Author: Next chapter is going to be on first person perspective by three different people (OC Tirpitz Alter, AL Tirpitz, and KC Bismarck respectively). I think I might do a first person perspective on Chapter 30 but I'm still not sure. I will decide on it once I upload Chapter 29.
Within Siren territory, Observer Alpha quietly toys with a disassembling cub defying the laws of gravity as the pieces of cubes freely float in the air. Her quiet moment only stopped when Prinz Eugen walked in, with her arms crossed and eyes clearly unhappy right now.
"You called me. So what is it?"
"Ara ara~ Someone is in a bad mood" Observer giggled
"..."
"I called you here because Tyrant had been playing around with Iron Blood and you're just standing there doing nothing"
"It's not my business to begin with. It's between Tyrant and Tirpitz. Besides, I like my head attached to my body thank you very much"
"For her retainer, you are surely slacking off. Not to mention, you're doing as you please against my orders"
Observer remained smiling but behind the cheerful and carefree facade is someone who is losing their patience and greatly upset at what Prinz Eugen had been doing.
"What about the coordinates now? Tyrant has it secured within her Code and would self-destruct if it's recklessly extracted from her" Observer Alpha sat back on her rigging
"The coordinates that will lead to that person, huh. You mean the reason why you had her travel to that other world? I thought you wouldn't need it anymore because you know where that person is" Prinz Eugen giggled
"We know she's in that other world but her exact location remained unknown. She concealed her presence from any form of detection"
"The coordinates is classified even to me. You, of all people, should know she would never disclose the information to anyone but herself"
Prinz Eugen pointed in a manner that would sound like she's mocking a being like Observer Alpha.
"What would Tyrant gain from repeatedly beating her past self? I couldn't predict her anymore when Code-G damaged my connection to her"
Observer Alpha narrowed her eyes with suspicion directed at Prinz Eugen who remained smiling and carefree as always. She would double-cross and betray even Iron Blood for her own reasons so Observer Alpha directed her glare at the heavy cruiser.
"I never asked because it doesn't really interest me. Though I do know something..." Prinz Eugen pressed her index finger on her lower lip
"Oh? What would that be?"
"She's going to settle it once and for all with Tirpitz soon. It means she wants to fight to the death with her other self"
"Fufufu. It seems she has grown tired of living now, huh"
"It's more like she doesn't see any point of continuing further but I'm sure she would lament not seeing the result"
Before Prinz Eugen leaves, she left those vague and indirect words, deliberately letting Observer know to see how long it will take the Siren to realize what those words meant.
"By the way, Tyrant is currently in a dormant state. Even if you're a Siren, she certainly doesn't like anyone waking her up" Prinz Eugen turned around
"She expanded a large amount of her energy again? You aren't doing your job on watching her"
Rather than respond, the heavy cruiser deviously smile much to Observer's irritation as she watched the traitor shrug her shoulders and leave as she pleases.
Iron Blood...
After Prinz Eugen's escape and the short fight, Bismarck focused on tracking down the traitorous heavy cruiser but her whereabouts remained unknown. It's no surprise Bismarck couldn't track her as she can easily conceal herself with the help of the Sirens.
"It's my fault. If only I knew she would do something like that...I could have stopped her. When I see her again...I will not hold myself back from tearing her apart!"
Roon clenched her fists, feeling responsible for Prinz Eugen breaking out of her prison and escaping with no difficulty. Her rage and murderous intent maxed out in instant, seeking payback from the traitorous heavy cruiser.
"I don't blame you, Roon. Eugen is unpredictable with how she can wield a power similar to Tyrant" Bismarck sighs
"..."
"That aside, have your injuries fully healed?"
"I'm back at peak condition again" Roon confirmed
Pausing for a moment, Bismarck intertwined her fingers and closed her eyes while Roon tilted her head in confusion.
"Tyrant has been spotted by the Royal navy but she managed to escape when an unknown battleship showed up" Bismarck informed her
"Tyrant was found?!"
"According to Prince of Wales, Victorious was the one who faced Tyrant but the latter fled without a fight. Considering their connection, I'm not surprised why she ran rather than fight"
"..."
(Even as someone like that, Tyrant still cared about Victorious like Tirpitz does...)
