Author: Huh, I never expected a part 2 of the Polaris event (more waifus are welcome though even if Shoukaku is my most favorite).
This is just but another silly game...
The three shipgirls who disregarded their own nation for the sake of their personal goals and wishes gathered a day after they last had a conversation. The stunt pulled by H-39 in Hawaii riled up the Maizuru fleet as they didn't even secretly fight. Unfortunately, one of three wasn't present for another discussion...
"King George V is not here, huh. That figures considering the Maizuru fleet is busy trying to contain the fight in a populated area" Tirpitz clicked her tongue
"..." Essex softly whimpered while her head was slammed on the wooden table
"Essex, what's wrong?"
"I'm just a bit nervous even if Enterprise or any of my sister aren't here..."
Essex, like King George V, secretly work alongside Tirpitz for an unspecified reason, so she was worried what would happen if the people important to her would find out she technically defected the Eagle Union. Tirpitz blankly stared at her as she wasn't worried with how she openly revealed and confirmed her defection from Iron Blood to the Sirens.
"Zuikaku will surely be disgusted that I'm working as a spy...against my own allies"
"You willingly accepted the Empress' offer...and now you're beginning to regret it" Tirpitz frowned
"Don't you at least have some regret, Tirpitz? I mean you did this because you want to undo the whole even six months ago. You also have no intention on sinking your own allies even if you fought them" Essex pointed right to Tirpitz
"I don't have the luxury to feel regret with how I am now. There's no need to feel such thing when I can't afford to waste any more time"
"You're doing all you can for your big sister, and for the rest of Iron Blood. I have to admit I was shocked to learn you, of all people, would be the one to betray Iron Blood"
Essex hesitated for a second, but she voiced out her genuine surprise over a move she never expected for Tirpitz to make. The latter faintly smiled, aware that it was only natural for Essex to be indeed surprised on how the one who did nothing turned out to be the one who truly surprised everyone in Iron Blood.
"You're right. It's indeed shocking. I never thought I'd meet shipgirls from another world or even fight my future self. I suppose this is what they call the Butterfly effect - where one little adjustment will alter the following events"
"Even after knowing what will happen to you, you're not going to do anything to change it..."
As if she pitied the high risk that came with Tirpitz's fate, Essex stood up and walked right towards Tirpitz. She faced the unusually calm and collected battleship who wasn't bothered with her own future the least.
"There's no need to worry about my future right now. What we should be focusing is on how we achieve the future we all desire. In my case, I have to get rid of H-39 before she turns the tables against me" Tirpitz saw no reason to be worried about herself as of the moment
"King George V is a bit restricted right now because of the last incident and because of Akagi too"
"Akagi's meddling and independent action will be her undoing. We'll just have to use her to distract the others"
"I can just fight her carrier to carrier" Essex suggested
"Akagi is cunning like the fox she is. You can't beat her through raw power alone"
Tirpitz reminded Essex how her enhanced strength would prove ineffective against someone who relied on cunningness to overpower her opponents. Essex fell silent when she was reminded that her opponent was no average aircraft carrier since Akagi was the devious type.
"We have a wild card in our sleeves we can use against them. I doubt that even Akagi can figure it out" Tirpitz was confident
"What are you talking about? It's making me nervous all of sudden..."
From how what Tirpitz implied, it would seem that there was a secret plan they can use to both distract and stall them like what they needed right now. Essex, on the other hand, was completely dumbfounded and clueless to what Tirpitz had in mind that she haven't specified yet.
Maizuru naval district...
The shipgirls of Azur Lane assembled in the base's briefing room a day after the reckless stunt in Hawaii was pulled. The party involved were all shipgirls from Azur Lane and caught the attention of the US navy as they battled in the open and even bombarded each other in the coast.
"Both Prinz Eugen and Tirpitz appeared in the scene and almost killed H-39. Not to mention, Prince of Wales was confirmed to be spotted...but her whereabouts are unknown again" Bismarck crossed her arms
"Wales..." King George V worried about her younger sister
While she was genuinely worried about Prince of Wales, she had no concern about her current whereabouts and status since it was Prinz Eugen who took her away to safety. She had to remain completely clueless or half the people inside the room right now would suspect why she would act completely relaxed even if her younger sister was nowhere to be found.
