Author: Even before the first end of the actual story, I already mentioned killing off Tirpitz for the time being. I wanted to do something about her motivation and intentions from the original 'Betrayal on Another Sea and In another World'. Like give it more meaning or more reason? It's hard to describe it.
This has yet to begin...
It's been six months since Tirpitz supposedly have died to take down a secret with her in order to foil the Sirens' plan against Oregon Blood. Bismarck believes Tirpitz wouldn't allow herself to fall without a blaze of glory, believing that perhaps Tirpitz has another plan back then.
"What were you thinking, Tirpitz?"
Tirpitz's sorrowful and guilt-filled expression is etched on Bismarck's memory, refusing to ever let go of that moment. She doesn't have enough time in the past to understand Tirpitz's thoughts, and she still doesn't have it in the present...with Tirpitz presumedly deceased.
"You had a plan on that day. There's no way...you would go out in such way..."
At this point of time, Bismarck should be fully accepting of the fact that Tirpitz is more likely dead than alive. What gives her hope is that fact that Tirpitz's suspicious conversation with Bismarck implies she is aware of her fate which would be either to betray Bismarck or let herself die.
"What was it? What was it?"
Bismarck impatiently taps the wooden desk and pointlessly stare at the recording Tirpitz left to her six months ago. No matter how much she analyzes the short conversation, she couldn't pinpoint any hints of whether Tirpitz really did survive.
"It's no use. I couldn't find anything else. All I know is that you planned to abandon Iron Blood but chose not to follow through it. You didn't want to taint our nation, so you chose to end yourself..."
After exhausting her own mind over desperate digging of any possible hints or leads on why Tirpitz has to choose to kill herself six months ago. Before Tyrant's last stand, Tirpitz shows no hint of her and plan against Iron Blood. Bismarck couldn't remove the exact scene where Tirpitz bears one sorrowful smile and even sheds a tear as pure energy spreading like flames consumes half of her body and breaks her apart.
"..." A knocking on the door
The one who usually serves as Bismarck's second-in-command, Graf Zeppelin, enters her office with her usually uninterested and somewhat stern expression. She rolls her eyes seeing the familiar object on the center of Bismarck's desk, realizing she is still burying herself over the events from six months ago. Since no matter what she says, Bismarck would either reject or grow defensive, Graf Zeppelin pauses herself before she instinctively mentions it.
"Graf Zeppelin, what's the matter?"
"Someone from the Sakura wanted to see you. It's that old battleship Mikasa"
"Sakura's former fleet leader? What could she want?" Bismarck straightens herself
"I don't know but she said there's something important she wanted to tell you" Graf Zeppelin shrugs her shoulders
"It must be important since it's coming from one of the least person I expected. Bring her here" Bismarck instantly orders
"Understood"
Graf Zeppelin leaves as soon as Bismarck gives the command while Bismarck herself is curious to what the Sakura Empire's Mikasa wants from her. As a fleet leader, Bismarck interacts with shipgirls of various nations whenever business is in need of her presence. She has no appointment or scheduled meeting from anyone from the Sakura, so it piques her interest.
"Hmm. What could Sakura's former fleet leader want from me?"
While waiting for Graf Zeppelin's to fetch Mikasa, Bismarck gently toys with the Siren device that Tirpitz left as a souvenir. If only she has any more hints of what message she wants to convey before killing herself, Bismarck wouldn't bury herself after six months.
"..."
Bismarck stares at the object for two minutes straight without breaking eye contact, but the sound of knocking interrupts her. Graf Zeppelin brings Mikasa to the office and closes the door behind, leaving the two to speak in private. It appears that whatever the two has in mind to discuss, she is absolutely uninterested unless it's critical for Iron Blood's affairs.
"It's pleasure to meet you in person, Bismarck of Iron Blood" Mikasa greets her in a friendly manner
"It's an honor to for me to meet the legendary battleship of the Sakura Empire. Although...this is rather unexpected"
Bismarck stands and greets the veteran battleship in her own way as well. Even if Mikasa gives off a gentle and friendly atmosphere, Bismarck is naturally stern and serious around everyone since she tends to act like a disciplined leader. Despite there little interaction in the past, Bismarck views her with deep respect knowing her feats and how she remains standing proudly despite being past her prime.
