If she were being honest with herself, this was undoubtedly the worst decision she ever made. Nothing else comes close to it. Of all the crazy things she's done, this has got to top the list.

Tirpitz gazed at the monster that wore her sister's face and regretted her decision. Agrona, Bismarck, whatever name she went by, her power and strength was without question. Her opponent was every bit the beast her sister was.

She wondered if anyone else could have helped her. Everyone in the Ironblood would be steamrolled like pancakes. To be honest, practically everyone in the fleet would be crushed if they went against her. The only ones that came close to her level were the Big Three and the PR class.

However, Tirpitz knew those two groups were essential on the battlefield and so none of them could come here. Whether she liked it or not, she was the only one capable of fighting this enemy.

'Once again, I've no one to rely on but myself,' thought Tirpitz and sighed. Agrona glared at her with those ice blue eyes, showing no mercy.

Tirpitz formed her rigging and Agrona did the same. Agrona then charged at Tirpitz while the latter stood her ground. When the pair were close, Tirpitz dashed to her right side and fired. She was sure she could never beat her sister in a one-on-one fight, so she'd have to rely on long-range fire to do some damage.

Unfortunately for her, Agrona remained unscathed despite taking several direct shots to the body and face. Even her clothes were completely fine which only made Tirpitz sigh.

Agrona pointed her guns at Tirpitz and fired. In response, Tirpitz leapt back to dodge. Agrona expected this and charged through the smoke. She caught Tirpitz by surprise and grabbed her throat before she could react. Agrona lifted Tirpitz a few inches off the ground then stretched her free hand back before crashing it into Tirpitz's chest.

The wind came rushing out of Tirpitz's mouth but Agrona was not done. She landed another blow on Tirpitz causing her to cough out some blood. In an act of desperation, Tirpitz pointed her rigging at Agrona's face and fired. The force of the attack caused her to let go and gave Tirpitz enough time to get some distance.

She saw Agrona emerge through the smoke with the only sign of damage being a thing streak of red starting from her forehead and trailing down to her chin.

Tirtpiz meanwhile struggled to get her breath as her mind raced and wondered how she would overcome this enemy.

Agrona went on the offensive again and Tirpitz held her ground. The attack started when Agrona swung out wildly at Tirpitz's head and she moved back. She then ducked down to avoid the barrage from Agrona and retaliated with a leg sweep. The move knocked Agrona off her feet but to Tirpitz's shock, she pointed her rigging to the ground then fired.

The force of that attack sent her flying into the air. Here, Agrona adjusted herself quickly and fired several shots at Tirtpiz. In response, Tirpitz weaved her way through attacks but Agrona was not done. She watched Tirpitz move and saw a pattern emerge. She fired a little ahead and forced Tirpitz to stop. Before she made another move Agrona came behind her.

Tirpitz turned around just in time to see Agrona's left leg come at her before everything turned to black. She was sent flying back before bouncing off the ground a little and skidding to a halt.

Tirpitz tried to stand but felt a terrible pain in her head. She saw several drops of blood fall from her face as she struggled to her feet. Tirpitz finally stood up and wiped the blood from her head.

'Come on… think. There has to be something, some weakness, some chink in her armor,' she thought.

Tirpitz went on the offense and Agrona responded by firing a barrage to reduce her speed. Tirpitz weaved her way through the barrage with a few shots grazing her face. When she was near, she attacked with a straight and Agrona ducked down. Agrona retaliated with a punch to Tirpitz's gut but the latter raised her knee up to block.

With this opening, Tirpitz hit Agrona on the side, causing her to stagger a little. She tried attacking again only to have Agrona grab her fist and push her back. Tirpitz tried to move but Agrona retaliated with a headbutt. Tirpitz's head was spinning but she powered through the pain and landed an uppercut on Agrona's jaw. The force behind that made Agrona's head tilt back and release her grip. Tirpitz took a step back but Agrona quickly recovered and returned with a fist to the face.

Tirpitz took a few more steps back then charged with a flying knee. Agrona raised both her hands up and stopped the attack but Tirpitz rammed both her fists into Agrona's head. The two moved back and Tirpitz wiped the blood from her lips.

'This isn't a fight,' she thought as Agrona shook her head 'this is an endurance test. And I'll be damned if I let some clone get the better of me.'

Tirpitz darted to Agrona and performed a leg sweep, knocking her off her feet. Before she could hit the ground or perform any counter, Tirpitz rammed her knee into Agrona's back and her elbow into the stomach. Agrona gasped for air then flailed around before grabbing Tirpitz's collar. She pulled Tirpitz to her and punched her in the face.

Tirpitz staggered but retaliated with a flying kick that caught Agrona on the side of her head. This time, she did not raise her hands up to block it and was sent hurtling to the ground. It didn't take long for Agrona to recover and when she did, she wasted little time in firing a barrage at Tirpitz. The latter, tanked the attack then came forward.

