Log Entry 30 – 15/10/20XX

Yet another day with little to do. If this is the retired life, I'd like to retire from retirement.

I suppose there's not much to logically complain about. This new house (calling it a resort would be more accurate) is more than most people on the planet could ever hope to afford, much less be given to them for free. There aren't any more cash problems, the kids are happy, Den has all the peace she ever wanted, and life's as comfy as it can get. The lack of activity and excitement though is getting unbearable, and I'm not the only one who shares this sentiment, Recette has been growing restless for one, no doubt she misses the excitement of combat.

Perhaps I'll sign back up on the research team again, life was decently eventful at the base at least. Been keeping in touch with the guys, Vicky just borrowed Verniy and Dawn again for her tests the other day. Maybe I can work part-time or something? I'm sure the kids can take care of themselves just fine on their own for a few days a week. Heck, Rai may even get to play the "mother" role she loves so much, provided she doesn't insist on following me to work again.

Lately I've also been wondering about Charlotte and Kirsten; now that the battle on the land front has begun, even they might not be safe where they live. Perhaps I can convince the wife to bring them here now that I'm rich enough? No, wait, there's also the matter of education. Well it doesn't hurt to give them a phone call, see how they're doing. Thinking back on it it's been over a year since I've last seen their faces or heard their voices; hard to believe the time I've spent working for the Abyssals up to this point has only been around half that, despite all that's happened. The presence of the Chimeras dull the longing, but I do miss them so.

That's decided then, I'll give both the wife and Vicky a call tomorrow, see what happens. For now it's almost time for our little sunset fishing trip, I just hope Rai and Recette can keep themselves from jumping into the ocean themselves out of impatience, that just defeats the purpose.

"Hello, father dearest. I wonder if you can hear me from wherever you are?"

A lone Fleet Girl lay down a bundle of flowers by a grave on a cliffside overlooking the vast ocean.

"I still don't remember the times we supposedly had together, but after our encounter I could feel within myself those times did exist, and that's enough for me right now. Hope you'll be happy to know your efforts were not in vain, even if you can't have me by your side again."

The blonde battleship sat down, resting her back against the tombstone while looking out at the golden sky and sea created by the setting sun.

"In the end the Abyssals won the naval war, even after the setback caused by the siege. Thinking back on it, I suppose it was an inevitability. They were more advanced, especially with the aid of your scientist and engineer colleagues, and of course there was their immortality, for every three we sunk they could salvage and resurrect at least two, while for us not only can we not be revived, but we become one of them after death instead. Not very good odds, were they?

"The counter-attack came a few months after the siege, bringing dozens of Chimeras and Princesses to our major Guardian Offices along with massive fleets, outnumbering our defenses by a long shot even with the remaining Big 7 members. The naval base I was stationed at was the one with least casualties during the initial wave of assaults by the way. It was due to a spectacular team effort from everyone of course, but I'd like to think I had the most to do with it. It's alright, you can praise me more. *sigh* Just kidding, of course. Despite our best efforts, in the end we were all tased into submission by the Modified Re-classes. Strangely they didn't seem to be the Raiden Sisters we saw during the briefing. Maybe they just made more and sent the original Sisters elsewhere.

"With most of the world's coastal cities under Abyssal control and the rest of us Fleet Girls captured, the land and air battles have begun. Already there are plane and tank versions of us, I think they call the air ones…something Witches, not sure about the land ones, fighting against air and land Abyssals. So far the humans are having an advantage since the Abyssals seem out of their element outside of the ocean, but I doubt it'll stay that way for long with your colleagues present.

"Right now the other Fleet Girls and I are imprisoned in a few underwater prisons, just like the old Ironbottom Sound base, that way we'll drown if we try to escape, though they let me up here to visit. Thankfully it doesn't seem they have any intention of converting us for now. We're looked after well enough I suppose, though security is very tight, I'm not even sure there are exits to the surface beyond using metal submarines and Wa-class transport ships since there's no human staff. Still, best be prepared in case something happens and I must fight to protect my comrades once more.

"I never told the others the truth about their pasts by the way. Perhaps it's better they don't realize they once lived as humans, with human families and friends who they'll likely never remember but try to seek out anyway. Knowing we're fighting our fallen comrades is already bad enough, much less even more past attachments. What would you do, father dearest? Would you tell them or not?"

Bismarck sighed and closed her eyes, allowing herself to rest silently for a few minutes, hoping to hear an answer from the great beyond, until the wardens came to check on her.

"…Time's almost up, it seems. I'll visit again when I get the chance. Rest well, father dearest."

Dear Commander Okada,

It's me, Inazuma nanodesu. How've you been? I was so glad to have heard you survived the counter-attack! I got ahold of your e-mail address lately. Please don't ask me how.

Even though the naval war has ended, the fighting still seems far from over, huh. You're now in control of a land battalion, right? How different are those new Tank Maidens from us? There isn't much information on the internet yet, though that's to be expected I guess, it'd be too careless if your enemies could just google all of your weapons' capabilities!

I hope you're not too worried about Miss Tenryuu and the others who were captured, they're currently kept within some prisons at the bottom of the ocean. All of the ones under your charge are currently kept together in the same prison. They're a little disgruntled and forlorn being defeated and locked up but they're all safe and sound, don't worry!

