Jean Bart

"I ain't a cook but… a bit too rich, maybe?"

Tirpitz nodded and wrote something on her notebook, which she then handed to Gascogne.

"I told you. Too many eggs, too little milk."

"This is new." I mentioned, munching on the French toast Gascogne had apparently prepared for me. "You helped her cook me breakfast?"

"After you spend enough time alone, you tend to be desperate for new things to do, cooking in my case. Dunkerque asked me if I had any recipes she had never heard of, and Gascogne happened to come to us for advice."

"How did she mess it up with Dunkerque around though?"

Tirpitz shrugged. "She asked for an outline, but refused to listen to the quantities."

Gascogne's strange tail was wagging from side to side with her eyes fixed on me, expectant for an answer. I sighed deeply. Sisterly bonds weren't my forte. Not since Richelieu sided with the Royal Navy. Still, it wasn't Gascogne's fault. I reached to pat her head, making her blush lightly. I heard a quiet giggle and saw a faint smile on Tirpitz's face, but I decided to ignore it.

We left the room. It took me a few seconds of thinking about Tirpitz's giggling for me to ask her.

"What was the giggling about?"

By the looks of it, I caught her off guard with my question. "It's rather… I don't know how to describe it… adorable?"

"Me?" I raised an eyebrow "Adorable?"

"Analysis: a stern person acting in a gentle manner towards others occasionally can be perceived as 'adorable' or 'endearing'."

"Look at the Lone Queen of the North… giggling like a teenager."

Tirpitz's cheeks reddened lightly

"Anyway… it's good to see you are on better terms with Gascogne."

"Protocol deems the following question as adequate. Contremaître, how are matters progressing between you and Bismarck?"

Tirpitz's expression darkened a bit and she fixed her hat, as if she wanted to hide behind it.

"I am glad she is back. I couldn't be more thankful towards Odin for making it possible, and you for taking care of her, but… I don't know. It's as if there was a glass between us, as if we could see, but not speak or understand each other."

That didn't sound too different from me and Richelieu. In a way, Tirpitz had it even worse. I had good memories with my sister, I really did. My knighting ceremony, the earrings she gifted me for my launch day… but all those were soured by the war. Her alliance with the Royal Navy, her attack on the Basilica… I couldn't help but let out a bitter chuckle.

"I guess you and I ain't that different."

"Suggestion: database mentions a saying for this situation. 'In other situations, we could have been friends.'"

"Let's worry about that if we survive this war. Here, we've arrived."

She opened the door. Inside, Bismarck sat in a wheelchair, with Akashi and U-556 at her sides. On the other end of the room, Eugen was throwing a coin at Odin, who returned it without touching it. I wondered if that had anything to do with her light show the other day.

Bismarck's eyes lingered for a second on Tirpitz for a split second, with a complicated expression, but soon she laid her eyes on me.

"Eugen, to me."

To my surprise, Eugen, for the first time since I remembered, obeyed without any rebuttal. She lent Bismarck her shoulder and, along with U-556 on the other side, she managed to stand.

"I still recommend rest, nya."

"Your help is welcome, Akashi. But you will not tell me what to do."

"But…" Akashi's ears stood when Bismarck threw a severe glance her way, and left the room.

"Tirpitz, Eugen, Odin, you can leave us too."

"What?" I asked

"I have things to discuss with you, not them."

"You sound too eager to get rid of your sister right after your teary reunion."

That struck a nerve, if that twitching eyelid was anything to go by.

"Our relationship is none of your concern."

"And neither is it of yours, from what I see."

In her defense, I had to admit she contained her anger remarkably well. She signaled the rest to stay in the room.

"I have a few things to discuss with you."

"Shoot."

"I'd like to thank you. I've heard from Odin and Tirpitz. You not only brought me medical aid, but you also acted as a friend towards my sister. For that, you have my thanks."

A friend? I looked at Tirpitz and noticed a faint blush behind the fur on her coat. Is that how she had seen me, a friend?

