A Rough Summons

Author's Note-this is a recursive story from the Kancolle Fanfiction by PyrrhicSteel: "All Wo-rk and No Play: An Abyssal's Trials in the Job Market"

Both Kanmusu-ized sisters coughed and sputtered weakly, coughing out the water they'd inadvertently inhaled when they'd been . . .branded as Traitors to Abyssal kind. For the "crime" of having answered a frantic call from their Princess who wanted so dearly to speak with her daughter.

Unknowing and uncaring at the time, the Wo-class Abyssals had before merely been existing within the dark void of the limbo they'd found themselves after . . .some battle . . .on an island? It was too jumbled. Too fuzzy.

Before? They'd barely even remembered their names whilst floating in that limbo. Not that they'd cared overly much, just an apathetic feeling of numbness upon their mind/body/and soul.

Then they'd heard their Mother's call.

Then they'd remembered their Princess' embrace. Her loving gestures. The Warmth!

So! Despite hearing faint calls from somewhere . . .else. Somewhere with a pool. A pool to Earth through an exit of cold and malignant red in a light/not light. Both sisters had somehow moved (in an eldritch shadow realm that didn't exactly have the normal concept of "movement" and "dimensions" like here on Earth) toward a place. An exit of duty. An exit of warmth and love. An exit of "blue" in light/not light. . . .that made the sisters pause in slight concern. Of course, that was when the Thing they knew only as the Abyss finally made itself/herself known.

Before it had been to the sisters only a hint. A tiny feeling in the back of their minds of consternation and confusion. As if asking why in the Deep weren't they following the normal route out of this limbo? Why go THIS forbidding path? Why answer THIS call?

Both blink (or would blink if they could in such a limbo), not expecting to hear the Abyss--for that is who this WAS they somehow knew--this particular event.

Somehow, they remember another time where the Abyss had spoken to them. Commanded them. One word: "Report". And they'd reported to their Princess! Their Mother!! Just like they should!

But why this? The sisters asked themselves this with slow, muddled thoughts.

The Abyss meanwhile? This should not have been able to happen at all! The former Abyssal Princesses that those clueless land apes may have been able to weasel back into their clutches should not be able to remember their Abyssal summoned daughters without MUCH effort. She'd made sure to have made their contingency of their memories of their times as Abyssal Princesses were scrambled so it was of limited use to them. Limited use to their human owners.

For the former Jellyfish Princess to have been able to remember enough her daughter Trinitite? To be strong enough to make it possible to send a Summons through, accidentally attracting these two?

Not at all expected! Her plots were flawless. Her controls were foolproof.

. . . .

And the Abyss was VERY much the narcissistic one, indeed. . . and perhaps overestimating in here abilities in controlling her minions? Maybe?

"Good," the Abyss chuckled slightly in a relieved voice/not voice (which is the best way to describe an Eldritch Abomination's methods of communication to its. . .property). "Good! You realized that you are to not answer calls from the likes of those others. Especially from the likes of traitors who would spit on my largess!

"So! Come!" the Abyss chuckled in a satisfied, self-assured voice. "The damned Kanmusu pool back to Earth is not for the likes of Abyssals so just . . ."

Surely, even that almost failure Jellyfish Princess had enshrined a spirit of community. Of loyalty to the Abyssals! Their race! Their people! Their allegiance overall to them, and to Her!

"But our Princess called," the one who realized her name was Hypocenter said simply. "We must answer."

And willing herself forward, she proceeded to head towards the blue exit Pool.

"It is what is to be done!" Firestorm huffed, finding herself almost . . .insulted that the Abyss should think It was worthy of telling them differently. It HAD created them this way, after all! Love and obey your Princess. Report to her and accept her as your Princess, who rules.

. . .

Right?

This . . .did not go over too well for the Abyss. Control was maintained by way of altering and editing the minds and hearts of the ship spirits who had felt they'd been wronged or treated in a disrespectful manner before their sinking, leaving them as perfect cat paws. As Abyssal Princesses they shelled out vengeance upon those uppity humans, and the Abyss' heart black and cold heart was gladdened.

