AZUR LANE NAVAL BASE : TIME, 1200
Commander's day has been pretty uneventful, it's the usual drag of paperwork and commission requests from High Command. While he already has done a considerable amount of work for the day, he hasn't even made a dent on the mountains of stacked papers in front of him. He could only sigh in defeat as he continued stamping away and signing documents. "I wish Bismarck was here…" the Commander said to himself while looking at the Secretary's Desk that is currently unoccupied. "It is pretty weird that they haven't returned yet. They should've been back here an hour ago." Commander thought about multiple possible scenarios on why Bismarck's Fleet hasn't returned to the base yet. "They couldn't have been lost because U-556 is with them so why are they taking so long…..?" but the Commander would soon realize what happened to their fleet as U-556 burst inside his office covered in wounds and bruises, the Commander immediately got up his chair and tried to calm down U-556 but she interrupted him with an unexpected statement. "Commander! We need to rescue Frau Bismarck immediately!" the tiny Submarine exclaimed with tears in her eyes, clearly showing how worried she is for Bismarck's safety. "What?! What happened!? Was there a Siren attack?" Commander asked both with agitation and shock as there weren't any recent Siren sightings for the past few weeks, now that he thought about it their sudden silence WAS extremely suspicious. The Submarine explained that as they're returning from doing Commission runs, they got ambushed with a sudden emergence of a Mirror Sea. They immediately took heavy fire and some of the KANSEN were heavily injured, Bismarck was forced to stay behind in order to secure the retreat of everyone from the Fleet after she ordered U-556 to ask for reinforcements. U-556 blamed herself for not detecting Siren activity before it was too late and they got ambushed, Commander comforted her and explained what happened was beyond what she could've done in that kind of situation and that he will definitely save Bismarck. After U-556 calmed down, Commander thanked U-556 and ordered her to take a rest at Vestal's Clinic and immediately went straight to call multiple KANSEN to plan Bismarck's extraction from the Mirror Sea. Commander called those who can come or those who don't have anything to do for the next few days for the extraction but there are also some KANSEN who specifically asked to be in the operation despite having a different schedule such as Tirpitz, Bismarck's sister ship. Commander appreciated their help as he went inside his office to prepare a suitable plan, time is of the essence after all and Bismarck isn't going to last long, after a few minutes he has finished preparing all the necessary information for the operation. But before they can depart, U-556 intercepts Commander and everyone who's part of the Operation, "Commander, please let me fight for Frau Bismarck!" U-556 begged Commander even when she's clearly not in shape for combat. "U-556, I appreciate your concern but you'll only drag this whole operation down if you come with us. So just stay quiet in Vestal's clinic and recover. I'm sure Bismarck would agree with me on this one." the Commander responded to the devoted Knight of the Sea. "Then I don't have to fight! I can just lead you there myself! It's going to be way faster than just going by your data!!". Commander doesn't want to admit it but she's right, if she led them to where the Mirror Sea is then they'd be able to rescue her sooner. "Please Commander…… Let
me help you save Frau Bismarck….. It's the least I can do to redeem myself from my blunder that caused all of this." U-556 begged Commander with tears on her eyes, the Commander couldn't waste time arguing with her now or even trying to find where the Mirror Sea is as he's already running out of time so he loudly declared. "If you are really resolved for it then who am I to refuse you?! Percival of the Seas as the Commander of the Azur Lane, I order you to guide us to where the Mirror Sea is and regain your pride as Frau Bismarck's most loyal Knight!" Commander then smiled at the Little Submarine waiting for her response and she didn't disappoint. "Verstanden, Kommandant! This Percival will do her best to help you in this operation!" U-556 gave a salute to Commander as they depart to save Bismarck.
Meanwhile in the Mirror Sea, Somewhere in the Pacific.
