Author: Nothing much is going on right now since there are no major events in both AL and KC, so I'm distracting myself with Genshin Impact. It's fun if I just ignore the horrible gacha and primogem farming hell.
The real culprit behind the steel helmet...
H-39, the supposed lone and elusive member of the Kriegsmarine, revealed herself to be another version of Iron Blood's Bismarck after an unfortunate turn of events. Fortunately enough, only King George V spotted her without her helmet since both of them were sucked inside a closed space. Her brief act of carelessness left to the forced revelation of her identity, and now she was forced to confront King George V now that she learned her true face.
"You can't be alive. What's left of your consciousness disintegrated the moment Tyrant was defeated six months ago" King George V swept her left arm
"Six...months ago? I see, it's been six months since then..." H-39 muttered to herself
"H-39 - Bismarck, how did you revive yourself? Tyrant absorbed what remains of your mental cube and died along with Tyrant"
While she questioned the impossible resurrection, King George V took another step back while her right hand gripped around the scabbard while her left hand tightly clenched the handle. H-39 continued to be amused at her wariness caused by her unexpected revival, locked eyes with the puzzled and mildly hostile King George V.
"You shouldn't have a mental cube anymore yet you still came back from the dead. Is this Observer's doing again? Empress doesn't even know who you were when you wore the helmet" King George V continued to be baffled
"I don't have a mental cube, huh?"
"I demand to know how you returned to this world" King George V slightly drew her saber
I can't say I'm alive, but I'm not dead either. It's complicated if you're in my place and always having this light feeling. King George V, I remember waking up in a space where grudges materialized as some sort of unknown black liquid"
"What?"
"Well, let's just say it's like hell or some sort of ship graveyard. My whole body was reconstructed by an unknown power, but I lost a majority of my strength. I believed it all begun before Tyrant's death" H-39 briefly closed her eyes and recalled her earliest memory
"So you're saying the Sirens didn't bring you back to life? Then who did?"
"Beats me" H-39 chuckled
"You no longer have a purpose, yet you continued to hinder our goal"
"That is no longer your concern, and I'm not obliged to inform you of everything"
In the end, King George V never got a clear answer from H-39 on how she managed to live again with her mind and body intact. The only thing King George V learned was that the Sirens weren't responsible for her revivable but an unknown being instead.
"Ghost. You said you made that up. Is that true?" King George V asked another topic
"Like the name suggests, Ghost is something that became real due to beliefs"
"Ghost is a being who was sealed away because it throws the world out of balance"
"It's real because all of you believe it to be, like that woman. The real Ghost was never in the Empress' possession to begin with"
"What?! It can't be a fake" King George V shook her head
"Oh, it's a fake alright. The one responsible for bringing me back was a Siren, rather...Sirens"
"The Creator...or was it if Aurelius?" King George V swallowed her breath
"You could say I needed to distract everyone, including the Sirens who have been watching me. While it worked, I couldn't solve my own problem"
"You're using us as some sort of bait. The real Bismarck wouldn't use such methods"
"The real one, huh..."
H-39 narrowed her eyes as her voice deepened in an instant, somehow triggered by King George V's rebuke for her distraction which might have severely harmed the shipgirls. The two shipgirls prepared to draw their blades, a challenge between two formidable fighters on the way.
"Huh. So that's your real face"
"...?!"
An unexpected third person entered into the scene while the two prepared to clashed against each other. Their discussion lasted long enough that they were eventually found by the shipgirls who were also trapped within the pocket dimension. The source of the voice stepped forward while the two lowered sheathed their weapons when they realized who it was.
"First it was Tirpitz, now another Bismarck came along. I admit that not even I expected this twist" Odin focused her attention on H-39
"H-39, what's the point of concealing your identity and posing as a Kriegsmarine ship" Vanguard stepped forward
"I thought I told you - ah, I forgot I did that. I can't have the Sirens going after me which should be obvious" H-39 crossed her arms
"..." Odin furrowed her eyebrows
"Don't look at me like that. At least I value Iron Blood as much as the Bismarck of this timeline does, except I'm less of an idiot compared to her" H-39 smirked
"Why hide yourself from Bismarck? It's not like she would attack you at first sight...unless you're an evil version like Tyrant" Z23 also stepped in
"Oh, Tyrant? She was never evil to begin with. What she did was to avoid Tirpitz from ever becoming her, but it didn't go as she hoped"
"What do you mean?"
"All Tyrant did was screw with everyone and wreak havoc to Iron Blood, so there's no way she is good" Z23 frowned
"It's only natural for you to be naive, Nimi"
Compared to some destroyers, Z23 was a level-headed and serious person - matured despite her physical appearance and ship class, so H-39 felt that it was natural for her to be clueless and naive. She would have scolded and berated Z23 if she wasn't aware of her personality and the incident with Tyrant.