"And second. I'd like a summary of the events surrounding the Vichiya Dominion since May 1941."

"I am sure your second in command Odin will be able to tell you. Or even Deutschland, she said she towed my girls here."

Bismarck headed to the wall, where she had hung a map, with several pins connected by red threads. They lead everywhere. The Denmark Strait, Scapa Flow, Casablanca, America, the Pacific… She calmly studied it.

"There is value in information, and even more value in information coming from the original source, biased as it may be. The Ironblood could make great use of..."

"Sorry, but there ain't anythin' I have to share with the leader of the Ironblood."

I felt everyone in the room gasp audibly, except Odin, who simply stared at me with curiosity.

"There is an agreement to our alliance. You will provide the information I am requesting."

"Alliance?" I laughed "You call this an alliance? The Vichiya Dominion is a puppet state, even the freedom Germany claims we have is through a proxy government from Berlin."

I had stated the obvious, and everyone in the room knew deep down I was right. Tirpitz looked away, Eugen took out another coin and spun it around her fingers, even U-556 looked uncomfortable. Bismarck shook her head in disappointment.

"A leader should measure their words. It's regrettable that the circumstances have left the less diplomatically capable sister in charge of this alliance."

I had to make a conscious effort not to jump at her at that exact moment. It probably would have ended with me killed, or thrown in a cell, but I was this close to just doing it.

"I am about as good as you are at punching people down. It was your fucking decision to split my country in two when you invaded. I would have been completed in a year or two and we would all have been happy."

"I was following orders, something I see you aren't familiar with."

"Same orders that sent you on a suicidal mission and made your sister spend months in a fjord with no one but some seagulls as company. Wonderful orders to be following."

Bismarck closed the distance between us and grabbed me by the collar.

"Bring my sister up one more time."

I grinned "Bring it on, sac de merde."

"Okay." Odin clapped "I think we've had enough senseless bickering."

Once the sudden burst of adrenaline faded, I noticed everyone in the room had moved. U-556 was hugging Bismarck, trying to push her away from me. Eugen was pointing her gun at me, and Tirpitz had taken a step back.. A lance I had never seen was pointed at Bismarck's neck from behind me, I assumed from Gascogne.

"I appreciate your concern, Odin, but I will not allow this mockery. Even after the Ironblood housed her wounded allies, Jean Bart choses to insult us."

Odin sighed "I mentioned your lack of context, Lord Bismarck, and it shows. The Ironblood didn't offer asylum neither to Jean Bart, nor her allies. As far as Kiel is concerned, the Vichiya fleet was scuttled at Toulon, then disposed of."

What?

Odin's hint of a smile showed that she was satisfied with the silence her words had caused. She calmly ordered Eugen to lower her gun. Tirpitz and U-556 let go of Bismarck soon after, but Gascogne waited for me to nod before her lance vanished into thin air.

"Odin." Said Tirpitz "Can you explain yourself?"

"Of course. It isn't as complicated as it may seem though. I am not part of the Ironblood, officially. And as such, this base answers to me, not Lord Bismarck."

More silence, except from Bismarck, who was only now starting to lose her temper.

"I hope you are not implying what I think you are implying."

"It's not a personal matter, Lord Bismarck. I will gladly pass the command to you once you are fit to be our leader once again."

"I don't have to be fit to be the leader, the spot BELONGS TO ME! I am the Ironblood's heart! This is insubordination!"

Odin's face morphed in disappointment. That was one of the only emotions I ever saw her manifest. Curiosity, and disappointment. "I had heard of your devotion, but to think you were this far gone in servitude. At least when Jean Bart ordered the scuttling of her friends, she knew why she was doing it. She knew what she was fighting for even if she wasn't cognizant of the consequences."

"Unbelievable. Is this undisciplined circus what has become of the Ironblood after I died?!"

"Have you heard of Operation Chimäre, Lord Bismarck?"

"Don't try to…!"

