Two sisters hinder another pair of sisters. Renown META and Repulse META both draw their greatswords, firmly standing in the way of Scharnhorst META and Gneisenau META. The two Iron Blood battleships' goal is to reach the raging blizzard, but two Royal navy ships appear just when they're close.
"Out of the way. I don't want to waste my time with you two" Scharnhorst META declares
"You know we won't do that" Renown META shakes her head
"Tirpitz META was forced out by your Victorious. You know what happens, right?" Gneisenau META steps forward
"This is Victorious' choice and she's willing to die for it" Repulse META frowns
Renown META and Repulse META both share a tense and pained expression, but doubt isn't present. They're aware of the situation and the outcome, yet they willingly choose to hinder the two fellow METAs.
"You can't save both Tirpitz. One of them has to be eliminated because the body is too damaged to sustain two egos" Scharnhorst META grits her teeth
"All four of us know who has to go. Victorious didn't hide that fact to us" Repulse META briefly averts their gaze
"Tirpitz META wants to be put to rest. We'll do that without harming the other Tirpitz. Your Victorious will end up killing both!"
Scharnhorst META is losing her patience, so she loads all of her main armaments and prepares a battle stance.
"Move out of the way. This is my final warning" Scharnhorst META points her blade at them
"Make us" Renown META refuses
"Fine!"
With a swing of her blade, both Scharnhorst META and Gneisenau META let loose their cannons without restraint. High explosive shells fill the sky and rain towards the other pair of META sisters.
"How can you turn a blind eye to what Victorious META did?! Tirpitz META died by natural causes, but your ally desecrated her death and brought her back against her will!" Scharnhorst META couldn't hold back her anger
"Victorious didn't do it out of malice. We saw how her grief and sorrow turned to desperation"
Renown META swings her enormous sword first and the heat she sends up in the air is enough to detonate the shells before any of it could reach them.
"She saw Tirpitz die right before her eyes, so she was overwhelmed with her guilt from her helplessness" Renown META continues
"If anything, she would gladly trade her life if it means bringing Tirpitz back" Repulse META adds
"We are not Gods to decide who lives and who dies. The world will smite those who try to usurp the heavens!"
After another salvo from Scharnhorst META, she follows it shortly while charging herself and Renown META being her target. Her blade may be smaller, but the strength of her swing is enough to push back Renown META by a meter even while using her sword to defend herself.
"Renown!" Repulse META tries to aid her sister
"Not so fast!"
Gneisenau META opens fire at her and one shell manages to land a direct hit on Repulse META's left side, enough to stagger her for a few seconds.
"Arrogance is why civilizations fell over and over again" Scharnhorst META continues to berate them
"Is that why Bismarck ditched your country?" Renown META reminds them
"...!"
"She couldn't put down her sister. That hesitation out of love led to the death of two Iron Blood ships. In shame, Bismarck stepped down as leader...and disappeared without a trace"
Everyone is aware of the story, but Renown META summarizes it to Scharnhorst META even without asking.
"Bismarck couldn't forgive herself. She played a hand in violating her sister's death and her heart stopped her from putting Tirpitz to rest. Haunted by guilt, Bismarck turned her back on us and vanished" Scharnhorst META tightly grips her sword
"We know what Victorious plans to do, but we're helping her out of pity. Victorious wishes to die after she succeeds. Her plan is the only way to achieve the closest happy ending" Renown META grunts in frustration
"Happy? In what way does killing one personality to save the other leads to happiness?!"
Scharnhorst META pulls herself back and points her blade, unleashing yet another salvo. Renown META exchanges with a salvo of her own at the same time she heavily swings her sword leaking molten steel at the incoming shells to prevent any direct hits.
"We will accept any alternatives, but there isn't one. Someone has to die, so the other could live. It's always been that way..." Renown META bitterly accepts reality
"Renown, the ending you all want to achieve is still...far too cruel..." Scharnhorst META lowers her sword for a few seconds
"...I know" Renown META takes a deep breath
It pains them as they know the result and what it would lead to in the future. One of them continues to defy it while the other surrenders to the inevitability. Renown META grabs the sword with both hands and swings it in the air just as she rushes for a melee confrontation to Scharnhorst META.
As the gaps continue to grow in Tirpitz's mind, the utter shock shakes her very core. It freezes her thought process the moment her friend stabbed her and revealed to be working alongside a META. Victorious only watched as the META gutted her to the side and shreds a portion of her body, nearly causing her to faint from the fatal injury
"You never discovered she was the one who suppressed me and further tampered with your wisdom cube" Tirpitz META speaks without turning to face Tirpitz
"Why...?" Tirpitz is on her knees and her hands pressing the ground
"To force her idea of saving you" The META sighs
"..."