"Let me show all of you how one shouldn't take everything at eye value"
H-39 slowly stretched out her left arm and opened her palm. At the center of her palm was a miniature camera-like device with its lens pointed upwards. She barely moved her arm, but her gesture was enough to activate the device.
"...!"
It projected a holographic screen big enough for everyone to recognize the scenery clad in snow and the two certain figures at the center of it.
[...That's why I worked so hard for this past month. So my past self will not walk the same path as I did. That's why I tried to discourage her countless times]
[When you repeatedly beat Tirpitz when you first showed up, all of that so your past self might change her mind about fighting?]
[That's why I threw those harsh and cruel words. I want my past self to stop being naive]
[Well, she certainly changed for the past one month. You made it sure she would never want to be like you]
To their complete shock, the screen displayed a projected memory which showed Prinz Eugen and Tyrant's conversation, only not long after the former's suicidal clash with Bismarck. Of course, Z23 and Odin were shocked the most since they were both Iron Blood shipgirls. Vanguard, who wasn't present throughout the whole incident, stared at the screen with visible confusion.
[All of this so Bismarck doesn't have to get herself killed and me replacing her...]
The projected memory revealed Tyrant's true intentions which she perfectly hid from anyone. It was only unfortunate that no one in Iron Blood learned of her noble intentions, not even Bismarck. Iron Blood viewed Tyrant with full disdain after she terrorized Iron Blood for months, her motive for such acts remained unknown even after her death.
"Unfortunately, Tirpitz is somehow slowly going down a ruthless path. Getting her hands on the real Ghost would require the lives of others, so there's that..." H-39 closed her palm and ended the projected which barely lasted a minute
"You're Bismarck too. S-surely you can convince her to stop whatever she's going to do" Z23's voice shook
"She wants to kill me with my helmet on. What's more if I take it off and tell her I took a portion of her strength" H-39 briefly raised her voice
"Tirpitz isn't going to stop even if Bismarck tells her, especially this Bismarck" King George V stood near H-39
"If you're Bismarck too, why didn't you stop Tirpitz yourself. I heard from these three that you ditched the fight against Tirpitz at the Antarctic" Odin briefly gazed at the three shipgirls of the Maizuru fleet
"..."
"Let's save the explanations after we get out of here. Right now, we need to work together even if we don't all get along" King George V turned her head to H-39
"This is a closed space, so it doesn't have a door you can kick open" H-39 told them
"Which means our freedom is in the hands of everyone outside..." Hornet dropped her shoulders
"Don't worry. I'm sure everyone out there will find a way" Iowa was optimistic
The five shipgirls who were all trapped earlier discussed their circumstances when H-39 revealed it would be impossible to free themselves. Their fate lied in the hands on everyone in the Maizuru fleet.
"I don't know what you're up to, but I have no choice right now. You know I'm working with the Empress, and I know you're indirectly responsible for this mess"
King George V walked towards H-39 and whispered after the discussion earlier was interrupted by the other five trapped shipgirls.
"It's a truce then, for the sake of our secrets. Although, I'm surprised you aren't worried about Wales" H-39 whispered back
"I'm more worried about Bismarck and Akagi being suspicious"
"They only believe there's one in that base though"
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing in particular"
The two were both shipgirls but had their own plans. Even if it was revealed H-39 was indeed an alternate version of Iron Blood's Bismarck, her purpose in the current timelines remained a mystery. Odin and the others had little no suspicion as they believed someone like Bismarck had no ill intentions. King George V, on the other hand, knew very well not to put all of her trust to someone like H-39.
Maizuru naval district...
Bismarck of Iron Blood was spared by the unknown false enemy, but it costed two shipgirls in the process. Right before her eyes, both King George V and H-39 vanished in a snap the moment what seemed to be a good engulfed the two. Their plan was to draw out Ghost and lure it into a trap, but the situation instantly reversed the moment it showed up.
"King George V is out and so is H-39. This is troublesome..." Mikasa crossed her arms
"It appeared before we could put H-39's plan into action. It's like it knew what we were about to do" Bismarck lightly hit the table
"Stopping it directly is impossible. The only way we could figure out how to retrieve the missing shipgirls is to learn how it even manifested" Akagi rubbed her chin
"Nya..." Akashi sweated profusely
Mikasa, Bismarck, and Akagi all turned their attention to the guilty cat who unintentionally caused the whole situation. Akashi tampered with Siren technology out of curiosity, only to summon and draw out a dangerous enemy from another timeline. Mikasa was disappointed, Bismarck felt the same, and Akagi's glare intense murderous glare terrified Akashi.
