13th September, 1941.
Graf Spee awakens next to an unconscious Purifer and she starts to feel incredibly weak. Her rigging and gauntlets are nowhere to be seen. She looks around and sees another Siren staring down at her.
"What…?"
She looks almost exactly like her, with a blue strand of hair instead of red.
"Intruder detected… a Kansen from the simulation, standing here while still asleep? How interesting… but I cannot allow another unknown variable in the base. Please submit or you will be neutralised by force." Zero's tentacles ready themselves and start to glow with electrical sparks.
Graf Spee instinctively takes a fighting stance and looks down at Purifer, getting an idea.
"I see… how unfortunate…" Zero suddenly thrusts all her tentacles at the Kansen, who then quickly grabs Purifer and uses her as a shield. With the tasers latched onto the unconscious Siren and the Kansen's adrenaline kicking in, Spee makes a run for it. "Hmm… smarter than most others, that one…" Zero drops Purifer's body like a toy she got bored playing with and pursues her.
After subduing and consoling Deutschland, Graf Zeppelin reluctantly carries the sobbing Cruiser on her Carrier waiting for the exchange of escort duty to be transferred from Anderson to Bismarck.
Bismarck and Victory discuss matters with the Admiral, but keep out the part about the whole world being fake as they don't know if he is real or not. After exchanging pleasantries, Anderson salutes the two Kansen, and they both return it with their own styles.
The Admiral looks at Bismarck's balled fist over her chest and says, "I gotta say, that salute looks far better than the one the Nazis are using."
The Iron Blood Battleship puts her hand down and replies, "I am doing my best to distance myself and my faction from those animals. It is a shame we cannot have your assistance in recruiting the rest of them, but we shall manage somehow."
"Well, I wish you the best of luck with that. We'd better get back to Pearl ASAP." The Admiral smiles and walks away towards Enterprise, who carries him on her rigging to her ship, leaving Victory and Bismarck on Nelson's deck.
The Royal Battleship clears her throat and Victory looks over. She sees Nelson beckoning her. She looks at Bismarck and says, "Excuse me." Bismarck nods and returns to her ship to take up escort duty.
Enterprise's new planes had reverted to the Wildcats and Dauntlesses they were before Wales had changed them to F-35 Lightning IIs. The Sirens had obviously detected Wales' hacking and they'd rewritten the code. Disappointed but thankful for having them against a Siren Elite, Enterprise sighs and launches her old planes for air patrols while leading her fleet back to the Pacific. The Battleships don't feel as nimble as they did during the fight anymore either.
Victory approaches her Secretary and asks with a warm smile, "What is it, Nellie?"
Blindsided by the sudden nickname, Nelson turns bright red and blurts out, "HUH!? SINCE WHEN DID WE START USING NICKNAMES!? ALSO, ARE YOU JUST GOING GLOSS OVER HOW THE HELL YOU GENERATED A SIREN ENERGY SHIELD, YOU IDIOT!?"
Taken aback, Victory ignores the first question and answers, "Oh, yes… of course, I never explained that, did I?" She thinks for a while and continues, "Well, just like that time I teleported us to Pearl in the first place, I just felt some kind of rush of power, but this time, I knew exactly what to do, I assume because if I hadn't, you probably would've been sunk…" her smile turns soft and she suddenly gently hugs her Secretary, "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I lost you..."
"Co… Commander…" Nelson looks around, making sure nobody can see them, and slowly hugs her back, enjoying the feeling.
Having evaded Zero, Spee finds herself in a room filled with pods containing Kansen. "What is this…?" She looks at all the pods, but one of them catches her full attention. She wipes the condensation off the glass for a better look at the girl inside.
It's her real body.
Spee's eyes widen in shock and she takes a few steps back, knocking over some equipment and drawing Zero's attention to the room.
The Siren enters but Spee is nowhere to be seen. "Ah… so she's seen herself…" Zero mutters to herself as she sees the steam on Spee's pod wiped away. She looks around and scans the room.
Spee silently sneaks around Zero, using the science tables and Kansen pods as cover, until Zero suddenly grabs her, shocks her and throws her at the far wall opposite the entrance.
The Heavy Cruiser shakes her head and looks up at the Siren, who says in her usual sleepy voice, "Please stop resisting, or every Kansen in here will be terminated." She pulls up a holographic screen with the profiles of all the asleep Iron Bloods in the room.
Spee freezes, not knowing what to do, until both she and Zero hear an unfamiliar voice behind them. They're dressed like Sirens, but…
"So unsophisticated!"
Zero turns around only to receive a shell straight the face from a Battlecruiser gun.
Spee jumps out of the way and sees Zero shoot past her into the wall, having been launched right off her rigging. She looks back at the two Kansen stood in the doorway and puts her hands up, "I'm not a Siren. Don't shoot."
"Admiral Graf Spee?" One of the strangely-dressed Kansen asks.
"Ja, it is me. Is that you, Frau Wales? Who is that?"
The Kansen who had shot Zero nods and smiles, "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Spee. I am Hood."
