27th May, 1941.

Bismarck opens her eyes and looks around the room she's in. She sits up. It's a cell, the same one she was put in after being captured and brought to Scapa Flow. She has a brace around her formally broken ankle and a device wrapped around the other to prevent her summoning rigging as a security measure.

"Hey, you. You're finally awake." A voice says.

Looking up at the owner of the voice, Bismarck turns white as a sheet. It's her. The black uniform, the red eyes, the sword by her side. The Kansen who plagues her nightmares. "It's… you…"

Victory tilts her head in confusion, "You know me?"

Bismarck nods, "I see you in my dreams… you'll kill everyone I care about…"

Victory puts her hands up, "Woah, hold on a minute…"

Bismarck moves towards her and grips the bars, making the Kansen back up, then raises her voice, "YOU TRAITORS ENSLAVED THE HUMANS YOU WERE CREATED TO PROTECT AND SPAT IN THE FACE OF EVERYTHING WE STAND FOR!"

Victory is taken aback by the accusation. "…what? Who the hell gave you THAT idea!?"

"ZERO DID! YOU CAPTURED HER FRIEND AND USED HER TECHNOLOGY TO DO IT! JUST LIKE THIS DEVICE ON MY LEG!" Bismarck shouts.

"Like this as well?" Victory counters while holding up a small device.

"What is that!?" Bismarck demands.

"It was on the back of your neck. We took it off you. It's of Siren origin. Our lead scientist studied it and said it's supposed to force someone to be more agreeable and obedient." Victory explains.

"…what…? Zero… I trusted her…"

Victory raises her voice to get through to her, "Zero's a Siren, you muppet! This device practically forced you to trust her! The Sirens are the ones threatening all of humanity, not us!"

"S… Siren…?" Bismarck says in confusion, wondering what the meanings of both the words "Siren" and "muppet" are.

"You've… never heard of them?"

"Nein… what the hell is going on…? She said that she and her friends were created to help humanity… and that you and your Schiffsmädchen had turned on the Royal Kingdom…"

Victory sighs. She pulls up a chair and sits down on it. "That's what she told you? Prepare yourself, Bismarck. This may take a while…"

KGV finally gets the time to speak with Wales. The sisters are all together having some tea, yet Wales hasn't touched hers. She's been allowed out of her room on the condition she has at least two of her sisters with her.

KGV puts her cup down and says, "So… the Commander underwent something called "METAmorphosis?""

Howe replies," Yes, George." She hears a ding from the kitchen and gets up and leaves the dining room.

"So what exactly IS METAmorphosis?" George asks her pink-haired sister.

Duke of York says, "We're not sure what 't is, but 't seems to be something we can all achieveth if 't be true we're did push far enough emotionally, and 't seemeth to be near irrev'rsible. The Commander claimeth she rev'rs'd 't, but she seemeth v'ry pow'rful f'r a Kansen from the Age of Saileth."

George had trouble understanding York's odd way of speaking at the best of times. She looks at her in confusion and asks, "… I beg your pardon?"

Wales rolls her eyes, "She means that we don't know, George. The Commander says she was pushed over the edge and snapped. She claims she got back to normal since then, but York doesn't believe her."

"Ah, thank you, Wales." George smiles at her.

Wales just looks away.

Before George can ask if she's okay, Howe returns with a tray full of fresh scones. "Enjoy, Sisters. Today we celebrate the defeat and capture of Battleship Bismarck!"

Victory stares at Bismarck as the Battleship processes the new information she's just been given. Bismarck finally speaks, "The Sirens are the true enemy? And you want us to work together to fight them?"

The Commander replies, "Yes, and if your comrades join us, we can help the Allies by further weakening the naval power of the Kriegsmarine."

Bismarck crosses her arms, "Fighting the Sirens is one thing, but you also expect me to believe that I should turn my back on Iron Blood!? The ones who built me!?"

Frustrated, Victory stands back up and says, "Look, I don't expect you to believe anything, Bismarck. You're free to believe whatever the hell you want. All I ask is you have an open mind and think about it. If you join us, together we can fight the Sirens and stop them from interfering further in this bloody World War! If you don't, you'll stay in here until the War is over and you'll risk being tried alongside the Nazis, if we win, that is. Maybe Iron Blood will be victorious, but is that really a risk you're willing to take? There are enough nations fighting each other, we don't need this alien third party messing with things! They have the power to manipulate this war to however they want for their bloody experiments! Please, just think about it. I'll be back."

