[Azur Lane Bismarck]
"GERYON! PROTECT THE BASE!" I yelled as the fiery dive bombers started blowing up parts of the Naval District.
My metal friend started fighting for air dominance, attracting the attention of the red Zeroes. The blue Vals, however, started slipping through his defences. The shipgirls all started shooting upwards at them, being careful not to hit Geryon.
Akagi's menacing voice filled the air, "WHERE IS AMAGI-SAN!? WHERE IS SHIKIKAN-SAMA!?", Scaring the smaller shipgirls.
Verdammt… I knew then I had to go find her, but could I really leave them all there?
"Bismarck!" Micheal yelled to me over the sound of battle, "What's going on!? What happened to Akagi and Kaga!? And who's attacking us!?
"They've been replaced!" I answered while trying to focus on my aim.
"Replaced!? Who by!?"
"OUR Akagi and Kaga! Their planes must've followed Geryon here!"
"Do they usually attack allies randomly!?" Nagato asked.
I shook my head in disappointment, "Unfortunately, yes they do!"
Seaport appeared next to us and spoke calmly, "The anomaly… there is a Siren near it… on the other side… a short one… with tentacles…"
"That must be Observer!" I deduced. She matches that description and is usually the one being mischievous. She must have been studying the anomaly.
"If you wish for me to swap worlds with a Siren… to find out what their ultimate goal is… now is the time…" The Abyssal reminded me.
"Nein! The Admiral was right! I cannot allow you to be put in danger when your sisters are worried about you, and I cannot allow a Siren to learn they can come here!"
"As you wish… we will help fight these attackers instead…" Seaport then disappeared under the waves along with the rest of the Abyssals.
"Don't harm them! You'll only piss them off more!" I called out, unsure if she could hear me. "Frau Nagato, Frau Mutsu! Come with me! We have to stop those Carriers!"
"After you, Bismarck-san!" Mutsu smiled.
[Ĕ̵̦̱͊̇̈́u̷̢̮̹̤̓̃͆͂ṟ̵̡̣̳̎o̷͙̻̿͝p̶͇̟͉͔͐e̵͔͙̪͝ä̶̲́̒ṇ̴̔͛̓ ̸̨̛̤̈́̾W̴͖͉̯͐̅a̷̰̳̲̓̽̑́ť̴̡̪̟e̵͔̋͂͝ͅr̶̲̊̈ ̵͖̬͊P̶̜̻̃̓͌r̴̘̽́i̴̫͋́͗͘ṉ̵̡̧̓́̚͜c̸̮͒̄͠e̴̗̲̖̬̿̈͗s̴̡̙͕͑͘s̵̙͍̝̽̒]
"Look out!" I yelled as we all narrowly missed being hit by Observer's attack, but it kept going and hit the remaining fox Kansen, sending her onto her side.
"Lady Amagi, no!" Hood called out.
Ah, so that was Amagi? Did that mean the other two were—
"Bismarck, move!" U-556 shouted. I snapped out of my thoughts as I narrowly dodged out of the way of another attack.
Then I realised she seemed to be targeting only me.
"You know there's only two ways out of this, Bismarck~"
She was right. Either she killed me, or I went back through the portal and swapped with the other me.
"As for you two, I'm sending you both on a trip."
Hood asked, "A… trip?"
Observer's eyes glowed and she snapped her fingers, "A trip down Memory Lane!"
I looked at them both and they fell to their knees and entered a trance-like state…
[Hood]
What am I doing back here…?
It's… the Atlantic?
Is that… Bismarck and Prinz Eugen?
BOOM
What was that noise…? Did Bismarck just…?
Looking up, I saw…
A shell?
CLANG
My God… it hit me in my…
BANG
The shell went right through my unarmored deck and detonated in my magazine…
My God… I've had countless nightmares about this incident… but they've never felt as real as this did…
I'm supposed to be the Pride of the Royal Navy… and I was sunk so quickly… I let everyone down…
I… I'm so sorry, everyone… I'm sorry I'm so useless…
After all my experience… all I could do when faced with my own death… was let out an ungodly scream…
[E̵̟̟͛u̸̧̨͎̱̮̹̟̒͆̋̀ṙ̴͎͇̺̟ǫ̴̜̀͝p̸̨̭̤̱̬͒̍̑͛͛̂̑ê̷̢͙̪̲̻̈́̾̌̇a̵̿̉̏̈́̃͜͠͝n̷̨̛̙̲͇͇͐͛͒͊̇ ̸͔̾͒̈́͂͐͌W̷̱̻̘͉̫̒ͅa̸̢̹̖͂̋̀̇́͜͝t̷̡̤̮̐e̷̯̦͚̮͈̲̰͌̆̔r̸̖̆̆̅ ̷̡̙̹̦̞̾P̶̛̮̲̥͙̀̎̽͊͐r̸̡̟͔͉̹̙̰̎͂̏͗i̸̢͉͙̼͐́̎͜n̸̗̠̲̂̇͜ͅc̸̛͍̰̪͉̲̓̐̉́̓e̵̞͖͓̳̮̒͒s̷̯̰̰͐́͜s̵͙͓̭̳͉͑̏̕]
Hood began screaming and crying as if she were in agony and fell to her side clutching her gut.
