Author: I'm thinking of a short story starting Enterprise and some shipgirls after this (the timeline of the planned story will take place months after the end of this story). That or Enterprise against a Siren with her own agenda (?).
On an unrelated note, I'll pass on the current collab in Azur Lane since I'm preparing for Kancolle Fall 2020 event (the events are salt inducing, but I'm a masochist for continue playing it for four years). Also, I'm buying myself a new laptop since my potato laptop can't support World of Warships and League of Legends anymore.
What if there's another chance...?
The black mental cube that posed danger to everything and everyone who dare try to even get near it, but the Akashi from the Sakura Empire hid behind Tirpitz. Her key to return home was a double edge sword since it could open a rift back to Azur Lane or kill her instantly. Tirpitz remained unharmed even when she directly touched it, so Akashi somewhat used her as a shield when the black mental cube faintly glowed.
"I just want to go home already, nya!" Akashi sobbed
"Calm down. I'm here to help you return home" Tirpitz clicked her tongue
"Why would you help me? There's no benefit for you, nya" Akashi scratched her head
"I just want to be at peace. It means I don't want more trouble stirring up here. Abyssals are one thing, but Sirens with giant mechanical laser-breathing monsters are another thing!"
The monsters Tirpitz referred were the three colossal weapons in the possession of the Siren Empress' faction. Tirpitz thought Abyssals were difficult to deal with, but the encountered with Sirens proved otherwise.
"You care so much about the people here even if you don't belong here, nya..." Akashi covered her ears
"It's temporary peace. Besides, I'm enjoying my vacation here..."
"Vacation, nya?"
"I get to relax for the time being. Things will stir up soon once this situation is resolved"
Tirpitz's fists tensed up while her eyes focused her glared towards the somewhat powerless defective black mental cube carefully clamped.
"I'm going to ask the Royal navy on this one. They've been collecting everything they can find about the Sirens like the Americans and their Area 51"
"No one remembers about me or my world. How can you convince them to help? They would throw me into a kennel if I ask them, nya" Akashi flailed her arms
"Don't worry. I'll swallow my pride and beg them for help" Tirpitz joyfully laughed
"..."
"I'm joking. I'll have to pique Warspite's interest to get her to help us. That woman would offer her help without a second thought if she is presented with something she doesn't know"
"What's with that smug face, nya?"
Tirpitz assured Akashi of additional help from other shipgirls, the latter didn't like the shady confidence in Tirpitz's expression.
"You know, I'm surprised you found out about me so easily. You're the one only one who managed to realize this little game" Tirpitz reached out her hand
"Those eyes scared me the same way like that one time, so I figured out your secret, nya"
Throughout the whole situation, Akashi mostly panicked and trembled at the slightest danger since she was a non-combatant stuck in a foreign world. Akashi wanted to return back to her own world since the beginning, but everyone else disappeared back except for her.
"I see. So you've seen me before. I guess I should expect that since you're one hell of a curious cat" Tirpitz chuckled
"S-so, how do I get back home? I don't want to be chased by monstrous snake things, nya" Akashi swallowed her breath
"How did your situation exactly occur? Your allies are gone for some reason, no one remembers you, and you're still stuck here"
"I don't know! They just went to Ireland, and they all vanish even the ones who isn't part of the fight, nya"
"Ireland, huh. A battle occured there...but it was like it never happened" Tirpitz rubbed her chin
"M-Maybe we should go to Ireland to find out what happened, nya"
"The Royal navy base there? I suppose we could do that first, but I need to convince Warspite somehow. She's a cautious woman with a fierce dog by her side...but still...a human is still a human at the end of the day"
(I have a bad feeling about this, nya...)
The only one who immediately agreed to help Akashi return to her world was Tirpitz, but Akashi was both nervous and anxious since she know about a certain secret. Still, she chose to ask for her help even if it was someone like her.
"Hmm. Custodian seems to be free...but there's still the problem with the other Enterprise. I don't know what that woman is up to, but she's guiding her. I don't really want to deal with the Eagle Union's ace right now..."
Tirpitz bit her thumb while she muttered under her breath, visibly concerned and anxious about the Eagle Union's Enterprise. What was more odd was how she casually mentioned the name of a barely known Siren.
I think I need to hum that song again...
