Author: The story is going to come to an end soon. I wanted to end the story in 25 chapters, but there was a change of plans. I planned to have the "true end" on the next story, but the status is still unknown due to my current real life situation.

Chapter 18 and 19 will take place in Norway which will be the climax of the story. Chapter 20 will be like the denouement of the story. Lastly, chapter 21 will be an epilogue that would be a foreshadowing to the planned third and last part of the story.

I will return to that place again...

The idea of returning to Norway never crossed Tirpitz's mind. That is until she and a fleet are ordered to head there to deal with Fast battleship Princess who has been sighted.

"Norway, huh. That...of all places..."

The moment she learned she has to be there, Tirpitz felt instantly upset at this. Of course she can't show she highly disagrees with the idea or her superiors will notice. Even with the horrible memories of her past still lingering, she sets it aside for an important one in hand: dealing with Scharnhorst.

"I don't like that place...but...since Scharnhorst is there...I'll have to suck it up"

The fairies on her desk all shared the same wary and indifferent look at her. Those fairies had been looking at her like that for the past few weeks, but how they view her is something she couldn't care less.

"I can't blame all of you if you look at me like that. I'm a horrible person after all. I'm...a horrible liar"

Tirpitz grabs the picture frame with the picture of her and Scharnhorst resting on the side of the desk. Every time she would gaze at the picture, she would always long for the old days where she fought alongside Scharnhorst and her other Kriegsmarine comrades.

"I'll fulfill the promise I made to her no matter what...even if it means going as far as this..."

She knows what she's doing isn't the right thing, but for her fulfilling a certain promise is more important than anything else. She felt guilty for this so called "lie", but she can't bear the thought of Bismarck and everyone else learning the truth.

"To go back to Norway after that thing six years ago. It's bit ironic now that I think about it. In fact, all of this is ironic"

Tirpitz laughs at how her life turned out because of an event that changed everything. She described her current situation as unexpected, but it's something she wanted to see till the very end.

"I just hope I don't get found out soon. Bismarck and the others aren't going to be happy"

"..."

Tirpitz looked at them and noticed they're "speaking". Unfortunately, she can't comprehend or even " hear" what they are saying. The fairies, realizing this, changed their method of communication. They used flag signalling to convey their message instead.

"I guess I'm too worried about Bismarck finding out. After I saw her smile brightly at me like that, I...can't bear to break her heart"

"..."

"You're right. She wouldn't approve of this method, but...I can't tell the truth with the way things are now"

The fairy "leader" crossed its arms and shake its head, displaying a disappointed body language towards the admiral. In fact, all of the fairies seemed disappointed at her.

"I don't like this situation, but I can't back away now that I'm so close"

"..."

"Bear with all of this until everything is over"

"..."

"She's not coming back. You have to accept that"

Tirpitz turned away from the fairies, refusing to continue the conversation with them.

"Sooner of later, they will all have to accept that..."

She reminiscences about the past as she looked at the album she kept inside the drawer. The album contained her time as an active shipgirl at the Kriegsmarine. She was so much different back then compared to now.

"I couldn't do anything..."

She begun to shed tears as soon as she kept seeing Bismarck smiling with Tirpitz in the pictures.

"I'm so sorry...Bismarck..."

She remembered the battle with Dreadnought Princess and Battleship Water Demon. The former couldn't bear to sink them so her shells missed hitting them. So the latter arrived after seeing Dreadnought Princess' "weakness".

You shipgirls have been a nuisance for too long!

Battleship Water Demon aimed her main guns at the heavily damaged Bismarck. Tirpitz regained consciousness only to see Battleship Water Demon aiming at her sister.

"...!"

Before the finishing salvo can be fired, Dreadnought Princess stopped her. The two had a fight because of this. Tirpitz forced herself to move, the engines breaking their limit.

"If you can't even sink one measly shipgirl, then I just have to do it myself!"

Battleship Water Demon aimed at Bismarck again after getting Dreadnought Princess out the way. Bismarck didn't know what happened after that, but Tirpitz did. That's why only Tirpitz knew the truth, while the rest doesn't.

"I could never...tell you the truth. I don't want...to break your heart..."

Just as she couldn't stop her tears from flowing out, a fairy backed away when it looked at the admiral. The other fairies too reacted the same way.

Afternoon...

