Our Bonds

"We are in the South! How did she find us?" (???)

"This is a major oversight! She is the same as Ash and Ember. Why didn't we anticipate her using the same teleportation technique?" (???)

I can hear some people shouting. Who is that?

"Crap! We made you! What makes you think you can- Gargh!" (???)

I can hear the sound of a sword being swung. There are two groups fighting? Something tells me I shouldn't open my eyes yet.

"We need to retreat for now! We will be back! You hear?! Once we recalibrate our simu- How rude!" (???)

"Oi. I'm not done with-" (???)

The was the distinct sound of a sword being sheathed, followed by a unrecognizable voice,

"Damn squid. Tsk. Now what do I do with this girl? Her attire is similar to my old friends, but she isn't one of them. She is not dead, I suppose. I don't have time to babysit. She can fend for herself." (???)

"Wait. Who are... you..."

Eh? Where did that person...? Huh?

When I finally got up and opened my eyes, there was no one there. There was someone there, right? In fact, it's dark! Why is it so dark? I can barely see my own fingers.

This is bad! Us carriers are mostly weak and useless in the dark. If I had my night equipment, I can use my planes as my eyes. My secondary guns aren't loaded as well, so I extremely vulnerable in this area. I could have sworn there was someone standing beside me just now. I wasn't hallucinating, right? There was someone nearby. Two, maybe three, people. The woman was one of them, fighting the others and forcing them to retreat. What did she mean by squid?

...It's too quiet...

It just dawned on me that I'm all alone on the dark.

"Shigure-chan? Fubuki-san?"

You can't be serious, right?

"Ayame-san? Mio-san? Matsuri-san?"

The whole situation just went from bad to worst. Not only did I ended up in a dark area, I'm also separated from the rest. The worst scenario.

I feel my heart racing. I'm alone. It's dark. I'm scared.

That's right. My radio,

"This is Zuihou from Maizuru Naval District. Does anyone read me? Over."

Only the sound of static replied to my query.

"Is there anyone out there? Over."

Still nothing...

"Anyone, please answer me. Shigure-chan? Fubuki-san? Admiral? Please... Reply me."

It's no use. I'm not getting any response. I tried switching to other channels but the results are the same. Static and silence. What should I do?

Alright Zuihou. Snap out of it. Now not the time to panic yet. I can try to find my way back first, then I can ask for backup. For now, let's find the way home.

"This is no use..."

When I took out my gyrocompass to navigate my back, it started spinning like crazy. I can't find my way around if this thing is malfunctioning. Why doe it have to malfunction now?

"My radar... I have nothing to test it on, but please work."

I don't detect anything within 50 metres. Or at least that's what my radar is telling me. I hope this is still working. I can use this to help me detect and avoid any obstacles or enemies.

"No point hanging around here. I should at least move around and explore my surroundings. Those mysterious people that were fighting each other mentioned something about being in the South. So I should still be in the Salmon Seas. Or maybe near the Coral Islands."

Either way, I need to find a landmark or something to get my bearings. Along the way, I can find the others.

Yep. Let's go with that plan.

"Hopefully I can regroup with the rest."

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I don't know how long have I been wondering around. So far I have not seen any land. My radar is working, which is a relief for me. I managed to avoid a few enemies along the way. I don't know if they were Abyssals or Sirens but I'm not taking my chances. Like I said, I'm extremely vulnerable in the dark.

Maybe I haven't been wondering around much. My fuel is still the same as before. Slightly more than half-full. I don't know if I should be concerned about it. I also don't feel tired. This is strange. I am still moving about. Enemy signals appearing on my radar and disappearing after I moved away clearly means I have been wondering around for quite some time. Yet, my supplies and strength haven't been decreasing. How is this possible?

"I'm still on Earth, right?"

I took out my gyrocompass, which is still spinning like crazy. A gyrocompass uses the Earth's rotation and gravity to figure out where is 'North'. Unlike a normal compass, a gyrocompass doesn't get affected by magnetism. If my gyrocompass is acting like this, either I'm not on Earth anymore or something is affecting my systems. But if it's the latter, why isn't my radar affected?

*Click*

"Eh?! What was that?"

I hurriedly reduced my speed and stood in place. I just heard a weird clicking sound. Was there something in the water?

Suddenly, my whole body was filled with intense pain. As I fell to the floor, my body could stop shaking. I can't control my body. My radar and other systems started going crazy. My rudder feels like it just activated on it's own. My secondary guns moved violently in all directions.

I'm blacking out.

Am I going to die? Is this how it ends? No way... I still want to... spend more time... with Admiral...