Spee gasps, "The Mighty Hood? The one who Lord Bismarck…"
"Yes." Hood smiles, "But that is behind us now. Hold on…" she notices Spee's pod still closed. "How are you in there but out here, as well?"
Spee shrugs, "I fell through a Siren portal and ended up here." Unaware that she seems to be flickering like a faulty hologram. "How did you summon riggings?"
Wales says, "We were able to deactivate a blocker for Kansen rigging so she can summon it, but mine seems to still be blocked."
Hood nods, "Yes, I suspect it's because more powerful rigging must be harder to summon in this place, so another blocker may be active. I assume you cannot use yours because you seem to be in two places at once, and you also appear to be… translucent and flickering?"
Spee looks at her hands and sees she can just barely see right through them. "Maybe because I fell through that portal, I ended up here while still asleep?"
"Well, let's get you woken up then. Wales, If you'd be so kind? I'll stay here and guard Lady Spee." Hood asks.
"Of course. I'll get her some clothing as well." Wales nods before heading off.
"Is that why you're both dressed as Sirens?" Spee asks.
"Correct. Unless we can find our own outfits here somewhere, we'll have to make do. Speaking of Sirens…" she switches her gaze to the incapacitated Zero, who's laying against the wall, her rigging collapsed next to her. She walks over to her, "It seems that I got the drop on her. She'd never go down that easily with all her defences up."
Graf Spee picks up the smaller girl. She looks like a little sister, with her similar hair and expressions. "To think these monsters are the ones responsible for so much suffering…"
Hood nods, "Indeed… whoever created them has quite the strange sense of design philosophy. Truly no elegance whatsoever…"
Hood takes the Siren from her and lays her on a desk. "So, if my memory serves me, this one is the one known as Observer Zero…" When she doesn't hear an answer, she looks back and sees Spee no longer there, but the one in the pod banging on the glass. Hood puts her hand on the other side and smiles to calm her, then Wales yells from down the corridor the code to the pod, which Hood types. The pod drains and Spee steps out in her real body, her fake body disappearing.
"That felt… very strange…" the Iron Blood states as she then conjures her rigging, getting her gauntlets back. "Could we try to find my schwester, Deutschland?"
Wales, who now has returned, nods, "We can, but soon I'll need to sleep so I can speak to the Commander about how we can change the parameters of the simulation. We could very well use them to get everyone out."
Hood says, "Go do that now then, my love. Lady Spee and I will find her sister."
Wales winces, "But Hood… you haven't met Deutschland… she…"
"Do not worry about her. If she makes a move, I will restrain her." Spee promises, giving a salute. "Please go help the Kommandantin, Frau Wales."
Wales nods, gives Hood a quick kiss and goes.
Spee, blushing, asks, "I didn't realise you two were…"
Hood chuckles and suggests with a sad smile, "She's certainly gotten bolder… maybe she's just afraid of losing me again… anyway, let's search the room. I'm sure they would have kept both of you together."
"Also… I thought she was… a little shorter than you…" Spee adds.
"Yes… she was…" Hood agrees.
Deutschland sits on the edge of Graf Zeppelin's aircraft runway, sighing loudly. She refuses to leave the Kansen who shares half her name with her dear sister, though she'd never admit it. Zeppelin walks over and stands next to her, "You need to stop moping around. Spee is far more capable than you think she is."
Deutschland glares up at her and hisses, "You don't know what it feels like! You don't have a schwester who's now probably a Siren captive! Shouldn't you be burning the world down or something!?"
Zeppelin lets out a small chuckle, silencing the surprised Cruiser. She sits down next to her and says, "What good will burning down a fake world do? Unless it's a vital part of us getting out of here, I have no interest in such an otherwise pointless task. And… you're wrong about me not having a schwester…"
"What?"
"Well… I was supposed to have a sister. 3, in fact, but the second of my class was cancelled to divert priority to the U-Boats. The final 2 never left the planning phase… I don't even know what their names were going to be…" Zeppelin takes her hat off in sorrow.
Deutschland thinks for a moment and eventually says, "I… Spee and I… we also have a third sister, Admiral Scheer, but she doesn't have a Kansen… We don't know why… I get more and more worried that she never will… and I just lost Spee again… I… I don't want to be… alone…" she starts to break down in tears, causing Zeppelin to sigh, roll her eyes and put an arm around her.
"Let it all out, Fräulein. Again, I'm sure Spee is just fine. If anything, I'll bet she's waiting for you in the real world now…" she looks down at their Cruiser and sees she's fallen asleep. Scoffing, she picks her up and carries her inside, muttering, "Why I have to babysit this angry child is beyond me… I'm not her verdammt mother…"
Deutschland opens her eyes and sees she's now in the arms of Graf Spee. She smiles slightly and says, "Let me guess… I'm dreaming?"
She hears a chuckle from nearby, then a voice saying, "I felt a similar way. Don't worry, you're not sleeping. You just woke up."
She looks over and sees a Royal Kansen smiling at her. She instinctively stands up and puts herself between her and her sister. She summons her rigging and Hood aims with hers, warning, "Lady Deutschland! Think about what you're doing!"