Later that afternoon, Tirpitz had been staring at her cup of tea for five minutes straight. Nagato, who is helping her with organizing some files, couldn't help but notice. Curious, she puts down the folders and papers she is holding and approached her admiral.

"If there's something wrong, then you shouldn't keep it to yourself, admiral" Nagato tapped her shoulder

"There's nothing wrong. It's just that...I couldn't stop thinking about Norway. The thought of going back there makes me feel...uneasy"

"It's because you sunk there, right?"

Like certain shipgirls, Nagato is well aware of her admiral's past as a shipgirl. She knows Tirpitz sunk at Norway eleven years ago. As an Abyssal, Tirpitz remained in the Norwegian fjords in solitude and rarely goes out in the open Nordic seas. After four years, the "Beast" was sunk by the combined efforts of the Kriegsmarine and Royal navy...and the 'Dambuster' squad by extension.

"Yeah. It's because that's where I met my end...and it's also where she was born"

"She?"

"The beast of the North, Northern fjord Princess" Tirpitz curved a smile

As far as Nagato knows, Northern fjord Princess is Tirpitz's Abyssal self. After her sinking in Tromso, the Abyssal emerged at the very same place two months later. She prowled on the Nordic seas and sunk everyone who crosses her path.

"I experienced a lot of horrible things. The worst was probably when Scharnhorst sunk"

"..."

"I'm still trying to move one from what happened at North cape. I thought O forgave myself, but there are just wounds that won't heal..."

Scharnhorst's last moments is still scarred within Tirpitz's memories. As she was forced to leave a crippled Scharnhorst, she saw her friend saluted with a proud smile on her face. She knew Scharnhorst would face her death proudly like a Kriegsmarine shipgirl. She went out in a blaze of glory, firing to the last shell until her inevitable sinking.

"Maybe I should have been the one who sunk instead"

"If you had sunk instead of your friend, you wouldn't be here, admiral. Think about how things would change if you sunk earlier"

Nagato thought how if fate was changed during the battle of North cape, Tirpitz would possibly never became an admiral and never make up with her sister.

"I wouldn't be here talking to you. Scharnhorst probably knew I have a better life ahead of me and I shouldn't waste it. She wanted me to keep living. I don't want her sacrifice to be in vain"

Even if Tirpitz sunk almost a year after Scharnhorst, her current life is what her friends would probably be proud of.

"I made a promise and I'm going to fulfill it. That's why I don't want fear to stop me...from trying to put Scharnhorst to rest once and for all"

"Admiral..."

"I still feel uneasy coming back to Norway, but I'm not the same battleship I was once many years ago"

After everything she had gone through, Tirpitz changed a lot throughout the course of many years. She had seen and experienced things that left permanent scars, but that didn't weaken her. She made it a reminder on how she struggled to live with each hardships she faced.

"Admiral, you're not alone anymore. That's why everyone...will be by your side to help you fulfill your promise to your friend"

"..."

"Everyone, including me, will always be there. So it's okay to be scared...because you have us to rely on"

"Nagato..."

"As your secretary ship, it's my job to support my admiral. So I'll be just by your side...whenever you need me"

"I don't want to burden you too much..."

To Tirpitz, she doesn't want to cause trouble for the people around her, specially the ones important to her. It's also the reason why she preferred to be alone...so she wouldn't have to worry about burdening other people with her problems.

"There are just things I need to face on my own"

"I understand you wanted to fight your own battles, but it's alright to rely on other people sometimes"

"I'm lucky to ever have such a caring secretary ship"

Nagato blushed and turned away, thinking it's another one of her admiral's teasing.

"Thank you for everything, Nagato. You've been a really supportive and caring secretary ship"

"I'm just doing my job"

"Ha ha ha. You're being humble...like always"

For three years Nagato had been the admiral's secretary ship. Tirpitz knew she had chosen the right secretary ship after she had observed Nagato when she arrived at the base.

Later that night...

At the dead of night, Tirpitz walked by the beach, thinking about everything that happened so far. While she had been thinking about Norway, her current situation far concerns her.

"I won't be able to keep this up for long. It has to end somehow"

She worried about how everyone will react, particularly Bismarck. Tirpitz couldn't stop worrying about her "situation", she isn't getting any sleep for days now.

