'Nnhhh... Where... Am. I?' Greynar opened his eyes to see an empty hollow space.
He stood up and gazed around the place. Nothing was in sight, just a vast empty space with no end. There was only the sound of his footstep that was heard in the void space. When he walked even further, the scenery gradually transforming into a four-way road with building and wall next to the road. The structure of the buildings was familiar to him.
He could see the sight of a person that was running towards him. He could hear them screaming something.
"RUN!!" A voice with dreaded panic could be heard from a distance.
"Dear God, i pray to you for these monster to be gon-" He glanced at the person behind him. The person was engulfed on a strange dark mixture of jet-black colour and crimson colour, and the voice disappeared, leaving no trace of them ever exist.
He glanced once more towards the horizon in front of him. The sky was illuminated with flashes of light, but upon closer inspection, it was not a pyrotechnic display, but rather the remains of a downed aircraft. It had been targeted from the ground, and based on the angle of the shot, the source was likely from the direction of the beach where he had earlier observed a sign to that direction.
"Where is the shelter!!??" A scream filling in past him, it was filled with anxiety and terror. Even though he couldn't see their faces, he could guess their expression.
"It's them! The nightmare from the sea!!!" Another scream chimed in from his right side passing through the streets.
'What's going on? I should check the direction it's coming from.' Greynar started running towards the beach.
As he suspected, an event had taken place in that direction. Numerous warships were sighted encircling a particular figure concealed within a dense mist and dark cloud. The shape was equal to, if not greater than, that of a battleship. From the murky mist, a pair of eyes emerged scanning through the fleet that surrounded it. The gaze was so intense that it could cause a person to tremble and become petrified with fear. Their gaze met with each other, the figure emanated a different aura, an atmosphere so intense, yet so calming. Like a predator looking at its prey.
Greynar woke suddenly from his bed, disturbed by the recurring nightmare that had plagued him since the aftermath of Operation White Tower. It was safe to say there was no casuality on his side, but it still dealt a significant blow for the whole fleet to be under maintenance for a while and they couldn't do any commissions.
They were forced to stay awhile in the Royal Island before sailing away back to the pacific sea. Queen Elizabeth was busy dealing with the issue of Sardegna Empire and she won't be seeing Greynar in a short time. The battle of taranto against Littorio Venetto, the Sardegna's battleship ended with a tie when Warspite helped Illustrious to get out because of the incoming Sardegna's reinforcement.
It's been a week ever since Operation White Tower, and he has contacted Enterprise about what happened. She was grateful that the whole fleets still alive and well, but she was also mad at Greynar for not informing her about the operation. Greynar apologized because the plan was made on a whim and prior to the mission, they need to do a brief check up. That's why they got no time to inform her.
Enterprise rebuked Greynar for initiating a risky operation without prior consultation. Suddenly, Helena burst into the room, gasping for breath, after hearing of Greynar's unapproved activities. Fuelled by a mixture of anger and sadness, Helena proceeded to give Greynar a harsher scolding.
After enduring a prolonged and arduous nightmare, Greynar promised them that he would never do such a thing again. Additionally, he took the initiative to alleviate their anger by buying them some food after he got back to the NY Harbour.
"Haaa... The danger of the tower still there, but at least we know the tower isn't really indestructible." Murmured Greynar to himself as he sat alone in his room.
The mystery surrounding S.A.V.I.O.R expanded further. Just as he was on the brink of unlocking its secrets, it presented him with a thousand more. It was akin to a Pandora's box within another Pandora's box. He couldn't see the way out of this hell, it always presented him with unexpected variable. It would be just like a walk in the park if he was just following the timeline normally, but with the white tower problem and the current timeline direction. It was not easy to follow.
Currently, the fleets was resting while they left their battleship form docked in the port for maintenances. The trained Manjuus were responsible for maintaining the ships. Greynar was surprised to learn that Manjuu was in charge of the maintenance. The queen had a smug expression on her face as she explained the whole story of how they trained the Manjuus to repair ships.
Greynar got up from his bed, and stretched. "I will try to see Volga, she might be with Aurora."
He did his morning routine and went to the garden. There, he met with a lush garden brimming with vibrant flowers, where the soft rustle of leaves creates a tranquil oasis. Two women were sitting inside the gazebo, chatting and laughing, surrounded by the idyllic scenery. Greynar approached them and greeted them with a smile. They also reciprocate his greet with a smile and invited him to take a seat.
"Morning Commander." Aurora elegantly sipped her tea.
"Morning you both, did you rest well?" Greynar asked.
"Yes~ We did rest well..." Volga happily munched her bread.
"As Volga said, we are resting properly." Aurora chimed in. " How about yourself, Commander? You seem not resting properly these past days."
"Me? I don't feel like i wasn't resting properly though?" Greynar confused by her words. "Do i really look like that from your perspective?"
""Yes."" Both of the girls said simultaneously.
Greynar pondered a bit, he recalled the nightmares he had these past days. An unpleasant dream keeps resurfacing during his sleep, causing his mind to become exhausted and compromising his physical wellbeing. He wasn't sure what to make of that nightmares. Greynar shrugged mentally.