"Is there something you need? This visit is one the least I expected"
"Yes. It's related to you so I had to meet you as soon as possible" Mikasa's expression turns serious almost instantly
"From your expression, it's clearly important. What is this about?" Bismarck readies herself
"I heard about what happened six months ago. The one that involved your sister and the Sirens being the mastermind again"
"...?!" Bismarck's hands tense
Even if it's been six months since that incident, the events is still fresh on Bismarck's memory. How could she possibly forget the very moment Tirpitz has given up on herself hen she realizes she is already at death's door. No matter how much Bismarck pursues her to rethink her decision, Tirpitz keeps pushing her away.
"...About...my sister. What is it about Tirpitz?" Bismarck hesitates for a moment
"I've been looking into a mysterious shipgirl that the Sirens are both wary and hunting down. While I was tracking her existence and possible location, I came across an odd Siren"
"An odd Siren?"
"I fought a Siren who displayed human-like behavior and appearance. When I fought her, she mentioned several things. One of those things is regarding the incident with Iron Blood six months ago. What happened in this incident"
"What happened, you ask? My own sister destroyed herself because the Sirens sought something. Without knowing why, I watched her be consumed by pure energy back then..." Bismarck could barely contain her frustration
"..."
Mikasa is aware they Bismarck takes the aftermath of the incident the hardest even after six months has passed, so she pauses and allows a moment of silence between them. Right now, Bismarck is balancing her serious nature and frustration. Mikasa wouldn't exactly know how Bismarck would feel about her loss, so she refuses to say anything for a minute, rather than spout out words like she sympathizes with her loss or can relate to how she exactly feels.
"I see. It's natural for you to bear such emotions, but I have to inform you about the Sirens" Mikasa emits little emotion
"The Sirens?"
"I'm investigating about a faction of the Sirens lead by Arbiter III: Empress. There were others in the residual memory...but your sister was there"
"More than six months ago? Then Tirpitz had contact with the Sirens?" Bismarck bites her lips
"No. The recording...was from a month ago" Mikasa darkens her expression
"One...month ago...?"
Out of Bismarck's disbelief, she almost collapses to either the wall behind her or her chair. She would expect Tirpitz has more old recordings before she kills herself, but the fact that she might be present somewhere else one month ago already states the obvious.
"It's better to show you"
Mikasa brings out a carelessly torn core of a data bank of some sort which she wraps around a cloth. It's an interesting object she obtains while tracking down the elusive and mysterious Siren who has been present from certain conflicts and the Empress.
"It's from a purple Siren Explorer I beat up while I was in the Northern Union territory. She tried to run away, but I caught up to her until I blasted her legs" Mikasa briefly explains
"What is that?"
"This thing is like a recorder which projects what it saw and heard before I sunk it. I found it and had Akashi examine this thing since machines aren't really my forte..."
Mikasa carefully flips the Siren core that has mild damage after the brief fight with her. Mikasa fiddles it for a moment and twists the object by holding it with both of her hands on both sides and activates in the process. The small processor inside it faintly hums and the lines around the object glows. The object releases faint warmth with the little energy it has stored even after Mikasa rips it out without consideration.
"Watch"
The scenery of a formal office disappears as colors surrounds the six sides of the office. They find themselves standing in an unknown location with dull-looking steel walls and several mass-produced Siren parts lying around. It projects the location base on what the Siren records on its surroundings during that time. The recording isn't complete high quality anymore due to the method Mikasa used to confiscate it.
"A Siren?" Bismarck frowns
A Siren with short layered hair and reading what looks like newspaper, gently hums while swaying her feet freely hanging a few feet off the ground. About ten to fifteen seconds later, Tirpitz walks in and approaches the unknown Elite Siren. She is in a rather unpleasant and mildly hostile mood the moment she steps into the room.
"That's...Tirpitz?!" Bismarck almost stumbles back
"Correct. That's why I wanted to show this to you. You're sister is still alive... somehow" Mikasa nods and confirm it
"What is doing with the Sirens? She killed herself to protecting something from the Sirens"
"Just watch"
Mikasa places her index finger between her lip and shushes, gesturing Bismarck to lower her voice and tells her to just observe first. They're still at the beginning of the recording, and she doesn't want Bismarck to miss the crucial details.
"You and that heavy cruiser is surely enjoying your stay in that other world. It looks like killing yourself was the best thing you did" The Siren scoffs
The Siren closes the newspaper, cleanly folds it,and puts it on the side rather than toss it like trash. She looks upset at Tirpitz, but the latter clearly doesn't care about what the Siren thinks of her the least. Tirpitz herself is in no mood to entertain the Siren mocking or teasing her.
"I may not be doing anything now, but I'm still doing my task. That's why I'm staying around the Bermuda while that girl dealing with any possible threats elsewhere" Tirpitz sighs
"You really are taking your time. Don't forget you owe this to Empress!"
