Unknown Location, sometime in the future
A figure stood in an ocean of flames, their cannons pointed up into the sky. With their rigging impaled by the barrels of one of the cannons, Purifier reached down at the figure, her usual smugness and cockiness gone. "Help…"
The cannons roared, destroying the Siren mercilessly. The figure turned, the cannons aiming at an unforeseen target, as large battleships emerged from the walls of fire behind the Kansen. The figure's face was shadowed, but the piercing blue eyes gave away who it was.
"Look around you. You think you can keep them safe with what you have? You don't know what's coming...but it can save you." The figure said. "Now...wake up."
Roon's ship
H44 awoke suddenly in a cold sweat. He sat up and looked around the room, trying to remember where he was. "Room doesn't look like mine...wait." He looked down to see Roon still sleeping peacefully next to him. "Oh...right. Last night."
"H44?" H44 looked to the doorway to see Z23 standing there. "What is on your chest?"
H44 looked down to see scratches all over his chest. "Excellent question, Z23." He threw the covers to the side and stood up from the bed. He walked over to the mirror, Z23's eyes following his naked body. He looked down to see on his muscular chest was the word Roon's etched into his skin. "Hmm…It appears Roon has a problem with differentiating people from property."
"I think she has a problem with differentiating you from property." H44 looked in the mirror to see Atago standing behind Z23. "I hope you remember you're naked right now."
"You enjoying the view?" H44 arched an eyebrow. "Give me five minutes to change, and I will be outside to make breakfast. I need to speak with our prisoners again today."
"I forget sometimes you know how to cook." Atago smiled, and produced a manilla folder from behind her back. "This is yours if breakfast is up to my standards."
"Hmph." H44 went to his open suitcase, and began to put on his uniform.
True to his word, he was out into the kitchen in five minutes. "How did you-" Atago began.
"It's from his training." Z23 whisper-answered. "I was told that H44 was trained before they sent him out into combat, so he has some skills that we don't have. One is being able to change into anything in five minutes or less."
"Huh...interesting."
H44 opened the fridge. "Nimi."
"Yes?" Z23 looked up.
"You remember how to make eggs?"
"Of course, how could I forget our lesson?"
"Good." H44 reached into the fridge and produced a carton of eggs from it. "Get cooking. Let's show our guest some hospitality."
"And you?" Atago asked, smiling at the battleship.
H44 handed Z23 the egg carton, his other hand holding a carton of orange juice. "Have you ever had bacon and eggs?"
"I don't think I have."
"Well…" H44 reached into the freezer and brought out a package of bacon. "Today's your lucky day. Or so I hope…" He put the two items on the counter and went to grab something from on top of the fridge. "Did she get rid of it...nope." He grabbed a black griddle from on top of the fridge. "Good thing she didn't ditch this thing."
"Why would she ditch something you gave her?" Z23 asked, turning the stove on.
"You never know." H44 said, plugging the griddle into the wall, heating it up.
"So, what are we discussing with the prisoners today?" Atago asked.
"Well, I was wondering if you and Nimi could talk with Cheshire. I'm going to try my hand at breaking Monarch." H44 answered. "Ask her anything that pertains to the upcoming battle or Azur Lane in general. We're gonna need all the information we can get."
"So a normal interrogation?" Z23 asked.
"Well...it's more like a questioning than an interrogation." H44 answered. "We're not going to torture them."
"Alright." Z23 said, grabbing an egg and cracking it over the pan.
"Atago." H44 turned to the cruiser.
"Hmm?"
"The commission squad that was sent out before I was sortied with Kaga and Akagi, when do they return?"
"Hmm...I think they return-"
The bulkhead doors burst open as a black-clothed, white haired figure jumped down the stairs and onto the floor of the kitchen. "H44!"
"Hello there, sis." H44 greeted the cruiser. "Welcome back."
"Greetings." Z23 greeted.
"I'm not totally caught up to speed here." Atago interjected.
"Ah, I see. This is my younger "sister", Odin." H44 explained. "She was sent with Mainz to accompany the experimental Kansen from Sakura on a large commission. Speaking of...where is Mainz?"
"She's dealing with some paperwork, you know she loves that." Odin answered. "So, is Roon here?"
"She's...still asleep." H44 answered, looking away.