"Akashi, you said you found a mental cube when you tagged along for an investigation" Mikasa asked first
"It was an abandoned human base. The Sirens hid an unfinished machine there, nya" Akashi immediately replied
"Knowing now dangerous Siren technology is, you still tampered with it" Akagi curved a false smile
"I was really curious! They were trying to access a timeline that was too difficult for them to access normally. All I did was inspect it and take the catalyst, nya!" Akashi folded her ears and cowered in a corner
"What did you do, Akashi?" Bismarck's expression darkened
"I just took out a battery...which turned out to be...an active mental cube, nya..." Akashi's voice gradually weakened
"I am disappointed in you, Akashi. If you told us you brought it back, we could have prevented more victims! Seven shipgirls have gone missing, and we don't know when will Ghost strike next. Akashi, I know you meant to harm but you brought home danger to the shipgirls of this world"
Mikasa sternly scolded Akashi who covered her cat ears with both of her hands. Akashi had caused trouble to others due to her unsupervised experiments, but her genuine guilt was very much clear in her expression.
"I just want to ask something" Bismarck cut in
"What's wrong?" Akagi raised an eyebrow
"If it's an active mental cube, then who did it belong to? If it's active...then the shipgirl is still alive, right?"
"About that, nya..." Akashi looked away
"You better confess everything or I'll skin and make stew out of you" Akashi's glare deepened
"That mental cube is still active, but the cognitive chip is missing. Without it, it's just a battery because the cognitive chip is what implants a shipgirl's personality" Akashi responded
"..." Bismarck sighed, slightly dismayed
"Besides, it's a strange mental cube, nya"
"Strange how?" Mikasa scratched her head
"When I was secretly studying it, it remained active even without a mental cube. It even reacted when H-39 caught me red-handed, nya..."
Akashi shuddered when she recalled on how H-39 found her guilty and responsible for their current situation.
"M-more importantly, the only way to undo my mistake and free the trapped shipgirls is to lure Ghost back where it was summoned. The only way to do that is to reactivate the machine, nya"
"Then we need to return to that place where Akashi found the mental cube" Akagi suggested
"I-It's somewhere in the Solomon Islands, b-but I know where is the exact place, nya!" Akashi informed them
"We mustn't waste any more time, so we must depart as soon as possible"
"I'll be coming along this time...and so is this guilty cat" Akagi volunteered
"I'll ask Zuikaku and Shoukaku if they both want to come" Mikasa added
"There's someone I need to talk first"
Bismarck ended the discussion when she needed to excuse herself before they could proceed with their plan to head where Akashi found the mental cube. The others quietly watched the fleet leader of Iron Blood, but they didn't question why she was in a hurry all of a sudden.
"There's something I need to know first..." Bismarck muttered to herself
Bismarck of Iron Blood ignored the peaceful scenery outside the window and marched through the corridor. The other shipgirl feared the current situation while Bismarck only grew frustrated.
"King George V. Someone who tried to save...cannot possible be an enemy. Perhaps Akagi is overthinking about this whole traitor thing"
She had her suspicions on King George V, but her grip loosened when the latter let herself be imprisoned within a closed space. In Bismarck's eyes, no traitor would sacrifice themselves for the sake of others. In the end, she shrugged off what Akagi warned her.
"I need to talk to that woman first"
Bismarck stopped by a door, but her initial determination turned to a brief moment of hesitation. She shook her head to rid of her doubt before she'd slowly become paranoid. As custom, Bismarck knocked three times first before she slowly pushed the door and carefully walked inside.
"Good afternoon, Bismarck of Iron Blood. I believe this is the first time we are personally speaking to each other" Warspite clasped the book close
"The Warspite of this world. I admit that the difference is as drastic as Nagato, and it did shock me when I first saw you"
Bismarck expressed that she was indeed surprised to how the Warspite she knew was the complete opposite of the one who sat right in front of her. The one in her world was more like a warrior while this one was more like an elegant lady.
"You said there's something you want to tell me"
"Yes, take a seat. It's something I want to discuss with you privately"
Warspite offered the seat across her, and Bismarck quietly made her way there. Their moods were both neutral, but there was an unknown tension that circled around them.
"It's about Vanguard's last message"
"I heard you deciphered it"
"That's why I needed to speak with you" Warspite's mood turned serious
"What did your Vanguard say?"
"When I deciphered it, I lied about the real meaning of the message to Ark Royal and Nelson" Warspite revealed
"You lied to your own allies? Why?"
"It's difficult to explain now, but after this situation you must reunite with another ally of yours"
While Bismarck and Warspite discussed serious matters, Littorio from Sardegna Empire quietly eavesdropped on their conversation just right outside of the room with a worried and compromised expression written on her face. She knew about H-39's identity and motive, so heavy suspicion from two troublesome shipgirls would divert H-39's original plan.
