They will gather the others soon...
An unknown girl stands in the light of day surrounded by the sakura gracefully falling from the trees around her. She's in so much bliss and peace that a warm smile forms in her lips and her eyes softens to a gentle gaze at the sight of certain shipgirls enjoying the the afternoon without the smallest worries.
"Oh! This sake actually hits hard!" Musashi lets out a excitable sigh
"Don't drink too much or you might jump into a river again..." Yamato immediately warns her
"There's nothing wrong with enjoying ourselves, but moderation is a must" Shinano giggles
Yamato and Musashi may be from another world while Shinano belongs to the Sakura Empire, but her gentleness treats them no different from her actual sisters She could fit as a wise and reliable older sister if one ignores the fact that she's historically the youngest of the three. Under the shade of a large sakura tree, the three capital sips completely relaxes at the warmth and serenity.
"Shinano, you're tail is so fluffy. I wish Yamato had one" An intoxicated Musashi lies on Shinano's tails and rubs her face on it
"M-Musashi, that's not a bed" Yamato is embarrassed
"It's alright. If my tail brings comfort, everyone is free to snuggle on it"
Shinano spoils Musashi even more by softly wagging her tail and allowing Musashi to snuggle on each one of it like a warm pillow. Yamato intently stares as if she's tempted to surrender to the tails, but she shakes her head and remains right where she sits
"Go, go, go!"
The Beaver squad of the Eagle Union cheers at the top of their lungs and waves their arms high up in the air while the competition takes place right in front of them.
"Ooooohh!" Iowa grins
"Haaaaaa!" New Jersey screams as well
New Jersey of the Eagle Union pumps her fighting spirit and so does Iowa while their fists are locked into each other. They're contesting which arm slams to the unusually durable table considering the strength of the two battleships.
"I am the Black Dragon of the Eagle Union. Iowa you may be from another world, I will not lose!" New Jersey declares
"I'm still standing up until to this very day. Just look at my museum of a ship!" Iowa proudly responds
The girl observing more shipgirls interacting and bonding with each other couldn't help but appreciate the peace. Rather than walk forward and joins the joyous occasion, she continues to silently observe the rare peace. She has no desire to disturb that peace and wishes to carve the memory into her soul.
"Such future is possible, but I don't belong here...anymore"
The girl with flowing white hair and dull silver eyes partially turns her body to face an observe that is in the same position as her. While the girl herself is physically in the world, the other observer is no different from a distant projection.
"What is this dream?" The observer, Tirpitz, asks the girl
"Dream? No, this where I initially fled. Far before my remains were bound by Iron Blood in their vessel" The girl shakes her head
"You escaped your timeline and stumbled upon a peaceful one. Why leave?"
"I am war machine even if I was degraded by your nation. The more I linger, the more danger I will bring to them. No, as a matter of fact, I already endangered this world..."
"..." Tirpitz blinks in confusion
"You don't exist in this timeline because I was the one who killed you when Iron Blood awoken me. As if I felt guilty, I helped you survive in one timeline...but caused you to suffer when I forced Bismarck's META cube into you. Since you lack the qualifications to be one, you became corrupted and physically unstable"
"Tyrant..." Tirpitz widens her eyes at the realization
"That's how she came to be..."
"..."
"Besides, I wanted to repay Bismarck after she managed to forgive me and encourage me to keep on living. That's why I want to preserve the Iron Blood she desperately protected"
"..."
Tirpitz remains silent, but the girl's words certainly reaches her. Hearing a bit of the girl's past causes Tirpitz to be stirred by her own thoughts.
"...What a long dream. How unfortunate"
As the dream ends, Tirpitz laments she returns to the waking world where reality is naturally cruel. She sighs when she recognizes the steel walls surrounding her and the spacious room designed to fit an enormous scrap metal in front of her.
"The dream no longer exists, just like their Bismarck there" The enormous Iron Blood shell groans
The steel beast resembling the dragon-like monstrosity present in Iron Blood capital ships releases steam the moment it creak its jaws opens. One would think a deadly sharp and dark monstrosity is only a mindless war machine, but this one proves it has intelligence.
