Author: Alright. After my resources are flushed to the toilet, it's time I send the new recruits to the boot camp. Initially, I planned this chapter to be where the situation is finally solved, but I guess it will be on the next chapter where "The Northern Beast" lashes out her uncontrollable emotions at the living beings in front of her. There will be revelations in the next chapter...sort of. I don't know.
Why do I have a feeling Spring 2018 will be Operation Ten-Go? Oh no. I hope I won't be fighting my hotel turned Abyssal or worse...amalgamation of ship girls that historically sunk there. Then again...time
The time is almost up...
Nagato is currently frustrated with how they made no progress in searching for the missing admiral.
"Mutsu, the more time passes, the more I feel like the admiral...tch"
"You said it yourself, as long there's still a small glimpse of hope, you're willing to take it"
"I've been by the admiral's side for almost three years now, that's why I still want to believe she's still alive"
"It kind of reminds me the day we were posted here"
Mutsu giggled while Nagato blushed and looked away. Nagato knows she mustn't give up as long as there's hope so the other girls won't lose hope as well. She's the one standing as the current commander of the base while the admiral is yet to be found.
"Nagato, our admiral may not be who she used to be...but she's still a proud battleship"
"Yeah. Knowing her...she won't go down that easily so I still believe she survived the attack"
"We'll find her...hopefully"
Mutsu tapped Nagato's shoulder, showing her support for the base's current situation and to Nagato.
"Secretary Nagato" Warspite enters the office
"Warspite? What's the matter?"
"May I speak with you privately?"
"Sure..." Nagato looked at Mutsu
In turn, Mutsu smiled and left the office for the two to have a private conversation.
"What do you want to talk about?"
"I'm worry for the admiral as days passes"
"Hmm?"
It's not everyday Nagato would see Warspite wear a different expression, especially a concerned one.
"While I still do believe she's still alive, I fear for the worst scenario"
"Warspite?"
"..."
Deep inside, Warspite can't bring herself to reveal the truth of what she wants to say. She felt this isn't the right time so she decided to keep it to herself.
"Without her rigging, the admiral has no means of defending herself against any possible Abyssal attacks"
"I thought of that too..."
"Yes. I fear...the more time passes, the chance of her being alive lessens"
"It's not that easy searching for her with a Princess who showed up out of nowhere is on the loose"
"..."
"Two of our destroyers were sent to the repair docks by that wild Princess this morning while on a sortie"
Reconnaissance planes photographed the said Princess who is clearly out to sink everyone who stands in her way. Nagato wonders about CarDiv 01's report how the Princess might have still retained fragmented memories of her old ship girl self.
"It's speed, armaments, and difficulty to damage by normal shells made it classified as an Abyssal fast battleship"
The triple gun mount that's on the caliber between a heavy cruiser and battleship had its classification confused.
"This Princess reminds me of the Abyssal born out of Tirpitz's negative emotions when she sunk"
"It does?"
"A lone Princess who sinks ship girls and Abyssals alike. The only difference is that the Northern Fjord Princess...prefers solitude in the Norwegian fjords"
"Northern Fjord...Princess?"
"There's information about her. The one I sent to you"
"The envelope? You sent it?"
Rather than answering, Warspite's responded by having a sly smile on her lips which is unusual of her.
"If wonder about my motives of doing so is because it concerns about the admiral"
"The beast and the Drop...they're both the admiral, right?"
"Correct"
"The beast appeared ten years ago and after being sunk, the Drop which was the admiral appeared four months later on the very same place"
It's not ordinary for a person to appear out of nowhere months after an Abyssal was sunk on that very place.
"It's a long story, actually"
"Tell me more"
Nagato leaned back on the chair and crossed her arms, eager to know more what Warspite knows about what happened in Norway and the connection with the admiral.
Meanwhile...
In her current state, she's more vulnerable to the Abyssals. Admiral Schwarze can't focus her vision and her muscles are becoming stiff. Seaplane tender Water Princess easily noticed this.
"Admiral?"
She walked towards her and after looking at her uneasy face, she pressed her palm on her forehead.
"You're burning up"
"Well...even a battleship like me...gets sick..."
She had the admiral sit down for a while, worrying for her current state.
"I can't really focus in this state"
"You have to take it easy"
"I can't just sit here. My old admiral told me at times like these, you make your own rescue"
Admiral Schwarze laughed, not minding her unwell state. She can barely move her own body and she can't focus with the searing heat being released out of her body.
"I'll go get a wet towel. In the meantime, lie down for a while. You can't strain your own body"
"Sure"
It's not like she can move with a high fever anyway so her only option is to lie down. After a few minutes, Seaplane tender Water Princess returned with a wet towel on her hand.
"Heh. She still looks cute when asleep...even when sick"
She wants to cherish their limited moments, knowing they will have to separate soon, so she took a look at the sleeping admiral's face while putting the towel on her forehead.
"Why...didn't you...come back...?" While asleep, admiral Schwarze murmured something
"Amiral?"