The fodder Abyssal? Take the souls and twist and alter them. Mutilate them into what would serve, fodder for battle. If they should fall? They'd go right back into the limbo, to be summoned again by the Princess.

They were made to love their Princess and serve loyally. And through controlling (albeit in a remote and loose manner) the Princess by twisting them into useful monsters, they controlled her fodder through minimal effort.

When and if a Princess should be "redeemed"? Well, never should it be possible for the former Princess to remember her daughters. Or care enough about their daughters to bother with them beyond destroying them on sight, having never really cared for them as Abyssal Princesses (and now not caring for them as Kanmusu).

...

But . . .turns out that the Abyss' masterful plans hadn't accounted for the unexpected variable of the Jellyfish Princess having been so . . .relatively peaceful (disappointingly so). Been so different in how she had treated her daughters. The love beyond that of the frustrated love the fodder Abyssal found herself, forever trying to win a love of a mother who never would or could love them.

It opened up a door. An opportunity for the Abyss's oh so perfect control . . .to NOT be so perfect after all! In a nutshell, as it were.

So, with curses and threats thrown their way by the Abyss, the entity finally realized that short of Reaching out to stop the wayward Abyssals in their tracks it was a lost cause. On some trash She felt was beneath her efforts to do such. But NOT enough to leave such slights to Her unpunished.

"So you shall be Marked as Traitors!" the Abyss sniffs, throwing a bolt of Power at the defiant fodder Abyssals right before they exited back to the realm of the living. Screaming, the sisters found themselves and their rigging changing, showing them to have aligned themselves with the Enemy and to be treated as such when they should sink again and get Summoned by an Abyssal Princess still loyal to the Abyss!

No need for trash like this to spread ideas they may remember even after death. Don't need the other fodder Abyssals to get Uppity!

. . . .

And best to set up a contingency Curse to strike any other's like those foolish shipgirls she'd Marked should become defiant and try to join the Enemy. Oh, there were ways to ensure that the fodder should and would never even dream of doing such, but that would be needing a total tear down and rebuild of the fodder Abyssal system, and she had War to wage against humanity through her proxies right NOW.

She was a Demon Goddess (as she fancied herself), but even she didn't have time (or inclination) for what that would entail. Not if She wanted to do it right and avoid leaving fodder Abyssals little more than useless zombies. While amusing, hardly what she needed to carry out a proper war and all that. Best to use the Curse and leave at that. Not as if the Enemy could empty this limbo of all the potential . . .assets at her disposal.

Smiling evilly (or an approximation of a smile for one of her type), the Abyss looked about the limbo realm at all the countless souls within waiting for her touch.

Yes, not like that at all. She had all the reserves she needed and wanted...

*****

Meanwhile, at the Kanmusu Base in Japan in the Summoning Pool facility...

Groaning, Firestorm raised her head off the concrete she'd found herself hurled onto when getting violently ejected from the pool. Pain filled eyes of her sister look back at her. Orange and blue, but . . .not glowing. Shouldn't they be glowing? She remembered them glowing, she thought.

A familiar feeling is here though. A feeling of . . .belonging surrounds this place. Something just resonated with her. With her sister Hypocenter. Something which was . . .where they both belonged. As if before . . .on that island somewhere?

"Firestorm . . .sister," Hypocenter groaned softly before pulling herself vertical. "Are you . . .okay?"

"I will be," she muttered after shaking light lavender (wasn't it supposed to be white?) hair out from her face. Didn't her sister have white hair? So hard to remember. So . . .tired! "But where's Mother?"

"I don't know," her sister after a moment's consideration before yawning. "But . . .she should be here soon if she Summoned us. So . . . no harm in resting while we wait."

Nodding slightly, Firestorm joined with her sister as they leaned against a wall to rest. Soon enough falling asleep, they unconsciously found themselves cold and reaching out to the other for comfort and warmth.

Unaware of her newly returned daughters' existence inside, the aircraft carrier shipgirl known as Saratoga continued to rush by and onto the office of her Commanding Officer to tell about that rather upsetting and unexpected cellphone call from Trinitite...

1. So...

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree