Chapter 11: [Gott Mit Uns]
"The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war."
—Norman Schwarzkopf
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The human crew of I-401 was visibly nervous, their captain's plan to put a dent into the Fog mental model's logic computer didn't seem to be working quite as planned. Granted, Kongou and Tirpitz haven't attacked, yet, but they could only stall for so long. Eventually, the Fog's patience would run thin and they would return to their primary objective, terminate I-401 and Chihaya Gunzou. Surprisingly one of the barriers stopping Kongou was her supposed ally Tirpitz, who refused to attack until his hunger for information has been sated. But even the brother of the infamous Bismarck was growing impatient, and playing badminton wasn't really something an anti-social mental model like him enjoyed.
"I believe that the time for games... is over."
Tirpitz's irritated announcement alarmed the human crew, and Takao wasted no time in getting in front of Gunzou in a protective manner. But to their confusion Tirpitz didn't attack, instead, he just walked towards the incoming waves, then, his body started to disintegrate into silver dust.
"This percussion was pointless, I have all the information I need, Auf Wiedersehen," and without another word, before Iona or Gunzou could even yell at Tirpitz to wait, his body disintegrated into nanomaterial.
"I believe my rude German comrade is right," the bad news just keeps piling up as it was now Kongou's voice that demanded attention.
She, along with her self-proclaimed best friend Maya followed Tirpitz's example and too began dematerializing into nanomaterial, their cores were safely left on the deck of their ships, away from the "contagious" I-401's and Chihaya Gunzou's blabbering. It would seem as Chihaya Gunzou has failed to reach an understanding with the three Fleet of Fog warships, and the assessment proved to be correct when Hyuuga had to suddenly deploy her Klein-field to protect them from a barrage of missiles and photon beams.
"Hmm! You won't be able to get past my defence so easily!" proudly announced Hyuuga as orange data rings formed around her body, a large area of wave-force armour was deployed around the entire island.
"Firing Positron Shock Cannons..."
-BOOM-
At least, Hyuuga managed to hold her defences strongly while she only fought against Kongou and her fleet. However, the unexpected power behind just one salvo of Tirpitz's yet unknown weapons caused the Klein-field around the back of the island to shatter around the area where the positron shells hit. The sudden strain of the force behind just that one salvo surprised the former flagship greatly, that raw power shouldn't be possible from Yamato's calibre, let alone a lower one! So it was an obvious choice to blame Tirpitz's flagship equipment and the thought that THAT was just one salvo honestly...
Terrified Hyuuga...
Before the missiles from the surrounding Nagara vessels and U-boats could reach the island though, secondary layers of shielding have stopped them dead in their tracks. Hyuuga looked surprised when Haruna, Kirishima and Takao all manifested their Klein-field to help her protect the island and its occupants.
"What is your plan, Chihaya Gunzou?" Takao timidly looked to the side when Gunzou looked at her, goodman her feelings were so obvious even in the heat of battle!
"We will get past Kongou and reach America," determinedly stated Gunzou, his commitment and resolve to stay true to his goal even when faced with such a powerful adversary really did explain how he could talk a mental model into joining forces with him, "Iona, can you get in contact with Bismarck?"
"Yeah," stoically replied the mental model of the infamous blue submarine as data rings manifested around her.
"Bismarck, can you hear me?" there was a silence for a moment on the other end.
"Yes," then came the threateningly serious voice of the former Kriegsmarine flagship with its German accent.
"Can you hold off Tirpitz and his fleet? We will force our way past Kongou in the meantime," once again, there was a quick silence at the other end of the call.
"Understood. Schlachtschiff completion at 100%," the distinct sound of a roaring engine could be heard in the background as Bismarck relayed his last message to Chihaya Gunzou, "Gott mit uns, Kapitän."
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"Drinking tea even at a time like this? Have you learned nothing from humans except how to display your self-assurance?" Hyuuga, now in her signature lab coat stood next to Kongou, they spoke in the Joint Tactical Network hub, and therefore could not deal damage to one another.
"I have no intention to engage in small talk," sternly replied Kongou as she sipped the tea from a white ceramic cup, "Tell me, why do you ally yourself with I-401? Do you not want to make the optimal use of your capabilities as a battleship?"
"I don't plan to engage in meaningless small talk either," Hyuuga didn't bother taking a sip from the cup full of tea, "I'm here to offer you a... warning if you will."
