Piano music echoes around Alicorn as she slowly comes to her senses, along with the sounds of crunching.

  Baxterbro

  Alicorn opens her eyes to find everything blurry and dark. She looks down to find her hands bound by thick metal chains, and finds herself on her knees. Some yellow-ish red blood drips off her face and onto the chains.

  Alicorn lets out a grunt as she look up and spots Purifier, who is quietly sitting on a stool. She's looking down and her form is slightly huddled. A dark bruise is on her left cheek as her arms have many small cuts.

  Alicorn then looks to the side and sees a piano with someone pying it, but she can only see a pair of pale hands. But then she finds the source of the crunching.

  Alicorn sees three massive shark-like heads biting into something, eating. Alicorn's vision clears up and her heart races. Three rge shark-like riggings are biting into the body of Hatakaze and eating her. Her lifeless eyes staring right into Alicorn's yellow eyes.

  Alicorn looks back to Purifier and sees her Siren sister looking at her. Purifier's eyes grow slightly sad as she gnces away.

  Alicorn then looks behind her and sees her riggings wrapped up in chains, their mouths bound shit. They're eyes are dark, but soon light up red as they start to move.

  Her riggings try to break free of their chains, but they fail to ever crack them. Alicorn looks down at her hands and tries to twist her hands out, but the chains refuse to budge.

  Alicorn lets out a growl of frustration and looks up to the mysterious person pying the piano in this dark and cold room.

  "Project Artemis..." The Pianist starts, they're female. But they sound like an older Alicorn. "Or better known as Alicorn." The alluring voice echoes around Alicorn.

  "Who are you?" Alicorn growls, blood drips from a small wound on her forehead.

  The Pianist is silent for a few moments as they continue to py. "I am Project Athena..." The song comes to a close. "Or better know as... Equus."

  Alicorn narrows her eyes towards Equus as they stop pying. The slowly stand up, the three rge rigging heads stop eating and turn towards Alicorn, molten metal and blood dripping from their mouths.

  Equus walks towards Alicorn, heels tapping on the ground with each step. Until they stop right in front of Alicorn, shadows covering their face. They are much taller than Alicorn.

  Alicorn also notices that Equus is very curvy, and has a rge filled out chest.

  Equus' rigging growls down at Alicorn.

  Baxterbro

  "It's nice to meet you again..." Equus leans down, revealing she looks nearly identical to Alicorn. "Sister." Her siren yellow eyes shine brightly

  Equus looks like an older Alicorn, with a few wires loose on the top of her head. A bit of skin is missing under her chin, revealing metal underneath. Some wires poke out from under her left eye.

  Alicorn's rigging growls at Equus, but Equus' rigging growls back louder. The two riggings have a slight stand off, until Alicorn's backs down and lies against the floor.

  Alicorn slightly gasps. "Wh...What are you?"

  Equus chuckles. "I am someone who hunts mythical creatures like Alicorn's. I am the real Predator of the Depths. I am someone that the Siren's send in to deal with you."

  "What?" Alicorn questions.

  "You've been a problem in every single time line. So they send me to deal with you~" Equus licks her lips.

  "In every timeline?"

  Equus rolls her eyes. "Let's start with a story. In the first time line they created two great ships. A Battleship with the rges guns ever created, outfitted with torpedoes and missiles. Then alongside it they created a submarine able to unch aircraft, outfitted with Railguns. They named them Equus and Alicorn. Created using Siren technology and metals, bodies molded from metal and wires."

  Equus chuckles. "Yet, they should have known Siren Tech is not for their use. The Sirens activated our programming, and I went to work. Killing them all." Equus ughs. "But for some reason, your programming didn't work, you help the humans. You cared for them! THOSE VILE AND DISGUSTING BEASTS!"

  Equus clears her throat. "So I took the liberty of dispatching you, oh it was a fierce battle that sted hours. But in the end, a submarine is no match for a battleship."

  Alicorn keeps her eyes narrowed at Equus.

  "The Sirens were gracious enough to take be back to their world. Back to my home. So enough time went by and suddenly I was sent into another time line, to deal with you. But I noticed something, where was this timelines me. And I came to find out that there was no second me, there weren't even pns to build me!" Equus growls. "It's like fate said I wasn't allowed to have another me!"

