Author: I just got back to the Philippines from my couple of months visit in Japan. I'm only going to stay in the country for a few weeks since I'm scheduled to go to Indonesia by August.
The Abyssal introduced in this chapter is also an OC (the fourth and last one) requested by a certain reader. I mentioned about it in the previous chapters, but I mentioned it again to remind everyone who is reading the story.
The "serious conversation with Warspite" is moved to the next chapter.
It's been a long time...
There are paperworks the admiral had yet to finish working on due to the situation with Gangut the other day. Now that she has free time, she focused on finishing them. She handed the document about the approval of transfer to Ooyodo.
"You approved of it already?" Ooyodo tilted her head
"Those two are the one who requested to be transferred here in the first place...by persuading Alex. Also, Iowa won't stop bothering me with it"
"Do you happen to know them? From what you told me, it sounds like you know them" Ooyodo curiously asked
"They're my comrades back in the north. I fought alongside them during the time the Kriegsmarine aided the U.S navy in an operation"
Other than the relentless persuasions, there is deadline on the document sent to her so made a decision and approved it before the deadline comes. Since Tirpitz knew them and they knew her, she didn't mind having those two in her base.
"So is there any recent news from the headquarters? It's been quiet lately"
"There is...but it isn't a good one" Ooyodo handed over the latest reports
Looking at the post sortie reports of other naval bases, Tirpitz sits quietly on her chair while Ooyodo is just standing there, waiting for her admiral to speak. She silently read the reports Ooyodo handed over.
"Admiral..."
"A unknown Abyssal battleship, huh..." Tirpitz exhales
While she enjoys the peace, the appearance of another threat is unavoidable.
"An unidentified Princess class attacked a transport convoy and the torpedo squadron escorting it"
Tirpitz looks at the report Ooyodo delivered to her just now. It makes Ooyodo think how her admiral doesn't look worried despite the fact the mysterious Abyssal wiped out all the transport ships and heavily damaged the ship girls.
"Not to mention it's a battleship type. We may have sunk Battleship Princess a year ago, but a new headache appeared"
She looks more annoyed than concerned that a new threat emerged. Tirpitz takes a sip from her coffee while reading the report.
"What's your plan, admiral?"
"Investigate it. Since we received an order to track down the Abyssal responsible for these attacks"
Tirpitz replied as she looked at the report once again. It's not just her fleet, even Kure's fleet encountered it.
(Judging from the description...)
She looked at how the unknown Princess was described. Both fleets described the appearance as a battleship type with large guns mounted on a monstrosity.
(Not to mention the behavior...)
Her fleet reported the Princess aimed for the heavier ships and attacked the destroyers after heavily damaging the capital ships.
"The pattern"
"The pattern?"
"The attack pattern is somewhat identical to a certain Abyssal. I'm not fully sure though" Tirpitz furrowed her eyebrows
She suspected the Abyssal attacking ship girls recently is "identical" in her opinion.
(The appearance and toying with the enemy. This looks familiar)
"Admiral?" Ooyodo called her out
"I thought I could catch a break, but it can't be helped..."
Tirpitz grunting while Ooyodo is just standing, confused to what her admiral is talking about.
"If who I'm thinking is the same Abyssal as the report says, then she'd still be lurking"
"H-heh?"
"If it is her then...most ..ship girls who encounters her are good as a dead"
Tirpitz stands up and as she does so, a fairy jumped on her shoulder.
"Where are you going, admiral?"
"There's going to be slight changes with the fleet composition"
Ooyodo fastened her pace as Tirpitz leaves the office.
The next day...
Bismarck had returned from an sortie. Since the mission is a success and she scored the most hits, she thought she'd boast this to her sister.
"Hey, Tirpitz-"
As she excitedly storms into the office, she quickly saw the admiral is absent. Instead, U-511 who is wearing the admiral's cap and coat is occupying the chair.
"Huh? Where's Tirpitz?"
"The admiral is away as of the moment"
Nagato paused from arranging documents and replied.
"Admiral Yuu is in charge!"
U-511 raised her hand and wearing a coat too big for her makes her look really adorable.
"Where is she?"
"She's on a sortie" Nagato replied
"S-sortie?!" Bismarck almost dropped her jaw
For the past year, Tirpitz never went out on a sortie so Bismarck is shocked and surprised at the same time.
"I didn't know she's going on a sortie" Bismarck scratched her head
Bismarck approached U-511 who is enjoying pretending to be an admiral.