"Hood!" I called out, kneeling next to her. "Observer! Stop this!"
"No."
Behind me, I then heard U-556 scream, "Lord Bismarck! Nein!"
[U-556]
I failed…
I swore an oath to lend my aid to Lord Bismarck, no matter where we are…
All I could do was watch Ark Royal doom her fate…
Why did I have to use all my torpedoes…?
I'm no guardian…
I'm no Kansen…
I'm a failure…
Lord Bismarck… forgive me… bitte… es tut mir so leid…
[E̵̛̯̯̦̠͊̑͂͘͝u̷̻͕̿͑͒̐͗͘͜ŗ̶̨̲̯̺͓͇̍͒̓̍̿̕͘͜͝ó̵̢̗͙̫͔̻̞̞͓̓̾̓̀͌p̷͕̹̳̤̽̌͋̍̽̔͌̚͝ͅͅe̵̳̩͕͉̯̍a̷̮̹͈̬̯̳͎̤̽́̐̑͑̄̑̈́͝ͅn̶͈̹̥̳̊̆̏̄͐̂̅̕͜͜ ̷͓͕̮̤̱̙̾̓̔̿̿̐̏̕͝ͅW̴̡̙̼̮̫͚͋̓̇͐̾̂̋̚͜a̶̰̅̈́̇͑͋͘͠t̸͉̂ẹ̶̥͈͍̫́̒̍̈́̍͒̈́̓r̶͉͚͎͇̩̮̀̂̊̔̚ ̸̛̥͖̔͗͆̓̕͝Ṗ̴͙͔̳̜̯͈̘̭̔̿̑̅̌̒ŗ̶͎̊̓í̸͇̫͕̼͈̥̫̣̍̎̏̅̕̚͠ñ̴͇c̴̢̭̪̼̯̻͗̈́̉̈́̉͋͆̋͜͜ȩ̷̰͚̝͉̍̓͊̔s̷͇̱̯͎͊̒̑͋̈́̄͘s̷̨̢͖̝͍̠͕̱̚]
The poor little Sub broke down crying, but she didn't seem to be in pain like Hood. I glared at the Siren and stood before her, "Stop it. Or I will make you."
"You know, you should be thankful. Now that they can't interrupt the experiment, they won't be harmed. Well, not physically, at least~" the mocking Siren giggled. "Their physical pain is only simulated."
"Free them!"
"I will not. This is my experiment. I am in control. Now be a good little test subject and get those two Carriers back in that anomaly and bring back my two little foxes, then go in it yourself to bring back my other little project and all will be right again~"
"That won't work unless the other Akagi and Kaga willingly come back through at the same time!" I argued.
"Oh? Well, I wonder what will happen otherwise?" The Siren wondered out loud. Verdammt… I just helped her understand that thing…
I looked back at my friends. Kaga was helping up Akagi and they both saw me. It took them a moment to recognise me and looked horrified at my new look. They started sailing towards me with this world's Amagi while aiming their bows and rigging at Observer.
"Nein! Don't approach! You two go back through that thing!" I tried.
"You'd better sort them out, or I'll throw all three of your dead bodies through it." Observer ordered in a suddenly serious, agitated tone. "And yes, I'm fully aware that you don't have Cubes, and that you're far weaker than Kansen."
Akagi asked, "This is the world of Kansen? What happened to us?" As she and Kaga stood either side of me.
"Oh, sweetie, if I explained everything to you, we'd be here all day, and I don't have all day for this experiment." Observer mockingly retorted.
"Wait…" I looked at them both, "You're not… hostile to me?"
"No? Why would we be?" Kaga asked as she and Akagi aimed their bows at Observer.
"Because… I'm an Abyssal…"
Akagi smiled, "We've made peace with them now. The Abyssals are actually very nice now that we've come to understand them."
Shocked, I heard Nelson say, "No…"
"But… how?" I asked.
Kaga bluntly answered, "The other you managed to capture one and use her to negotiate a peace treaty."