Bismarck knew how close Victorious is to Tirpitz and how the latter view her as a friend more than anyone. Uneasiness stirred since she initially didn't expect that Tyrant still has the emotions of her old self as Tirpitz.
"Anyhow, while you recovered I can't send you out for a hunt and kill mission. You took a powerful explosion at point blank range after all"
"But I can fight with no problem"
"I understand you want revenge against Prinz Eugen but she's not the old Prinz Eugen we all know. She had become a traitor who acquired power like Tyrant. She's more dangerous than you and taking her on by yourself is suicide"
"..."
"I can't afford to lose any more of my comrades. One had already betrayed us"
"...I understand"
Reluctantly, Roon complied with Bismarck's suggestion to wait for full recovery before rushing to hunt down Prinz Eugen who had become stronger and more dangerous than before. Somewhat dismayed she can't be out there hunting down the traitor, Roon left the office with her fists clenched.
"She's not too happy but she has no choice but to comply"
Bismarck felt somewhat relieved she can put the likes of Roon in place and make her listen. Roon may seem gentle on the outside but due to her nature as a ship that never actually existed, she's unstable and will snap and the slightest provocation.
"Hi~"
Minutes later and Friedrich der Grosse casually entered the office, greeting Bismarck with an overjoyed expression.
"Ah, it's just you..." Bismarck doesn't sound too happy
"In a bad mood?" Friedrich der Grosse's shoulder droppdx
"Of course. I've been pushing my mind to the limit trying to figure this out"
Bismarck displayed a slightly wrinkled paper filled with scribbles and numbers. Not a single word or symbol could be understood and even Friedrich der Grosse couldn't figure out the writings. She tilted her head left and right, and even flipped the paper in all directions but it was still futile.
"I'm sorry but what is this? Did one of the children drew this?"
"No. It was left by Prinz Eugen before she escaped"
"What makes you say that"
"Look at the back"
Friedrich der Grosse raised an eyebrow, utterly confused at the note Bismarck handed but upon seeing the name on the back, she frowned. Prinz Eugen may be one of her beloved children but she is a child who betrayed Iron Blood while pretending as one of them.
"It's a code but it's a headache to decipher. I barely translated a small part of it" Bismarck massaged her temple
"What does it say? The part you deciphered I mean"
"Prinz Eugen wants us to find her, no...chase her. It's like she's challenging us if we could find her faster than she could act again"
"First she betrays Iron Blood then she escaped after surrendering...and now she wants us to find her. What an odd child" Friedrich der Grosse is suspicious
"Eugen likes to play games...a lot. She's even treating this as one of her games"
For Bismarck, this isn't new. Prinz Eugen is someone who is carefree and does whatever she pleases whenever she wanted. Normally, Bismarck would ignore this but considering the situation, she is suspicious to what is the motive behind the challenge.
"By the way, is it really okay for you to leave Tirpitz with the other Bismarck?" Friedrich der Grosse raised her hand
"Tirpitz kept insisting she wanted to escort the other Bismarck to the Sakura"
"Aren't you concerned with her safety?"
"I am, but..."
Rather than continue, Bismarck takes a deep sigh and shakes her head, discarding what she wanted to say next.
"Right now, we should focus on Tyrant. She had recovered her strength and will strike again soon"
"That's why we're after little Eugen. She's much easier to find considering her personality" Friedrich der Grosse shrugged her shoulders
After returning the note to Bismarck, the latter furrowed her eyebrows, determined to decipher the rest of the code.
"Eugen put the coordinates of her possible current location but I can't pinpoint it because I have yet to decipher it all"
"She doesn't want an easy game after all. She want us to find her but she made sure it would be challenging because there would no fun to an easy clue, right"
Friedrich der Grosse chuckles aware that while Prinz Eugen would let them find her, she'd make their hunt as difficult as possible first. Knowing that, Bismarck felt deeply irritated at this level of taunting.
Sakura Empire...
Arriving at the Sakura Empire's port, Bismarck from the Kriegsmarine looked around in awe. Like a child visiting a theme park for the first time.
