Author: I uploaded this chapter a bit late since I had business that I needed to attend. I just have to submit the required documents before the deadline.
For chapter 12, it will tackled about the emotional problems of both Bismarck and Tirpitz. Prinz Eugen, just like her German comrades, is worried at the situation between the two sisters.
History will repeat itself...
Before starting the day, Tirpitz first enjoys the aroma of her freshly brewed coffee. Even before she drinks it, the scent alone is enough to energize her for hours. It sends tingling sensation all over her, similar to a fresh warm bath after a long day.
"...?"
She puts down her coffee after she had just taken a sip when Tashkent enters the office.
"Tashkent, what is it?"
"I have a bit of a concern..."
"Concern, you say?"
Even if it's going to be trivial, Tirpitz is willing to listen to what her shipgirls has to say. As a shipgirl herself, she knows very well how to manage a large number of shipgirls with so many personalities ranging from timid to murderous.
"It's about comrade Gangut"
"What's wrong with Gangut?"
"She's been acting awfully suspicious lately"
Taking interest to Tashkent's words, Tirpitz stirs her coffee while actively listening. As she gently spins the warm coffee, she stops when she felt the motion was enough. Taking yet another sip, she waits for the Russian destroyer to state more details.
"I've been observing Gangut and it seems she's up to something. She's been acting a bit unusual. I mean she acts nervous whenever I ask her"
"Hmm. What else?"
"I'm not sure, but it seems she contacted someone the other day"
Tashkent describes how she spies on Gangut speaking to someone on the phone with a serious and deep voice. The conversation took no longer five minutes before Gangut hurriedly leaves the scene.
"I see. Learning from the last incident, I suppose I need to make sure she doesn't do anything reckless"
Tirpitz finished about half of her coffee during her conversation with Tashkent.
"I leave that to you, Tashkent"
"What do you have in mind, admiral?"
Even with the sudden assignment, Tashkent accepts it without question or hesitation. One would always wonder why the Russian destroyer is loyal to her admiral. Then again, hat is a tale no one in the naval base has yet to learn.
"Something passive. For now I'll have you observe Gangut. If it comes to worse, then I'll have to intervene"
"Understood"
Complying to Tirpitz's orders, Tashkent saluted and swore to herself she will not fail the task given to her. It's Tashkent's loyalty and determination why Tirpitz entrusts her to do secretive yet sometimes quesitonable tasks.
Later...
During the afternoon break, Tirpitz stretched her stiffed muscles, specially on the shoulders.
"Tired already? That must have been a lot of work, even for a battleship like you"
Graf Zeppelin curved a faint smile. Even so, she's not used to expressing emotion, not because of her lack of emotions but because she cannot just fully express herself.
"Give me a break. There's going to be an operation soon. That means I'm going to be busier than ever"
"An operation? What kind?" Graf raised an eyebrow
"It's a medium scale operation. I can't tell you much yet"
Graf Zeppelin understood that Tirpitz, as an admiral, isn't allowed to just disclose sensitive information, even to her closest comrades. She knows that even if Tirpitz is still a shipgirl, her primary duty is being an admiral.
"If Bismarck learns there's going to be an operation soon, she'll get pumped out and wouldn't stop talking how she would sink the enemies with no problem"
The German aircraft carrier chuckled, knowing how Bismarck would act if she were to learn about the upcoming operation.
"Well, you know my sister. She would be the first one to charge in battle"
"Yeah. She's like that" Graf Zeppelin agreed
"She would always act like she'll do everything herself
Sometime she would treat me like a powerless child even though I'm a battleship in the same class as her"
"T-Tirpitz?"
"Sorry. I ended up talking out of topic"
The way Tirpitz laughs it off, it seems like it's just a joke not to be bothered about, but Graf knows better. She knows the Tirpitz's inner thoughts slipped out.
"Y-You know it would be nice if you take your mind off your work. Even for just a little while"
"That's impossible"
"Why?"
"Because of the situation right now. That's why I can't take it easy. Not until everything is resolved"
"When will that be?"
That one question made Tirpitz pause and think about it deeply. She was too focused on what she had been doing, she never had the time to think about how long will it take until it's finally over.
"Beats me..."
"..."
"I just wish it would end soon. I'm getting tired, Graf. We all are..."