"I've been informed your future version was stabbed in the heart but Tirpitz. It means your sister just stepped out of line" Mikasa raised the concern
"She knows it's also you but fatally stabbed her anyway. Bismarck, this is already a red flag" Littorio raised her hand
"I agree. Tirpitz had to be dealt with before she could cause casualty among us. H-39 miraculously survived being stabbed to the heart" Odin nodded
"..."
The shipgirls all directed their concerned and patient gazes right towards Bismarck who fell in complete silence. Their concern was about how Tirpitz didn't hesitate to fatally strike the future version of Bismarck which heavily implied how she completely turned against her own allies.
"Bismarck, I know you don't want to it to go to the point where you have to take down your own sister" Mikasa softly spoke
"I said this before, but I'll say it again. I won't allow anyone else to deal with Tirpitz but me"
Bismarck stood up and asserted her right to deal with Tirpitz herself. She reminded everyone with a deadly sharp glare in her eyes and a stern stone that everyone else present fell silent for a whole minute. If Bismarck aimed for something, she refused anyone to handle it for her.
"If the necessity comes, I will strike her down myself. I have to take responsibility as the leader of Iron Blood...and her older sister..." Bismarck's voice shook
"Bismarck..."
Mikasa understood the weight Bismarck voluntarily carried as a way to take responsibility over her Tirpitz's betrayal. It was unsure whether it was out to preserve Iron Blood's pride or an unusual method of mercy for the sister who lost sight of herself as a shipgirl. Bismarck had difficulty when it comes to her genuine thoughts and feelings, so none was certain whether it was out of responsibility or mercy.
"So what should we do with them? Not only we have to deal with Tirpitz but Prinz Eugen as well" Odin raised her hand
"According to their Nelson, our Gangut has been found and said that Essex and Roon were dragged as well" Littorio did the same
"We have no lead on their whereabouts. We don't even know where Saint Louis is" King George V mildly raised her voice
"We have four missing shipgirls we need to find, but I'm sure the Sirens aren't going to make it easy for us" Mikasa scratched her head
"What will be our priority then? If they're all separated, then they're easy pickings for the Sirens" Littorio hit the table
"We'll locate the missing four shipgirls first. If the Sirens are after them, then there's no need to focus on the Sirens themselves if they're the ones who would come out in the open"
Bismarck chose to prioritize the four shipgirls since there was a possibility they could also face the Sirens who would target them. It meant that they could locate their enemies if they locate their other allies first.
"Speaking of missing allies, Akagi herself has been missing since yesterday" Odin remembered
"Akagi tends to go off somewhere on her own. I see nothing unusual" Mikasa shrugged her shoulders
"We'll discuss more about the Sirens after I get in touch with Sovetskaya Rossiya who is currently with our Gangut and H-39" Bismarck sighed
Akagi's unknown whereabouts added to the problem about the commotion caused by her future version who had to fight both Prinz Eugen and Tirpitz without regard to the humans within proximity.
Somewhere...
The only Azur Lane shipgirl currently away from the Maizuru naval district, Akagi, scanned through several documents and reviewed several footages to connect and gather more information about her theories and suspicions. She wasn't just alone in her investigation since her counterpart secretly assisted her.
"It's hard to figure it out which one of them. I ruled out Mikasa and Bismarck for obvious reasons, but I'm making little progress" AL Akagi frowned
"Is it true someone among your allies is working with the Sirens?" KC Akagi had her doubts
"Prinz Eugen herself confirmed it. There is someone among my allies constantly relaying information to the Sirens. That someone likely sabotaged our trip here"
"Then who could it be?"
"I pinned King George V but the incident with the ghost shipgirl made it unlikely now. She was trapped as well, but someone else leaked our next move to Prinz Eugen"
Even when King George V was trapped within a closed space along with H-39, an unknown shipgirl managed to inform Prinz Eugen of their plan to head to the Solomon Islands, specifically the abandoned base there where the Sirens left one of their machinery. This turnout of events made it unlikely for King George V to be an accomplice of the Sirens which frustrated Akagi who had suspected her since the beginning.