"By prying into your cube, she learned the only way to get back the Tirpitz she knows is by causing extreme shock. Of course, it's difficult without emotions, but you showed her the possibility"
At first it's pitch black darkness, but then the two of them find themselves back into their inner world of ice and snow with no living being other than then.
"You insist on keeping your attachment to her, so she forcibly severed it. That recoiled badly and here we are..."
Tirpitz META frowns as her gaze turns to the sun mostly concealed by dark clouds. It doesn't matter to the META as the imaginary world lacks any sensation for both her and Tirpitz. The META mostly returns to her usual state - someone who no longer expects anything from the world yet still finds her disappointed and...perhaps heartbroken.
"Congratulations. You can finally feel something again" Tirpitz META faces her
"But not this way..." Tirpitz digs her fingers in the snow
"It's either you die or she dies, Tirpitz. That's just how it is..."
"Still, that's..." Tirpitz grits her teeth
"The very friend you trusted betrayed you without a doubt. You've been lied to, but you desperately believed it was either a lie or her conscience would prevail"
"..."
"Unfortunately, reality isn't too kind. A friend who lies and plans to backstab you would obviously reject her conscience. In the end, we both hoped it only got reality to slap us from our delusion"
To the deceased META, she doesn't need any excuse to understand why Victorious betrays Tirpitz's trust as she has been warning her past version since the beginning. Even if she remains unsurprised, Tirpitz META lowers her gaze at her feet and the snow beneath her, silently dismayed her words are proven true.
"..."
As for Tirpitz, her shaking hand reaches for her chest as her chest pounds loudly that she doesn't need to clutch her chest. Her heartbeat echoes inside her, weakening her limbs and stressing all of her thoughts.
"Why is it like this? I didn't ask to regain it this way...!"
Tirpitz, clearly frustrated, grunts at herself and tightly clutches her chest when she couldn't ease her racing heartbeat and shaking hands. Tirpitz META slowly blinks, continuing to silently observe Tirpitz clashing with rejecting and accepting the current situation.
"I'd rather be the emotionally cold person I used to be" Tirpitz stands up
"Doing so means your current ego would cease to exist. That's a fate worse than death if you ask me" Tirpitz META scoffs
"..."
"Victorious doesn't care if you die. Even so, will you still believe in any noble intentions?"
"...I do" Tirpitz takes a deep breath
"Then you and I are the same in the end"
"..."
"If you plan on ceasing altogether, make it worthwhile"
Seeing Tirpitz still with disorganized thoughts, Tirpitz META shakes her head and wakes a few meters away from her. She can't help but feel annoyed and itching to swing her fist at her past self for being overwhelmed by emotions and unable to firmly hold her choices.
"You sank deeper and so you lost control of yourself without interference from me. Well, not like you can wrestle control for a while" Tirpitz META scoffs again
"Why is that?"
"You're too mentally and emotionally weak right now. Someone as fragile as you would just break in a second" Tirpitz META clicks her tongue
"I don't even know what to do. I hate her for lying and going behind my back...but...but I can't..."
Tirpitz could only tightly clench both of her fists when she's forced to admit her indecisiveness and persistent attachment.
"Then do you prefer being killed by her?" Tirpitz META groans in annoyance
"No, but..."
"Make up your fucking mind! If you stand there, you'll die! Are you really that weak that you'll choose the easy way out?"
In a fit of sudden anger, Tirpitz META grabs the regular Tirpitz's collar and violently pulls her closer until they're only a few inches from each other
"..." Tirpitz averts her gaze
"Then I'd rather be the one to kill you instead.
"I'm angry too, you know. I can't think straight...because I'm trying to hold back myself because I might go down a path I'll never escape from"
"..." Tirpitz META loosens her grip
"You don't know how much my heart wants to lash out at Victorious because she deceived me...but I still want to believe...but I'm angry"
Tirpitz pushes herself away from her speechless META version since her frustrations grow over the restless indecision to calm herself or succumb to her emotions.
"Why is everyone lying, deceiving, tricking, and betraying me? Can't I just have anyone who I can trust? Just one..." Tirpitz's knees surrender to the ground again
"Only a saint would be free of lies and deception. You won't even find them in those religious folks"
"I know that..."