"I know that look...what did she do?"
"Nothing important." H44 answered, his tone making it very clear he wasn't interested in explaining further.
"Very well, I'll go check on her. I expect breakfast when I return!" With that, Odin walked down the hallway towards H44/Roon's room.
"Interesting girl." Atago noted.
"Shoulda seen her when she was first summoned, uptight and a little awkward." H44 said.
"Eggs are done!" Z23 put the over easy eggs on plates, while H44 continued to work on the bacon, separating the pieces into individual strips.
"This all smells really delicious!" Atago complimented.
"Glad you like it so far." H44 smiled. 'I wonder what Bismarck is doing right now. It couldn't have been easy to get those files.'
Iron Blood Territory, Germania
Bismarck stood in her office at attention. Friedrich stood at her side, Tirpitz on the other. Standing in front of them was their Kommandant , flanked on each side by soldiers who were wearing H44's exact armor, helmet included, and holding MG42s. The Kommandant himself was wearing the armor, but instead of a helmet, he wore a curved cape on his head and a metal mask on the lower half of his face, allowing only his red eyes to be seen.
"Bismarck, I would like to know why, in the middle of the night, you sent out all the files you had available on our H-44 Kansen to the world. We've warned that Eagle Union could try to assassinate him for how-"
"He ordered it." Bismarck interrupted. "He was overly angry, and demanded I released all the files I had, but there was a file I was unable to open."
"Probably because it's a ZIP folder." The Kommandant answered. "And a locked and encrypted one at that."
"Why is that?"
The Kommandant seemed hesitant. "I am not allowed to say."
"Sir, what is H44?" Tirpitz asked. Everyone in the room looked at her. "He has an unstable personality, our first Kansen, fought for us before we breathed this air, employed dangerous ammunition, and the list goes on...by why so secretive with him? Wouldn't it be better if people knew about him, like for morale?"
The Kommandant sighed. "There is a good reason-"
"Then tell us." Friedrich interrupted.
"It isn't that easy. This is very confidential, even to those high up in the OKW . Only the Oberbefehlshaber and a select few around him know what he truly is." The Kommandant explained. "I was only told recently. I will say this to you three, though. He is not what he seems."
"Can we stop beating around the bush here?" Friedrich seemed annoyed at the Kommandant's hesitation on the topic. "We're the three high ranking Kansen in Iron Blood, we deserve to know the details about one of our own. We have the full bios of all the other Kansen, what's different about him?"
The Kommandant was silent, but snapped his fingers. The soldiers flanking him about-faced and left the office, closing the door behind them. "What I am about to tell you is strictly confidential. I was sent here for two reasons, one being the fact that Bismarck was authorized to release H44's documents sans the utmost classified ones. The other reason involves the blueprints your team found."
"Is this about Plan Z-44?" Tirpitz asked.
"It is. But I must start with a simple question: How long has the Siren War been going on?"
"A little under 5 years." Bismarck answered easily.
"Incorrect." The Kommandant responded.
"Old man, are you sure your mind is still fully functioning?" Friedrich asked. "We've been in this world for 3 years, while Humanity fought the war alone for the first two, totalling five years overall."
"Humanity has not been fighting alone for three years."
"Are you saying-?"
The Kommandant's eyes seemed to age, he removed his cover, revealing his greying brown hair. "Humanity has been in a secret war with the Sirens for several decades. Only five years ago we lost the ability to contain them."
"But...how?" Tirpitz asked.
"It all involves Plan Z-44." He produced a USB stick from his left jacket pocket. "This contains all the details regarding the H44 Project." Bismarck took the USB and put it into her computer.
"Wait." All eyes turned to Friedrich. "What 'H44 Project'?"
"The project to create H44, the first Kansen. He was created nine years ago, after painstaking work from our research department. But how he was created...was far from ethical."
"How?" Tirpitz asked as Bismarck let the computer load the files.
"In the beginning, we fought the Sirens on the ground. They were much weaker, but much more numerous. Them and their stupid little cultist forces." The Kommandant explained. "We could kill them with normal weapons, we could bring them to fight in all areas of battle: land, sea, and air."
"So it was similar to an actual war for a while?" Bismarck asked.