"DID YOU DO ANYTHING TO MY SCHWESTER!? I WILL GUT YOU IF YOU DID!" The Cruiser yells, before feeling Spee's massive gauntlet on her shoulder.
"Schwester, please calm down. She and her Freundin are helping me wake up everyone. We need to get them out of the simulation and get out of this place…"
Deutschland tears her attention away from Hood's gun barrels and looks back at her sister, "They haven't hurt you? I thought the Sirens captured you?"
"Nein. The Siren I was sent here with never woke up, and the one that tried to kill me earlier is over there on the table." She points to Zero's body. "Frau Hood saved me."
Deutschland looks back at the Royal and says, "The Mighty Hood!?" She smirks and puts her rigging away, "Well, if Bismarck beat you so easily then I see no reason why the Great Deutschland should have to bother with such a weakling."
Hood chooses not to further escalate things and ignores the childish insult. She puts away her rigging and watches as the Iron Bloods walk over to the Siren. The dark-haired Heavy Cruiser glares at Zero and mutters, "Why does she look so much like you, Spee…?"
Her sister shrugs, "I dunno… but we should probably do something with her before she wakes up. She's not dead yet."
Hood says, "I believe Wales has a plan on what to do with her. We just need to take out her personality and memory chip for her. She said it's on the side of her head."
Deutschland demands, "Where is the Siren's rigging, tea swigger!?"
Hood points to the wrecked mechanical jellyfish, her eye twitching slightly, indicating her thinning patience. The angry Heavy Cruiser starts demolishing Zero's rigging as Spee gently taps Hood's shoulder. She looks down at her and the gentler Iron Blood says, "I am truly sorry for her behaviour…"
Hood smiles, "It's alright. I've been called worse."
"You have?" Spee asked, surprised that there's anyone more arrogant than her own sister.
"Indeed." Hood nods, "You'll be surprised at the mouths Royal sailors have on them when they're drunk. Luckily, the Commander managed to keep humans separated from us."
"I'm thankful to her for that… I… don't really have many social skills…" Spee says, turning away and working on removing Zero's "brain".
Hood smiles, puts her hand on Spee's shoulder and softly says, "But you've made so many friends already. Don't worry so much. You're doing just fine."
"D… Danke…" Spee responds, reminded of why the Royals look up to her so much.
Suddenly, they hear a thud and they see Deutschland now asleep, slumped over the remains of Zero's riggings. Something just awoke her up in the simulation.
Wales finds the secure room that she and Hood had found and cut off from the Siren network. She has to physically grab the door and force it open and shut. She makes sure she's alone and lays down on the bed. She finally gets some sleep. She wakes up in the virtual world again and sees she's in the Scapa Flow hospital in a gown and an IV in her arm along with an oxygen mask, which she grabs and takes off, getting the attention of someone sat next to her bed.
"…did they think I was comatose…?" She asks out loud, then hears a gasp from next to her.
"Wales!" Howe exclaims, "You've been asleep for so long! The Commander and Nelson have vanished! What happened to you!? We found these in your room!"
After the hail of questions, Wales sees her youngest sister hold up the packs of cigarettes she had bought in Portsmouth. She looks down in shame and says, "Howe… I…"
"Just what the HELL were you doing with these!? You know how dangerous Dr. Anzeel said they are!" Howe demands.
Knowing she won't be able to get a word in like this, the elder sister grabs them and throws them to the corner of the room where they hit the wall and fall into the bin. She looks back at her silenced sister and explains, "I thought I'd lost everything, dear sister. I lost my love, I was outcasted by my own class, and there was nothing left for me…"
Howe interrupts, "Outcasted by us!? What are you—"
"I was never good enough to please George! You, her and York never invite me to training, tea or even just casual talks!" Wales interrupts back. "Not until Hood sank, anyway!"
"But… we assumed since you had her…"
"I still would have accepted, and even bright her along! What about when she sank, hmm? Did George or York even try to console me like you tried!? George likely only wanted to see me to get me off my arse and back in this bloody War!" Wales yells, hitting her hand on the bed. She fights back tears and mutters, "I… I thought I'd never be able to prove myself as a King George V class… and as a Royal Knight… if I couldn't even protect or avenge Hood by myself… that's why I got them! Cigars seemed to put the Prime Minister at ease… so I thought I'd try the smaller ones…"
Howe, now understanding more, puts her hand on her sister's and asks softly, "Did they work? Did they help you?"
Wales stares at a couple of cigarettes that fell out when the pack hit the wall and hisses, "…not in the bloody slightest…" She looks at Howe and her voice becomes softer, "I suppose our Kansen bodies can withstand the damage they do, with the downside of not getting the feeling humans get from them… I decided it was pointless… I'm so sorry for being such a poor role model for you, Howe… I will be better, I promise."
Happy to hear that, Howe says, "I'll talk to George about how she treats you, Wales. By the way, you said you weren't comatose? Then… what were you doing while asleep?"
Wales thinks for a bit, trying to piece together a way to explain without making it sound like a coma dream. "Could… you call Dr. Anzeel in here? I think she'll be able to help me explain."
