A persistent dream...
...Faraway there...
Everything's unfamiliar...
...yet so nostalgic...
Dreams exist even when emotions have been forgotten now. Everything is just a memory Tirpitz watch without a long lasting impression. In one of those dreams, Tirpitz finds "herself" speaking with Victorious who bears a sorrowful expression. That dream version of her let the frigid blow away her tattered cape and hair since even in her dream, she's still physically and emotionally numb.
"Why are you still following me?"
From staring at the plain land of ice beneath her feet, Tirpitz slowly raises her head and her gaze shifts to Victorious.
"I had to or else you would get yourself killed" Victorious takes one step closer
"Then let me die. That's just how life is..." Tirpitz briefly closes her eyes
"Die fighting and being suicidal are different"
"No, I'm sure they're the same. We take part in battle knowing we might die, so that itself is suicide already"
"You're still an icy blockhead after all this time..."
"That's just the nature of fighting. I don't particularly care whether I survive or not, but I can't even die on my own term"
The dream version of Tirpitz gazes at her hands emitting cold air. It looks harmless at first sight, but the chill from her hands is fatal for regular humans but still a threat to kansens.
"Do you keep on following me out of guilt?" Tirpitz returns her attention to Victorious
"...It's not just that"
"Then why do you keep following me?"
"I don't want you to die. Not again..."
"I don't belong here"
"..."
"You just can't let go even after all this time"
When Tirpitz stands up, Victorious takes a step back feeling anxious. Even if the two are supposed to be friends, Tirpitz is unwelcoming towards her and her unknowing hostility signals Victorious to keep her distance.
"Are you satisfied I'm in this state?"
"Tirpitz..."
"...Forget it. There's nothing that could be done"
Tirpitz takes a deep breath before sitting back down after seeing Victorious on the verge of tears. There is no deceit, but Tirpitz couldn't find any pity from her.
"This is just how it is for kansens like us. We just keep on fighting until the sea claims us"
"..." Victorious lowers her head
"You'll just continue following me even in this hell?"
"I have to. It's the only thing I can do..."
"Despite everything, you just won't let me go. You..."
The word gets cut off when Tirpitz lowers her head and stares at the snow piling up on her boots. All she could do is get lost in her thoughts and be a recluse...until the pesky aircraft carrier somehow tracks her down.
...
...
...
"A dream? Victorious looked different...and so did I..."
Waking up to reality, Tirpitz blinks a few times to be certain of the solid ceiling in front of her. The strange dream has her surrounded by a frozen and snowy landscape while Victorious stares at her in pity. She raises both hands in front of her, sighing in certainty that the restraints on her wrists remain.
"It's going to be morning soon..."
Faint light is visible through the inches wide gap of the curtain. From estimation, only an hour remains before the sun fully rises.
"Am I going to live like this until I die?"
Tirpitz lazily lifts her back from the back and shifts her body to sit on the side of the bed. She sighs again when her feet touch the ground. While she doesn't hold any hatred for Bismarck, just loss of trust, she recalls the moment she wakes up with her surroundings frozen.
"..."
Upon resting the back of her hands on her knees, she gently squeezes her hands. When Tirpitz intertwines her fingers and her palms pressing to each other, there's still no warmth on her skin, just a chill similar to a person suffering from hypothermia.
"Bismarck has her reasons, huh..."
Tirpitz remembers one of Victorious' responses when talking about Bismarck during their last afternoon tea. The image of her older sister sitting in front of her and callously revealing she ordered for the operation despite the possibility of death and severe side effects.
"I can't think of her right now. I have a mission today"
Tirpitz shakes her head to rid herself of any distractions like thinking of her older sister. Right now, her eyes would often focus on her hands, wondering how to fulfill her primary task as a kansen while trying to be careful.
Two hours later...
It's Tirpitz's first mission after being free again for a year considering no one is certain if she can remain stable in combat. Only the commander's insistence that Tirpitz is allowed to be on the front lines in just a week after her freedom.
"The open sea..." Tirpitz blinks as the wind sweeps her bangs
Tirpitz gazes up at the sun high up the sky and catches the faint scent of the sea from the breeze. She could hear the gentle waves and take in the tranquility around her.