Bismarck's head snapped to the right. At first I thought she had been looking at the maps once again, but her gaze looked lost and she went pale in a second, paler than a ghost.

"What?" I said mockingly "The thunder god got your tongue?"

"I-It's…. It's back…"

An explosion shook the entire fortress.

Odin

I wasn't too surprised we had been attacked. The entire purpose of using this former siren stronghold was an idea I took from the Northern Parliament, so it could be easily defended. I just didn't expect it to happen without any prior notice.

The lights cut out in the small room we were in. With what little we had left, I could see Eugen and Tirpitz were holding Bismarck up, and Jean Bart had pushed Gascogne behind her, which was as heart-warming as it was pointless considering Gascogne was in much better shape to fight enemies than Jean Bart was.

Light came back to us when the door went flying past us and Graf appeared behind it, with Deutschland and Dunkerque behind her.

"This isn't the time for idle chatter, my friends! The gods have finally become aware of the threat we represent!"

"Graf!" I shouted "Do you have any reconnaissance planes in the air?!"

"That I do, oh Allfather."

"Have you spotted the one responsible for this already?!"

She faltered for a second "Yes. But their likeness to Lord Bismarck is rather unnerving. This must be the same type of fiend Eugen came across with in her mission towards."

I turned my head and saw Eugen go completely white.

"Eugen, you saw what happened in the Sakura Empire first hand. How are things looking?"

"Just pray that thing out there isn't really Bismarck."

I seethed in frustration. Nobody around me seemed to have useful information. I focused. Yes, I could see it. An immensely oppressive presence right outside the fortress and… something felt off. I felt like… I couldn't feel it. Like something was blocking my sight, up north. And that strange feeling… to the west….

Oh.

Oh no.

"SCHEISSE!" I shouted "Gascogne!"

The girl looked at me from between Jean Bart's arms, ready for an order despite her being under Jean Bart now.

"Go seven miles north! There is something up there, eliminate it! And take Jean Bart with you!"

"Excuse me?!" Jean Bart shouted "In case you haven't noticed, this fortress is under attack and an entire fleet of my wounded allies are inside it! I ain't leaving!"

"I wont allow enemies to harm them!" said Tirpitz while she put Bismarck's arm over her own shoulder "You can trust me with this!"

Jean Bart opened her mouth to say something, looking at Tirpitz, then me, then the door, and left running with an angry groan.

I reached for one of the small glass bottles that were laying around, probably from Akashi's wide range of strange Sakura medicines. I quickly emptied it's contents and grabbed a scalpel, cutting myself on the hand, and letting the blood drip into the container.

"Deutschland, Dunkerque!" I said, and put the vial on Deutschland's hand "Go to the PR research lab, and open one of the incubator tubes there! It will ask you for identification, drop a bit of this on the scanner!"

"Hold on, hit the brakes a bit!" said Deutschland "How do we know which tube to open?"

"Dunkerque will know which one once she sees it!"

I ignored Dunkerque's confused stare before Deutschland dragged her out of the room. Graf seemingly had gone off, hopefully to scout and try to spot anyone that had escaped my sight. It had happened before in trials, if I was too excited in any way. U-556 had disappeared, probably for the same reason and Eugen was nowhere to be found.

"Tirpitz, Lord Bismarck, we are going down."

They followed me through the metal corridors. My mind was speeding from one train of thought to the next. If things came to the worst, could I fight this enemy off? And if I could, how much damage would our surroundings take? I was comfortable with my battle strength in a vacuum, but how would it apply in real battle scenarios? If this individual was in any way similar to what Eugen had described that strange Takao to be, willing to turn their blade without hesitation towards their supposed allies… A chill ran down my spine.

"Who did you want Deutschland to wake up?" asked Lord Bismarck

"I hope it doesn't come to that, but I fear it will."

"That doesn't answer my question, Odin. And I want an answer."

"I'll give you an answer if I consider it necessary."