"What if there's a possibility that H-39 might have not been completely honest about this whole traitor thing?" KC Akagi theorized
"Are you saying she is lying to us?" AL Akagi raised an eyebrow
"It's more like I'm suspecting whether her claims has basis"
"I remember that sly Prinz Eugen talk about her the last time we met. H-39 failed to inform us that it was the Sirens who made her revival possible"
It was only the unexpected encounter with Prinz Eugen again that they learned how the future version of Bismarck who called herself H-39 was reconstructed by the Sirens after her complete destruction in her timeline.
"Our Bismarck places great trust in her because they are the same person, but I shouldn't easily trust someone who showed up out of nowhere and claimed to help us" Akagi clenched her left fist
"If she's a primary suspect then..."
"The others aren't clear of suspicion yet. I have to narrow down which of my allies informed Prinz Eugen while both King George V and H-39 were trapped"
This left the two Akagis more puzzled and lost since even if H-39 had ulterior motives, the other AL shipgirls who weren't trapped within the closed space were possible traitors. H-39 and King George V were both ruled because of the obvious reason that neither couldn't inform Prinz Eugen while they were trapped.
"Akagi-san, I have returned" Kaga announced in her usual monotone manner
"Ah, Kaga? Have you found anything? We barely have any leads on our side" KC Akagi cheerfully smiled at Kaga
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't find anything on my side either. Not even hints of the remaining missing shipgirls" Kaga shook her head
"Right now, all we know is there's a traitor among the shipgirls from another world. We ruled out King George V because someone else gave information to the Sirens while she is trapped" KC Akagi looked at AL Akagi
On top of the table in front of them were papers scribbled with the names of the shipgirls from Azur Lane. Under each name had notes of possibilities as a traitor or a contradiction that they were not. Even if they ruled out their former primary suspect, this proved to have little to no use as they have yet to figure out who exactly informed Prinz Eugen of their plan to head out to the Solomon Islands.
"How about if there are two? It's not out of the question, right?" Kaga raised an eyebrow
"If there are indeed two, who could be the other one aside from King George V?" KC Akagi rubbed her chin
"This situation about a traitor is giving me a headache. Sirens were our only enemies before, but now there are shipgirls involved" AL Akagi massaged her temple
"Isn't there any way to bait out the possible traitor? Surely they'll take advantage of this chaos" Kaga frowned
"Hmm. Baiting a sneaky spy isn't an easy task"
"I'll get us some tea first while we brainstorm for a plan"
KC Akagi Excused herself and walked outside the room which left her counterpart and Kaga to initiate a plan on how they can possibly force a traitor to reveal herself. If they couldn't search for the traitor, then they would have just to bait her out.
"You're unusually calm even in this kind of situation, and your expression remains as cold as your tone"
AL Akagi smirked, but her usual habit added a sinister and sarcastic implication on it.
"Is it a bad thing?" KC Kaga raised an eyebrow
"No, no. It's actually very adorable~"
"..."
"Both you and my Kaga are no different personality-wise"
"..."
"Aaaah, it's unfortunate you're not my Kaga. I would have smothered you with my pure love and touch you everywhere"
The way AL Akagi said it mildly set Kaga uneasy with how she already received the implication the Sakura Empire version of Akagi was someone who needed to be observed or she might do dangerous things as she pleased. Her passion and love for someone was indeed genuine, but it was a bad mix to her possessive and clingy personality.
"It's hard to believe you're another version of Akagi-san. You're not hiding your dangerous personality" Kaga commented
"Fufufu. If people can't accept who I am, then that's their problem. My beloved commander said she would accept my love so long as it doesn't end up harming my so-called allies" AL Akagi's smirked
(She's may be dangerous, but at least she's honest and sincere) Kaga thought to herself
"I'm aware on how I can be in conflict with my allies, but the Sakura Empire is important to me. I went so far to use all sorts of methods just to get close to Observer and pass information to my commander"
Akagi loosened her "dangerous" demeanor and turned serious once she mentioned about her genuine desire to protect her allies in the Sakura Empire even if it meant to use manipulative and deceitful methods.
"Why are you so devoted to your commander?" Kaga noticed
"It's simple, really. In a world full of deception and backstabbing, it was the commander who first chose to give me another chance. The commander...is someone who reached out to me and believed I wasn't truly evil" AL fondly smiled
"Your commander sounds nice. Our admiral slacks off and doesn't seem to care about the current situation"
AL Akagi spoke warmly of her beloved commander while Kaga complained about her laid-back admiral.