Tirpitz silently stirred her fresh cup of morning coffee while her eyes focused on the miniature swirl in the beverage she made. Her eyes were both solemn and lost as if deep thoughts begun to weigh on both her mind and heart. The day was peaceful enough that anyone could relax, but the weight of her thoughts continued to pull her down and distract her.
"Bismarck said something about my death, and I feel strange all of a sudden. It made my heart stop for a moment as if those words...triggered something"
The thoughts, namely Bismarck's confused words the other day, continued to bother her even if she knew she shouldn't waste time on Bismarck's rare mumbles. Tirpitz lost any motivation to drink her fresh cup of coffee and gently pushed the cup of coffee a few inches away.
"I feel so tired thinking about this..."
Tirpitz relaxed her back on the chair and slowly surrendered her consciousness to slumber while her cup of coffee slowly grew cold. The view of a peaceful afternoon was switched to a view of the northern sea, within the aftermath of a battle.
Is it really the aftermath?
A heavily injured Tirpitz seethed with with both conflicted and furious gaze. Her heart was clearly in pain, but Tyrant accepted any form of resentment or spite thrown at her. To a degree, Tirpitz was like her younger self as she hailed from an alternate future and slumbered for a long time.
"So this is your decision, Tirpitz..." Tyrant wryly laughed
The cause of her shock was how both Tyrant and Tirpitz had pierced each other's vital spot with their respective blades. Neither sides backed down and tightly held their weapons even tighter and pushed at each other's chest. Tirpitz bit her lip and restrained a scream while Tyrant had grown numb enough not to sense trivial physical pain anymore.
"I will not accept a future where Iron Blood no longer exists..." Tirpitz gritted her teeth
"It's because Bismarck strived to keep it together...only for me to be the one to demolish it" Tyrant furrowed her eyebrows
"There will be always a timeline where Tyrant exists. No matter how much you change the timeline, it will only create a branch within the World Tree" Tirpitz realized
"I wanted to burn the World Tree down to its roots, but the price is too great..."
Tyrant pulled herself and her blade away from Tirpitz and pressed her hand to where Tirpitz's sword had pierced her.
"There is a way for a desired happy ending to exist. I cannot accomplish it, but you can..."
"What do you mean?"
"My primary wish was for you to not commit the same sin I did. The secondary was a wish for Iron Blood to be at least spared"
"..." Tirpitz saw sincerity from Tyrant
"The only way to accomplish such thing was to selfishly grab one thing outside of normal boundaries. Neither good nor evil; Neither light nor dark; Neither alive nor dead..."
"Just what are you talking about?"
"Tirpitz, everything physical is always bound to collapse and fade away onto nothingness...but emotions and will are eternal"
"Emotions and will..."
"It reflects the perspective of the world which is why it's black. Why do you think you find yourself up against people you once faced?"
Tyrant lowered her weapon and cryptically revealed clue that were little to no helpful. She had always been like this towards Tirpitz, so the latter expressed no surprise at her behavior. She wasn't certain whether Tyrant tried to warn her or confuse her even more.
"At the end of the day, we're all playing as that annoying woman had foreseen. No matter what everyone does, what she sees is always the end"
"You have given on fighting destiny itself..."
"I don't have a major role to play in the end, but you sti have a lot to do. You have to face what lies at the end of your path. It will be painful, but I'm sure...you will reach your hand out to it on your free will"
"What are you saying? What did you see?"
"What had to be done..."
Tyrant returned to her solemn and stern behavior when a glimpse pain strangled her heart. Tirpitz demanded a clearer answer, but it was something she can't provide. She had no authority to inform her past self of what awaited her in the near future. The whole scenery faded to black and the dream was swept away along her consciousness.
"...!" Tirpitz awoken from her nap
Tirpitz gasped open for air, shocked by the sudden dream that unfolded right in front of her like a television show. They were two people other where one of them was her exact copy. She and Tyrant spoke to each other with deep familiarity, something that puzzled her. The two had a discussion even after they had stabbed each other, but Tirpitz couldn't comprehend what it was all about.
"Tyrant...and another me. Is this just part of my imagination or a premonition?"
It was not possible for her to catch a glimpse of the future, so she believed it may have been just a dream with no meaning to her real life and the world around her. The cup of coffee in front her had gone completely cold the moment she took her nap, so she was no longer in the mood to finish her coffee.
"This started ever since Bismarck mentioned something about my death and Tyrant? Hmm? Tyrant. She was about to say something, but she stopped herself...