"Wow! This place is giving off old Japanese feels even if I'm German"
"The Sakura Empire are bit of a traditionalist. They value the old ways of their people" Tirpitz explained
"The cherry blossoms here are like the ones in Japan"
"Just a heads up, the shipgirls here are what your little ones would call a kemonomimi. Unlike us or the other nations, their people have animal ears and tails. Some of them have 'oni' horns"
"Really?!"
As Bismarck's eyes sparkle in amazement, the two battleships are greeted by Kawakaze, Nagato's attendant. The silver wolf with a stern expression examined the Bismarck from another world.
"So who's this wolf with a sword?" Bismarck whispered
"That's Kawakaze I believe"
Comparing the Sakura's Kawakaze to the one she knew, the only similarity Bismarck found is they're both "canines" but the one she knew is a hyperactive one.
"Follow me"
Bismarck briefly looked at Tirpitz who immediately followed the quiet destroyer before following after them. The short and quiet walk ended as soon as IJN's Nagato greeted Bismarck, smiling at the comrade who got dragged along as well.
"Nagato! You're alright" Bismarck is relieved to see her
"Same to you. Glad you made it just fine by yourself"
Bismarck tapped her shoulder seeing Bismarck all well and without trouble. She then switched her attention to Tirpitz who tipped off her cap.
"I'm glad you're the one who found Bismarck"
"It's more like she found us. She popped out in our waters one day. You should have seen it"
Tirpitz laughed remembering how Bismarck kept telling and struggling while she is pinned down and restrained.
"I'd like to ask the details later but for now...Bismarck, there's something you need to know first"
"What is it?" Bismarck swallowed her breath
"The Sakura Empire found our Tirpitz. She was in bad shape but she's stabilizing now"
"She's here too?! I need to see her" It's Bismarck first thought
"...?!"
Learning that her Kriegsmarine counterpart is dragged along with Bismarck and Nagato, Tirpitz felt nervous as she is the only one who saw. She's the only one who saw that their Tirpitz isn't the same one anymore.
"Your sister is currently unconscious but other than that she's fine now. If you like, you can see her but don't make too much noise"
"Please take me to her" Bismarck immediately asked
"I'll accompany you there, Bismarck" Nagato volunteered
Before Bismarck decides to immediately rush towards where her Tirpitz is, she looked back at Iron Blood's Tirpitz since she noticed her uneasiness.
"Tirpitz, is something wrong? You look nervous" Bismarck walked towards her
"I'm not nervous...just a bit worried for your sister" Tirpitz smiled
"Don't worry about my sister. She's not some weak battleship who will go down that easily. Besides, she came back from the dead twice now!"
"...,?" Tirpitz is confused at the second statement
"It's a long story but even the one I grew up with is no longer there...she's still Tirpitz. She's a tough one like you"
While Bismarck laughs proudly, Nagato cut her short when she gave a light chop to the head.
"Don't casually say how our Tirpitz came back from the dead to the Tirpitz here. Sorry you had to hear that, Tirpitz"
"It was an all out battle between the two of us! Besides, I want to assure her that Tirpitz is going to be fine. I mean she was a rampaging ice monster"
While Bismarck continued to rant something about a blizzard and her lungs freezing, Kawakaze cleared her throat, interrupting them.
"Are you going to visit your sister or not? Because I have to accompany that one to a certain someone"
"Wait - Tirpitz, where are you heading?"
"I want to talk to someone so I asked their permission before escorting you here" Tirpitz revealed
"I-I see..."
"Don't worry, I only have something to ask so I won't take long"
"Nelson and the others are exploring the commercial district here. Nelson said she wanted to speak to you" Nagato informed her
"I'll come by after I finish my brief visit"
Before leaving with Kawakaze, Tirpitz tipped off her cap again while Bismarck waved her hand hand.
"She said she wanted to ask someone about something but it sounds serious for some reason"
"I might have an idea who it is but right now we need to check on our Tirpitz" Nagato frowned for a second
"Nothing's wrong with our Tirpitz, right? I mean she's fine now"
"Don't worry. She's just sleeping right now since she was injured when she was found. The Sakura said she might have been fighting off Sirens while escaping them"
Bismarck swallowed her breath, nervous for her younger sister who was not in the "right condition" when she briefly saw her the last time.
Meanwhile...