We arrived outside, to the dock area of our fortress. Once full to the brim with wasted Siren modules and vessels, it was now a tidy and orderly place where people performed maintenance, and where Graf carried out most of her strange sharpening experiments. Except the gate that covered it from the outside world was now missing. It had probably sank to the ocean floor after it was torn from its hinges.

And almost half a mile away from the door, there it was. I couldn't see it, of course, it was behind the curve from sea level. But I could feel it. And judging from their faces, so could both Tirpitz and Bismarck.

"It's her…"

"Her?" asked Tirpitz, worriedly

"When I died… when I was dying, Observer told me something. That I could have become one with my alter ego to obtain incredible power. I discarded the black cube before achieving that but…" she pointed to the horizon "That has to be her."

"How come you never told me about this?" said Tirpitz. Lord Bismarck merely looked away in remorse.

"That doesn't matter now. Whatever it is, it's hostile." I commented, remembering the torn gate. I started gathering the mist around us. If I could cut the enemy's line of sight, then I could have the upper hand, even if it was just me. We probably would have crossed the half mile in a minute if Bismarck wasn't actively slowing us down to a crawl, to the point it took us an entire ten minutes to cross that distance, no faster than walking.

Once we arrived though, the source of that explosion was evident.

There she stood, easily towering over me. I wasn't exactly short by average standards, but she was easily 180 centimeters tall, like Bismarck or Tirpitz. She was looking away from us, so I couldn't see much about her other than her long, blonde hair and a coat that had seen better days.

"Sorry for the gate." she said "I have a point to get across."

"State your name, affiliation, and purpose for attacking us." demanded Bismarck.

The woman's back straightened in surprise and she turned around. Her face was… identical to Bismarck's. The same eyes, same mouth, same nose. But the demeanour… it wasn't there. All I could see in that face was exhaustion, and bitterness.

"I thought you had died."

"What you thought is not relevant. I said, state your business with us, or I will personally see you out of our waters."

"My name… is Scherzo." with a flick of her fingers she summoned her rigging. It was entirely black, but those 380mm guns, those secondaries… Those were unmistakable. I heard Bismarck swallowing behind me.

"This is not leading us anywhere. Before I state my business, I have one question to ask."

"No." I said, stepping forward. "We are the ones questioning here, before we decide whether to open fire or not."

"You will speak when I consider it necessary." she said without even looking my way "Also, Eugen, U-556, you can cease the needless ambush. I am not here to hurt any of you."

For a few seconds nothing happened. But soon after, Eugen emerged from the mist, and U-556 surfaced next to Lord Bismarck.

"How did you…"

"I simply know them far better than you do. What is your name?"

"My name is Odin."

She raised an eyebrow "We didn't have any Odin back then."

"Are you like that Takao I saw in the Sakura Empire?" asked Eugen, interrupting the woman. "The one that attacked the Diadem of Light."

Scherzo scratched her head "Ember. In a sense, yes."

"I don't understand your reason to speak to us. You can take whatever you want here and we wouldn't be able to fight back."

Scherzo shook her head. "I told you, once I get what I am looking for, I will leave. I have no intention of harming the Ironblood members inside."

"What do you need then?" I said cautiously.

"Haydn Esser. I know he is there, somewhere. Bring him to me, alive. I'll slit his throat and leave."

The declaration left me absolutely confused. Haydn Esser was… why did she want to meet that man, of all people?

"You come here, attack us, and then demand we present to you a high ranking officer of the Ironblood to murder him? You must have lost your mind."

Scherzo grimaced. "You, Bismarck, know nothing of this… sub human's doings. I won't ask again. Let me through, and I will be gone before you notice."

"He isn't here." I said "I don't know where exactly he is, but a man of his rank would be somewhere important, like Berlin, or Kiel."

Scherzo looked at me, then the rest behind me. She sighed.

I suddenly felt an overwhelming amount of pressure, and I fell to the waves with a scream. My arms, legs, my entire body, even my eyelids and hair felt heavy beyond anything reasonable. I couldn't raise my hands more than a few millimetres above the water surface, which was now flat as a disk. Even the seagulls started falling around us. I could barely breathe with my back pushing so hard onto my lungs.