Three decades. That's how long since the conflict started. While Tirpitz wasn't around during the early years of the war, she had been around for sixteen years. Her body couldn't feel it, but her mind can. Shipgirls like her don't physically age, but their minds functions the same as humans.
"You should talk openly about your feelings more often"
"I'm not the type to do so, compared to my sister. She's more emotional than I am and on the rare occasions we argue...let's just say she's the first one to burst out"
While Tirpitz and Bismarck are sisters with a close relationship and a close bond, they would also have conflict like any other siblings.
"Well I do see you two disagree on some things..."
Tirpitz giggled as remembering the small disagreements she had with Bismarck in the past unexpectedly brought warm emotions. She cherishes her memories with the people she loves, but she has a tendency to "forget".
"It must be nice to have a sister. I wish...I had even just one"
"G-Graf?"
"Sorry. Those were feelings from the old war"
Graf Zeppelin is one of the shipgirls whose past Tirpitz is aware of. She just doesn't mention it to other people out of common decency and respect for privacy.
"Feelings from the old war, huh"
As shipgirls, they inherited not only the soul of warships from the old war, but the "feelings" as well. For Graf Zeppelin, it's her bitterness of her fate and longing. While for Tirpitz, it's her feeling of lonely life and longing for warmth.
The next day...
While inside the office, Donitz discusses about Dreadnought Princess to Tirpitz as she organizes scattered reports.
"She just ran away from you?" Donitz raised an eyebrow
"Strangely, yes. She just left...without even fighting"
"Dreadnought Princess leaving without a fight? That's...alarming"
Donitz reads the reports related to Dreadnought Princess, namely the latest encounter with her.
"You've been hunting her ever since that day, huh" Tirpitz slightly changed the subject
"Yeah..."
"Knowing you, I'm sure you have a deep reason. You're the shy and timid type after all"
"I was like that, but I decided to change ever since Yuki...sunk"
Mentioning Yuki brought bitter feelings for the both of them. They're both close with Yuki so her loss devastated her.
"Just like me when I lost Scharnhorst..."
"We both lost someone very important to us. We both...couldn't handle this heartache"
Donitz placed her hand on top of Tirpitz's shoulder, saying how they are the same in a way. Unlike Donitz, Tirpitz refuses to acknowledge her own feelings.
"You're looking for Scharnhorst, right? What are you going to do once you accomplish that?
"Isn't it obvious? I will have to sink her..."
Tirpitz answered in a determined yet melancholic manner. She have no choice but to sink her old friend who had caused countless casualties. Yet her heart couldn't barely hold the thought of sinking her closest friend. In the end, Tirpitz knows she has to fulfill her duty and set aside her feelings first if it means hurting herself.
"A bit of a tragedy between two friends. I have one thing to ask"
"What's that?"
"Are you going to sink Scharnhorst yourself or let other shipgirls sink her?"
"It depends. As long as Scharnhorst won't hurt anybody anymore. Even if she is my friend, I can't let Scharnhorst be the way she is"
She set aside her personal feelings in order to accomplish what must be done. By now, Tirpitz knows how the smallest hesitation will lead to a fatal mistake. She doesn't wish for her past mistake to be repeated in the future. That's why even if Scharnhorst is very important to her, sinking her is the only way to prevent future casualties.
"Admiral!"
Tashkent suddenly barging into the office disrupted the serious mood between the two German battleships. The Russian destroyer panicked, not knowing what to say, indicating its an emergency.
"It's about comrade Gangut!"
With one sentence, Tirpitz quickly stands up as her expression drastically changed, somewhat worrying Donitz who is just beside her.
Somewhere...
Seeing how angry and frustrated Tirpitz is, Donitz kept a bit of a distance. Tirpitz angrily sets off to the trouble Gangut and the other two brought to themselves.
"She's an idiot. Even my sister is an idiot! In fact all three of them are idiots!"
"T-Tirpitz, just calm down"
Donitz nervously asked her to calm down, but there's no way Tirpitz is going to calm down after learning of their situation.
"I can't calm down. Those three idiots went out of their own to face Arkhangelsk"
"Arkhangelsk?"
"She's an Abyssal. Unlike other shipgirls, she didn't sink...but she became an Abyssal. Yet she can pass off as an ordinary shipgirl"
"..."
"She's not like you. That's why I don't know who's stronger"
"It doesn't matter. I won't let anyone hurt any of my comrades" Donitz shakes her head
While Tirpitz is glad Donitz is willing to face Arkhangelsk with no fear, she still worries about the difference in their strength. Arkhangelsk's nature is mysterious and that's what made her extremely dangerous and unpredictable.
"You sound like Yuki"'
"Well, she is the most important to me. Even after she sunk..."
The two battleships rushed to where the three had tracked Arkhangelsk thanks to Tashkent's intelligence report. Tirpitz felt like she'd punch the three more than she'd like to punch Arkhangelsk. This shows how furious she is towards Gangut, Bismarck, and Montana. While they're both on their way, Arkhangelsk had already engaged the three battleships.
"Not even you three can overpower me, huh. Well, that's a disappointment"
Arkhangelsk pulls out the knife Gangut had plunged deeply on her neck. She easily pulled out the knife as if it's only a toothpick that cut through her flesh. The fact that she's still alive even after being stabbed in the neck shocked Gangut. She then threw the knife to a wall behind her before facing a clearly weakened and injured Gangut.
"Still, I'm impressed. You were able to put up a fight even if it's clear who's stronger"
Despite the clear difference in strength, Arkhangelsk acknowledged the the strength of the three knocked down battleships.
"You aren't human..." Gangut, despite her injuries, Gangut still managed to draw strength
"Of course not. If I'm still human, I could have died a long time ago"
Arkhangelsk doesn't deny the fact she isn't human, at least not anymore. She looked down at the three injured battleships, disappointed at how they didn't even lasted long against her.
"Maybe I should have taken it easy on you like I did with Tirpitz. If I were to fight seriously, none of you could still be alive, even Tirpitz"
Arkhangelsk laughs, stating how she never fought seriously against anyone or the fight could have been over in a matter of seconds. This just shows a side of Arkhangelsk's sadistic nature.
"Luckily, I just dealt that former admiral just a few days ago before you three came or it could have been such a pain. What was his name again? Ah right! It was Hans Mayer"
"...?!"
Among the three, only Bismarck recognized the name of the former admiral Arkhangelsk is talking about. The latter easily noticed Bismarck's reaction.
"Sounds familiar, Bismarck? He was your admiral, wasn't he? Tirpitz and the other German ships too"
"What...did you do?!" Bismarck yelled
"Isn't it obvious? I killed him like the piece of trash he is"
Hearing someone like Arkhangelsk insult her former admiral, Bismarck became blinded with fury. Arkhangelsk easily subdued her and knocked her down for the second time.
"You should be thankful, really. I did you a favor"
Arkhagelsk steps on Bismarck's head as she lied on the floor, injured like Gangut and Montana. While Montana is knoced unconscious, Gangut isn't it. The latter mustered what's left of her strength and assaulted Arkhangelsk, but with a single punch, she sent Gangut flying and knocked her out too.
"...?"
"That admiral was responsible for the sinking of that battleship in North cape. I saved you the effort of killing him"
Even without specifications, Bismarck understood Arkhangelsk is referring to both Scharnhorst.
"What...did you say?"
"You heard me. Admiral Hans Mayer betrayed the Kriegsmarine and was responsible for the sinking of Scharnhorst"
"No! That's not true. You're lying!"
Arkhangelsk rolls her eyes, seeing how Bismarck refuses to believe her claim. Good thing she took measures to prove what she's saying is true. She brought out a phone and played a recorded voice clip. She bent her knees and played the recorded sound near Bismarck.
"...?!"
To Bismarck's disbelief, she clearly heard the voice of her former admiral screaming and begging for Arkhangelsk to stop before he finally admitted of his role in the death of the German battleship. What's worse is that he admitted on how he got the battleship killed because "he had to".
"That's not...he wouldn't...why"
"Why do you think Abyssals came to be in the first place? How did you think this war started? Ha ha ha...you're as ignorant and stupid as your sister"
Bismarck felt conflicted on whether she should believe it or not. Arkhangelsk understands this so she didn't force Bismarck to believe her...because the truth is inevitable.