"Sorry for worrying you two, i'm just exhausted these past days with the work and the aftermath." Greynar's head slightly lowered as he gave a wry smile.
"Hmmm... Commander, if you are still tired, you can just spend your time with us." Volga suggested, she continued to eat the rest of her bread.
The commander's eyes perked up. It seemed like a good idea to spend some time relaxing. Greynar had been working tirelessly, only resting at night. Memphis and Saratoga helped out, but the work was still exhausting. Since most of his work was done, he could leave the rest of it to Saratoga.
"Fine then... I will have Saratoga to take my position for a while," Greynar said with a resigned exhale.
Aurora placed her tea on the table and moved closer to Greynar. She leaned against his shoulder and embraced his right arm with her own body. "We shall monopolize the Commander for the days, right Volga?"
"Huh? Uhmm... I guess so..." There was a slight tint of red on the auburn-haired carrier face. She also copied Aurora and stayed on his left side.
Greynar chuckled a little looking at his cute carrier girlfriend who was acting reserved in front of Aurora when it was about him. But when she alone with Greynar, she would act clingy and doting him like a loving mother. Which is quite a behavior that took one-eighty degree from her. Quite the sight to see from her.
"Ahahaha, please don't tease her much, Aurora. When did you learn to talk like that? Did Sheffield, or any other Royal Navy member teach you about that?" Greynar grinned, he was very interested who taught her girlfriend to speak in that manner.
Aurora giggled a bit, "No, i learned it in the books when i was inside the library." She wore an satisfying expression. "I was glad i could use it in moments like these."
Greynar raised his brow, what kind of book did Aurora read to make her like that? It was a question that seeped into his mind. "I see, well lets go eat something. Im pretty hungry right now."
Volga stood up upon hearing he wanted to eat, "You want to eat now? Alright, i also want to eat something. Let's go Commander~" She pulled Greynar hand with such excitement.
Greynar could only give her a wry smile and nodded to her.
The three lovers went to a nearby to a nearby store located not far from the place they were staying. It was weird that the one who served them is a Manjuu, but knowing that it's just how the Queen wanted it to be, they just ignored it and ordered something to fill in their stomach.
"Mmm, this food is delicious," said Volga as she greedily consumed it. "Commander, you must try this!"
"Slow down, don't talk while eating" Aurora nudged her.
"Okay~"
"Just eat much as you can, i will be paying the food." Greynar said, glancing at the carrier woman.
"Really? Thank you Commander, i love you." Volga continued chomping down the food.
Greynar shook his head and continued his meal.
※ ※ ※
After their meal, the parties went to the dockyard to inspect the maintenance progress. Half of the ships had been repaired and completed by the time they arrived. It would have taken another two days before they returned to NY Harbour. Since Aurora didn't participate in either of those battle to defend the Royal Island along with Richelieu's fleets, she didn't have to check her rigging.
"How are they treating you? Are you feeling well right now?" Volga stroked the twin dragon rigging that was lowering their heads.
The rigging produced a mechanical sound that sounded like it was purring. It lowered its head even further when Greynar approached it. He was a bit taken aback by the rigging's behavior but he smiled a little and tried to stroke both of the head. It felt like he was stroking a metal which is not actually wrong because it's a mechanical dragon.
"I think they liked you, Commander." Volga mused.
"Really?" He turned his head to Volga while continuing stroking it. "Aren't they a little bit... Too obedient towards me?"
"Hehehe~" She giggled. " That's also your charm, you can make a rigging be obedient towards you."
He looked at the rigging back, if it were a dog, it would have wiggled its tail behind. He could swear he see a imaginative tail wiggling behind their body. Their body was massive but compared to the ship form, it was more smaller in size. And beside, it was his first time taking a look at Volga's rigging closely in-person.
'I felt like i suddenly want a rigging of my own.' Greynar muttered in his heart.
Aurora joined and crouched down beside him. The blonde cruiser giggled when one of the head looked at them and acting pampered towards her. The rigging then took a step back from them and slowly engulfed in light then they are absorbed into Volga's body. Greynar got the status of the progress and went back to the garden.
Instead of sitting in the gazebo, they are laying on the grass below the tree in the corner of the garden, truly absorbed in their own world. Greynar was sleeping peacefully accompanied by his two girlfriends. Volga and Aurora giggled to each other as they found his sleeping face, rather cute.
"He looks peaceful when he sleep." Volga touched his cheeks.
"Yeah, Commander is pretty cute when he is sleeping." Aurora slowly nodded. "But, he is also handsome when you look at him."
"I also agree." Volga rustled above him, placed his head on her lap.
She carefully caress his head, and gave him a light kiss on the forehead. "We are lucky to have him, and it might not be just us in the future."
"Are you implying he will get more girls?" Aurora tilted her head.
"Probably," Volga giggled softly looking at the sleeping Greynar. "It will be more merrier when others joined also..."
Aurora agreed with Volga. "Like the relation of bees and a flower nectar. Commander will be the flower for us to depend on."
"Allow time for the flower to bloom in all its beauty. Our Commander deserves the attention and the comfort he needed." Volga said, continuing caressing him.
The two continued chatting until they drifted off to sleep, taking up most of the space on Greynar's either side.