Howe nods, "Sure. I'll be right back, ok?" She says in a protective voice on her way out.
"Im not going anywhere." Wales jokes with a smile. She suddenly realises something, "Wait, Howe!" But her sister has already left. Sighing, she lays back, "Damn… I forgot the Commander isn't even here…"
Victory suddenly has a brainwave. "Hang on…" she gets up and draws Nelson's attention.
The Battleship asks, "What is it? More Sirens?"
"No… If I was able to do all that against Purifer… and I still feel it… then…" Victory focuses.
"Oh no…" Nelson mutters in dread. She races to her radio and contacts the Iron Blood escorts, she can only yell, "Everyone brace!" Before a huge portal opens beneath the whole fleet and sucks it in. Flying through the void between locations, all of the ships and their Kansen get spat out of another opening, and they fall right into the luckily enormous harbour of Scapa Flow. To avoid all the ships becoming wrecks, the Kansen all turn their vessels to riggings and land on the water. The sudden shock woke up Deutschland.
The short-tempered Cruiser yells out, "Bismarck, was zum Teufel ist gerade passiert!?"
Bismarck responds, but speaking to Victory, "Kommandantin, if you're going to do things like that, at least warn us properly next time." In a very angry but professionally subdued tone.
Victory nervously laughs, "hehe… sorry, girls… I suppose I got too excited about being able to do that again…"
Nelson facepalms, "You really ARE a bloody idiot…"
The Siren portal made the base alarms sound out. The Royal Knights except Wales and Howe approach to investigate first as not to alert everyone else unless they're really under attack. They see the Commander and they radio to turn off the alarm before meeting them Rodney in tow, who had seen what just happened in person.
Nelson sees a human-shaped torpedo named "Rodney" charging right for her and braces herself, "Oh no…" before she's tackled by her sister and hugged tightly on the floor of the dock.
Victory chuckles seeing her Secretary so close with her sister, then is reminded that she's the only one she's aware of from the Age of Sail. She thinks to herself, "I'm so out of her league… she's a Big Seven… how did she ever start liking a ship as weak as me?"
Her darker thoughts are interrupted by her radio blaring, now finally picking up the base frequency, and it's the overly excited voice of Anzeel, "Commander! Commander! Come quick! I think Wales has saved us!"
Having been deemed fit to leave her bed, Wales got dressed and headed with Anzeel to her lab to explain everything she can with all the Royal Knights there. Victory and Bismarck enter the room. They decided to keep Fritz out of this one, as they're not sure if he's even real. They all know they can trust Anzeel, however.
Wales salutes Victory as she enters. "Commander! I have great news!"
"Are you feeling alright, Wales? What's happened?" Victory asks.
"Commander, Knights, this is what has happened on my end while I was asleep, alright? Bismarck can back me up on this. Dr. Anzeel, take notes, please." Wales requests.
Anzeel gets her notepad and pen out from her lab coat pocket before nodding.
Wales details what she's been doing and the fact that Hood is still alive. She explains that if a Kansen is sunk or killed in some other way, then they can fully escape the simulation if they're woken up by a computer. If they're woken up and still alive in the simulation like herself, then their consciousness is transferred between worlds every time they fall asleep and wake up in the simulation. She theorises that they have all been used in simulations over and over again, and every time they "die", they get their memories wiped and out in stasis until the next time they're "Awoken" in new experiments.
At a loss for words, George looks at her like she'd just admitted to assassinating the Eagle Union President. Anzeel and Victory, however, start discussing it enthusiastically. Wales looks at George says, "It's alright, sister. You don't have to believe me. I'm used to that by now, but Bismarck herself has seen the real world like I have, and so has Graf Spee. You likely won't be seeing her until we're all out of here."
Feeling bad about herself and her other sisters hardly ever believing anything Wales says despite being right, Howe looks down in shame. They couldn't even believe her when she confessed her love for Hood, or even when they consummated that first night. She looks at George and York and says, "Sisters, we have to treat Wales better. She's been right about so many things so far, and who else would be good enough to earn Lady Hood's affection? George, you have to stop being so harsh on her! York, you need to stop doing… whatever it is you do to her when you're drunk!" How puts her foot down while her two older sisters look down like they're being scolded by a disappointed mother.
Meanwhile, Victory and Anzeel call Bismarck over to get her input. The Iron Blood Battleship is grateful just for the chance to stop listening to the KGV family squabble. "Ja, Kommandantin?"
Victory asks, "Bismarck, did you manage to find Dr. Anzeel or myself in the real world, at all?"
"Nein, I'm afraid not, Kommandantin. You both may be held in more secure parts of the facility, or perhaps a different base altogether." The Battleship informs them.
Anzeel chimes in, "They probably have me in their main lab. I helped to create the Kansen in the first place, so they'll have me right in the middle. Sirens usually structure their bases in huge circles, with their most important parts in the middle where they're the most defended. It also means their defensive walls are the same thickness all the way around with no weak corners."