"It's wonderful that you have little difference with my Kaga, but my counterpart on the other hand..." AL Akagi sighed
"If you look past the gluttony, my Akagi-san is someone who our fleet look up to as wise and mature. Akagi-san had a rough past, so she makes sure no one else will go through the same hardships as she did even if it exhausts her. That's why...I want to by Akagi-san's side...because she's a wonderful person who understands difficult people like me"
"To faithfully stand beside her and admire her. I guess some things are indeed universal. I see now why my Kaga said you're not so bad"
AL Akagi stood up and gently petted Kaga's head who briefly jolted but accepted the gesture. The red fox was filled with mild fondness when this version of Kaga was no different from her. Of course there were still slight difference in their behavior and reactions, but the two versions resembled each other personality-wise.
"Oddly enough, I think I just came up with an idea how to bait our sneaky little traitor"
AL Akagi's open and honest conversation with Kaga actually gave her an idea on how they could deal with the other possible traitor within the fleet, but her devious smile caused Kaga to worry.
"Of course I need to speak to my counterpart first~"
"As long as you don't tell her to tie up our admiral and lock her up, then feel free to do so" Kaga shrugged her shoulders
"Fufufu~ It's better to keep what's yours to yourself then share it with pests. Of course, I told her it's very much alright to share with you~"
Kaga herself wasn't sure if AL Akagi meant that as a joke or a serious advice to KC Akagi who was vulnerable to the dangerously possessive AL Akagi.
A Royal navy base...
After the scuffle with the two traitors of Iron Blood, H-39 was immediately incapacitated when she sustained a supposedly fatal strike from Tirpitz. She was stabbed right through her heart but managed to stand back up and almost deal a fatal blow to Prinz Eugen if Prince of Wales didn't push her away and defend with a fatal stab of her own. Fortunately for her, Sovetskaya Rossiya decided to drag her away from the scene before humans can spot her.
"Ugh..." H-39 groaned
She felt the weight in her body as if it physically pressed down on her which made little movement more difficult. While she didn't die from a fatal stab to the heart, her body was temporarily weakened.
"It's surprising you got clearly stabbed in the heart, but you're very much fine" Sovetskaya Rossiya didn't greet her the moment she woke up
"That's because I'm practically dead at this point. I was only restored because of the Sirens" H-39 stood up
"You went after Prinz Eugen without a second thought and almost endangered ordinary humans"
"..."
Sovetskaya Rossiya felt disappointed with how H-39 ignored the safety of normal humans even if her target was the traitorous Prinz Eugen.
"I could only partially remember what happened. I think I blacked out right after I was stabbed" H-39 massaged her temples
"You blacked out?"
"I'm not as powerful as I used to be. My mental cube is gradually deteriorating because I used to be a dead battleship"
"You're like a zombie. Is that what you're trying to say?" Sovetskaya Rossiya crossed her arms
"That and something restrained within my mental cube is physically and mentally exhausting me"
Even now, H-39 have yet to recover all the stamina and strength she had before the whole commotion in Hawaii. This visibly frustrated H-39 who continued to suffer from this setback aside from a certain factor that weakened the immense strength she once possessed.
"It's because of Observer that it was reawakened. That wretched Siren knows I have it in my possession and triggered it in order to hinder me"
"What is it exactly?" Sovetskaya Rossiya swallowed her breath
"In the early days I was resurrected, I delved inside what you can call a dumpster located within a discreet space. I took it without a second thought and ignored the possible risks that came with it" H-39 begun to explain
"Just be direct already..."
"There was something there, a surviving shard to be exact. That's where I learned that we can't truly die until out mental cubes are fully destroyed. Even a speck of consciousness will remain in a broken off piece"
"A mental cube?
"I learned that it was quietly alive all this time and that the reason it refused to die was because the whole closed space itself was an extension of a threat"
H-39 clenched her fists, unusually worried when she narrated about her experience before she intervened in the current situation.
"Sovetskaya Rossiya, I'm not the only dead person who couldn't remain dead"
"Who are you talking about?"