"...and this sunlight just like the old days..."
Tirpitz's fingers on her left hand slightly twitches since she's trying to move her hand. All she could manage is trying to lift her hand just a few inches from its original position. It's an instinct to try and reach what catches her attention the most.
"I still couldn't feel it..."
The main reason she couldn't try and lift her arm and stretch out her hands is the reality of not being able to sense the sun's warmth on her skin. Her body being immune to extreme temperatures means not only she's incapable of being frozen but even the gentle sunlight is just mere light to her.
"Did you miss going out in the open?" King George V approaches her
The knight captain, regularly observing her condition, quickly notices Tirpitz quietly staring at the sky and about to lift her hand as if she aims to reach the warm sun.
"It's been a while since I've been allowed to fight again" Tirpitz relaxes her hand
"You wouldn't even be locked up if it wasn't for your kerfuffle with Bismarck" King George V waves her right hand
"To you, it's just a petty argument"
"Still, I didn't expect you to resort to violence. I wonder what Bismarck said that got you worked" King George V rubs her chin
"Don't try to pry into my affairs. The little brawl with Bismarck is in the past"
"Little? You bloody froze your base like you lost your mind!"
"..."
Tirpitz turns her head to the right at the brief recollection of her old furious self standing surrounded by frozen buildings and other objects as her hands emit thick freezing air. It's the point where Tirpitz has lost control of her condition and nearly turned into a walking blizzard.
"Bismarck is keeping a tight lip about the icy core Iron Blood snatched from an Arbiter. It's overloaded with frozen energy, so using it on a ship is suicide. A miracle spared you at that moment"
"Why are you so curious about it? This thing fused with my wisdom cube is just an unstable experiment from an Arbiter. That's why I turned out like this"
"It's way too suspicious. There must be something with that core since the Arbiter who had it was drawn away from her own stronghold. It's an unknown ship who disappeared quickly"
"..."
Tirpitz herself has little to no information about the origin of the fragmented core used on her, so King George V's hint caught her attention, namely due to the mention of an unknown ship.
"Hey, Tirpitz! Let's have a match on who gets to sink most Sirens!" Alabama immediately runs to her
The battleship interrupts the conversation just to boldly challenge Tirpitz again. This time, she makes it into a contest rather than a direct sparring session between them.
"...I'm not interested in any challenges. Our mission isn't a sport" Tirpitz immediately rejects it
"Don't you want to exercise your power? I want to see you get serious!" Alabama raises her scythe
"I can't recklessly fight like you. I don't know if my condition is safe to have anyone around. That's why I'm always wearing these"
Tirpitz raises both arms and displays the metallic braces locked on both wrists. Red faint circuit lines pass through the surface of the nickel steel as it's a device on its own rather than steel with special properties.
"Is it okay to let Alabama annoy her all the time?" Victorious whispers to Glorious
"You annoy her too, you know" Glorious whispers back
Victorious intently stares at Alabama flailing her arm and proposing new kind of contests every time Tirpitz rejects it. Tirpitz doesn't particularly care about the self-proclaimed rival's challenges as her focus is on the horizon in front of her.
"Tirpitz looked like she missed the sea" Victorious turns her attention to Tirpitz
"Really? You can tell from her poker face" Glorious blinks in surprise
"I think she wanted to feel the day's warmth again, but her body temperature is countering it"
"That's why you're trying to make her smile, right? If she couldn't physically feel warmth, then you want her heart to thaw again"
"Yeah. I want Tirpitz...to not give up on herself just yet"
Victorious' gently closed fist reaches for her chest, unknowingly gazing and voicing out her deep concern for her friend. She's energetic and enthusiastic, but her fellow aircraft carrier smiles proudly at her caring and sincere nature. Traits that an unfeeling and possibly suicidal Iron Blood battleship needs.
"Enough chitchat! Prepare for the battle. The Arbiter is here!" King George V quickly warns everyone
The enemy is in front of them. A lone Arbiter who brings a large number of escorting Sirens. The preemptive airstrikes are from the Siren Strategists while Peace Breakers opens fire at the same time to scatter the fleet.
"If I sink more Sirens, then I win!" Alabama declares to Tirpitz
"I don't remember agreeing to that..."
