Azur Lane: Anchors Aweigh

In an unknown dark place, similar to a void space, a woman with short white hair and glowing red eyes stood in the middle, looking at something. She gazed at a Holographic Screen displaying a battle raging in a peculiar place with a crimson sky and dark seas dotted with unknown black spires protruding from the ocean.

The battle raged on like a video game advertisement, full of explosions, planes, and warships shooting at each other. The place was covered in smoke and flames as planes burned and crashed into the waves. The sound of guns and cannon fire echoed across the battlefield.

Her attention shifted to a particular Carrier with yellow crisscrossing lines and the letters E N T marked on its flight deck. It was struggling to fight other Carriers armed with Zero Fighters.

The battle was chaotic, with both sides waving flags. The flags resembled those of America, Britain, and Imperial Japan. Both parties engaged in an all-out attack, reminiscent of WW2, with Battleships, Aircraft Carriers, Cruisers, and Destroyers engaging one another.

She looked at the battlefield with pity, a single tear slowly dropping from her right eye as she couldn't bear the suffering.

"Did I make a mistake? Or was everything wrong from the start?" she asked herself, deep in contemplation.

In the distance, a floating figure looked down on the raging battle with smug satisfaction. The figure was a young woman with black tentacles, eight cannons emitting a yellowish glow, and glowing yellow eyes.

She looked at the battlefield with a smug face, the sensation of despair and hopelessness like an ecstasy to her cynical tendencies.

"Looks like you lose this time... Code G... ha ha ha ha ha hah."

The woman with tentacles laughed hysterically as she watched the chaos below.

The Woman with White Hair and Red Eyes could not stand it anymore. She stopped the recording on the Holographic Screen by waving her hands from left to right.

She took a deep breath and glanced at another Holographic Screen, wiping the small tear flowing down her right cheek.

She approached the second holographic screen and looked at its content. The screen showed a fleet of modern ships leaving an enclosed harbor.

The fleet consisted of a Ford-class Nuclear Aircraft Carrier, an America-class LHA Flight II, a Lexington-class Nuclear Cruiser/CGNX, a Laffey-class Destroyer/DDGX, an Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer, a Maya-class Destroyer, a Type 26-class Frigate, a Constellation-class Frigate, a Virginia-class Submarine Block V, a Gato-class Submarine/SSNX, and a Lewis and Clarke-class Dry Cargo Ship.

The woman formed a small smile and summoned eleven blue cubes in the air. The cubes floated in the vacuum of space, emitting a bluish light as they surrounded her.

"I hope this fleet is enough to turn the tides against these Sirens," the Woman with White Hair and Red Eyes said to herself with hope and confidence, looking at the screen.

She extended one hand towards one of the Blue Cubes. That particular Blue Cube floated towards her. She grabbed it and pulled it closer to her mouth, whispering to it, "You will be the hope of mankind and this world. Please... Please don't fail us."

She then let go of the Blue Cube and smiled as it flew through the Holographic Screen showing the fleet, followed by the other Blue Cubes passing through the screen and into the fleet.

~Present Day~

In the middle of an ocean, a fleet floated closely together, consisting of one Carrier, one LHA, three Destroyers, two Frigates, two Submarines, one Cruiser, and one Cargo Ship.

Ford Class Aircraft Carrier.

Onboard the Aircraft Carrier's bridge, alarms blared and red lights flashed on the walls. The deck was littered with paper as if people had rushed to leave. On the bridge's deck, a woman with white hair lay on the floor, her figure resembling a Navy Officer in Admiral's clothing and cap.

That particular woman slowly and steadily opened her eyes at the deafening blare of the alarm ringing in her ear, like an unwelcome awakening for someone not a morning person.

She slowly lifted herself from the floor and placed a hand over her aching head, feeling the cold steel of the deck against her skin. Her mind felt dizzy, like having insomnia after a wild night party. She groaned in pain.

"Where am I?" she asked herself subconsciously.