The next day...
A fleet consisted the available Azur Lane shipgirls of Bismarck, Littorio, Akagi, Zuikaku, and Akashi set out to the in Solomon Islands, specifically at the abandoned human facility where Akashi reportedly stumbled upon a hidden Siren-made machine.
"This place has been abandoned for years. The building became rundown and metal rusted"
Zuikaku lightly brushed and blew away the dusts from a cracked but intact window. There was no human in sight, in fact it was like no human returned to the facility for years. The most common reason was because the war with the Abyssals continued, so the Sirens secretly inhabited it for an unknown amount of time.
"Hmm, interesting. There are fresh footprints in this soil" Littorio bent on one knee
Right before she could take a step to a portion of the ground where concrete had been peeled off, she noticed not just one but several footsteps that pointed to their destination. Littorio didn't touch the ground, but she traced the tracks and inspected it. The others gathered around her and analyzed the tracks as well.
"It's human, and it's unlikely for Sirens to leave traces such as footsteps" Akagi guessed
"What is a human doing here?" Littorio stood up
"Then let's go meet whoever else is in here" Bismarck walked away first
"Mikasa, Littorio and I are going to search the other buildings for other traces of Sirens" Zuikaku informed her
"Don't stray away for too long, you two" Mikasa nodded
Two of the shipgirls left the group while the other four proceeded to head towards the direction of the fresh footprints.
"I have to give you points for pointing it out before anyone else" Zuikaku cheerfully chuckled
"Of course. I'm quite the observant one" Littorio proudly swept her hair
"Here I thought Bismarck would notice first"
"The reason should be obvious, no?"
"That's true..."
Zuikaku shrugged her shoulders and accepted the outcome while Littorio briefly gazed at her with keen interest. Their situation unfolded the least unexpected, so the term "surprise" barely applied to them anymore.
"Akashi, where do you exactly find that Siren machine"
Bismarck looked at the green cat the timidly lead the other three shipgirls since she was the only one who discovered it.
"It's in this floor. They didn't even tried to hide it, nya"
Akashi lifted her left arm and pointed forward, but it was impossible to notice with her oversized sleeves.
"You better not making this up, naughty cat" Akagi threatened
"I-I'm serious. It's seriously up ahead in that big room, nya!"
Akashi hurriedly sperated from the group and rushed to the direction where she pointed earlier. To prove the truth of her words, Akashi decided to rush first and make them see the machine she stumbled upon was indeed real.
"You shouldn't really be scaring Akashi or anyone else. She'd die out of shock, Akagi" Mikasa sighed
"Naughty cats like her should learn there's always a beast lurking if she goes out of line" Akagi giggled
"While I agree discipline and intimidation is needed to keep unruly shipgirls in line, I don't threaten my fellow shipgirls with horrible death" Bismarck spoke out
"You two are no fun..." Akagi pouted
"Nyaaaa!" Akashi's screams echoed
"...!"
Those were screams of distress and danger, so the three rushed the second the loud screams echoed to their current location. Mikasa rammed the worn down door and immediately drew her saber while Bismarck drew her sword. The three prepared to deal whoever might have harmed Akashi, but what they found...was not an enemy they expected.
"Oh, this is interesting" Akagi smirked
"Well...this is a surprise..." Mikasa lowered her saber
"Eugen...!" Bismarck frowned
"Guten tag. It's been a while, my former allies~"
The three all had the same hostile and cautious glare, yet Prinz Eugen herself smiled with pure amusement while she held Akashi by the back of her collar. The green cat flailed both her arms and legs while she was lifted about a few feet from the ground. Since it was Prinz Eugen who caught her, Akashi frantically struggled and silently pleaded to her allies.
"It looks like I got here first. I was hoping to surprise all of you by showing up a bit late"
"It seems you knew we were coming" Akagi stepped forward
"This should be obvious now, but a reliable rat told me"
"So there is indeed a traitor among us" Bismarck clenched her fist
"Who do you think sabotaged your trip here? I've been keeping an eye on all of you since morning"
"Why are you here by yourself? Where's Tirpitz?" Bismarck immediately asked
"H-39 stripped her of Tyrant's Code when they fought in the Antarctic. Also, she wouldn't show up since you came along" Prinz Eugen lazily answered
"More importantly, why are you here?" Akagi asked this time
Prinz Eugen remained an enemy since she defected from Iron Blood to serve the Sirens which was unlikely of her. She was the carefree and rebellious type, so it shocked Bismarck when she decided to work for the Sirens on her free will. The three never once lowered their guard in the case Prinz Eugen would attack them at the slightest chance.
