[Azur Lane Bismarck]

I lead Nagato, Ooyodo and Prinz back onto my ship. Z1 and Z3 saluted us and the former reported, "Frau Bismarck! Frau Nagato! The prisoner is currently playing in her room!"

"Gute Arbeit, you two. I would say you're dismissed, but I believe Frau Nagato has command over you again now." I responded, looking to the Kommandantin.

Z1 and Z3 looked at her too, and she nodded with a small smile. They wasted no time in leaving to go do what they wanted.

"Let's see this Abyssal, then." Nagato ordered.

I nodded and opened the door. The little one looked up from where she sat in the middle of the room with her plane, "Mama? Oh…" she said as she saw Nagato.

"Here she is. According to Prinz, she's the Northern Princess, and her Abyssal unit has been destroyed."

Nagato fell silent, and the look on her face is not any of the ones I expected. She seemed… loving?

Princess stood up and walked towards her. She looked up, gave an adorable but angry pout and said, "You hurt my Mama."

"Was?" I asked, looking at the Secretary Ship.

Nagato kneeled down in front of her, "Your Mama is a threat to humanity, little one. But if we work together and communicate, maybe we can make peace…?"

"Can I play… with the other kids here…?" Princess asked.

Nagato smiled, "Hai. I'm sure you could, if they'd want to."

That seemed to be enough to convince the Abyssal, as she smiled back and nodded, "Ok… I'll help…" she waddled forward and hugged Nagato, who blushed and could only return it. She stood up, lifting Princess off her feet and carried her in her arms.

The Battleship looked at me in wonder, "Just who are you, Bismarck? You switched places with our own version of you, and in just a few hours you bring us a captive Abyssal who can communicate and wants to help us."

I gave a weak smile and answered. "I'm just a misguided Battleship who had to be sunk and brought back to life to realise what was really worth fighting for."

"And what is that?" She asked while walking with me off the ship carrying Princess.

"A world that doesn't need us, and then we shipgirls can truly have our freedom."

"But… what if they decide to be rid of you after you win?"

"If they choose to try and dispose of us, then humanity will have a new enemy." I replied back with venom in my voice. "If the other flagships disagree, then they'll have to choose between letting their friends be scrapped or joining me, along with the rest of the Crimson Axis."

[Kancolle Bismarck]

I was ready to walk again. Perseus and Jervis helped me stand and Hood assisted me in maintaining my balance. I took a step and collapsed forward, my face going right into her chest.

"Oh my, Bismarck. You must be more careful." The Battlecruiser said with a red face.

"Es tut mir lied, Frau Hood…" I replied as I stood back up. "Could I have a crutch? My left leg isn't quite strong enough right now." I asked the doctors.

"I'll grab one." Jervis replied in monotone before leaving to retrieve one.

"Other than that, how do you feel, Miss?" Perseus asked.

"I still hurt all over, but I'll manage." I replied as Hood supported me.

"Very good. Seeing as you're human, I've had to… repurpose some of the Commander's surplus painkillers as the ones we Kansen use could stop your heart." Perseus informed me nonchalantly while handing me some. "Take one of those daily until you don't need them anymore. No more, no less. Come to me directly if you need more."

"Understood." I nodded, accepting them and swallowing one along with the remaining water that Belfast had brought in. I hoped she was doing okay.

"Let's get you to your… well, our Bismarck's room." Hood said, helping me walk there after Jervis came back with a crutch.

On the way there, we saw Eugen leaning against the wall next to the door to my counterpart's room.

"Ah, giving yourself to the replacement already, Frau Hood~?" She teased.

"Whatever do you mean, Lady Eugen?" Hood retorted.

"Not even a week after Lord Bismarck went missing and you already have devoted yourself to someone who looks and sounds exactly like her. Perhaps you're wishing to try your luck with a version who doesn't hate herself too much to notice your affections~?"

"Frau Hold is just assisting me while I'm still recovering, Eugen…" I corrected her, blushing slightly.

Hood herself added, "I suggest you stop talking, Lady Eugen. All I'm doing is making sure she's alright. You saw the nasty blow she took. Besides, you're the one who asked if she and her version of you are close."

Eugen's expression quickly changed as she looked at us quickly. "You… heard that?"