Bismarck is battered and tired, she doesn't know how long she can keep fighting but she doesn't have a choice but to wait for a rescue. "How many hours has it been…? U-556 must've reached the Base by now.. I hope no one was badly injured…." but even after hours of fighting and her body on the verge of collapsing, she couldn't help but think about the safety of her comrades. "Geryon is ready. But my body is definitely going to break down if I try to use him, the strain from fighting this long will just further increase the corruption rate of my Wisdom Cube." Bismarck kept thinking about how to increase her survival odds, she has to stay alive. She NEEDS to return back to the Base, back to the Commander. "The Sirens will resume their attack any moment…. I need to make a decision now…. Should I risk everything and activate Geryon? Or do I keep fighting without the extra firepower and hope that U-556 comes with reinforcements?" Bismarck is taking short and ragged breaths, she can't possibly last another hour. As she is about to use her trump card she sees a familiar face emerging from the mist, "Frau Bismarck! Percival has kept her promise and returned with reinforcements!" U-556 announced with a huge smile after seeing Bismarck still alive and breathing. Bismarck noticed that U-556 was still worn out from the last encounter, but she's still relieved to know that reinforcements are here. "Good job Percival, I never doubted your return." Bismarck couldn't help but smile at the efforts of the U-Boat in order to fulfill her promise to her. "But we aren't safe yet, The Sirens will attack any moment now. I suspect there's an Arbiter with them but I have no way of confirming it." Bismarck told U-556, "Then I have to contact the Commander so he can come here sooner!" U-556 hurriedly brought out her radio and started speaking. "Commander! I have found Frau Bismarck! She's safe for the time being but she suspects that an Arbiter is behind this attack!" U-556 waited for a response and not too long the radio crackled and a voice came through, "I'm glad Bismarck is safe. And don't worry we'll be right there as soon as possible." Commander's voice said on the radio. "Wait… Commander is also here?" Bismarck asked U-556 and the U-Boat nodded vigorously. "Ja! When Commander heard you stayed behind to draw fire from the enemies, he immediately started to think of a way to rescue you Frau Bismarck! He was honestly so cool!" U-556 said with gleaming eyes. "That idiot…. He doesn't have to be here for this operation." Bismarck responded, but she couldn't help herself from smiling and having a small blush on her face after hearing how worried he was
about her. But before Bismarck and U-556 could wait for their comrades a stray shell flew past them and exploded on the Sea after missing it's target,"But enough of the small chatter, It seems our guests couldn't wait any longer." Bismarck steeled herself for another fight but her rigging could only make a loud creaking noise, as if telling her that if she even tries to do it she will break her riggings. "Frau Bismarck! Please rest! Your riggings are in way worse shape than mine!" U-556 said with worry but Bismarck dismissed her with a small wave of her hand, "It's fine Percival, I can still fight…" Bismarck replied to her. And then suddenly, a swarm of mass produced Siren Ships and Enforcers came from the thick mist covering their surroundings. Bismarck tried to raise her cannons in order to shoot one of the Enforcers but her rigging refused to budge, "Damn it…. My cannons aren't responding.. I need to hold out even for just a second longer…" Bismarck thought to herself. As one of the Siren ships aimed at Bismarck and U-556, another shell came whistling from behind Bismarck and U-556. The cannon shell hits the Siren Ship right in it's deck before it could fire, effectively sinking it on one volley. Suddenly a barrage of cannon fire and planes followed, attacking the Sirens before they could make a move. U-556 smiled and exclaimed "It's Commander!! He's here!!" The Barrage continued as Tirpitz and other KANSEN emerged from the Mist behind them. Following behind is a giant flagship with the Azur Lane insignia on it. Tirpitz approached Bismarck with worry written all over her face. As the fierce battle goes on, Tirpitz asks Bismarck "Bismarck! Are you okay? As soon as I heard about what happened here from the Commander I asked him to let me be part of this operation." Bismarck is glad to see her sister ship come to her rescue. "I'm fine Tirpitz, other than my rigging not currently responding to my commands I'm perfectly okay." Bismarck reassured her sister, "I see.. I'm so glad you're okay.. I was so worried about you, and I'm sure Commander is even more worried." The mention of Commander's name made Bismarck's cheeks flush red for a moment before they were rudely interrupted by a shell almost hitting both of them. "While I'd love to chat