"I wonder...if you'd want me to tell the truth. I still don't fully understand you, but I want to try..."

Tirpitz drops her cap on the ground, staring at the moon illuminating the night. She feared she would have little nights to spend this peace with everyone. Arkhangelsk knows that so she advised her to prepare for the worst.

"Admiral?" Warspite approached her

"Warspite? You're still awake"

"I could say the same thing to you"

Warspite stopped in her tracks upon noticing something different in Tirpitz's expression.

"Is something bothering you, admiral?"

"Nothing much. Just thinking about some things"

Tirpitz grabbed the cap she had dropped earlier and dusted off the sand in all corners before putting it back on. She's not very honest with her feelings and Warspite knows that more than anyone. She had been the German battleship's mentor and confidant since the beginning.

"Is it about Norway?" She knew how Norway is a sensitive topic to Tirpitz

"I thought about that. While I'm still uneasy going back there, I have to set NY fears and worries aside if I want to save Scharnhorst"

There's no time to wallow in the feelings of the past when her old friend who's currently an Abyssal had been spotted in Norway. With the little time she has, Tirpitz had to end it now that opportunity itself came knocking at the door.

"Then what is bothering you?"

"About everything so far"

"About...everything so far?" Warspite is confused

"There's something...I haven't been telling...truthfully"

Tirpitz turns her back away from Warspite as her voice loses its carefree tone and lowered to a slightly solemn one.

"I wanted to tell the truth, but I just can't. I'm a horrible person for lying, but I could never tell everyone...after I saw their smiles"

"I...don't understand"

"Of course you don't...because you don't know the truth I've been keeping all this time"

Tirpitz fell silent after that, making Warspite's heartbeat race faster. This isn't a joke. Tirpitz never jokes once she speaks seriously like that. Warspite wanted to know, but Tirpitz is reluctant to confess. It's not that easy to tell the truth anymore...

"I never wanted for everything to be this way, but I made a promise to her..."

"What are you trying to say-"

As soon as Warspite grabbed Tirpitz's left arm and she looked at her right in the eyes. Tirpitz parted her lips, letting out words Warspite heard as clear as day. Her face, left in disbelief...and her mouth covered by her gentle hands.

"All this time..." Warspite felt...betrayed

"I never wanted for it to be this way"

No apology can ever fix this so she didn't bother apologizing. She just wants Warspite to know how she never wanted everything to be like this. Tirpitz reached out her hand to Warspite, but the latter backed away.

"This is why I don't want to tell the truth. Because I know everyone will feel this way"

"But it's better than keeping this lie! It's no different from betraying them" Warspite swung her arm

"I'm willing to go this far just so I can fulfill my promise to her"

"Still...pretending like everything is normal when all this time...it's not"

She never thought she'd be this angry at Tirpitz. After discovering the truth, there's no way to hold back her anger. She has every right to feel that way and even Tirpitz knows it. Warspite is free to feel whatever she wants to feel. She had done something horrible to the people around her.

"For how long have you been...lying to everyone?"

"Ever since the last operation..."

"Bismarck and your comrades. How do you think they'll feel once they find out"

"I know they won't forgive me...and I'm prepared for that"

Tirpitz gazed up the night sky. Her bright eyes focused on the moon rather on Warspite. Even someone like her felt ashamed to look at Warspite in this current situation.

"They'll will never forgive me for everything I've done...but that doesn't really concern me anymore. There's no going back after all so there's no point in caring...anymore"

"You're...you're a selfish bastard who doesn't consider how everyone else will feel!" Warspite unexpectedly yelled

Warspite bit her lip and begun to let out her intense emotions which she rarely does. She's shaking in anger after everything she had just learned from Tirpitz's confession.

"You disgust me" She slapped Tirpitz

Not just a normal slap, but a powerful one. She didn't hold back smacking Tirpitz right in the face as she told her that. After that, Warspite quickly walks away, ending their conversation before it becomes a heated quarrel. Warspite passed by Ark Royal who is confused to why Warspite looked very furious and disappointed.

"I'm a horrible person, aren't I?" Tirpitz already accepted that

She gently rubs her hand on her left cheek where Warspite slapped her about two minutes ago.

"Still...I'm going to finish what I started..."

