Azur Lane: Never Dock

Edge of Yesterday

"Oh."

"Shit..."

Zuikaku immediately rushed forward with her sword drawn to attack Midway. In response, he summoned a knife and revolver and answered her charge. 

Zuikaku dodged the incoming rounds and went to strike with her sword, Midway deflected the blow with a reversed grip on his knife. He looked up and was starting to get worried.

"ENOUGH!"

Both Zuikaku and Midway were blown back to separate corners of the room as a large fox was now in the middle of the room. Midway gulped and said "Woah woah woah, we don't need get Tamamo involved."

Shinano only smiled and said, "Then stop fighting now."

Midway gulped again and both his weapons disappeared in a swarm of cubes. Zuikaku also sheaved her sword and looked at the giant fox, who then shrunk down and ran towards the stranger.

Zuikaku watched as the fox jumped into the strange man's arms and he started petting the fox. He finally sat down and started serving himself some tea. Shinano then patted near the table and said, "Come, sit. We have much to discuss now."

Zuikaku cautiously approached the table eyeing Midway warily. She couldn't shake the feeling of deju vu when looking at him. She took a seat opposite of the strange man to her, who just kept petting the fox in his lap. Shinano poured her a cup of tea and then looked over to Midway and said, "She knows."

Zuikaku looked as the man's face looked a bit surprised. He started to ponder in his seat and look at the cup of tea before him. "You really did do good, kid."

Zuikaku gasped and looked at his eyes, which had formed back to their natural yellow look. "You.... you... how do you know?"

"Because what you saw wasn't a dream, it was a replaying of events." Midway answered. "I am the USS Midway, and you killed me in the last cycle."

Zuikaku was flabbergasted and was entirely silent, she looked down at her sword and then back up at Midway. He kept a calm smile as he continued petting the fox that Shinano had summoned to break up the fight.

"And oh, Shinano is my wife."

Shinano blushed a bit as Zuikaku just looked between them and shouted "WHAT!?!"

Midway snickered a bit and said, "Shinano was the only one that could see past the cycles, so it was natural we gain feelings for each other. We married each other about 10,000 cycles ago."

"10,000 cycles? What do you mean?" Zuikaku asked.

"Well, imagine you're in a computer program. It restarts the data stream once it reaches the terminus."

"And that, is a cycle." Midway stated.

Zuikaku only looked confused. "What does that have to do with the present?"

"We are currently in a cycle, this whole world has been replaying itself thousands of times over." Midway said quietly.

"For awhile, I was the only one aware to the changes, but I did not know why."

Shinano leaned forward and said, "Tell her." Midway only nodded a bit at his wife and said, "The first cycle consisted of the factions, the United States, England, Germany, and Japan."

Zuikaku was slightly confused, having never heard this names before.

"I was commissioned in 1945, and I served until 1992. I was refitted 3 times, and fielded the very first jets within the navy. The first cycle ended as the world become engulfed in a nuclear war." Midway coldly stated.