Victory nods, "Yes, I've seen my fair share of them. We've taken out a few of their FOBs in the past. We can't have them giving the Crimson Axis any advantage until we get them on our side."
"I agree." Bismarck nods, glad that Victory is keeping the more important part of escaping this world in mind. She adds, "If we can get more girls woken up from this place, the more eyes we'll have to look for the two of you, and the more firepower we'll have against the Sirens in the base."
Victory asks, "Yes, but we need to have them fully out of this world, but still have enough girls here to keep fighting the Sirens and the Crimson Axis. They may be fake, but the Nazis are a very real threat while we're still in here with them."
Bismarck puts her hand to her chin and proposes, "There surely must be some function hidden away somewhere that wakes us all up at once and ends the simulation. We should try to find that as well. I suspect that the leader - or at least a high-ranking Siren - should have that sort of power…"
Graf Spee keeps watch of Deutschland while she's asleep. On the other side of the room, Hood studies the body of the incapacitated Zero. The small Siren has had her face blown half off by her earlier attack and the half of her Siren brain responsible for controlling her body is now gone. Leaving only the half that houses her consciousness. Hood feels a compulsion to raise her hand and put it gently on the Siren's forehead. She checks to make sure Spee is focused on her sister and stares into Zero's surviving eye.
Both her own eyes start glowing as her Cubes start humming, then suddenly stops as Hood suddenly realises what she's doing and stumbles backwards, falling back. Spee rushes over and helps her up, "Are you alright, Frau Hood?"
"Ugh… y… yes. Thank you, Lady Spee… I do apologise, I don't know what came over me…" Hood collects herself.
"It's okay, Frau Hood. If there's anything wrong, just say so." Spee smiles and goes back over to her sister.
Hood watches her go, then back at Zero. What little signs of activity she had in her one eye are now all gone, and her own eyes emit a faint, blue glow…
Wales is addressed by Victory, who says, "So you're the one who unlocked all those abilities of mine and for the escort fleet? How interesting. We'd better keep the information about sinking to wake up in the real world to ourselves, though. We don't need everyone trying to sink themselves or each other trying to get out. We still need to make sure we win this virtual War to make getting everyone out easier. It will be far more difficult if the Crimson Axis overpower us."
Wales nods, "Yes, ma'am. In that case, I assume I'm still going over to Singapore with Repulse soon?"
"Yes, but not quite yet. I still need you here for now. Get some rest first, and try again to find my real body." She leaves to return to her office while Anzeel sits in her lab chair, scribbling many hypotheses one after the other.
Howe smiles and says, "I should get back to the dorms. I'm exhausted."
York leaves wordlessly and George claims, "Yes, I have some training to do." She leaves afterwards.
"Go on then. I don't want to be more of a burden to you lot." Wales says to them.
"You never were, sister. Not to me." Howe hugs her and leaves.
Some time later, Wales goes for a stroll, to think. How DID she know of so much? How did show know about weapons that she has no active memory of? What happened to them in the real world? What was the year there? She makes sure it remember her questions to look for answers when she switches worlds again. She makes her way to her own room and sees Belfast herself making her room look nice.
"Belfast?" Wales asks quietly.
The Head Maid smiles and curtsies to her, "Good evening, Lady Wales, I had been sent word you had awoken and I took the opportunity to make sure your room was most welcoming. I do hope I haven't been too bold."
"No, no… it's fine. Thank you." Wales smiles at her. "Um… can I trust you with a secret, Bel? I feel you need to know this… as a friend."
Belfast nods, "Of course, ma'am. You may trust me."
She makes sure there's nobody in the hallway and closes the door. She sits on her bed and pats the bit next to her, prompting Belfast to sit. She looks at the Head Maid and says "Hood is still alive."
Almost losing her composure, Belfast says, "Are you feeling quite alright, ma'am? I could've sworn you had said that Lady Hood is alive."
"You heard right, Belfast. You're of course aware that this world is just a simulation, yes?" Wales asks.
"That is what I have been told, ma'am, although it is rather difficult to believe." Belfast answers skeptically.
"I know, it can be, and I'm going to prove it to you. When you go to sleep tonight, you'll see for yourself." Wales promises.
"…If you say so, ma'am…" Belfast responds.
"Go on, then. Go get to bed. You've earned it, as always." Wales orders.
"Immediately, ma'am." Belfast stands, curtsies and leaves to go do so. Wales gets ready for bed and prepares to wake up again in the Siren base. As both versions of her sleep when the other wakes up, she never feels tired.
Wales sits up on the bed in the secure room. It certainly isn't as comfortable as the bed she just fell asleep in, but it did its job. She gets up and races to the computer to the facility to get Belfast's pod, its code and location.
She hears someone coming and she presses herself against the doorframe. Tester, now in her Gamma body, glides through the doorway and doesn't see her. She must be looking for Zero. Wales carefully makes sure the room is clear and gets to the computer. She's going to have to be fast to get back to Hood before Tester does.
