Author: My mind has been going forth between good and bad ending. I made two different endings. Good endings are nice but so are sad endings too.

Anyway, next chapter is going to be on KC side for the most part. That's all, folks!


Not everyone is who they seem...

Everything was dark until Tirpitz opened her eyes. She found herself in the aftermath of a rampage. There wasn't a single sound but the eerie howl of the wind until echoes of sloe footsteps filled that silence.

"That's...Tyrant?!"

She couldn't help but gasp seeing Tyrant in her dream once again, but unlike the previous times, Tyrant was different. She staggered and wobbled as she walked like a small chd learning how to walk straight without stumbling down.

"...?!"

...Then she stumbled down straight to the ground. Tyrant weakly pushed herself upwards but she has little strength left in her.

"Where are you? Where are you? Where did you go?"

Tyrant stumbled several more times as she desperately sought for someone. She looked around but there was no one else but her.

"Where did you go...Bismarck?"

With Bismarck's coat of arms on her hand, Tyrant continued to search for Bismarck while Tirpitz, who is observing the projected memory, watched dumbfounded.

"Why...did you have to go and die on me. Why...why did you have to give yourself up like that?"

This Tyrant acted clearly differently from the one hunting down Tirpitz which made her uneasy. As Tyrant remained on the ground, looking up the sky darkened by black smoke, another one entered the scene.

(Eugen?!) Tirpitz is shocked to see her

The Prinz Eugen manifesting in the memory is a heavily damaged and weakened Prinz Eugen who staggered as she walked. The wounded heavy cruiser held her right arm that she could barely move. Panting and exhausted, Prinz Eugen confronted the silent Tyrant.

"Eugen? So you managed to survive while everyone else failed to do so. I have to commend you for refusing to die"

"Ha...hahaha. I'm the one ship who won't die. I managed to drag this mangled body of mine after you two massacred what's left of Iron Blood"

Prinz Eugen almost collapsed on the ground but she reduced it to briefly falling to one knee. Unlike her usual relaxed self, this Prinz Eugen is furious at Tyrant who has Tirpitz's usual appearance but the once icy cold and blue eyes had become dull and yellow.

"I saw...what happened. You went and did it..."

"Eugen..."

Tyrant slowly stands on her two feet and calmly faced the furious and hostile Prinz Eugen.

"You actually...went and did it"

"Yes, I did. Though the core was split seventy-thirty"

"..."

"Do you disapprove, Prinz Eugen?"

"You didn't save her. You only made it worse!"

Prinz Eugen swung her only functional arm, shouting at the top of her lungs but it didn't faze Tyrant who stood there with a cold and uncaring expression.

"Eugen, to begin with...Tyrant are two separate Codes. It was a destructive Code so it had to be shared between two activate Mental cubes" Tyrant explained

"You can only do so much. You know that"

"Yes, that is true. But she had...thought of something"

Tyrant lowered her head, regret and guilt slightly visible in her eyes glowing a golden color.

"She's...damaged and lost some parts of her. To be complete again...she needs her alter ego"

"And you will just let her do that"

"..."

"I won't allow you two. Not while I'm still standing here" Prinz Eugen declared

"Then I will make sure you will no longer stand"

The memory is cut off when Tirpitz's body rolled down the bed and slammed on the ground. Groaning at how her head felt the solid ground, Tirpitz stood up.

"What the hell is that dream all about? I saw myself...as Tyrant. She really looked like me"

Tirpitz felt like she was looking at her exact image but the golden eyes sets the other one apart. Tyrant's appearance was more recognizable as Tirpitz than she is now. It's unclear why Tyrant decided to change her attire but Tirpitz cares very little.

"Then there's Prinz Eugen but she was badly wounded...and was angry at Tyrant for some reason"

Puzzled by her dream, Tirpitz walked out and went for a sip of fresh coffee to calm herself down.

"...?!"

She sensed a sinister aura behind her, tapping her shoulder, but she remained still even if her body trembled.