Kawakaze stopped by the entrance of a prison, looking at Tirpitz then at the entrance, gesturing her to enter. Slightly nodding, Tirpitz proceeded and had to walk a long hallway before reaching the area where a certain aircraft carrier is still held.
"Code Tyrant's former identity and Bismarck's younger sister, Tirpitz. How nice of you to visit me. By nice I mean I didn't expect you to come to me" Akagi giggled
"Akagi..."
"What's with the hostile look? It's not like you're the enemy now since that role is currently with your Alter"
"It's difficult to be not hostile when you always have that devilish look. Even Prinz Eugen looks more trustful"
"Prinz Eugen? Oh? You're friend who visited me a long time ago? It looks like she betrayed you now. Pity I wasn't there to see Bismarck's reaction"
"...?!"
"Surprised that I know? The moment she stepped in here, I knew she is like Code-G and Code-T"
"So you knew, huh..."
"May I ask about the coordinates since you're the one who has it. Or was it Tyrant?"
Since Akagi brought up about Tyrant, Tirpitz couldn't help but clench her fists since despite Tyrant being her alternate self, she is someone she wanted to eliminate.
"What is these coordinates exactly? Prinz Eugen said Tyrant only wanted to protect the coordinates since it the Sirens get it... it's over"
"I'm not surprised that backstabber even mentioned it to you. Considering the 'you' right now I can understand" Akagi giggled
"..."
"Then let me start about telling you the Creator of the Sirens"
Akagi fixed her sitting position before she narrates a story while Tirpitz quietly stares at her.
"The Creator is progenitor and well...the creator of the Sirens. She was here from the beginning and observed humanity from the lonely sea. As humanity cause conflict on one another, she grew disappointed in them and became disgusted at their selfish and prideful nature"
When mentioning about the Creator's hate towards humanity, her fox ears folded for a moment.
"With her power and knowledge, she created the Sirens and we all know what happened next. Through simulations using humanity, the Sirens kept evolving but humans are persistent. Causing their extinction on the previous timelines proved to be a challenge even for her"
"Previous timelines?"
"You saw it too, right? The Sirens are capable of interdimensional travel. They can travel from one timeline to another but they're still perfecting travelling to alternate universes. It's an interesting concept really"
Akagi rubbed her chin, both curious and interested in a way similar to the Sirens but this reaction only cause Tirpitz to be upset.
"What her Sirens didn't know is that despite hating humanity for its selfishness, she was beginning to be influenced by human emotions so this caused half of her to separate on its own"
"Separate?"
"Yes, separate. This split the Creator into the different individuals. The one that split off loved humanity for their hope and determination so that other half ran away but not before flipping off the pissed off Creator and shocked Sirens"
Akagi merrily laughed, thinking "flipping off" the first half of the Creator while the Sirens are shocked before running away was hilarious if she was there to see it.
"You see, this half observed humans closer than the first half so she was influenced by their emotions but she didn't mind. Despite being forbidden to interact with them, she did so and even stated her wish to preserve human...and possibly become one of them"
"A part of the Creator wanted to protect humanity?"
"Yes. This made the first half of the Creator really angry and they end up fighting, almost wiping out a several countries because of their immense strength. With no desire for pointless deaths, the second half left the weakened first half"
"Out of spite she was called as [Destroyer] not only as a the opposite of the [Creator] but also because the Creator wanted to build a perfect world but Destroyer...well, keeps destroying her and her plans. She didn't mind so she took the name Destroyer"
"You just told me a long story. How is this related again?" Tirpitz is confused at the relevance
"That's because the coordinates is a tracker for the Destroyer. It's the only one that can pinpoint the exact location of the Destroyer wherever and whenever she is"
"It's a map" That's what Tirpitz understood
"It's a GPS tracker. The original Tyrant had the coordinates and was passed to you"
"And the Sirens are after that coordinates"
"Yes but Tyrant is too stubborn that even after being controlled by the Sirens her Code had locked it away and is programmed to self-destruct if her Code is breached"
"She's desperately protecting it"
"Don't worry she had no need to be desperately protecting it anymore"
"Why?"
"Hmm? Shouldn't you know why, unless...fufufu. Ask your traitorous friend since that's all I can tell you"
Akagi's devious smile and gaze instinctively made Tirpitz frown and clench her fists.
"Not gonna tell, huh..."