"It could also train your body. To help you control your strength!" Alabama excitedly opens fire first
"..."
Tirpitz briefly looks down at her hands before she shakes her head and focuses on the incoming Sirens.
"D-Don't push yourself too much..." Victorious is standing behind her
Out of concern for Tirpitz's reluctance to fight, Victorious decides to speak to her even while in a middle of a fight.
"I won't fight at full strength to avoid the risk of harming everyone. No one knows how much it can be contained" Tirpitz briefly gazes at her
"I'll keep an eye before you do anything stupid" Victorious frowns at her
"Do as you wish, but I won't allow you to be reckless" Tirpitz grabs the tip of her cap as she fires another round
"..."
Victorious nods before retreating back since it's risky for an aircraft carrier to be in the front along with the battleships and cruisers.
"This is troublesome..."
The others are preoccupied eliminated the Sirens harassing them with shells and energy projectiles and Victorious leaves her side without noticing anything. Since no one is near her for now, Tirpitz staggers back and lifts both hands for a moment. Ice begins to spread from her hand to her wrists, subconsciously responding to the amount of power she's releasing.
"This is why I don't like the idea of fighting with this much people"
There's nothing she could do now but bear throughout the remainder of the battle. Tirpitz has not much practice to actual combat ever since her release as she's struggling to both focus on keeping her condition under control while dealing with the waves on enemies rushing towards her mindlessly.
"No. I need to learn how to control this...and I have to start somewhere"
When Tirpitz briefly turns around and sees everyone else struggling to whittle down the Sirens ships and aircraft giving them trouble due to their numbers, Tirpitz exhales deeply and focuses on her own goals and opportunities.
"...?"
After just losing her focus for a second, a Siren Explorer rains projectiles that deals minor damage thanks to near misses and her condition lessening the damage upon impact.
"Feuer!"
Charging straight with no strategy is an easy fodder for the likes of Tirpitz, so grabs her cap and balances her feet to unleash a full salvo on the fodder.
"Fool, you're really throwing the hard work to us..."
Arbiter VI: Lovers sighs and complains to the drone shaped like a manta ray with the cosmos patterned on its back. It's as small as a cat and does nothing but glide around the Arbiter.
"This is just a small favor" The manta ray flaps both flippers
"Do you want the core back? It's logical to eliminate the ship and retrieve the core from her corpse" The Lovers push the manta ray drone
"...That's not possible. It belongs to her now"
"Are you waiting for that persistent META to show up?"
"No. I know she's not stupid enough to be baited, so I have something else in mind"
The kansens are dwindling down the swarm aircraft like swatting flies while the only present Arbiter actually just relaxes on her rigging and observes their fighting style. She squints her eyes deeming their fighting capabilities to be currently mundane and predictable, but her current objective isn't related to the goal of the Sirens. It's more a menial task passed by a lazy Arbiter.
"The Mirror Sea has been deployed while they're busy cutting down our fodders" The manta ray tries to clap its hand but it's too short to do so
"Already? Huh, I didn't notice it either. I nearly forgot you're a sneaky one"
An invisible black dome surrounds a large area starting from the very center above until it quickly spreads down like laying down a curtain. It first appears as bright yellow hexagons connecting to each other since it's a signal that the entire area has been sealed off from outside interference.
"A Mirror Sea?" King George V notices after cutting down a Siren Explorer in half
The bright sunlight and azure skies disappear from their view. Instead, dark red sky and pitch black clouds replace it in the sealed off world created by the Arbiter. They would realize if they're entering a Mirror Sea or if a Siren is preparing to unleash one, but the method used is more precise that it's prepared at the exact location and only waiting for its activation.
"Hermit would be mad, but she's not here to find out" The manta ray opens a port near it's head
A small metallic cylinder with gear-shaped objects seals the top and the bottom. The object hovers towards Lovers and floats in front of her.
"Have you ever heard of an equivalent exchange?" The manta ray tilts to the side
"What's with that question all of a sudden?" Lovers raises an eyebrow
"In order to acquire something, you must give up something of equal value. For example, to make use of Hermit's ability, I have to settle with a thirty minute timer for it to use"
"Aah..."