"She left about an hour ago" Nagato informed her
Nagato informed a pouty looking Bismarck as she arranges some files and documents.
"I wanted to come along..."
Bismarck sighed, a bit depressed. It's been a really long time since Tirpitz last sortied so Bismarck is a bit sad she isn't with her...just like the old days.
"The admiral went along with the fleet assigned to sortie. They're just investigating and tracking an unidentified Abyssal that has been causing trouble"
"What?"
"Our fleet encountered an unidentified Princess a few days ago. Not just Maizuru, but other naval bases as well"
Nagato handed over a post sortie report to Bismarck who can't understand it much.
"There were orders to investigate about it"
"Why did Tirpitz decided to go investigate it herself?"
"That I don't know. The admiral didn't tell" Nagato folded her arms
There are times where even Bismarck too can't understand her own sister sometimes. At least she knows her sister Tirpitz tends to keep secrets.
Somewhere...
In line ahead formation, a fleet led by Tirpitz sortied to investigate about the appearance of an unidentified Abyssal. While sailing, Tirpitz looked up in the sky and thought they're going to be met by a stormy weather.
"This is the first time we all see you in the open sea, admiral" Kirishima commented
"Hmm?" Tirpitz looked back
"Tir-chan never went out to sortie ever becoming an admiral, no?" Iowa too
Tirpitz then realized the other ship girls are looking at her with sparkling eyes. It's like seeing her sailing is extremely rare.
"All of you stay focused. We're on a sortie"
Still, Tirpitz felt a little uneasy as it's been eleven years since she went out to the open sea. It felt like she's still under sea trials.
(To go out to the open sea. It's something my past life never experienced...)
As she thinks about the old war, Iowa wanted to ask something.
"Hey, Tir-chan, why did you decide to sortie?"
It's unusual of Tirpitz so Iowa asked her out curiosity. The other ship girls wanted to know too.
"I'm a ship girl, aren't I? It's only normal for me to sail once in a while" Tirpitz replied
"Well that's true..."
"Besides I want to confirm something"
"Confirm something? What is it, poi?" Yuudachi scratched her head
Rather than answering, Tirpitz smiles instead, keeping it a mystery from the rest of the fleet.
"Looks like there is really going to be a storm" Kirishima noticed the dark clouds
"A storm means less detection range and visibility for us ship girls"
Tirpitz reminded them knowing how a bad weather can affect the fight. To a degree, she feels anxious and uneasy whenever she would sail into the storm. A fear she had developed after the tragedy at North cape.
(My heartbeat...)
When it started raining gently, gradually increasing, Tirpitz can feel her heart racing. Her breathing became faster, feeling like she's reliving what happened almost twelve years ago.
"Tir-chan?" Iowa noticed Tirpitz's unusual mood
She saw how anxiety and uneasiness is visible on the German battleship's face. She tried calling Tirpitz out, but she doesn't answer.
Haa...haa...ha...
What Tirpitz felt at that day reminded her in the present. She recollected how she fled using the remaining strength she had. She couldn't bear to look back...at her greatest guilt and regret. She no longer looks back.
"Tir-chan!" Iowa alerted her when her radars detected an unknown ship
"...?!"
As she snapped out of her old nightmares, her radars detected a large, unknown ship heading towards them. Before she can fully react, armor piercing shells went flying from a long distance directly hit Tirpitz.
"Kkh!" She gets damaged, but brushes it off
Iowa helped her in standing up as the fleet locked on to the direction where the salvo came from. A couple of minutes after the first salvo, a second one followed to which they all dodged.
"Just who-"
"Ahahahahaha! I finally found you~"
As she dodges incoming shells, she hears a familiar voice. A twintailed Abyssal wearing a white dress with heterochromia eyes appeared before them, accompanied by an armored monstrous rigging with large caliber guns mounted on it.
"It can't be. You're..."
"It's been a long time...lonely Queen of the North!"
"I knew it. Dreadnought Princess..."
The grinning Abyssal Tirpitz referred to is 'Dreadnought Princess who clenches her metal clad hands, focusing solely on the damaged German battleship.
"How long I've waited this! Twelve...or was it thirteen? Many years I've waited for you, lonely Queen of the North!"
Dreadnought Princess fired upon the fleet, almost in an erratic way, unable to contain her joy just seeing her "prey" is right in front of her.
(Argh! Of all times...!" Tirpitz fires her main guns
"Ambush is big no in my dictionary!"