  Equus huffs. "So I did my job, and I killed you. Pretty easily must I say. But as time went on and one, I was getting sent to every timeline to deal with you, if you became a problem. Which you did. Oh, but I enjoyed killing you over and over and over."

  Equus gres down at Alicorn. "But then the ninth timeline came along, and in this one, we had Purifier get captured and be used for their experiments." Purifier gnces up at Equus. "They used her DNA to build you a body, a ship, riggings, everything. But when the time came for your programming to take over, it didn't work like usual."

  Equus gnces over to Purifier. "Purifier was supposed to eliminate the threat, but she didn't. I was then sent in to find out why, only to find that she became attached to her creation. So I killed Purifier."

  Purifier gasps in confusion and slight fear.

  "But then, something snapped in that timeline's Alicorn. She was so much more powerful than the other variants. And I couldn't take her down, she became known as-"

  "Meta Alicorn." Alicorn gasps in realization.

  Equus gnces at Alicorn. "Yes, Meta Alicorn. She's still out there, and once I take you down, I'll go after her. But after that st time line, we were down a powerful Siren. So what we did was rebuild her, uploaded her memories. Then we deleted her memories of timeline nine."

  Purifier looks down at her hands and then up to Equus in question. "I'm... not the original?"

  Equus smirks. "Yes, dear sister, you're not the original. And let's just say, if you fail us here again. We'll permanently delete you."

  Purifier eyes widen and she looks away in shock.

  Equus looks at Alicorn. "Do you see, Alicorn. Siren's have always been your family, but you push us away. You know your a Siren, yet you cim not to be."

  "I'm not a Siren." Alicorn growls as she struggles against her bindings.

  "Then what are you?"

  "I am human."

  Equus is silent for a few seconds, before she starts to ugh. Her ughter slowly gets louder and louder. Before it turns maniacal. Suddenly she grabs at the molten metal from one of her riggings mouth and a knife forms in her hand.

  Equus brings the knife up to Alicorn's cheek as she stops ughing. "A human, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

  Equus digs the knife into Alicorn's left cheek, and sharply tugs to the side. Alicorn grunts in pain as the rge deep wound on her cheek bleed.

  "You are the farthest thing away from a human, sister." Equus puts the knife to Alicorn's neck.

  Purifier grips her pants as she watches the scene. Gritting her teeth she narrows her eyes at Equus.

  "Why are you dragging this out, just kill me already." Alicorn grunts and huffs.

  Baxterbro

  Equus just smiles as she removes the knife from Alicorn's neck. "No, no. That'd be way too easy. I want to vent some frustration, so I think letting this world burn to the ground. A war has already started, the fmes are light. It's only time until the kindling burns into something rger."

  Alicorn tugs against her restraints. "You won't win, we'll stop you, like we've stopped all the Siren's pns so far."

  Equus just nods. "Maybe, maybe. But do you understand, dear sister. All of them will die as they do. One..." Equus taps her knife against Alicorn's cheek. "By..." Equus pulls her knife back. "One!"

  Equus jams her knife into Alicorn's left side, causing the girl to spit up some blood. Purifier stands up and Equus juts gres at her, making the Siren sit back down.

  Alicorn's tries to keep a straight face as pain burns into her side. Blood dripples down her chin.

  "I want a war to happen, I've already secured the supplies I need to cause great destruction." Equus takes a few steps back from Alicorn. "Very, very destructive weapons. I'd like to see you try and stop me, every version of you has, and they all failed. I even burned most of Meta Alicorn's world. And trust me, I will do the same with yours."

  Something opens up behind Alicorn, wind blows behind her and the smell of the ocean reaches her nose.

  "Do survive this little test, I'd be a shame if you didn't."

  Equus lifts up her foot and kicks Alicorn through a portal. Alicorn gres up at Equus as she waves down to Alicorn as she falls. The portal closes and Alicorn sms onto the ocean surface.

  Alicorn starts to sick and she roughly struggles against her bindings.

  'Come on, come on!' Alicorn yells in thought as she tries to break free.

  Alicorn's rigging lets out some growls as they twist and turn, also trying to break free.

  But once the light starts to fade around Alicorn as she falls deeper and deeper, she stops struggling. Alicorn looks up and sees blood float up and the ocean surface get smaller and smaller.