Tirpitz placed her elbow on top of the table and used her hand to relax her chin. She went into deep thought about the moment Bismarck stared at her in disbelief and mildly panicked. She uttered several things she couldn't understand until today, but it piqued her curiosity because this was an unusual behavior on Bismarck's side.
"I'm stressing myself out. I need to be somewhere I can clear my head..."
Ever since Bismarck mentioned it, she started to question about the truth and meaning behind those words. Tirpitz would normally ignore them, but the thought continued to linger. She tried to ignore it shortly after Bismarck triggered those words, but it only made her anxious for an unknown reason.
Bismarck's office...
After the meeting with Tyrant, Bismarck found herself to be in an unexpected yet wary alliance with her. Bismarck wanted to escape the diverted timeline caused by H-39, but she lacked the power to do so. Tyrant became Bismarck's only hope of escape as the former knew about timelines and how to travel to them.
"An alternate timeline where I faked my death, huh. Knowing myself, it's highly likely I would take my death to secretly go along with the Sirens" Prinz Eugen giggled
"..."
"I'm not saying I would cooperate with the Sirens for no reason. If my interests are at risk, I suppose I'd be tempted to join them"
"The Eugen from the original timeline tagged along for Tirpitz's sake but never really specified why" Bismarck added
"Oh yeah. You said Tirpitz ditched Iron Blood because the Sirens made a better offer"
"Tirpitz was after one thing, and the Sirens had the means to achieve it...but what?" Bismarck went into deep thought
Bismarck was the only one aside from Tyrant to retain her memories of the previous events, so Prinz Eugen just tilted her head in curiosity.
"Eugen, there's something I never got the opportunity to ask you properly" Bismarck calmed herself
"Oh, what would that be?"
"Since when did you start working for Tyrant, and why?"
"As confusing as it looks, I'm still the Prinz Eugen you know. Tyrant ambushed me and revealed to me about her plans and her original timeline. She has no desire to truly decimate Iron Blood, so I decided to cooperate with her" Prinz Eugen briefly explained
"And you trust her word so easily?"
"You're forgetting what kind of person I am. I wouldn't go along with her plans if I'm certain there's going to be a risk"
"Of all people right now, I can't believe I have to actually trust her"
"I don't what exactly happened to you, but you don't have much of a choice" Prinz Eugen giggled
Bismarck massaged both of her temples as she tried to cope with the fact that she had no choice but to form a loose alliance with Tyrant. The shipgirls around her possessed no memory of what Bismarck experienced, and only Tyrant remained aware of the entire situation.
"How can what H-39 did be reversed? This timeline may be peaceful, but this isn't right..." Bismarck looked at her squeezed fists
"H-39. Tyrant informed me that she's the parallel version where you chose to take out Tirpitz when the Sirens forcibly made her Mental Cube go berserk. Tyrant believed what she did was for the sake of Iron Blood, but that didn't really stop there..."
"H-39 didn't tell me everything. What happened?" Bismarck raise dude head out of curiosity
"Causing Tirpitz to rampage and be killed were part of the Sirens' plans. The reason Tirpitz went out of control was also because of her attempt to contain the SIN that tried to overtake her ego" Prinz Eugen continued
"...!"
"Killing Tirpitz only unleashed it from its fragile container...and reduced Iron Blood to ruins with the original Tyrant being the sole survivor. It's all because of the experimental black mental cube"
"What is that mental cube exactly? H-39 fused one to herself and gave her the ability to dismantle shipgirls..."
"While it killed Tirpitz, your immense strength was able to restrain it with little difficulty. Tyrant isn't certain whether the Sirens made one or there's a bunch lying out there"
(Tyrant. Can I really trust someone like her? I can't erase the possibility of her backstabbing me...)
The more Bismarck thought about a former enemy turned temporary ally, the more concern she became. Even if Tyrant promised to cooperate with Bismarck since they were in the same situation, Bismarck knew there was a good chance Tyrant would would immediately turn against her as soon as she let her guard down.
"I'm a little curious to how the Sirens managed to create a prototype ghost ship. It decays mental cubes it comes in direct contact since it's more like a malware than a proper coded program" Prinz Eugen giggled
"How do you know all of this? You're not the type to actually memorize this kind of information" Bismarck laid back on her chair
"I'm regularly in touch with Tyrant, and she likes to spill out every information she gathers. Since I'm a shipgirl, I decided to at least be aware about the nature of a natural enemy of mine"
"Decays mental cubes...yet H-39 managed to bend that malware to her will..."