It then dawned on her that she could think and speak. She frantically looked around, realizing she had a human body. "W-Wait! W-What?! Why am I a human?" she said in surprise.

She quickly stood up and immediately fell back onto the metal floor of the bridge, hitting the deck hard and grunting as the pain was too real for simple human flesh. It took a minute for the pain to diminish. She turned and slowly crawled towards the nearest control panel.

She got up, using the frame of the ship's control panel for support. She looked at her reflection on one of the monitor screens. The screen was all blacked out, as GPS Satellite Communication was nowhere to be found in space.

She stared at her own reflection on the screen and slowly touched her face to confirm if it was real or fake. The feeling of her hands touching her face was too real, even though the pain of slamming on the deck was also undeniably too fucking real.

"So this is what it looks like to be a human."

She said to herself as she felt her own skin, amazed at her reflection on the monitor screen.

As she was busy admiring her reflection, the other monitor panel right next to the GPS Panel beeped. She looked at the Radar Screen Panel and saw ten blips surrounding her Carrier.

She turned her attention to the window of the Carrier Bridge. Outside, ten vessels of varying sizes and shapes were visible. She slowly walked to the window and saw the various Ships.

She quickly turned and ran slowly to the console, grabbing one of the comms. She tried to communicate with the other ships to see if there were any survivors on deck.

She pushed some buttons, remembering the Communication arrays of the Comms.

"This is USS Enterprise! USS Essex, do you read me, over! This is USS Enterprise! USS Essex, do you read me, over!" 

(Comms or Military Communications)

Onboard the Landing Helicopter Assault Ship (LHA), alarms and red lights blared on the bridge, the same thing happening on the Super Carrier's bridge. The deck was filled with scattered papers and documents related to the ship's navigation.

On the bridge's deck, amidst all the papers, a woman with purple hair lay drooling on the floor, wearing a Marine Combat Uniform.

A sudden call from one of the comms could be heard, static sound mixing with the blaring alarms. The crackling sound of the comms reached her ears.

"This is USS Enterprise! USS Essex, do you read me? Over!"

That woman slowly woke up, her eyes meeting the blaring red lights on the bridge walls. Her senses kicked in, and she quickly got to her feet but immediately lost balance and hit one of the Ship's Control Panels. Her knees felt unfamiliar, like a baby's.

She groaned in pain after hitting the Control Panels, slowly stood up, and reached for the comms. She lay down on the deck and replied.

At the push of the button, she responded, "This is USS Essex, I read you, over!"

After giving her response, she lowered the comms in her hand. Essex momentarily noticed that she had a human body, and things escalated quickly as panic overcame her. Like a toddler out of a bath, she screeched.

Enterprise could hear Essex's panicking and screeching voice over the comms. She tried to calm her down, but it was to no avail as Essex screeched like a stubborn child.

On the other Ships, the same thing and scene unfolded: blaring alarms and lights, scattered papers, and unconscious bodies lying on deck.

Onboard the bridge of one of the Aegis Destroyers, a man in his twenties adorned with a Marine Corps Combat Uniform lay on the floor. He looked like a Marine who had been through a train wreck of a party. His hair was messy, and his face was groggy. The blaring alarm woke him up like a damn alarm clock after a night of partying.

He slowly got up and placed his hands over his head, letting out groans. "Ugh... This shit feels like getting drunk all ni—"

He stopped mid-sentence as he noticed he could talk. Like every man does, he quickly looked around, up and down. His eyes then landed on his hands and legs.

"No, No, No, No! This can't be... I'm a human?" he blurted out, his lips trembling.

Panic came like a surging river, and shock overcame his Marine Corps demeanor. He screamed like a 'man' with a high-pitched voice.

"WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!"

Onboard one of America's Brand New Aegis

Destroyers (DDGX), on the messy deck with papers and a blaring alarm, a woman in her twenties with white-pinkish hair wearing a white jacket and short shorts lay sprawled. On her head were headphones with protruding bunny ears.

