Her eyes snapped open, as she quickly sat up and took quick and shallow breaths. Soon her panic calmed as she finally realized where she was.
She was there, at the Atoll that resulted in her death, as well as the many others.
?: H-ho-
She stopped speaking as she spat up an incredible amount of ash and soot, all before she could finally speak again.
?: How am I alive?...And...
She looked at her hand, the shock having set in when she woke up.
Ships don't wake up.
?: I'm...human...
She looked around and saw several piles of ash slowly forming, where the particles gently flew through the air like a current towards the piles. It was a long process by the looks of it, but it must have been how she woke up.
?: The others...they'll wake soon too...if I'm not mistaken
She stood up, if a bit shaky, and walked over to the water and looked in at her choppy reflection.
From what she could see, she had long black hair that she found ended in singed and still burning flame, but it was like a burnt out candle, it was glowing and warm.
What caught her attention was the fox ears on her head. Her right one was slightly cropped and her left one was slightly aflame, but like her hair it did nothing but provide heat.
She was Nagato...Imperial Japanese Navy Battleship.
Nagato: I...how am I alive?
She looked at her hands and clenched them. Her skin tone wasn't even pale, it was an unnatural ashy color, like her skin was covered in ash.
She looked around the environment, noting how there was very little vegetation around, and no animals at all...but she knew exactly why.
Atomic bombs tend to do that to the environment.
...
Nagato: I'm alive...but I was a ship. Am I just human now?
She decided to put her foot in the water to test what would happen. She expected her foot to sink into the water, or possibly float on top of it.
Nagato: W-wha-?!
She collapsed in the water after her foot disintegrated on contact with the water. As she fell in, and part that touched the water also fell apart, until she was just a floating puddle of ash.
...
The ash flew up into the air and collapsed on the sand, quickly reforming Nagato.
Nagato:...Note to self, never do that again
She looked over to the mounds of ash, noting how two of them are nearly completed. She walked over to the one that seemed to be flaking, revealing the same ashy colored skin underneath.
She wiped the person off from the ash, and as soon as it was all off of them, they shot awake just like she did.
?: What the?!...What the hell...
Nagato: Good morning
She turned to her, the bright amber eyes filled with shock and fear.
?: Who...who the hell are you?!
Nagato: I am Nagato, IJN Battleship
?: What?...but, you're a little girl
Nagato didn't take that kindly, and slapped her. A small bit of her cheek turned to ash and flew off, quickly coming back.
?: That didn't hurt...but I deserved that
Nagato: Okay, to save time, I'm telling you everything I know about our situation. First, we're alive again. Second, we have human bodies. Third, We seem to be made of ash
...
?: That's...wow...
Nagato: Anyway, what's your name?
?: I'm Prinz Eugen of the Kriegsmarine
Nagato: Ahh, seems we both became victims of the Americans' tests huh?
Eugen: Yeah...it was not pleasant
Nagato: I was there to Eugen, it most certainly wasn't
Just then, they heard wild coughing and turned to find a woman with dark, nearly black hair coughing out ash from her lungs. They made their way over, with Nagato having to help Eugen get use to walking first, and sat next to her.
?: W-who *coughs* are you?
Nagato: I am Nagato, and this is Prinz Eugen
?: Na...gato?
She saw her eyes widen, before she narrowed them and glared at the small girl.
?: Don't play a fool with me little girl, that name holds some weight with me
Once again, someone got slapped and once again, was told of their new origins.
...
See a pattern here?
?: Jesus...after all we've done we ended up becoming ash from a bomb instead of scrapped to make the new generation...
Nagato: Apologies, but we haven't gotten your make yet
?: Oh!...Right
She put a hand to her chest, smiling softly.
?: I'm USS Pennsylvania, lead of my class
...
Penn: Say Uhh...why is your hair on fire?
Nagato: Yours is too
Penn: WHAT?!
She looked at the end of her ponytail, and saw the embers of a flame dancing on its end. She tried putting it out, but nothing worked.
Eugen: Don't even try, you can't put it out and it won't hurt you. Take a look at mine
She flicked her once highlighted hair piece that would have been red in an alternate universe, but here it's a glowing orange from the embers of a flame. Her horn tips were also a scalding orange yet still only warm to the touch.
Penn: God...what kind of loopy land have we woke up in?
Nagato: I'm not sure, but we can't travel the ocean since we disintegrate in contact with water
Eugen: Wait, we do?
Nagato: Yeah, found that out the hard way
Penn: Did...did it hurt?
Nagato: No, I haven't felt pain ever since I woke
Eugen: Same, even when you slapped me I didn't feel anything other than the ash coming back to me
...
Nagato: Well, we have to find something out
Eugen: Yes, we do...Probably after they wake up
She pointed to two more mounds that were slowly forming ahead of them.
Nagato: Huh, looks like even more people are coming back
Penn: Yeah, but I think they're the last, I don't see anymore ash
Nagato: If that's the case, all we can do now is wait for them to wake and plan from there
—————This story is a suggestion by Niimmmaaaaa so thank them for coming up with the idea. This will probably be added into the rotation eventually, but the main series will be finished first beforehand.
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From Ash We Rise
FanfictionThat day will forever haunt our dreams, a grim reminder of what has happened to us to end up in this sorry state we can barely call life. Crossroads...the name that was given to the doomsday of us all. It fits, but it doesn't contain the pain of wha...