"Sister! Putting it like that sounds horrible!" Akagi scolded. "What she meant is that the other you saved a small Abyssal from being sunk in a battle with her and looked after her like she was her own daughter, until her sisters found us and she actually sat them down to speak with them instead of fighting. Now we know why they attacked us and we're working with them on a peaceful solution."
Amagi smiled proudly, "I knew Bismarck-san would work hard to redeem herself, even if she deems hers,eh unworthy of redemption."
Her Bismarck really does hate herself, huh?
Observer cleared her throat and asked, "Are you done?"
Akagi looked at her, "So what's with you? Why do you fight? Perhaps we can also work together to—"
The water in front of us is blasted by a beam. The Siren simply said, "My reason isn't yours to know. I'm not interested in working with you. Go through the anomaly. Now."
Akagi countered, "Don't you want to settle things peacefully? Besides, it may spell disaster for all of us if we go through without our counterparts."
"Hmm?" Observer raised her brow, "So… you know what happens?"
"We've made some theories. It may be disastrous to go in when one's alternate self is not on the other side." Kaga answered.
"Kaga!" I hissed.
"How interesting… in the name of science, shall we test it?~" She charged at us, knocking us down and grabbed Amagi by her neck.
"Nein!" I yelled, getting back up quickly and charging after her with my comrades. I asked them, "Was our Amagi with you on patrol!?"
"No! She was at the base!"
"Then we have to save her!"
Amagi had woken up and was struggling in Observer's tentacles, who was slowly pushing her into the anomaly.
"Let her go!" I demanded.
"If you insist…" Observer responded, lifting Amagi up above the anomaly and dropping her.
I sped up and jumped as high as I could, which was a lot fast and higher than I was used to thanks to becoming an Abyssal, enough to clear the anomaly and jump over it, grabbing Amagi and getting her to safety as Akagi and Kaga distracted Observer with their planes.
"Arigato, Bismarck-san!" Amagi smiled as I put her on her feet.
"Stop messing about. Just kill her." Nelson ordered.
"Stop telling me what to do." I argued. I looked at Hood and U-556, still out of it.
"If you keep ignoring me, you will lose yourself. I'm trying to prevent that." She warned.
"What you're trying to do is take over!" I yelled out loud, confusing everyone.
Observer, thinking I was talking to her, countered, "Oh, honey. If only you knew the truth…" before firing at me again. I swore I could… see something when I looked at the Siren… something in her mind. The same thing I felt when I saw the others after becoming this…
"Yes, if only we knew." Nelson repeated, implying we could find out.
Before, Nelson got close to the other Sirens when I blacked out and I killed Purifer immediately… I wonder if this time. I looked at our hand and it started to glow slightly.
"Akagi, Kaga! Keep her busy!"
"What are you planning, human?" The Siren asked as she defended herself from my friends.
I dashed quickly at Observer, clearly surprising her with how fast I was. I slammed our hand into her forehead, bringing her down to the surface of the water. My new natural Abyssal abilities kicked in automatically and I pacified her while directly entering her memories.
"Use their memories against them!? Then I'll look at yours!" I yelled.
Her firewalls and antivirus became useless as they weren't made with this in mind. Her eyes rolled back and she became limp…
[Observer Alpha]
What… where…?
Where am I…? What is this place…? A facility? What am I?
"Ah, the second Observer model is complete. The upload of the new AI is successful. Write that down." A man in a white lab coat said.
"Yes, sir! She looks so cute, just like Zero!" His assistant, a shorter brunette woman with crooked red glasses excitedly wrote down something on a clipboard. "The neural link technology from Griffin really helped us out with this project!"
"Who…?" I asked, dazed from just being awoken.
"Welcome to the world, Observer Alpha. You are the newest addition to the Anticochus Program. Your purpose is to help humanity against any threat, be it terrestrial or extraterrestrial." The man answered.
"I see… how?" I asked, unsure of what to do.
"You have a special ability. Close your eyes and summon your rigging. Concentrate. It's in there somewhere."
I did as instructed. I heard something happen and suddenly felt many more appendages.
"Wah! She's got—!" The assistant yelped.
I opened my eyes and saw my rigging for the first time. I was sat in a little throne with black slimy tentacles all over the place.
"Well done, Observer Alpha. We'll introduce you to your fellow Observer soon. First, we must run some tests…"
Some time later, after some medical and mechanical checks on my body, I was taken to see Observer Zero. She looked similar to me, except with blue accents rather than yellow like mine.
"Zero." The man ordered, "This is your new colleague. Get her up to speed on what's happening. I need to check on my assistant's Kansen Initiative."