I heard footsteps, coming closer to us. Behind me, only U-556 seemed okay barely below the surface, but everyone else was as glued to the sea as I was. Eugen's radar antennas had even bent downwards. I felt the pressure around my head fade slightly, and Scherzo pulled my hair up until my eyes were in front of hers. Her nose was bleeding profusely.

"You may be in charge here, Odin. And you may be a capable warrior. But you have no idea who you are fighting. Tell me where Esser is, and I won't have to tear that fortress down looking for him."

With an unimaginable effort, I raised my arm. I could feel my muscles, my bones and my joints protesting against the strain. I managed to touch her forearm with the tip of my fingers. That caught Scherzo's attention.

"Don't struggle. You can't pry my hands open."

"No." I admitted with ragged breath. "But I can do… this!"

I probably would hit Lord Bismarck and the rest, but I was out of options. The water around us exploded in a violent mix of lightning and steam explosions. The crackling of the lightning barely let me hear Scherzo screaming in pain even though she was right in front of me. I felt her grip around my neck soften, and as if by instinct, I grabbed Mjolnir and threw it in front of me.

The sound had a satisfying thud to it, and I jumped backwards as my lungs were filled with air once again. I coughed, never letting my eyes wander off of the enemy in front of me.

There she was again, now in a much worse state than before. The skin on her cheek was cracked and I could see the muscle below. The stream of blood from her nose fused with the one from her broken lip. Her left foot wss blackened with soot. But I still didn't see any anger in her eyes. Just the same exhaustion as before.

"Don't make me put you down. Please."

Her answer was two salvos fired from behind me. Eugen, and more surprisingly Tirpitz.

"Bismarck says you are another side of her. But that can't be true! She wouldn't do this!"

"Your sister used a siren weapon to put Hood out of commission." Scherzo spouted, now with anger starting to show "She broke the same principles you stood by. Where is the honour of the Ironblood?"

"It was war!" screamed Bismarck "The only objective of a war is winning!"

"War doesn't excuse behaving like an animal."

Bismarck let go of Tirpitz's arm and walked towards Scherzo. When standing completely upright, they were the exact same height. Same eyes, same face, same everything, even if Scherzo was now more battered. I cried for her to fall back, but she ignored me.

"Insulting me is one thing. I have thick skin. But the Ironblood is an entirely different…"

Scherzo jumped forward in a heartbeat. Not faster than what we could react to, seeing as how Lord Bismarck raised her arms in front of her, but for the rest of us, we were too far. However…

Something came out from Scherzo's cannons. I couldn't see it properly, it had no real shape. But it extended in front of her, covering both herself and Bismarck. A number of explosions surrounded them, raising tall columns of water.

"Large caliber guns." Idly mentioned Eugen "I counted ten shots…"

"EUGEEEEN!"

From the mist, a shape pounced on Eugen, who barely had time to raise her rigging to keep the sword from chopping her arm off.

The unexpected arrival drew everyone's attention. U-556 surfaced. Bismarck and Scherzo turned around to face the newcomer, pure disconcert in the former's eyes, nostalgia in the latter's. I just groaned in frustration.

"What the hell are you doing here…" said Eugen in utter disbelief "Wales?"

"Ha…. Hahahahahaha…" Wales's face was completely out of place, complete madness in her eyes "You just love doing that, don't you?"

"As charming as you are when pissed off, I don't know what you are talking about." She raised her shields in anticipation "I haven't left this base since we last met at the Denmark Strait."

"Why would you raise your shields if you had nothing to hide?"

"Have you looked at yourself? You might start shooting at me any moment."

Wales's eyes truly were something out of a horror story. Bloodshot like someone interned in an asylum too high on medications.

"I might as well."

"Listen to yourself!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Wales screamed on top of her lungs "You didn't have enough with Hood, did you?! You also had to take what little I had left, didn't you?!"