"They duplicated the Awakening Protocol in creating the defective mental cube. It overloads the mental cube until it horribly implodes its very essence. It's simply a walking grim reaper for mundane shipgirls"
"Is there any way of surviving it?"
"Even if it manages to reach the mental cube, if you can forcefully eject it then you can be spared. I'm not certain about that since I'm not willing to try..." Prinz Eugen shrugged her shoulders
"Hmph. It seems Tyrant possess more useful information than I thought"
"It has something to do about without an annoying remnant telling her off on a daily basis"
"What?"
"I have no idea what it means either. All Tyrant said was that she's finally alone in her consciousness. There's no annoying second voice...or something like that"
Thanks to a longtime of experience against defective weapons made by Sirens, Tyrant accumulated knowledge on how to battle them, especially towards the black mental cube they tried to perfect.
"Even though I'm working with Tyrant, you have my support on this one. I don't understand what's really going on, but you need to find your way out somehow" Prinz Eugen comfortably leaned her back on one of three chairs inside the office.
"If I were to return to the moment before H-39 did all of this, Tirpitz and Odin may go back to being dead..."
"Then we'll find a loophole to somehow bypass that. You'll go back to the exact moment before those died got their mental cubes crushed. That...or you'll erase the fact that H-39 killed anyone"
"Bypass what already happened, huh. To achieve such thing requires a tremendous amount of power..."
"The supercomputer called the World Tree contains the program to bend the laws of reality as the administrator wishes, but only a certain Siren has access to that" Prinz Eugen looked away nervously
"Who?"
"The one who created the Siren Empress and other Siren units, the Siren Progenitor - Aurelius. She's not the scheming type, but she doesn't do much if the natural order isn't threatened"
"A Siren..." Bismarck frowned
"To be honest, I don't know what they're up to now. Tyrant doesn't say anything, so I'm a bit suspicious"
"The Siren Progenitor. I think Akagi told me that name before..."
"She's the other half of the Siren Creator. Her twin sister to be specific"
"...That makes things difficult"
The Creator made the likes of Observer Alpha and Tester Beta, so to learn that the one fled Progenitor was an unknown twin made it less likely for Bismarck to seek the help of the Siren.
In an unknown location...
Tyrant relaxed by a comfortable spot on a beach while she tossed the Siren Purifier's head up and down. The bodiless Siren made incoherent noises while the black battleship used her head for her own amusement even with a cold and solid expression. The body with the missing head repeatedly stumbled and fell flat on the ground ten meters from where Tyrant sat.
"I just came to visit and you chopped my head off without a second thought! I'm not even here to fight ever since I got banned from returning. What's wrong with you?!"
When Tyrant held Purifier's head on top of her palm, the Siren furiously shouted while her eyes settled with a bright glow.
"I have no love for Sirens after everything your brethren did to me. While I no longer see myself as part of Iron Blood, I am still a shipgirl" Tyrant sighed
"What are you up to now? Aurelius said you're teaming up with Bismarck? It's funny because you two almost killed each other before"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm using Bismarck for my own benefit even if I don't hold a grudge against her. I have my own ulterior motives too, you know" Tyrant didn't hide her intentions
"Hahaha! So you're going to be another backstabbing bastard? Ooohh~ This looks fun"
"I will get my hands on the World Tree, but I need both the Sirens and shipgirls to be in place within this game board"
"Even if you scheme from the shadows, Progenitor isn't so stupid to not know what you're planning"
"She wouldn't care...because at the end of the day, a Siren will be always a Siren. I'm not naive enough to believe a Siren can actually understand human emotions and accept them for who they are"
Tyrant, bored with the Siren Purifier, tossed her head to where her body could immediately retrieve it.
"You have issues..." The Purifier smirked
"My consciousness has been constantly suffocating while in a void. I was living in hell for the past seven months ago, and I only grew disappointed rather than mad"
Tyrant stood up from her comfortable spot and approached the Siren Purifier's head that slightly sank to the soft sand beneath her. She then stomped on the hand which jolted the exhausted body that was still on the ground.
"I will keep my word to that person..."
"That person? Who have you been talking to?"
"..."