"It's human nature to lie or deceive no matter the intention because fear and self-preservation are present within everyone. Even if you lead yourself to believe you're doing it for someone else's sake, it will always be for selfish reasons. Just like now..."
There's no hope for Tirpitz as of the moment as she doesn't even attempt to resist her META version, so her shaking will let the suppressed META loose enough to resurface. Tirpitz META quietly staring at Tirpitz for several seconds does express her frustration and disappointment, but she faintly exhales in what resembles sympathy.
"Don't expect anything from anyone, and you won't be disappointed. Had you reminded yourself of that, it wouldn't have led to this incident..."
Since Tirpitz META is incapable of comforting someone and in a terrible mood, the lightest berating she could leave Tirpitz is a harsh but fitting advice considering their histories aren't so different.
It doesn't matter...because you're running out of time...
...
...
Why?
That one questions races through Tirpitz META's mind and repeats like a broken recorder. Just when the bitterness of her death subsided before after observing Tirpitz's daily life, her memory reminds her of the harsh reality.
"Good grief. Not only you'd break out once provoked, you just won't go down"
Victorious META's aircraft circle around a mostly immobilized Tirpitz META like vultures stalking their prey. With a single wave of her hand, fighter aircraft reposition themselves and opens fire a hail or rapid armor piercing bullets.
(One is a problem, now there are two of them!)
Due to her injuries and expended stamina, Tirpitz META could only freeze and shatter the bullets midair while she attempts to lift her one leg. She couldn't stand up straight with piercing shot from both aircraft machine gun and ice shard lodged into her leg.
"Why...?" Tirpitz META continues to mutter under her breath
Tirpitz META grabs the ice piercing her leg and pulls it out in a split second without regard to pain or safety. Her vision may be doubling and a bit shaky, but she focuses enough to look past Victorious META and sharply glares at a terrified Victorious standing behind.
"You really betrayed her"
Tirpitz META'z eyes briefly glances at the other META, referring to their involvement.
"I know working with my META version is betraying Tirpitz, but what choice do I have? Bismarck and the others can't undo what they did" Victorious wraps her arms around herself
"..." Tirpitz META is unusually listening
"The only way to force her into feeling anything is through subjecting her into an extreme situation. To force her in a live or die choice is the only way. You knew that too..."
On the last statement, Victorious' voice wavers, fearing the seething killing intent carved in her brightly glowing eyes intensified by the low visibility blizzard around them.
"Your lies and deception broke that fool. She wanted to kill you, but she still...valued you enough to hold back. It's driving both of us crazy...so if she can't bring herself to sink her fangs, then I'll tear you apart myself!"
Thick cold air escapes from Tirpitz META's hand due to further lowering the temperature she emits. This also puts a strain on a non-META body.
"Nngh..." Tirpitz META takes one step back
She feels as if her body is cracking and suffering over and over again. This physically scars her body with blue cracks, forming both lines and stripes on her arms up until to her neck.
"..."
In Tirpitz META's brief yet quiet concentration, she becomes aware of the damage in the wisdom cube continuing to spread the more she pushes to body to the limit.
"You'll break that borrowed body" Victorious META goes in a battle stance
"Then I'll just make it my own. I'll transform this broken body into a vessel reflecting my original body" Tirpitz META attempts to provoke her
"Unfortunately, I can't have you do that. I need that body intact as much as possible"
Unlike before, Victorious META couldn't simply drop bombs or put more bullet holes in Tirpitz when it's clear Tirpitz META is overworking the normal body.
Meanwhile...
Bismarck tries to control her breathing because all she could inhale is the cold air around her. The whistling and howling wind cancels most of the noises around Bismarck, but she's more annoyed at how there's only a blurry white landscape all around her.
"George! Tirpitz!" Bismarck shouts at the top of her lungs
Not a single being responds to her call as the irritating blizzard continues to hinder her senses and her path.
"...?"
Bismarck stretches out her left hand when a chilling sensation separate from the current blizzard, crawls all over her skin. The fragment of a wisdom cube manifests itself on top of Bismarck's palm.
"My head...ugh...there?"
The fragment signals her thoughts as if it responds to her dilemma and instinctively directs her to the direction in front of her.
"Hyaah!"
A swoosh swiftly cuts through the air and nearly cuts Bismarck's skin, only managing cut few strands of her bangs. A knight's bright red figure bursts out of the blizzard, wildly swinging down her sword in the air.
"King George V?!" Bismarck moves back after nearly being injured
"Bismarck?! I thought you were some bloody Siren" King George V quickly sheaths her sword back
"Then why were you blindly swinging your sword?"