"I need to deal with H-39 as instructed by a certain someone, so I decided to come by chance too. Besides, I have no intention of involving the likes of Nimi more than it should, so I intend to resolve this"
To their surprise, Prinz Eugen only decided to move not just because of H-39 but for her former Iron Blood ally. This may seem like Prinz Eugen cared for her former allies, but Bismarck knew very well not to be taken in by Prinz Eugen's words.
"If possible, I'd like to call a truce since we all want to free everyone trapped within the closed space"
Prinz Eugen tossed the terrified green cat to the three with little to no care. Akashi, a non-combatant, immediately hid behind Mikasa while they sort out the current situation.
"A truce? What makes you think we would agree to such thing? I'd rather burn you alive right where you stand" Akagi released a murderous glare
"Do you think you know how to operate Siren technology? Akashi almost broke it when she tampered it" Prinz Eugen pointed out
"..." Bismarck remained on high alert
"Don't tell me you don't mind letting the shipgirls of the Maizuru fleet die even after they willingly helped you?"
"Of course not! That's why we came here to try and find a why to return them" Mikasa responded
"Even if you have the power source, you don't know how to even activate it. Besides, that mental cube belongs to a living shipgirl" Prinz Eugen referred to the mental cube Akashi had in possession
The three looked each other with reluctant gazes since they remained cautious even if Prinz Eugen made a valid point. None of them knew how handle Siren technology, except for Prinz Eugen who worked closely with the Sirens for more than six months. Akashi almost broke it when she tried to examine it last time, so their best chance to rescue the shipgirls was Prinz Eugen. The latter remained an enemy, so their reluctance to believe her claims was very much clear.
"S-she has a point, nya..." Akashi rolled her sleeve and revealed the mental cube in her right hand
"Akashi?" Mikasa was surprised
"I don't know how it works, and there's a high chance I'd break it if I touch it again. Our best chances of activating it...is her, nya" Akashi weakly added
"Eugen, can you really open the closed space within Ghost?"
"Ghost? Don't tell me none of you have figured it out" Prinz Eugen placed her hand on her cheek
"What are you talking about?" Bismarck frowned
"Ghost doesn't even have a body that could anchor itself to this world. The real Ghost is just mental cube. I don't know who made up that story, but I admit I was amused when I found out about it" Prinz Eugen couldn't contain her laughter
"I saw it with my own eyes. That thing took King George V and H-39" Bismarck insisted
"Ghost can only take or mimic the form of an existing shipgirl, but absorbing their mental cube works too. The inhumane one you saw was just a puppet made to distract you" Prinz Eugen revealed
Bismarck recalled how an inhumane figure appeared in front of her and immediately swallowed both King George V and H-39 faster than she could react. She saw it with her own two eyes, and she knew it wasn't an illusion...yet Prinz Eugen revealed they were fooled.
"H-39 is a shipgirl, but she reeked of those opposing sisters. I presume she gained power from two primordial Sirens...so pulling off a trick like a fake Ghost wasn't too hard for her"
"H-39 did all of this?!" Mikasa found it hard to believe
"If that battleship gained power from Antiochus, I would have sensed it by now" Akagi found it hard to believe
"That's not my problem. I'm just informing you what I discovered after I last fought her. Honestly, I'm not fit for exposition, but you fools lack common sense to put the puzzle pieces together" Prinz Eugen shrugged her shoulders
"..." Bismarck briefly looked at Mikasa
"You're fighting the wrong enemy, so I'm calling a temporary truce. You left shipgirls trapped with someone who could possibly be working with Observer"
"Bismarck, Akagi, what do you two think?" Mikasa asked for their opinion
"I want to confirm whether this vixen is fooling us again or not" Akagi grunted again
"Eugen, you backstabbed our nation...but I cannot allow those shipgirls to die, so I have no choice but to take our best chances of saving them"
"See? It's not that hard to agree for the sake of saving your allies. Although, I know you'd prefer it if Tirpitz is here instead" Prinz Eugen teased her
"Eugen..."
"Now then, let's get to work. I want to know who's behind that helmet after all"
Prinz Eugen intended to help her former allies rescue the trapped shipgirls because she didn't want to involve them this far, and she was curious about H-39's nature. Due to her deceptive and playful nature, it proved difficult which words were lies or truths.
Inside the closed space...
The vast space with no entrance nor exit continued to trap the seven shipgirls where anyone wouldn't sense how much time has passed. Exhausted with their relentless search of an alternate exit, the seven shipgirls gathered around a campfire, unsure what to do next.