"You're not real. You're not real. You're just in my head"

As she repeatedly mumbles incoherent words to herself, a finger tapping on her shoulder made her jolt and immediately stand up from where she was sitting.

"Are you...alright? You're breaking in a cold sweat and talking to yourself" Gneisenau tilted her head

"Did being teleported to another world messed up your head or something? You've been like that ever since you got back" Scharnhorst added

"For the last time, nothing's wrong with me - so quit asking!"

Tirpitz lost her temper and raised her voice much to the two battlecruiser's surprise as Tirpitz isn't known to lose her temper so quickly and look clearly restless.

"Something IS wrong with you and even Bismarck noticed it" Scharnhorst pointed

"You've been agitated and nervous lately like you're scared all the time" Gneisenau described

"Bismarck noticed, huh. I expected no less from her..."

All of a sudden, Tirpitz fell silent and her expression calmed down. Her voice and tone changed that the two "Ugly Sisters" felt Tirpitz's different behavior is similar to someone.

"I appreciate for you two noticing but this matter is my concern alone..."

Ending the conversation quickly, Tirpitz walks past the confused Gneisenau and Scharnhorst who has no idea why suddenly Tirpitz's demeanor changed and hurriedly walked away from the scene.

"I think she has a screw or two loose" Scharnhorst scratched her head

"It seems Bismarck is right to be concerned. Something is definitely...off with Tirpitz"

The two sisters looked at each other and let what happened just be while Tirpitz stopped, snapping off a trance.

"What just happened? Those words just came out of my mouth and I just walked away"

Even she is confused at her own words, unsure at her own actions and to why she had done those actions.

"Hey, Tirpitz. Did you finally get some proper sleep?" Admiral Hipper waved her hand

"Eugen told us you just needed some rest" Z23 added

"I heard you were out for a day" Z1 laughed

Tirpitz blinked, unsure to what she should say towards the three who are concerned at her current state much like Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.

"Did you space out or something?" Admiral Hipper waved her hand in front of Tirpitz's face

"No need to do that, Hipper" Tirpitz removed the hand waving in front of her

"I thought your mind went somewhere"

"You people are getting too concerned about me. It's making me feel uncomfortable"

"Well, you disappeared for an entire month and when you came back, you started acting weird" Z23 pointed her hand

"Plus, you suddenly screamed and almost shot us the other day" Z1 reminded her

"Ah, that's right. For some reason, I panicked and blacked out when I was firing"

Tirpitz, rubbed her head as she recalled the "incident" Z1 is referring too and felt ashamed for almost hitting her own comrades.

"Anyway, where are you going anyway? These little runts and I came back from practice but you looked like you're off somewhere"

"I...uh...was planning to check on my equipment to see if it's faulty to prevent unnecessary incidents"

Tirpitz could barely look at them in the eyes as she lied but they believed the white lie anyway.

"Then we'll come along too. We're planning to check on ours too" Z1 suggested

"I suppose we could check on ours too" Z23 nodded

"Meh" Admiral Hipper shrugged her shoulders

Tirpitz doesn't want their company as she isn't even planning to do a maintenance check on her equipment but there's no going back now. Forced to do so, Tirpitz let them accompany her but before they could reach their destination, they saw Roon in a distance.

"R-Roon?!"

Admiral Hipper and the rest are confused to why Roon is running while heavily panting and holding her injured arm.

"Don't-"

The injured looking Roon collapsed and passed out as she tried to warn the confused four shipgirls.

"Hey-"

Tirpitz only took one step but an explosion in the anchored ships caused her to stop. Few anchored ships became a target, with an inner explosion blasted a hole in their hulls and structures.

Later...

It took a lot of effort, but the fire had been put out before it could spread to the nearby storage rooms. Bismark investigated the scene where Prinz Eugen's ship almost capsized to the port side.