"It was all centered around Iceland and the Submerged Landmass way up north. Due to electrical interference, we couldn't get other countries to help us. We didn't feel the need to do so either. We kept it secret for a long time, until they started becoming what they are now. That was 8 years ago. Three years after the Sirens became...unbeatable to us...we created Kansen. But for H44, he had been fighting for a long time already…"
Bismarck opened the first item in the USB, a picture. It loaded, and when it did, Bismarck had to look away and suppress the urge to see her breakfast again, but ultimately failed.
"Bismarck!" Tirpitz ran over to her sister. The Kommandant closed his eyes. Friedrich looked at the computer screen, and gasped.
On it, was a mortally wounded soldier that looked just like H44, his left side was charred and the skeleton was visible. A primitive rigging was stuck to the body, but it seemed to be protruding from the body, like a parasite. The dragons were disfigured and the cannons were missing. His torpedo tubes were jutting out of his thighs, and the secondary mounts were pushed up against the inside of the man's skin.
"What in God's name did you do!?" Friedrich exclaimed with an uncharacteristic amount of fury in her voice.
"God wasn't around to save us." The Kommandant opened his eyes to look at the battleship. "So we didn't let God see what we did."
Tirpitz was visibly shaken by the picture as well. "This...this is the first file…"
"How many are there?" Friedrich asked.
"I couldn't tell you." The Kommandant answered solemnly.
"This...this was the first test?" Bismarck asked, slowly recovering.
"Yes. There were many downs and very few ups, and we became desperate towards the twenty year mark of the war. So we tried a new theory: the Wisdom Cube."
"And that's how you produced him?" Friedrich asked.
"No. That's how we figured out how to make you. We used Siren technology to help create your riggings, but with H44...he was the first Cube, but he wasn't a Wisdom Cube."
"The Theory didn't work?"
"Not the first time. We created the first Wisdom Cube, and when it sprang to life…" The Kommandant looked like he was going to cry. "I still hear the screams...the damned screams."
Bismarck steeled herself for the next question. "What did you do?"
"I did nothing. But what the scientists did...I cannot say."
Friedrich took the mouse and scrolled through the files, finding a video labelled Project V: First Trial. "Project V?"
"Valhalla?" Tirpitz muttered. "Naval Base Valhalla is referred to as Naval Base V sometimes. I was stationed there during the Siren War. I remember it was a popular scuba diving spot."
"Why? The waters are freezing." Bismarck asked.
"There were lots of wrecks under the water." Tirpitz remembered. "Wait, were those…?"
The Kommandant didn't answer.
"Oh my god!" Tirpitz realized. "You had me protect a DISPOSAL SITE!?"
"We had to make sure…"
"Bismarck." The battleship looked over to see a video playing on her computer. "It's-"
"Activate it." Someone on the computer said. On the screen, it showed a large airplane hangar, with many devices monitoring a body laying on a surgery table hooked up to many wires,
"But what about-"
"Shut up and do your goddamn job. We're losing and he's the last chance. Now, activate it."
"...powering up the Cube. Insertion in ten seconds."
"No…" Bismarck started.
"Cube inserted into the body. Vitals seem nominal."
"He's waking up!" Someone shouted. "Hey buddy...take it easy now…"
"W-where am I? Who are you? What happened to Fracture?" The body on the table asked.
"Fracture?" Tirpitz asked aloud. "Never heard of this "Fracture" before."
"You're at Naval Base Valhalla, you're safe."
"I feel...weird…"
"Technician! Have him activate his rigging!" The commander called out.
"But he needs rest!"
"And we need to win a war. Have him activate his rigging. Now."
The technician sighed. "Very well. Can you activate your rigging?"
"My...what?" The figure sat up, giving Bismarck a clear look at the figure. He looked exactly like H44.
"Your rigging. Your weapons?"
"My weapons? I don't-" He stopped, and began to look sick. Suddenly, he began to throw up blood.
"Technician, what the hell is happening?"
"I-I don't know!"
"Vitals are spiking! He's losing a lot of blood! The skeleton is...oh my God!"
Suddenly, and violently, two metal dragons sprouted from the male's back, roaring and covered in blood. He screamed in agony as his armor started to grow out of his skin. His torpedoes started to suddenly jerk themselves from his thighs, the hip bones being violently ejected from the man's body.