"There was a shard of a mental cube there..."
H-39 continued to explain and narrate her experience within a closed space she referred as a "dumpster", and the more Sovetskaya Rossiya listened the more she realized she was unaware like everyone else all this time.
Meanwhile...
The Gangut from the Northern Union proudly lifted her chest and raised her head while the two destroyers Jervis and Janus blankly and innocently stared at her. Compared to the Gangut currently in the Maizuru naval district, this version of Gangut was an eccentric one.
"...and that's why you should fight for the motherland" Gangut laughed
"...but we're British" Jervis raised her hand
"You should be telling that to our Tashkent. She's all about the red and the proletariat" Juno added
"Nonsense! You should learn from the Northern Union while you're still young. The Royal navy is all about elegance and manners - unfitting for a shipgirls in the middle of war!"
Gangut's eyes flared with fiery determination and clear devotion to her nation which unsettled the two British destroyers.
"If you fight, you fight! Even if it means taking your enemy down with you" Gangut taught them
"You're so fierce. Even fiercer than our Gangut" Jervis commented
"Hmph. One shouldn't slack off at times like this. Laziness should be punished with mining in the far north" Gangut puffed her chest
"You mean send them to Siberia? We call it Gulag here" Janus scratched her head
"Gulag? Sounds like an interesting place. Perhaps you two little ones should guide me there before I return home" Gangut cackled
"No can't do...and stop influencing British children into being Russians"
Nelson appeared behind the two destroyers and pulled them away when she found how two were vulnerable to the influence of extreme adults around them.
"Well, one of you converted to the Northern Union of this world" Gangut smirked
"You mean Arkhangelsk? She's not good at fighting Abyssals because of her obsolete equipment. Her class were referred as coffin ships with how ineffective they are after all" Nelson raised an eyebrow
"Then why is she an expert with close quarters combat?" Gangut pointed
"She's a shipgirl meant to take out shipgirls. That's her only use in the fleet"
"You're saying as if her job is useless. That's actually useful considering there are those who would dare break the laws"
"Alright, enough of this. Nonchalantly murdering alleged lawbreakers isn't something I approve of" Nelson frowned
"You're in a bad mood today. How about we grab some vodka?"
The two destroyers in the background switched their gazes back and effort while the two battleships expressed a non-hostile argument. Of course, while both Nelson and Gangut had forgotten they were still present, Jervis tapped Janus' shoulder and gestured for the two of them to leave the scene. Janus immediately agreed, and the two British destroyers sneakily left the two battleships.
"Forget about this and focus on a more important topic. You still have three missing comrades left, right?" Nelson shook her head
"Roon, Essex, and Prince of Wales. I heard Wales was found but Prinz Eugen took off with her" Gangut counted to three on her fingers
"While I'm not really sure why the four of you are accidentally dragged, your other friend and H-39 are still discussing on our next step" Nelson shrugged her shoulders
"How are you and your friends so casual about this? We're shipgirls from another world, and you don't seem to be bothered by the fact we dragged out fight to your world"
Aside from their current need to pursue after the Sirens and search for the three other stowaways, Gangut couldn't help but raise an important question.
"It's not that we just accepted it at the minute we learned what's going on. There was a heated argument in my fleet when the Sirens came along. Well, you could say it's because some of us experienced being in your world for about a week" Nelson immediately responded
"You..."
"Don't be mistaken though. I still have no idea what's really going on, but the Sirens are also threatening my world. We want to get this over with as fast as possible before the Sirens completely drag your war into this world"
"How long has your war been going anyway?" Gangut noticed something
"A long time now. It's difficult to grasp the how much time has passed when you have body that became stagnant" Nelson looked at both of her palms
"What do the humans see you here?"
A while ago they were almost in an argument, but their tone and topic gradually grew mild.
"That's also difficult to say. We are humans, but we are also weapons both in our eyes and in the eyes of humans. The shipgirls in the world don't have mental cube. We're just warships reborn with a human body" Nelson shrugged her shoulders
"Hey, have you guys thought what will you do once the war is over" Gangut scratched her cheek
"I don't know. How about you?"