"Hmm...this is...sudden" Bismarck rubbed her chin

"According to about seven witnesses, they saw Roon in a hurry but she passed out seconds before the explosion. They saw her trying run away from the scene"

"You said some of the anchored ships were detonated as well" Bismarck raised an eyebrow

"Four of our destroyers, Leipzig, Admiral Hipper, and Prinz Eugen's ship were damaged but their ships could be repaired by tomorrow"

"Roon caused the explosion? Why would she do that? Roon is unstable...but it's not like to do something like this"

Bismarck doesn't immediately believe Roon would do such a thing as it's too sudden and random.

"Hmm..."

Bismarck turned her attention to Prinz Eugen who is unhappy with her ship tilted and needing extensive repairs.

"Eugen"

"Oh? Bismarck? What is it? I'm a bit busy here"

"I can see that. Your ship almost capsized" Bismarck looked at the damaged ship

"To think Roon would try and do this. That girl has a few screw loose but this is a bit...drastic"

"You believe Roon did this as well?"

"Everyone who saw her does, Bismarck. Besides, she was the only person at the scene before it happened, right?"

"That is true but I want to give Roon the benefit of the doubt. She is a suspect but it's only rightful to hear her explain"

Bismarck's fairness towards her comrades is a known trait to her but hearing her say those words made Prinz Eugen slightly furrow her eyebrows, visibly unhappy but she didn't protest since it's Bismarck.

"By the way, how is Tirpitz doing? You've been keeping an eye on her, right?" Bismarck changed the topic

"She calmed down a bit but not completely alright. Maybe you should talk to her, being the big sister and all"

"..." Bismarck averted her gaze

"Don't tell me you still don't know how to talk to her..."

Bismarck's silence and unable to make direct she contact confirmed this, much to Prinz Eugen's dismay.

"I'll talk to her again since you don't know how to talk to her. Even though you kind of made up after Tyrant revealed her identity to Tirpitz with you there as well to make things worse"

Prinz Eugen waves her arm and giggled, amused at the event that only few shipgirls are aware of.

"I heard the other Bismarck showed up there as well and Tirpitz got pretty pissed at you. Aaah, I wish I was there to see it"

Prinz Eugen felt like she would burst into laughter as she leaves the scene not knowing Bismarck had realized something.

The next day...

Roon had mostly recovered from the unknown injuries she sustained yesterday and put into a detention room for questioning. She stayed still and remained calm even if she is treated as a suspect.

"I'm glad you're injuries have mostly healed up"

Bismarck enters the room and sat at the other chair with her fingers intertwined while Roon remained calm.

"I'll get to the point. What exactly happened yesterday? Few of our ships are under repair after being detonated and you're the only one on that scene when that happened"

"I know you wouldn't believe me so there's no point in explaining myself"

"Roon, I am just and fair towards my comrades. Even if you are treated as a suspect, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt"

"Then I will only tell you one thing. There's a traitor among as and that traitor is working with the Sirens"

"Why would one of us work for the Sirens? We stand and fight for our nation alone" Bismarck clenched her fist

"That's because the traitor isn't even one of us to begin with"

"What do you mean?"

"I was at the dock where the ships were anchored when I heard someone suspicious. I saw...dark light then I was attacked in a matter of seconds"

"You were attacked"

"Whoever it was, she was much more powerful than I am. I tried to go after her but I ended up passing out"

"..."

Bismarck lowered her head for a moment trying to think whether she should believe what Roon had just said.

"A traitor within our rank, huh. I already suspected there is one, but no one is acting strange the least..."

"Bismarck, before I got attacked I heard the distorted voice say 'keep Tirpitz from finding out'"

"Keep Tirpitz from finding out? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know, but Tyrant was mentioned. Something about her goal and just a little more time"

"This is troublesome..."

"It's odd you believe the words of a suspect"

"Roon, you are anything but a liar. Besides, I fear Tyrant is still targeting Tirpitz and she has someone helping her do that"

Bismarck stands up after the short conversation, ending the questioning for the day.