Her lying position was reminiscent of a 'Wasted' screen from GTA. She lay on the floor holding a bottle of booze in her left hand, with two Desert Eagles holstered on her thighs. Empty bottles rolled across the floor as the ship minimally rolled.

Above her was a revival notification; yeah, she needed a revival. She needed alcohol for a full Health Revival.

Onboard the Japanese Aegis Destroyer, in the corner of the Navigation Panel, a woman in her twenties with short white hair and dog ears, wearing a Japanese Naval Officer Uniform, huddled between the ship's Control Panel and the corner, having a small mental breakdown and muttering crazily to herself in Japanese.

"I thought Japan was the one with crazy shits. Now America?!"

She then started tearing up as her situation was weirder than anything a Japanese could ever imagine. Getting Isekaied was one thing for the Japanese, but getting stuck with the Americans wasn't a fun experience.

Onboard a Nuclear Cruiser (CGNX), a blonde woman in her mid- twenties, depicted as a model wearing a Navy-blue colored coat and a light-blue dress, slowly stood up from her seating, feeling dazed. She looked around as the world around her slowly stopped spinning. After a minute of dizziness, she slowly looked around and tried to maintain a calm posture and grasp the situation. She started slowly walking towards the ship's Control Panel and grabbed the comms. Her finger traced along the keys, and she pressed some buttons.

Onboard the American Frigate, a kid aged between thirteen and fifteen could be seen lying on the deck, hugging a Baguette

Plushy while crying on the floor. The kid wore a Revolutionary War jacket and a curved rapier sword; his hair was tied up similar to an 1800s wig style.

"I thought America was done with its crazy shits!"

He said while crying on the floor, his tears flowing like waterfalls, a lot of mucus also flowing down his nose.

Onboard a Virginia-class Submarine, at the Panels, a man stretched his hands to reach for something solid to keep him standing. The man had just woken up in a whirlwind of a situation he couldn't fathom. A moment ago, he hadn't felt such pain nor anything at all; now, the layer of human skin added to the mystery.

He glanced at the monitor and saw his reflection. Shocked, he held his head as if about to lose it.

"How in the name of Fuck am I a human!" he blurted out. "No, No, No... this can't be."

He said to himself in pure disbelief, his expression a mixture of confusion and fear. He was currently adorned with Navy SEAL gear.

Onboard the Gato-class Submarine (SSN), a woman in her late teens wearing Navy Blue Coveralls, and underneath, a Diving Suit, was having a mental breakdown. She grabbed one of the radio comms and pushed any random buttons on the panels to contact someone, or anyone who could receive her distress call. As she pushed some buttons, her hands shook uncontrollably from panic and fear.

"Come on, work! Please!"

She said to herself as she frantically pushed any button on the Communication Console of the Submarine.

Onboard a Cargo Ship, a man in his mid-twenties wearing a Captain's Uniform was awakened by the ear-piercing blare of the ship's alarm, indicating something wrong with the GPS Panel.

Slowly getting up, feeling the cold steel of the deck and his aching head, he looked around and noticed he had a human body.

He looked down and saw two human hands, as if he was in control. "Hah, a human body... Interesting."

He said before being overwhelmed by the experience of a ship that should have been, and he collapsed on the metal floor of the Cargo Ship's Bridge with a resounding thud.

Onboard the Type 26 Frigate, a woman in her twenties, described as having purplish hair in twin tails and wearing a Maid Outfit, slowly got up from the deck of the bridge. Her head ached, but the achiness turned into confusion.

She tried not to freak out at the situation, but her mind was screaming in panic as the situation she was in was unexplainable—once a warship, now a human. A maid at that.

She then proceeded to walk slowly towards the ship's Control Panel, grabbed one of the radio comms, and contacted the nearest ship, in her case, the Flagship. Indoctrinated with the Royal Navy, always contact the bigger ship.

"This is HMS Belfast, to the Flagship USS Enterprise, do you read me? Over," Belfast spoke into the comms, maintaining her calm voice.