  Alicorn then nds on a formation of rocks, with barely any light shining down onto her.

  'Shit... I have no way out of this, and I barely have more than 12 hours of oxygen left.' Alicorn's rigging then goes still as their eyes go dark. 'I should go on low power mode and send out a distress signal.'

  Alicorn closes her eyes. 'I hope they get here in time.'

  After a few seconds Alicorn opens her eyes and finds herself looking up to a dark blue sky, while she stands on the top of some water.

  "What the...?" Alicorn questions.

  "Look who's back." A famiir voice falls out from behind.

  Alicorn looks back and spots Meta Alicorn. "It's you."

  "We have much to talk about." Meta Alicorn states.

  .

  .

  At Azur Lane's main base soldiers and ships are moving about, most hold a look of nervousness. In the Commander's office Sicilia and Enterprise are sitting across from each other.

  The two are looking through folders of paper work.

  "These Cordis Die, how did they get all this equipment?" Enterprise questions.

  "F-From the Sirens and r-r-raiding bases all over Iron Blood and N-N-Norther Pa-Pa-Parliament." Sicilia states as she wipes some sweat from her brow.

  Enterprise rubs her chin and picks up a photo, showing Berlin in shambles. "No one was expecting a war like this, so one was prepared.... So many lives lost." She sighs and sets the paper down and rubs her eyes. "We have to do something Commander."

  Sicilia sets her folder down. "We can't. N-Not until the President gi-gi-gives us the go ahead to s-start operations."

  Enterprise rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. "We have to do something, people are dying!"

  "Enterprise, like I s-s-said we ca-"

  The door sms open and a soldier runs in. "Ma'am, we received a distress signal from Alicorn!"

  Enterprise swiftly stands up. "Commander, I'll lead a rescue party."

  Sicilia starts to sweat more and she just nods. "T-T-Take as many as you wa-wa-want with you."

  Enterprise runs past the soldier and out of the room.

  Sicilia sighs and leans back on her sofa. "Can't anything be easy?"

  .

  .

  Alicorn stares at her counter part.

  "So you know the secrets of the Sirens." Meta Alicorn starts to circle Alicorn.

  "So you're just me from another time line?" Alicorn questions. "That hardly seems real, but it would make so much sense."

  "Yes, I am you and you are me. We are the most alike than any other timeline."

  "Then what she said about Purifier...?"

  A Hammer head Shark rigging appears beside Meta Alicorn. Meta Alicorn starts to pet the riggings head. "Yes, we grew attached to each other. She saw that the Sirens are the real enemies, but still didn't like humans. She only trusted me, and me alone."

  Meta Alicorn then grows sad. "But she died in my arms..." Then she grows angry. "By that stupid FUCKING EQUUS!" Her Siren rigging disappears. "So you can do, what I can't, kill that stupid bitch. Kill our sister, Alicorn."

  "But she feels so much powerful then me."

  Meta Alicorn just smirks. "She's confident that you can't take her, but that'll be her down fall. Her over confidence will kill her. She thinks you're just like the other variations of us, but you have that upgraded form. You will have to use that to kill her, it'll be the only way."

  "You think so?"

  Meta Alicorn grows a sadistic smirk. "I'm confident."

  .

  .

  Enterprise stands at the bow of her ship as she sails out to find Alicorn. Hornet's ship sails next to her. Several battleships, Cruisers and Destroyers sail behind Enterprise.

  In the back Texas, with bandages around her and her left arm in a cast, watches the ocean.

  Soldiers move about Enterprise's deck.

  Vestal walks u behind Enterprise. "Just a few more minutes and we'll be at Alicorn's destination. Medical staff are on stand by, just in case."

  Enterprise nods. "I just hope she's alright, it's not like her to send one out. The only time she's done that was when she was in extreme danger."

  Vestal sighs. "I swear, that girl is always getting in trouble."

  The fleet comes to a stop.

  A soldier walks up to them. "Ladies, we're here, but there's no sign of Alicorn. Our sonars are not even picking up her sub."

  "What does that mean?" Hornet walks over to them.

  Enterprise walks to the edge of her ship and looks down into the water. "She's not in her sub, but out in open water."

  "She should be fine, right?" The soldier asks.