"Hmm… it looks like the Royal Maid Corps are all together, despite not being all the same class…" Wales observes. "No… wait, hold on… the Type 26… City-class…?" She dismisses that for now and wakes up Belfast. She decides she may as well wake up Sheffield as well. She'd be very helpful too. She's about to go, then she remembers to try and find the date. She accesses the settings and turns on the date and time. She looks at it and her eyes widen.
"…oh my God…"
She then, out of curiosity, accesses her own file and looks at her own class.
"…Queen Elizabeth-class?"
Belfast and Sheffield both wake up and step out of their pods, the latter with far more caution. The former takes a look around and chuckles, "Miss Sheffield, you can relax. We're not in immediate danger. Although, it seems that Lady Wales was indeed correct. I shall have to apologise for doubting her."
Sheffield looks back at her and scolds, "You're never careful enough, Miss Belfast. Remember that time a Siren almost got you?"
"Indeed, but don't you worry. I may not appear as careful as yourself, but I do remain vigilant." The Head Maid assures her. "Now then… which way shall we…?"
Wales enters the room and greets them. "Welcome back to the real world, girls." She smiles a shaky smile.
The two maids bow before her, despite lacking any decency. Belfast responds, "Lady Wales! It's a relief to see you are well…. Are you alright? You seem… troubled."
"I'm fine, Bel. I'm just so glad to see both of you finally awake. Just be careful where you sleep. You'll switch back to where you were in the simulation again." Wales warns.
Sheffield notices, "Miss Belfast?"
"Yes, Miss Sheffield?"
"Since when we're Miss Belfast and I the same height?"
Wales had notices as well, "Hmm… yes, I'm taller than Hood now as well. I have a theory, but I need to get rid of whatever's blocking my rigging first. Let's go."
Sheffield objects, "Ma'am? Our fellow Maids?"
Wales smiles, "Don't worry, Sheff. We'll be back for all of them soon." The Maids follow Wales back to Hood, who's still looking over Zero.
Hood stares at Graf Spee who is trying to wake up her sister and to her surprise she notices details about both of them appear in her vision. Words appear and she shakes her head, making them go away. "What was that…?" She whispers to herself.
"Hood, look who I found!" Wales announces proudly.
Belfast and Sheffield stop dead in their tracks upon seeing her. Sheffield almost breaks her emotionless expression. Belfast smiles and bows, "Lady Hood! I am so pleased to see you again."
Hood chuckles, "You you don't have to keep up that act when Elizabeth isn't around, Bel. You too, Sheff." She says in her own native, Scottish accent, surprising Wales. "You can if want was well, my love." She says to the Scouse Battleship. The words appear in her vision again and sees their classes of ship have all changed. She decides to put a pin in that for now and figure out what's happened to her later.
Belfast and Sheffield look at each other and back at them, dropping their more elegant accents and using their natural voices, the former Irish and the latter Geordie, much to the entertainment of Hood and Wales. They wonder why Hood asked them to drop the act for now, but they realise it's putting them more at ease considering the implications of where they are.
Sheffield asks, "So, doesn't anyone remember what the bloody hell happened to all of us? How come we're all captured? Are there any humans even left alive?"
Belfast adds, "And what's happening with that Siren there?" She points to Zero, finally seeing Spee in the corner, staring at them and surprised by their true voices.
Wales grabs some tools off of a nearby table. "I have an idea, but I need to be alone to work on it. I'll be done soon. Hood, if you'll be so kind as to help our loyal Maids wake up U-556 and Tirpitz?"
Hood nods, "Alright, then I'll see you soon."
The three Kansen leave Wales to it. The two Maids manage to find clothes that fit them and they go. Hood wonders when Wales got so much more technologically adept. Perhaps it's to do with her seemingly new class? But aren't the members of the QE-class all small? Why is Wales taller if that's the case? Her train of thought screeches to a halt when she suddenly notices, "Is it just me, or are the two of you taller, as well?"
"I have noticed that as well, Lady Hood. It seems neither of us can summon our riggings, either." Sheffield confirms.
"You both cannot? Hmm…" Hood thinks.
Belfast asks, "But you can, Hood?"
"Yes, and so can Graf Spee and her sister… something isn't right…" Hood nods.
"We're not simply in yet another simulation, are we?" Sheffield suggests.
Hood shudders at the thought, "I certainly hope not, Sheff." Their discussion is interrupted by alarms that start blaring "What? They've only just caught onto us!?"
Wales looks up from working on Zero's brain. She asks seemingly nobody, "Have they discovered us?"
Before Spee can respond, a small, holographic version of Zero appears and looks up at Wales and responds, "Negative. The fortress is under attack by a human task force of Azur Lane."
Spee and Wales look at each other. Wales says, "So Azur Lane still exists here… Spee! Go find Hood and find a way out to help them!"
"But what about you? And who is that?" Spee asks.
"I'll explain later, just go! I'll look after your sister!" Wales orders.
Spee nods and runs after Hood. Wales keeps working on Zero while talking to her seemingly friendly holographic doppelgänger. "TB, are able to connect with the version of you aiding the human fleet?"
"Negative. The shielding of this facility is preventing me from joining with her." The miniature Zero replies in the same lazy, monotone voice.
"Then I'll just have to go with Plan B…" Wales mutters.