"I may be older than you and my eyesight may not be the best, but I pride myself on my hearing, Lady Eugen. Especially when I walk past Wales' room when you visit her." Hood taunted with a smug grin.

Eugen's eyes widened and her face went bright red before she left without another word.

I looked at Hood and asked, "Are tensions here always so high?"

As Hood opened the room with a backup key, which she had for some reason, she explained, "Once you have combatants who were at each other's throats for just over five and a half years and suddenly we're supposed to be allies, trust is a very fragile thing. The Commander isn't exactly helping it along. Plus, once you're around people like Prinz Eugen for long enough you tend to find ways to combat them without violence. She gets especially annoying when it's the 22nd of August, as it's both our birthdays."

I sat down on the surprisingly comfy bed in the large room. The black and red motif of the decorations reminded me of Germany in the 1940s, just very thankfully devoid of any alarming imagery of that dark time.

"I wish I didn't hate it in here." Hood admitted. She sat down at a table in the room that she seemed to be used to sitting at. "Countless times I've come in to see her. To talk to her. To try and get her to just open up to me…" she sighed, "She still blames herself for what happened."

I recalled my history of the Battleship I'm named after, "The… Denmark Strait, ja?"

"Yes… it doesn't bother me. We were two warships… well, six of us, just doing our duty. She sank me, fair and square. I've moved on. I'm the Pride of the Royal Navy. It wouldn't do us any good if I became a recluse like our Bismarck is becoming. More and more she locks herself away and stews in her own self-hatred."

I stood and made my way over to the table and sat down opposite her, "Why does she hate herself? Surely there's a reason? From what I remember of the memories I inherited, didn't she sink you with one shot and drive off Prince of Wales? Isn't that something to be proud of? No offence, natürlich."

"None taken." She smiled, "I'm well aware of the very lucky shot she got on me. It's because she allowed herself to be manipulated by the very enemy we are at war with. The Sirens. Specifically, one that has made our Atlantic operations very difficult. Observer Alpha."

"Observer… so they all have specific roles…? The one who attacked us…"

"That one was Purifier. Her job is rather simple. Fitting for one so simple-minded." Hood quipped with a smile, making me laugh.

Hood stared at me in surprise. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing." Hood smiled, "I've just… never been able to make a Bismarck laugh before. It's rather… nice hearing it."

I blushed and looked away, "I… wait, she's never laughed?"

"Not as far as I know. It seems that nothing can bring herhappiness anymore… it… it is very heartbreaking." She lifts up a cup of tea seemingly out of nowhere and I just noticed a kettle and a cup of coffee for me right in front of me, on a fancy saucer and everything.

Wasn't the table bare just seconds before?

"Was? How did you-?"

"One must always be prepared, Lady Bismarck." Hood said in the tone of elegance she always maintained.

I decided not to question it and accepted the coffee, adding my own choice of sugar and milk, "Danke schön, Frau Hood." Trying to match her elegance and probably failing, to which she found endearing.

"Oh how I wish I could spend time like this with her…" Hood whispered before taking another sip. "So… you and your version of Prinz Eugen… you are close, then?"

"Judging by the fact you heard me speaking to your Eugen about it, I'd assume you'd already have suspicions." I countered.

"Ah, yes, of course, but I'd like to hear it from you myself."

I felt it less award speaking about this to someone who isn't another version of Prinz, so I answered more confidentially, "Personally, I do like her a lot. She's always there for me, makes me happy. Every time I see her, my day gets brighter. Whenever a mission goes badly and we just barely make it out, her endless optimism always brings joy to my heart." I smiled and blushed.

Hood smiled, "She sounds delightful. I would say I hope to meet her, but if any more crossover happened between our worlds, it could spell disaster."

"Ja, I suppose. I guessthese feelings could be… love… but… I just don't know if she loves me back…" I admitted.

"Just ask her."

"Was?" I looked at Hood with surprise.

"When you finally get back, take her someplace private and just ask her if she likes you that way. If she hesitates, tell me what you told her and see how she responds." Hood instructed.

"But what if she doesn't? What if she feels she has to say yes?"

"Trust me, Biscuit. She sounds like she cares for you deeply. I'm sure she'd be overjoyed at-"

"Hold on, what did you just call me?" I interrupted, catching her Freudian slip.