"Bismarck's dead in your world too?" Tirpitz is confused at its answer
"She lived but died soon just like the others. Even as she died, she forgave and asked me what I wanted to do. As if she understood, she closed her eyes and laughed at me..."
"Why help us? Was your previous home really that great?"
"...It was. Despite being in separate worlds, those shipgirls understood each other...but my presence only brought death. Orochi was perfected and I succumbed to my instincts"
"And Amagi?"
"Forever gone...and that became my greatest regret"
"Monsters can feel sorrow and reflect on their mistakes, huh. I can't say the same thing for humanity"
Tirpitz scoffs and sarcastically compares humans to a man-made weapon. The latter tilts its head, mildly curious at Tirpitz's sudden change in perspective just after six months.
South Pacific ocean...
Bismarck and several other shipgirls sail the wide and somehow peaceful ocean, heading towards Fiji islands to confirm the presence of Iron Blood's Bismarck and King George V.
"Can we really trust what the other Prinz Eugen said?" KC Bismarck directly asks Admiral Hipper
"I believe her. Even if I don't understand her all the time, I can tell whether she's being serious or not" Admiral Hipper firmly replies
"I would have doubt if it was me, but we really have to try or we won't get anywhere now that we know the Sirens are watching us" Bismarck grunts
"They had the chance to get us one by one but they didn't. I was able to freely wander this world with just cannon fodders going after me" AL Zuikaku matches their speed
"Hmm..."
Bismarck narrows her eyes as she scans her surroundings and listens to any pings in her sonars, but there isn't the slightest presence within her range.
"By the way, Zuikaku, where have you been? If you had no problem, why didn't you head for their base?" Admiral Hipper raises an eyebrow
"This world is far different from ours, so I got ultimately lost. I landed somewhere called Brazil and then there are pirates shooting at me. How about you?" AL Zuikaku shudders
"I got arrested by the Royal navy of this world..." Admiral Hipper averts her gaze
AL Zuikaku wryly laughs because Admiral Hipper is somehow embarrassed while Zuikaku stumbles from one trouble to another compared to being simply arrested.
"...?!" AL Zuikaku gasps
"What's the matter?" Admiral Hipper
"Everyone, slow down! It's-"
AL Zuikaku frantically draws her katana and hastily deploys dive bomber squadrons while the rest of the flee stares at her in confusion. Right before she could complete her warning, a large creature bursts out of the surface in front of them and nearly knocks them off balance by its wake and completely drenched in seawater.
"W-what was that? We didn't detect anything!" Aoba panics
A large steel monstrosity strongly resembling the dragon creatures of Iron Blood partially surfaces its body while its hind legs and tail remain underwater. The creature with six sharp and mechanical eyes glares down on the terrified shipgirls in front of it.
"By any chance, is that one of yours, Admiral Hipper? It chased me before and it looked like your riggings" AL Zuikaku ignites her katana
"I never seen it before! Besides, there's no way Iron Blood would keep something like that" Admiral Hipper points at the enormous steel dragon
"Of course not. Only those with access to confidential files saw me, the primary ones being Bismarck and her most trusted allies"
The creature's jaws creaks it opens and able to speak perfectly, much to everyone's surprise. In fact, it can surprisingly hear the shipgirls when the view from its blazing eyes are no different from ants floating in the water.
"Iron Blood humiliated me in this shell, but I bear no grudge on the shipgirls themselves. It's the humans I wish to slaughter with no mercy"
It lifts its left hands and weakly squeezes its claws, already used to its current form.
"I have nothing personal against you, but I've been asked to do this for a good reason" The creature sighs
"You've met before. Any idea what that is?" KC Bismarck whispers
"It chased me once and never went after me again" AL Zuikaku shakes her head
"Sorry, but I can't waste time with all of you..."
The Iron Blood weapon curls its fist and slams right into the fleet, but its huge body proves to be a burden with how slows down its actions. Right before it can punch through the water, the shipgirls scatter and begins open firing at its metal plates with scarlet glowing gaps.
"...!"
The waves from the strike of its fist nearly causes the shipgirls to lose balance if it isn't for their distance.
"Better hurry it up. I agreed to hold them here for about ten minutes..."