The Siren rudely scolds Tirpitz and proudly points at her, much to Tirpitz's annoyance. She clenches her fist as if she's craving to physical retaliate but unable to do so for an unknown reason. Instead, she lowers her head, frustrated at her situation.
"Code-Null Project: Ghost isn't even my task or my specialty" Tirpitz clicks her tongue
"Well, you don't have much of a choice" The Siren belittles Tirpitz
"Nothing can lure out Ghost if she can't even get out"
"Project: Ghost was a new existence and it was so much of a dangerous existence that it annihilated both shipgirls and Sirens in a parallel world. You know about it, right?"
"I'm aware the Observer and the other tried to bring her here in this world. That's the thing that caused [Redaction] two months ago. It's terrifying how such thing came to existence"
"Fortunately, Project: Ghost was already an unstable existence that upon forcing it out of its world, it deconstructed most of its existence. Ghost is the result of a certain woman's incomplete project"
The Elite Siren then projects a silhouette with glowing red eyes right before Tirpitz. It's an unknown shipgirl who isn't in the normal classification but it somewhat resembles a normal shipgirl, only that it has no proper appearance other than its shadow. If given proper form, it might resemble an existing shipgirl but the shadow keeps its entire identity completely unknown.
"Code: Null but commonly known as Ghost. I wonder...who it was before becoming nothing but the strongest defective weapon"
"Ghost is a failed attempt to recreate someone. Despite that, she proved to be difficult even for Ash. Once you encounter her, you'll know why" The Siren answers
"..."
"You shouldn't be concerned about Ghost.. That mindless weapon is still sealed to a trash dump"
"Sooner or later, that thing will break free. They just threw her there and not sealed her off.
"You're supposed a corpse that got destroyed months ago. Truth to be told, it shouldn't be possible for you to be walking around"
"..." Tirpitz's killing intent is being forced out
"Well, how you're still in one piece is not really my concern. There's no doubt you're completely alive without any side effects" The Siren shakes her head
"Whether I'm empty or filled is no importance. My body still continues to exist and may never recover once I'm destroyed again. Not even by the Sirens..."
"I suggest you'll rethink being suicidal again. I heard bringing you back is no easy task"
"..."
The ill-tempered Siren suspects about the method used to restore Tirpitz but wisely chooses not to delve to it further or it might escalate into a conflict. Tirpitz won't visibly stand on her spot and allow the Siren to question how she is still alive despite clearly destroying her whole body months ago.
"Anyhow, I have to go to the Mariana Trench. My...companion is impatient and acting some sort of caretaker" Tirpitz chuckles
"Just keep an eye on your carefree friend who loves to insult others and doesn't bother to be careful"
Tirpitz stops in her tracks and briefly turn towards the Siren, briefly smirking before taking her leave. Whether Tirpitz is silently teasing her is unsure since Tirpitz isn't the type to behave in a lively manner.
"Tirpitz...is with the Sirens...and she really is alive. I expected this, but still...this still comes as a surprise"
From the memory alone, it is clear to Bismarck that Tirpitz is clearly siding with the Sirens when they're suppose to be the enemy. The more important information that it confirms that Tirpitz did indeed survive her own destruction through an unknown means.
"Your sister is completely alive and kicking, Bismarck. This is what I wanted to show you" Mikasa wraps the object again as soon as the light dies out
Bismarck lowers her head and clenches her fist, not seeing a reasonable explanation to why Tirpitz is working with the Sirens after the events six months ago. There shouldn't be a way to bring her back after completely destroying her body along with her mental cube...but Bismarck expresses little hatred. If anything, Mikasa can guess Bismarck is relieved Tirpitz is alive.
"In that memory, Tirpitz doesn't look like she's not too happy being with the Sirens. They did something to bring her back...and make her side with them. I want to know why..." Bismarck eases her shaking
"If you want to know more, there's only one way to find out about it"
"Please tell me. I want to find out why would Tirpitz work for the enemy. My sister wouldn't just side with them after her attempt to foil their plans"
"Then you're going to be in for a long trip..." Mikasa smirks
It doesn't matter where and what she has to search,l. Bismarck displays she's determined to seek answers behind the meaning of how it's possible that Tirpitz is completely reconstructed and allying herself with the Sirens rather than return to Iron Blood. A faint hope of Tirpitz being forced in that circumstances sprouts within Bismarck...while she can only wish Tirpitz didn't choose to betray them by faking her death in order to move freely.