"I thought I caught a glimpse of the dead META"
"That dead META is possessing my living sister" Bismarck shows the fragment to her
"How do we get rid off of the vengeful ghost. More importantly, Victorious herself..."
"..." Bismarck lowers her head
It's a situation that can't be resolved peacefully, but Bismarck is silent and could only stare at the fragment in her hand. King George V is prepared to draw her blade with little to no hesitation. The situation requires to use unrestrained force and even if the opponent is a META trying to resurrect herself, Bismarck couldn't outright say she's prepared to take either Tirpitz or Victorious down with her own hands.
"I have to bring Tirpitz back before the META fragment becomes irreversible" Bismarck takes a deep breath
"What if it becomes impossible? Can you put down your own sister to prevent Tirpitz META causing further damage?"
"...I don't know" Bismarck is uncertain but she doesn't break eye contact
"Bismarck, what if it's one of those scenarios where your sister would become a shell for that undead battleship's rampage"
"Before that happens...I'll save my sister. I won't ever let that happen" Bismarck moves forward first
"You're softer than anyone believes..."
King George V unsheathes her saber once more and hurriedly follows after Bismarck before she loses sight of her in the raging blizzard.
"This fragment is making me sense Tirpitz META...but I can't sense Tirpitz at all" Bismarck mutters to herself
The piece of the wisdom cube isn't physically pointing at a direction, but each time it emits a pulsating glow, Bismarck's senses instinctively move in one direction.
"To kill her is the only way to reignite her wisdom cube, but that would start the metamorphosis. You doomed your friend!" Tirpitz META heals the gutted side
"Her wisdom cube has been damaged beyond repair. If it wasn't for you extending your fragment, Tirpitz wouldn't be here!" Victorious META reminds her
Bismarck slows down upon hearing two familiar voices shouting at each other. Victorious META is only annoyed at best while Tirpitz META is bitter and having difficulty keeping her voice calm.
"What would you gain from all of this? For what reason you shattered my cube and stuffed me in a dying past version of mine?" Tirpitz META clutches her chest
"My initial plan was to sacrifice this timeline's version of you to resurrect you. To bring you back physically and mentally intact, I needed a living vessel to sacrifice" Victorious META takes a deep breath
"I knew it..."
"In doing so, that Tirpitz's ego would essentially cease to exist and you would be the replacement - the new owner of a fresh body. That's why I had to gain Bismarck's trust, so I could personally get the body needed for the procedure"
"That wouldn't work so easily. She would resist and it would both damage our egos. The only way to do that..."
"...is to crush her spirit" Victorious META finishes the sentence
"So you manipulated me in betraying Tirpitz...?"
At the quick realization, Victorious' shaking legs take several steps back and her equally shaking lips couldn't utter another word.
"I was worried and panicking because the procedure stripped Tirpitz of her emotions, so it's impossible to stop her from resisting. To lessen my problems, I've been stripping her of her memories for Tirpitz META to occupy it easier and not be influenced by her memories" Victorious META turns to her past self and explains
"You...How could you do all of this...and not care?" Victorious slowly shakes her head in shock
"This is...just one timeline. What difference would it make if I destroy the lives here? I know what I'm doing is horrible and unforgivable, so I know I deserve death as punishment. I'm willing to be punished...but I can't fall until I accomplish what I came for" Victorious META takes a deep breath
"Why are you going this far to bring me back? You know I don't want to go back to being alive"
"Yet you're here - persisting and struggling. You wouldn't have been conscious if it weren't for your desire to be resurrected"
Victorious META stretches out both of her hands and spreads her palms open, proudly exposing Tirpitz META's silent rejection of the idea.
"You're a terrible liar, you know that? Dead or alive" Victorious META chuckles
"..." Victorious silently shifts her gaze to Tirpitz META
"I wanted a second chance in this world, but I'm not a heartless demon to willingly steal someone's life. You stripped me of a peaceful death, but I won't justify my bitter end to replace this Tirpitz's life"
"What made you change your mind?" Victorious META frowns
"I'm sharing the same body as my past version, so it felt as if I relived her life just as she relived mine. The much peaceful life she had compared to mine soothed my restless soul...even for a little bit"
Tirpitz META clenches her fists, overwhelmed by desire for revenge towards Victorious META for not only toying with her life but with the past version of her. Anger from the forced reanimation no longer clouds her mind, mostly returning to her stern yet somewhat expressive self.