As it lifts its partially sunken arm and shake off the seawater, the weapon scoffs and mutters to itself, only for Bismarck and the others to clearly hear it.
Meanwhile...
Bismarck reluctantly relaxes while King George V is completely calm and enjoying the sun like the local beach goers. In fact, she has little to no worry of the two of them being stranded that she even has time to sip ice-cold lemonade.
"We should be making our way to Japan" Bismarck groans
"We got chased off the Eagle Union of this world. If we show up in the ocean again, other shipgirls of this world will treat us as hostiles since we're absolute strangers" King George V sighs in relief after a good drink
"..."
"Besides, our ships are in no fighting condition after being battered by one enemy to another"
"While that is true-"
Bismarck cuts her own words and King George V frowns when the two of them overhears panicking fishermen warning fellow fishermen about a large terrifying creature.
"I think I just heard them say big mechanical dragon and shipgirls fighting it?" King George V scratches her head
"Another Siren weapon like the one who swallowed Purifier and Omitter" Bismarck clenches her fist and turns around
"W-wait! You can't go!"
King George V grabs Bismarck's shoulders and pulls her back seeing she's set on going out in the open sea to face against the possibility that the same one they encountered before reappeared.
"I would listen if I were you, dear sister..."
"...!"
Bismarck and King George V immediately recognizes the familiar voice and readies a defensive stance. At the sight of the source, Bismarck grits her teeth in anger but bears sorrow in her eyes.
"It's been six months, Bismarck" Tirpitz faintly smiles
"You really are alive. Does that mean...you really sided with the Sirens?" Bismarck immediately asks
"...I have my reasons" Tirpitz reluctantly replies
"You must be confident appearing here yourself" King George V prepares to draw her saber
"The Maizuru fleet is being held back by...a benefactor because I wanted to talk for a while"
Tirpitz casually moves to the side and leans on the rails, completely ignoring the weapon King George V is slowly unsheathing and Bismarck never taking her eyes off her.
"I know siding with the Sirens and helping them collect Orochi is an act of betrayal, but I only did so for my own benefit"
"Why? After you rejected your future self being corrupted by power...why? You're not the kind to be selfish, Tirpitz" Bismarck takes a step forward
"I want to grant my own wish, but I cannot do that while I'm in Iron Blood. Just like you, I have an ambition I want to fulfill no matter what" Tirpitz sincerely responds
"Ambition?"
"Yes, an ambition. I want to make the current Iron Blood crumble. There exists being that even the Sirens are afraid of...and to gain its strength, I cooperated with the Sirens. It knows you very well, big sister"
"Who are you talking about?"
"You won't recognize her, but it killed shipgirls because it's how it was made. I became an unfortunate victim in one timeline"
Tirpitz frowns when she looks over the horizon and sighs in disappointment. She clicks her tongue and moves away from the rails, facing the wary King George V and Bismarck.
"Bismarck, you were the one who taught me to have an ambition of my own and follow it. Unfortunately, it happens to possibly go against Iron Blood. You inspired me to do what I want to do with my life and so I did"
"That doesn't mean you should trample on the lives of others. What's gotten into you? This isn't something you would do" Bismarck remains confused
"Leading Iron Blood alone won't impact anything and you know it. The way Iron Blood functions now is doomed to fail no matter what which an alternate version of you failed to realize sooner"
Letting her frustrations out, Tirpitz tightly grips the rails and nearly twists the moment her eyes faintly glows, a sign of borrowed power.
"I can't bear a future where I'm unable to do anything. How can I say I did everything I could if I just continued to be in the furthest side and lament the cruelty of this war. You taught me to never return to who I was before..."
King George V and Bismarck pauses for a while, namely the former since it's a personal argument between the two sisters. Bismarck couldn't say anything either, but it's visible that she wouldn't accept Tirptiz's reason for siding with the Sirens and even allowing herself to be their pawn.
"Since when did you get bold and assertive enough to go against Bismarck?" King George V raises her sword
"...Do you still believe that I'm - nevermind, it's too early to say it"
Tirpitz shakes her head and turns her back from the two, intending to end the discussion without so much of a conflict.
