OUT OF THE BLUE [SLOW UPDATES]

Chapter 22: A Common Enemy

David P.O.V.

I pulled and pushed the stick as Siren drones and Bf-109s chased from behind. I tried my best shaking them off but, to no avail whatsoever. The base was being bombarded by Iroonblood, Nat did was swered left and right, up and down avowing enemy fire, Nic was occupied shooting down siren jets following them, and Sheffield was having a shootout with an Ironblood ship-girl with a pistol.

Bullets bounced off the wing, I pushed down on the stick and the plane entered a steep dive. "Ah shit! Come on, think David, think. What would grandpa do?" I mumbled, thinking of a way what my grandfather would do. Clanking and hissing echoed the cockpit as I pulled up before crashing to the blue grounds. They were able to pull up just in time and mimicked my every turn.

Time seemed to slow, as I looked at the base slowly being consumed by fire and salvos of steel and iron. I was at a loss of hope. I didn't know what to do. I only wished my grandfather were here. "Pull up." A voice echoed in my mind. I payed it no mind accepting my death. "Pull up." It said a second time. "Pull up." It said again raising its voice. I felt something shaking me by the shoulders. "PULL UP!" It shouted. As I opened my eyes, I saw myself in a light brown coverall with a scarf, wool collars and a leather cap.

I awoke to an approaching siren vessel with its guns active aiming at me. I immediately grabbed the stick, and pulled up. The siren fired its volley and shot down my pursuers in one shot. I looked and sighed. "David! Are you alright?" A voice boomed through my ears. "Yeah, I-I'm fine." I looked to my right and saw the dauntless flying close by. It was trailing smoke, scorched and riddled with bullets.

"You two look like you need a pit stop." I joked. "You should see yours. You look like you came out of hell." Nat snickered. I looked at my wings and painted with bullet holes and I could only imagine what's the fuselage looks like after we land. Suddenly, the radio buzzed to life. "Cease fire, Cease fire!" The radio boomed. "Project Orochi is sailing. I repeat, Project Orochi is in sailing!" The radio buzzed as all gunfire ceased.

No ship-girl fired a single shell, until all siren vessel and aircraft opened fire. I dialed my radio to the nearby Ironblood ship-girls. "Why did you come here and why are they firing at you?!" I barked. "Lord Bismarck ordered to eliminate you for treason." A voice replied as explosions boomed. "Now it would seem we have a common enemy." Another said through the radio with a loud bang. "A momentary truce." I replied. "David? What are you doing!" Nic asked over the radio. "We can't argue now, we need to fight off these Sirens." I replied pulling my aircraft into a roll.

I fired short bursts of my 20 mm cannon, catching the attention of a siren ship. Before it could fire, it erupted in flames. Bf109s rose from below, flying beside me. It was an unusual sight but, an exhilarating feeling. I spotted a cluster of black dots. I pushed the stick into a spiral and the Ironblood followed suit. I opened fire and as did they. In mere seconds, the cluster was nothing more but scrap.

After the battle, the base was nearly demolished. Buildings were in crumbles, ships being inoperable, airstrips cratered, it was a like a massacre. I was aboard the Ironblood's carrier Peter Strasser. "What is the meaning of this?" I marched up to the girls aboard. "Please make this worth my time." A girl in white complained. "David!" Nic and Nat called out. "It will be if you answer quick." I retorted. "Very well, I am Peter Strasser, beside me is Graf Zeppelin, and this is Seydlitz." She said as their riggings snapped. "David Howe" He replied. They were baffled at the name. "David Howe? Are you not the Sakura Empire's knight, Saburo Sakai?" Seydlitz asked. "Sakai?" I asked but, before I could continue, it was like my head was struck by a knife. "What do you-ARGH! I groaned as my head throbbed.

Natalya P.O.V.

David fell onto his knees holding his head. We knelt down in a panic. "No,no,no, not again!" I panicked as David laid in a fetal position holding his head. "Nic, get Vestal. Strasser get us to the docks, now!" I barked. They nodded and went off to their tasks. "Is he bound by a curse?" Graf Zeppelin asked. "You could say that." I replied solemnly holding his hand.

Peter Strasser arrived to port. We got off her ship with Graf Zeppelin carrying David. Vestal stood at docks with Sheffield, Belfast, and Sirius. She gently passed him to Sirius' arms and rushed off to vestal's makeshift clinic. My heart started to race and tears started to drip. "Why? WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME!" My sister screamed reaching for her pistol I quickly held down her wrist. The carriers stood unfazed and turned to board their ships. "Why? Why did you say that name?" I asked, while restraining my sister's urge to kill them.

Graf Zeppelin halted. "Sakai was known throughout the crimson axis. His exceptional skill and kind heart was greatly recognized among our ranks and he was beloved by everyone. He taught us great things and how battles as won not by strength, but by wit. When we learned of his disappearance, we feared he was shot down. Our peers grieved the loss of such a friend, moral greatly decreased our combat efficiency. But, when Lord Bismarck learned of his "loss" he sent us to capture him and eliminate him for his betrayal." Graf explained. She jumped aboard her ship and moored away from the docks and sailed for home.

My sister escaped my grasped and started to shoot her pistol at them. She waved the gun like crazy. I immediately dove down and waited until she was either empty or have calmed herself. After a few minutes her pistol stated clicking. I stood up and saw the Ironblood fleet was nowhere to be found. My sister kept pulling the trigger of her empty pistol. I got to my feet and took away the pistol, embracing her. "Why did you say that name?" She bawled, as I stroked her head comforting her.

After learning the reason of the ambush, we went to visit David Nicci sat on the stool, I paced back and forth waiting outside the tent as manjuus were extinguishing fires and clearing the rubble. Ruffling was heard, we immediately turned and saw Vestal. We ran to the repair ship in a hurry eager to see David and learn about his condition. "David's fine. After suffering a major head trauma like that, it was most likely he had PTSD." Vestal reassured.

"How is he now?" I asked. "Right now, he's asleep. We don't know when will he wake up. You may visit him from time to time." She said saddened. We nodded and vestal walked back into the tent. "Do you think he'll wake up?" I asked my sister. "I know he will." She firmly said. "David's tougher than anyone we've ever known." Nicci replied.

We heard clacking from behind. We turned to see Wales, Enterprise, Unicorn, Laffey and Javelin. "How is he?" Wales asked. "We heard he suffered head trauma." Enterprise said holding her cap. "He's fine, he's asleep." Nicci replied. They smiled and nodded hearing his condition.

"Is David going to be alright?" Javelin asked. "Laffey hope David wake up soon." Laffey said sleepily. Unicorn started to sob worrying about David. I knelt down and stroked her head, comforting her. "Don't worry, David's going to wake up. He's just taking a nap." I reassured her. "He'll wake up good as new." I added. "You promise?" She sniffled. "I promise." I replied.