Victory leaves Bismarck to think about it. She rallies together some of her girls to accompany her in her report to the Admiralty.

Victory stands with QE in front of Warspite, KGV, Wales, Ark Royal, Sheffield, Dorsetshire and Norfolk at a table opposite the newest members of the Admiralty. John Tovey, the Admiral of the human-controlled ships of the Royal Navy and the leading seat of Azur Lane High Command, comments on the sinking of the Bismarck, "She had put up a most gallant fight against impossible odds worthy of the old days of the Imperial German Navy, and she went down with her colours flying."

Another member of the Admiralty, having discussed what to say with his colleagues, clears his throat and announces, "We congratulate all concerned in the unrelenting pursuit and successful destruction of the enemy's most powerful warship. The loss of Hood and her Captain, which is so deeply regretted, has thus been avenged and the Atlantic made more secure for our supply lines and those of our allies. From the information at present available to us, there can be no doubt that had it not been for the gallantry, skill, and devotion to duty of the Aircraft Carriers Victorious and Ark Royal, our objective might not have been achieved. Commander Victoria, for your part in leading the Royal Navy against Bismarck, you have been promoted to Captain."

Victory says, "Thank you, sir, but I wouldn't have been able to capture her without my girls. Surely you can do something for them as well? Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth here was the one to bring up that we should immediately start to hunt down the Bismarck sisters in the first place." She gestures respectfully to the pouting small-sized sovereign, who nods in agreement, rather offended that they had not offered her any reward.

Admiral Tovey looks confused, "Captain Victoria, are you saying that this small girl influenced your command?"

Victory puts her hand on QE's shoulder and Warspite steps up to stand with her, asking her not to lose her cool, and Victory responds in a defensive tone, "I am, but Queen Elizabeth is just as capable as the rest of us. She is my third-in-command and she takes over when my Secretary and I try our best to sign off on all the bloody paperwork you keep dumping on our desks. Poor Nelson is trying to get through as much as possible right now while I'm juggling this meeting and talking to Bismarck at the same time. Sheffield back there had her eye and shoulder mauled on her last infiltration. Norfolk tracked Bismarck on her frozen radar the whole time, Wales got her face cut open watching Hood sink and Dorsetshire managed to convince Bismarck to be taken alive, for the love of God! You should reward everyone here for their initiative!"

Tovey responds, "Im willing to admit you make some good points, Captain, but about your unorthodox command structure here, why should we put faith in this… child to help you command your forces?"

Absolute silence falls on the room as everyone looks at QE. Warspite correctly predicts what her sister is about to do and grabs her just when she's about to leap onto the table and swiftly drags her out of the room with her hand over her sister's mouth as she starts to go on a heated rant. Tovey clears his throat and says, "Perhaps I should rephrase, Victoria. Why should we assume that some one who appears to not have very much experience, a newer looking younger girl, should be helping you lead the rest?"

Victory says, "Kansen are very different to humans, Admiral. Looks can be quite deceiving. Queen Elizabeth is one of our veterans from the Great War. She took part in Jutland, remember?"

Tovey winces, "Ah, yes. Of course. The less said about that incident, the better…"

Another Admiralty member, one who has always seemed to be anti-Kansen, says, "Could we please get back to the nonsense you were spouting about how your ships "earned" as much reward as you did? Your "girls" are mere weapons. They have no human rights. They did their job. Will you reward a gun that will be used to kill Hitler? Or the person who pulls the trigger?"

Tovey and the other Admirals facepalm as Victory turns and glares at him. She narrows her eyes and says, "Need I remind you that I am one of them? When I was first Awoken, I helped win Trafalgar. That victory ensured that the Royal Kingdom rules the waves for over 200 years. Ever since this new war began, these "mere weapons" you see with me have managed to hunt down the Cruiser Admiral Graf Spee, they cornered and forced Bismarck to scuttle herself, they are now looking for Scharnhorst and Gneisenau while at the same time making sure Tirpitz doesn't try to break out of Iron Blood waters, along with doing everything they can to locate Graf Zeppelin to make sure the Iron Blood has no Carrier support, as well as thinning down the U-Boat flotilla! And that's not even regarding all the work they do in locating and destroying Siren fleets before the public can witness them! They've been doing YOUR job, Admiral! And far better than you ever could!" Her girls all nod in defiant agreement.

