Author: Multiple gacha games at once are both salt inducing and stress producing, so I'm sticking to two gacha games with Arknights being the other since grinding there isn't hellish since there's no equipment and weapon system.
A new enemy or probably an old one...
Nelson passes by the hallway of the base's main and biggest building, tension weighing on her shoulders. She makes her way to the briefing room rather than the admiral's office. When she arrives, she hesitates to turn the doorknob but takes one deep sigh before proceeding to enter. She's wants prepare herself to whatever the admiral wants to discuss with her.
"Nagato? The admiral isn't here?"
Rather than the admiral, the secretary ship sits by the table and reads the report of the battle in the Bermuda triangle.
"Unfortunately, the admiral was called for an emergency meeting. It's regarding about the increasing unusual activities all over the world"
"Like what happened in the Bermuda?"
"The unknown sea creature was nowhere to be found again but that's just only one of their problems"
Nelson sits on the empty chair across Nagato before they start to discuss about the incident two days ago, the mission on the Bermuda.
"I don't think it can even be called a creature, more like a weapon. A weapon of the caliber might be from the Sirens" Nagato worries on her guess
"It's been six months since we encountered them. After the whole fiasco, they all went quiet" Nelson rubs her chin
"Other than the enormous weapon in Bermuda, events have been taking place under our radar" Nagato spreads several files in front of Nelson
"What do you mean?"
"On several sorties all over the world, the battlefield changes in the heat of battle. Both shipgirls and Abyssals are always trapped within a secluded space. After that chaos ensues and the space shatters like glass as soon as the fighting ends"
"Isn't that...a Mirror Sea? They trap shipgirls in some sort of simulation that can be broken from the inside" Nelson widens her eyes
Abyssals may possess unusual abilities, but Sirens proved that they are capable of what they even believe is impossible primarily due to their highly advanced technology and vast knowledge of humanity. The fact that a Mirror Sea possibly emerged without their notice means the Sirens are still lurking in their world even after the incident with Tyrant.
"We managed to handle the Sirens since we have help from Azur Lane. If we encounter an Elite Siren, it might be difficult for us" Nagato grunts
"That's what Warspite thought too. She's already investigating any traces of recent Siren activities ever since that mechanical whale showed up. By that I meant she Vanguard to Sweden since a Royal navy fleet stationed there adopted a green cat who loves anything valuable and shiny"
"She could have at least told us, but she has her own methods" Nagato easily accepts it
"So what's our next step about this. We can't let the navy know about the Sirens and the existence of alternate worlds. If those old men sitting on their bums find out, there's going to chaos in the government. They wouldn't pass an opportunity to exploit the existence of another world" Nelson worries
"I fear the Sirens would take human nature to cause chaos, but they're cunning and prefer to not be exposed. At least that's my impression"
"What's our next plan? If our admiral is taking care of this political issue, what will we do about the possible threat of Sirens?"
The secret of the Sirens' existence is mutually kept within the Maizuru base since it's likely to cause an uproar if the other world is discovered by humans. Fearing human nature more than the Sirens, the whole incident is covered by the whole fleet, namely the Admiral who has to make any form of excuses when several of her shipgirls vanished for a week.
"Right now, Intrepid's fleet is in the South Pacific when an Australian fleet encountered a shadow and then an unknown heavy cruiser"
Nagato takes one of the files and shows it to Nelson who reads the fleet members sortieing with Intrepid in the current mission. The description of the heavy cruiser is vague, but they are certain of her existence.
"An unknown heavy cruiser?"
"According to Perth, they were about to intercept an Abyssal fleet when a peculiar battleship crushed a large Abyssal fleet with little effort. Before they can engage this battleship, an unknown heavy cruiser showed up and fended her off"
"An unknown heavy cruiser? Is this the same one Aquila encountered months ago?" Nelson suspects
"Probably. Perth's fleet said the heavy cruiser had an Iron Cross on her chest. They described her as adolescent in appearance with silver hair in twintails"
"Any unique features on her?" Nelson rubs her chin
"The turrets are animated and had rows of sharp teeth. I don't know if it's true, but one of them said it chewed threw metal"
"What...?!"
"That's what they said. We can't fully confirm since the report also stated there was a fog" Even Nagato isn't certain
"Animated rigging. The likes of Shimakaze and the Akizuki class here have one but I don't think an entire rigging can move on their own and can chew metal"
From the way Nagato describes it, the unknown heavy cruiser isn't like a regular shipgirl just from how Nagato says the rigging can move and bite other people unlike the Akizuki class.