It just shows how even Warspite being furious at her barely fazed her. She knew she would feel that way. Everyone would feel the same way as Warspite if they learn the truth. Tirpitz knew she wouldn't be forgiven...and she's fine with it. She knew what will happen and she accepted it the moment she promised...on that battle.

EXTRA

The night before the inevitable return to Norway, Tirpitz is the only one who is restless. Her body is already being pushed to the limit and she doesn't know how long she can "maintain" her current self. All she can feel right now is an unexplainable uncomfortable sensation, haunting every corner of he soul. She clawed the concrete ground and bit her lip, holding down the very desire to scream out the unbearable pain. She knows this could be her punishment for disrupting the natural flow, but it felt like it's too much,

"Argh...it hurts...it hurts..."

Tirpitz groaned the feeling of being gripped rather than scream it out. She hated the every second of torture, but she just keeps forcing herself to bear with it. Unable to withstand it, Tirpitz smashed her curled up fist on the nearest wall, creating a small crater, but large spread cracks.

"You can't keep this up any longer..."

Tashkent found her in her current state, knowing what will happen next if Tirpitz keeps it at this rate. She doesn't like interfering in whatever Tirpitz is up to, but she simply can't turn a blind eye on what's happening.

"Your body won't be able to handle it if you force yourself"

"I have to...because I made a promise. I'd fulfill it...even if this...body of mine...breaks"

"That's suicide!" Tashkent angrily stomps her foot

Tashkent had been keeping quiet for the past few days so she let out her frustration freely now that it comes to this. Not far from them, Graf Zeppelin heard the Russian destroyer yelling and found out she is speaking to Tirpitz who awfully looks worried.

"You know your body won't handle it!"

"I have to be a shipgirl...even just for this once. It doesn't matter if it's going to be the last time I'm going to be a shipgirl"

"You're willing to risk it...just for a promise"

"It's her last wish..." Tirpitz's voice lowered to a solemn tone

It's clear Tirpitz will do anything just to fulfill someone's "last wish". She promised that person and she's willing to go to any lengths just to achieve. Even Tashkent is unsure whether it's her will...or her stubbornness. Normally, she'd point it out, but it's clear Tirpitz isn't going to let anything or anyone stand in her way. It can be thought if Tashkent respects Tirpitz's goal...or she's just afraid to interfere directly.

"I get it you want to fulfill that promise...but this is becoming selfish of you"

Even if Tashkent can admit to herself she's afraid, she's not the type of person to just stay quiet. She would point out any mistake and voice out her opinions if she deems it necessary. Right now it's necessary for her to speak up as Tirpitz herself is becoming more "dangerous".

"You wanted to accomplish your goal so badly, you set aside how the others will feel..."

"..."

"Bismarck and the others have no clue to what's really going on. They don't know...you're all lying to them...to all of us!"

Tashkent angrily swings her arm in the air, shouting what frustrated her the most. Warspite, on the other hand, may be passive about this, but she's disappointed after learning the truth.

(What are they talking about?) Graf Zeppelin continued to eavesdrop

Just the last night, Graf Zeppelin spotted a sobbing Warspite being comforted by a confused and worried Ark Royal. Ark Royal asked what happened and Warspite replied something about Tirpitz. The British battleship didn't tell much detail except how furious and disappointed she is to Tirpitz. Suspicious, Graf Zeppelin decided to eavesdrop rather than head back to her room.

"What I'm doing is unforgivable, but I accepted the consequences the moment I came back here. Someone like you couldn't possibly understand why I'm doing all of this"

"..."

"She's gone now. If they find out the truth...then everything I've done so far will be pointless. You know that too"

"To lie to everyone, specially to your own sister..." Tashkent clenched her fists

"My own sister, huh? That's a funny thing to say" Tirpitz smirked before turning her back away

"You're a horrible person" Tashkent felt contempt

"I already know that"

Tirpitz walks away, feeling little to no emotion while Tashkent is both furious and disappointed much like how Warspite felt the other night. After Tashkent walked away from the scene too, Graf Zeppelin went out of hiding as soon as she knows the area is clear.

"Tirpitz...what are you hiding?"

Graf Zeppelin furrowed her eyebrows, feeling nervous and confused to what she heard tonight. She may not know the context of their conversation, but Graf suspected Tirpitz has been keeping a secret that they should all know. Tirpitz isn't usually like this Graf feared it will affect them deeply if she were to find out.