Legends

Chapter 39~ Awakening

The journey from Japan took 15 hours. 15 long hours cramped on a flying puking tube! Vomit Comet indeed! But at last New Jersey, her sisters, the Japanese fleet and their escorts were all on solid ground and once their stomachs had settled, in the mess hall while Admiral Briggs briefed them.

"I wish I could give you more time to recover but time I'm afraid is of the essence." He said. "New York is lost. Abyssals planted napolm bombs throughout the city and detonated them 2 hours ago. The kanmusu that survived the attack on Lakehurst barely made it out of there before that and reported that the next attack will be on Boston. By the current timeline, that attack began an hour ago. I wish I could give you better news. Assignments are as follows: Task Force 25 will be led by New Jersey. Task Force 26 will be led by Musashi. Attachments will be according to nationality but I trust you lot to continue to work together as you've displayed in the past. Overall command belongs to Missouri." Briggs finished and each battleship accepted their appointment with a steely nod.

New Jersey, who was renowned for her voracious appetite, had never gone through her plates faster. She ate so fast her fuel bunkers were still sorting through their new supplies as she set sail. "I won't fail again. I won't!" She fumed.

Musashi followed off her starboard quarter while Missouri and Wisconsin sailed even closer. Each Iowa-class was beyond furious at being duped and although they had gotten here as fast as they possibly could, they were still pissed at being late to the party. The only consolation would be pounding Tosa into the bottom of Kingston Bay but that was if they got there in time.

Eleanor wasn't sure what to think when she saw the fleet steaming into the harbor, being led by a very large Japanese battlecruiser. All she could think was how her spine shivered and that told her just as her instincts did that something was very wrong. Her sister Yasmin joined her on the waterfront. "I've got a bad feeling about this." She said.

Eleanor turned to her. Yasmin's hair had been blonde like hers but lately it had taken on a blue tinge just as Eleanor's had turned and stayed white. Yasmin's blue eyes were hard as she observed the approaching fleet. Then they widened. "It's Abyssals." She said.

"You sure?" Eleanor wondered but already bowing to her elder sibling's expertise.

"Positive. We should get out of here. Find help perhaps." Yasmin suggested.

"Find help where though? Reports from New York before it went dark indicated the Abyssals blew that city to hell." Eleanor exclaimed.

"Trust me sister. I just-have a feeling that we'll find help if we look." Yasmin sounded so sure that Eleanor was convinced. The pair made a run for it, escaping the waterfront just in time as shells rained down around them.

The two dodged these attacks as though it was second nature, just barely keeping ahead of the Abyssal advance inland. At an inhuman pace, they kept going inland until Eleanor literally ran into a kanmusu. Bouncing off and falling on her ass rather undignifiedly, she stood, accepting the offered hand of the other.

"Sorry about that." The kanmusu was a redhead and dressed in a patriot outfit with running sneakers on. "I'm SS United States but call me Big U- wait, Eleanor?!"

Eleanor recognized her in the same instant and took the liner in a crushing embrace. United States yelped at feeling the power coming from the other woman. Her hull even protested the hug. "Um, ow?" She tried.

Eleanor released her at once. "Why should that hurt, dear? Aren't you a ship?" She laughed, beyond relieved to see a friendly face.

"I'm wondering if I'm the only one who is here." United States thought as she rubbed her arms. Out loud she said "Last time I checked."

"Oh, this is my older sister, Yasmin. You know, the one I told you about." Eleanor introduced.

"Right, the one who works in the yards." United States accepted the offered hand. Unlike Eleanor, Yasmin had more control and didn't crush her. But like her, she had a different feel to her. Not quite kanmusu but not quite human either. Like they had the potential to be but hadn't yet fully awakened, yet.

"No offense honey but we were hoping for someone a little more heavily armed." Yasmin said.

"Our main fleet is helping the Brits with their own Abyssal force. Bastards pulled the old one-two on us as we fell for it!" United States replied. "But I'm not alone. There's more of us just up the road."