"That man, like the KGB, was a follower of a worthless belief that collapsed a long time ago"
Even with the obvious confession, Bismarck could never believe the admiral she trusted was the main reason why Scharnhorst sunk in the battle. She knew how Tirpitz is desperately searching for the truth, but if she were to know about this...
"Even after seventy years, humans are still backwards. There are still who believes the Kriegsmarines shouldn't be allies with the Royal Navy. "
More than seventy years ago, humans waged war on one another. They hated each other. They wanted to kill each other. Even after the war ended, not everyone accepted peace with the enemy. Even their descendants hated how once bitter enemies, now close allies. The Kriegsmarine fighting side by side with their old enemy, the Royal navy, is unacceptable for "Nationalism Socialism" followers.
"...?"
"What are you going to do now that you know about the truth?"
Arkhangelsk plays a video of a bound Hans Mayer, bloody, bruised, and full of cuts. Tears burst from his eyes as he softly mutters his pleas to stop hurting him and let him go. Bismarck watch as the former admiral is forced to confess everything he had done, specially what he did to cause Schanrhorst's sinking. That's when Bismarck fully learned he was the primary reason Scharnhorst sunk since he leaked the operation strategy to "those guys".
"Well, that's up to you. If you really care for your younger sister, then you would do right thing. If not...well she's going to hate you"
Arkhangelsk swept her medium length grey hair and as she reached for the inside of her black coat, she felt a sharp object pierced her back. She turned her back and saw Tirpitz with her hand still raised after she had thrown to the knife.
"Tirpitz?!" Montana, who had just regained consciousness, raised her head
"Took you long enough" Arkhangelsk smiled
"That's enough, Arlhangelsk. I can't let you kill them...because I'll kill you first if you do"
Tirpitz threatened Arkhangelsk who took this threat seriously knowing her personality is no different from her.
"Really? You know you can't beat me head on. There's a huge difference between a shipgirl...and an Abyssal"
Arkhangelsk didn't take Tirpitz's threat seriously, knowing she has the upper hand in combat. She's well confident as she had almost killed Tirpitz twice.
"I hate it when you force yourself to believe in those lies. It's just...irritating, you know"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"You still hated humanity, right? You're still bitter against the world that gave you such a lonely life..."
"No. I don't hate anyone..."
Tirpitz weakly denied what Arkhangelsk is saying, but Arkhangelsk knows Tirpitz very well.
"Really now? You won't still admit you hated humans just as you hated Bismarck"
"...?!"
"Well, it's Bismarck's own ignorance that you grew to hate her. She's an insensitive and dense sister"
"Don't talk like that about my sister!"
When Tirpitz became upset, Arkhangelsk chuckled on how Tirpitz has yet to acknowledge her true feelings. She want Tirpitz to acknowledge her repressed feelings as if left unchecked, it will cause nothing but self destruction.
"That hate, frustration, and anger. Tirpitz, your eyes aren't lying"
"...?"
"If you're going to lie to yourself, you have to do better to fool someone like me"
"..."
"I can clearly see it. You wanted to lash out to the world for the suffering they gave you. It's their fault why you felt like that, isn't it? Why do you think your Abyssal self felt that way? It was trying to realize what you truly felt...what you truly wanted"
"Stop...talking..."
"Tirpitz, your Abyssal self doesn't just reflect your negative feelings. It's the embodiment of your true feelings towards the world...and Bismarck. The stronger the negative emotions are, the stronger the Abyssal is"
Arkhangelsk is someone who has deep knowledge about the true nature of Abyssals just like few other people. It's not only because she is an Abyssal herself.
"Doesn't it hurt? Ignoring those feelings of yours and locking it all up. Surely those feelings are screaming to be let out...yet you keep them bound just like how you keep yourself bound"
"You...!"
"Sooner or later, you will suffer the same fate your past self did. That I can assure you..."
Tirpitz has little tolerance for Arkhangelsk, but she restrains herself from charging blindly. She knows she can't match Arkhangelsk in terms of combat. Tirpitz is aware...she's not as strong as the others.
"It will only take a little push for you to snap. That hatred of yours. I wonder...if it will result to that. I just can't wait to find out-"
As Arkhangelsk further taunts Tirpitz who is growing emotionally unstable, she raised her guard to her side when someone quickly closed in on her. Donitz charged fast enough that even Arkhangelsk couldn't dodge in time. As a result, she is knocked back to the nearest wall.