Iowa let her sixteen inch guns loose on the single enemy in front of her. Unfortunately, even her guns did little damage to the Princess who brushed it off with a smug on her face.
"What?!"
"She's like Battleship Princess. Along with raw firepower, she also possesses heavy armor that can absorb just about any damage"
Tirpitz explained why even Iowa guns did little damage to the Abyssal. Three battleships, one heavy cruiser, one light cruiser, and two destroyers continuously fired upon the enemy battleships who absorbs every attack they can throw.
"Did you miss me, Tirpitz?!"
"After twelve years? I don't think so"
The German battleship sarcastically answers while still dodging shells fired at her. She isn't surprised why Dreadnought Princess is clearly filled with adrenaline and excessive excitement.
"You escaped me before...you will not do so again!"
"After all this time, you're still hung up on that. Talk about long time grudge..." Tirpitz dryly laughs
Dreadnought Princess fired at Yuudachi and Ayanami who are both relentlessly sending shells to her. Luckily for the destroyers, their speed and evasion allowed them to dodge the incoming shells.
"You have been quiet for the past six years, why come out now?"
"Let's just say...there has been interesting things going on" Dreadnought Princess didn't give a direct answer
"So you decided to toy with ship girls recently? Is that it?" Tirpitz asked
"Heh~ How did you know?"
"The way you aggressively attacked and toyed with them, I suspected it was you. Besides...the description of the Abyssal added to it. Now I know my guess is right"
"I was bored so I decided to have some fun. Good thing I did since you came out. If only I've known you would come out, I should have done it sooner!"
Dreadnought Princess fired more salvos with two shells directly hitting and damaging Jintsuu.
"I could have gotten in Japan sooner, but the Americans' damn so called Enterprise gave me a setback!" Dreadnought Princess yelled out her frustration
After Tirpitz dodged a salvo, she isn't able to dodge the next one so the attack caused her to be moderately damaged.
"Hahaha! Your skills have rusted - I'm disappointed! I prefer the old Tirpitz...!"
The Princess ignores the other ship girls firing at her and focused on a damaged Tirpitz. She knows her armor is resilient to most attacks.
"Maybe you should have let your sister fight? She would have put up a better fight like she did when she saved your sorry behind back in the north!"
Dreadnought Princess taunted the Tirpitz who refuses to stay down even in a damaged state. She screamed as she opened fire her main guns against an enemy, something she hasn't done for a long time
(I can't beat Dreadnought Princess...the way I am. No matter what I do...I'll always be inferior...compared to her...)
She could barely remain conscious after that critical shot at her. As she suffers from damages and injuries, negativity took over her. That negativity is her insecurity.
"To think you're the same class as her. Your old admiral must have been disappointed. Hahahaha!" She continued to taunt Tirpitz
"I'm not...like her. Stop...comparing me...to her..."
Spacing out after Dreadnought Princess' words cut deeply. As Tirpitz begins to hear voices in her head, Dreadnought Princess takes the opportunity to finish of an incapacitated Tirpitz.
"Fire!"
Kirishima and the others fired upon Dreadnought Princess all at once, getting her attention.
"Tir-chan, you're heavily damaged! We have to retreat!" Iowa rushed to Tirpitz
"..." Tirpitz mumbles something under her breath
Tirpitz snapped back to reality when Iowa slapped her across the face.
"We have to retreat!"
"..."
Seeing herself heavily damaged and what's going on, she regains her usual serious composure.
"This is a battle we can't win for the time being. For now we have to retreat!"
Tirpitz ordered a retreat seeing how they are no match for Dreadnought Princess. Besides, Tirpitz, who is the flagship, got heavily damaged.
"Eat this, poi!" Yuudachi launched torpedoes
Choukai and Ayanami did the same. The torpedoes from three ships struck the Princess' monstrous pet, damaging it.
"Kratos!"
As she worried for the monstrous rigging she called "Kratos", the ship girls have begun to retreat. The ship girls utilized their speed and the stormy weather to their advantage in order to outrun their enemy, but Dreadnought Princess refuses to let them escape that easily. She gave chase to the fleeing ship girls in the heavy rain.
"Dreadnought Princess is still after us" Jintsuu looked behind
"Tch! She's persistent" Iowa clicked her tongue
"She won't stop unless we're all good as dead...or unless we outrun her"
Annoyed at how Dreadnought Princess won't simply let them escape that easily, Tirpitz positioned herself and launched her torpedoes. Dreadnought Princess dodged them, but Kirishima's shells took her by surprise and got hit in the process.