more with you Sister I'd suggest you retreat now before you get caught in the crossfire, while you're powerful I doubt your current state would make you a viable fighter right now." Tirpitz calmly says as she shoots the Siren Enforcer that's trying to flank their fleet and flagship, "Ich verstehe, Danke Tirpitz" Bismarck said to her sister in their native tongue before tipping her hat and started to slowly approach the flagship. But as she gets closer, her body is starting to feel heavier and more sluggish. "My body….. So the exhaustion finally caught up to me huh.. I'm so close to the flagship as well… gottverdammt, I don't want to show this pathetic side to Commander." Bismarck thinks as she wobbles closer to the Flagship. But before she reaches it, her eyelids start to feel heavier and heavier and eventually she starts falling flat on her face. But as she falls something catches her, she opens her eyes and sees her beloved husband and Commander wearing parts of the Prototype Self Defense Suit that she and Akashi developed. He smiles softly at her and says "Kept you waiting huh Bismarck?" Bismarck couldn't help but tear up at the sight of him, she thought she'd never see him again but seeing him making stupid jokes as usual just broke something that she desperately held back inside her. "It's all okay now Bismarck, we are here to save you." He comforted her as she wiped the tears on her face, "I thought I'd never see you again you know? And here you are making stupid jokes like that…. I swear to God I have no idea why I fell in love with you in the first place you dummkopf." Bismarck replied to him. The Commander replied "And yet you love me all the same Mein Liebe." with a cheeky smile, Bismarck stopped tearing up and started to laugh a bit. "Yeah I do, but we still need to retreat
before we can continue fooling around. This is an active war zone after all." After a while Bismarck could stand up but Commander still supported her as they slowly made their way to the Flagship. Bismarck could feel something incredibly wrong, their side is winning and they're about to make a clean rescue but something feels extremely wrong with the air. The Commander notices Bismarck's restlessness and asks "Bismarck? What's wrong?", "Something feels off… I can't explain it that much but it's like we're playing right in the Siren's plans." Commander also notices that the Sirens have lessened their attack on their fleet but before he could do anything about it. Bismarck notices a bright, red flash that's coming from the Commander's side. Her body moved, she pushed her Commander's body out of the way before he could even realize what she did. A giant red laser pierced Bismarck's chest and made a hole in it. Bismarck smiles, even though her chest was just hollowed out. Because she knows, she has successfully protected her most beloved Commander.
"Huh…..?" I was suddenly pushed aside by Bismarck, a Laser went through her cleanly and she started to fall. U-556 who was watching it had a horrified look on her face. I rushed to Bismarck as she's about to fall……. I couldn't hear my surroundings, all I could think about was catching her before she fell into the water, she's still wounded and beaten so being wet isn't a good thing for her. I can only hear U-556 and Tirpitz faintly screaming at me to retreat immediately, but as I caught Bismarck's body in my arms. A horrifying reality suddenly showed reared it's ugly face to me as I saw the giant hole on Bismarck's chest. She's losing blood, too much blood. Tirpitz and the others are starting to retreat to our position but I still haven't done anything to stop the bleeding….. Stop the bleeding? How? I had no idea. All I could do was kneel on the water as Bismarck's life slowly slips from my hands, I had no idea what to do but stare at my wife dying. She looks calm and serene…… No…. Don't make such a face Bismarck… Don't make it look like you're actually about to die. We can still get Vestal to treat you! Their commission fleet's route is close to ours, we can get her to treat you. Bismarck smiles as she puts a gloved hand over my cheek. Her words are barely audible but I understand them nonetheless "Ich liebe dich mein liebe, mein Kommandant…" hearing those words broke me. I could only embrace her as my tears fell down my cheeks, her warmth is about to escape. I hugged her harder as I desperately thought of a way to save her, until I remembered one small fact that Akashi told me on a whim. "Commander? Did you know why you were chosen as the Fleet Commander of Azur Lane?" There's something about Wisdom Cubes right? "Exactly! Your ability to awaken Wisdom Cubes is miraculous!"... Awakening her Wisdom Cube….. Yes… That's right….. If I awakened her Wisdom Cube, she might have a chance to survive! But how am I supposed to do that? Bismarck doesn't have much time left. I didn't know what else to do so I did the first thing my gut told me to do.