"You're - Ahahaha. So that's how it is"
Arkhangelsk recognized Donitz, but spoke not much about it. She merely smiled at the fact someone like Donitz showed up.
"You say another word and I'll break your arm"
Donitz threatened Arkhangelsk, but the latter merely smiled. She never felt intimidated before and this felt good rather than bad compared to most people. She looked at Donitz's glowing purple eyes and this...fascinated her.
"This unexpected, but...I don't mind. I wanted to stay a bit longer, but there's not much time. That's why I'm willing to lose to all of you. Just for today that is..."
Arkhangelsk prepares to leave through the shattered window, but she left one last remark for Tirpitz to think about.
"I wonder if given the opportunity, would you kill Bismarck without a second thought? I'm sure...you would, Tirpitz"
Donitz is about to chase after her, but Arkhangelsk brought out what seems to be a tear gas. She pulled the pin and threw the tear gas, making everyone present cough and back away. This allowed Arkhangelsk to escape with just a smudge of blood on the mouth.
Maizuru naval district...
Even if they all came back in one piece, the three of them received broken bones as a souvenir. Perhaps this will serve as a lesson about confronting other opponents they don't fully know about.
"How did you know we were there anyway?" Gangut had been meaning to ask
"Oh that? Tashkent had put a bug on you. That's why as soon as you left the base and went somewhere, I suspected you were after Arkhangelsk"
"Wait, wait. How did you even know that?"
"Nowaki heard you the other night in the bar and reported to me about it. Well the other girls report to me in case they spot any sign of trouble"
Gangut and Montana remembered about the destroyer who is the bartender at the bar during that night. They were careless since they never thought Nowaki would pay attention to their conversation and report it to Tirpitz.
"What you two did is completely reckless and irresponsible. You could have gotten yourselves killed!"
Normally, Tirpitz wouldn't raised her voice on someone close to her. She was disappointed at their recklessness. Such actions won't be tolerated, not even by Tirpitz.
"Even if your reason for going after Arkhangelsk is personal, that doesn't mean you should do something like this behind my back!"
"..."
"This is reckless, even for you Montana"
She continue to scold both Gangut and Montana who fled regret at their action. They quietly accepted the scolding, knowing it's their punishment for being so reckless.
"Look. I know you're angry, but I'm sorry for going after Arkhangelsk" Gangut apologized
"You have every right to be angry. We let our emotions get the best of us and got us in a lot of trouble" Montana added
While Tirpitz is still upset at their actions, she observed how they felt deep regret for their actions. She wanted to forgive them, but she needed time to revert her calm state of mind. Right now she's blazing with emotions on how disappointed she is at them.
"You two go to Akashi and get yourselves fixed up. We'll talk later"
Gangut and Montana looked at each, leaving the area with no questions. Donitz, who had been quietly listening to the situation, leaves as well after she realized what's going to happen.
"Tirpitz, I-"
"Don't. Just...don't"
Tirpitz rarely gets angry at her older sister, but now is one of those rare occasions. Bismarck shut her lips tight, seeing how visibly upset her younger sister is.
"I thought you know better than this. What you did is very irresponsible"
"..."
"I'm disappointed in you...schwester"
Tirpitz cut off the conversation and walked away from Bismarck. Right now, Bismarck's main concern is how she felt Tirpitz changed after the confrontation with Arkhangelsk. Right now, more than anything, Bismarck felt conflicted on the truth Arkhangelsk revealed to her. One wrong choice...and it will lead to nothing but regret.
EXTRA
Unable to shake off Arkhangelsk's words during their confrontation, Bismarck drowns herself in Pincer Vodka, which is a strong alcohol. She just keeps drinking until she emptied the whole bottle, something she doesn't normally do. She knows drinking won't make her forget about what Arkhangelsk revealed to her, but she does so anyway, with nothing else to distract her frustration.
What are you going to do now that you know about the truth?
Arkhangelsk's words rung inside her head like a broken record, taunting her for hours. Repeatedly, Bismarck tells herself "shut up", unable to silent the noise driving her mad.
"Shut up!"
Furious, she squeezed the emptied glass and smashed it against the wall. As she sits back after her brief outburst, Ark Royal enters the bar and found the German battleship, drunk and sobbing. She overheard about what happened earlier and how Tirpitz is upset towards the three, specially to Bismarck.