"Then I'll kill you over and over again" Victorious META lifts her hand and snaps her fingers
"...!"
Torpedo bombers appear from behind and launch torpedoes right below the surface water. By the time, Tirpitz META turns around and about to move herself away from the line of torpedoes, two of them have already struck her.
"Tirpitz!"
The explosion causes the surface water to erupt and cover Tirpitz from the burst and large splashes. The attack is followed by two more dive bombers from both left and right side, removing any moment to recover Tirpitz META's focus.
"Gggh!"
Just as Tirpitz META is about to recover from staggering a bit, the two more torpedoes cause significant damage to her current body. Her original META body would be resilient to mere four torpedoes, but her current body is weakened after just recovering from fatal wounds.
"I won't kill you, but I'll remove you...because I no longer need you" Victorious META turns around to Victorious
"...!"
"Hyaah!"
King George V pushes her engines to the limit and charges at full speed, appearing from Victorious META's left side and swinging down her saber without a second thought.
"Whoa!"
A gust of cold wind stops the saber's sharp edge from making physical contact with her and the force sends the gallant knight knocked away by at least ten meters.
"Feuer!"
Right as King George V is out of the way, a rain of shells fall towards Victorious META herself, but the two shells about to hit her struck two aircraft instead.
"Bismarck!" Victorious blinks in surprise
"I WILL have you explain everything later. Right now, it seems the current threat is that other Victorious" Bismarck sternly tells Victorious
"Nnggh...I don't need you...here" Tirpitz META rubs her head after recovering some strength
"I'm not your opponent right now. Same goes for this Victorious" Bismarck stands in front of Victorious
Bismarck goes ahead thinking Tirpitz META might still see her as a threat and attack her too. Having a three way fight would be difficult and would only drag the battle without proper conclusion.
"I don't care. You two get out of my sight before I sink you too" Tirpitz META warns them
"Victorious, get out of here" Bismarck whispers to her
"I'm not leaving! I...I caused this...so I have to fix this" Victorious musters her courage
"So do I" Bismarck sighs
"Then I'll have you stay put"
The moment the voice echoes, bullets in a second interval quietly pierces the air and pierces right through Bismarck's right leg, nearly causing her to kneel.
"Ggh!" Bismarck steels herself in one place
"No hard feelings, but I can't have more trouble while I'm around"
In a distance, protected by the blizzard, Hunter META reloads her sniper rifle. Her eyes brightly glow, allowing her to properly determine the location of the target even if the blizzard caused by Tirpitz META has her in mid range disadvantage.
[Where have you been?] Victorious META radios her
"It can't be helped. Those two are held back by the ugly sisters. Going past them wasn't easy, you know" Hunter META covers her right ear
[Change of plans. We're retreating] Victorious META clicks her tongue
"Already? What happened?" Hunter META is suspicious
[...!]
"Oh..."
The sound of cannon fire from the other side nearly deafens Hunter META and this alone is enough to explain how the situation is escalating beyond their control.
"Hmm?"
Shells fly in her direction, causing her to hastily move herself back in the last second. Her spot a few seconds earlier has been filled with large splashes from the impact of the shells and would have landed a direct hit on her if it isn't for reaction time.
"So there you are!"
King George V appears from behind and swings her saber down at the destroyer META, but she's blocked by a giant pair of scissors. The force delivered by the swing, even if it's successfully block, almost makes Hunter META bend on the surface water and damage her forearms.
"Ho~ A scissor is rather an inconvenient weapon for a little hunter? Are you sure you're not some sort of slasher?" King George V sarcastically comments
"This is none of your business. Leave" Hunter META frowns
"It is very much my business because a Royal Navy ship is involved" King George V keeps swinging her saber
"How the hell did you track me?"
"I didn't. Bismarck did - so I went around when she sent those shells flying to you"
The relentless swings from King George V and her surprising speed overwhelms Hunter META that her left shoulder and right cheek are cut open.
"Why are you working alongside Victorious META? Her goal is rather selfish and unforgivable" King George V moves half after straining her arm from the countless swings
"I don't particularly care about good and evil. I'm a hunter and everyone before me is either a threat or prey. As for Victorious META, she knows she'd be killed sooner or later, so the best I could do is offer my pity and let her die as she wishes"
Hunter META heavily sighs knowing the furrowed eyebrows in King George V means her answer is unexpected. However, she's being true to herself that she personally cares very little about morals so long as it doesn't hinder her.