I hugged Bismarck, nothing happened. I desperately try to remember the continuation of my conversation with Akashi. "You don't even know the method of Awakening?... How did you even become a Commander?" Just get to the point already! I don't have much time! I ignored the whole conversation until I reached what I was trying to remember. "Awakening a KANSEN's Wisdom Cube requires a deep bond between a Commander and the Kansen, any kind of act that shows that kind of bond will awaken the Wisdom Cube inside the Kansen…. I think….?". That's good enough, Bismarck is bleeding too much and the fighting around me isn't stopping any time soon. We are about to be overwhelmed by enemy forces, Akashi said an act of deep bond so I'll do one that only those with the deepest bond can do "This has to work. It NEEDS to work, or else everything would be for naught." I say out loud, everyone looks at me at what I am about to do. Tirpitz and U-556 stares at me as I gave Bismarck a kiss on the lips. Everyone is shocked at what I did, even I didn't know what my reasoning for this is. But if this doesn't work I just wanted to give Bismarck one last parting gift before she completely leaves this world behind… As I parted my lips from hers…. Nothing happened… My eyes are starting to tear up again, but before I started breaking down in tears from her loss. A blinding light surrounded Bismarck, it got even brighter until everything inside the Mirror Sea was filled with the light coming from Bismarck's body. Then I felt her body start to move, as the light died down I could see her appearance had changed. Her outfit was clearly different now and the hole that was on her chest…. It's gone…. The awakening worked, as Bismarck stirred awake I hugged her body close to mine. "The…. Awakening worked! Thank God it worked……" tears started to drip from my eyes. Not from sadness but from relief, Bismarck is alive…. She's fine… I could feel her heartbeat, her breathing. Bismarck who's now fully awake, says "I'm back Commander, I'm sorry I made you worried." Bismarck returned my embrace and stroked my hair. "You idiot, you made me more than worried. You almost died!" I screamed at her but she only kept embracing me, "I'm sorry Commander, but we can't just stay around here while our Comrades are fighting. I need to go help them." I know that too well, but she just came back from death. I don't want to let her go again. "Commander, they need us." Bismarck calmly stated so I let her go from my tight embrace, after a few moments we stood up from our position. Another flash of red light suddenly appeared but before it hit me, a familiar Giant Iron Dragon with three heads suddenly appeared to block the laser.I know I have seen this Dragon somewhere before as I looked around me to see who was the one who ordered it, Bismarck only gave me a knowing smile. I suddenly realized that this Dragon is "Geryon" the experimental rigging that Bismarck had on her workshop before, she couldn't use Geryon due to it's unstable nature but it seems that the Awakening made Bismarck be able to use Geryon to it's full potential. Geryon then roared loudly and fired a laser of it's own at the mysterious enemy that keeps trying to snipe me with lasers, the lasers hit the enemy that's been hiding using camouflage. It resulted in a huge explosion, the Siren disengaged it's camouflage and revealed itself to be an Arbiter. "No wonder it kept going for the Commander, this was the Arbiter that has been hunting us since the start. But that changes now." Bismarck said as she beckoned Geryon to her side, Tirpitz and U-556 the only other ones that know of Geryon's existence are surprised to see it being brought out in the open. But before they could ask Bismarck about it, more Sirens began pouring out from the Mist that surrounds us. I began to retreat back to the Flagship to give out orders for the upcoming battle.