"Is Vanguard still investigating about the unknown heavy cruiser?"
"She still is on the mission. She left Sweden the other day and she didn't tell us where she went but Gotland is with her" Nelson is somewhat suspicious
"Gotland? I thought she's in Sweden" Nagato crosses her arms
"Something happened in Sweden but Vanguard didn't really specify during her last update. I heard muffled screams though"
Nagato is slightly suspicious with Vanguard's current activities but she's worried something about muffled screams.
The next day...
Nagato scatters files connected to each other on top of a table, ignoring the complete mess and her increasing stress. Both the papers and several pictures become to organized that Bismarck is both surprised at Nagato being too focused at her task rather than her surroundings.
"According to what you gathered, H-39 managed to secure a piece from an unknown Siren weapon. She also encountered an unknown shipgirl from Azur Lane, but even she couldn't recognize the identity of the shipgirl" Nagato gathers the images
"She can't confirm whether it's the unknown heavy cruiser or just someone else from the same world" Bismarck sighs
"You had no doubts at her words, Bismarck?"
"...It's just that H-39 has extensive knowledge about the Sirens and their technology. Besides, my instincts are telling me there's more to it than meets the eyes"
"Even I find that clearly suspicious, but I'm willing to turn a blind eye on that so long as she's humanity's ally" Nagato admits
"I fought alongside her before, so I trust her like I trust everyone else. She's helping and even secured an item from the Sirens" Bismarck remains confident
"Well, thankfully enough some of the Royal navy members agreed to help us contain the information and search for more clues" Nagato takes a deep sigh of relief
"Is this about the threat of the Sirens possibly lurking in our shadows?"
"That and the fact there had been sightings of strange shipgirls who quickly disappeared yesterday"
"Do you know what they look like? If they're from Azur Lane, I may have met them"
"It's not certain who were spotted. Our information right now is that their rigging looked different but the armaments resembled ours. Although, there's a rumor about a battleship appearing whenever a sudden blizzard disrupts battles and sorties"
"Sirens and their Mirror Seas? I still remebered the freaky storm six months ago" Bismarck lightly shakes her head
"You're leading the next sortie investigate this. Nelson, Ark Royal, and Vanguard are away right now and doing their kind of search" Nagato shrugs her shoulders
"We need to find out whether the Sirens are active again before the government finds out about their existence. The Sirens are exploiting the Abyssals, so it wouldn't take long before the other navies catch wind of this"
"..."
While Nagato's concern about the secrecy of the Sirens and the world of Azur Lane, Bismarck slowly closes her eyes and drifts into one ordinary moment in an ordinary day.
What's it like, you ask?
Tirpitz tilts her head in confusion and blinks when Bismarck somewhat catches her off-guard with a question. The two sisters ponder by the base's beach and sit not caring about the coarse and rough sand below them. They're more taken in by the day's gentle breeze and peaceful atmosphere.
"I was like in someone else's dream. That dream was mostly empty and the dreamer itself seems completely blank. What caught my attention the most is this really strange shipgirls though" Tirpitz lightly flails her arms
"What kind of ship? Also, how is strange compared to everything we've seen so far?" Bismarck chuckles
"It's a large ship but a slim one with two runways on each side. It didn't look like it was designed by humans"
"Anything special about this ship?"
"It was blasted, I think? On top of it was a sorrowful girl with long white hair and lonely eyes. She's longing for a time that never existed and..."
"And then what?" Bismarck swallows her breath
"I can't remember. The missing pieces isn't with me, but it's somewhere in this world. It's likely a shipgirl has it in her possession and if it's true...don't let your guard down. Such otherworldly energy is completely dangerous even to us shipgirls. No shipgirl would carelessly touch it unless they're aware of its origin"
"Tirpitz?" Bismarck nervously smiles
"That lonely girl warned me to be careful around shipgirls who knows too much about Sirens. Even if it's our ally, don't exposed your neck even to seemingly friendly wolf...because they will bare their fangs at any given moment. At least that's how it was said to me..."
"..."
The short memory fades away as Bismarck returns to reality, gently opening her eyes. What appears to be a little and random memory is seemingly prepared for this eventuality.