Tirpitz scoffed as she decided to end her conversation and visit to Akagi since she's no longer cooperating.
"I almost forgot to tell you something. This timeline is the only one left"
"What do you mean?"
"I mentioned the Sirens are capable of travelling through different timelines. Well they used that ability to wipe out countless futures and overturned the ones where they lost to where they win"
"...?!"
"Which means this is the only timeline left where the Sirens haven't won yet. Ash and Amber knee this so they're doing what they can to prevent humanity from being obliterated but Tyrant isn't cooperating and neither does Silver and Guardian"
"..."
"Wait"
Akagi shakes her head and shrugs her shoulders while speaking in a sarcastic tone. Tirpitz couldn't stand the red fox's taunting expression so without saying anything else, she leave...but Akagi called her out again.
"One more thing"
"What...?"
"Prinz Eugen is the one who told me this. Apparently, you're so beyond salvation to the point you even killed Victorious even though she was someone precious to you"
"What kind of lie is that?"
"Beats me but the current Tyrant is beyond saving. She completely erased Iron Blood and even took the life of the one who was someone important to her"
"..."
"Tyrant is beyond saving because she killed what remains of her past...yet she came back here"
Tirpitz silently refused to accept the "lie" about Tyrant not only killing Iron Blood but Victorious as well.
"Being attached to someone is a tragic thing. Even if you were to turn against them, they would never bring themselves to hurt you"
"..."
"Your alternate self is someone who discarded her old self a long time ago. Because if Tyrant is still you...you would never hurt someone precious to you"
"Don't talk like you know who I am"
Tirpitz warned Akagi since she doesn't like people who she barely knows describe her like they knew her thoughts and feelings.
"You haven't told Bismarck the truth, have you?"
"...?" Tirpitz stopped
"What are you going to do when the ordeal with Tyrant ends? Make the same mistake again?"
"That's not for you to be concerned about...Akagi. I will do what I MUST do once this is over because it's my duty and will"
Tirpitz left a vague answer as she immediately leaves before Akagi would stop her from leaving the third time. The red fox's smile turned into a concerned frown as if she's concerned about the "truth" but she loosened up after a few minutes.
"To think she'd actually bring it up. Just how much she knows exactly?"
Tirpitz muttered to herself since she is taken by surprise that Akagi actually knew about it despite still serving her sentence.
"Tirpitz!"
Tirpitz only stopped when Nelson's familiar voice called her. The British battleship ran towards her, cheerfully greeting her. The Big Seven from another world waved her hand while Tirpitz shyly did the same.
"Nelson, it's been a while..."
"Yeah..."
"Is there something wrong?"
"It's nice here but it reminded me that this is the first and last time I'll be on this world"
Nelson is somewhat depressed that once she and the rest returns to their world they would never return to the world of Azur Lane again.
"Bismarck will be sad she won't see you again once we go home. She doesn't bring it up because she doesn't want to end up crying and missing you. That damn German..."
"We'll just have to say our proper farewells, I guess. I'm not good with parting and saying goodbyes" Tirpitz scratched her cheek
"Then spend time with her as much as you can so she can leave with happy memories of this world and you"
"For a moment it's like you're referring that she's going to die rather than literally leaving" Tirpitz shuddered
"I'm not raising any death flags or anything!"
"Hahahaha. By the way, do you know where Bismarck is now?"
"She's still keeping an eye on our Tirpitz. She's her big sister after all. Come, I'll take you to her"
Without waiting for a reply, Nelson grabbed Tirpitz's arm and dragged her along the way until they reached where Tirpitz is currently resting.
"There-!"
Nelson only managed to say one word when a commotion rose, hearing Bismarck and some shipgirls yelling.
"What's going on?"
Concerned, Tirpitz rushed to the scene without a second thought but before she could enter, her counterpart burst through a wall and attacked her.
"Tirpitz don't attack Tirpitz!" Bismarck shouted
The Kriegsmarine's Tirpitz, still partially unconscious attacked her Iron Blood counterpart out of instinct.
"You're really burning up. No wonder you're attacking me while only half awake"
Tirpitz kicked her KC Tirpitz and restrained her but her gloved hand felt the heat from just grabbing Tirpitz. She can literally feel the heat bypassing the glove so her Kriegsmarine counterpart is currently in a high fever.