The gears on both ends simultaneously rotate in opposite directions at high speed. A small amount of steam spews out from both as fog quickly swallows both the Arbiter and the kansens occupied with the cannon fodders.
"Hmm?" Tirpitz blinks her eyes
In mere seconds she notices everyone has been separated including her. She couldn't hear the sound of cannon fire or the other ships cursing at the Arbiter staring at them the whole time.
"...?"
A shell directly flies towards Tirpitz but rather than dodge, she chooses to catch the single shell with her left hand. The shell is enveloped in a thin sheet of ice externally and internally the second her hand tightly grasps the heated shell aiming at her head.
"Again?"
Rather than an ordinary shell, a straight projectile of condensed energy fires right toward Tirpitz. Just like the shell earlier, it's aiming to destroy her head rather than incapacitate her first.
"..."
Tirpitz lifts her hand and blocks the projectile with the palm of her hand. It's not as dangerous as she thought as it's another single and non-serious shot from an enemy. The moment the energy touches her palm, it immediately dissipates in thin air. Just seconds after the projectile, another solid shell flies right above her head.
"I see. You're testing it out, Siren..." Tirpitz catches the shell an inch from her face without taking away her gaze from it.
Unlike before, her body begins to emit vapor from the extremely low temperature currently restrained. She narrows her eyes at the shadowy figure making its way into the fog, causally taking her time to present herself to the lone battleship. The enemy presents itself with confidence, so Tirpitz throws away the second shell while loading her own rigging.
"So you can use that frozen core as your power after all. I'm guessing you never told anyone, and no one knows this"
"I can only exert a certain degree of control. This is still a curse that stripped me of a normal life" Tirpitz lifts the hand she used to grab the shell earlier
"Isn't that Bismarck's fault? It's an inanimate object incapable of thought, so the fault lies in Bismarck"
"..."
"How surprising. After all this time, you don't truly blame your sister? Or is it you're beginning to rethink the blame after being free again"
"..."
Tirpitz somewhat proves the Arbiter's point when the suggestion brings out a glimpse of memory where Victorious tries to defend Bismarck. However, Tirpitz pushes the memory aside for now since her opponent is an Arbiter while a lone kansen like her is powerless against them.
"Our Intel revealed you tried to kill Bismarck. Was your former emotional self swallowed by rage that you transformed your base into a frozen landscape? Kansens and personnel had to immediately evacuate since the area reached sub zero temperatures"
"So you've been keeping an eye on me..." Tirpitz doesn't appear to be bothered
"It's just out of curiosity. You managed to wield the core but your weak kansen body nearly broke down. Bismarck wasn't harmed even after direct contact unless..."
"Unless what?"
"...I don't want to speculate yet, so I would keep my conclusion to myself"
The Siren in front of her has more information about the origin and cause of her condition. It solely lies on the core inside her, but the Arbiter is deliberately careful with her words. There's no benefit in giving free information on what the Arbiter perceives as prey or pawn.
"You should know the humans tried to utilize it, right?"
"I'm aware of that. The core harmed them as if it rejected them"
"Correct. The core defended itself the moment it sensed humans a meter from it. Just a defensive mechanism to keep itself away from humans"
"Yet, I'm still alive..." Tirpitz cast a downward gaze
"Power comes with a price"
"This is a burden to a kansen like me. I can no longer live a normal life and I lost my emotions"
Tirpitz straightens herself and quickly corrects the Siren. With the inability to fear even death, Tirpitz stares right into the Arbiter and corrects her without care.
"Tirpitz, you learned to utilize the core to fight. Right now, your body has reached sub zero temperature again. Even if I fire a shell or rocket, the negative temperature would prevent it from exploding and hitting you" Lovers notices the chill evaporating from Tirpitz
"Do you think I've been doing nothing while I've been locked up for a whole year"
"Hmm. That makes sense, but this is the first time you're utilizing it in actual combat"
"..."
"Fitting for the Lone Queen of the North indeed"
Lovers changes her focus on the ice already spreading on Tirpitz's neck as she's risking her own physical body just to wield the frozen core in her battles.
