Lost at Sea and in Another World

Refusing the Obvious

I saw a black reflection...

Before it's merely a vision, but the scenery grows wider and cleared in her dream. Tirpitz stands before an isolated place with nothing but dull steel walls sealing every corner. The faint whistle of the wind echoes into a howl within the steel containment and its sole occupant remains bound by chains and partially frozen by ice.

"It's a shame you couldn't withstand the black mental cube. While your body barely adapted to it, your mind shattered at the flood of new information"

The Siren in a black covert coat slowly approaches the imprisoned battleship who leers at her with extreme hostility. Ever second she wishes to slaughter the Siren, but no matter how much she rattles her chains, it wouldn't snap. She is weakened and unstable to the point that her current state is frustrating her in many ways.

"You have low compatibility that your metamorphosis is left incomplete. It's a shame since I thought I could at least use you...against your beloved Iron Blood"

The Siren, Arbiter Zero: Fool, pats the back of the clearly furious and mad battleship. She tries pulling both hands from the shackles clamping both of her wrists, but she her struggle utterly futile due to her weakened state.

"What I need is the source code regarding the Leviathans. Where is it?"

"..." The battleship faintly growls

"Iron Blood's dog - Tyrant, where is the encryption key?"

The impatient Fool bends on one knee and grabs Tyrant by the head. She forces the silently furious battleship to stare at her right in the eyes since quietly staring the ground is only invoking unpleasant emotions.

"Every information is stored by the world in a certain archive at the center. I need the key to access the source code!"

"..."
"You don't understand the importance. Sirens, shipgirls, humans - there's a reason I'm desperately seeking it that I traveled even to alternate universes and risking overloading my own core"
"..."
"...Hmm. Perhaps the other sister has it. You're not stupid enough to carry it with you knowing you would be compromised"

At the realization that Tyrant may not carry the answer she has been seeking for so long, Fool gives up interrogating. Even if isolation and helplessness is torturing Tyrant, she refuses to speak a single word, so Fool couldn't be certain whether she truly possess the information needed for further her goals.

"Right now, Operation Siren is still occurring back in the present I know. Even if I spend years here, I'll return there only seconds after I initially left...but I can't idle around. I need the source of the knowledge"

Fool paces back and forth, muttering in impatience while Tyrant closes her eyes, returning to a slumber where she still remains aware of her surroundings and the passing of time.

"Because of one mistake I suffered grave consequences"

After the dream fades away, Tyrant emerges out of a dark corner and begins voicing out the source of her frustration.

"Following me in my dreams. You have a bad habit of tormenting me" Tirpitz raises her guard the split second Tyrant appears before her
"I'm just a figment of your imagination. You're mentally weaker and can't handle stress compared to Bismarck"
"What do you want from Iron Blood? You targeted my nation more than anything. More importantly, you dragged me into this world"
"I have no reason to tell you everything just yet. You can't even hold on your own the moment you faced me. If I had any killing intent back then, the naïve shipgirls protecting you would only be corpses the moment you arrived"