The New Blue Steel: Redesigned

Chapter 12

Iona's clones are countless. She outnumbered her enemies in no time. With her eyes digitalized and her hair glowing white, she is ready to fight in her full strength.

Gunzou ran out and saw her. He knew too well that with her clones, there is no chance for them to win against her. He has to do something to stop Iona before she could destroy the fog ships.

"Iona!" I-402 called her out in the Joint Tactical Network. "Father has something to say."

Iona looked at one of the monitors, and her heart sank as she stares at her father lying down on a bed. He has some oxygen support covered on both his mouth and nose. He looked pale and weak yet he managed to smile at his daughter.

"What happened?" she asked in a low tone of voice.

"Iona," her father started. "I'm sorry I failed you as a father. I created some fog ships hoping to find some way to save your life for having a weak heart. You've done enough. Don't overwork yourself for I am no longer strong enough to replace the heart I installed in you. Don't fight them anymore."

The screen went black. Iona couldn't control herself. She lost Akashi and she couldn't bear if she loses her father. Her clones, at the same time, stretched their hands forward.

"Super graviton cannons," they said in sync.

Iona yelled on top of her voice as her tears fall down continuously.

"Deploy!"

Gunzou ran towards the white-haired girl who lost control of her clones and even herself.

"Iona!" he yelled, trying to get her attention. "Listen to me!"

Kongou, Takao and Yamato joined forces to deflect all the gravitons shot right at them. Their wave force might not be able to withstand the hundreds of gravitons.

"Damn it!" Yamato cursed under her breath.

"We stand no chance," Kongou admitted as their wave force armour start to weaken.

But still, being the strongest fog ship  Yamato did not dare give up just yet.

"Photo cannons, deploy!" she yelled. She closed her fists which started her ship to take another form. It engulfed the ships of Takao and Kongou, making them one huge ship. The photo cannons came right at Iona's ship but did not cause much damage.

The forces between the battle caused huge waves and chaos at the middle of the ocean. The other fog ships came to help the other three but the waves slowed them down from going near the others.

"We've got to help Takao!" Haruna said. "I-400, can you attack Iona from underwater?"

"I can. I'll go," I-400 replied.

Gunzou, who couldn't stop Iona's dreadful state, grabbed her by the shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her and tightened his grip, hoping he'd calm her down and stop the clones from going berserk.

"You can't stop me," Iona whispered in between her sobs.

"Spread out," she instructed to her clones. "Destroy all the marked places. Leave no one alive."

Her clones started to part ways. Gunzuo has no idea where the marked places are so he couldn't do anything.

"Iona, don't do this!" he begged but Iona gazed at him with her cold eyes.

"The people mistreated father," she said. "When he lost mother, they casted him out from home. When he asked for help in the hospitals, they've thrown him out like a piece of trash. When he created the fog ships, they've stolen his inventions and used the fogs in their selfish desires. And now, you are begging me to spare their lives? And now, his creations had turned their backs on him and plan to kill him. I ain't going to let that happen."

Iona turned her back on Gunzou and looked at the horizon where the other fog ships are.

"Deploy," she instructed and all her weaponries had gone booming at the three ships.

"Don't underestimate me!" Yamato yelled in fury as they released another set of photo cannons.

"Keep hitting on one target, her wave force armour is strong. We've got to weaken a spot and attack her from there," Gunzou instructed, knowing that Takao could hear him. "Don't shot all of your super gravitons, wait for the right time."

"I won't take orders from a mere human!" Yamato said but Takao slapped her across the face.

"We're in a dire situation! If you want to live, trust Gunzou!" she yelled. Yamato grits her teeth in annoyance but she followed the plan.

"I-400, shot your super graviton on the back of the ship. That's where her control room is. If you can, destroy it," Gunzou further instructed.

Iona received attacks from the front and back of her ship. I-401 swayed to the side due to the impact.

"I destroyed her control room!" I-400 reported. Yamato smirked for she feels that victory is theirs to take. Still, Iona showed no sign of panic.

"Now, release your super gravitons," Gunzou said.

Iona raised her hand and pointed to the clear, blue sky.

"Deflect-Mirror Graviton," she mumbled and waited for the gravitons of her enemies to come nearer.

Gunzou had never heard that name of weapon before, but his instinct says that it's stronger than the super graviton cannons.

"You three, retreat! She has a weapon up her sleeve!" he warned but it was too late. Iona's wave force armour's nanomaterials rebuilt themselves up front. It suddenly emitted blinding light and in the next seconds, all the super gravitons that Yamato had released converged with Iona's gravitons. It became so huge and its damage had risen ten folds. Gunzou was about to tackle Iona so she won't release the weapon but he failed to do so. Iona pointed her fingers in front of her and the weapon she just created went flying back to Yamato's ship.

Takao stared at her captain. She smiled at him as the three of them start to disappear for they no longer have the chance on surviving.

"Takao!" Kirishima yelled. She was about to speed up and try saving the other mental models but a strong wave had pushed her back away.

A loud explosion blasted in the Indonesian sea. Gunzou stared in shock as his eyes reflect the image of his comrade sinking, defeated.

All around the world, chaos had risen. Iona's clones had blasted every fog-producing companies. Every data, every evidences of the fog ship's creation had been burned into ashes.

Back at the laboratory, I-402 stared at her creator. He is unmoving, the monitor beside him had shown straight line. He's dead.

"Iona, father is gone," she told her sister.

Iona turned back into a submarine and hurriedly went to her father's laboratory. Gunzou ran after her as she sprinted inside the laboratory.

The white-haired girl hugged her father dearly as she sobbed once again. Her father is gone, where would she go? What should she do?

"Iona, father instructed to destroy this laboratory before anyone would discover it. He told me to bring you to Japan after all this," I-402 informed her. Her sister simply nodded while still buried in her dead father's body.

I-402 brought their creator's body inside Iona's submarine before she entered in her own submarine. Iona looked at the laboratory for a moment and she suddenly remembered the cores of the fog ships she had destroyed earlier. She gathered them in her arms and lets out a sigh.