Bismarck is surprisingly calm for a person who was just on the verge of death, instead of feeling dread as they are being swarmed with countless enemies. Her head is filled with clarity, and her body was on a perfect state. "So this is the power that comes from the Awakening of a Wisdom Cube." Bismarck thinks as she touches her new rigging Geryon "Geryon used to be so volatile and stubborn but she's obedient now. And it's all thanks to the Commander's efforts." Bismarck stared down at the Arbiter that just tried to kill her husband twice, the Siren Elite has a blank expression on it's face. "Geryon, release limiters 1 through 9." Bismarck says as she prepares for battle. "Listen fiends! I am Bismarck! I reject the past and the future you've forced upon me!" Bismarck rushed at the Arbiter with Geryon following after her. Bismarck released a cannon shell at point blank, the Siren is stunned from the sudden increase of strength that Bismarck has. "Subject has exceeded simulated strength. Calculating required strength. Calculation finished. Now releasing 20% of the Mainframe's Output." the Arbiter announced, completely devoid of emotion. Geryon flew in and bashed one of her heads on the Arbiter and it gets knocked back even more, then Geryon released an even stronger beam at the Arbiter but it dodged at the last second. "This body, this power and this burning resolve will not be martyred to your darkness!" Bismarck continues her assault at the Arbiter but there's still barely any damage on it's hull. The Arbiter suddenly stepped back, "Damage received exceeded simulated results. Calculating the best course of action. Calculation done. Begin shifting priorities from Subject: Bismarck to Subject: Commander." the moment Bismarck heard those words come out from the Arbiter's mouth she knew she had to finish the fight right there. "Geryon! Release all Limiters! We'll finish this in one last strike!", Geryon roared in response as it began charging up one last attack. "You dare hurt my friends, my loved ones." Bismarck started to charge her own attack. "Truth can only be found within my range!" Bismarck shouted and released a charged up cannon shell, Geryon also released the biggest laser it could manage to charge up. The Arbiter couldn't react to the attacks coming from Bismarck as it shifted it's priority target, Bismarck and Geryon's attacks landed cleanly on the Arbiter's body. It resulted in a massive explosion and a thicker smoke. And as the smoke cleared the results from Bismarck's attacks showed itself, the Arbiter was heavily damaged and could barely hold itself up. "Damage received reached critical levels. Preparing Escape Protocols." the Arbiter announced as a blue portal appeared behind it. The Arbiter went through the portal and escaped leaving Bismarck as the Victor of the fight. After the Arbiter left the Mirror Sea, the Sirens stopped endlessly spawning from the Mist. Their forces now severely weakened made it easier for Commander and the other KANSEN to finish off the remaining stragglers, as the fighting died down. The Mist also vanished, symbolizing the Mirror Sea Generator being taken away by another Siren Elite before Commander's fleet destroyed it themselves. As Commander announces the success of their operation and preparing to return to Azur Lane HQ, Tirpitz and U-556 approached Bismarck to ask her if she's fine after being blasted by a giant laser. Bismarck reassured the two of them that she's perfectly okay, after U-556 inspected Bismarck multiple times her worries disappeared. But she was curious about another thing, "Why did you suddenly have a new outfit after some lights?" U-556 asked Bismarck innocently. Bismarck replied "Commander saved me by Awakening my Wisdom Cube Percival, That's how he saved my life." U-556 was confused "Awakening?!? What's that?! " she looked at Tirpitz and Bismarck with sparkling eyes. Tirpitz replied "An Awakening is the