With the palm of her hands, Tirpitz hit Agrona on the ears, and caused her to lose balance. She staggered a little allowing Tirpitz to rain a flurry of blow on her before finishing it off with a point-blank barrage from her rigging. Now Agrona was sent flying back a good distance before her body skidded to a halt.

Agrona wasted little time in recovering and went on the offensive by charging forward. She attacked head on and Tirpitz started firing at her. To her shock though, Agrona took all the shots head on but none of them even slowed her progress. When she was near enough Agrona reached out, grabbed Tirpitz by the shoulder, and pulled her forward. This left her wide open to a knee to the face. As she moved back, Agrona bent down and grabbed Tirpitz's foot then turned around and threw her into the ground.

Agrona saw the blood coming from Tirpitz's head and knew she did enough. That last attack pretty much knocked any fight out of her.

She could feel her consciousness fading as she struggled to stay awake. The blood trickling from her head made it hard to manage a single coherent thought. Her body was aching from top to bottom and she was sure some parts of her were broken.

'I shouldn't be surprised,' she thought trying to get some feeling in her left or right arm 'as much as everyone says they're with me or they have my back, in the end, I'm always the Lone Queen of the North.'

As her mind slowly faded, for some reason, she recalled something. It was a memory of when the Iron Blood's fortress was under attack by the Sirens and how they narrowly escaped. Her family was safe thanks to the rag tag group of girls that came to help them, all led by a human.

000000000000000000000000

Tirpitz saw the Commander seated at the edge of the ship and quietly went to him. The girls were relaxing now and it would be a while till they reached the base. She thought now would be a good time to air her thoughts and expectations.

"Commander," she said, in a slightly lowered voice "are you free? I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"Not at all, please have a seat," he said and patted the area next to her. She did and they watched the sky in silence.

"Commander," she said, finally "after this is over, after the war, what do you plan on doing with the fleet?"

"When this is over, I'd like for everyone to stay and live together," he replied "after the first war, the factions went back to their strongholds because the things that bound everyone together were gone. Now, I'm hoping you'll all stay together, not because of tactical reasons, but because its better to be around friends and allies."

"The Iron Blood is a secretive bunch," she commented "I don't think we have many friends or allies."

"For whatever it's worth, you have me," he said and Tirpitz blinked.

"I read up on your history before coming here," he elaborated "Bismarck may have played things close to the chest, but she always had the greater good in mind. The fact that others helped her form the AL proves they agreed with her vision."

"Now that you're part of the fleet, I'd ask that you don't handle things on your own from now on."

"I guess you haven't read that much about me then," she said with a derisive smile "outside the Iron Blood, I'm called the Lone Queen of the North. Even before I was made leader, I used to conduct operations, research, and other missions on my own. I'm… "

"You're not alone anymore Tirpitz," he said, cutting her off.

"I don't know if anyone's ever told you this, but there are plenty around you who want to help. All you have to do is let them in. And… as for worrying about the future of the Iron Blood, leave that to me. I'll make sure that you and everyone else here live long and happy lives."

Tirtpiz's eyes opened wide as she felt energy coursing through her body. The pain before became a dull throb now and she rose to her feet. Agrona saw this and was momentarily surprised by the sight.

'Ever since then, my life has taken a remarkable turn. Friends, family, everything changed for the better. I'm an idiot for thinking I was alone when the obvious was staring me right in the face.'

Agrona formed her rigging as did Tirpitz. The two fired and their attacks canceled each other out. Tirpitz expected this and charged forward. Agrona saw her and did the same. The two met in the middle with Agrona attacking first. She swung her arm out but Tirtpiz moved to the side and came in close. When she did, she fired at Agrona causing her to stagger.

Tirpitz came forward and rammed her head into Agrona's making it even harder for her to counter. She swung out wildly to try and create some distance but Tirpitz caught one of the arms and rammed her elbow into Agrona's nose.

Using the specialized rigging, Tirpitz grabbed both Agrona's arms in their jaws. Then she pointed her guns and started firing. Although the proximity of the blast meant that Tirpitz also took some damage too, she did not stop. She continued hitting Agrona as many times as possible till the only thing she saw before her was a large cloud of smoke.

Reluctantly she opened the jaws of her rigging and saw the arms that were locked in place fall to the ground. She looked up and saw the smoke fade to reveal nothing was left of her opponent.

Feeling an overwhelming sense of relief wash over her, Tirpitz collapsed to her side. She was tired, weary, but very much alive. To keep herself from going to sleep, Tirpitz kept repeating a single phrase.

"I am not alone, I am not alone," she said, smiling to herself.

(AN: It's been a while since I've written back-to-back action chapters like this. I've tried to keep it as fresh as possible so that no one gets bored reading. Well there's still two big fights left)