As for the 6thDesDiv and I, we've been given a comfy tropical island resort to live in! Satsuki's here too, and Harry's still taking care of us. For now we've been "retired" off the active fleet, though we still act as wardens for the prison Miss Tenryuu and the others are in. Sorry but I can't tell you where they are, though I can assure you we've been taking very good care of them! We've been decorating the place to look like a Guardian Office, make them feel more at home. Ika even made a cardboard cut-out of you for the commander's office, but I'm not sure it's helping much.

Well, long as the fighting's still going on, be sure to stay safe okay? I'm still waiting for you to visit us after the war! Hibiki's tropical fruit punch is absolutely delicious, so you have that to look forward to! Hopefully many of your new subordinates will survive too, maybe they can come along as well? I'd love to meet them! Take care of them like you took care of us, okay?

Ah, I almost forgot we were going on a fishing trip today, so I'll have to end this here. If you have a message for Miss Tenryuu and the others, just send it to me and I'll be sure to give it to them. Hope to hear from you again as soon as possible!

Your secretary ship,

Inazuma

"Wait, Noel's marrying WHO?"

"Tannah, the Ta-class he was with during the siege. Unlikely couple, I know, but I guess having a common enemy back then kindled something in them? Anyway how do you NOT know this, sis? It's been the talk of the base for a week now! Rithe's been posting news of it non-stop on the papers even!"

"Oh I'm sorry for not wasting time listening to gossip, I've been too busy doing SCIENCE unlike some people."

Victoria took the can of coffee from Rick and took a big swig from it before shouting down from the observation room.

"Alright Dawn, you ready down there?"

"A true lady is always ready!"

"Just don't break the specimen okay? It's been a pain in the ass to catch any of them alive ever since the military started strapping bombs to the new ones in case of capture. Hopefully the EMP cannon the engineers are developing will solve that, but for now just be careful."

The gates opened with the push of a button, letting a short-haired blonde into the test chamber, wielding equipment similar to the Fleet Girls, but reminiscent of tanks instead of ships.

"Oi, where am I? Let me out of here you scoundrels! Hey what the-"

Within seconds the girl had already been wrapped up by invisible squid tentacles and at the Chimera's mercy and whimsy.

"This…really isn't much of a combat test, is it, sis?"

"Well it proves the Krakens are effective even on land I suppose. We'd need more specimens to judge effectiveness in actual combat situations. Ah but the sheer amount of possibilities for land and air Chimeras! The Phoenixes are only the beginning, we can create so much more! Maybe bats for sonar? Cheetahs for speed?"

"Centaurs?"

"Oh please, that's so basic, we could probably make Pegasus unicorns or something with the proper mix! Actually that's a great idea, we should get right on that!"

"Pegasus unicorns? Why?"

"Why not?"

Rick sighed again. His older sister hasn't changed one bit even after almost getting herself and everyone else killed with the Nagato incident. Still, if they could survive a rampaging giant lobster war machine, a Pegasus unicorn shouldn't be any problem.

"What of the replacements?"

"Who?"

"The replacements for Anton, Sakuri and Harry, since the first two are dead and the last has pretty much retired to look after the Gen 2 Chimera prototypes. Last to come, first to go, bunch of slackers."

"I don't think they count as slackers if they're dead, sis. As for the replacements, they should be arriving next week. Wonder what kind of people they'll be?"

"Long as they're competent I don't care too much. Alright, while Dawn's still…busy, let's get started with the aerial combat test! So much SCIENCE to do, so little time!"

An Abyssal lay down on the beach of an island, looking up at the fiery orange sky, long black hair sprawled out on the sands. Yet another day of not finding anyone, not that she knew who she was looking for. She had awoken a few weeks ago on the ocean floor, alone except for the fishes and three guns, a pair of revolvers and a sniper rifle, which felt familiar for reasons unknown to her. After a bit of exploring she had located the island as well as what appeared to be the wreckage of an underwater military base, again all of which felt familiar. Since then she had stayed within a conveniently placed abandoned mansion on the island, traveling out each day in search of other people, returning at the end for food and shelter.

Who and what was she, she wondered. Somewhere in the back of her mind she remembered being something other than this, and having avenged some kind of grudge, but not much else, not even her own name beyond it being something that starts with S. Did her past matter? She wasn't sure, but what did matter was finding someone else soon, someone like her, hopefully with all the answers she wanted. Maybe she should pack up some extra provisions for a longer journey, though the last thing she needed was getting lost and not being able to make her way back. Not like there were any better ideas, so she may as well do it.

For now however she'll just rest up to her hearts content, and take her time preparing for what should be a great adventure! With that thought in mind the girl yawned and dozed off with a smile on her face to the sounds of crashing waves and the salty sea breeze.

The End, for now.

Author's Note: Thank you for staying through to the end of this story! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! For the time being the story has ended, though I may add a few short stories detailing minor events skipped through in the story and after the epilogue. I'll mostly be focusing on drawing captions for the story, which will be posted on my DeviantArt (DA ID: 0332288) when they're done, as well as schoolwork since the summer holiday has finally come to an end. Thanks again for sticking through my first fan fiction and good bye for now!

Edit: First illustration is completed! You can find it and all future illustrations here: 0332288 .deviantart .moc/gallery/50990189/Abyssal-Diaries (chance moc to com and remove spaces)