"Bismarck? If looked like you spaced out" Nagato waves her hand in front of Bismarck
"I didn't really ask H-39 how she truly obtained the piece, but I knew something was up the moment she showed it to us" His arco groans
"What did you remember?"
"Someone warned Tirpitz a long time ago that shipgirls who knows too much about Sirens more than they should has ulterior motives" Bismarck clenches her left fist
"What do you think is H-39's motive?"
"I don't know, but it's unusual of her to be carelessly and uninterested against unknown opponents, specially if it's not from around here. Perhaps she does know about her opponent, so she doesn't see it as a threat"
"We'll deal with your German friend later. Right now, our focus is to confirm the Sirens in our world"
"I still have to be careful. No matter how much you tame an animal, it's still an animal at the end of the day. It will turn against you one way or another..."
Bismarck is more worried about an enemy being among her allies rather than natural enemies she can always expect. Although, even if H-39 has questionable motives, she never makes a move that's potentially harmful to humanity.
Marshall islands...
Maizuru fleet's Shoukaku and Zuikaku stares down at two possible threats in front of them, their bowstrings stretched and their aircraft hovering above them waiting for the aircraft carriers' orders. The two unknown figures in question are the Sakura Empire's Akagi and Shoukaku, who are prepared to fight the shipgirls of the current world. The four are in a standoff, both sides reluctant to be the aggressor seeing they are all shipgirls.
"Shoukaku-nee, that white haired one looks a bit like you" Zuikaku whispers whispers
"I wonder who's that fox girl. She looks dangerous. Maybe kitsunes really exist?" KC Shoukaku chuckles
"I don't remember kitsunes working as shipgirls now"
CarDiv 05 only bears little hostility at the possible threats in front of them and more curiosity to a fox woman that's also an aircraft carrier.
"Senpai, this is your fault for messing up the coordinates. I'm sure you separated me from Zuikaku out of spite" AL Shoukaku shakes her head
"The last thing I want is to be stuck with you. I want to finish my mission and return to my beloved commander" AL Akagi isn't happy either
"What do we do now? They're shipgirls, so it's not like they're our enemies. We also have to find where the others have landed, specially Zuikaku. I'm sure she's worried I'm not by her side"
"I wouldn't mind sinking them if they get in the way, but we're outside our territory. Sinking them here means others would get alerted and hunt us down"
The two Sakura Empire aircraft carriers keeps weighing their option that Carrier division 05 turns to face each other and shrugs their shoulders, unsure what to do with them.
"We can see you two aren't enemies but strange shipgirls. Who are you two?" KC Shoukaku refuses to lower her bow
"I'm supposed to ask that" AL Akagi frowns
"I am the Sakura Empire's Shoukaku and this is Akagi. You two may not believe us, but we are visitors from another world" AL Shoukaku steps forward
"Shoukaku, what in the world are you doing?
AL Akagi lights up her paper aircraft, shocked at Shoukaku answering her counterpart without the slightest caution. It's common sense not to reveal your identity to someone who could possibly be your enemy, but AL Shoukaku doesn't even hesitate to reveal both of their identities.
"Another world...? Now that I think about it, CarDiv 01were sucked in another world for a week. Akagi even said her counterpart is a scary nine-tailed fox" KC Zuikaku remembers and whispers to her sister
"You two are from the Sakura Empire? From Azur Lane, right?" KC Shoukaku wants to confirm
"How do you two know about our world?" Akagi is prepared to fight
"Wait, are you two from the Maizuru naval district?" AL Shoukaku realizes as she approaches the two
The Maizuru fleet's Zuikaku and Shoukaku briefly stares at each other and silently nods before lowering their bows. The hostility on both sides disappears and they can finally take a deep sigh of relief. Akagi remains cautious of the two, knowing very well that not everyone who seems friendly can be trusted.
"The one whose Akagi has a love for eating despite her mature demeanor? She nearly finished all dangos in the Sakura Empire" AL Akagi scoffs
"Yeah, that's our senpai..." CarDiv 05 agrees in unison
"Yes, we are from the Maizuru fleet. Some of our allies disappeared in your world and there they met the Sakura Empire" KC Shoukaku nods
"We came here with several other shipgirls. Our Bismarck told us that the Maziuru naval district shipgirls are friendly to us and would be willing to help us" Akagi reluctantly speaks out
"What do we do, Shoukaku-nee? We can't just bring them back to our base without being seen by other fleets. Their Akagi stands out too much" KC Zuikaku whispers
The hostility has been resolved between the two sides, but a new problem arises. If they were to escort the two back to their base, there's a high chance shipgirls from other bases might see them and this will raise suspicion to why the Maizuru fleet is together with unknown shipgirls.