The Admiralty member counters, "Oh, I'm sure you were proud of them when they allowed the so-called Mighty Hood to sink."

The room falls silent yet again. All of the other Royals in the room stand with Victory. Wales gives him a death stare and Victory can sense it. Before Wales can lash out herself, Victory leans forward, putting her hands on the table and her voice becomes darker, "How. Fucking. DARE. YOU!? You have no right to say something like that. Hood was the best of us. She was our shining light in the darkness. Humble, yet powerful. She was a role model for so many of us, even myself. I had full confidence in her to get that job done. I underestimated Bismarck. We all did. Now she's with us, and we will use that power against the very beings that had manipulated her into slaughtering our dear friend." She points her finger at the problematic Admiral, "Don't you EVER speak her name again unless it's to speak positively of her, or you WILL regret it. Sir."

The Admiralty is silent. Her death stare and those of the others is enough to have the Admiral who insulted Hood to leave rather more quickly than at a professional pace. Victory calms herself and says to Tovey, "I apologise, sir. I know my promotion will be undone by this so instead, I will take the reward for the sinking of Bismarck in the form of improving Scapa Flow to be more than just bland concrete corridors and colourless cracked walls. My girls all deserve more than that, especially after we were kicked out of Portsmouth and set up shop here. This damn base is falling apart."

Considering what Victory would be capable of with the Kansen under command, they indeed drop her back down to Commander for her heated response to the anti-Kansen Admiral, but they also grant her wish of funding a renovation of the base. After the meeting, the amount of respect the Royal Kansen have for Victory drastically improves as she stood up for them instead of throwing them under the bus for a shiny new rank, and they can now make the rest of the HQ look as nice as the Royal Gardens.

After a whole day of signing off on work, Victory rotates her arm at the shoulder, feeling a bit of fatigue and grunting in a bit of pain. The requisition forms for all the renovations is really wearing her out. Nelson sees how much work Victory has done and she decides, with a red face, that perhaps she has earned a little something by now, especially after she had been told what happened in the meeting. She gets up and walks towards Victory, who looks up at her. "Nelson? What are you…?"

Of course, every little renovation was overseen and approved by QE herself as well, although she had Victory actually sign off on everything. She sits on her throne in the biggest dorm room on the base, looking proudly at all of the new decor around the room. "Now that's more like it! A base and a room far more befitting of one of such high standing as myself." The renovations seem to have calmed her down.

Warspite from her smaller throne on the left of QE applauds, "It is very impressive, Your Majesty."

Valiant, QE's other sister, has her hand to her cheek sat in her own throne on QE's right, asleep from the boredom. QE looks to her faithful corgi companion, "Warspite, is there any news about Tirpitz?"

There was nothing on Bismarck's sister other than that she had stayed where she was, but in the time it took to renovate the base, Prinz Eugen had made it to Vichya Dominion waters.

Warspite puts on her reading glasses and checks her clipboard full of updates she's gotten from the day, "None so far, Your Majesty. It seems like Iron Blood is too scared to deploy and lose another Bismarck-class, especially since Tirpitz has been seemingly very reluctant to awaken. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau are still in Brest so they'll be unable to help her, Prinz Eugen is still missing and the Sakura Empire is continuing to gain territory in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The Sirens seem to be remaining silent in the Atlantic recently."

"Those Sakurans… we may have to intervene if the Eagle Union and Australians can't hold them off by themselves… Perhaps we should speak to Victory about it. As a very isolated island nation, the Sakura Empire surely possesses technology and ships far inferior to ours, like Mikasa. Just to be sure, I'll request that our servant send a fleet at some point to reinforce our Allies."

"Did you forget about the Art of War, Elizabeth?" Another voice sounds from the corner of the room.

QE looks at the mysterious woman leaning against the wall wearing a suit of armour. "What?" She asks.