"A warning? Are you hoping to intimidate me-"
"A warning, not a threat," Hyuuga abruptly jumped into Kongou's words before she could finish them, the serious look on her face told the gothic female mental model enough to know that this time the ship before her was not playing a game, "Actually, now that I think about it, it's more of an advice than a warning, maybe both? Huh."
Kongou was getting impatient now, "Just say it already."
Hyuuga chuckled before her gaze suddenly became serious again...
"Run..."
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The battle of Iwo Jima was progressing within the expectations that Tirpitz made beforehand. He knew of Hyuuga's impressive processing prowess, after all, only a flagship could create such a large bubble of wave force while sacrificing only minimal amounts of its effectiveness. His positron armament however made short work of the shields that surrounded Iwo Jima. Overall, he estimated that the Blue Steel fleet's total annihilation should take no more than six hours.
The element of surprise can truly be a powerful weapon, and Tirpitz was about to learn its unparalleled deadliness first hand...
...
...
...
MASSIVE CAVITATION OF GRAVITONS DETECTED
And before Tirpitz could so much as react...
...A powerful red beam of decaying gravitons was fired at them from beneath the waves...
Just before it reached Tirpitz and the U-Boats, it split into tens of smaller ones. With the surprise clearly evident in his widely open eyes, Tirpitz diverted most of his processing power into his wave-force armour, going so far as to make the top layer thinner in favour of blocking the splitting beam from an all too familiar Super Graviton Cannon. Unfortunately, the U-Boats didn't possess the processing power to tank such a hit and were all destroyed within seconds. The current flagship of Kriegsmarine grit his teeth, but it was not anger that one could see in his eyes. It wasn't an emotion that he should feel now, he should feel anger, fury and perhaps even betrayal... not relief. So it should come as a shock when a small smile appeared on his otherwise emotionless features.
"Finally... I've found you..." the male mental model hardly finished his sentence when a massive body of iron burst from the cold depths of the sea.
The all-black hull of a battleship, it's more than impressive armament aimed dangerously straight at Tirpitz. Red linings and a glowing red Iron Cross on the bow and the stern adorned the cold steel that the warship was made out of. A ship that was as easy to recognize as it was to die from it.
"I've finally found you..."
"...Bismarck..."
The familiar glare of a red-eyed individual made Tirpitz involuntarily shudder, truly, it really was his brother right in front of him. Standing on the very top of the warship's bridge was the mental model of a ship shrouded in fear and infamy, the Beast of Steel from a time of conflict between different human ideologies. Hahahaha... just being in his presence made Tirpitz feel cold, yet his body temperature remained unchanged.
"Ah... so this what humans call..." the small smile faded quickly from Tirpitz's visage as he prepared for the battle of his life, he slowly put his hand over the right side of his face, looking down before suddenly looking up again, but his expression wasn't one of fear, anger or happiness... it was a depraved smile.
"...Fear..."
Bismarck's expression only hardened when he saw the smile of a madman appear on Tirpitz's face. A smile that only those that could be described as "monsters" wore. Then, the tips of their respective 380mm armament began glowing in red and blue.
Brother against brother...
The King against The Pretender...
A battle of two iron monsters...
...
...
...
..Begins...
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...
NOW!
-BANG- -BANG- -BANG- -BANG- -BANG- -BANG- -BANG- -BANG-
Deep crimson clashed with bright azure as the two brothers finally begun their last battle. Not a doubt was in their mind that this would be their last stand. Their last battle. One will fall, one will rise. A battle of attrition and pure power. The monsters of steel fired barrage after barrage of photon and positron blasts at one another, missile and torpedo tubes were pushed to their limit as hundreds of missiles and torpedoes flew across the air. Bismarck was the first to initiate a manoeuvre by diverted his course past Tirpitz with his brother responding in kind. Their main and secondary armament fired as quickly as it physically could, wave-force armour resonated with each and every hit the two fired at each other.
'It's like my Klein-field is screaming... how terrifying those positron blasts are...' Bismarck noted in his mind that Tirpitz's base armament outclassed his own in terms of firepower, but the reload time appeared to be greater.
They spared no shell, no missile and no torpedo. Could even be called a battle? To a bystander, it would be almost like two nations fighting against one another. A war of attrition between two forces of modern calamity hellbent on destroying the other. As the two passed each other, Bismarck adjusted his course slightly away from the Iwo Jima, heading in the opposite direction of the island. Tirpitz either didn't care or didn't notice that Bismarck was leading him away from the Blue Steel fleet.
