Lost at Sea and in Another World

Deceptive Thoughts

Some memories just keep haunting.....

There isn't a moment of peace, just the smoldering flames and the quiet sea. What's left is the aftermath of a violent and non-conclusive battle, but it doesn't really matter to Tirpitz. She sits by the wharf, her eyes dulled with grief and sorrow staring at the debris flickering with flames. The scent of burning steel and wood fills the air, but she isn't fazed by the suffocating smell.

"......."

Her eyes doesn't even follow any movements, just staring at either burning debris sinks below the air surface and the flames get snuffed out or the flames itself die naturally.

"I can't remember what happened. Did I really....." Tirpitz lazily turns around
"You took the lives of several Iron Blood members, but Ghost did the most damage to them and the rest of the navies. Despite being incomplete, META is incredible fitting for a warrior"

There's another shipgirl present and standing not far behind her. She could be a large ship mostly because of an encounter long ago. Tirpitz tolerates her existence but not on casual terms.

"Ghost? Ah, the failed project....." Tirpitz looks back at the horizon
"Sooner or later the Protocol would be activated. I already triggered it....as if one last spire to humanity" Her accomplice scoffs sarcastically
"That will kill all life, may it be shipgirls, humans, or Sirens. They'd be lucky if ten percent of them survives" Tirpitz isn't concerned about the extinction
"Don't be mistaken. This was before your whole suicidal rampage. I did this because this world has reached a dead end anyway. There's nothing worth protecting or serving here left"
"Since the primary requirements have been fulfilled, you were able to trigger it. You planned this much earlier....." Tirpitz remains unfazed

At that point, Tirpitz's tone and expression are already clear indications she doesn't care about anyone's schemes anymore. It doesn't even matter if the shipgirl behind her would betray and kill her on the spot. She's willingly exposing her back and lowering her guard....because she's doesn't simply care on how she would end at that moment.

"You will have to leave soon. The judgment has been passed and the executioner will perform its task. This world is bound to be.....mostly bleached" The unknown shipgirl informs her
"Do you think anyone would survive? The METAs and Ashes are certain to survive this" Tirpitz isn't worrying for them, just curious
"There's a small chance. Even if humans manage to survive they'd either have hundreds or thousands humans left throughout the planet. I'm estimating only very few from each faction would survive either as long as they're not at ground zero" Her accomplice honestly responds
"Millions of people will die, yet I know I won't feel guilt" Tirpitz lowers her head
"The Sirens were stalling by concealing the fact the requirements have been fulfilled. What I did is create a commotion for the Peacekeeper to execute the purging protocol like removing a wall between it and this world"

The other shipgirls slowly walks towards Tirpitz and stands right beside her. She's still in her normal form while Tirpitz already transitioned to an imperfect META state. The incompatibility not only causes her great pain but throws her emotional state out of balance to the point she could either be emotionless and furiously rampaging at very next second.

"This timeline is one of many. Even if this one is destroyed, another version of us will keep on living as usual. Take it as a fruit being picked off for being rotten. There are countless other fruits in the tree and a new one is certainly to grow to replace the rotten one" The other shipgirl jokingly makes an example
"It doesn't really matter, right? At the end of the day, we're just one of the many versions out there. There's another Tirpitz out there who will do her job as part of Iron Blood with nothing going on" For a moment, there's a hint of sadness in Tirpitz's tone
"Welt told me of the Azur Lane she had been watching for a while. The Iron Blood there created a tower to access another timeline. Although this is their act to defy God, she doesn't particularly care about interfering on that one. Something about wanting whether to see if Ash is someone worth helping"
"That timeline is none of our concern. What matters is knowing the past I'm going to return" Tirpitz turns to face her accomplice
"You're going to beat up your past self to an inch of death and go on a rampage against Iron Blood. Violent and messy, but I'd like to see how Bismarck would react. It's not a very knightly thing to do though"