The Siren Purifier's body stood up due to sudden rise in her curiosity, but Tyrant wasn't someone who would entertain the energetic and restless Siren.
"Do you think I was all alone for the past few months" Tyrant smiled
"Hahaha! I almost forgot you threw anything that resembled honor and pride"
Tyrant then proceeded to kick the Siren's decapitated head far enough that the waves they brushed to the shore reached her and slowly pulled her to the sea.
"I made a promise, and I don't intend to break it" Tyrant clarified
"Heh~ So you really did made contact with someone while you were having a long vacation within an empty dimension"
"Omitter..." Tyrant clicked her tongue
"Empress said you're up to something again, and she's actually right"
The Siren Omitter cheerfully hopped towards Tyrant and grabbed the Siren Purifier's head by her ponytail before her head could be dragged to the open sea. She tossed it back to the body shop immediately picked it up and held it with both hands.
"Blueeegh!" Purifier spat a mixture of wet sand and sea water
"That shipgirl wants to confront you since she's worried you're going to threaten her mother...but I told her I got this. You two might kill each other, you know" Omitter giggled
"Ah, that person. I don't want to confront her since I'm well aware I might lose. I'm the type who doesn't fight a battle where it's obvious I would lose"
"Ha! Cowa-"
"Shut it, Purifier"
Tyrant kicked away Purifier's head again and made it roll somewhere while the head immediately chased after it.
"Did you come here to waste my time again, Omitter?"
"I want to know what you're planning this time" Omitter tilted her head and upper body
"You heard what I said. I'm doing this for someone else's sake" Tyrant groaned
"Whatever. If that girl comes after you, be sure to not regret it..."
"Just because I don't want to fight her doesn't mean I'm not willing to" Tyrant scoffed
"Hey, hey, what's this? Is there a fight going to happen? I want to watch!"
The Siren Purifier's body immediately stood up with her head tightly clutched by her two hands and ran between the two the moment they implied about a possible fight in the future.
The far north...
Tirpitz travelled to the far north where she was met by a landscape of ice blanketed by snow. Her breath became visible like smoke with how the cold reach inside her, but she grew immune to the harshness of extreme cold due to her past experience.
"That dream feels too familiar..."
Tirpitz blankly stared at the horizon and used the peace around her to process the thoughts that continued to bother her.
"Your thoughts continue to bother you. Is that why you came at roof of the world?"
"...!"
Tirpitz jolted and turned around where an unexpected second person walked towards her as if it was nothing strange. The unknown girl in question wore wore typical Arctic protection with the thick white hooded jacket, a pair of black gloves and boots. Tirpitz couldn't identity the girl with the hood raise and shadow somewhat shaded the entirety of her face.
"2nd Bismarck class battleship, Tirpitz. We finally formally met" The voice matured to that of a young woman
"Who are you? You're not human, are you?"
"Of course not. No human would just randomly walk here by coincidence, you know"
The young woman grabbed both sides of her hood and lowered to immediately reveal the shaded identity. Rather than shock or increased hostility, Tirpitz felt puzzled and confused at the same time.
"As you can see, I am a Siren"
"You can speak and aware of your surroundings. What kind of Elite Siren are you"
"I'm the Siren Custodian, but Custodian is fine"
A Siren with the appearance of a young woman with pale skin, short white hair, and a pair of bright indigo eyes displayed no intentions for violence of sorts. The Siren appeared before Tirpitz, but her intention remained unknown.
"Whose Siren are you? What do you want?" Tirpitz immediately demanded to know
"I am an outcast Siren rejected by my own creator. I reside here I remain undisturbed, so it's not like I followed you or anything. Also, I have no intention of fighting you just because we are opposites"
Tirpitz remained suspicious even if the Siren possessed no rigging by her side since she knew very well to never felt your guard down against a Siren.
"You're here to clear your mind, lonely queen of the north? I mean no same shipgirl would go here just to relax, you know?" Custodian pointed
"I can't stop thinking about something. That's all you need to know..." Tirpitz looked away
"Does it have something to do with your sister again?"
"...?!"
Well, Bismarck is currently...confused and frustrated. She's currently experiencing this whole thing, but she refrained from telling you the truth" The Siren rubbed her chin
"What are you talking about?"