"Let us battle until one becomes dust, MEINE BRUDER!" Bismarck didn't verbally respond to Tirpitz's crazed yell as he fired his aft guns at his brother who responded in kind.
Bismarck cursed as he had to alter his course to be able to partially dodge Tirpitz's full salvo of positron shells. They were wreaking havoc on his Klein-field with the ferocity of a raging storm, pushing it to its limit with each and every hit. Bismarck glared at Tirpitz who appeared to be enjoying this battle to the death a little too much but chose not to speak on it.
"Come on, come on, come on! SHOW ME ALL YOU'VE GOT!" yelled the white-haired flagship of Kriegsmarine as he charged at Bismarck ahead flank, going as fast as he physically could.
"Are you trying to ram me...?" there it is, Bismarck's signature glare and stone-cold tone that could cut through ice, but nevertheless, the male mental model actually responded in kind and charged right back at Tirpitz, firing his guns all the while.
"HeheheheheHEHEHEHEHE!" Bismarck further narrowed his eyes at his brother's euphoric expression, Tirpitz's eyes gained a dangerous blue gleam as he screeched like a maniac, "YES! GIVE ME EVERYTHING YOU HAVE! FIRE YOUR CANNONS, LAUNCH YOUR MISSILES AND TORPEDOES! FIRE YOUR SUPER GRAVITON CANNON! I WILL TAKE THEM ALL AND SHOW YOU THAT I'M NOT THE TIRPITZ YOU USED TO KNOW!"
But Tirpitz couldn't savour the moment for long, he barely noticed a small smirk appearing on Bismarck's face his vessel suddenly started to submerge, "You fell for it~"
"W-WHA-!" Tirpitz didn't even get to finish his question as corrosive torpedoes slammed into the bottom of his unarmed hull, dealing considerable damage to his Klein-field.
Unbeknownst to Tirpitz, a toothy grin appeared on Bismarck's visage, the powerful pressure of the water hitting his mental model didn't bother him at all as he gazed at the multiple crimson spheres appearing and disappearing above him, taking chunks out of Tirpitz's wave force armour. He didn't get to relish in his superior tactics for long though as the warship above him suddenly started listing to one side until Tirpitz could fire his armament straight at Bismarck at an unbelievable 90-degree angle.
"What a nuisance," cursed Bismarck as his tactic was effectively rendered null, not to mention he was much less manoeuvrable beneath the surface than on it.
The logical choice would be to resurface, and that's what he did. Water didn't even have time to trickle down his cannons as it was vaporized in an instant by the high-powered photon blasts. Now the two of them were giving each other predatory smirks, razor-sharp canine teeth on full display.
Tirpitz started to turn to the side and so did Bismarck after resurfacing, the two were now once again locked in a deadlock. Bismarck's weapons were faster and his cunning tactics dealt considerable damage to Tirpitz's wave force armour, evening the battlefield. But the problem of Tirpitz's positron shells was still there, despite the main battery having to reload considerably longer than Bismarck, the secondaries could fire at a much quicker rate up close. They were slowly whittling down Bismarck's defences faster than he could defeat Tirpitz.
'Those positron shells of his are truly something, their strength is at least twice as great as mine and his Klein-field also seemed to have been given an upgrade. My pride yells at me to not use that tactic, but if I want to see Makie ever again... I'll have to,' with a snarl, Bismarck suddenly changed course, going back towards Iwo Jima.
Tirpitz blindly followed him, firing his own corrosive torpedoes among his onslaught of positron blasts, slowly pushing Bismarck's wave force armour to its limit. Bismarck grit his teeth as he sailed along the coast of Iwo Jima, the Blue Steel fleet should have already made it far enough for him to go wild around the abandoned base without a worry. He wanted to laugh in the face of Tirpitz's blind thirst of battle, but stopped himself as he knew damn well he would be the same not too long ago.
"COME ON, MEINE BRUDER, STOP RETREATING AND-"
-BOOM-
Once again, Tirpitz could not even finish his sentence as a corrosive explosion rocket his vessel just below the waterline. But... Bismarck hadn't... No. Corrosive mines?! How had he not noticed them before?!
"Stealth corrosive mines...? Must be the invention of that siscon sow," Tirpitz glared at reoccurring corrosive explosions smashing against his lower hull, "HOW DARE SHE INTERRUPT US?!"