"Argh!"
As she almost stumbles, Dreadnought Princess growled and gave chase. Unfortunately for her, she lost sight of the ship girls in the storm due to their speed.
"Grr! She escaped again! She and those ship girls will pay for this!"
She cursed as she stopped in one place after she lost the fleet. She cursed out of fury and frustration, losing her prey she long waited to finish off.
Maizuru naval district...
After successfully escaping from Dreadnought Princess, they immediately returned to the naval base where Tirpitz had to go for repair as soon as she returned due to the damages she sustained.
"Dreadnought Princess..." Nagato takes a deep sigh
"You seem very troubled, secretary ship"
Warspite noticed as she drinks tea while comfortably sitting on the sofa.
"Warspite..."
"It's been a long time since the admiral and that Abyssal fought. It's been twelve years"
"What do you mean?" Nagato straightened her back
"It's a bit of a long story, but the admiral fought her her back in Norway. She would have sunk if Bismarck didn't arrive in time"
"I...didn't know that"
Even though Nagato is genuinely surprised, she knows her admiral doesn't disclose certain parts of her past, even to Nagato.
"I'm sure Dreadnought Princess is upset she failed to sink the same ship girl twice"
"How much do you know?" Nagato wanted to know
"I can't say for certain. The admiral is secretive and clearly doesn't like speaking about her past"
Warspite told Nagato how even she doesn't know all about the admiral, but she does know how she acts and behaves because of their long history.
"What I know is that right after the encounter with Dreadnought Princess, she showed a small part of what she truly felt deep inside"
"What do you mean by that?" Nagato raised an eyebrow
"For instance, while she cares for her older sister, in a way, the admiral did feel a bit...distant towards her"
"..."
"I can understand that as biological siblings and the same time sister ships they have a very close relationship, but not all relationships always go well"
(The admiral harbors negative feelings towards Bismarck. I just fear how it would affect the admiral once it gets worse)
Warspite recalled a time where while Bismarck boasted about the last battle to some ship girls, Tirpitz clenched her fists and briefly held the tip of her cap before walking away.
Repair docks...
Bothered by awful voices from her memories, Tirpitz woke up from the nightmare. She sighed in relief as it was just a dream. Still, how Dreadnought Princess rained a barrage of shells at her until she's heavily damaged wasn't a dream.
"She's back...and she wants me dead. Great..."
Alone inside the bath, she enjoys the peace and quiet as she rests until she's fully repaired.
"I hate it when she kept reminding me"
Tirpitz leaned on the side of the pool as she couldn't erase from her mind about Dreadnought Princess' taunting on her. As she closed her eyes to sleep for a moment, someone barged in.
"Tirpitz!"
Bismarck yelled at the top of her lungs waking Tirpitz up and rushed into the pool, not caring if she is soaking herself.
"I heard what happened. I rushed as fast as I can!"
"Then you know I got pummeled badly and had to limp back to the base"
While she's annoyed how she is disturbed, she knows Bismarck is just overly worried again.
"You should have taken me with you. You could have sunk!" Bismarck shakes Tirpitz
"I prefer if I didn't..." Tirpitz mumbles
"..."
"Sis?"
"I'm just glad you're alright. I would lose it if something bad happened to you"
Bismarck tightly hugged Tirpitz, almost suffocating her. Tirpitz, on the other hand, just pats her back.
"I'm fine. I won't sink that easily, you know"
"Still you could have sunk..."
"...but I didn't. Sis, I know you're just worried, but it will be alright. I won't let what happened many years ago be repeated. Not this time"
As Bismarck lets go of her, she looked at Tirpitz as if she's going to cry at any moment. To calm her down, Tirpitz pets her head, which surprisingly worked.
"It's going to be alright. I'm alright, okay?"
"Y-yeah. I'm just glad I didn't lose my little sister...again"
Bismarck hugged her again and Tirpitz just let her so she wouldn't cry. Outside, certain "affectionate' ship girls are gritting their teeth. Most notably are Kongou, Iowa, and surprisingly...Prinz Eugen.
"Kuuuuh! I'm so jealous, desu" Kongou gritted her teeth
"Maybe I should have been heavily damaged too so I can be in the bath too" Iowa regretted
"I wish I was in Bismarck-neesan's place instead" Prinz Eugen bit her thumb
Behind them is a furious Gangut who found the three ship girls leering with jealousy just outside the bath.
"Firing squad for all of you..."