"Odin, how did you get trapped here anyway?" Z23 raised the question
"I was fighting Tirpitz, but someone...or something pulled my entire body. I vaguely remembered fighting that one though. After that, well it was very dark...and I found myself here" Odin turned her gaze to Vanguard
"Yes, I happen to remember you too..." Vanguard sighed
"So, how did you all get stuck here too?"
"My mental cube became unstable all of a sudden...and something pulled me" Z23 scratched her head
"Iowa and I got taken when before we can react. As for Vanguard? Well it was obvious how her encounter went..." Hornet explained next
"Bismarck - I mean, H-39 and I were with our Bismarck when a black veil creature sucked us in. It aimed for Bismarck, but I pushed her away...and got me instead" King George V nervously chuckled
"I tried to stop her unnecessary bravery only for me to be dragged as well" H-39 added
"I still can't believe you're another Bismarck. Last time we had another version of Tirpitz" Odin stared at her
"Tyrant, huh. That version was tricked by the Sirens into killing...me. Flooded with grief and sorrow, she absorbed my fading mental cube...which she used to slaughter Iron Blood save for Eugen" H-39 briefly closed her eyes
She recalled her last moments before her mysterious resurrection. At some point in an alternate timeline, the Sirens used the two sisters to kill the other. Bismarck died at the hands of Tirpitz when she was unable to cut down her own younger sister. When Tirpitz regained her senses, she absorbed Bismarck's mental cube after she grief and regret consumed her. She was aware of the events that transpired, but H-39 didn't show anger and remained unusually calm about her death.
"It frustrates me, but it was a Siren's power that was used to reform this body of mine. After I learned Tirpitz betrayed Iron Blood again, I decided to go after her in this world. As a result, I took the guise of a Kriegsmarine battleship" H-39 briefly explained her presence in the world
"Bismarck, what is Tirpitz up to? Surely you know why she suddenly left Iron Blood"
"Aurelius, the one who created some of the Elite Sirens you faced, allowed Tirpitz to access the World's Origin where it showed her Ghost's timeline. It was a timeline where humanity created Ghost...which became their undoing"
"Then what?" King George V was curious to know
"She wants to prevent Ghost from being created in this timeline. The Sirens manipulated humanity into discarding their negative emotions in a special mental cube where a ghost shipgirl was born. Tirpitz saw that and wanted to prevent that from ever happening"
"I thought her future is to be Tyrant" King George V was confused
"That future was diverted when Tyrant let the two worlds mingle which led to her defeat. The timeline was unnaturally diverted by an unknown factor and lead to the creation of a ghost shipgirl"
H-39 grabbed a small pebble near her left hand and engraved a line which represented a single timeline. She stemmed out a new line from the first one which represented the whole incident with Tyrant. From the second line, she stemmed out two more where one of them was crossed out. This represented how the timeline diverted again after the incident six months ago.
"What she's doing is extremely dangerous. That ghost ship is unstable, so Tirpitz's mental cube might not survive if she tries to utilize Ghost. I don't want her to get killed because a Siren told her the world is going to be screwed by humanity again" H-39 scoffed
"This gives us more reason to stop her" Odin furrowed her eyebrows
"She knew I - Bismarck would attempt to stop Ghost's creation once she discovers it, so she was forced to betray Bismarck. The Sirens offered her the means to obtain the ghost shipgirl, so this motivated her betrayal more"
When H-39 revealed Tirpitz's plot to ensure a ghost shipgirl would never be created in the current timeline, this shocked everyone since Tirpitz's motivation was to prevent countless deaths in exchange for her betrayal. On the other hand, H-39 showed little to no concern that what her own younger sister was possibly suicidal due to the high risk of her own death.
"The Bismarck here was the one who was supposed to leave Iron Blood to stop Ghost, but Tirpitz didn't want her to die again. My past self suffered so much to protect Iron Blood, and Tirpitz saw that. In order to prevent her older sister from being burdened even more, she took it upon herself since she wanted to at least do something...even just this once"
H-39 displayed slight regret and pity even with her permanent dark and grim expression due to how she was mostly emotionally numb by now. It felt like she wanted to blame herself again since Tirpitz strayed off to a suicidal path rather than a miserable path.
"This is like Tyrant all over again. Tirpitz wanted to take away Bismarck's burden...but it didn't really end well for her" King George V shook her head
"The main reason I wanted to hide my identity is because if she learns about my identity as another Bismarck, this would further stray her off a path she can't return. I don't want Tirpitz to get herself killed" H-39 clenched her fists
"As an older sister, I can understand-"
The ground them begun to tremble, and this caused the seven shipgirls to brace for the sudden shock. The earth within the closed space rocked them for about a whole minute and only gradually weakened the pitch black sky cracked open.
"What is that?!" Iowa dropped her jaw
The shattered like glass and light begun to crept in within a world forever shrouded in darkness. At first the sky randomly cracked, but a ball formed right above them.
