Chapter 8: Crimson Skies

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Shikikan quickly takes to the skies as the zero he's in suddenly bursts into blue and red flames.

"Huh?" Shikikan mumbles, wondering why flames are suddenly coming off his plane when he looks down and sees Akagi and Kaga lending him some of their power. He only chuckles as the zero he's flying receives a massive upgrade and when the flames die out the plane sports a darker green color scheme and it flies much faster and better than the other zeroes currently in combat. "Let's do this! Shinano, send out a squadron to back me up!"

"I'm on it!" Shinano's voice crackles on the radio as a flurry of butterflies begins following Shikikan's trail and they also transform into zeroes much like the one he's flying. "All men, form up on me!" Shikikan gets various responses of agreement as the squadron forms up around him and they engage the enemy planes.

"Huh? Where'd THAT group come from?!" Illustrious calls out as Shikikan's squadron descends upon her and begins razing her with machine gun fire. Initially it doesn't do anything, but then the bombs drop and Illustrious ducks for cover to avoid getting pelted. "I think that's their commander somewhere in the masses!"

"Wait what?!" Enterprise asks, but she doesn't quite get to say anything more as Shikikan and his squadron begin lighting up her deck with machine gun fire. "Shit!"

"Akagi, call Ayanami and Naganami in. We'll need more anti air than just the cruiser I left for the crew." Shikikan says.

"Roger that." Akagi's voice crackles. "You're doing an excellent job out there keeping the enemy planes busy. Keep that up and we might just make it through without taking too much damage."

"I only deliver the best." Shikikan chuckles as he and his squadron continue pestering the Eagle Union and the Royal Navy, buying his reinforcements time to arrive. Fortunately it's not long before Ayanami and Naganami rush in and they begin lighting up the sky with their anti air guns while at the same time a couple of Ironblood destroyers emerge from hiding and join in.

"Z2!" Naganami calls out. "and who's that?" She asks as she notices a white haired destroyer following close behind.

"That's my sister, Z1." Z2 replies. "We saw you guys out here and thought you could use some help."

"We definitely appreciate it." Ayanami says. "Quickly!"

"Right, let's do this!" Z1 calls out. "Verdunkeln!"

"Crap, we got more company!" Lexington calls out. "We need more reinforcements!"

"Get San Diego out here!" Enterprise calls out.

"I'll get Hammann and Bremerton too!" Yorktown quickly replies as she begins calling for reinforcements, just as Shikikan and his squadron take out the last enemy plane. With no more planes out there to pester the Ironbloods they also emerge from hiding. Bismarck and Graf Zeppelin quickly take to the waters, with Prinz Eugen following close behind, and it's not long before the might of the crimson axis stands before Enterprise and company. As that happens though, reinforcements arrive in the form of Hammann, Bremerton and San Diego, along with many other Royal cruisers. Shikikan quickly lands his plane on Shinano's deck before hopping out and facing off with the opposition with Bismarck right next to him.

"We've already lost a good portion of our air force..." Illustrious mumbles. "Do we really have enough left to fight them now?"

"If you're wise, you'll retreat!" Shikikan shouts. "We've shot down all of your planes! We've exhausted you in more ways than one! If you want to fight us now, your fate is sealed!"

"The most elite of the elite stand before you! We are the crimson axis, and we will conquer all that stand before us! We show no mercy for those who get in our way and those that still stand shall be blown away by our cannons!" Bismarck shouts.

"Long live the emperor and long live Ironblood!" The entire crimson axis shouts before they let out a morale shattering battle cry that does what it's intended as the azur lane slowly begins backing up before finally they scramble, not wanting to get blown up.

"I think that showed them a thing or two." Shikikan chuckles as he turns to Bismarck.

"That should scare them off for now." Bismarck says. "Now to rebuild what they had destroyed."

"We can help you with that." Shikikan replies. "If you'll let us."

"We definitely wouldn't mind some help." Bismarck says.

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