OUT OF THE BLUE [SLOW UPDATES]

Chapter 9: Extraction Disaster

3rd P.O.V.
In the middle of the sea, a fleet comprised of carriers, destroyers, battleships and cruisers from the Eagle union and Royal navy sail off. They are in search of the espionage team who has not returned from their sortie and a pilot. Aboard the Enterprise, stood Natalya and Nicci Berkley. Standing on the forward deck, they look to vast shimmering sea in the midst of beasts of steel.

"Where are you David?" Natalya sighed. "He probably flew out to clear his head." Nicci replied. Natalya turned to her sister in overwhelmed with worry and panic saying, "What if he got shot down? What if-" "David, is a skilled pilot." A voice spoke up. Enterprise approached the twin sisters reassuring them of their missing friend.

"How? How would You know if David is alright."? Natalya replied with venom in her voice. "I may not have known him as much you have, but what I am certain is, he's a Howe, just like his grandfather. Cunning, competitive, stubborn, and decisive." Enterprise replied as she walks back to check on the others.

Natalya stood flabbergasted. She was busy worrying about David like a mother, that she forgot to trust in him. 'She's right. He's not the clumsy, absent-minded, pea-brained idiot anymore. He's a soldier now. And a weird one at that.' She thought as she chuckled.

Nicci, stood beside her baffled. 'What is she thinking?' Is what revolved in her mind, as Natalya boarded Diving betty. "Well, are we going to stand around here all day or are we going to fight?" Natalya shouted as propellers turned, a sign that they were near the battlefield was drawing near. Nicci sighed. "I really don't understand you sometimes sis." She muttered as she shook her head, jogging along the deck with Enterprise's dive bombers, ready to engage.

David P.O.V.
I'm currently being chased by the fifth carrier division's zeros, and this is not looking good! A whole squadron is on my six and bullets whizz past as I climb. It's a good thing I lured the scouts away and destroyed them. Now, It's like a mouse against a bunch of hungry cats'! I hope someone saves me from this.

Explosions were heard behind me. I looked at my radar and saw the blips decreasing rapidly. The radio buzzed and a familiar voice cried out in joy. "David! I'm so glad we found you." Nicci said cheerfully. I flicked the dial and smiled. "Glad to see you too. I'm sorry I stormed off and made you worry." I said over the radio. "Save it for later we got some bogies approaching." Natalya interrupted. "Bandits Nat, Bandits." I deadpanned.

Twelve zeros whirred past strafing us. Though, it only left dents. It wasn't enough lead to take us down. I broke right and they broke left. We chased the zeros, and let loose spraying fifty caliber lead sending Shokaku and Zuikaku's planes ablaze.

Natalya P.O.V.
I pushed and pulled the stick left and right, diving and climbing. I gave chase and pelted the zeros with the guns fitted on Betty. Despite it lacking speed, it compensates for the damage and maneuverability. A bullet flew past my head. It missed me by a hair. I froze as I felt my heart skipped a beat.

"Nat, are you alright?" Nicci shouted while the thirty caliber bursts, followed by an explosion. "Y-Yeah I'm fine." I managed to utter. I shook my head and looked below. Shokaku was wide open. I rolled into a dive. I split the diving brakes and gravity pushed against me.

My vision suddenly became similar to a fighter jet's Heads Up Display (HUD). The altimeter on the left rapidly decreased from six thousand to four thousand within seconds. As it hit one thousand five hundred feet, I pulled back the stick. Gravity pushed against my head and body as we climbed.

3rd P.O.V.
As the bomb dropped, it whistled plunging into the waters beside Shokaku. A column of water emerged, sending her beside Zuikaku standing baffled. In the old abandoned and desolate city, Z-23, Prinz Eugen, and other Ironblood ship girls surrounded Belfast and Edinburgh holding an unconscious Sheffield.

"My my, how nice ov you zto turn up. Unvortunately, you are vone move ztoo late. It appearz vwe win zis time." Prinz Eugen proudly said. Outside the city, the sirens and Crimson Axis ships were hitting some of the Azur Lane ships. Wale's 10 BL 14-inch Mark VII cannon fire
1,590 lb. of fearsome explosives as she remains unfazed.

Zuikaku stood in awe gritting her teeth. Shokaku stood and glided beside her. "W-What?!" She said in disbelief. The mist clears and before them, Hornet stood grinning with her hand on her hip. "Sorry, about that. You've got the wrong sister." She said smugly. In the city, atop of the buildings stood bow at the ready, Enterprise.

"Enterprise" Prinz Eugen said gritting her teeth. The others readied their rigging to engage, despite the fear running through their veins. "Retreat" Prinz Eugen commanded. Above the skies, David smiled as he circled the battlefield. He had listened over the radio the whole time.

Unbeknownst to David, one of the zeros survived with engines blazing. It spotted as his plane Circling. Guns trained, it releases a burst of its twenty mm cannons. As it fired its last shot the plane exploded mid-air.

Time slowed, as four bullets flew past his windshield into his engine and one on each wing. David's face was filled dread. The shells went through the armor and struck the engine and the machine gun compartments catching ablaze.

The plane's interior caught fire. Oil leaked catching fire on his suit. He put it out with his hand in panic as the aircraft spiraled uncontrollably down into the sea. As it neared the water, David hastily put on the parachute and opened the hatch attempting to ditch.

The plane collided with the water. This causes his head to hit the windshield's frame, leaving him unconscious drifting away from the crash site. In the distance, Repulse spotted David's aircraft sinking into the water and. She immediately contacted the others.

Sheffield P.O.V.
Upon receiving Repulse's transmission. I sped off to the crash site. Belfast and the others followed suit. A distant roar of an engine followed, I looked up, it was the Burkley twins. I arrived and materialized my ship and lowered my floatplane's crane. Belfast did the same, as the others attached the hook to the plane.

We raised it with all our might to see an empty, scorched and damaged aircraft. Master Howe was nowhere to be found. My knees felt faint. I fell to my knees, bursting into tears. Footsteps clacked, a hand was on my shoulder. "We're terribly sorry Sheffy." Repulse said as the others stood beside her.

I looked behind me, on Enterprise's deck, she was doing her best to comfort Nicci and Natalya, who upon landing have just recently learned that there was no sign of David in the crash. Enterprise herself, did her best to hold back her tears.

3rd P.O.V.
In the distant ends of the sea the heavy cruiser, Atago sat atop of her forward turrets. "Zomething on vyour mind Atago?" A voice asked in a German accent asked. She looked behind her, it was Prinz Eugen of Ironblood.

"Have you ever wondered, who is the whistling death?" She asked. "I zo not know them, however i have zeen their face." She replied. Atago's ears twitched at her response. "Something is in the water." Atago said as she stood up and saw something adrift in the ocean.

Bringing the object aboard, it was soaked. The thought to be, "something" was not a thing, it was a "someone". It was a male. He was wearing a suit, drenched and slightly scorched. He has a good physique, tall, and his hair was a slightly thin, jet black, and was soaking wet. His body has burn marks where the suit was scorched. A smile crept up Prinz Eugen's face seeing him. "We might just vwin zis war after all." She said.

??? P.O.V.
I felt the gentle breeze blow across my face, awaking to a sweet aroma. I saw, I was in what seemed to be a house. The floor was covered in a mat, the doors seemed to be made of paper, pink petals gently fell as the wind blew. A woman with black hair stood, a white bow holding her pony tail. Her sword was on her hip. She stood still, a petal slowly fell before her, in a flash, she cut it into two. "I see your awake." a gentle voice said snapping me from my trance.