"Hey, you can't just leave us hanging" King George V swings her sword in the air
"Unfortunately, I'm out of time. That giant steel lizard already left and the Maizuru fleet will reach these islands soon" Tirpitz waves her hand
"..." Bismarck clenches her fists in silence
"...I can't stand the way Iron Blood is right now, and the same feeling goes to you. That's why I choose to remove the Iron Blood you are so proud and desperately protecting...even if it means destroying it altogether"
"Back then...what did you see? There's something that horrified you to force you into being blinded by your emotions" Bismarck furiously demands an answer"
"..." Tirpitz refuses to answer, but there's great pain in her eyes
A faint golden ripple forms right in front of Tirpitz when she swings her hand. Right before her body completely disappears, she makes it clear that Bismarck is the one who "inspired" her to stray away from Iron Blood and become unrecognizable.
Thirty minutes later...
The battered Maizuru fleet with Zuikaku and Admiral Hipper from Azur Lane reaches the shores of Fiji islands, immediately spotting the anchored ships of King George V and Bismarck. More importantly, the shipgirls themselves surprisingly appear before the exhausted.
"Well now, I didn't expect anyone to find us soon" King George V chuckles
"How were you able to locate us quickly? Information from other shipgirls that spotted us?" AL Bismarck adds
"..." Admiral Hipper looks away
AL Zuikaku and the Maizuru fleet all share their glance at Admiral Hipper, the only one who's been told about Bismarck's and King George V's whereabouts.
"Admiral Hipper, what's the matter?" Bismarck is mildly suspicious
"T-there's someone who told me...and I don't think you'd be happy to hear it is" Admiral Hipper fiddles her fingers
"Speak up! Who knew our location?" Bismarck demands
"It's Eugen..."
The moment Admiral Hipper mentions a name she thinks she would not hear for a long time. King George V looks back and forth between Admiral Hipper and Bismarck, being as shocked as Bismarck herself.
"Prinz Eugen?!" AL Bismarck shakes her head in disbelief
"She's completely alive like nothing happened. What's worse is she's with the Sirens too like Tirpitz. Eugen helped them steal a part of Orochi" Admiral Hipper explains
"Not only Tirpitz showed herself, Eugen is alive as well..." AL Bismarck clenches her fists
"Your sister showed up?" KC Bismarck widens her eyes in shock
"Tirpitz appeared a while ago and knew you were coming. Now I known it's because she's with Eugen, who told Hipper we're here" AL Bismarck crosses her arms
"Not to mention, she said about having someone hold down all of you while she talked to us" King George V adds
"That also explains that giant Iron Blood dragon who popped out of nowhere. We couldn't scratch it, but it left after of a few minutes of swinging its arms" AL Zuikaku reveals
"A giant Iron Blood dragon? I think I may now what it is and the connection to Tirpitz..." Bismarck is more upset now
One surprise after another is unfolding right before Bismarck. Tirpitz reappears after six months, Prinz Eugen is actually alive, and now the connection of a certain Iron Blood project.
"What happened to others? Are you two the only ones who made it to Maizuru?" King George V clears her throat
"Akagi and Shoukaku stayed in their base. Oh, and Akashi got dragged here..." AL Zuikaku raises her hand
"We may know where are Littorio and Mikasa, but it will take a while" Admiral Hipper adds
King George V is glad that while she and Bismarck are stranded after a recent encounter, the ones who managed to regroup are making progress in tracking the others. Unfortunately, Bismarck is more worried about what transpired today rather than the fortunate news that some of them are confirmed to be still alive and safe.
Alaska...
Aoba, being herself, jumps from shipgirl to another interviewing them like the curious reporter she is. Her eyes sparkle with outmost joy while her hands rapidly scribbles in her notebook and not allowing any information slip by her hearing and words.
"A Russian battleship no one can recognize. It sounds easy, but it's not really that easy..." Iowa holds both sides of her head with a plastic bag still on her right hand
"Can we really find anything here in Alaska? A lost and confused outsider wouldn't stay in one place" Suzutsuki points out
"Aoba, did you get anything useful?" Hornet calls out the heavy cruiser
"Aoba here!"
