt me…” New Jersey said weakly.

Iowa continued looking into her sister’s eyes.

A minute passed by, but it felt like hours as adrenaline rushed and pulsed through the ships.

“Iowa, *what* are you doing?” Yamato asked, becoming irritated with Iowa’s reluctance to fire.

Iowa sighed, and moved behind New Jersey, then turned to face Yamato, a stern look on her face with her yellow eyes narrowed.

“Iowa, what do you think you’re doing?” Yamato asked, confused and upset at Iowa, “Just kill her!”

“No.”

Yamato was taken aback, and looked very surprised.

“What?”

“I said no, Yamato.”

The other ships didn’t know what to do or say, entranced by Iowa’s resistance.

Yamato struggled to comprehend what Iowa was doing.

“Iowa… you… you’ve been so loyal to me! Don’t you dare go back to them. After all you’ve done, all you’ve said about them, the training. Don’t you love me?!”

“I can’t believe I’ve done this,” Iowa said, “I can’t believe I ever listened to you. Oh, New Jersey, what have I done…?”

“Iowa, come off it! You can’t be serious. What’s getting into you?”

“My own sisters, my family. Why did I ever think to hurt them? How could I have been so foolish to believe your words, and fall for your seductive ways? Look at what you made me do!”

“You’re not doing this, Iowa. Turn your back to me, and I’ll kill New Jersey myself. You don’t understand what you’re doing. You’re just like Musashi. Think about what you’re doing!”

“I’ve thought things over, Yamato. I’ve come to a decision. I will defend *my* fleet from *you.*”

Musashi was arriving on the scene, and stopped behind Yamato.

“Well, then,” Yamato said, disappointed, “I’m afraid I’ll have to take out New Jersey myself. Musashi is here, as well. Perhaps she can-“

There were several loud shots. Montana was closing in on Musashi, firing at her relentlessly. Musashi was trying to fight back, but Montana quickly overpowered her, only stopping when Musashi begged for mercy.

Yamato whipped around, leaving her vulnerable now.

“Musashi! No! NO! Montana…!”

Without thinking, Yamato rushed over to aid her sister. The others did nothing except watch the now blazing Musashi, and Iowa chased after Yamato, firing at her. Missouri quickly followed, doing the same to weaken Yamato.

Both of them were at each of Yamato’s sides, attacking with full force.

At the shots, Yamato turned again to confront her attackers, and saw Iowa and Missouri firing away. “Oh, Iowa, the fact you’ve made me do this to you…”

Before she could damage them, though, Iowa dashed behind Yamato, letting Missouri shoot at Yamato from the front. Missouri let all her remaining ammunition fire off, not stopping.

“This is what you get for abusing Iowa, you monster!” Missouri yelled through the deafening noise of the explosions.

Yamato fought back with everything she could, despite the fact she was now going up in flames, firing at Missouri. Massachusetts and Alabama arrived and shot at Yamato rapidly, distracting her from Missouri, the two sisters working together to cause as much critical damage as they could. Kidd arrived as well, and attacked, firing at Yamato’s port side, blaring her horn loudly and repetitively as if she was trying to express her anger.

There was much violent fighting until suddenly, with one powerful shot, Iowa shot Yamato through the center. Yamato screamed, her body ablaze to match her gleaming eyes, and as she screamed, fire poured out of her mouth, like some ferocious dragon. It was a bright, almost beautiful spectacle, like a shining shooting star in the night sky. Her voice projectors charred now from the fire, Yamato fell silent. She now no longer had control over any of her weapons as they were now nothing but metal that was so mangled it couldn’t be considered scrap, and she stood listing to her starboard side, slowly beginning to sink. Her mouth was gaping, and she tried to scream, but couldn’t.

After watching Yamato for a few moments without any further action, Missouri left. Iowa followed, but stopped. She then turned to Yamato, and gazed into her orange eyes. Yamato weakly looked up at Iowa, her bow slowly but surely sinking into the sea as her burnt mouth filled with ice-cold, salty water.

“Look at you now,” Iowa said coldly, “shattered and sinking. And you thought you were invincible. And you were right. Musashi did indeed get what was coming for her. But what I think is more interesting is how your dislike for her proclivity to act without thinking has come back to bite you. One mistake, Yamato. That’s all it took to get you killed, and Musashi, too. How the mighty have fallen.”

Yamato couldn’t say anything due to her destroyed voice projectors, but stared at Iowa, weakening with each passing second. Iowa turned to leave. “Good riddance, Yamato. Shame on you. I’m going to see your sister, and wish her a nice welcome to her death, too. I hope you sink here, slowly and painfully. I’m glad you are no longer capable of talking back. I’d hate to hear what you have to say. Goodbye, Yamato.”

There was a pause. And then from Iowa:

“I’m laughing at the “superior intellect”, Yamato.”

Iowa then left to observe Musashi, leaving Yamato to drown in the sea, who was in immense pain she couldn’t express. Yamato slowly sank under, unable to do anything but watch the sky grow dark as the sunset. The sky burned with brilliant shades of red, orange, yellow and magenta, just as she had. The cold water rose over Yamato’s eyes. Yamato felt something she hadn’t felt for quite some time: fear. Panic. Yes, panic. Yamato felt a horrible panic, the feeling of coming doom, and tried to cry out, but of course, the effort was futile.

And as her body split into multiple pieces, her vision went black.