"Shut it down!" The officer shouted. "Shut that goddamn thing down!"
"Powering down, Wisdom Cube has been...successfully recovered." A technician reported. "Sir, the body?"
By now, the figure was silent, his mouth open in a silent scream. The dragons fell to the floor as the rigging powered down.
"Bring it outside and force it into ship form. We'll sink it in the harbor, with the others."
The video ended, leaving Bismarck to stare at the blank screen as Friedrich turned the computer off. "I'm going to ask this once, Kommandant. How many times did you try to create H44?" Friedrich asked. Tirpitz looked at the Kommandant, steeling herself for the answer of just how many disfigured corpses she was sent to protect.
"At a rough estimate from the Oberbefehlshaber himself, around 126 trials were made." The Kommandant answered. "We were only able to force six of them into ship mode, but the rest of the bodies were hidden in the wrecks."
Tirpitz closed her eyes, and faced away from the officer. Bismarck looked up. "How were there so many trials? What finally went right?
"Nine years ago, H44 was successfully fused with a Wisdom Cube. How we did it hasn't been made privy to me, but I assume it had something to do with a bit of stolen Siren technology."
"That doesn't answer my first question."
The Kommandant sighed. "We used wounded soldiers from the front, those who wished to carry on the fight."
"What?"
"We told them it was a new project for super soldiers, a shining light to fight the darkness that was the Sirens. But eventually...it became clear to all that no one came back to the front after going to Naval Base Valhalla. We almost suspended the project until H44 was created."
"So that brings us back to square one: Who or what is he?" Friedrich asked.
"He's a Kansen, maybe not a well put together one...but he is a Kansen." The Kommandant answered. "But your question for secrecy has been fully answered, yes?"
The trio didn't answer.
The Kommandant nodded. "Very well. I must go. The Heer is preparing an offensive on some cultist bases that persist in Vichya. Auf Wiedersehen ." He turned around and left the office.
When the door closed behind him, Friedrich looked at the shell-shocked battleships. "Well?"
"We can't tell anyone this. It would destroy our camp, and possibly our fragile alliance with the Sakura Empire. We keep this under wraps, something tells me that H44 isn't aware how he came to be either…"
Sakura
H44, Atago, and Z23 walked down the stairs to the brig. When they opened the door to the holding areas, they heard mumbles from the residents who were asleep as the lights that turned on forced them awake.
"Atago and Z23, question Cheshire for me. I'm gonna see if I can pick Monarch's brain." H44 ordered.
"You got it." Atago smiled as her and Z23 walked over to Cheshires cell.
H44 walked down the row to Monarch's cell, ignoring the glares from Colorado and Bunker Hill. He arrived at the cell gate, and opened it. "Monarch?"
"Well...hello Demon Lord ." She replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"You know, that nickname rarely gets used around me." H44 smiled as he walked in, closing the door behind him. "But I'm not here to discuss that."
"You want information on Azur Lane? I may dislike some of my royal brethren, but I won't sell them out to you."
H44's face turned neutral. "I can always lock you in a room alone with Roon."
"Is that supposed to be a threat? She may be tough, but she can be beaten." Monarch scoffed.
"Confident, aren't we?" H44 smirked. He turned around, leaving the battleship to wonder what he was planning. Before she could react, she was smacked across the face with a blunt object, knocking her to the ground. She put her hand to where she was hit, feeling a bruise coming and tasted blood in her mouth.
"What-" She looked up to two barrels staring her down. H44 had spun around and shotgun-whipped her.
"I admire the confidence, but I'm in a crunch." H44 was no longer smiling. "Forget Azur Lane , you're gonna tell me about Enterprise."
"And why should I? She's the only one who I respect." Monarch asked. "If anything, she's the only one who can beat you."
"Beat me? She beat the remnants of my massacres, she couldn't hold up to me when I fought her...how is she going to beat me?"
Monarch seemed taken back by the statement. "You...beat her?"
"Broke her rigging. That damn bow is annoying." H44 answered. "What I want to know is why she's so revered. You of all Kansen should know she wasn't the best."
Monarch sighed. "Elizabeth told us to shut up about you around Azur Lane officials. We couldn't say anything about you, because Elizabeth was worried Eagle Union would focus less on the Sirens and Red Axis and more on you."