"You're...you're..." KC Tirpitz tried to speak
"...?"
"The...cube...where...where..."
Those were the only words a still partially asleep KC Tirpitz muttered before her fever caused her to go unconscious again. With her Kriegsmarine counterpart out cold, AL Tirpitz let go of her, confused at what just happened.
"Are you alright?" Nagato rushed
"Yeah. Your Tirpitz has a bad fever, but...what the hell she broke through a wall!"
"Sorry about that. She even uppercutted the Hiryuu here and threw Arm Royal to a wall"
Nagato apologized while a shaking Nelson approached them and looked at Yuudachi and a beat up Bismarck carrying her younger sister away.
"What just happened?"
"The Souryuu here tried giving her medicine but I guess she hated it so badly that even while in a fever she trashed around and bruising several shipgirls. I couldn't restrain her since she suddenly got stronger than me" Nagato massaged her arm
Without a word or notice, Nagato dragged Tirpitz a few meters away from the others.
"How did your little talk with the Akagi here go?"
"How did you-"
"I talked to her too and she said you might come for answers"
"I'm beginning to think that fox is both a library and fortune teller"
Akagi's accurate guess and vast knowledge about the Sirens begins to worry Tirpitz.
"She somewhat asked what I know but mostly she only told a long story I didn't ask to hear"
"She's not very direct with you too, huh"
"Well she's the mysterious and devious type..."
That trait reminder her of Prinz Eugen but not in a good way since Prinz Eugen betrayed and escaped Iron Blood just a day ago.
"Nagato..."
"Hmm?"
"I'm sorry for dragging all of you to this mess"
"You didn't drag us. We got involved because we had to deal with Purifier"
"Still, you got involved in the first place because of me"
Tirpitz felt guilty for letting Nagato's fleet to be involved with her problem when it was just between her and Tyrant.
"We don't blame you or anything so don't feel bad. If anything, it's that Purifier's fault. I'll beat her down this time once I see her" Nagato cracked her knuckles
"I'll end this soon so all of you can go home and forget all of this"
"We want to go home but we don't want to forget this" Nagato tapped her shoulder
"Nagato?"
"It's not everyday we meet another version of other shipgirls and get to be in another world"
Nagato laughed at her currently extraordinary situation where she met another version of her that's a small fox girl with an archaic speech pattern.
"We'll surely look back at this in the future"
"Nagato..."
"Because we won't see each other again once we return, right?" Nagato sadly reminded Tirpitz
"Yeah..."
"Even if we'll never get to talk again, you'll still be a comrade and if you ever find yourself back into our world somehow...the Maizuru fleet is here"
Nagato openly offered her and the fleet's support in case Tirpitz ever needed their help again.
"I'm glad I met all of you. You are all...such wonderful people"
Tirpitz habitually ended up tipping her cap when she isn't really sure how to respond to other people's feelings. As she smiled, her instincts suddenly kicked in and in that instant.
"Tiiiirrppiiittzzz!"
The moment she turned around, the busty aircraft carrier whom she views as an "odd friend" ran faster than French destroyers and rammed Tirpitz harder than Friedrich der Grosse. Victorious wasn't just alone. Along with her is Prince of Wales.
"Cut it out, Victorious" Prinz of Wales scolded
"V-Victorious, what are you doing here?!"
"I came to see you of course! I left as soon as Wales told me you're planning to visit here!"
The Royal navy aircraft carrier tightly embraced her beloved Iron Blood battleship who, despite being surprised at her presence, is glad that they met again. Shyly turning away, she gently pets Victorious' head who, at the warm of Tirpitz's headpat, held her squeal.
"Seriously, you can't even last a week not visiting me or following me everywhere"
"Because if I don't keep an eye on you, you might end up sulking again. You might end up like Long Island!"
Even if Victorious can be overreacting and excessive with her affections, Tirpitz finds her both amusing and adorable though sometimes she does get annoyed.
"You can stop crying now. It's not like I'm leaving to another dimension of something"
Tirpitz slowly pulled her away and wiped off her tears but looking at Victorious brought up uneasiness because of what Akagi had said earlier.
"Tirpitz?"