"Beats me. I live to fight for the sake of my motherland because that's the sole purpose of us shipgirls. Humans - when they no longer need weapons, they dismantle it or toss it aside. That's why there's only a number of museum ships left even when a lot of us survived the old war..." Gangut changed to a depressed tone
"Maybe we should go explore the city. At the very least, you can experience living like a normal person even for just a day"
"...!" That suggestion genuinely surprised Gangut
"Besides, even when you retire...it doesn't mean it's all over. I mean look at veteran soldiers who managed to live a long life in the peace they fought so hard to obtain"
"Hmph. As long as there's vodka, I'm in. I could use a drink with what's going on"
Somehow, Nelson's optimism soothed the worry Gangut had always kept to herself since she primarily focused on the war with the Abyssals much like the rest of her comrades. It was unusual but not a terrible thing that she at least spoke to someone who was open and positive with little worry for her own future.
Bering Sea...
Tashkent dropped her jaw in shock and disbelief as her comrade Gangut bled from head to toe and her rigging looked like it would fall apart with another direct hit. Gangut herself attempted to steady her breaths, but she sustained serious injury not from a Siren or Abyssal, but perhaps someone more vicious than them. As heavy rain poured and thunder strike the vast sea around then, Gangut clenched her fists even when the rain stung her open wounds.
"That hurts like hell. I almost lost my arm to that mechanical shark pet" Gangut gritted her teeth
"Comrade!" Tashkent called out
"Stay back. You might lose your head if you get in the way" Gangut shouted
"Don't get in my way!" Her opponent also shouted
Tashkent feared for Gangut's life since the latter suffered too much injury in her body and damage in her body more than her ferocious opponent.
"Who the hell are you, you monster? More importantly, what are you?!" Gangut angrily pointed
"I have a name, and it's Roon!" Roon fiercely glared at the Russian shipgirls
"Roon? Never heard of you. Are you even a shipgirl?"
"I am a shipgirl of Iron Blood, and you two don't get out of my way" Roon readied her animated rigging
Gangut prepared herself even with the clear disadvantage in front of her. Roon may be just a heavy cruiser, but she was a juggernaut who excelled at contests of raw power. Not only her high firepower made her a difficult opponent, Roon possessed a merciless and vicious personality when in a serious fight.
"Comrade, don't try to fight her anymore. You won't survive this if you keep being stubborn!" Tashkent couldn't bear to see Gangut sounded anymore
"This crazy heavy cruiser attacked our fleet. If we run, who knows which fleet she will attack next" Gangut refused to back down
"But-"
Tashkent tried to reason to Gangut, but a fourth guest intruded in the battle and hurled a spear right to Tashkent's back. Fortunately for the speedy destroyer, the bridge of her rigging lodge the spear before it could critically pierce Tashkent's vital organs. The weapon went through the right side of her chest, but she still suffered an injury.
"Wha-!" Tashkent almost collapsed to the surface
"It's you-!"
Roon immediately recognized the culprit of the ambush and the same person who immediately pulled out the spear in Tashkent's back. The culprit herself kicked the wounded destroyer to the side after she revealed herself. The continuous rain and violent sea completely masked the culprit's presence while the three were preoccupied with each other.
"Tashkent!"
Gangut's fury went to the peak at the sight of the partially conscious Tashkent.
"Ro...on...Roon..." The culprit struggled to speak
"Saint Louis!" Roon shouted her name
"It hurts. My head hurts, Roon. It's all red...red. It won't stop...screaming at my head!"
Saint Louis, clearly in a mentally unstable state, swung her spear at all directions with no clear target. She screamed at the nothing and no one while both Roon and Gangut stared at her, disturbed and puzzled at the same time.
"Almost tearing my limbs off is one thing, but having your friend literally stab my comrade in the back is another thing!" Gangut swung her arm in the air
"Clearly that's not an ally of mine. She's not even in the right mind!"
"Aaaaaah! It's that person's fault. She did something...she did something!"
"Don't make me sink you, Saint Louis!" Roon readied herself
She pointed every single turrets of her rigging right towards Saint Louis while Gangut stared at the two of them back and forth, unsure whether she would join to make it into a three-way fight of stand back before she could be torn apart.
