Unhinged

Deutschland always disliked the cold. Never liked the way it brought chills down her spine, the feeling of it pricking her skin―even though she's not really human, to begin with. Thus, it's a given she loathed the very place she's currently on, that is, the waters off the coast of Greenland. She used to boast of being lucky after she avoided being sunk more than once, but now, she would find the idea of scuttling herself appealing.

Waters of the Arctic are no place for sharks, she bemoaned. What is she doing here, anyway? Oh, right, she remembered―she was assigned to keep tabs on the latest addition to the glorious Kriegsmarine ―or what remained of it.

The one she was keeping an eye on was quite far from her, firing round after round of blanks. They praised her as the most advanced KANSEN, fitted with the best Ironblood engineering could offer.

Well, you won't be making any difference if you are too late to participate in the war, she scoffed. Still, the foolish fanatics that went with them believed this new ship could turn the tides for them and wanted her to be combat-ready when the opportunity to strike back showed itself―a notion that even she, of all people, found utterly absurd. She knew better.

"Prinzessin, you really are a troublesome woman, you know that? What with this entire Siren Killer thing? After this, what? Try to bring back Bismarck? All things considered, I can be the flagship. After all, Bismarck sank; I'm still here," Deutschland wondered aloud, twirling her gun to try to distract herself from the biting cold of the icy wind. There were still two more hours to go until the break of dawn when they were supposed to return.

Now that she remembered, trying to bring Bismarck back wasn't really out of the question, considering the ongoing efforts to recover her Wisdom Cube. Or perhaps it's for something else. The chancellor had been secretive about it and only cryptically told her, "You'll see," when she got tired of waiting and decided to confront her about it.

A radio call brought Deutschland to attention as she was about to fall asleep out of boredom.

'Abandon the area immediately. Royal Navy ship detected in the vicinity.'

"Ah, finally, I'm sick of this nonsense already..."

The other KANSEN must have received the same transmission as her, for she stopped firing and sailed towards her direction. In contrast to Deutschland, who went out wearing several layers of clothing, she seemed content with just one.

"Oh, Deutschland, is it time to move out?" She yelled a little as her voice was drowned by the heavy whirring noise and growls of her experimental rigging.

"There you are, Roon―what the hell?! Throw those away!"

"These seals? I saw them passing below me just as I was about to head to you; they would be great on a stew, don't you think?"

As she approached her, Deutschland noticed the KANSEN's ironclad hands were twitching with alarming consistency, as though she was holding back from crushing the heads of a pair of barely alive seals, who were highly unlikely to survive long anyway despite that.

***

Her name is Roon—a KANSEN without history.

When they first met, Deutschland thought she looked way too gentle, too pleasant for an Ironblood KANSEN—almost to a disturbing degree—and also immediately grew attached to her, much to her dismay.

However, Deutschland found out that looks really could deceive, having witnessed the various acts of gruesome violence Roon committed on pretty much every living creature she came across during field testing.

The ever-proud Deutschland would always delight in the reputation she built for herself―ferocious, ruthless. Yet, Roon managed to make her look like a benevolent saint in comparison.

A few tests later, she already grew to resent having to report why their newest weapon always returned covered in blood and viscera.

She grew to hate seeing Roon smiling at her and how it made 3her sick.

A series of adjustments that followed left a much more manageable Roon. Not that it mattered much to Deutschland; Roon might be calmer in the field, but she's not in any way tamed.

In some way, as Deutschland bitterly believed, that only made matters worse.

***

"...Ugh, fine, but whatever it is you are making, I'm not partaking," Deutschland shot Roon a disgusted look―which she took in stride―and gestured at the horizon towards their secret base. "We are turning cruise lights off, so I―we―will be relying on your advanced sensors," she added, though not without wondering if it's a good idea or not.

"Sure. Leave it to me."

The pair sailed home under cover of darkness, with Roon in the lead. There was a long silence until she decided to speak.

"So, Deutschland..."

"Huh...?"

"What do you feel when you slaughter your enemies? Crush them so utterly, seeing the despair in their eyes as you break those soft hulls apart with a well-placed shot?"

"What? What makes you think I―"

Roon giggled like a child at the agitated reply. "Oh, don't be so coy. Since the first time I laid my eyes on you, I've always known we could be such good friends―we are much alike."

"You keep that up, I'll make sure we won't; now keep your focus, or we'll lose our bearing."

Even after being shot down like that, Roon did not seem visibly deflated and kept her almost child-like smile. A smile that persisted even when she finally crushed the necks of the seals she was carrying, resulting in an audible snap. Alarmed, Deutschland instinctively reached for the holster holding her gun just as Roon turned her head in her direction.

"I'm sorry then. Still, perhaps...when we return, we could have a more...pleasant chat?"