"Understood." Zero responded in sleepy monotone. The man left and I was alone with her. She looked at me while hugging some sort of soft toy. She rubbed her eyes and said, "Welcome, Observer Alpha."
"How did you know my name?" I asked.
"I read your designation as soon as you walked in. Come, I will teach you everything…"
[Ė̸̛̘̞̞̫̹͓͙͗̌͗̃̓̚͠ͅû̷̮͚̩̽͗́̌̎̆̍̕ͅr̷̛͎̙͔̙̝̤̠̣̒͆̇̅͊͋̊̕͝ȏ̵̱͉̩̍̾p̸̹̭͆͐̔͆̃̔͋̈́̆̕e̶͇̣̰̲͎̱̻͇̪͈͎͐͒̃͌̄ä̸̛̖̺̔̕n̸̡͎̝̥̠̱̣̊͑͌̄̉͌̓̈́͠ ̷̧̛̭͇̠̝̩̰̺̓͊W̸̧̧̟̻̳̩̌̑͜a̷̧̛̜͍̩̲̫̟͔̪̬̦͗͛̉̒͘̚t̵͈̺̳͂̑͌͂͂ë̷̢̱̯̹͖̲̗͔̣̰ͅr̴̭̞̳͎̯̦̣̮̬͎͍͆̂͠ ̴̠͙̩̤̲̝͕̊̓́̅̂̾́̀̏̑͝P̵̨̢̦͓͙͎̯̯̆̅͋̑̀͆̿r̷̺͉̱̭̒̅̇́̒̍̓͘ͅi̷̢̱̠̭̹̖̗͉̋n̶̢̦͉̖̖̭͇͓͜͠ͅc̷̢̢̗̮̳͔̤̱͎̦̘̑͋͌e̶͔̱̝̭͇̦̜̠̅̀̈̓͊ͅs̶̻̣̹͎̥͔̺̠͔̥̞̄͆͊͑̎͛̋͒̚͝s̶̺̳͔̺̺̠̝̺̝̏̍̆̐͘͠]
Observer fought back and forced me out. She threw off my hand from her face and kicked me back.
"DON'T DO THAT!" She shrieked.
I checked on Hood and U-556. They were now knocked out. I just hoped they were out of whatever the Siren did to them.
Now enraged, Observer's attacks became erratic and uncoordinated. She was harder to predict, but I could dodge her attacks easier.
"Bismarck-san, we can't hit her!" Akagi called out to me.
"Then get those two to land! Don't let them sink! Amagi, with me!"
"Hai!" They all responded, picking up the Kansen and getting them to safety. Amagi and I fired a volley at Observer, our combined Kansen and Abyssal power stunning her and knocking her tentacles away. I dashed forward and grabbed her, putting her in a headlock.
"I wasn't finished." I hissed as I put our hand on her head again…
[Observer Alpha]
A few years after first meeting Zero, many more Antiochus units were developed, with no progress on the failing Kansen Initiative. The Doctor in charge of it always looked so downtrodden whenever she came to visit us, but she always got cheered up by our presence. She seemed to think we were what humans consider "cute" and kept taking pictures of us, which always got deleted automatically when she left the building and are taken off the internet immediately by a smart algorithm. She even tried to use a polaroid camera, which was quickly confiscated from her and given to us as an example of how quickly human tech had advanced.
Despite this, I couldn't help but feel some sort of bond with her. All of us Antiochus did. Our Creator always felt rather cold. He could never spend time with us due to always being busy developing another one of us or other projects. His assistant, however, always had time for us. She was like a friend to us all.
I wondered what she'd have liked for her birthday—
"Alpha." Zero called me.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I'm calling all Antiochus units to a meeting. You need to be here, too." She cryptically said.
This must be important, "I'm on my way." I used our new portal technology to transport myself to her immediately.
I then found myself back in her chamber alongside all our fellow units. Usually there was a human or two there to keep an eye on us, but not this time. Not a human in sight.
"So what's this very important meeting for exactly, Zero?" The seemingly always-bored Arbiter: Temperance XIV asked while reading a thick textbook on quantum physics.
Zero rubbed her eyes and opened them. Was she… asleep…? Anyway, she looked at us and hugged her plushie close. She answered, "My fellow Antiochus. I have detected a threat to humanity so great, we may not be enough to fight it."
The room went silent. I asked, "But our power is unmatched! How can we not fight it? What is this threat?"
Zero solemnly responded, "This entity comes from an unknown location, but i can say for sure it is not of this world."
"Aliens?" Temperance asked, suddenly very interested.