"This is Fleet Flagship USS Enterprise, I read you, HMS Belfast," Enterprise answered the comms, while Essex was starting to calm down.

Enterprise then started to contact all nine Naval Vessels with the comms, recognizing all the Naval Vessel transmissions.

"USS Bunker Hill, USS Laffey, USS Lucas, JS Maya, USS Lafayette, USS Arizona, USS Denver, and USNS William McLean. This is USS Enterprise, do you read me? Over?" She then let go of the button on the comms as she waited for any response.

A blonde woman wearing a Navy-Blue Coat and a Light-Blue Dress answered the comms.

"This is USS Bunker Hill, I read you, USS Enterprise," Bunker Hill responded precisely, not wanting to complicate things. She then let out a sigh of relief, relieved that she was not alone in this peculiar situation.

A man wearing a Marine Combat Uniform immediately grabbed the comms and answered with the voice of a veteran.

"This is USS Jack H. Lucas, I read you, Ma'am." His Marine Corps instincts kicked in subconsciously before he could think.

"A..." A lengthy pause came from his mouth as if he was lagging out of reality.

Dog Ears twitched on the Japanese woman's head. She perked up, her eyes gazing at the comms. She slowly crawled across the floor to the console while her entire body quivered in fear, grabbing the comms with her shaking hand. Her whole body trembled.

"Ummm.... T-This is JS Maya, I read you M-Miss Enterprise o- over," Maya answered the comms stutteringly, her voice shaking.

A kid wearing a French Revolutionary War jacket grabbed the comms and started to wipe his tears and mucus on his jacket's sleeves.

"This is USS Lafayette, I heard you, Ma'am," a scared voice of a child could be heard on the comms, like he had been separated from his parents. Enterprise noticed the voice of a kid, and the kid started crying.

A woman wearing navy blue coveralls answered the comms with teary eyes, her face disoriented with all the accumulated tears.

"This is USS Denver, I read you, Miss Enterprise."

After responding to the call, Denver fell to her knees in relief, glad that she wasn't alone in this world. The emotion was overwhelming, and she then started crying.

"I thought I was the only one with this problem," she muttered to herself.

"Umm... This is Arizona, read and copy, over," Arizona quickly cut the comms as the situation he was in felt like a tight spot, confused and his head feeling numb. 

A man wearing a Captain's Uniform, face-planted on the floor, grabbed the comms. Not caring about his position, the important thing was to reply to the call.

"This is USNS William McLean, I read you, USS Enterprise."

His head was still dizzy from everything that had happened, but the hard knock on the floor had awakened him to reality. He wasn't in a dreamy state; the hard deck was definitely a real one.

Enterprise noticed that one Vessel was not responding to her call. She then tried to contact it with her comms. "Laffey! Do you read me, over?! USS Laffey! Do you read me, over!"

There was no follow-up, but the count seemed to be skipping someone else. USS Laffey did not respond to the fleet call.

"USS Laffey, do you read, over?" Enterprise repeated the call through the comms to get a response from the only remaining one. 

The comms then crackled as if her call was heard. "Thank God, you fina—" She paused as she heard low snoring on the comms amidst the backdrop of blaring alarms.

Then suddenly, someone shouted on the comms, surprising everyone tuning in. "Can somebody tell me. WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!"

Then the whole comms went bananas, the chattering becoming a shouting competition within a second. Lafayette, like a toddler, continued emitting a shrill cry.

"Can someone update me on what the fuck is going on?!" Arizona's voice boomed.

"This is beyond science," a monotone voice spoke, coming from William.

"Are we got isekaied?!" a frantic Maya asked on the comms.

"Ma'am, can you please explain the situation to us?" a calm and composed voice came from Bunker Hill.

Enterprise, with the look of a tired mother tending to her children, her brows flat along with her expression, knew it wasn't just one day they had turned into humans, and questions were bearing down on her. She had no clues nor answers; she was as confused as they were.

TO BE CONTINUED >>>>