Bismarck grits his teeth as he saw that Tirpitz didn't slow down at all from the corrosive mines exploding against his vessel, instead, he maintained high speed and even continued firing at the former flagship. But Bismarck had noticed that the piercing effect of the positron shells was now lower, most likely from Tirpitz having to relocate extra processing power into defences. But then to his shock, Tirpitz's hull opened horizontally before a large cannon was aimed straight at him.
'HE'S GOING TO FIRE HIS SUPER GRAVITON CANNON NOW?!' it was ludicrous to think any Fog would fire their most powerful weapon that leaves them vulnerable from the front while sailing through a literal sea of mines.
"SUPER GRAVITON CANNON, FIRING AT 100%!"
...
...
...
A colossal beam of blue-coloured gravitons slammed into Bismarck's wave-force armour. He grits his teeth and partially blocked his eyes from the extremely bright light that Tirpitz's attack radiated with. Diverted all of his power from his weapons, Bismarck had just barely managed to withstand the powerful blast. But now, his core was strained and overheated. Blocking just one blast from Tirpitz proved to be a challenge, now the flagship of Kriegsmarine had almost no opposition in firing his positron beams and destroying him. Except... he couldn't. Tirpitz had pushed his vessel to its limit and had to wait for the graviton generator to cool down or risk detonating in an earth-shattering explosion.
"...Looks like it's time for us to settle this the old fashioned style," this was Bismarck's only choice, a ship-to-ship battle with Fog tactics would leave him rusting on the seabed, a CQC battle was his last resort.
"...Yes, that appears to be the case..." strangely enough Tirpitz seemed to have calmed down, but Bismarck knew better than to trust first impressions and soon enough Tirpitz smile turned calm and serene, "Let this battle..."
"BE OUR LAST!"
Both Bismarck and Tirpitz suddenly materialized their signature CQC weapons. The cold steel of the large swords glistened in the sun as the two charged at one another. Despite the considerable distance between them, they made platforms of wave force armour beneath their feet to give the impression they were running on the surface of the sea.
-CLANG-
The moment their blades connect a loud clang resounded across the sea, rippling the once calm water and creating a shockwave that sent small tidal waves barreling from the epicentre of the clash. Sparks flew as the two massive swords ground against one another for just a second before the two Bismarck-class mental models pushed each other back. Their battle was a blur to the naked eye, their swings were fast despite the massive weapons they wielded, their movement was unpredictable because of their range of motion and unlimited stamina. Not to mention they could jump off from literally anywhere with the help of their Klein-field. Neither Bismarck nor Tirpitz had any processing power left to create a proper defence against one another's attacks, their only option to defend and attack were their blades. Like the people of old with their swords and shields, the two brothers fought against one another with vigour, creating shockwaves that created temporary holes in the water around them. The sea split with each and every swing of their blades, their physical powers were equal, but there was one major factor that would decide their battle...
Tactics.
The ability to think outside the box, that is the only way either of them could come up on top. Bismarck demonstrated this by swinging at Tirpitz who moved his sword in the way of the attack to block it, but to his surprise, Bismarck had stopped mid-swing and kicked the flat side of the blue sword with as much force as he could, sending Tirpitz flying back.
-BOOM-
Unfortunately, Tirpitz managed to sense the Thanatonium readings from a mine that he flew into and used his sword as a shield and a platform to protect himself from the initial explosion and jump to safety, leaving his sword to be completely destroyed by the corrosive mine. He grits his teeth as he waved his hand, creating four floating blades around him and grasping the handle of only one. Bismarck had to think quickly and created three additional swords of his own as the two clashed again. But this time, the floating swords around them clash as well. The speed at which they struck against one another couldn't be seen with the naked eye, a literal tornado of swords swirled around the two individuals.
"WHY?!" Tirpitz suddenly surprised Bismarck by manifesting small thrusters on his blade that forced Bismarck to jump back from the sudden increase in strength, "WHY DID YOU LEAVE?!"
Bismarck had stared at Tirpitz for a second, their additional swords still fought against one another at supersonic speeds around them. Yet the battle was at a standstill in the centre of the hurricane.
"I was a built as a weapon, something capable of wiping the floor with the vermin that sail across my seas. I will not subject myself to a program, or a ship that follows said program. I won't be disrespected by a goddamn floating hotel somewhere in the Pacific!" the two charged at each other not a second later after Bismarck's loud declaration, the swords they hand in their hands letting out sparks as they clashed, "Not to mention..."
An image passed through Bismarck's mind...
"There are people that I refuse to leave behind!"