"You sisters sure have a temper. Well, unlike you, Tirpitz doesn't smash things"
"I'm not in the mood, Ark Royal. Go away"
"I heard Tirpitz is upset because you recklessly went after Arkhnagelsk, but that's not it, right?"
She sat near Bismarck, suspecting Bismarck is furious not because Tirpitz is disappointed at her, but for other reasons. Ark Royal fought alongside long enough to recognize her behavioral patterns.
"..."
"Did Arkhangelsk told you something? She must have revealed something, right?"
Bismarck refuses to confess anything to Ark Royal. She avoids her question by looking away silently. As much as Ark Royal wishes to force Bismarck to speak, provoking a fight is just uncivilized and plain stupid.
"Judging how you act, she did tell you something"
"..."
"Whatever it is, I'm sure you'll regret it if you keep it to yourself"
In a sense, Arkhangelsk did tell Bismarck how she will experience regret if she made the wrong choice after revealing the truth.
"Regret, huh. You're right. If it stays the way it is...I'll regret everything for the rest of my life"
Bismarck loosened her tightly clenched fists, her anger successfully settled down. At the very least, Ark Royal can speak to her without the need of violence or harsh words.
"What is it, Bismarck? What is it Arkhangelsk could have told you that you can't tell?"
"...It's...it's..."
The German battleships struggled to confess, but a feeling inside her restrains her from speaking further. She wished not to make a mistake that might cause her guilt and regret that will last a lifetime so made her choice to speak up.
"Arkhangelsk told me the truth about Scharnhorst's death"
"Scarnhorst's...death?" Ark Royal is genuinely surprised
"The main reason she sunk is because of my old shitty admiral who's dead now. Arkhangelsk made him confess before killing him"
Bismarck slammed the counter since with the primary culprit dead, there can never be justice for Scharnhorst's sinking. As much as Ark Royal wanted to sympathize, there's nothing much she can do.
"Tirpitz has been looking for who's responsible for Scharnhorst's sinking, but it won't matter now that he's dead"
"Bismarck..."
"It's like everything she worked for is just pointless. Tirpitz can never make that man pay for his crimes when he's dead"
Unknown to Bismarck, Ark Royal knows Tirpitz would rather kill the former admiral herself than just let him be in prison. She's sure about this because she once saw the desire for vengeance in Tirpitz's eyes. Those eyes wished nothing but to inflict pain to those responsible...no matter who they are.
"If I don't tell Tirpitz and she finds out about this, she'll hate me for hiding the truth. If I tell her the truth...everything she worked hard for will feel pointless"
"Bismarck, the truth will hurt once, but a lie...it will hurt every time it's remembered"
Despite their past bitter relationship, Ark Royal comforted Bismarck by giving her advice for her to make sense of.
"What should I do, Ark? I don't want my sister to hate me...but I don't want to hurt her"
"You have to think not what's best for on of you, but for both of you. Take it from someone who has to listen to these kind of problems"
"You're right. I have to think not just for myself, but for both of us. I should consider how we will both feel. Danke Sher..."
The best course of action for Bismarck is to reveal the truth, but she will have to do it in a way that none of them would feel regret in the end. If she were to make a selfish mistake...then there's no way of ever fixing it.
"Can you do me a favor? Just this once"
"What is it?"
"Please don't tell anyone, specially to Tirpitz. I want to be the one to tell her personally" Bismarck requested
"I can respect that. I will keep this between us. You have my word, Bismarck"
Ark Royal knows that it's best if it's Bismarck to be the one to tell Tirpitz herself to avoid complications, so she nodded and promised to keep what they talked about just between them.
"So, how are you going to make up with Tirpitz?" Ark Royal referred to how Tirpitz is still angry because of the incident earlier
"I'll talk to Tirpitz. I just hope Tirpitz will understand...I did it because big sisters always looks after their little sister"
"You're a little protective of her, huh"
"She's the only family I have left. I lost my parents, I don't want to lose my little sister too. I just don't know if I can take bear her again...for the second time. I might lose my mind"
Bismarck jokingly laughs while Ark Royal nervously laughs, feeling like this is some sort of terrible premonition or an omen.