"Is Constitution with you?" Eleanor sounded almost desperate as she asked that although she was not sure why she was.

"Yes." United States gave her a confused look but before she could ask any more questions the rest of her fleet reached them.

Constitution greeted both sisters with a hug that for some reason didn't affect her like it did United States. "Thank SecNav the two of you made it. I'd hoped you would." She said and United States got the sense there was a double meaning behind her words. So did Titanic. The British liner was eyeing the new arrivals with a curiously confused expression.

United States walked up next to her. "So you feel it too." She whispered.

Titanic nodded. "The energy around them. I've felt it before in a few Natural Borns who woke in England but never this strong." She said.

"What do you think?" United States asked.

"I think Abby's in for hell when these two wake." Titanic replied with a smile.

"I hope its soon." United States muttered. "Or we'll be the ones in hell."

The ragtag fleet set up a base camp in the middle of East Somerville close to the highway so they had fast access to the waterfront. Constitution set up at the top of Cobble Hill, watching the Abyssals make their way under the Connector and into the Charles River. The frigate knew what was coming minutes before it did and she used that time to warn everyone. "Hit the deck!" She shouted.

Everyone complied with her order instantly and not a moment to soon for the shelling began again in earnest. From Cambridge to East Boston the city slowly fell to the onslaught of Abyssal ordinance. Fresh off their assault on New York, the fleet had full bunkers and magazines to do with what they will. Thirty seconds was all the kanmusu had to find a new place to hide and they repeated that all the way down the peninsula. The hope was they could slip behind the fleet and escape down the Inner Harbor.

That hope ended three blocks short of the waterfront when an Abyssal cruiser sent a series of salvos into North End. The first two missed but the third was right on target. A six inch shell detonated right in the middle of the group and the explosion was strong enough to throw them all back. If the kanmusu had their rigging deployed the damage would have been mild even for the liners but the group was on land and did not attempt to do so quickly enough. United States just managed to catch herself. Titanic caught Olympia mid-air, deploying her own rigging as she did so. Not for the first time was United States impressed by her ability to control her kanmusu side. The schooners were far enough away not to be affected. The same could not be said for Constitution and Liberte.

The French liner was thrown into a tree where she collapsed to the ground with a pained groan. Constitution was slammed into a building across the street hard enough to make the brick walls shudder. Even from several hundred feet away, Eleanor could hear the sound of her oak wood planks splintering. The frigate made no effort to rise.

"CONSTITUTION!!" Olympia struggled out of Titanic's grip and raced across the open park to her. She immediately began trying to find where Constitution's injuries were and when she pulled back her hands and most of her arms were covered with the frigate's blood.

The sight triggered something in Eleanor.

Titanic was the first who felt the change and she looked up just in time to see Eleanor's form began to glow. Yasmin's followed suit a second later, her own reawakening triggered by her sister's. Titanic's eyes couldn't handle the brightness and she was forced to look away. Olympia was forced to duck as through the glow an arrow flew missing her head by inches. Halfway through its arc, the arrow burst into several Dauntless bombers. A second arrow produced a similar number of Hellcats.

Titanic looked again as the glow died down revealing two nearly identical sisters if not for their very different outfits. When she looked with kanmusu eyes she was shocked at who she saw. "It can't be-" She whispered, a grin working its way over her face.

Yorktown had the same blue overcoat she had on the last time Titanic had seen her during the pre-war years. Her hair was held back only by a similarly colored headband. Enterprise by contrast had traded in her shorts for a scandalously short black skirt, white over top and a black coat of the same design as her sister's. A captain's cover kept her hair back. Both ship's eyes were steely hard. Enterprise made a run for the nearest high ground to launch more bombers from which was Old North Church.

Yorktown hung back just long enough to offer a salute. "I better go help her. Stay here." She growled and followed her sister.

For several minutes the remaining kanmusu were silent. At least until Bluenose broke it. "Well, Abby's about to have a very bad day!" She said.