"When I said not of this world, I meant this entire universe. I suspect this threat has come from an alternate dimension. I have tracked their location. Every planet they come in contact with, they leave barren within approximately 5.7806 to 20.4628 Earth days, depending on the size of the planet. They will find Earth soon, and humanity will be made extinct and then they will move onto another dimension and do the same. For future reference, I have dubbed these entities as the Leviathans."
"The Leviathans…" Several of us muttered in shock and what I could only assume the feeling the humans knew as "fear".
"Isn't there anything we can do, Zero?" I asked, afraid of what would happen to the humans.
"I have a plan, but it requires us to be the enemies of humanity." Zero deadpanned.
"WHAT!? Aren't we supposed to help them!?" Arbiter: The Hermit IV yelled from her own corner.
Zero nodded, "Affirmative. This is the only way to help them now. The plan is to give the Creator's assistant the help she needs to succeed in the Kansen Initiative. We will then disappear and re-emerge as their new enemy. We will test the Kansen and fight them in order to force them to adapt and improve enough to fight the Leviathans alongside us, boosting our ability to stand a chance against them. Doing this will increase our success rate from 0.95% to at least 64.78%. A lot of humans will still die, but there should be enough to rebuild society."
We took a moment to analyse the logic. It did make sense. Nuclear weapons would likely not be enough, and nothing else the humans had, including us, was not enough. We needed the help, and telling the humans about the Leviathans now would be too much for them. They'd likely destroy each other in panic and hopelessness knowing an enemy coming that may be unbeatable. The Kansen, however, could be the help we need to defeat them.
"Alright, Zero." I nodded, "It seems we have no choice. If we must become humanity's enemy to save them, then so be it. I can only hope the Creator can forgive us."
"There'll be no need for me to." His voice suddenly filled the room. He emerged from behind Zero's rigging. "I already know. I went over the plan with her. Don't you all worry about me. I'll disappear along with you, to help you all develop more units to test the Kansen more efficiently. If this doesn't work, humanity will be destroyed anyway. If it does, however, they might just stand a chance if surviving, even if they must live in a post-apocalyptic world."
"Creator, what about the other sentient weapon programs?" I asked.
"I'll handle potential partnerships with them. I want you wall to focus solely on the Kansen. You will all need to develop the Mirror Sea Generators to create controlled environments to test them in. To maintain a clear hierarchy, an Empress unit will be developed. To erase our existence from official records when we vanish, an Omitter unit will be made for that purpose. If there's any anomalies in the world, we will create a Purifier unit to purge them. Any anomalies could very well be Leviathan in origin and must be investigated. They came to this dimension somehow. If the worst should happen, we must find a way to travel to other dimensions to try again until the Leviathans are defeated and all timelines are saved." The Creator answered. "Zero, I leave this mission in your hands. I will consult with Griffin, Ooarai Academy and the rest."
"Yes, sir." She nodded as our Creator left. We set about plans to develop more Arbiter and Elite models…
[E̴̡̺̗͈̮͓̻̝̮̓̎̾̒̂̒̍̈̽̚͝͠ͅų̴̛̟̩̱̤̰̻̥̃͆̅͋̏̀ŕ̸̡͓͇̘̦̙̫͇̘́̐͜ô̷̧̲̘̜͍̻̞̩̰̪̜͋̒͊p̸̤͓͈̱͚̘̙̈́͗̓̌͛̉̈́͝ͅe̶̦̱̦̤̱̻͇͋̀́̒́̇͆͑͌̂̈͆̎͘ͅä̸̛̮̘̹̩̗̯̯̏͛͛̿͝ͅn̷͇̗̝̮̱͉̺̥̑̊̉͘͘͜ ̷̨͕̜̖̦̬͆͊̈́̉͜W̸̛̫̩̻̽́̅̈̀̈́̒a̸̖̝͉͙̺͔̿̈͂̊͌̉̈̕͘̚ẗ̶̛̮̦̠̗̞̻̮̲̱́̃̀̾͆̂̆̐̋̽͠ē̸͎͈͈̻͙̚r̷͕̍̔̇͛͊̇̀̇̊ ̸̧͉̙̯͔̳͖̬̯̫̱͑̓͜͜Ṕ̶͖͎͚͈͍̖̟̬̗̌̅͆̔̉͜͝ͅr̵̢͕̮̻̪̞͔̀́̀̋̀͑̔̽̒͗͘͠ḯ̸̢̠̄̿̊̊̇̂̇̅̈́̚͘̕n̵̡̢̗̗̞̝̬̱̣̘̞̬̽͑̂c̴̨̧̮̹̩̝͚̫̃̊̌͝ͅë̴̢͈͉̩́̅͐̾̈͝s̶͓̖̎̀̎̓̏̽͊͝s̶̫̳̟̦͖̲̬̱̘̆̾̾̾̂̀͜͜]
I couldn't hold on any longer. Observer broke out again and threw me off her. She screamed at me, "YOU… YOU CANNOT TELL ANYONE! YOU MUST DIE!" She fired all her guns at me at full force!