result of a deep bond between a Commander and a KANSEN, it enhances a KANSEN's abilities and it makes her do things she normally couldn't do before." U-556 is even more interested in the topic now, she looks at Bismarck and says "Deep Bond?! Is that why the Commander kissed you? That sounds so much like something from a Mahou Shoujo show that Z23 showed before!" Bismarck suddenly turned red when she remembered the method of her awakening and at U-556's innocence while Tirpitz couldn't help but chuckle at her Sister's embarrassment. "W-well it did get the requirement for the awakening so all is fine.", Tirpitz suddenly realizes something as well "So that's why you're able to use Geryon with almost no strain on your body…. Awakening has more potential than I initially thought..". As the three discussed about Geryon they saw her playing with the Commander on the Deck of the Flagship, Geryon was being petted by the Commander on each head except for the one in the middle. "To think that the unstable experimental rigging Geryon would be this docile and obedient…. Looking at her from this distance reminds me of you Frau Bismarck!" U-556 said as she notices how Geryon with the Commander. "Indeed, it acts more like a dog with the Commander than an actual Dragon" but as the three watch how Commander plays with the Iron Dragon, she suddenly bit down on the Commander's head. The three German Ships are shocked at what happened, then Geryon started to fly towards Bismarck. After a few seconds Geryon reached Bismarck and unceremoniously dropped Commander right in front of her, Bismarck immediately checked if Commander suffered from any injuries but the Commander waved his hand to reassure her. "I'm fine Bismarck." he says while not noticing blood dripping from his forehead, Bismarck doesn't know if she should laugh or be worried for his safety as the wound isn't deep. "Bad Geryon! No biting the Commander!" U-556 scolded the Iron Dragon and it immediately looked sad. "No U-556, I'm sure it didn't mean any harm and it just wanted to play." Commander told the little Submarine as he stood up. But before he could react the Dragon suddenly tackled him and started to lick his face just like a dog. Bismarck found the affection of her new rigging for her husband amusing and laughs, not long after the other two German ships laughed as well while the Commander was still being smothered by the Dragon. "Oh by the way Kommandant, Geryon is a girl.", "... WHAT??"
Hours after, inside Commander and Bismarck's Room
After Commander and Bismarck changed out of their stuffy uniforms and into more comfortable clothes, she called him over to sit on the bed. Bismarck carefully wrapped a bandage over Commander's head, thankfully the wounds that Geryon gave him were only light and would heal without any scarring. The calm silence is a nice contrast from the chaotic sounds of a battlefield earlier. The Commander is enjoying Bismarck's company as she hums a light tune, soon she finishes up bandaging his head. Bismarck chuckled when she remembered how Geryon didn't want to let go of the Commander. The
Commander notices this and says in a deadpan "Geryon munching on my head while you're just watching and not helping isn't funny.", "You have to admit she was kind of cute though, like a clingy puppy." Bismarck responded while holding back her chuckles. "Yeah, a giant Iron Puppy with three heads and wings. I thought I'd suffocate back there you know?". After a few minutes of talking, the darkness of night filled the large room. Bismarck and Commander laid still on their bed quietly but both of them couldn't sleep, until Bismarck tugged the Commander's sleeve. Commander looked over to his side to see Bismarck looking reddish and embarrassed, "Commander… C-can you hold me? I want to feel your warmth…. Even just for tonight, I want you to hold me as if you'll never let me go.". Seeing how embarrassed she is the Commander also felt his own face heat up, visibly affected by how adorable and cute Bismarck is acting. "No worries Bismarck…. I was also thinking the same thing but I was too shy to say it out loud…" he replies as he scoots closer to her. Bismarck showed Commander an embarrassed but sincere smile when she heard him accept her request, the Commander's heart skipped a beat when he saw her smile. Then Commander scoops her in a tight hug, Bismarck responds by nuzzling her face to his chest and getting comfortable within his embrace. His heart is thumping like it's about to jump out of his chest, "This is bad for my heart, but….seeing how much she cares about me makes me incredibly happy." Commander thought to himself, then slowly but surely Bismarck's breathing got slower and calmer, until she finally fell asleep while still being wrapped by the Commander's arms. Eventually the Commander felt his eyelids getting heavier as well, the scenario he is in currently made it feel like a huge weight just got released from his shoulders, giving him a huge sense of relief, and soon he too falls asleep. The two of them embraced each other as they entered the land of dreams.
END.