"First, we need to question them first. While I have no intention of fighting them, I'm still not absolutely trusting them. They're still-" KC Shoukaku whispers
"Please help me find my Zuikaku fast. I don't want to be stuck with that crazy bitch more than I should"
"You do know I can hear you"
AL Shoukaku grabs KC Shoukaku's hands and pleads the pair in desperation with a hint of teasing and mocking AL Akagi. Even if they're in a risky situation and world, AL Shoukaku stills finds time to get on her senpai's nerves.
Unknown Location...
Bismarck of Iron Blood rubs her head, feeling like she struck on all sides while having a splitting headache. She groans and attempts to regain her composure with how vulnerable she is right now. The scent and sensation of the sea causes her to snap back to reality and stabilize herself even if she's still dealing with her headache.
"Bloody hell! I am never travelling to another world ever again" King George V groans in pain, suffering a headache as well
"King George V? Where are the others?" Bismarck looks around her
"Oh, Bismarck?"
"The others..."
"...They're all gone?"
Upon hearing Bismarck's voice, King George V shakes her head and eases her discomfort. It's only now she realizes that only she and Bismarck are in the same place right now while the others are obviously nowhere in sight. The two scan all direction, but it's clear their other allies aren't anywhere their area.
"This is the other world, right? I remembered going through the gateway...or at least being sucked in" King George V rubs her head
"The sea here smells different, so I'm certain. We're supposed to land on the same coordinates, but the others are nowhere to be found" Bismarck looks at the horizon
"It's certain we're no longer in Azur Lane, but we were all compromised. Most likely, they're all separated and in different locations as well. The question is, whether someone got left behind or not"
Bismarck clicks her tongue in frustration seeing a seemingly normal mission ruined with their current location being unknown and their allies nowhere in sight. King George V assesses to the event that leads to their ruined start while studying her surroundings, showing her focus and calmness no matter the situation.
"The machine malfunctioned which caused us to be pulled by it. From the looks of it, someone sabotaged it"
"So an unknown Siren perhaps separated us on purpose to pick us off one by one or to buy time?" King George rubs her chin
"I don't want to doubt my allies, but there might be someone working with the Sirens. No one else knows about this mission except those who volunteered. I hope my suspicion isn't true, and it's just a Siren lurking in our shadows"
"So where do we start? There are only two of us and the rest are possibly separated somewhere" King George V stretches her arms
"We need to make our way to the Maizuru naval district. They can help us find the others if none of them have been found yet" Bismarck immediately makes her decision
"Hopefully, we're not on the other side of the map. The more we idle around, the more we're giving the Sirens enough time to know where we are and find out our objective"
"King George V, do you believe Tirpitz is here? She vanished without a trace and without even telling me why..."
"She's not dead, that's for sure. I don't know what you're sister is up to, but we'll make her answer our questions. After all, I don't think she would side with the enemy without a good reason"
"...That's right. Tirpitz isn't that kind of person"
Bismarck doubts the possibility of Tirpitz siding with the Sirens despite Tyrant resulting from Siren intervention and manipulation. She wishes to confirm whether Tirpitz is truly alive after her sudden disappearance which left her thinking whether she's deceased or not.
EXTRA
Tirpitz expects other shipgirls from Azur Lane, so while they're not present yet she currently spends her time peacefully reading a book in one corner while the screens on her left sides shows not the slightest interesting activity.
"Heeeey~ Aren't you supposed to be something? They're salvaging what remains of Orochi, you know" The Siren Omitter rolls on the ground
"Orochi? You mean that failure that never did anything noteworthy other than being blasted to pieces by the power of fr - you know what, nevermind"
Tirpitz clasps the book close, rather annoyed that the batfle-loving Siren Omitter purposely yelled just to disturb her.