"I-I can't move...!" Nelson grunted
Their body grew heavy, but they struggled to not let the sudden increase in gravity pull them away or push them right to the ground. Not even H-39 resisted the massive energy that leaked into the closed space and collapsed first on the ground. The rest followed until all seven shipgirls lost consciousness.
Outside...
An explosion knocked everyone away and almost rendered them unconscious. Akashi was fortunately protected when Mikasa held into her, so she was the least injured. In fact, she was not injured at all since Mikasa shielded her from the blast.
"Mi-Mikasa?! Please tell me you're not dead, nya..." Akashi shook Mikasa
"This old battleship is still kicking, you know..." Mikasa pushed herself up
"That wretched heavy cruiser. Did she do this on purpose...?"" Akagi dusted her sleeves
"You mean the one getting strangled right now, nya?" Akashi pointed
Both Mikasa and Akagi turned their heads to the direction a worried Akashi pointed. To their surprise, Prinz Eugen was immediately restrained by a shipgirl with a black old German military uniform.
"Ggh! To think it was you all along behind that helmet. You had us fooled, Bismarck!" Prinz Eugen struggled
"Bismarck?!" Mikasa dropped her jaw
"What...?" Bismarck had just regained her consciousness
She was briefly confused to what shocked Mikasa, Akagi, and Akashi the moment she regained consciousness. They all stared in one direction, so she followed where all of their attentions were focused.
"Hmm? So you're here too? Well, this is earlier than expected..." H-39 realized the others regained consciousness
"You're...me?!" Bismarck blinked in complete shock
"Ugh! What happened?" Z23 regained consciousness as well
The other shipgirls who were trapped was somehow brought back by the efforts made by an uneasy truce with Prinz Eugen. The rest slowly regained their consciousness after they were rudely returned to the real world which caused an explosion as soon as they were rescued.
"I heard an explosion! What happened?!" Littorio rushed to the scene
"There are two Bismarcks now?!" Zuikaku rubbed her eyes
A whole room was blown up by the sudden explosion which prompted the two to hurry back in fear that they were either attacked or harmed by other means. Littorio, who knew H-39's identity beforehand, forced a gasp in order to act as if she was genuinely surprised.
"Now, now. There's a good explanation for this" King George V stepped in
"What's happening here? Why is H-39...me?" Bismarck approached her
"H-39, we can start answering questions first before strangling Prinz Eugen"
"Hmph..." H-39 reluctantly dropped Prinz Eugen
After Prinz Eugen was rudely tossed to the side by the stern and immediately hostile H-39, Odin prevented a possible escape when she pointed her own sword right at her throat. H-39 stood right in front of her past version with little to no expectation.
"Well then, where should I start?"
Akagi and the rest gathered right behind Bismarck as they were genuinely unaware of H-39's true identity since the one who only secretly knew it was Littorio alone. After about thirty minutes of explanation which included answers for Bismarck, H-39 concluded everything they needed to learn about her for the time being.
"Long story short...it's the incident with Tyrant all over again" Mikasa tilted her head left and right
"Just like that devious heavy cruiser said, Sirens made your resurrection possible. To be specific, you allowed the Creator to reform your mental cube" Akagi frowned
"I wasn't aware until I regained consciousness. That's why I ditched them before the Sirens can use my mental cube. Fortunately, those rogue Sirens took me rather than be recaptured by Tester and the others" H-39 shrugged her shoulders
"Tirpitz. She's planning to undo a terrible future Tyrant unknowingly caused...but there's a chance she might die" Bismarck clenched her fists
"So the next time you see her, be sure to hit her furiously"
It was uncertain whether H-39 meant that as a joke or serious recommendation since her face expression little to no emotion.
"I see. The reason why you caught us off guard because you're Bismarck...and you obtained power from the Creator. Talk about a cruel joke!" Prinz Eugen cut in their conversation
"It's the reason I drove you away rather than kill you, Eugen. Besides, this isn't my fight to finish anyway" H-39 turned to face her
"Then what are you even doing here?!" Prinz Eugen raised her voice
"I'm not obliged to tell you that, but I have no interest to meddle much with the affairs of others"
"What a disappointment, but I'm sure Tirpitz will be happy to know you came back from the dead"
"I'm certain she'd be unhappy rather than glad, but it's not like we will allow you to come running back to her"
"Ahahahaha! Do you think I came here without accounting my possible capture? Of all people, you should know what I'm capable of" Prinz Eugen showed confidence
"...?!"
The moment H-39 took a step forward when Prinz Eugen implied her contingency plan, she turned her head to the open area blown open by the explosion earlier. A second was all it took for a shell to make direct contact with the nearest solid object and cause a second explosion. The others jumped away and down to the ground the second they noticed a shell.