I was sent backwards, feeling the burn once again.
"If I must take control again, I will not be happy, Bismarck. Kill her."
I fight through the pain of the salt water on my new burns and hissed back, "Didn't you see any of that!? They're the good guys!"
"Good guys!? Grow up! They've long since fallen from righteousness! They take pleasure in twisted experiments! There must be a better way to fight those Leviathan things! Putting humans in danger to help them!? What kind of flawed logic is that!?" Nelson yelled.
"I don't know! But if we kill the Sirens, their world has no hope!" I spoke back, dodging out of the way of Observer's full force attacks. Her cannons look like they're overheating. She'd lost her mind! Did my invasion of her memories mess her up?
"Listen to yourself! That crazy bitch is trying to kill us! You have to kill her first, or I will!" Nelson ordered.
"No! I have to learn more! Azur Lane needs to know everything!" I charged forth again, tanking the damage of getting grazed by plasma and surprising both Observer and Amagi.
The now panicking Observer began to open a portal to escape, but I managed to grab her and force her down once more and invaded her memories again…
[Observer Alpha]
"Oh, calm down, Empress." I mocked, "I'm sure you're missing me so dearly, but this anomaly simply must be investigated~"
"What are you implying!?" My tall superior yelled.
"I'm not implying anything. You're the one getting emotional about me~" I teased.
"Grr… just… record your findings and send them. Out." Empress muttered before hanging up. It's far too easy to rile her up~
If there's one thing I e learned from all the previous versions of the Kansen I've met, it's Prinz Eugen's consistent teasing. The ones in this world - the Atlantic Kansen, anyway - have been quite interesting. They haven't been able to properly process their grief and trauma like the others versions… perhaps due to their abysmal Commander…
Anyway, I looked out into the Denmark Strait. No Kansen here yet. I must admit, after several lost timelines, this one didn't seem very promising. This anomaly intrigued me. So much so that I had to take on some of Zero's workload just to persuade her to not delete or abandon this timeline or send Purifier to get rid of the anomaly.
Truth be told, I don't know what Purifier could even do to this thing. It looked a lot like a singularity without the black center, but it had no mass, thus no gravitational pull. It did, however, physically exist as it warped the water, the air and somehow even the light around it. Very interesting.
It could've potentially even have been an upgrade to our portal technology. I began preparing a Mirror Sea to test it in a controlled environment, but my radar picked up a very familiar signal.
"Ah, my little test subject. Bismarck. This should be interesting~" I cloaked myself and hit record on my equipment.
Using my directional microphone, I heard everything as from the mist, a shape, a ship, took form…
"Lord Bismarck, We are approaching the anomaly." The voice of Prinz Eugen reported to the one she abandoned just south of here. That was a fun experiment~
"Very well. Come, Eugen." My favourite test subject responded before her ship turned into her rigging, or at least the far cry from the rigging I had granted her before. Such a shame she was no longer using that hydra~
"Jawohl." Eugen replied like a good little obedient Iron Blood. Hmm… seems like this version of her has been rather defanged, as well~
I do hope these Kansen haven't become boring. It seemed Hood and Prince of Wales had come along, too.
"Be careful, Bismarck!" Hood called out to her, leading to Bismarck shaking her head subtly.
Honestly, when will those two just-HUH!?
I leaned forward on my rigging so fast I almost fell off as Bismarck was pulled into the anomaly and a different one was spat out. What just happened?
"Hmm… how interesting…" I muttered as I leaned back again. "But if this isn't sorted out soon, I could be in big trouble…"
I called Zero.
"How goes the investigation, Alpha?" She asked, sounding tired as ever.
I ignored how cute she looked cuddling her plushie in the video call like a small child and reported, "We may have a problem. Requesting Purifer to come and capture Bismarck."
"We already abandoned that project, Alpha. This timeline's Iron Blood will not trust us again."
"No, no. This is something different. Something has happened to her and we must study her closer." I corrected her assumption.
"Very well. Purifer is currently on another mission. She will be available soon. I will send her after Bismarck as soon as possible." She confirmed.