"It's nothing" Tirpitz smiled
"Hey, Tirpitz can we talk for a moment"
"Sure..."
Tirpitz gets dragged away again but she doesn't mind as she allowed Victorious.
"The other day, I faced Tyrant. Because she is also you, I tried to talk her out of it but she wouldn't listen"
"You faced her?! What were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself killed!"
Tirpitz unexpectedly raised her voice but seeing Victorious shocked by the sudden outburst made Tirpitz calm down and look away in regret. She rarely gets angry and when she does, her emotions tend to burst.
"Sorry. I was worried. She might have killed you"
"She would never do that"
"...?"
"Because you would never hurt me"
Victorious had so much faith and trust that Tirpitz would never hurt her that she openly stated it with no hesitation.
"You trust me too much..."
Reminded on what Akagi said, Tirpitz now begin to begin that Victorious deep trust on her is possibly the reason why she might have been killed by Tyrant in the future.
"Tyrant had the same loneliness and pain like you..."
Victorious went to embrace Tirpitz again but from the back this time.
"I don't want you to end like that. I don't want to lose you..."
The more Victorious displays how important she is to her, the more guilty Tirpitz feels. As the guilt fills up, Tirpitz bites her lip and hid away the regret in her eyes.
(I won't make the same mistake again...)
Tirpitz vowed to herself as it gave her more reason to never forget her goal and why she's doing it in the first place.
"Don't worry. Even if I were to fall, I'll stand back up so long as I can still see you. You're someone I don't want to lose"
Assuring Victorious, Tirpitz removed her cap and placed it over Victorious who held her tears seeing Tirpitz warmly smiling at her.
"Besides, I promised my sister I will never lose sight of myself. I'll never stray off from my path"
For some reason, Victorious saw another meaning behind those words but she was just too happy to see Tirpitz looking at her with warmth when she used to be the polar opposite.
"This reminded me of my Tirpitz and our Victorious" Bismark whispered to Ark Royal
"Yeah, except you didn't ruin the moment this time" Ark Royal reminded her
"I was just worried since Victorious is being too close to Tirpitz! My instincts as an older sister kicked in!"
"..." Ark Royal looked at her with disgust
"...!" The fractioned pierced Bismarck
"At least you didn't jumped out and shouted like an idiot..."
"That was one time...!"
Even if the two are "hiding and whispering", both Tirpitz and Victorious can clearly see and hear them but chose to ignore the two. As Victorious hide her laughter, Tirpitz worried about her conflict with Tyrant coming to an end soon. It has been peaceful and happy lately and she feared only suffering awaits her...
EXTRA
A commander currently stationed in one of Eagle Union's naval Base, furrowed her eyebrows as her eyes are intently staring at the report about the situation within Iron Blood.
"Commander is doing her best way too much"
The usually sleepy Larry tilts her head as she approached the certainly serious commander.
"Here, commander. Have some" Laffy offered her cola
"No, thanks. I just had coffee and I don't want Vestal to scold me for drinking soda and coffee again" The commander politely declined
"More for me"
Party returned to where she was before as she chugged down the softdrink in one go, much to the commander's worry.
"Top of the morning, commander!"
The captain of the Royal guard, King George V, burst into the office but it didn't wake up Laffy who had already fallen asleep.
"It's afternoon..."
"Code: Tyrant. You're looking into the situation within Iron Blood"
King George V quickly noticed because of the image the Royal navy took when they tried to stop Tyrant's escape.
"One of your friends has been causing a ruckus and Iron Blood doesn't like anyone getting involved"
"One of my friends?"
"You know what I mean"
"As expected of my commander, perceptive as always" King George V smirked
"It's not being perceptive when you already told me"
The commander sighed, currently not in the mood to entertain King George V who is in an oddly good mood.
"Baltimore informed me about Prinz Eugen. What's going on this time?" The commander raised an eyebrow
"It turns Prinz Eugen is working with the Sirens and since that's betrayal, she's been captured but she escaped..."
"I want to ask you something"
"What is it?"
"Will you do the same to the Royal navy?" The commander straightened herself
"No"
"Liar..."
When the commander immediately saw through her lie, King George V averted her gaze, silently admitting the lie.