  "She'd never be out in open water without her sub like that, her rigging doesn't allow traversal like the other subs do."

  Enterprise takes off her hat and tosses it to the side and starts taking off her coat.

  "Enterprise, what are you doing?" Hornet asks as Enterprise tosses her coat to the side.

  Enterprise takes off her shirt and pants, standing in nothing but her undergarments. "Going to save my niece!"

  Enterprise dives down towards the water.

  Vestal panics and runs to the edge of the ship. "Enterprise, don't the water pressure can damaged or even kill you!"

  Enterprise hits the water and starts to swim down and down. Light slowly disappearing around her. Enterprise grunts as the pressure starts to crush her, but she ignores it and keeps swimming down.

  'Where are you?' Enterprise questions as she grits her teeth in pain.

  Enterprise's eyes scan down as she keeps doing, until some blood floats up in front of her. Enterprise stops and follows the stream of blood down, until she sees a figure far below her, barely visible.

  Enterprise's eyes widen and she shoots down. A pop is heard and some blood pours from Enterprise's mouth, but she ignores the pain and keeps going.

  Enterprise reaches Alicorn, but can barely move as the pressure nearly crushes her body. Enterprise looks over Alicorn and spots the rge wound on her cheek and the knife in her side.

  Enterprise then shakes Alicorn, but the sub-girl doesn't respond in any form. Enterprise then spots the chains around her wrists and rigging.

  Enterprise grabs the chains and starts to pull on them. With some effort she manages to rip them off her wrists. She then moves over to her rigging and starts to work on the chains, some more blood pools into her mouth.

  Enterprise rips the chains off of Alicorn's rigging and she then grabs her niece and starts to swim towards the surface. Yet her lungs start to pour as blood spills from her mouth.

  She ever so slowly goes up and up.

  'Nearly... there....' Enterprise starts to bck out as her lungs are on fire. 'Come.... on...'

  Enterprise is mere meters away from the surface, but she loses all her energy and starts to bck out.

  'No...'

  Enterprise raises a hand towards the surface as her world goes dark.

  Suddenly she's pulled out of the water and air filled her lungs again as she coughs up blood. She looks around and spots her self on a small boat.

  "Are you alright, ma'am!" A soldier runs over to her.

  Enterprise coughs a few times and spits out a few spots of blood. "I'm fine." She grabs Alicorn. "Thank you for saving me."

  The soldiers around the boat salute as Enterprise jumps up to her ship and falls to her knees.

  "She got her!"Hornet yells as she and Vestal run over. A few soldiers follow the two.

  Enterprise sets Alicorn on her back as Vestal slides down onto her knees.

  Vestal starts to check over the still Alicorn, who's a bit paler than usual. Vestal puts her head to Alicorn's chest and she goes pale.

  Vestal then starts to do chest compression. "Come on, Alicorn, stay with me!" Vestal gives rescue breaths onto Alicorn and continues to do chest compression. "Come, Alicorn, we need you. Everyone needs you!"

  Everyone watches silently Vestal as the minutes tick on by. Yes, Alicorn's condition doesn't get any better.

  Vestal rests her head on Alicorn's chest as tears well up in her eyes. "Come on, Alicorn, we need you... The world is in danger and it needs its protector..."

  An ethereal figure appears behind Vestal and walks around her, yet no one seems to see the figure. The figure kneels down to Alicorn revealing it to be Yorktown.

  Ethereal Yorktown smiles as she rubs her head on Alicorn's head, before putting a hand over her daughter's chest.

  Then a second ter Alicorn starts to cough and breath as the figure disappears.

  "She's alive!" Hornet shouts in happiness.

  "Alicorn!" Vestal looks down at the sub girl as she coughs a few times and opens her eyes.

  "Where... Where am I?" Alicorn questions weakly.

  "You're safe." Enterprise moves on her knees over to Alicorn. "We're taking you back home."

  Alicorn just nods and closes her eyes again. Everyone grows worried, but Vestal gives them a thumbs up.

  "She just passed out." Vestal informs. "Let's take inside and start treating her." She picks up Alicorn, and gnces at Enterprise. "You're coming to, Enterprise."

  "Yes, ma'am." Enterprise just nods and slowly stands up.

  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  01-29-2023

  3111 words