I don't own Kantai Collection or Warhammer 40,000.
Thanks for the Reviews.
Kuroshio was confused. It was understandable, she should be dead. Afterall, her paper thin destroyer armor had a less than zero chance of deflecting the massive shells that should have hit her. The question remained then: how was she alive? She didn't dare open her eyes, fearing that this might actually be the some weird human afterlife and that she might actually be dead. She started patting herself down to make sure her body was still intact. Left leg, check. Right leg, damaged, but no more than before the barrage. Arms, all good. Torso, still intact. Well maybe she wasn't dead. It was then that she noticed it. The sounds of battle, or lack thereof. The sounds of the waves were definitely still there, so she hadn't moved. There was a bird, stupid animal was probably going to get itself killed. So where was the cacophony of the last stand that had been fought not a minute ago? Well, there was only one way to find out. With no small amount of trepidation, she cracked her eyes open just a smidgen. What she saw shook her to the core. She was most definitely in the middle of the very same warzone she had just been fighting in. The only problem was that every being present, both shipgirl and abyssal, had stopped fighting. And they were all staring at her. Or maybe at something behind her? Deciding to ignore the fact that she was still in a situation potentially not conducive to her continued good health, she slowly pivoted on her Water SkatesTM, to get a look behind her. What she saw was definitely not what she had been expecting.
The Emperor had put at least a little effort into concealing his identity and his aura. He had modeled his armor on that of his greatest ally and most loyal friend, Malcador the Sigillite. He was currently wrapped in a dark brown hooded cloak psychically infused to withstand more punishment than any set of Terminator armor could have ever hoped to provide. Under the cloak he wore brass-gold coloured adamantium plating intricately carved with images of his many deeds and his personal crest, the Aquilla. His hands were armored in the same impossibly detailed adamantium. His face was concealed in a dark golden mask devoid of any detail save for the features of his face and openings at his nostrils, mouth and eyes. If all went to plan, his armor would conceal his appearance from any who would wish to uncover his identity and would provide a sufficiently menacing countenance to his foes. His choice of armament would consist of a steel grey staff with a golden bird of prey at the head eternally burning with the spirit of mankind, he would also be armed with his trusty blade, fashioned in the heart of the universe and sharp enough to cut through just about anything, if the blade itself wasn't overkill enough, it could be infused with his psychic might to produce an incandescent flame hotter than the very stars themselves. It was sheathed in a dark gold adamantium scabbard draped across his back. The Emperor doubted he would be required to use either of his weapons of mass destruction in this confrontation though. He was reasonably certain his mind would be enough. It never hurts to be prepared though. Finally ready to depart, the Guardian of Humanity called upon one of his personal favorite psychic abilities: teleportation, it was astoundingly useful and never failed to amaze! He had no doubt this time would be any exception. The beasts threatening his daughters would find that they had made a very powerful enemy indeed…
Kuroshio's gaze was met by the sight of the massive shell that had been launched in her general direction just… hovering in the air not ten feet in front of her. Kuroshio could deal with the standard bullshit that came with her job, but this was a little bit over the line. She couldn't really blame the participants on both sides of the conflict for their shock. This just shouldn't happen.
"I would not so quickly assume thy victory, beast."
Was she hallucinating? That sounded like a male voice. In the middle of the freaking ocean. In the middle of a warzone. Unless she was out of the loop, there weren't quite any shipboys yet. She had thought it impossible, but she was even more confused. In her befuddled daze, Kuroshio forgot that there was still a very much deadly battleship sized shell right next to her… which promptly fell and plopped into the ocean. Well there was still the understandably pissed off Abyssal princess that was quite intent on ending her.
BOOM!
BOOM!
And there went it's guns… she couldn't get THAT lucky twice in one day, right? Wrong. The shells from the Abyssal's artillery barely made it a hundred or so feet out of the barrels before they once again just stopped. And disintegrated… Kuroshio was starting to wonder if she her food or drank had been drugged, because this was a solid ten on the impossibility scale.
"It seems thou hast not learned thy lesson, daemon. Very well. I shall make myself crystal clear. Thou hast earned mine wrath today."
As those words were spoken, Kuroshio realized that she had never actually figured out where the person speaking them was. Just then, an ear-splitting crack of thunder accompanied by the biggest bolt lightning she had ever seen struck the ocean. Kuroshio thought she would feel at least a tingle from the electricity travelling through the water, but there was nothing. Once she had determined that no, she was not roasted alive, she took a look at the point of impact.
"Thy doom is upon thee, spawn of the warp!" shouted a figure standing precisely where the bolt had struck.
He was wreathed in a cloak of dark brown material had his extremities armored in a dark golden material. While intimidating, this alone was not enough to warrant the look of absolute terror on the faces of even the princess! The figure turned to face her and the other Shipgirls. Oh. That would do it. Under the hooded of his cloak was an impeccably detailed face mask made of the same golden material as his armor. While unsettling by itself, the mask paled in comparison to the man's eyes. Or at least where his eyes should have been. They were instead replaced by two almost too bright to look at pinpricks of pure golden light. When his gaze swept over her, Kuroshio felt as if her soul was being laid bare. But, even though she should have been terrified, she just wasn't… The light didn't feel hostile, in fact it felt rather inviting and warm, like a hug from one her sisters. In her musings, Kuroshio completely missed the fact that the man had approached to within touching distance of her. She was only roused from her thoughts by the metallic grip of a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into the face of the man.
"I made a promise that not one of thou would fall while I still kept watch. I do not intend to break that promise."
His hand lifted itself from her shoulder. She immediately wished it had not. She felt like she should know him from somewhere. But she just couldn't place it! The man deliberately strode over to where he had been standing, maybe a hundred feet from her and three hundred from the princess. By this time, the princess had regained it's senses, the other Abyssals recognizing a duel was taking place, and the Shipgirls held back by some unseen force. Kuroshio could only watch as the man and the Abyssal stared each other down. The Abyssal fired it's main battery, while the man did not move a muscle. When the shells impacted their target, a massive explosion shook the atmosphere. Kuroshio was crushed, this man had sacrificed his life for hers. The Abyssal, on the other hand, had a toothy, malevolent grin on it's face, thinking it had seen the last of this new adversary.
"It would seem thou do not learn."
The combatants on both sides froze. It was impossible to survive a direct hit from battleship caliber artillery, right?
"The Dark Gods themselves could not vanquish me, what makes thee think thou ever stood a chance at it?"
The man emerged from the smoke, not a single scratch worse for wear. His eyes seemed to glow with an even more intense light. And then Kuroshio heard a scream. This scream was not the scream of one her sisters or a human. It was warped and twisted. She looked towards the Abyssal's leader and found the source of it. The princess was literally on fire. As in pieces of it's body were melting off and it was slowly sinking beneath the waves. Suddenly, Kuroshio's ears were assaulted with hundreds, if not thousands of similar cries of agony as she looked around saw that not only was the princess melting, so was every other Abyssal. Just as fast as it had begun, it was over. The sound of silence was the only thing greeting her ears as she comprehended that there were no more Abyssals left on the battlefield. She heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming towards her and turned to see the man towering over her.
"W-Who are y-you?" She stuttered.
The man chuckled as he said "Child, I hast been known by many names over mine long years. Jesus Christ, Augustus Caeser, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, and George Washington among them."
Kuroshio's eyes grew to size of saucers and her knees buckled at that long list of very famous names.
As the man removed his mask and pushed off his hood. He smiled at her, no hint of the anger he had been showing later, only love in his eyes, he said "But thou, mine daughter, may call me father."