"Roon, I will have to keep you in detention for a while. I want to know whether there is truly a wolf in sheep's clothing"

Roon silently nodded, agreeing to not let the one who attacked Roon be aware that Bismarck is tracking down the traitor within Iron Blood.

(A traitor is also after Tirpitz...)

Bismarck then remembered about how King George V visited Tirpitz to speak with her in private before leaving immediately.

"Perhaps that Royal guard can fill in more information..."

Unknown to Bismarck, an unknown presence had been keeping an eye on her and even heard the conversation in the interrogation room.

[Looks like I have to stop playing around. That "Bismarck" is planning to get in the way again]

The unknown shipgirl clicked her tongue, unhappy that Bismarck is going to make her move thanks to Roon warning her.

[But first...I have to take care of that pesky research ship. She said too much...after seeing me]

Clearly upset, the unknown shipgirl left the vicinity as it's currently not the right time to "take care of" Roon.

Royal navy port...

Victorious rolls on the ground and whines while King George V looks at her in pity as an aircraft carrier of the Royal navy is acting like a child.

"Quit throwing temper tantrums, Victorious"

"But Tirpitz hasn't visited in a while!"

"She's dealing with something personal...and mental so she can't leave port"

"Then I'll go visit her!"

"One, Bismarck will just kick you out and two...there's no time for dilly-dallying since we need all the airpower we need"

Victorious pouted and seeing her being moody made King George V give her a gentle chop to the head.

"Look, I'm certain that Tirpitz wants to spend time with you if she had nothing to deal with right now. She's not very always with her feelings but your someone important to her"

"Really?"

"You worked hard and put so much effort just to make her smile again. Besides, you're the first person she called her friend, right?"

Victorious felt her heart skipped when thinking about what King George V just said. It's true that she worked hard and never gave up on befriending Tirpitz which paid off when she smiled again. With warm smile, she reminisces of the time old times with Tirpitz.

"Why were you so persistent? You kept wanting to spend time with someone like me" Tirpitz doesn't understand

"Because you forgot what warmth is. You couldn't understand your own emotions anymore. I just don't want to see live with your emotions frozen. I just want to see you smile..."

Victorious' sincere respond made Tirpitz momentarily avert her gaze, the aircraft carrier's genuine care for her struck an odd feeling in her chest.

"It's true that I have forgotten what warmth is and you being persistent was actually meant for something. For once, I'm...happy to see you"

"Don't hide your smile, Tirpitz. You know it brings me joy just to see you smile from the bottom of your heart"

"No. It's...embarrassing"

"Your embarrassed to show your smile but you're not embarrassed to finally call me a friend. I didn't know you're the shy type, Tirpitz"

Victorious chuckled as if she's teasing Tirpitz on purpose or just pointing out another rare side of hers. Either way, Tirpitz pinched both of her cheeks when she begun to laugh.

"I'm still not used to smiling with warmth, especially in front of others...but I'm thankful...because you warmed up this frozen heart of mine"

Tirpitz gently grabs Victorious hand and placed it to her chest, showing Victorious her genuine smile filled with gratitude. Seeing the "cold-hearted" battleship express her happiness, Victorious held back her tears.

"You can go visit her once she feels better. Right now, the last thing she needs is someone bothering her" King George V interrupted her flashback

Victorious turned her head away with her arms crossed while King George V shakes her head and sighs, wondering why Illustrious' younger sister can be childish at times.

"Uhm, pardon for the intrusion..."

Edinburgh shyly knocks and peaks her head out. Curious, Victorious stopped being moody and blinked her eyes.

"The leader of Iron Blood wishes to speak with you, King George V. She said it's urgent so I should come and fetch you"

"Bismarck wants to see me? That's...unexpected"

"And suspicious!" Victorious added

"S-should I bring her here?" Edinburgh pointed

"No. I'll come to her. Take me to her"

"Y-yes"

"I'll come too!" Victorious tagged along

"No, you stay put. I'll talk to Bismarck myself"

King George V sternly ordered Victorious as she leaves the room while Edinburgh accompanies her to where Bismarck is patiently waiting. Sitting by a chair with her legs crossed, Bismarck stared at the cup of coffee in front of her.