"Don't you resent Bismarck or you have second thoughts? It's true she saved your life but sacrificed your normal life for it. She willingly made the choice for you just so you can keep on fighting" Lovers raises her index finger
"You're interviewing me now. Arbiters are really eccentric when they feel like it..." Tirpitz shakes her head
"It's out of personal curiosity. How does an emotionless person perceive it? You can't feel hate or hold a grudge, yet you refuse to meet your sister again"
"..."
The Siren questioning her triggers another memory from Tirpitz. This time, it's the moment Bismarck willingly enters the room turned into a freezer. At that time, Tirpitz discovered her unstable condition minutes after waking up. The horror rendered her speechless seeing how she could fear the chill down right to her very core and very inch of her body.
"How do you perceive the world now, Tirpitz? You no longer feel obligated to fight for Iron Blood or humanity in general yet you remain on their side. You could have gotten rid of Bismarck, but you hesitated moments before you collapsed" Lovers tries to initiate any response
"I'm not obligated to answer someone who hides crucial information" Tirpitz retaliates with her own response
"Since you refuse to answer, I'll move on to the next topic"
"..."
"If I break your restraints, will anyone die the moment the chill crawls to their skin?"
The Arbiter points at the steel locked on Tirpitz's wrists. It's another attempt to initiate a response, but the battleship tilts her head and blinks several times.
"It's likely Arbiters are resistant to the cold I emit, but you're not entirely immune. That's why you shot me with a solid projectile" Tirpitz tips the peak of her cap
"Hmm, you have a valid point there. That's only applicable if you or the core is-"
The sound of whirring blades from aircraft above interrupt the two. Four dive bombers push the fog away and reveal its position diving right above the Arbiter. The Siren intercepts the petty attempt of an ambush with her anti-aircraft fire and does so without much effort.
"Good grief. It looks I have to focus on someone else" Lovers shakes her head
"..."
"I don't have much need to stay here since I managed to gain sufficient information. More importantly, the Mirror Sea has been breached...possibly out of desperation to interfere"
"..."
"I'll extract more data from you. I suggest you fight me head-on the same way as the other you did once"
"What are you-"
The moment Tirpitz takes a step to pursue the Siren who turned away from her and beginning to take her leave, Tirpitz senses an unknown force coiling her body. It's more the weight in her entire body increased and her breathing growing unsteady.
"This core..."
Tirpitz clutches her chest as her numbing body is caused by the core inside her. She couldn't touch it or see it, but she couldn't definitely sense its activities resonating in her wisdom cube.
"I see. This is just like the moment...where I couldn't strike down Bismarck..."
The ice now spreads under her cheek as the lack of control with her condition is harming her more than it's benefitting her. Forcibly using it for combat without proper control is causing her to breathe heavily and her limbs growing stiff.
"...Who are you...?"
When Tirpitz's body sways since she struggles to keep herself conscious, her sight hallucinates a familiar figure in front of her. She stands in front her, unmoving yet emotional. The figure's lips part but shut them close again, hesitating to speak seeing Tirpitz forced on her knees already.
"..."
As if the figure is non existent to begin with, she disperses with a gentle blow of the wind and completely vanishes in front of Tirpitz. The chill on her body begin to settle again because Tirpitz is on the brink of losing consciousness from exerting too much strength all of a sudden and only retains consciousness for a few more seconds with willpower alone.
Right now, you are...
Iron Blood headquarters....
After the sighting of Arbiter VI: Lovers and the fleet returning without fighting the Arbiter once, Graf Zeppelin submits a report directly to Bismarck as it involves Tirpitz. Bismarck follows the direction of the document as Graf Zeppelin slides it in front of her. The third ship inside, Prinz Eugen, is occupied with poking from one book on the shelf to another.
"Tirpitz lost consciousness but remains stable" Bismarck grabs the document
"Her body temperature dropped when she was brought back to base. From the looks of it, her condition became active" Graf Zeppelin states the main concern
"She may have tried to use the core's power or at least showed control to a certain degree"
"The Arbiter may have pushed her to use it or a third party" Graf Zeppelin speculates
"A third party?"
"According to King George V, someone broke through the Mirror Sea but no one saw who it was"
"..."
Bismarck lowers her gaze to learn more about the mission as she's curious about the person who broke through a Mirror Sea.