Aoba hurriedly returns to her allies under the same fleet with enthusiasm and excitement clearly all over her face. In fact, she couldn't mask her wide-eyed smile and body trembling in excitement.
"Just like your other American friends said, a portal of sort open near Barrow and spat out an unknown shipgirl in white Russian winter uniform" Aoba flips through her notebook
"I checked with Fletcher and the others, but we have little to no leads at all. They did spot an unknown battleship, but she managed to slip away during a commotion" Hornet shakes her head
"So who's the one in charge of picking up the one called Mikasa at Switzerland"
Iowa digs through the plastic bag filled with different kinds of snacks and excitedly smiles when she chooses a hamburger. Hornet grabs a biscuit inside the bag as well, making Iowa pout that Hornet picks one just before she can take a bite in her hamburger.
"Which reminds me, has anyone seen Warspite back in our base? I saw her leave days ago, but she hasn't come back" Aoba repeatedly clicks her pen
"The old lady went back somewhere in England or something. Nelson doesn't know anything either" Iowa shrugs her shoulders
"Does this mean we're heading to the Arctic next? I thought the Gangut and Tashkent have that covered?" Aoba trembles
"They're covering their turf while we'll cover this area since there's unconfirmed lead that the unknown Russian battleship fled to the Arctic from Alaska. Besides, it's been a while since we head north" Iowa cheerfully slaps Aoba in the back
"What about Italy?" Aoba rubs her back
"Aquila and her comrades got that covered. If there's someone else proclaiming to be Littorio, then it's most likely the one from another world..." Suzutsuki assures Aoba
"By the way, I've been informed Albacore's surveillance group came across an enormous steel creature near the Arctic. Even with its size, it isn't popping in their sonars" Hornets lifts her index fingers
"I heard that. They said a whale appeared and disappeared without a trace. Another fleet patrolled there, but no one found an metallic alien whale" Iowa proudly adds
"People will think I'm crazy if I write a giant robot whale in the Arctic"
Aoba rubs her pen on her head while Iowa gently pats her back and bursts out in an energetic and friendly laugh. The four shipgirls from the Maizuru fleet discusses their next course of action once they reach the safe zone in the Arctic, unaware of an observer being aware of their entire conversation.
"My, my. Here I thought I'd have to settle playing with Sovetskaya Rossiya"
Prinz Eugen of Iron Blood disappears from the crowd and into a corner the moment Hornet catches a glimpse of one person standing from the rest, directly staring at them to be specific. Hornet scratches her head in confusion since she swears there's a stranger staring at them with a mischievous smile a few seconds ago.
Arctic ocean...
Sovetskaya Rossiya grips her slowly freezing right hand while refusing to loosen her grip on her sword. The bitter cold of the freezing seas is merciless to her, but she grits her teeth at the sight of an enormous enemy in front of her. At first glance, it would appear she is confronting a heavily armed fortress...until said fortress surfaces more of its body and reveals four brightly glowing eyes and the partial shape of a whale-like creature.
"The Northern Parliament. You pride yourselves in your might, but you're all talk...just like Iron Blood"
Arbiter IX: Hermit steps in front between the barely active weapon and the injured Sovetskaya Rossiya. She completely relaxes her back on her rigging, confident that with Sovetskaya Rossiya's damaged rigging, she's no longer in the condition to land any significant damage if she chooses to retaliate.
(This is not like the multi-headed dragon we faced before...) Sovetskaya Rossiya's knee surrenders to the cold eater surface
"Bismarck and King George V have been found, but some of you are still missing. Unfortunately, you may not reunite with your friends in one piece" Hermit proudly points at her
"What are you talking about?" Sovetskaya Rossiya forces herself to stand up straight
"I forgot to tell you how your group is slowly reuniting with the help of those shipgirls from the Maizuru base. Well, not like it would do you any good"
"Tell me, what's the benefit of rebuilding Orochi? Azur Lane proved a so-called weapon can be disassembled by the shipgirls you underestimate. Even if you reactivate it again, we will destroy it and crush your hope!"