"It's Bismarck's fault! No, it's that Tirpitz..." Saint Louis hit her head with he down fists
"Bismarck? What are you talking about? What did Bismarck do to you?" The name genuinely surprised Roon
"My head won't stop hurting. It won't stop hurting at all! All I see...all I see is that person!"
Unable to restrain the unbearable pain, Saint Louis bit her own lip and begun to claw at her own face. She had became unstable for an unknown of time due to the relentless pain, and she blamed Bismarck for it.
[Aaaah. She managed to slip away while I wasn't looking. Empress isn't going to be happy with this...]
"...?!"
The three shipgirls clearly head the echo of an unknown person, but the exact direction of its source remained unknown. It should be impossible for them to clearly hear the words of another who was outside their field of vision with how the heavy rain continued to pair and thunder raged.
[Well whatever. She's more important than taking care of a threat like you...Roon]
"Show yourself!" Roon looked everywhere
"..." A humanoid figure complied
The second extra guest interfered and halted the conflict before more blood could be spilled. She first made Saint Louis immediately collapse on the surface without even physical contact, much to Gangut and Roon's shock. All she did was mysteriously appear for the two of them to clearly see and recognize her identity.
"..." Roon uttered the unknown person's name
"W-What the hell?! You're the one - how?!"" Gangut somehow recognized her too
"..." The familiar culprit drew her weapon
Tashkent, who barely maintained consciousness, vaguely spotted someone with a long blade on her right hand while Roon and Gangut made their decision to face whoever that was. She couldn't move her body, let alone utter a single word, but her faded vision saw how the two engaged the other culprit with no hesitation. It was the last scene that unfolded right before her eyes before she slipped back into unconsciousness.
Now then, I wonder if Akagi can actually challenge me...
Extra
After the scuffle with H-39, Prinz Eugen immediately took away Prince of Wales before the Bismarck from an alternate future can recover and finish both of them. Although greatly shocked at how Prinz Eugen herself somehow came back from the dead, Prince of Wales had little grudge against Prinz Eugen even if the latter died a traitor.
"Eugen..." Prince of Wales looked at her with a clear worried expression
"It's odd you pity me more than you hate me. The rest wants to beat the hell out of me and lock me up" Prinz Eugen chuckled
While Prince of Wales remained worried, Prinz Eugen herself spoke and acted calmly while the two of them hide from the view of both Sirens and shipgirls. As a proof of how she didn't feel threatened whatsoever, Prinz Eugen casually tore a sugar pack and poured it into her coffee before she gently stirred the warm beverage.
"I don't hate you. I don't think I can..." Prince of Wales softly admitted
"You're softy among the King George V class which I find adorable and pitiful at the same time"
Prinz Eugen took a small sip after she stirred her coffee for two minutes straight.
"You're a Royal knight, but I don't think you're faithful to your duty" Prinz Eugen added
"I'm a Royal knight to the very core. I swore to protect the Royal navy and my people!" Prince of Wales raised her voice
"How can you fulfill such noble bow when your captain only serves her best interest"
"King George V? What's that supposed to mean?" Prince of Wales walked towards her
"Your oldest sister may be the epitome of what a knight should be, but she's quite a selfish and deceptive person, you know. The only difference between her and I is that no one doubts her"
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'm trying to say that King George V may have her own motives and they you should prefer for...an unexpected eventuality" Prinz Eugen blew off the steam from her cup
It may sound like another case of Prinz Eugen's tactic to confuse and deceive others, but Prince of Wales knew more than anyone whether Prinz Eugen would lie with each word. Right now, what Prinz Eugen said was entirely true but the interpretation was left for Prince of Wales to piece of together like a jigsaw puzzle.
"Anyhow, I'm back from the dead and working alongside the Sirens. If you want my head, feel free to do so" Prinz Eugen informed her
"What's the benefit of working for the Sirens?" Prince of Wales couldn't bear to draw her saber"
"I'm not working FOR the Sirens. I'm working WITH the Sirens. To be specific, I'm tagging along with Tirpitz who is working with the Sirens" Prinz Eugen corrected it
"Tirpitz abandoned her own nation and allowed herself to be used by the enemy. Such crime...should be punished, Eugen" Prince of Wales' honor remained
"Do you think I would go with Tirpitz if she's just working as their pawn? Oh please. Even Tirpitz isn't that stupid or ignorant" Prinz Eugen scoffed
"Then why? Iron Blood shipgirls are as loyal to their nation as I am loyal to the Royal navy"
"Sometimes, the love for your loved ones outweighs your loyalty to your people. Tirpitz had to leave since she wanted to cut off Bismarck's dead end herself"
"She wanted to save Bismarck? From what?"