"Good afternoon. It's rare for you to visit, Bismarck"

King George V took a sit and warmly greeted the usual serious Bismarck. Of course, King George V isn't expecting a warm greeting in return.

"You visited the other Tirpitz and I've heard it's a rather private discussion"

"..." King George V momentarily looked away

"Just as unexpected my visit is, yours is more unlikely. So what did you talk about with Tirpitz?"

Bismarck leaned closer, seeking the answer from King George V herself. King George V swallowed her breath, Bismarck clearly demanding an answer and wouldn't tolerate any lies or diversion.

"I didn't tell Tirpitz about it but I suppose it's right to show it to you" King George V took one deep sigh

"Show it to me?"

"For you to understand more, I have to take you to the Sakura Empire"

"The Sakura Empire?"

"There's someone there who knows the situation even behind bars. Well, that is if you would agree? If you do agree, we can leave at once"

King George V raised an eyebrow letting Bismarck decide whether she wanted to go to the Sakura Empire to know more about the situation from a certain someone.

"Take me there. I want to talk to whoever this shipgirl is"

"Excellent! We can depart at once"

With a bright smile, King George V already expected Bismarck would ask her to be accompanied there.

Sakura Empire...

Sailing to the sea of an island nation known for the "Sakura", Bismarck clenched her fist as they approach the port.

"We're here..."

Finally approaching the port, the battlecruiser and the battleship docked. Bismarck stared the blooming Sakura trees, unsure whether she should enjoy the unusual peace.

"King George V, who am I going to me anyway?" Bismarck asked while she follows the lead

"Oh, it's Akagi...but she's still behind bars for causing a commotion a week ago"

"The devious aircraft carrier. I do not trust her words"

"She may be the type to kill you in your sleep but she managed to steal information about the Sirens, specifically the Codes currently working for Observer Alpha"

"What?" Bismarck is in clear disbelief

"She said she knows something about Tyrant but she refused to speak unless it's you"

"Why me?"

"I'm not sure. All she gave is that sinister smile of hers"

Their conversation is cut off for a moment when Kawakaze blocks their way, just they are about to enter where Akagi is held.

"The Royal navy and Iron Blood together? What business do you have with Akagi?"

"Akagi has important information. She wanted to tell it to Bismarck so I brought her" King George V looked at Bismarck

"This is an important matter so I don't plan on wasting time"

"Fine, you can talk to her but I'll be standing nearby"

"This is new. There was no guard when I last visited here"

"Shoukaku went to mock Akagi and she almost got her neck snapped when Akagi managed to grab her"

Both King George V and Bismarck are speechless to here the reason why a guard is needed every time there is a visitor.

"..."

Without any comment, Bismarck proceeded first while King George V followed shortly after. Inside her cell, Akagi currently spends her afternoon drinking tea and seemingly enjoying herself even when she is currently locked up.

"So you've come after all. The proud and mighty leader of Iron Blood. Or at least you WERE"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Bismarck felt insulted but thankfully King George V is present to hold her back and prevent an escalation.

"Sorry, I was referring to the alternate version of you in the future. The one Tyrant absorbed after the [Tyrant] Code installed by Observer is putting so much strain on her Mental Cube that she begins to physically break down"

"What?!"

"Long story short, she went berserk due to the Awakening Protocol and you stepped in to stop her"

Akagi raised her finger and her devious smile but Bismarck is only focused on knowing more.

"What happened?"

"She killed you. That's what happened. Then she went to slaughter the other Iron Blood next"

"You're saying, my sister wiped out Iron Blood"

"Well, almost all of Iron Blood. Prinz Eugen managed to survive for a moment"

"For a moment?"