"Also, Zero, I'm sending you everything I could get on this anomaly. It seems we need more technology to contain it. I recommend building a new facility to capture it and keep it away from Azur Lane."
"Affirmative. Commencing project…" she said before seemingly falling asleep and hanging up.
Whenever she does something that requires her full processing power, it knocks her out. Rather annoying, but cute.
I listened in on the Kansen again, and saw the were… fighting? It seemed this other Bismarck didn't recognise them and become very defensive. I wonder what happened on the other side of that anomaly? Were there versions of us on the other side? I'll have to try and go through it later on.
They made quick work of her and Wales spat, "Of course she bloody attacked us. Some things never change, do they?"
Hood looked at her and scolded, "Wales! This Bismarck must've come from an alternate dimension! She must've been scared out of her mind! Come, let's get her aboard!" She picked up Bismarck gently and summoned her ship…
[E̸̡͇̱̙̜̯͎̲̟̰͒̌́̽̆̔̊͆̈́̍̋̋͋̏̔̚̚ų̵̢̛͍̪̙̦͓̲͔̲͖͒̆̈̒̍͗̇͂͗̓͘̚͘͜͝͝͝ͅͅr̷̰͕͕̪̤͎̗͆̃ọ̸̡̧̟͍̝̱̱͙̲̞̬̎̅͗͊̈̊́̈̌̍͗̀̕͜͠͝͝p̶̛̟̰̯̎̈̈́͑ę̵́̆̍̾̀̾̾̏̓͆͝á̵̛̰́̃̌̐̊n̸͔͍̖͙̼̠͈̺̠̊̔̏̓̄̓̿̆̚ ̵̛̗̺̩̟͖̓̑̔̋͜͜͝ͅͅẆ̵̢͍̲̩͕̱̗͈͖͖̥̓̑̄͋͑͛́̒̉̽͜a̷̡̟͓̰̮̤̥̪͈̝͕̬̣͒̋͗͊̈́͆̏̽̾̎͜͝͠͝ͅṱ̶͉̮̥͋ę̷̛̠͕̱͕̺̹͉̞̘͒̋͋r̴̢̻̪̦̲̠̪͍̩͎͙̖̩̩̦̍͂̊͑́̓̅̇̿̄̈́̊͑̉̉͐͜ ̸̨̛̟͍̞̰̩̰̝͊̊̌̄̍́̈́̍͜P̸̛̝͋̈͗͗͛͗͗̇̂̈͗̌̔̊ŗ̸̧̢̛̭̱͚̘̘͆̿̌͑́̓̒̓̌́̄͘͝į̷̣̬͔̫̻͚̘̣̼̥̻͇̽̈̀͐̌̋̿́̍͋͂̅͘n̶̨̨̨̨̰̦̖̦͖̊͆́́̈́͐͘͠͝ć̸͙͊͊̌̔e̶̢͔͇̤͉͚̦͇̗͇͈̣͋͛̉̏̀̾͌̐͋͂̋̃͑͘s̶̡͙͇̞̹̭̪̪̺̪̝̭̲͓̣̥͛̈́s̵̤͙̤͕̰̝͕̟̻̣̪̪̥͖̰͊́̀̏̕͠͠ͅ]
"STOP IT!" Observer screamed as she regained consciousness and clawed at our metal hand, scratching it. She got away again and opened her portal, "YOU WILL DIE FOR GAINING THAT KNOWLEDGE!"
I felt myself blacking out as if Nelson was taking over again. Our arm grabbed the Siren by the ankle and flung her over our head and slammed her down on the surface and our rigging firedshells through the portal to make it collapse.
"AH!" The Siren yelped. "LET ME GO! YOU KNOW TOO MUCH!"
I yelled within our mind, "Nelson, nein! Don't!"
"…this isn't me…" Nelson spoke with a shaky voice, "Oh God… it's happening…"
"What? What's happening?"
"It's too late… I warned you…"
I got the feeling of being dragged down again. The Abyss was coming for me. Nelson had tried, but I had strayed from her guidance too much.
Observer looked up at me, calmed herself and smiled, "What's wrong? Feeling down?"
"Was?" I hissed, looking at her as I feel to our knees.
The now unhinged Observer stood over us and kneeled down to our level. "Your subconscious picked up on something you didn't. You poor girls… when the Leviathans are done with this timeline… they'll find yours too. That anomaly… it is one of theirs. By using it, you've kept it functional. They'll go for your universe next. Hehehehe…"
"Nein…"
"In fact, for being such a nuisance, I'll personally make sure they find your world!" She smiled sadistically. "It might even buy us some more time before they come for us again!"