"We're being bombarded!" Zuikaku covered her head
"Told you I had always something up my sleeve~" Prinz Eugen survived due to an ability where she erected a barrier around herself
"Eugen - ggh...!"
Just when they finally had Prinz Eugen pinned, the latter proved she had always a means to escape from their attempts to incapacitate and capture her. Bismarck immediately forced herself to stand up, but she collapsed since her body sustained shocks from two explosions.
"I can't wait to tell Tirpitz about this, but I'll leave out you're other dirty little secret~" Prinz Eugen winked at H-39
Compared to everyone present, H-39 possessed immense strength which allowed her to survive a direct hit from a shell with little injuries.
"Also, while you guessed Tirpitz's plan...you don't know the outcome"
"..."
Prinz Eugen left another cryptic message before she jumped out of the building that was briefly bombarded by Prinz Eugen's surprise reinforcement. Rather than chase after her, H-39 chose to remain where she stood and silently watched as Prinz Eugen avoid capture once again.
"She noticed, huh. I guess I can't fool her as much as I thought" H-39 scoffed
After Prinz Eugen left her line of sight, she turned behind where the rest of the shipgirls lied in the ground, barely conscious and covered by both dusts and small debris when the brief bombardment destroyed the already damaged concrete. Bismarck and the others were alive, so let them be on the ground while she gazed at the open sky.
"King George V isn't going to do anything, so I guess I'll have to deal with Essex first. It looks I'll be taking a trip Hawaii after I handle these...nuisances"
H-39 freely spoke out when the rest of the shipgirls were knocked unconscious due to the amount of damage they sustained because of the surprise bombardment by Prinz Eugen herself. She implied herself to be somewhat neutral in the situation with Tirpitz's plan to alter the future to spare Bismarck from another death, but she had an interior motive in mind.
Tirpitz has a goal, but I can't let them figure out the true one first...
Extra
Nelson breathed a sigh of relief after the issue with her missing comrades have been resolved even after the sudden twist of H-39's real identity. At the very least, she rested her back on the couch while two extra shipgirls sat across and chugged down three bottles worth of vodka.
"This is unexpected. That H-39 turned out to be another Bismarck" Sovetskaya Rossiya lightly shook her head
"What's more unexpected is how we found your Gangut arrested after she got drunk while in a bar and picked a fight with our Gangut. I don't even know what you're doing Vladivostok, and I don't want to know" Nelson massaged her temples
"If she's the Bismarck from Iron Blood, then why did she tried to chop off my head?" Gangut slammed the glass on top of the table
"Maybe there's a misunderstanding. I'm sure it will be resolved once you two meet up with the others-"
"Something's up with H-39, so I don't suggest we should walk in your base like it's nothing" Gangut cut off Nelson
"Hmm, it's odd why there's another Bismarck here. If Tyrant was indeed destroyed six months ago, it shouldn't be possible to bring her back without a mental cube" Sovetskaya Rossiya agreed
"Then are you two saying that H-39 isn't really another version of your Bismarck?" Nelson scratched her head
"I'm not certain since I only met her once. I'll have to observe her more once we meet again, but she mustn't see Gangut" Sovetskaya Rossiya
Nelson tilted her head and crossed her arms when the two shipgirls from the Northern Union believed H-39's identity as another version of Iron Blood's Bismarck was impossible with Tyrant destroyed more than six months ago.
"I don't know the full details, but H-39 found out what Tirpitz is up to"
"She did?" The two Northern Union battleship's doubtly responded
"Rather than focus on H-39, we should focus on finding the other three that came with your Gangut"
Nelson held three fingers up and folded the other two. Other than Gangut, three have yet to be found.
"Ark Royal is in Maizuru, so there's no need to worry if you two are suspicious of H-39" Nelson assured them
"I wonder why she almost chopped my head off when I encountered her. If she's Bismarck, why did she acted like she had full intent on killing me?" Gangut rubbed her chin
"That's why you should lay low for the time being. Who knows what she'll do it she finds out the Royal navy of this world is keeping you here" Sovetskaya Rossiya pointed out
"I don't know why you're suspicious, but you have your reasons" Nelson shrugged her shoulders
"I just feel something is amiss. H-39 may be another version of Bismarck, but she knew something about the Sirens" Sovetskaya Rossiya narrowed her eyes
"If she knows something we don't, it's more reason to observe her. Right now, let's focus on one of the missing three. I heard someone spotted your Essex in Hawaii"
The incident with the missing shipgirls have been immediately resolved, but an entirely new problem was added. Four shipgirls were accidently dragged into this world, but only Gangut had been found while the rest were scattered all over the world.