Sovetskaya Rossiya's injuries and the abnormal cold piercing through her skin only ignites her determination to make her stand. She isn't the least intimidated at the appearance of an Arbiter or a weapon larger than the ones she has seen so far, much to the Arbiter's chagrin.
"Do you think we're collecting Orochi's parts for a simple reason? Once Orochi is rebuilt, blowing it up to pieces is nearly impossible" Hermit proudly tells her
"So what if it's stronger? We shipgirls have shown over and over again that we can overcome any obstacles you throw at us"
"You are persistent and stubborn, just like everyone else in the Northern Parliament. That pride of yours wouldn't matter even against a weakened Leviathan who won't shut up about its regrets"
(A Leviathan?) Sovetskaya is unfamiliar with the word
"It doesn't matter right now"
The Arbiter rolls her eyes and taps the enormous sentient fortress and it reacts by lazily submerging its exhausted body. For a few seconds, the calm freezing waters shatters the ice sheets floating nearby due to waves caused by the submerging fortress. Sovetskaya Rossiya remains steady even with the waves and the Arbiter IX: Hermit continues to proudly smirk.
"Hmm? They're here early"
The lantern dangling above the Arbiter's head and the one connected to a chain burns brighter seconds before countless shells flies above them, specifically aiming at her. Her cannons from both sides take aim and intercepts the ones that would certainly land on her.
"Ahahaha! The wretched Eugen just let them come here"
Hermit dances around the another batch of salvo and dive bombers splashing around with near misses.
"What-"
Sovetskaya Rossiya turns around and to her shock, four shipgirls focuses their assault on the Siren alone and completely ignoring her.
"Toothy icy rigging, Russian-like clothes, and a battleship we've never seen before. She matches the description alright" Iowa narrows her eyes
"By any chance, are you Sovetskaya Rossiya?"
Hornet manages to ask while landing back her dive bombers and launching a new squadron, unusually casual at a complete stranger.
"How do you know my name?" Sovetskaya Rossiya goes in a defensive stance
"Your other friends from Azur Lane are in our base. We just found your Bismarck and King George V" Iowa gives a thumbs up"
"So that's what the Siren meant" Sovetskaya Rossiya whispers to herself
"We're from the Maizuru naval district, so we won't shoot you or anything" Aoba cuts in
"The non-hostile shipgirls from the Maizuru fleet. Just like what Bismarck said" Sovetskaya Rossiya sighs in relief
"Letting your guard now, are you?!"
Hermit brushes off the dive bombs and relentless bombardments, proving that weapons outside Azur Lane can barely scratch an Arbiter like her. They managed to land direct hits, but Hermit isn't slowed down or weakened by any of their attacks, not even from Iowa's shells.
[Hermit, don't waste time toying with insignificant shipgirls]
"Empress? What? Another mundane scavenger hunt?" Hermit backs away and scoffs
[We have more important tasks to focus on]
"What could be more entertaining other than toying with their struggles?"
[Fool just stole Orochi's modulators and other key parts]
"That good for nothing - tch! It can't be helped"
The attacks from the shipgirls' side continues to rain on her even when Hermit is evading their predictable patterns with ease. She initially refuses to withdraw per Empress' advice, but the she's irritated now with the interference of an unwanted Arbiter.
"It looks none of you are important today. I have an impulsive child to deal with"
Hermit returns fire to force the Maizuru fleet and Sovetskaya Rossiya to distance themselves while she does the same little by little.
"I won't allow you to flee-!" Sovetskaya Rossiya's one knee is forced down again
"Hey, are you alright?"
Her injuries earlier are taking toll after she's been forcing herself to remain standing no matter what is thrown at her. Iowa rushes to her aid, but Sovetskaya Rossiya swings her hand in the air, refusing assistance. She manages to stand up again only to collapse as her she can only push her injured body so much.
"We need to treat your injuries. You look like you're going to faint at any moment" Hornet recommends
"I have to stop them - ggh" Sovetskaya Rossiya shakes her head
"Iowa-san, are you strong enough to drag her? She's the type to retaliate rather than listen" Aoba whispers
"The Sirens are on the move. I can't just idle here" Sovetskaya Rossiya stands up again
"We know. That's why we're helping you regroup with the others. I don't know what they're up to, but your allies came here to stop them"
Hornet stands in front of Sovetskaya Rossiya and blocks her the moment she is about to move forward and pursue after the Arbiter.