"You and Tirpitz should discuss it personally"
"I thought of it, but it wouldn't yield anything now since Tirpitz would be uncooperative"
"How long will we wait? King George V suggested investigating the Arbiters since they initially possessed the core"
"..."
Bismarck couldn't immediately respond when thinking about how to speak to Tirpitz again. Even if there's no visible resentment, Tirpitz wouldn't say much considering the loss of trust.
"Bismarck, you should try talking to her again. Right now, Tirpitz has calmed down and it's not like she'll get worked up again"
Prinz Eugen is clearly listening to the conversation while she continues to pick a book by pointing at each one of them. She initially has no intention of joining the conversation, but she has been sneaking glances every second since Graf Zeppelin entered the office.
"Tirpitz needs to know you were personally concerned. You wanted her back in Iron Blood in the first place" Graf Zeppelin crosses her arms
"If she stays with Victorious long enough, she wouldn't leave that annoying aircraft carrier" Prinz Eugen lowers her hand
"Tirpitz is only there because it's convenient and doesn't wish to be with Iron Blood"
"We all know that, but if Tirpitz is somehow swayed, she wouldn't leave Victorious side even if you come to drag her back"
Prinz Eugen lifts her index finger and wags it in front of her face. Her usual carefree smile is difficult to distinguish if she's teasing Bismarck and suggesting a serious possibility.
"Even if I meet Tirpitz again, starting a conversation with her isn't easy. Her eyes lack and warmth or life at all as if my sister has died..." Bismarck clenches her fists
"Just try to talk about the situation a year ago. You told her with a dead serious face that you had her survive just to fight for Iron Blood again. Personally, I wouldn't be happy to hear that" Prinz Eugen shrugs her shoulders and turns away
"Tirpitz needs your honesty. Your awkwardness with her is what's causing this one year long misunderstanding"
"..."
Bismarck still couldn't respond as her thoughts briefly wander to the moment Tirpitz attacked her. As the concrete walls froze, it shattered like thin glass with just a single strike from Tirpitz. The area around them had become a frozen landscape, but Bismarck somehow remained unharmed from hypothermia and frostbite.
"...Fine. I will consider that option in the near future"
"Heh? Why not now?" Prinz Eugen pouts in dismay
"I want the unknown ship to be investigated"
Bismarck grabs the handle of her desk's upper left drawer and slowly pulls it out. Inside it is neatly stacked documents with labels, but she grabs the first one with a somewhat blurry photo clipped on it. Upon slamming it on the center of the desk for the two Iron Blood ships to see, they slightly bend their back forward.
"A possible META emerged to interfere with both us and the Sirens. Although no real damage is done, this is going on for too long" Bismarck is more annoyed than concerned
"A META? They're strong, so I don't think a direct fight is advisable" Prinz Eugen straightens herself
"I don't plan on direct confrontation. My task is to learn about this troublemaker's identity and if her interference has any real meaning"
"How about the defeated META a year ago?"
"There's no information on who that META was other than she clashed with an Arbiter and covered the battlefield with a violent blizzard"
Bismarck lets out a sigh, somewhat frustrated she has no information on the unknown META's identity before she gets defeated by an Arbiter. No one could get near the hazardous snow storm to witness the clash, not even a battleship like Bismarck.
"A year ago, someone came to me. That was when I learned Tirpitz is bound to die from her injuries. I don't know how she popped " Bismarck reveals unknown information
"Someone?" Graf Zeppelin frowns
"I was at the port wondering if I made the right choice on the procedure when she appeared behind me. A woman appeared like a glitching projection so I couldn't see her face or make clear of her entire appearance"
"A projection. The real person must be far, so the connection is unstable. I'm guessing just lurking within our territory back then" Prinz Eugen quickly guesses
"Right before I knew it, she disappeared. I may have seen things when I felt like I fell asleep for a few minutes"
"Still worth looking into. Let's see if this mystery ship is involved with what happened a year ago and if she knows about the core" Prinz Eugen snaps her fingers
"We can't let whoever this is do as they please" Graf Zeppelin clicks her tongue
Now, Prinz Eugen herself is curious about tracking down and hunting one of the possible suspects who has information about the core Iron Blood snatched from an Arbiter. Their initial guess is a META using them for her own agenda, something none of the three kansens inside would simply allow.