"Hmm? What? I called you Bismarck." She answered, seemingly oblivious.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "It sounded like you said 'Biscuit'."

Hood slammed down her now empty cup and it damn near broke, "I what?"

"You… called me 'Biscuit'." I repeated.

"I did…? Oh dear…" she cleared her throat, "Ahem, excuse me, Bismarck, I need to leave."

I looked at her confused, "Wait! Why did you call me that?"

"I'm very sorry, please excuse me!" Hood said before leaving.

What was that about?

I decided to shrug it off and look around the room some more. I saw a lot of pictures of my counterpart with other shipgirls she cared about.

The first was one with Hood.

The second was with Tirpitz.

The third had Eugen in it with a surprisingly genuine smile.

The fourth had that little blue-haired U-Boat, U-556.

The others had other Iron Blood shipgirls on them, but they all had something in common.

My alternate self had scribbled out her own face in every one of them, even on the big mural on the other wall that shows her entire faction.

I decided I'd talk to Hood later when she'd calmed down. I went to the bathroom to clean myself up a bit. That proved to be a bit difficult, considering the mirror had been broken, as if someone punched it.

Did this Bismarck really hate herself so much that she couldn't stand to even look at her own face?

[Azur Lane Bismarck]

Having disembarked my ship again, I once again got more untrusting looks as Nagato carried one of their sworn enemies like a child to the holding cells.

Mutsu came out to meet us again as she was curious as to what her sister was doing, and she almost squealed at the sight of Nagato holding Princess with a genuine smile.

"Nagato-nee! You're so nice and cute!" She exclaimed, and the squirrel sat on top of her head seemed to agree.

"Mutsu, not now." Nagato ordered, "Prepare a cell for this one. Make it comfortable for her."

"Okay! But first~" Mutsu took out a camera and snapped a photo of them both before Nagato could react.

"MUTSU!"

The mischievous sister ran off to go prepare the room for Princess. I sighed and asked, "You have pranksters here as well?"

"Hai… Mutsu means well, and she has been there for me when I've questioned why I do what I do, but she can be a bit silly when she can. Don't underestimate her, though. She knows when to take things seriously."

"I see. Eugen in my world is quite teasing, but she can tell when it's time to not mess around. What should we do while her room is being prepared?" I asked.

Nagato looked down at Princess and asked, "Are you hungry, little one?"

Princess looked up at her and nodded.

"I'm not hungry." Prinz said, "I'll go help Frau Mutsu." She said before following after her.

We started making our way to the cafeteria and I said, "Let's just hope you have something here that she likes eating."

Entering the eating area, I saw many shipgirls stop what they were doing to look at us. At first, they stood at attention for Nagato, but then saw Princess and became weary.

Nagato announced, "Please, return to your meals. This little one has decided to help us. Don't be concerned."

Reluctantly, they all obeyed. One of them proclaimed, "Fine, but if she harms Kitakami, I'll sink her to the bottom of the ocean!"

"Ooi-chi… why are you yelling at the Secretary Ship?" Kitakami asked, seemingly oblivious to the small Abyssal.

Ooi realised that she had indeed raised her voice at Nagato and quickly exclaimed, "Ah! S…sorry, Nagato-sama!"

"It's alright, Ooi-san. Just keep a level head. Come, Bismarck-san."

After Princess pointed out what foods she wanted to try, we sat her down and kept an eye on her while we talked more.

Nagato stated, "We need to find out if this anomaly has appeared elsewhere. The Admiral has given me full authority in dealing with this problem. It's best if he doesn't have to worry about it while working on fighting the Abyssals."

"And Mama?" Princess asked while smashing her hand into the mashed potatoes.

I grabbed a napkin and cleaned it up while answering, "We'll try to end it peacefully so we don't have to harm her. Here, you need to use these to eat." I showed her the utensils and how to use them. I stabbed the fork into the chicken and explained, "Use this to hold it in place, and this one to cut it. Then use that one to bring it to your mouth. There you go."

"Ok… thank you…" Princess replied, putting my instructions into practice. "This… chic-ken is good…"

I looked back at Nagato, who stared at me with surprise. I asked, "Is there something on my face?"

"Do you have children back home?"

"We have Destroyers like you do here. They're very child-like but-"

Nagato interrupted me, "No, no. I mean do you personally have children? Like children you're the mother of?"