Tirpitz's eyes widened for just a moment, and Bismarck took the small window of opportunity with stride. Taking a page out of Tirpitz's book, a rocket thruster appeared along the flat tip of his sword and roared into life. And with a loud warcry...
Bismarck crushed through Tirpitz's defence...
The large red blade cleaved through the equally large blue one, separating it into two pieces that each flew in a different direction. Bismarck's swing didn't lose any momentum and just as easily cleaved through the body of his shocked brother, splitting his body into two from the shoulder to the hip. The Klein-field platform Tirpitz stood on shattered as his severed body splashed into the water with glistening silver dust floating off of his body, his very structure glitching blue. His vessel too started to lose its glow and slowly powered down. Their blitzing swords too disappeared into glowing silver nanomaterial and harmlessly floated off with the ocean winds. The battle was over... finally...
Tirpitz had been slain...
Bismarck let out a deep and long sigh, his sword fell into the cold depths of the ocean before dissolving like the ocean foam. He looked at his fallen brother with a somewhat sad and serious expression. The top part of Tirpitz's body had stayed afloat while the rest sank and dissolved into nanomaterial.
"ɨ..." Tirpitz's voice cracked and broke, it glitched in a way that made him sound like a broken voice recorder, "...I ԃιԃɳ'ƚ ɯαɳƚ ƚσ ɱαƙҽ ყσυ ԃιʂαρρσιɳƚҽԃ..."
Bismarck had looked at the slowly dissolving body of Tirpitz for a moment before sighing again, closing his eyes and reaching for his hat in order to take it off and hold it near his chest, "That... is a stupid reason to wage a war."
"...Hαԋα... I ɠυҽʂʂ ʂσ..." it didn't pain Bismarck any less to see his brother's pupils slowly start to fill with static, "...I ʝυʂƚ... ԃιԃɳ'ƚ ɯαɳƚ ƚσ Ⴆҽʅιҽʋҽ... ƚԋαƚ ყσυ ɯσυʅԃ... ԃιҽ ʂσ ҽαʂιʅყ..."
Bismarck had tried to force a small smile onto his face, but couldn't do so in the end. He didn't hate his brother, nor did he loathe or blame him. It was guilt that mostly dug itself through Bismarck's emotion emulator. Thinking back a couple of years, he really hadn't been the greatest brother out there... has he? At least not by human standards, not by a long shot. Bismarck had always preferred to be alone back then, but perhaps his lone wolf nature had been a bit too much. It only recently dawned on him that he really didn't know Tirpitz all that well.
Bismarck's eyes scrunched as he had to watch his brother's slowly falling apart arm raise up and reach towards him, "...Aαԋ... I... ԃσɳ'ƚ ɯαɳƚ ƚσ ɠσ..."
Tears slowly welled up in Bismarck's eyes before slowly beginning to trickle down his face. The facade of the always serious and strong battleship crumbled like a house of cards as he watched Tirpitz's pinkie and thumb fall off and disintegrate into nanomaterial.
"...I ԃσɳ'ƚ ɯαɳƚ ƚσ ԃιҽ..."
...
...
...
"...Pʅҽαʂҽ..."
With a quick motion, Bismarck had suddenly grasped Tirpitz's crumbling hand in his own, holding it tightly in the palm of his hand. He dropped to his knees, being only separated from the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean by a thin layer of wave-force armour. Tirpitz's Union Core had been damaged by Bismarck's attack, irreparably. He knew this, Bismarck knew that the person known as Tirpitz would perish soon, yet he refused to believe it. Just like Tirpitz himself refused to acknowledge his brother's demise, Bismarck too was rejecting the reality.
"...I won't let you go..." deep crimson data rings appeared around Bismarck as his sorrowful expression became one of determination.
The crimson rings invoked the presence of bright blue ones without Tirpitz's consent. The dying mental model of the German battleship could only stare with wide eyes as his very existence was slowly being merged together with Bismarck's. Their combined data rings expanded well over to their vessels and past them, creating a strangely beautiful place with glowing red and blue data.
"I won't let you die... I promise," Bismarck's body began glowing deep crimson as has his warship, Tirpitz soon followed in his brother's steps.
"I will bring you back... I promise."
...With their hatred forgotten, the two separate entities started to become one...
...Their very being, body and mind merged...
...Two brothers baptised in the fire of their own rage...
...Became one.
...
...
...
...Arise...
...Arise and claim your throne again...
...King of The Ocean...
...Bismarck.
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...
...
"Together as one we stand as the almighty..."
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