The woman sighs, "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself, but not your enemy…"

Warspite finishes, "… For every victory gained, you will also suffer a defeat."

The woman smiles, "At least one of you remembers."

We looks at Warspite, "Be quiet." She turns her attention back to the shadowed woman, "I didn't ask for your opinion." The woman scoffs and rolls her eyes.

Warspite, frustrated, says, "To be fair, Your Majesty, the Sakurans are obviously advanced enough that they've taken a large amount of territory from the Dragon Empery and Iron Blood's Pacific islands already… also, I really wish you'd show her and the Commander the respect they deserve… if it wasn't for our dear friend there, our class of ship might never have been developed."

QE points to herself and then to the woman, "I am the Queen, she is an outdated shadow of her former self and Victory is but a lowly Commander. The Royal Navy is mine to command. That's final. Now come." QE says as the her former teacher walks out first, having heard enough for today. Her own former student won't even respect her enough to say her name.

QE confidently makes her way to Victory's office with a very annoyed Warspite in tow. QE is about to knock, but they both hear something strange coming from within the room…

"H…how is this… Commander…?"

"Oh, yeah, Nelson… ooh… that's the spot! Ahh… that feels so good…"

"D…don't get used to it… it's only because I've… been gracious enough to… to decide that you've finally earned this!"

"Well… mmmm…. if this is the reward for a good job… then… ah… I'll be sure to work harder…"

"D… Don't get used to it! This is only… a one-time thing!"

"Oh… your hands feel wonderful there, Nelson… do it harder…"

Both their faces in a deep blush, Warspite unsheathes her sword and kicks the doors open, tearing them off their hinges, and catches both Nelson and Victory, the former merely giving the latter a shoulder massage.

Well, what else could they have possibly been doing?

They all stare in silence for a solid minute until Warspite puts her hand over her racing heart, sheathes her sword and says, "Oh, thank God…" and Nelson storms out in a fit of embarrassment.

"Servant, wha- what were you doing!?" QE demands accusingly.

Victory holds her hands up in surrender, "It was her idea! I said she didn't have to but she insisted!"

QE yells, "I've trusted you to continue to lead my Royal Navy all this time and now I find you've been having poor Nelson do things like that for you!? How dare you! How uncouth the sounds you were making as well! I—"

Warspite has had it. She's allowed this to go on for long enough. She suddenly stands between them and says in anything but a posh accent, "Oh, for the love of God, Elizabeth! It's not like they were actually shagging or anything! Will you please just calm the FUCK down and listen to her!?"

QE stands in shocked silence. Warspite carries on, "Ever since Jutland, I've had to endure your superiority complex and stubborn pride as you treat veterans like our mentor and our Commander like mere underlings, Lizzie! It makes me sick! The things that Lady Victory has been through and all she's won and lost means she deserves more than how you speak to her! They're not your bloody servants! She is your Commander! Now look at her, speak to her like you should and ask for her permission!" She turns her towards Victory and pushes her forward.

Victory stares wide-eyed at QE, just waiting for her to explode, but to her surprise, QE just looks down in shame. She knows her sister is correct, but she never wanted to accept that another Royal Kansen was above her. She knows now that she has to grow up and accept it. She looks at Victory and says in a voice unlike her usual authoritative voice, "Serv… Commander… I… have a request…" while also secretly praising whatever higher power there may be for not letting Valiant be there to witness any of this.

She goes on about sending a task force to the Pacific to aid the Eagle Union in case the Sakura Empire push too far and to defend Australia. After some convincing, the microscopic monarch gets her request approved, but for later on when Victory deems it necessary. She bows respectfully and leaves. Her sister is about to go too but Victory says, "Warspite."

The combat corgi looks back at her, her posh accent returning, "Yes, ma'am?"

She smiles, "Thank you for that. Is… your old mentor alright?"

Warspite smiles back and salutes, "Anytime, Commander. I'm hoping she will be when Elizabeth apologises to her, too." She winks and follows QE.

Victory looks at the massive painting behind her on the wall of a man in an 1800's Royal Navy Vice-Admiral's uniform. She chuckles and says, "Well, that was interesting, wasn't it, Horatio?" She starts to think. Perhaps she should give QE and Warspite's mentor a call later…