With every step Wales took forward, Eugen took one backwards.

"Edward and these days in the lighthouse were the last strand of sanity I had! I don't know how you managed to punch Richelieu and Jeanne full of holes, but I'll have you answer for that as well."

What?

"Richelieu and Jeanne d'Arc are in route to London after leaving Scapa Flow." I said with a voice as contained as I could. "I confirmed it myself this morning when Gascogne asked."

"I've had enough of your lies as well, Odin." She said without looking my way "I shall teach this conniving snake that actions have consequences."

And she fired her guns. 356mm shells weren't the largest by battleship standard, but Eugen's shield was designed with cruiser and destroyer shells in mind. Wales's shots cut through them like butter, making Eugen scream in pain when they graced her.

"EUGEN!" screamed Bismarck "NO!"

The reaction from Wales was instant. She was so focused on Eugen that she most likely hadn't noticed Bismarck until she screamed. In that instant, it was as if Wales had completely forgotten about Eugen, now lying on the sea.

She threw her sword at the sea, and her rigging disappeared, which helped ease the mood a bit. Which is why we didn't react in time when she took a running start and hit Lord Bismarck with her gloved hand.

Normally, she could have taken the hit. She was a larger warship with more displacement. But the situation wasn't normal, and the punch sent her flying back a few meters, straight into Scherzo's arms.

"Schwester!"

"Lord Bismarck!"

Both Tirpitz and U-556 jumped to help Bismarck. Tirpitz grabbed Wales from behind and U-556 got in between Wales and Bismarck.

"Why are you alive?"

No answer.

"Why are you alive? Even that pathetic, wrecked form you have is more than you deserve."

No answer.

"Do you have any idea of what it feels like? To see someone you considered a sister die in front of you, without being able to help?! WHAT IF RIGHT NOW YOU WERE PRESENTED WITH TIRPITZ, OR EUGEN, SPLIT IN HALF LIKE I WAS?!"

"I'm… I'm sorry…"

Those words left us all open mouthed, even Wales. Was Bismarck… apologising?

"I'm sorry."

"You are sorry. Well, that isn't enough, Bismarck. Being sorry won't bring me Hood!"

"And this will?"

"Let go off me!" Said Wales trying to shale Tirpitz off

"Please, don't make me use my guns like this." Tirpitz pointed her barrels at Wales's face.

"I said let go of me!" Wales thrashed violently trying to break free.

With the misfortune that, by accident, she kicked U-556 in the stomach.

Before U-556's pained cry died out, Bismarck's own fist had already connected with Wales's face, sending her backwards and falling on top of Tirpitz.

"That's as far as you'll go, you Royal bastard." she said as Wales tried to stand up. Her braid headband had come undone. "What else do you want me to give you? After I engaged George, I tried to end myself. So that I least could die by my terms, even if I didn't kill Hood the same way. You can ask your sister."

Wales punched Bismarck again on wobbly legs.

"Like I care! Your honour doesn't mean horseshit! If you regretted it so much, you should have stayed dead!"

Bismarck once again. Wales spit a tooth to the side.

"I didn't ask to be revived! Do you think this entire travesty was my idea?! That I would have chosen to come back during a war, to a sister that I can't even look in the eye in shame?! To a situation in which my allies turn their back on me?!"

"Your allies are just as bad as you are! You betrayed us! Stabbed us in the back!"

"Oh, shut up, will you?" said Deutschland, appearing from the mist, followed by Dunkerque. "You do realise there is no way we would let you sink our flagship, don't you?"

"I don't care what you think." said Wales after a few seconds of surprise at seeing Deutschland "You are still under official pursuit by Uruguay. They price on your head is high enough to build a brand new battleship with it."

"If you are trying to guilt trip me, you arrive a bit too late. I got Spee back, and that's all that matters to me."

"Spee was sunk two years ago in Montevideo! Don't fuck with me!"

"Come on now, Wales. Those words aren't becoming of a lady. How fast have you forgotten my lessons?"