"I don't have the answers since the one who caused all of this is dead"
"..." Tirpitz only became more confused
"It's really hard to explain it to you since as a Custodian, I am not affected by this whole... shenanigan"
The Siren popped back her hood on, but her face can still be seen compared when she introduced herself to Tirpitz earlier. She was slightly saddened that Tirpitz remained unaware of the whole situation.
"I'm not here to interfere or anything since I'm just a Keeper variant, but the situation is a bit alarming even for me. Progenitor even voiced out her concern. As for Enterprise, I think she's having a cup of tea with her right now"
"I think I prefer if we fight each other than throw more confusion at me" Tirpitz faintly grunted
"I'm sorry. I just don't have a way of explaining it clearly right now. Also, Bismarck might track me down and kill me if she finds out" The Siren felt some sort of shame and turned pulled her hood
"My big sister has no intention of hunting down a Siren like you"
"Not that Bismarck..."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing!"
Custodian frantically shook her head as if she was afraid of something, an odd trait for a Siren even if she was casted out by her fellow Sirens. Perhaps her personality might be related as no Siren exhibited that kind of behavior.
"...How the gentle wind beckons through the leaves as autumn colors fall"
"What are you doing?" Tirpitz raised an eyebrow
"Singing and humming. Humans do it when they're scared or stressed...and I'm stressed right now since I need to keep an extra low profile" Custodian trembled
"I don't know what's wrong with you, but I'm going home. I can't concentrate on my thoughts with an odd Siren around..."
"You're going to repeat the same song, but at that time...you won't be there anymore to realize it" The Siren shouted
"Huh?"
"You'll find out in eight, nine...something"
(Why am I even talking to a Siren? They're supposed to be enemies...)
Tirpitz shook her head, unsure what the Siren tried to possibly warn her about. She just ignored the Siren's additional words and immediately left the scene. Custodian lowered her hood again and ominously observed Tirpitz as she stormed off the scene with an amused smile on her lips.
We'll see each other again, but I'm sure...it won't be a pleasant one...
Extra
Some time ago, Prinz Eugen of Iron Blood was caught off guard and cornered by H-39 who was actually the original Tyrant, parallel from the Tyrant everyone knew. She was from the timeline where she chose to take the life of her timeline's Tirpitz who rampaged because the Sirens used her as a test subject. H-39 tossed a moderately damaged Prinz Eugen down the ground when the latter struggled despite the large in their strength.
"Bis...marck. No...but I'm sensing Tyrant's mental cube" Prinz Eugen wiped the her dirtied cheek
"I integrated her mental cube, but her consciousness remains active. As a result, I couldn't fully assimilate her since my own sister is as stubborn as me. I can't let her mental cube fully repair since she wanted to fulfill her word, but that happens to include tampering with the World Tree itself"
"You're the talkative kind of Bismarck, huh. Not to mention you showed your face without care"
"It doesn't matter, Eugen. I will make sure your recollection of this conversation...won't prove to be an inconvenience for me in the near future" H-39 completely removed her damaged helmet
"Hahahaha. So you're going to alter my memory of this conversation, huh"
"Other people would immediately surrender without a fight against me, but you chose to struggle. Showing my face to you without lie is my method of commending your foolish bravery"
"Get to the point. Why did you go all the way of following me and cornering me" Prinz Eugen stood back up
"Where is Tirpitz hiding? I can't find her other accomplices, but you're fortunately more careless than the other two"
"I'm not telling. You're not here to be the savior of some kind. I'm guessing you're here to do damage to this so-called innocent world"
"..."
Prinz Eugen refused to yield to H-39 despite her utter defeat against someone who deliberately spared her in order to extract information. Since Prinz Eugen knew this fact, this gave her more reason to refuse and be more stubborn than before.
"I'm not here to kill Tirpitz. My past version view Tirpitz as someone dear to her. If I were to kill her, Bismarck would certainly seek retribution and ignite the cycle of vengeance" H-39 sighed
"Since you never lie, your lying expression is as clear as day. You make a terrible liar, Bismarck. That's what you get for being so honorable all the time"
"..."
Dismayed towards Prinz Eugen's mockery and snarky attitude even when was left at her opponent's meet, Tyrant smacked her away with an effortless smack from her right arm and caused the damaged heavy cruiser to land back on the ground.
"Don't tamper with my patience, Eugen. I don't have time with your childish behavior" H-39 warned her
"What's the rush? Are you after something, of are you running away from someone?" Prinz Eugen teased her again
"..."