"So I was put on the backburner because of Eagle Union once again. Really influential people...so much that you believe they would focus all assets on defeating me?"
"I mean...look at who's here." Monarch gestured to the experimentals, Bunker Hill, and Colorado. "They sent the best."
"They did…" H44 lowered his shotgun. "Perhaps this can be used to our advantage."
"By the way...how's your Dora turret?" Monarch smiled.
"Yes yes, laugh it up. You knocked out a turret. Shame it took a team of the best Azur Lane has to offer." H44 scowled. "I've been told it will be repaired by the end of the day."
"Oh...that's not as long as I thought it would take." Monarch seemed slightly crestfallen.
"Better luck next time." H44 walked away. "I don't need anything else, I got what I came for."
"But-"
"I have enough. Pray I don't pry." H44 left the cell, letting the door closed behind him. He walked to Cheshire's cell, but stopped in front of Seattle's. "Seattle."
"Hmm?" She looked up at the battleship.
"I will admit, the nine-bangers were a nice touch to your plan."
"Why, thank you."
"Now...think fast." He tossed a cannister into the cell and walked away as Seattle scrambled, only for it to exploded out smoke.
"Oh...not funny!"
H44 ignored her, and walked into Cheshire's cell. "Any luck?"
"She won't budge on info." Z23 sighed. "We've been nice to her, no beating or electricity."
H44 looked at Atago. "Take Z23 out to the surface. I got this."
Atago nodded, and motioned for Z23 to follow her. When they left, H44 turned to Cheshire. "Should I be worried?" Cheshire asked innocently.
"Not really, no." H44 answered. "I have come to ask a simple question."
"Go ahead."
"Was it your plan to piss me off last night?"
"Hmm? Whatever do you mean?"
"You got me worked up enough to release my files to the public. Now that Azur Lane knows I exist, and I mean knows knows, you figured that they would make a more suitable plan than sending ten ships to fight me." H44 explained.
"You're really smart." Cheshire smirked.
H44 smiled back. "Clever little cat."
"I try." She beamed.
"Well...you better hope your plan works." H44 turned to leave. "Once this war is over...you and I can chat more."
"I look forward to it, Demon Lord. But can I ask you something?"
"I don't see why not."
"Your abilities. We all here have Siren Killer and a wide array of our own individual abilities."
"Yes?"
"You have Siren Killer as well?"
"I do."
"I've heard a rumor about one of your abilities... Kingslayer."
H44 arched an eyebrow. "Someone has been listening in on her Majesty."
"So it's true? The Kingslayer ability is yours to control?"
H44 smiled. "Perhaps."
"Wow…" Cheshire looked at him in amazement. "You really are special, aren't you?"
"I really-wait." H44's smile disappeared. "Buttering me up? Clever."
Cheshire smirked. "Aw...you got me."
"Right, I think I would have better luck talking to Bunker Hill than you." H44 said, turning around and leaving the cell. "Perhaps another time, Cheshire." He said to her as the cell door closed behind him.
Azur Lane Command, Washington City, Eagle Union
Several Commanders looked down from their council stands, while Senators and Congressmembers sat on lower wings on the sides. In front of them was Enterprise and Belfast, sitting at a table looking up at the command structure.
"CV-6, designation Enterprise, it has come to my attention, not to mention my colleagues, that we are facing a new enemy." One of the Senators began. "While I am aware of the threat the Sirens and Red Axis pose, we cannot ignore this blatant oversight by both you and your colleagues in the Royal Navy. You mean to tell me, and everyone in this session, that a Superbattleship of a caliber that dwarfs our own battleships has slipped by subordinates, equals, superiors, and yourself?"
"If you are referring to the H-44 class battleship we have engaged three times as of now, then yes. I was not aware of H44, and the same can be said for many in Eagle Union and Royal Navy , save for a select few in the latter." Enterprise answered.
"C35, designation Belfast, you are the head maid of the Royal Navy . Forgive me if I am wrong, but EU and RN are allies?" A Commander asked. "Was it not privy to share this information to us? You are one of the few in the RN that know of this H44."
"Hey! What are you-" Enterprise began, but was silenced by Belfast.
"Commander Briggs, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is." The officer responded.