"There's a future where Bismarck is the original holder of the Tyrant code, and Tirpitz just inherited it. If Bismarck realizes what's going on now, that future will be repeated. That means Bismarck will be either forced to kill Tirpitz...or the other way around"
"All of this...just for Bismarck. Those two barely talked to each other before the whole incident" Prince of Wales shook her head
It was basic knowledge for Prince of Wales that both Bismarck and Tirpitz weren't as close or friendly as other sister ships out there. Ever since Tirpitz's disappearance and return, the two bonded and begun to knew each other...but that bliss lasted temporarily.
"Aside from Tirpitz, what's your whole deal? Why are you following Tirpitz? None of this won't benefit you" Prince of Wales pointed
"There is a reason Tirpitz had to leave as soon as Tyrant perished. When I learned about how she can't waste time, I decided to follow"
"..."
"Other than that, I'd rather stay as a faction-less traitor than be locked up in maximum security prison. Not everyone would accept me back anyway, so I decided to live my life free of Iron Blood's yapping and idiocy" Prinz Eugen giggled
"Eugen, did you really stay as a renegade because you're afraid to confront Admiral Hipper?" Prince of Wales guessed
"What if it's the case? I do as I please, and I like taking the easy path" Prinz Eugen averted her gaze
"Do you have any idea how frustrated I felt because I couldn't stop you before you killed yourself? Did you really think... it's always okay to do what you want?" Prince of Wales clenched her fists
"I'm a selfish person. You don't have to point it out, Wales..." Prinz Eugen continued to avoid her gaze
The two had a close relationship before the whole situation, before Prinz Eugen's suicide to be specific. Prinz Eugen secretly passed information to the Sirens for an unknown amount of time and scuttled herself rather than be recaptured. Like how Admiral Hipper felt, Prince of Wales mourned for Prinz Eugen's apparent death and was frustrated with how she wasted her freedom to become a traitor.
"If I didn't care about what you felt the slightest, I wouldn't risk myself by showing up the other day. I knew I couldn't avoid you forever...so I decided to come out in the open"
Prinz Eugen sincerely responded, but she turned her back against Prince of Wales. Her playful tone immediately switched to a solemn and softer one, a rare moment Prince of Wales witnessed for herself.
"Eugen..."
"Good grief. People like you...are difficult to deal with. No, you're difficult to take my eyes off"
Prinz Eugen took one deep sigh and released the faint sorrow from her voice before she could become emotional which she resented the most.
"I can take you the Maizuru fleet where King George V and the rest of your friends are if you want to leave now" Prinz Eugen suggested
"No. I'm staying here with you"
"What?!" Prinz Eugen blinked in complete shock
"I'm not taking my eyes off you again, you hear me? I won't let you do something you will regret again. Even if it means going against my own sister"
To Prinz Eugen's utter shock she can rendered her speechless, Prince of Wales firmly stood her ground and declared her intention.
"You are a bigger headache than your oldest sister"
"You're a bigger headache, so I have to stay with you before you give me the worst headache of my life again" Prince of Wales pointed right at Prinz Eugen's face
"Did you leave your common sense back in our world? Siding with a traitor means being a traitor yourself. It's worse considering you're one of the Royal knights" Prinz Eugen reminded her
"I won't completely go against my allies, but I can't allow you to endanger yourself more than you already did. I'm taking you back alive to face judgment once all of this is over. You can't make me go away even if you were to drive a shell to my skull!"
"Tch. Suit yourself. I don't have time to argue with a Royal navy blockhead such as yourself. If you die as an incompetent knight, then it's your fault"
Since Prince of Wales was solidly stubborn, Prinz Eugen refused to argue and immediately gave up when it was very clear how Prince of Wales would stay by her side no matter how much she sold scold her. Prinz Eugen may sound unusually irritated, but Prince of Wales obviously saw through her facade and faintly smiled while the heavy cruiser stormed off.