"So, it's the latter. What could you be so afraid of that you're willing to run away? Hahahaha. Bismarck, of all people, actually fears someone enough for her to flee"
"You know very well how I don't tolerate that kind of behavior. Since it's you, I shouldn't be surprised you're provoking me without a care for your own life..." H-39 shook her head in disappointment
"It's true that there are two more who's regularly contacting Tirpitz, but there are actually three of them in this world"
"A third one? No, a fourth one to be exact. The unknown existence that Observer couldn't identity no matter how much she tries, I suppose"
"That aside, even if you want to kill Tirpitz, she's already at a suicidal point"
"I know that, which is why I'm after her"
"You want to save her...by killing her? What kind of boring twist is that?" Prinz Eugen smirked
"I've seen what's going to happen to her. I will not allow a future where I have to sacrifice one of my own. I will not...let anyone be sacrificed ever again"
H-39's plan to take out Tirpitz was indeed the truth, but she had a twisted yet noble reason to do so. She wished not just to save Tirpitz but protect everyone in Iron Blood as well. Her wish to save everyone's future in Iron Blood was near impossible, but Bismarck's will refused to waver.
"At the end of the day, it's still about Tirpitz. It makes sense since you went the length of retrieving Tyrant's supposedly destroyed mental cube" Prinz Eugen scoffed
"Where is Tirpitz? I don't have much time left in this world, Eugen. I'm expanding my limited life and straining my mental cube"
"You saw everything, yet you're here asking me. Are you uncertain about what you saw?"
"...I am. I don't trust myself after my failure to protect Iron Blood...and even caused it's downfall"
"Tell me, what happened to your timeline's Iron Blood?" Prinz Eugen took a deep breath
"...Tirpitz was used to contain a sin. She destabilized her own mental cube in order to prevent that thing from overtaking her ego. I realized my mistake when I plunged my blade into her heart. A ghost shipgirl used Tirpitz's corpse and decimated my world"
The guilt and regret H-39 had long suppressed spilled out and warped her cold and stoic expression. H-39 believed she was at fault to why her world collapse, especially when she saw Open Blood crumble right before her eyes.
"I didn't realized it. She didn't went insane because the Sirens damaged her. Tirpitz fractured her own ego in order to use her own body as a container of a greater evil. The Sirens knew very well what will happen...and gleefully watch as I caused the end of my world. I couldn't do anything in my ravaged timeline and died without undoing my mistake..."
"...and you believe it will happen again?"
"So long as that weapon exists, Tirpitz or someone else will be the catalyst. The cycle will repeat again even if I wasn't the one to make the mistake" Tirpitz tightly clenched her fists
"I see..." Prinz Eugen shrugged her shoulders
"If that's the case, then Tirpitz is targeting the shipgirls of the Maizuru fleet. Reach those shipgirls, and Tirpitz will come out herself. Your past self had made contact with that fleet, and Tirpitz isn't happy about it"
To H-39's surprise, Prinz Eugen recommended try a method to both reach her past self and Tirpitz in one go. Prinz Eugen lowered her hostility and answered with no hint of deception. For once, Prinz Eugen answered an "enemy" with honesty.
"Eugen..." H-39 returned her casual yet stoic demeanor
"Well, it's not like I would remember your face or this conversation. Perhaps, I would have a sense of deja vu once you show your face to everyone including me" Prinz Eugen chuckled
"..."
"I really don't like what I'm going to do, but I'm trusting you on this one. I don't feel like going against you after hearing this...twist from you"
"You have my thanks"
"When the time comes and you're somehow still alive, give me a reminder about all of this. Who knows? There might be a need for me in the future"
"I will take note of that..."
Once everything was settled, H-39 walked a few meters to the right and picked up the damaged helmet she tossed to a corner earlier. She sealed her identity from public view again, but Prinz Eugen didn't mind as their entire conversation would be just a faint dream for her.
"Guten nacht, Prinz Eugen. Once you wake up, this will be just a fleeting dream"
"I don't like others telling me when to sleep, but it can't be helped...can it? Although, I do wish Tirpitz could actually understand how much you're working hard for everyone" Prinz Eugen faintly smiled
"..."
H-39, the original Tyrant, stretched out her hand towards Prinz Eugen and gently pressed her palm on top of her head. She needed to alter the brief moment they spent in their conversation since she needed Prinz Eugen to be unaware of her true motives and identity for the time being. Prinz Eugen could be a valuable asset to her, but H-39 had no regrets with her decision and decided to proceed with no more words to say.