"Plan B has only a 68% chance of success." TB argues.
Wales counters, "Well, it's all we've got."
Tester Gamma portals to the outside of the base and stares down the attacking human fleet. Their Carriers launch planes at them and she orders Siren fighters to take off. Out of all their bases, this one must not fall. "How many times must we teach you this lesson, foolish humans!? BEGONE!"
Bismarck, still in the virtual Scapa Flow, thinks of Tirpitz and hopes she can convince her to abandon the virtual versions of the monsters who control her homeland. The more she thinks about what her real history is, the more this recreation starts to accurately depict what happened, minus the divergence of events playing out due to Victory being present. She closes her eyes and thinks about what really happened to her…
She remembers the Royal Navy chasing her down just as they did before, but as she sinks, she slumps down against her turrets just as she did in this world, but when she sees Dorsetshire, she doesn't jump on her deck and offer her another chance, she instead simply launches the final torpedoes at her and shoots off. Furrowing her eyebrows, Bismarck is then put at ease as the darkening blue of the water is replaced by her faithful little companion, U-556, desperately reaching for her and pulling her back up by her arm. She smiles and opens her eyes, and looks at the little U-Boat doing inspections of her ship, "They'll find you, Parzival. And wake you up, too, as well as my schwester… They promised me…"
She's interrupted by Anzeel tapping her on the shoulder. "Bis! I called out to you multiple times!"
She spins around. "Anzeel? I apologise. I was lost in thought."
"Eh, it's fine. I get like that, too. I made you something awesome!" Anzeel enthusiastically says, "As kind of a thanks for getting Alpha to stop using me, I guess…" she shrugs as she presents a case to her.
Bismarck silently reaches up with her only arm to unclip the case and open it. She's surprised by what's in it.
"A new arm…?" The Battleship whispers.
"Yup! C'mon! Let's get Jervis to fit it for ya!" She takes the Battleship by the remaining arm and pulls her along.
Keeping up, Bis asks, "Let me guess, another prototype?"
"Kinda… It's not the first one I've made, but it is the first with a shoulder joint!" Anzeel replies.
"You've made prosthetic arms before?" Bismarck asks.
"Yeah, but they don't work for humans as they're powered by Cube energy. The last one I made was for a Sardegna ship before the War!" The Doctor explains.
"Oh? What was her name?" Bismarck asks.
Anzeel thinks, "Oh… it's was a really long name… uh… oh yeah, it was Luigi di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi."
Bismarck cracks a small smile, "I can imagine she takes the full use of her name seriously."
Anzeel laughs and says, "She won't allow anything less than 'Duca degli Abruzzi.' She went on about her dignity or something."
Eventually, Jervis gets a knock on her door. With an annoyed sigh, Jervis says, "Enter."
Anzeel comes in with the case and sets it on the table. Jervis asks, "What is this?"
Bismarck enters and says, "My new arm."
Jervis works out what they want. "Thank you, Dr. Anzeel. If you wouldn't mind, I only operate alone."
"Don't you need to know—" Anzeel tries.
"I'll figure it out." Jervis cuts her off.
"Okay then…" Anzeel replies dejectedly. She enters the viewing room while Bismarck follows Jervis.
Every day, the Royal Navy is impressed with what Anzeel can do. To protect her, they always deny that Anzeel can create scientific and technological miracles while Britain's best official computer is the Colossus, a computer that needs the space of an entire room to function, while Anzeel's computer has a microchip that's far more powerful. Victory chalks it up to some kind of glitch she's found in the simulation or captured Siren tech. Maybe both.
After Bismarck is put under, she wakes up in the real world once again. She gets up and hears the alarm of the fortress blaring. "That cannot be good…"
She darts down the curved halls of the Siren Base until she runs into Hood, Belfast and Sheffiled. Hood smiles and says, "Lady Bismarck, I believe the way out is this way, let's go!" Her elegant accent returns.
Tester is sinking human ships like fish in a barrel. "Hahahaha! Get lost, you vermin!"
"That's rather the pot calling the kettle 'black', is it not?" She hears from behind her.
She turns around and takes a bullet straight to her eye. She stumbles back, screaming and holding her face. She sees 5 Kansen all aiming their weapons at her, 2 of them subtly observing their riggings that hold new weapons.
"Pest." Sheffield says, holding her new guns now that her rigging is no longer blocked on the outside. No matter how realistic the simulation seemed, the cool ocean breeze confirms to her that this indeed the real world. She feels a familiarity with these new guns, but she doesn't quite recognise them.
Tester yells, "THE LOOSE KANSEN!? HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET OUT HERE!?"
Bismarck points to the massive hole she blew in the wall behind her earlier, the sound masked by Tester's own cannons firing at the human fleet. "Do you really need to ask that question? Surrender, Siren."
Tester's eye bleeds as she smirks, "Do you really wanna do this dance again, Bismarck? After what I did to you—" she's cut off by Sheffield shooting her other eye, blinding her for a while. With a panicked scream, Tester opens fire. The smaller Kansen dodge out of the way, and Bismarck instinctively pushes Hood out of the way of a plasma beam, taking the hit herself and getting launched into the wall behind her head-first, knocking her out.