"Oh. Nein. I do not. I'm not even sure we Kansen are even capable of conceiving. Why ask, anyway?" I asked.

"You seem to have a maternal instinct. Looking after this one like she's your own." She explained.

I suppose taking care of U-556 has given me a bit of experience. I asked, "Do you have kids?"

"I don't either, but I look after the Destroyers here like they are, sometimes. It gets a little embarrassing when Mutsu sees me doing it, though…" Nagato admitted.

"I see… anyway, I agree with what you said earlier, but we have to try and attempt to know the enemy, and we can see what their goals are and if we can come to some kind of peaceful outcomes rather than fight what I've gathered so far is a losing fight. This Abyssal has shown interest in helping us and that's already far more progress than I've ever gotten from the Sirens in my world. At least, without her lying to me." I looked down at Princess and she smiled up at me, seemingly really enjoying the human food. Lord knows what she ate before. A lot of fish, maybe.

The presence of the British and American shipgirls here is probably the reason the mostly Japanese food selection also has western options as well. I a made sure to give Princess a sample of every culture I could, and she seemed to like at least most of it.

I can't say I blame her for not liking the British food as much as everything else. Why do they call a side-dish pastry a 'Yorkshire pudding', anyway?

Regardless, not long after she had finished, I wiped the food from her mouth and smiled back. A group of 4 Destroyers, DD-6, I believe, approached us and asked if they could play with Princess. Nagato agreed on the one condition that they didn't leave Mutsu's sight, who had just entered with them.

Princess hopped down off her seat and followed them. She was a bit shorter than they were, but they were gentle with her. They reminded me a little of Z23, Javelin, Ayanami and Laffey. Mutsu reported the room was ready and I asked, "Could you take them there so they can all play there?"

"Sure." Mutsu smiled, "Come on, kids!"

Prinz stayed and joined us.

After they departed, an American shipgirl approached our table, her tray full of a mountain of American food like Hamburgers, Pommes and Hotdogs.

Hold on a minute…

"Howdy, y'all!" The energetic shipgirl sat down with us, "I heard you're a different Bis to the one we got! My name is Iowa!"

"Guten Tag, Frau Iowa!" Prinz smiled.

"Hallo, Frau Iowa. I'm hoping to get her back to you as soon as possible, and in turn, to get myself back to my world." I replied neutrally.

"That's awesome! I don't really understand what's goin' on with ya, but ya got my support, Bizzy!"

"…Bizzy?" I asked while Prinz giggled.

Nagato cleared her throat and reminded her, "Not our Bismarck, Iowa-san."

"Oh! Oh, yeah. Sorry, keep forgettin'. Hey, wanna try the all-American burger? A Battleship has gotta have this! It's great!"

I narrowed my eyes and retorted, "Hamburgers are German."

"Huh?" Iowa looked at me with a blank expression. Nagato looked at me with more surprise and Prinz chuckled a little louder.

"Hamburgers come from Hamburg. That's why they're called 'hamburgers'."

"?" Iowa continued to stare in confusion.

I sighed, "Hamburg is in Germany."

"Oh. OH! Well, ain't that somethin? Hey, Kongou! Burgers ain't American! Didya know that!?"

"I've told you countless times, des!" The voice of Kongou yells from the mouth of a brown-haired shipgirl sat with who I assumed were her sisters.

"Yeah, me neither!" Iowa turned back to me, "Well, at least we still got some good old American fries!" She held some up.

I added, "Fries are Belgian."

Iowa struggled to find words, "Ah… uh… well… what about-"

I sighed again and pointed to ten other foods in her colossal tray, "Hotdogs are also German, Apple pie is English, peanut butter is Canadian, Ketchup is Chinese, macaroni and cheese and pizza are Italian, bacon and pork belly are Celtic, meatloaf is European, fried chicken is African and mayonnaise is either French or Spanish depending on who you ask." I said in a deadpan tone.

Nagato turned away to not show how hard she was trying not to burst out laughing.

Prinz, however, couldn't help herself and was rolling on the floor at this point.

Iowa wordlessly showed a donut I didn't see before.

"Dutch." I immediately said.

Then she brought out a Budweiser.

"German." I know my beers, if nothing else. "As if the name didn't make it obvious."