"I...kept...on waiting..."
The reason she is murmuring those words is because she's dreaming of her past, not as a ship girl, but as an Abyssal. She remembered how she came to be. She remembered darkness...then waking up...then the light.
"This pain...this suffering...it's all because of them..."
She blamed humanity for the suffering she felt being bound in the eternal cycle. She burned all of them...she sunk all of them. Everyone who stood in her way...falls. They all disappear to the bottom of the ocean.
"I kept on waiting...but she didn't come back!"
Negative emotions that took the form of a beast lashed out on her. Admiral Schwarze knows very well who is the monster her eyes are seeing right now.
"They can sink me as many times as they want, but I'll keep coming back!"
Not even a second has passed and the beast attacked her, grabbing her by the throat.
"I'll never let go. I'll never...go back down there...in that loneliness...!"
"You...don't have to stay there. I...don't have to stay there"
Admiral Schwarze is starting to lose air with the right grasp on her throat. Even her body in the real world is experiencing the suffocation.
"It's all humanity's fault. It hurts so much because of them! It keeps hurting so much because of them!"
"That's...not true!"
"To be bound to an eternal cycle...is because of them! It won't stop hurting because of them!"
"I chose this path...the moment I accepted this is my fate. I came to be because of humanity, but I don't blame them...not anymore!"
The grasp on her is becoming tighter to the point she would lose consciousness at any moment. She can't break free...from her other self.
"I refused to let go...that's why when you came back...I, too...came back"
That's the last thing the admiral heard before her grasp weakened and her senses are about to shut down.
"Amiral!"
Before her consciousness full faded away, admiral Schwarze managed to be woken up in time. She immediately gasped for air, with one hand touching her neck.
"Amiral!" She immediately hugged her
"Teste?"
"You were in pain. I thought...something horrible happened to you"
"It's just a nightmare...I hope"
While Seaplane tender Water Princess is relieved her admiral isn't in danger, the real threat is still lurking.
Somewhere...
Battleship Princess' pet picked up a floating carcass of a savagely destroyed Abyssal destroyer. She follows the trail of the massacre and while doing so, she spots an Abyssal reconnaissance plane flying in a distance.
"That's..."
Suspicious, she keeps her distance from the plane and follows it wherever of is returning to. Other than Battleship Princess, the ship girls are also investigating the dangerous waters.
"Just a day ago the Abyssals are freely wandering these waters"
Graf noticed how it's unusually quiet it is while her planes land on her flight deck.
"With the appearance of a wild Princess, even the Abyssals get scared to the point they don't want to be within her range"
Bismarck noticed it too so she isn't letting her guard down even for a second. Hearing this, Prinz Eugen shivers in fear and everyone noticed it.
"I'll launch another squadron. I have a bad feeling about this"
"So do I" Nagato slightly nodded
Few more minutes has passed and they haven't encountered a single Abyssal even though Abyssals have recently inhabited the waters they are sailing right now.
(Admiral, I hope you're still alive...)
Nagato clenched her fist, sensing a premonition as her heart raced faster. She can't tell if she's scared or nervous.
"Hmm?"
Graf received emergency radio signals from her reconnaissance plane pilots.
"...?!"
"Graf, what's wrong?" Bismarck notices her shocked expression
"My pilots has spotted Battleship Princess just 60 km ahead. She's heading northwest"
"Battleship Princess?" Nagato tightened her clench
"No Abyssal escorts at 20 km radius. She's by herself"
"Is the Abyssals' super dreadnought that confident of her strength she's by herself?"
Bismarck smirk, but Nagato felt something odd here. A normal 'Boss' wouldn't sail by herself so it doesn't make any sense to her.
"Let's investigate, but we will not make contact with the enemy"
"We can take her on just by herself" Bismarck blinked her eyes
"Think before you act, Bismarck. Someone like her wouldn't go out by herself. What if she wants to lure us? Then we'd be good as dead if we took the bait"
Bismarck looked away after Nagato raised her voice. She's been more strict and serious ever since taking the role of the commander of the fleet.
(If the admiral is somewhere here, then the Abyssals might be looking for her. So sending their strongest Princess is there choice...but why alone?)
Nagato thought of that possibility so she decided to have the fleet tail the Princess while keeping a safe distance.
Somewhere...
A few hours has passed and the admiral felt her fever getting worse. Her hands are visible shaking while her sight couldn't focus.
"I feel like I'm going to be drag down to a dark place"
Her mind wants her senses to shut down, but she's fighting the urge to close her eyes and pass out. Her instincts are drawing her somewhere and for some reason, she can't resist it.
"Amiral, you shouldn't move around too much"
A single touch and Seaplane tender Water Princess felt admiral Schwarze's body temperature increased than it was just an hour ago.
(At this rate. Amiral...)
"I...will never...let go..."
"Amiral?"
"Huh...what did I just say?"