"...You said Bismarck and King George V have been found"
Surprisingly enough, Sovetskaya Rossiya drops her shoulders and sighs in exhaustion. Rather than forcibly escape from the Maizuru fleet who appeared to aid her and guide her back to her allies, she goes with the most logical choice of regrouping with the others after her current injuries are dealt with.
Unknown Siren base...
The Siren Omitter relaxes the side of her face on the wooden table while moving a white pawn forward with sly smile across her face while Tirpitz rests her head on her left arm and responds to her move by moving a black pawn forward.
"Shouldn't you be on the white side of the board? I mean the white queen matches you"
Omitter lifts the white queen piece and shakes it get the uninterested Tirpitz, who lazily lifts her head to briefly glance at the white queen chess piece.
"It's a game. Why should it matter?" Tirpitz sighs
"Aw~ Are you depressed from the whole reunion with your big sister?" Omitter chuckles
"I thought she would have been her usual self when I faced her, but she was...devastated" Tirpitz scoffs
"Despite how she is, Bismarck is actually a softie, you know. That big chunk of Iron Blood metal can attest to that"
The Siren moves both herself and her wooden chair to face and point at the sleeping Iron Blood resting its head on its arms. Annoyed the Siren involving her in trivial discussions, it lazily turns its head away.
"What this pesky Siren said is true. Bismarck upholds her duty as a leader, but she can't always suppress her emotional side. No matter how much she steels herself, she can't deny that she possesses a heart..." The beast softly speaks
"I'm not ignorant of that..." Tirpitz frowns
"Oh~" The Siren Omitter grins
"To think I would still keep a heartfelt gift from her..."
Being reminded of Bismarck, Tirpitz reaches for the inside of her uniform and reveals a necklace safely tucked in. The Siren Omitter widens her eyes in awe while the sleepy monstrosity weakly groans before turning its head away. After six months, the metallic object remains barely scratched and glinting its pure silver-like steel. The shape is a coat-of-arms that doesn't exist in history yet Bismarck has it customized and carefully made for Tirpitz. When she flips it at the back, her name is deeply engraved to prevent it from fading away from either time or damage from battles.
"Is that what Bismarck gave to you? So what did you give to her?"
The excited Siren slams the table and leans closer. This almost causes the chess pieces to be knocked off and ruin the positions in the middle of the game.
"Sovetskaya Rossiya has been found as well and I'm certain Littorio and Mikasa will be found in a matter of days" Prinz Eugen raises her voice to deliberately catch their attention
Their game is interrupted with the arrival of Prinz Eugen who is as cheerful and relaxed as usual. Just as the heavy cruiser walks right towards the table and gently slams her hand near the chessboard, Tirpitz tucks the necklace back in and returns to her usual quiet and stern demeanor.
"Hermit went after Fool because a modulator installed on Orochi was stolen, so that leaves you to deal with Littorio or Saint Louis" Tirpitz sighs
"Why me? I'm working hard and tired from your tasks" Prinz Eugen sarcastically complains
"Then would you like to deal with Bismarck's wolfpack that she secretly brought along?" Tirpitz gives her another option
"The Wolfpack, huh. I don't specialize in handling submarines, but I wouldn't mind taking on this world's Royal navy. I heard the Grand old lady of this world might have an important piece of Orochi...and possibly that wisdom cube we've been searching"
It's not certain whether Prinz Eugen is being eager or suggesting it in a joking manner while she pokes Tirpitz, clearly testing how much the duty-minded battleship can tolerate her.
"If one of them is in trouble, they'd be busy worrying than getting in our way. It's beneficial to us" Prinz Eugen justifies
"...Alright, you can deal with them...in one condition"
Tirpitz remains quiet for a whole minute before replying back and resuming the paused chess game by lifting a black knight piece and glances at at it then to Prinz Eugen. The latter smiles in agreement and closely watch the two resumes the game while the sleepy beast in a shadowy corner narrows its eyes.