"Well, shit… Hey, Kongou! Want this apple pie? Turns out it's English like you!" Iowa called out again.

"I was only BORN in England, you bloody pain in the ass-des!" Kongou yelled.

"Yeah, I didn't know, either! You don't want it?"

"You've already eaten it, baka!"

"Oh, yeah… hehe…" she looked back at me and held up yet more food from the mountain on her tray, "Well, what about Buffalo wings!?"

"Those… are actually American, which is a surprise to nobody." I conceded.

"Yes!" Iowa fist-pumped. "Nothing like some buffalo meat!"

"It's chicken." I corrected.

""What?"" Both Iowa and Nagato asked.

"Buffalo wings are chicken meat. They were created in Buffalo, New York."

Nagato blinked, "I didn't know that."

Iowa added, "Oh… I thought it tasted like chicken…"

"Could I just ask a very obvious question?" I tried.

"Sure!" Iowa said with a full mouth.

"Why do you have a literal mountain of food?"

"'Cuz I need it?"

Nagato helpfully explained for her, "Since we inherited the power of warships, we also need enough fuel to keep going. Instead of drinking a massive amount of oil that would kill us, we discovered we can get the energy we need to work our riggings with food. Out of all the food Iowa has there, only a moderate amount will be consumed by her body. The rest will go to her ship parts. Because she's one of the most powerful Battleships we have, she needs a lot. Yamato-san and Musashi-san need even more. Our biggest Carriers need more still for their planes."

Prinz nodded in agreement while Iowa continued to stuff her face. I haven't seen a shipgirl eat so much since King George V at the Christmas party last year.

"I see… interesting…" I stroked my chin.

"Do you not need to eat so much, Bismarck?" Prinz asked.

"Nein. Because we are actually our ships given humanoid forms, we can moderate our energy levels a lot better. We only need about as much as regular humans do. If we need a boost, we can drink special beverages that would kill humans due to them containing enriched oil."

Iowa looked at me, "You literally drink oil?" She asked, causing bits of food to fly out of her mouth.

Nagato deadpanned, "Iowa-san, for the sake of the kami, please swallow your food before speaking."

I looked down, and answered her question, "It's one of the many things that reminds us we'll never truly be human. Us Kansen… we're just weapons made to fight in wars we never wanted, but those wars gave us life, a purpose. I don't like war, but I would not exist if not for it. You girls, on the other hand… from what I've heard, you all had lives before becoming shipgirls. You're actually humans."

"Aw, hell." Iowa grabbed my hand, "Bizzy. If ya can walk, talk and… well… I probably shouldn't say with the kiddos here, then you're plenty human to me!" She smiled without a care in the world.

What I wouldn't give to have an attitude like that…

"I should go." I said as I stood up to leave. I needed time alone. I always feel uncomfortable when people try to make me feel better. Like I'm a burden to them.

"Bismarck-san! Wait!" Nagato tried, but I decided not to trouble her anymore for a while. I went to my temporary room, which was usually my other self's, and locked the door. I leaned on it and sighed.

Opening my eyes to look around, the room was similar to my own, just a bit smaller. The pictures she had were like my own, but she still has her face showing. It was my first time in there, so I didn't know what to expect.

I suppose it's good that at least a version of me was happy. Probably because she's actually human. I was about to turn them around as she looked exactly like me, but then chose to leave them alone and… just try to be like her. At least when I'm alone. Maybe I could do with just seeing my face in pictures for a bit and… pretended that j was happy like her. I stopped thinking about it so much when I saw a mirror, looked at myself and said out loud, "Pull yourself together, Bismarck! You're the flagship of Iron Blood! You can't keep acting like a sad child! Bottle it up and get on with it, dummkopf!" While pointing at myself, as if scolding someone else. It felt a little good to let that out a bit.

I just hope nobody heard me-

Knock knock.

I slowly turned to the door and asked, "Wer ist es?"

A male voice with a very bad German accent responded, "Verzeihen Sie mein schlechtes Deutsch, aber es ist der Admiral, Fräulein Bismarck. Dürfen wir uns unterhalten?"

The Admiral? He wanted to speak with me? His genuine attempt at speaking my language was humouring enough to get me to agree. I unlocked the door and walked away to sit down, "Come in."