...
...
...
It was indeed just a fleeting dream...
H-39 possessed immense strength far superior than Bismarck and even the likes of those "alter egos", but she lost a large portion of her strength after she was resurrected. When she briefly activated the neutral World Tree for her own gain, her mental cube and physical body begun to crumble under the sheer strain of raw essence of reality.
"I don't have much of a choice. I don't want anyone to lose someone dear to them. Even if it isn't Tirpitz, someone else will be the catalyst...and someone will repeat my mistake"
As the world around her begun to vanish, Tyrant felt no regret for her desperate actions. If anything, she did feel guilt for the lives she had taken as seen from her pitiful and crushed expression. H-39 surrendered to her knees after she expanded the last of us strength and slowly accepted her inevitable demise.
"Is this really what you want, big sister?" Someone else was present in limbo
"Tir...pitz...? No, you're the Tyrant of this timeline - where I couldn't bring myself to kill you"
H-39's body slowly disintegrated and crumble piece by piece as she weakly turned her head towards the deceased Tyrant who finally regained her consciousness. Now that H-39 could no longer imprison her, Tyrant regained full control of her consciousness even while they were both in limbo.
"Your sacrifice won't amount to anything. I will set it free and correct the imbalance caused by all of you" Tyrant declared
"That thing...is a person, isn't it? She has a level of self-awareness...and you pitied her, of all people..." H-39 barely cared
"I made a promise to her while I was drifiting in the void for a few months. This time, I don't intend to break my word"
"...I see. Do as you wish, little sister. I have no more role to fulfill anymore. The role of the villain...is actually yours since the beginning" H-39 weakly scoffed
"You've become spineless now that you're dying. This is what I don't like about you" Tyrant clicked her tongue
"My intense emotions died out as soon as the horror of dooming my timeline sinks in"
Tyrant looked down at her with a mixture of disappointment and mild disgust. H-39, who was once the proud Bismarck, accepted her inevitable end. The Bismarck she knew would struggle against her own fate and destroy her own dead end to pave a way for brighter future, but this one had been worn down so much.
"I'm going to beat the hell out of you with my own hands next time, my dear sister"
"Is that so...?"
"You won't die someone as pathetic as this. I will surpass you properly and fairly, Bismarck..."
"You've become such a strong-headed person. I guess your own hell...toughened you up more than I did" H-39 was oddly proud
"You are just like the Bismarck that was stuck inside my head..." Tyrant turned her back away
"The end for those two can never be changed. You should know that by now..."
"..."
"I see. In the end, both our motives are pure...yet it's our methods that make us the villains"
A quarter of H-39's face and her whole left arm had already disintegrated, but she felt no pain to her own slow death.
"In the end, this is for their sake and not ours"
"Yes. It's because...our story had crumbled a long time ago..."
Tyrant claimed to have hated the version of her sister from a parallel timeline, but she approached her and even sat in front of her, as if this was her quiet way to comfort H-39 in her last moments.
"You're not going to die like this. I will make sure you would go out in a more proper way..."
"Good luck with that..."
The rest of H-39 disintegrated right in front of Tyrant who faintly felt what did be described as grief and pity. H-39's body finally gave out after she struggled for more than a year, and only her cracked mental cube remained. Beside it was the defective black mental cube she integrated to herself in order to accomplish her goal.
"It looks like we're going to have a proper rematch, Tirpitz. This time, for sure, I will make sure our beloved Iron Blood won't suffer anymore...for Bismarck's sake"
The world around her begun to crumble, so Tyrant picked up both H-39's the defective black mental cube beside. Before she can retrieve H-39's barely intact mental cube, a humanoid figure walked in the limbo as if it was nothing.
"You're...!" Tyrant frowned
[I will be taking this. I still have need for this mental cube after all...] The figure with a disguised voice casually picked up H-39's mental cube
"..."
[I won't interfere much in your plans since I have no part to play right now, but you still have a score to settle...]
"As long as you don't get in my way, ghost of this damn world"
[Fufufu] The humanoid figure chuckled in amusement and abandoned the scene with the damaged mental cube
Tyrant tightly gripped her own hand as she left the scene as well. After she made her resolve to finish what she started, Tyrant left with a mental cube in hand, serious about her newfound objective.