"Lady Bismarck!" Hood yells.
Later on, Bismarck is recovering with U-556 sat next to her bed holding an ice pack on her head. The Sub suffered a slight concussion from slipping off her ladder, but that didn't stop her from making sure her Lord is safe. Bismarck sits up with a shock, startling the Sub.
"Lord Bismarck? Are you alright?" The U-556 asks.
Bismarck looks around. She knows she'll be unable to wake up from a hit like that for a while. She remembers she saved Hood getting hit and being knocked out, "Schiesse…" She knows she can't just go back to sleep now to help them so she decides she can only hope they'll defeat Tester on their own, especially now that the two Royal Maids seem to have new weapons. She sees her faithful companion to her left and smiles, "Hello, U-556." she gently pats her on the head, making her giggle. "I'm fine. Did you hurt your head?"
Jervis enters and she says, "Ah, you're wake. I'll inform the Commander." She leaves again and returns after a minute. "How are you feeling, Miss Bismarck?"
Bismarck says, "A lot better. Danke."
"Just doing my job, Miss. How's the arm?" Jervis points with her pen as she makes a note of the Battleship's current condition.
"The arm…? Oh." She looks at her new robotic prosthetic. It moves as if it were her normal one in real life. "It's… it's amazing… I'm genuinely impressed. I didn't think we'd have technology like this even by the 2000s…" Bismarck answers, not able to take her eyes off the arm.
Jervis writes it down, "So it doesn't cause discomfort… interesting… how about you, Miss U-556? Is your head feeling any better?"
The Sub nods, "Ja… I've been avoiding any further head injury, like you said."
"Well, you should always avoid it, but especially know that you've been concussed. It's very easy to have another one right now. Even the smallest knocks could cause another." Jervis says.
Bismarck finally breaks her focus away from her arm. She looks at Jervis and asks, "Ärtzin… when these painkillers wear off…"
"You won't feel a thing, don't worry. Your Cubes are already working hard to heal the scarring from the incisions I had to make to fix that arm on and wire it to your Cubes. The operation would have killed a human. By the time the morphine stops working, you'll be fully healed. Since your Cubes are supplying the energy needed to make your arm work, you don't need to worry about it dying on you." Jervis assures her.
"I see… I don't know how I'll repay Anzeel for this…" Bismarck ponders.
Jervis says, "Since this is a simulation, I'm sure you won't even need that arm when we're all out of here, Miss. Now, when you feel you can move the arm without issue, you'll be free to go." She leaves.
Anzeel visits to see her new creation in action. "Hey, looking good, Bis!"
"Danke, Ärtzin. This arm feels like it's my original one in the real world, apart from the fact I can only sense touch with the fingertips." Bismarck nods.
Anzeel says, "If my stuff was more advanced, I could've done more, sorry…"
"Nein! It… It's fine. I apologise. Your work is very impressive, Ärtzin. Danke." Bismarck corrects herself, not meaning to upset her.
Anzeel looks back at her, "Really? You like it? It's not causing issues?" Bismarck nods and she says, "Ah, thank God… I wonder if it would work in the real world?"
Bismarck flexes it. "If this simulation is a perfect recreation of what is possible, Ärtzin, I'm confident you can work wonders there. By the way, if my Kansen biology allowed me to regenerate my body and heal, then how come my arm couldn't grow back?"
Anzeel engages her scientist mode and adjusts her glasses accordingly. She answers, "Because there was nothing left of your arm to grow back, Bis. The skin around your shoulder was only partially damaged. The limbs are not deemed essential to your survival, unlike internal organs. They'll heal over time and regenerate thanks to your Cubes, but your arm wasn't needed, I guess.
Bismarck asks, "Then what about Sheffield? I injured her eye and that came back.
Anzeel shrugs, "Honestly, I'm not sure. The eyes are the second-most complex organs we have, I assume it's because she still had her eye, because you just split it open instead of removing it from her head."
U-556 becomes visibly uncomfortable with the grisly discussion and Bismarck says, "Alright, we can talk more about this later. Danke for your visit and the arm, Ärtzin. Operations to save us all from this virtual Hölle will be easier for me while I'm in it now."
Anzeel smiles and her glasses fall a little down her nose as her casual self resurfaces, "No problem, Bis. Come back to the lab whenever you're ready. Roon seems to have chilled out for now, so I'm gonna go check her again. See ya!" She says happily as she leaves the room.
U-556 looks back at Bismarck and asks, "Lord Bismarck?"
"Ja, Parzival?"
"Are you able to leave the simulation?"
"I am, and when I'm back out there, we'll wake you up, too. Now, if you'd be so kind, I need to fall asleep to help them." Bismarck requests.
U-556 gets confused but does as her Lord wants and injects her with anaesthetics to knock her out again.
Author's Note: Sorry for the wait! Christmas and New Year was really busy for me, but I hope the length of this one makes up for it. Plus, now I'll be able to update the story more frequently! Stay tuned!