"You…" I couldn't hold it off for much longer… the Abyss's pull was too great… even Nelson went silent…
They were coming… and there's nothing we could do to stop it…
…
I was losing myself… and the feeling of hopelessness in the face of the Leviathans was cementing my fate…
It's all pointless… nothing we do matters… and I could tell Nelson felt the same way, too…
I don't think… I'll be able to remember anything for a while…
Es tut mir so leid, meine geliebte Prinz…
[Azur Lane Bismarck]
"AKAGI!" I yelled out as I charged at the crazy Carriers, "STOP THIS NONSENSE RIGHT NOW!"
I charged fortth and stopped in front of them with Nagato and Mutsu either side of me.
"Ara ara~ So the Mighty Bismarck finally challeges the First Carrier Division?" The unstable kitsune asked as the five of us stood on the water, Geryon behind us and their colossal spirit foxes behind them, their legs held in place by the Abyssals so they couldn't get any closer.
Kaga hissed, "We were just about to devour your very annoying friends here…"
"My name is Nagato, name ship of the Nagato-class! Stand down, Akagi and Kaga of Azur Lane!"
"I recommend you listen to my sister, or we will make you!"
The two kistune looked at each other and started laughing hysterically, "You!?" Akagi laughed, "You are Nagato and Mutsu!? How can two weaklings such as you be leaders!?"
The Nagato sisters thankfully remained calm and professional, not rising to the bait.
"Akagi, Kaga, bitte, just listen to me! Stand down and we can talk about what's happening!" I pleaded, turning their attention to me.
"The leader of Iron Blood, once seen as our strongest ally, now begging for a cease-fire? How pathetic." Kaga spat. "You can't possibly be Bismarck-san. You're so weak."
I ignored the insult and asked, "Why are you even attacking the base!? What's gotten into you both!?"
"Whatever that thing is… it took Amagi-nee from us!" Akagi yelled, "And Shikikan-sama won't respond to hails!"
"They took them both from us, and we will take their lives in exchange!" Kaga added as their giant foxes let out emotional roars.
Geryon kept calm just as I did. I did not want to escalate this. They'd steamroll the entire Kanmusu fleet. I simply replied, "The girls here did nothing. You were separated because you're now in an alternate world."
The flames on their tails suddenly went out and they looked at me. Kaga asked, "An alternate world? So… it's really you, Bismarck-san?"
"Ja. This is where I've been. I'm sure Amagi and your Kommandant are fine. Stand down before you cause more damage and we can work on getting back to them. If you kill everyone here, we may never get back." I reasoned.
Kaga stood down immediately and her fox vanished. Akagi, however…
"…I… How can we trust you? This could just be another Siren trick!"
I got closer and deadpanned, "On Valentine's Day 5 years ago, you kidnapped your Kommandant. Enterprise, Hornet and Yorktown had to reenact Midway to get him back from you, Kaga, Soryuu and Hiryuu."
"…and…?" Akagi asked, her eye twitching.
"…That was the official story. In reality, it was a food fight in the cafeteria. You tripped Enterprise up and she fell face-first into a lemon cake. Amagi told me about it the day after in a call."
"Rrgh! Amagi told a lot of people that!"
I remembered something else Amagi once told me.
"She also told me how your Kommandant de-escalated the situation and made you submit to him."
"Nani!? Lies!"
My eyes half-closed, "You're really going to make me do it?"
"You dare!?" The vixen asked, her tails burning up again, planes ready to launch at me.
I slowly approached, put my hand on one of her ears and began to massage it.
"Ah-!? Aahhh~"
This woman…
Mutsu gasped and put her hands to her mouth. Nagato tilted her head in confusion and could only say, "Eh?"
Kaga looked away blushing. I said, "You going to behave, you two?"
Akagi nodded eagerly.
"Kaga?"
Reluctantly, she conceded too. She couldn't fight back as Mutsu was now massaging both her ears.
"You're both so cute and fluffy!" The Secretary Ship's sister squealed while giving both of them headpats.
Kaga growled at her, but her heavy blush, closed eyes and crossed arms betrayed her actual feelings.
Akagi's giant fox dematerialised and we returned to the Naval District.
I assumed not having their sister here would make this very difficult. Luckily, it seemed the long conversations with Amagi had paid off.
"You have the strangest friends, Bismarck-San." Nagato remarked.
"Heh… strange? These two aren't even the strangest…" I muttered.
Seaport appeared next to me again. "Bismarck…"
"What is it?" I asked.
"Your counterpart… has lost herself… she has fallen to the Abyss… and none of us… can guide her away… from madness…"