Even the admiral is herself is puzzled to why those words slipped out so suddenly.
"For some reason...I feel like someone is calling me out there in the ocean"
"You're suffering hallucinations again"
"But I feel like a voice inside me is telling me...someone is waiting for me"
"Again. That's just your feverish condition, amiral"
"Right..."
(I have to make a move now. I can't have amiral be away from her base for too long)
She went out to the coastal waters to retrieve the seaplane she sent out to ensure there are no threats around the area.
"It has been quiet lately. At least that wild Princess hasn't been spotted around here"
Seaplane tender Water Princess sighed in relief after her plane reported no hostile sighting for the past couple of hours. Just as she turned away to return to the island, she stopped all of a sudden...
"Oh~ So this where have you been"
Seaplane tender Water Princess briefly expressed shock upon hearing and seeing Battleship Princess.
"You've been going in and out more than usual. I wondered where have you been going, but I didn't think you would be here"
For short, Battleship Princess is expressing her deep suspicion towards the elusive Princess.
"What have you been up to? You've been acting strangely ever since the assault on that human base. Not to mention, Central Princess suspected that other admiral survived"
"I don't care about anything. I do as I please"
"Your tone changed. It's like your holding back your own emotions"
Even more suspicious, Battleship Princess angled her main barrels. Seaplane tender Water Princess knows she can't let her find out the admiral is right in the island, vulnerable with her current state.
"I'm holding back how annoyed I am right now. I don't like others like you disturbing me"
"Hmm~ That's not it. You're tone is a bit defensive. I wonder...if you're hiding something. Probably on that island"
Battleship Princess isn't liking how Seaplane tender Princess is acting calm and collected when it became obvious something is amiss.
"I don't care if that's what you think. Go bother someone else instead"
"What are you keeping there? It's obvious you don't want me near there"
"..."
"It doesn't matter. I'll just have to beat the answers out of you!"
Battleship Princess completed turned hostile and fired a salvo, initiating an engagement between two Princesses. While the two Abyssals begun fighting, admiral Schwarze woke up at the sound of muffled cannon fire. The loudness continued so she forced to move, but at that moment...that change is already beginning...just slowly.
"Why...won't...it go away?!
Inside her, she can hear voice of her old comrades. Not just them, but all the people who died with her as a witness. The loudness continued so she forced herself to move, but at that moment...that change is already beginning...just slowly.
You held me down long enough. You can't hold me down...anymore...
The voice took the form of her other self. The part of herself she wished she would never see. It took the form of herself during her last moments, bloody and in the brink of death.
"You're...me...?!"
"Hate, frustration, sorrow, and regret. I'm those parts of you. The feelings you buried deep inside you"
She doesn't really understand who the person who looked like her past self is, but all she could think now is breaking free from strangulation.
"If you think you're the only one in control. You're dead wrong..."
Admiral Schwarze heard familiar voices. Those voices were the exact words spoken by the former comrades she failed to save and the please of ordinary people caught between the war.
Bismarck abandoned you just as how you abandoned Scharnhorst!
"Shut up!"
You could have saved her...but you left your own best friend to die!
"Stop it!"
The grip on her is too tight and her attempts proved to be futile. 'The illusion' tormented her by reminding her of the largest regret she ever felt in her life. The guilt she could never let go.
You've waited for Bismarck...yet she didn't come back. You kept waiting...even after you had been abandoned...
"Shut...up..."Tears streamed down the admiral's cheeks
The memory of "The battle of Cape North" refreshed the regret and guilt she felt that very day.
If Bismarck hadn't abandoned you...then why did she leave you to sink...all alone...
"..."
She stopped responding to the illusion, but tears streamed down her cheeks when it changed to look like Scharnhorst in her last moments too,
"Scharnhorst...I'm sorry...I'm sorry. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't save you..."
Even if it's not real, just seeing the exact image of Scharnhorst in her last moments brought back the guilt that haunted her to the present.
"It's all my fault. Right...Scharnhorst? I abandoned you because I'm weak. Because I'm to afraid, right?"
The guilt and regret overwhelmed her, consuming her mind...just like it wanted to happen. it kept repeating like a broken tape, the day she left Scharnhorst to sink at the hands of overwhelming enemy force. It's not her fault yet she blamed herself for Scharnhorst's death.
"I deserve this. I wish...I shouldn't have come back...because then...I wouldn't feel this much pain"
The beast smiled when admiral Schwarze lets go and stopped struggling as the despair caused by her guilt overwhelmed hope.
It's time you go back...where we were both born. The abyss...
Inside her own consciousness, her soon to be free Abyssal self stopped strangling her and slowly pushed her down below the water surface, faintly touching her cheeks.
Guten nacht...my dear vessel...
When admiral Schwarze ceased her struggling, the other her won so she let the weakened admiral sink below the water surface and be pulled down to the eternal darkness that once served as her grave. Unlike what happened at Truk, the change became more drastic...drawing closer to the original appearance of "The beast of the North".