"I was not at full liberty to share about H44. If anything, I do not have full information on him myself either. We in the Royal Navy have heard many things about this Kansen, much of it contradicting another. We've heard he was built as a morale boost, a disciplinary, an urban legend, a boogeyman hunter, the boogeyman himself, the list goes on and on." Belfast began.
"And?"
"I know just as much as you do now. I may have had inklings of the Kansen, but your former superiors knew about him, too."
"Impossible! We would have had him sunk if we knew he existed!" A congressman shouted. "He's a direct violation of the power balance!"
"Power balance means nothing to him and Iron Blood. He exists solely to fight against the Sirens, to hold the line, and nothing else." Belfast explained.
Enterprise was briefly reminded of her conversation between herself and the Alter-World Yorktown about how H44, at that time H45 and his H-44 army, had gone insane over the lack of enemies to fight after the Sirens were exterminated.
"He was known, and monitored by both a select few in the Royal Navy and Eagle Union . They were all sworn to secrecy by the Iron Blood and Royal Navy governments due to this exact reason." Belfast continued. "If the EU government found out about H44, they would divert resources to make him complacent with them or have him sunk. Resources that could be better spent in the war against the Sirens."
"She's right." Another Commander pointed out. "Congressman Richards did prove her point."
"So his existence was an enigma?" A Senator asked.
"Correct, thus I was not allowed to share that information, for fear it was a hunch." Belfast finished.
"I see…" The Senator started writing notes down.
"Whatever the case may be, H44 is now an enemy. Red Axis is skirting our borders and we need to meet them head on."
"Sir, we don't even have our Experimentals and our Best Kansen anymore. They were captured." Enterprise reminded the council.
"We'll have to make do, Enterprise. He's one battleship. While that's nothing to spit at, he has a low cannon count and can most likely be beaten back by carriers." Senator Tyler responded. "Get to work setting up a plan, request whatever Kansen you need. I have a terrible feeling we'll need more than we can spare for this upcoming fight."
Alternate Dimension
The city was destroyed, fires raged uncontrollably, screams of civilians filled the skies as it was choked by thick, black smoke. In the decimated streets, armored soldiers patrolled the area, looking for survivors.
"B-9007, report." An armored soldier ordered.
"Sergeant B-9001, we have captured a ship. Design looks to be an Essex Class CV." The comm device responded. "B-9008 and B-9006 have captured the Kansen known as Essex. Orders?"
"Bring her to Kommandant B, he'll decide whether she'll meet H45 or not."
"Understood, bringing her now. Sergeant, we also got word that the ship H44-87 is coming to our location."
"Direct it to the locks, that will lead it to the waters to meet with the forces in the Mississippi region. We're currently engaged with the last of Azur Lane's forces there.
"Copy all." The line went dead.
"Do you have news for me, sergeant?" The sergeant turned around to come face to face with an armored figure, but instead of the gas mask with helmet, it was wearing the gas mask and a curved cap.
"Kommandant B, we have captured the last Essex class carrier. Essex herself is on the way to meet you."
"Excellent. Carry on with the patrol." The soldier nodded, and left the Kommandant.
"Kommandant B." The Kommandant's comm device squawked.
"Sir?"
"Have Essex brought to me. I want her to see what I captured during the Battle of Pearl Harbor."
"Who...who did you capture, sir?" The Kommandant asked, fear slipping into his voice when he realized who was on the line.
"Oh, you know...a little bird and his caretaker…" A screen appeared in front of the Kommandant, showing a figure wearing a black overcoat over his armor set. He was maskless, but wore a curved cap still. His blue eyes were piercing, even through the grainy screen resolution. In his right hand, he held a figure by her steel-silver hair. "I figured Essex would want the last thing she would see would be her idol." The figure...no, monster, smiled. In H45's steel grasp was the hair of a struggling, bruised, and bloodied Enterprise.
"S-sir?"
"I won't kill Enterprise just yet. She will die on the steps of our next conquest."
"Next?"
"I have felt a presence...soon, we will conquer another world. We do what the Sirens failed to. And it all starts…" A picture appeared under screen, showing what looked to be a younger, sane version of H45. "...with him."
It was a picture of H44 walking out of the brig, anger prevalent on his face. Unnoticed by him was the faint red aura surrounding his body.