"Are they planning to rebuild it? What they even use it for?" Tirpitz crosses her arms
"Beats me. The parts were scattered after the whole ordeal. Even if they rebuild it, it's absolutely useless without functional mental cube"
"There's one that can be used, but how Ghost can be contained is the issue. It's an imperfect copy, so it's naturally unstable"
"Hmm...I keep wondering how are you still standing? Your mental cube should have broken apart a long time ago, so now exactly?" Omitter tilts her head
"I'm weak the way I am right now and my body would break down if it undergoes a metamorphosis. Considering what happens in an alternate future, I would avoid going through that"
"Someone from Mikasa's group might sneak away and catches you off-guard"
"They've been separated, right? That buys us enough time to retake the missing piece. Mikasa's true goal is to find out why are the Sirens still interested at the torn apart Orochi. To her and the Sakura Empire, it doesn't make sense to why they are recollecting trash" Tirpitz scoffs
"It's just what's left of Orochi. While it may have been a failure, the Sirens could still make use of its wreckage"
"It depends on which faction collects the fastest. The Sirens aren't completely united right now for a certain reason"
Tirpitz relaxes herself and even stretches her arms, displaying clear disinterest in other affairs of the Sirens, but it doesn't matter to the Sirens Omitter if Iron Blood's traitor would dig deeper into the matter.
"There's something strange about you. I can't put my finger on it"
"I'm...a little uneasy with how the gears are shifting now. Ghost has been dormant, but she will move even if her mental cube is damaged. Well, speaking of uneasy, I'm sure Arbiter Zero: Fool is riling Empress up"
"Not all of the Arbiters get along in this world. To be specific, Fool doesn't play well with others and even hinders the Sirens"
"She has her own agenda, but that's none of my concern. Although her ability is troublesome that I don't think it's her own power"
"It's not. She was made for a purpose and malfunctioned after scouring timelines simultaneously. You could say she can single out every single distant outcome in a matter of seconds...yet she kept that useful power for unknown reasons"
The Siren Omitter grits her teeth in infuriation while Tirpitz narrows her eyes upon learning that a volatile Arbiter suspiciously possesses a convenient ability. In fact, Tirpitz curves a faint smile at the sight of the Sirens Omitter holding a grudge against the disobedient Arbiter.
"If she knows how it ends, why act completely clueless and ignorant of it? Sirens are intelligent, but I didn't expect an Arbiter to lack common sense" Tirpitz tilts her head
"It's because the future holds no surprises for her that she acts that away. Fool knows everything she does will not change the outcome. That's why we need a wild card to catch her off guard"
"Before Observer Alpha and the others rob of Fool's core, Empress is aiming to gain it first. Perhaps even someone like her holds knowledge on the Leviathans. What did she see that she disobeyed her own creator and lost her composure"
"She's after Ghost too, so let's focus on that. By we, I meant you and your little friend. Fool wouldn't take several steps if it's us, but she's sure to move if those shipgirls are used as bait"
"So long as you don't lay a hand on them, I'm willing to play along without complains. Although, I have no power to go against who can reverse the outcome...but my dear older sister will make a useful bait"
"Didn't you just say you don't want them to get hurt...?"
Omitter tilts her head in sudden confusion after Tirpitz plans to use her own older sister against an opponent stronger for her to directly confront. She doesn't look like she is bluffing and hesitating the slightest which confuses the Siren Omitter further.
"Since we have our jobs to do, I'll be on my way. I can't leave that girl alone for five minutes since she caused enough trouble by alarming those shipgirls. She makes me rethink that dragging her with me here is the biggest regret of this life"
Tirpitz's mood instantly changes as she openly complains left and right about a certain someone even if the still confused Siren Omitter isn't understanding her frustration and stress. Still annoyed, Tirpitz hurriedly leaves the scene while continuing muttering to herself.
"It seems you're getting a little too comfortable, Tirpitz" A mocking voice spoke from behind
"... Tyrant" Tirpitz jolts before her moods is displeased
"Bismarck will cause her own downfall because all she does is keep going. Even if Fool sacrifices her top ace..." The deceased shipgirl chuckles
"What?"
"Don't mind my words. I slipped when it's still a little early"
"How can a dead person know about what's to come?"
"...Because the dead isn't bound by time and reality as the living" Tyrant wags her index finger
"That doesn't make any sense..."
"Let's just say I'm quite looking forward with the outcome. Do entertain me while you're at it. I feel little lonely dying by myself, but I'm drag you too here..."
Tyrant's voice fades away, but the brief encounter with her leaves and unpleasant taste and annoys Tirpitz. She doesn't completely hold a grudge against Tyrant anymore, but she still has difficult understanding Tyrant's motives that refuses to change until her eventually demise.