"Prinz Eugen is a traitor and so are you. Wouldn't that break Wales' heart? Also it would be morally impacting if the captain herself turned against the home fleet" The commander curiously pointed out
"King George V wouldn't betray the Royal navy but..."
"I may be a commander but in the end, I'm just an observer. I just want to see what this world will choose"
"Isn't that a form of betrayal too, commander? In the middle of this war, you don't care which side is which. To be specific, you don't care which side you are on"
King George V teased the commander who is somewhat conflicted with what the battlecruiser told her.
"All of this begun because of human selfishness and pride...just like with other wars. Even if one conflict will end, another will follow. Humans will always find a way to cause conflict with one another. They create only to destroy after all" The commander spoke with clear disdain
"You're true nature is slipping, commander. Luckily, I'm the one in front of you right now"
"It doesn't really matter. I'm just a puppet created by that person. If I'm compromised, I'll just self-destruct"
King George V worried for the commander who isn't joking about no caring about her fate even if she has to kill herself.
"Anyhow, how's the two outsiders. The shipgirls from another world...?" The commander changed the topic
Before the conversation could get any deeper and personal, she immediately changed the flow of their conversation.
"The battleship Iowa and the light cruiser Atlanta. Well, they're quite friendly, especially that Iowa who had been hugging the destroyers"
"..."
"Don't worry. Hornet is keeping an eye on them"
King George V nods, confident that there's nothing to worry about but the commander's expression is certainly not relaxed and worry-free. While the commander shakes her head and continue her private conversation with King George V, Iowa and and Atlanta had been bonding with the shipgirls in the base.
"An idol? We have one in our world too. Naka always holds concerts sometimes" Iowa tilted her head
"Fufufu~ A completion for the best idol in the universe"
San Diego saw a challenge the moment she heard from Iowa that there's a shipgirl idol in Iowa's world as well.
"Is she an airhead too?" Hornet whispered
"Of course" Iowa answered proudly
"How about your Intrepid?" Intrepid ask
"She likes to call the admiral honey and it makes Kongou angry all the time" Iowa laughed
"How about the Knights of Solomon?"
Cleveland, along with her sister ships eagerly wanted to know what is their counterpart like. To discover there's a world where other versions of their allies exists is an exciting one to hear.
"Nothing really changed. The only thing that's different here is the appearance. Our Cleveland is a wonderful big sister and an energetic one too. You guys are among the USN's best cruisers"
Atlanta from the US Navy joined in the discussion and answered in Iowa's place.
"You hear that, lads! No matter what universe, we're still the best!"
Cleveland raised her fist and let out a cheer, the rest of her sister ships doing the same.
"How about Indy-chan? Is Indy-chan the cutest too?"
Portland, tightly hugging Indianapolis excitedly asked the two who looked at each other for a moment since this Portland isn't hiding her affection for Indianapolis. Luckily, Indianapolis is tolerant and cares for her sister ship Portland.
"S-sure. Indianapolis is being cute there" Iowa twitched her lips
"Imagine two Indy-chans. It's a dream come true!"
While Indianapolis daydreams, Atlanta and Iowa stepped back before they could be dragged in by the resident "siscon".
"Hey there, fellas!"
Hornet accompanied by Yorktown, greeted the two ships from the US Navy.
"We got good news for you two" Hornet grinned
"Enterprise told us that your other comrades are in the Sakura Empire" Yorktown delivered the news
"She asked if the fleet sighted any shipgirls not from here. Luckily, you two popped out of nowhere while we were having an exercise" Hornet continued
"That's great!" Iowa jumped in joy
"Thanks goodness. We thought we're the only ones here. Where are they again?"
"The Sakura Empire. There's a few them there" Hornet responded
"We'll escort you two once preparations are finished. For now, you two can relax here while waiting"
Yorktown kindly offered the happy Atlanta and Iowa since their comrades have been confirmed to have been transported just like them.
"Who are the ones that ended up in this world too?"
"Enterprise said the flagship is another Nagato. The funny thing is she even said your Nagato is bigger and tough-looking" Hornet laughed
"Yup. That's our Nagato" Atlanta sighed
"At least we could focus on how do we get home" Iowa scratched her head
Hornet and Yorktown looked at each since no one has the solution yet on how to return them to their world since they appeared out of nowhere one day.