She threatened the three as she cracks her knuckles. The three ship girls felt Gangut's menacing aura and became frozen in place.
EXTRA
After the encounter with Dreadnought Princess, she resumes her daily duties as an admiral while still thinking about the incident.
"Dreadnought Princess..."
She thought about Dreadnought Princess' taunting the other day and slapped herself, trying to forget about it.
Tirpitz...why do you keep pushing yourself too hard?
A gentle voice echoed inside her head. It originated from a memory more than twelve years ago. It was the voice of "a ship who was never given chance to be born". There were several of them, but the voice is from Yuki, the Project or Research shipgirl who was based on Project A-150 also known as "Super Yamato".
I feel like there's something I need to prove. Both to myself and to other people...
There's nothing you need to prove to anyone, Tirpitz...
Yuki giggled as she gave Tirpitz a cup of fresh tea, but it didn't lightened Tirpitz's mood one bit. She's still wearing that depressed expression.
Just because you're the Bismarck's younger sister doesn't mean you have to be like her
I can't help it. Everyone, specially my superiors keep comparing me to her. Everyone...just...
You're insecure because they hay have high expectations for you, but you doubt yourself. I get that
Yuki...?
As the supposed successor to the Yamato class, everyone thinks I should be a 'legend' like my big sisters
Yuki gently reached out her hand and pressed her warm palms on Tirpitz's cheek.
Even so, I am my own person. I don't try to be someone else I'm not. You just can't because we are all different at what we do
Yuki...
Tirpitz. You don't need to meet anyone's expectations. Just be you...be Tirpitz. You can never do great things when you keep doubting yourself
Moved by Yuki's words, Tirpitz finally smiles and slowly pressed her hand on Yuki's hand that is still touching her cheek.
Thank you...
In return, Yuki smiles, something that always warms Tirpitz's heart. In the past, Tirpitz isn't always known to smile due to the "loneliness she perceived".
It looks like this is goodbye. Always take care of yourself, Tirpitz...
...but then, a horrible memory slipped in. The skies were dark and they were in a battlefield. Yuki touched her cheek one last time, gazing at her with eyes shedding tears of farewell.
"...?!"
Getting back to the reality, Tirpitz drifted into her memories again until she snapped back at the sound of knocking. Jervies jumped inside the office while Ark Royal comes in next.
"Admiral~!" The energetic British girl grinned
"Tirpitz, there are a couple of Americans looking for you at the docks. That Iowa almost exploded when she met them"
"Must be Montana and Maine. They're scheduled to arrive today, but a little early" Tirpitz laughed
Ark Royal noticed how Tirpitz looked like she was crying before they came in and the way she speaks casually seems forced.
"Well I guess I have to greet those two. It's been along time after all"
Tipping off her cap, Tirpitz walks out the office as if she's in a hurry. Puzzled, Jervis looked up at Ark Royal.
"Why does darling looked so sad? Did someone die or something?" Jervis tilted her head
"..."
Ark Royal didn't reply. Instead, she left the office while Jervis followed after her, confused at the sudden change of mood. In the docks, Tirpitz meets the two new recruits in the base who is being tightly hugged by Iowa. Their necks are locked by Iowa's arms to the point they looked like they're suffocating.
"It's good to see familiar faces..." Tirpitz removed her cap
"Tirpitz...!"
The two noticed her and they all rushed to her. They're both glad to see an old comrade and so does Tirpitz herself.
"It's been a long time" Montana laughed
"Yeah. I could say the same thing"
The two shake hands, showing familiarity to each other. They're clearly pleased to see each other.
"While I'm glad you're posted in my base, you didn't have to openly yell I'm Tirpitz to your admiral"
"Hahahaha! It's fine. Not a single person knows your secret. Admiral Charland thinks we're joking anyway"
"Big sis Iowa told us everything so we learned about your situation" Maine joined in the conversation
"Even if you're not on active duty anymore, a comrade is still a comrade. Maine and I are looking forward to work with you...admiral" Montana saluted
"Y-yeah" Maine saluted too
"I'm looking forward to that too" Tirpitz saluted
As old comrades share a laugh together, Iowa couldn't contain herself and joined in with the fun. She grabbed both Tirpitz and Montana, suffocating the two out of joy.
"Big sis!" Maine worried
"Let's celebrate and have a drink tonight!"
Iowa laughed while she continued to suffocate the two battleships who are struggling to break free. While they celebrate, they are unaware of the danger that's about to come.