People never agreed what silence truly meant.

For some, it was peace. The ability to seat down and drink tea in the garden.

For others, that same peace was merely the prelude of a massacre. The calm before the storm. Or even the aftermath of it.

The ominous veil that enveloped the waves around the fortress had hints of both. For those that didn't know, their cautiousness made them raise their weapons when they saw the reactions of the ones that did know. And those ones, like Odin, Dunkerque or Deutschland, simply didn't dare open their mouths.

Only a collective gasp broke the silence once that voice walked out of the mist. Most of the people present hadn't seen her in person. Some had been too far away, throwing shells at her. Others had seen her in newspapers, or reports of Operation Rheinübung. But every single person present, Ironblood member, Royal nobility or Templar Knight from Vichiya Dominion, knew perfectly who had appeared in front of them. Wales's legs failed her as she fell to her knees.

"...n-no. Y-You…"

"It breaks my old heart to see you like this, Wales."

"Y-You… this must be S-Siren mind games! I-I saw you die!" cried Wales.

"It's a bizarre feeling, to have someone tell you that. Wouldn't you agree, Lady Bismarck?"

Hood's words didn't carry any ill intent, any venom. And yet, Bismarck took a step back. Only running into Tirpitz stopped her from running away, her face completely white.

"Oh my, it's almost as if you had seen a ghost." she giggled "Though in a way, I suppose you have."

"You monsters! It wasn't enough to sink her?! You had to…!"

"That's enough, Wales. I wasn't fortunate enough to have sisters. I am the only Admiral class battlecruiser this world has seen, and will see. I am Hood."

She raised the gown that Deutschland had hurriedly given her, carefully covering her privates, but leaving her abdomen in display. A gory looking scar ran from left to right, below the navel. It left nothing to the imagination. It was pretty clear what that scar had been from.

"This is all the proof I need. To show who I am."

Scherzo walked to Hood's side.

"I had heard of Lady Tirpitz, but I wasn't aware of a third Bismarck-class ship. Has the Ironblood managed to speed up construction that much?"

"Hardly, lieb… Hood. That is an issue for another moment. Wales, stand up in this instant."

Wales, however, was still out of it. All she could manage was incomprehensible sobs while on her knees.

"Let her have it. It must have been a hard year for her."

"You always were too soft for your own good."

Hood frowned

"Again, I don't believe we have been in…"

The water exploded behind them, and chaos ensued once again. From the furious ripples the explosion had caused, emerged a Siren.

"I can't believe you decided to kick up a party without the adorable Purifier-chan! How unbelievably rude of you."

"So it's true you don't keep your memories." said Scherzo "Otherwise you wouldn't be fighting me willingly. You would know you can't win."

"Oh, someone is cocky!" said Purifier "Take this!"

From Purifier's six main guns, yellow beams of pure energy shot towards Scherzo, who put Hood behind her and projected a black mass towards Purifier. Even though none of them hit her, Scherzo coughed up blood.

"Oh, my attacks aren't working?! It's good that I didn't come alone!"

From the opposite side, another Siren surfaced. With her gigantic main cannon shining, Omitter laughed maniacally.

"Tell that midget bitch Valiant that I send my regards, HAHAHA!"

Her beam, wider and more blinding than Purifier's, shot towards Scherzo, Hood, and worse of all, towards the still shocked Wales.

"Wales!" cried Hood

But before it hit them…

"Snap out of it, you damn rascal."

Eugen jumped in front of Wales, with her shields extended.

For a second, the blinding explosion, or impact, seeing as nothing really exploded, prevented anyone from fully realizing what had happened.

"Ah shit, I missed." lamented Omitter.

The impact had finally snapped Wales out of it though.

"W-What… what's this on top of…"

Then she saw her. Her eyes had gone white, most of her uniform burnt away. And the shields, not having managed to stop Omitter's attack, merely redirected it slightly. Her entire left side, up to her face, was severely burned. Third degree burns.

