25th July, 1941.

Two Wisdom Cubes start to lose their blue glow as they are spinning around in a machine. The Siren exper8me ting with them hears a portal open in behind her, but she doesn't look at it. She hears the voice of Tester.

"Observer Zero, I have a situation report."

"Speak." Zero responds.

Tester starts, "The Eagle Union have frozen all Sakura Empire and Dragon Empery assets in the Northern half of the American continent in the current simulation."

Zero asks, "Good. Anything else?"

Tester adds, "The Iron Blood have also established the Reichkommissariat Ostland in the Baltic sector."

"Good." Zero says, "The humans are on the optimal path for this experiment."

Tester Beta says, "If allowing the genocidal regime that will kill millions of their own people to exist is the optimal path, there is no hope for these humans…"

Zero says, "Is that compassion I sense, Tester?"

Tester scowls, "Of course not. It's just that forcing the humans to evolve and adapt is extremely frustrating when they keep fighting and killing each other instead of rallying against us. Azur Lane is the only faction with the correct idea. Their forces are the only ones who actively search for our mass-produced fleets to sink them, and even then it's only because the Kansen Commander already knows about us…"

"Silence now… this part is proving quite difficult…" Zero says as she visibly struggles to get through one of the Cubes, the one that holds the data for a Kansen's mind. The other Cube, the one that holds the data for the body and rigging, has already been turned dark purple…

Bismarck lays in bed in the early hours of the morning. She had quite a restless night as her recurring nightmare happened again. She keeps seeing Hood stood before her, facing away, but something seems… off. She approaches her from behind and puts her hand on the Battlecruiser's shoulder, covered by a tattered Union Jack cape.

"… Hood?" She turns her around and sees her skin is cracked and pale, her eyes pitch black with glowing blue irises. Before Bismarck can react, Hood screams and jumps at her, startling her awake. She even makes Sheffield flinch when she jolts up and yells out, "HOOD!"

She catches her breath and… wait, Sheffield?

"Are you alright, Ma'am?" The maid asks as she found herself instinctively reaching for her pistols.

Bismarck looks at her. "Ja… what are… oh… you're here to wake me up, aren't you…?"

Sheffield regains her composure and walks over to the curtains, opening them as Bismarck covers herself with the sheets. "Correct, Ma'am. You have a busy day today in the lab and then the café."

Sheffield turns her back to her so she's able to get up and walk to the bathroom. When she's in there, Sheffield tends to making the bed. She wonders why Bismarck awoke so suddenly and screaming Hood's name. She's not done that before…

The next day, Victory gets word that the Royal Kingdom has followed the Eagle Union's decision to freeze all Sakura Empire assets in their territories, and the Sakura Empire has done the same in return. There is no hope for peaceful resolution now. Victory gets a little nervous of the mission for Force G. Bismarck knocks on her door. She's let in and Victory asks, "Bismarck? Something you need?"

Bismarck sits down and says, "I… It sounds stupid… but…"

"But what? You can tell me." Victory encourages her.

The Battleship takes a deep breath. "I… have been having a recurring nightmare. About Hood."

Victory looks at Nelson and George, who's standing guard. "Leave us, please."

"Are you sure, Commander?" George asks. Victory nods with serious face. Both her and Nelson leave the room and close the door.

"Go on, Bismarck. Tell me about it."

"Ever since the first one when Zero started to play with my mind… I've found myself standing on the water at night in the port I was built in, only it's all on fire." Bismarck remembers.

Victory writes it down. "What else?"

"I… the first time… I saw my comrades. My friends… the Iron Bloods… dead. All slain…" she looks at Victory, "…by you."

"…me? Is that… how you recognised me when you woke up in the cell?" Victory asks.

"I think so. It was definitely you… George… Rodney, Victorious, Wales, Dorsetshire… every Kansen who ended up chasing me down… they were there… before I ever encountered any of you. She showed me… insane versions of all of you." Bismarck shivers.

"She twisted your perception of us? Is that when she told you that load of bollocks about us enslaving our own people?" Victory pushes.

"Not at that moment. She told me after I woke up. Before that, you had… someone in your hand… you were holding her up by her hair. You unsheathed your sword… and…." A tear escapes her eye and rolls down her cheek. "And you killed her. Sliced open her throat and painted the blade red…" her voice becomes shaky. "You smiled… and said Rule Britannia as you did it… you all laughed as I held her in my hands…"

Wide-eyed at the apparent perversion of her motto, Victory asks, "…who… who was it that I…?"

Bismarck took a second and looked at her, "…U-556. Every night… I have nightmares like that… but recently…"

"Bismarck, if it's causing you too much pain…" Victory offers her the chance to stop.

Bismarck hits her armrest, "NEIN! I must tell you! I can't take it anymore!" She shouts.

"Okay, okay. Go on. What's happened recently?" The Commander says.

The Battleship says, "Recently… the dreams have changed… I no longer see all of you there… just… Hood."

"Just her? What is she doing?" Victory asks.

"She just stands there, facing away from me. I call out to her, every time I have the dream, I forget the last time I had it until I wake up. Every time… I feel like I have chance to bring her back, but when I put my hand on her shoulder… and I see her face…" Bismarck answers.

"Yes?" Victory says.

The memory of the dead-looking Nightmare Hood flashes in Bismarck's mind. She looks Victory dead in the eye, "She looks like she's dead, but alive at the same time. She has blue, glowing eyes just like Zero… and she attacks me like a feral animal… and that's when I wake up. Yesterday and today, I woke up screaming."

Victory sighs, "Good Lord…" she puts her pen down and says, "Bismarck… I had no idea… why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Bismarck dries her tears, crosses her arms and looks to the side. She says, "I assumed you had more important things to do than worry about a prisoner's verdammt night terrors."

Victory says, "Don't be daft, Bismarck. You're no longer a prisoner here, remember? Also, I care deeply for all those under my command. Besides, if this dream of yours suddenly changed and you remember it in such vivid detail, perhaps that means something?"

Bismarck, surprised, says, "You… care?"

"Of course I do!" The Commander says. She's about to say something else, until her radio springs to life, "Yes, this is the Commander."

Bismarck can't quite seem to hear the person on the other end.

"We'll be right there." Victory gets up and puts her hand on Bismarck's shoulder, "I need you with me. Will you be alright?"

"Ja… I'm just glad I got it off my chest…" she gets up and puts her stoic face back on. The two of them exit the room and George joins them.

Victory says, "Nelson, take over for a bit." Nelson rolls her eyes and goes back in.

George asks, "Where are we going, Commander?"

Victory says, "To the lab."

Bismarck asks, "What happened?"

The Commander answers, "It seems the PR project has hit a snag…"