"Yeah, well she met a terrible end because she wanted to get in the way" Akagi shrugged her shoulders

"My beloved Iron Blood was brought to ruins by my own sister..."

Bismarck lowered her head and clenched her fist, hurt that there is a timeline where Iron Blood went extinct because of Tirpitz going on a rampage.

"You're planning on stopping her for good once she gets out of being trapped?"

"Trapped? What do you mean?"

"Oh you didn't know? Well, I guess it's not surprising since the other person Tirpitz told about it..."

Akagi looked towards King George V, prompting Bismarck to look at her.

"You...?"

"Tirpitz told me about Tyrant being trapped because she needed help in getting the other Tirpitz out of there" King George V confessed

"What?!"

"She couldn't do it with something messing her head and her sanity"

"So you're aware of my sister's condition"

"If you wish to open the rift then why don't you just use the black mental cube?"

"That's the thing. We don't know how" King George V frowned

"You have a black mental cube?" Bismarck asked King George V

"I don't have it. Tirpitz has it"

"Tirpitz has a black mental cube? Is there something else I'm not aware of?!"

Bismarck looked at the two since they seem to more about Tirpitz more than she does but the two looked away, averting her gaze.

"Long story short, she got it from Tyrant after the last scuffle with her but the other Tirpitz is keeping Tyrant trapped"

"The rift can't be opened from that side but you can here with the cube"

"Again, we don't know how!" King George V

"The black mental cube was the ship of an aircraft carrier converted not only as a weapon but like an engine or power source of sorts"

"That thing is a whole ship?!" King George V is surprised

"Yes, it was an aircraft carrier. The shipgirl was killed but the Mental Cube was extracted"

"So how do we do that?"

"Like you world your own ship as your rigging. Command it to open the rift and it will respond but you need coordinates or it won't work"

"Where do we get that?" Bismarck stepped in

"The traitor within Iron Blood. You just have to find her. Before you say anything, I know there's one because she came to visit me the other day but she's all...distorted so I couldn't see her face"

Bismarck bit her thumb since finding the one traitor within Iron Blood wouldn't be easy as Roon couldn't identify her either.

"I suggest you hurry, that traitor is an accomplice who is waiting for the perfect chance to take the cube and open the rift to free Tyrant. Once she gets what she she wants, it's game over for Iron Blood"

"What does Tyrant want?" Bismarck grabbed the bars of the cell

"To stabilize and complete her Code, she would need the Cube of her alter ego, the Tirpitz in this present"

"If she wanted to kill Tirpitz, why not do it when she had the chance"

"It's as far as I can tell you. I'm just an aircraft carrier who managed to steal information before being sent to jail and have a hidden traitor visit me. I'm not a library, you know"

Akagi finished her tea and told them she couldn't tell anything else as that's the limit of her knowledge.

"Rather than waste time here, you should get going. I'm done thinking"

"But-" Bismarck wanted to know more

"I'm done talking"

Since Akagi refused to speak to them anymore for today, the two are forced to leave. Bismarck left unsatisfied with the lack of answers while King George V is trying to ease her frustration. With the two gone, Kawakaze went down to check on Akagi.

"I heard everything. Surely that's not everything, you know"

"Fufufu, of course not. I managed to steal a lot of information and gain more from the shadowy traitor. If I told them everything, where's the fun in that?" Akagi revealed her other side darker than the current one

"What would you gain from withholding information?"

"Curiosity on whether the tragedy will repeat or something might change. This might be a sign that this could be the one timeline the Sirens would never succeed in tampering"

Akagi curved a devilish smile while gently rubbing her cheek, curious at how the events will turn out for Iron Blood while waits the result in her cell.

"Besides, the future Bismarck or at least the remnant of her Mental Cube found the silver bullet for the Sirens' beloved Creator. It just happens that silver bullet is enjoying her life as a human than a Siren and is currently in an unknown location"

Akagi teased Kawakaze by revealing a bit on how deep her knowledge is towards the Sirens and a possible way to eliminate the Sirens for good.