"What's killing the ego of a battleship destined to die back then? At least every part of her is put to good use like how a hunter never wastes parts of the slaughtered prey" Hunter META lifts her scissor near to her chest
"Hmm. This is infuriating me because your view is clashing with mine" King George V admits with a smile
"One of them actually wishes to die...and I'm not talking about the META"
Hunter META swings the large scissor to her side and springs herself forward, removing their distance before King George V could open fire and resume her flurry of swings.
"Gghk!" Victorious META coughs out blood
"..."
Tirpitz META is standing right before her with cannons all pointed at her and hands emitting extreme chill enough to freeze someone in a split second.
"I'm ending you once and for all" Tirpitz META lifts her hand and forms icicles mid air
"You keep saying that...but you only keep dying"
"..."
Without even saying anything, Tirpitz META sends several icicles flying at high speed. Most of them have been shredded by Victorious META's figure aircraft machine guns, but the first one manages to slice her left eye when she attempts to dodge sideways and the second one her left shoulder.
"Victorious!"
Rather than use her own rigging, Tirpitz META prefers to use the side-effect of her metamorphosis and charges towards the other META without thinking.
"You're rushing to kill me that badly!"
As soon as Tirpitz META swings her right hand in the air, a misshaped dagger of ice forms near her fingertips and cuts open the right side of Victorious META's abdomen. Tirpitz META clicks her tongue, somewhat annoyed the wound isn't serious due to Victorious META dodging right before her entire abdomen could be sliced open.
"What-?!"
This time, Tirpitz META uses her left hand and forms an ice shard right in her hand, using it to attempt stabbing her in the heart. Unfortunately, her weakened state causes her to only strike below the heart and not even deep enough to pierce through the other side.
"..." Tirpitz META quickly distances herself
Just as Tirpitz META is about to use her main armaments next, her body swings and the gaps on her cheeks grow wider by a centimeter. Then her breathing becomes heavy and her legs shaking.
"Don't push yourself, Tirpitz" Bismarck softly tells her
"I'm not...your sister..." Tirpitz META reminds her
"..." Victorious quietly stands behind Bismarck
"As for you, give me one reason why I shouldn't sink you too" Tirpitz META looks at her
"I..." Victorious couldn't answer
"You've been used, but that doesn't mean I forgive you. I despise liars and betrayers after all"
"That can wait. The real enemy is in front of us" Bismarck reminds Tirpitz META
"Oh, don't worry about me. This can wait...because you should think about your breaking host body"
Victorious META covers her functionless left eye with her left hand, ignoring the wound on her shoulder. In fact, she expresses little pain and even wryly laughs.
"...!"
When Tirpitz META tries to move her left arm, she hears a crisp cracking sound which forces her left arm to remain at the side.
"What makes you think you're going to leave here alive?" Bismarck steps forward
"I still have this and as long as you have that, you can't get ahead of me" Victorious META raises her right hand and manifests the fragment in her possession
"This is annoying..." Tirpitz META bends on one knee
"We'll face each other again. Let's just hope it's the last...because neither of us will last long" Victorious META begins to move back
"Wait-!"
Right when Bismarck is about to open fire to keep the opponent in place, blizzard wind surrounds Victorious META entirely and pushes the three ships back. The speed of the shards of ice flying in the air dents through their battleship rigging.
(Why is she confident we can't get ahead of her?)
Bismarck thinks to herself after the blizzard used as a means of escape slowly dies out and when the view in front of them confirms Victorious META has escaped once again.
"You...nngh...we're not done..." Tirpitz META lifts herself and grabs Victorious' left arm
"I know what I did..." Victorious isn't afraid to admit
"Once a betrayer...always a betrayer..."
Tirpitz META collapses in Victorious arms not out of her own will but due to the fact she exhausted her strength undoing Tirpitz's fatal wounds and keeping the body from being destroyed entirely.
"Betraying a friend isn't a sin you can easily atone" Bismarck speaks gently
"Why don't you hate me too like her?" Victorious turns her head
"I despise betrayal done out of malice...which you clearly didn't possess"
"Aren't you being honorable or are you going easy on me, Bismarck?" Victorious clutches Tirpitz
"I'm not the one you should be asking for forgiveness"
"..."
"However, you must face consequences of your actions once this situation is resolved" Bismarck turns away
"At least you're optimistic this would end how you hoped" Victorious whispers
"..."
Bismarck overhears it but refuses to say anything. It may not seem obvious from her expression, but she clenches her hands for a few seconds before loosening them. She's upset for Victorious' careless decision to betray Tirpitz out of noble intentions only to cause more harm than good.