"Eugen…?"

Suddenly, she was blown away. Everyone was, with different pitches of screams, from surprise to fear.

Scherzo was the only one that didn't budge. Most definitely because she was the one that had caused everyone to be sent flying. Around her, a strange, terrifying aura was spreading. She raised her hand, and Omitter was pulled towards her, as if Scherzo had pulled from an invisible rope. Scherzo caught her on the fly by the neck.

"How dare you?"

"WHAHAHAHAHA! Stop pretending to be such a big shot! You can't kill…"

She didn't get to finish her sentence. Scherzo shot her gun at point blank range into her face, and Omitter's body went limp. She let go of the siren's corpse and shot it again, now with those strange black shells of hers. A human sized target, that range… There was nothing left.

"Omitter…" Purifier's eyes widened considerably "She didn't return to the hive… Ah, I probably fucked up, didn't I?"

Purifier's answer was a spear through the chest and a shotgun shell to the neck that decapitated her.

Odin and Bismarck ran towards Eugen.

"Eugen?! Eugen!"

"Graf!" said Odin through her radio "Bring Akashi! We have casualties here!"

"So I arrive late."

One last siren emerged from below the waves. Everyone that wasn't busy trying to wake Eugen up pointed their guns at her. But they didn't shoot.

Because other than her tentacles, Observer didn't have her combat rigging up. And all of them knew that even if she did, Alpha wasn't a combat Siren.

"Impressive. Your combat performance is outstanding. All of us have been defeated in one way or another in this timeline, but you have completely erased Omitter. I have a few questions that need your answer. But that can wait."

She walked to Purifier's body, picking the head and the body separately. She then pushed Bismarck and Odin aside forcefully and picked Eugen's body.

"Drop her!"

"Don't tell me what to do, Bismarck. Not in that pathetic, wasted state of yours. Even a non combat siren could take you down right now."

"So you must be Observer, that Siren everyone talks about." said Wales, finally standing up and picking her sword "If I put an end to you…"

"You can try. You have a broken jaw and while it didn't hit you I am willing to bet Omitter left you with a fair bit of bruising. Not to mention, you failed to see through Moon's plays."

"Moon's…"

"I remember the layout of the base decently well, so if you take me there…"

Odin tackled Observer into the sea, dropping Mjolnir on her chest, and with the same spear that had stabbed Purifier on her hand.

"What did that do to Eugen?"

"I thought Eugen was an insubordinate soldier, how come someone like you cares about that?"

"Answer the question." said Odin, with arcs of electricity surrounding her.

"Omitter had an anti battleship cannon. Draw your own conclusions." she spit out, trying to stand up.

"Move and your head comes off, Siren."

"No." said Scherzo, laying her hand on Odin's shoulders.

Odin didn't even turn around. Arcs started dancing around her even faster.

"Before you were a threat. Now we may have lost Eugen because of you."

Scherzo groaned in frustration and looked to Eugen, still wrapped in Observer's tentacles. Graf had landed one of her floatplanes and Akashi had rushed to Eugen's side, focused on her multiple tools and recipients.

"Now, Siren…" said Odin, pressing the tip of Gungnir onto Observer's skin "You are gonna tell us all we need to know."

Author's notes: And with that, the first major segment of the story can be considered to be finished.

This chapter has been incredibly frustrating to write. For some reason, I don't feel like I land in a believable enough development for this part of the plot. It's not the story itself, but I feel like I don't exactly convey all I want to convey.

Wales has appeared once again, and now we have Observer, interrupting once the battle is already over. What implications this will have is something you will have to wait for a while. Mainly because of two reasons. One, I started college again and my writing time is vastly reduced, and two, there are other things I want to write. This story isnt going anywhere, but it wont exactly be uploading once every two weeks from now on.

That last segment is something I kind of want reader opinion on. About the narration style. Do you prefer third person, or the first person narration we have been having since this fic started?

All that said, I hope you enjoyed it and until next time.