Thaw out a Second Life

Beginning to Unravel

After the "ruckus" Bismarck META caused for Iron Blood, she retreats to an uninhabited island rather than the hideout. She sits by the beach - to be specific, she's sitting on top of Geryon while spending two hours staring at the waves crashing the shore.

"So this is where you've been" Ark Royal META approaches her
"I'm just thinking about Tirpitz"
"You mean after beating some sense into her?"
"It worked out well since she's been relaxed recently, but I wished it didn't have to resort to that"
"The normal Tirpitz was less stubborn and grumpy, but ours is reverting to her old self. She did come charging when she realized you might send your normal counterpart to the ICU again"
".....I'm still looking for a way to end this facade without sowing vengeance or betrayal"

Thinking about Tirpitz's current situation, Bismarck META worries about how she can avoid an ending where someone suffers.

"Tirpitz thinks of leaving Iron Blood, but she gets attached to other people easily. It's difficult for her to leave the one person she calls her friend" Bismarck META sighs
"That's true. Victorious has been a large influence in her life, so it's not easy to sever that bond" Ark Royal META groans
"Tirpitz doesn't have all the time in the world. The corrosion of her META nature is leaking to her body"
"It's not like she's going to die.....again"
"She won't, but it's altering her borrowed body. At this point, she can't stop fully reverting into a full META"
"Why didn't you tell her this?"
"I fear she'd be restless and fall in despair knowing she would corrupt the body and forced to return as a META. As an imperfect META, she curses her original state and repulsed at the thought she will be forced to see her original self again"

It's a horrible memory from Bismarck as it's born from a tragedy that escalated not long after. One could say the transformation is what sparked Tirpitz's downfall in her original timeline.

"Tirpitz can never live a normal life again if she fully reverts to her original state. That's why I'm trying to keep her in a normal state forever" Bismarck META bitterly smiles
"In the past, you revived her because you can't accept her sudden death. Even as a zombified META, you couldn't put her down" Ark Royal META scoffs
"The only way I can think of now is enforcing a seal on her wisdom cube. I can't alter the wisdom cube of another META, but I can at least contain it"
"Oh, so you have a plan already? How do you propose to make it come to a reality?"
"It's only a possible option. She's rather reluctant to help, let alone see me. I can sense the fear in her eyes as if I'm a beast to her"
"Afraid to see you? Hmm, I can think of a few people"
"........"

Bismarck META doesn't say anything else and continue staring at the quiet shore. Although she falls back in silence, her thoughts are occupied with her next course of action as she begins to make her plans to resolve the facade.

_____________________________________________________________________

For the past few days, Tirpitz follows her actual older sister's advice and focuses on cherishing her new life as much as possible. There are still some worries looming over her, but Tirpitz isn't primarily worried about how much she can keep her secret. If anything, she wonders about the original one whose existence vanished two months ago but there are still remnants.

"Trying to be my old self again isn't as easy as I thought"

Tirpitz contemplates her inner self while she sits by the beach, staring at the waves by the shore.

"Is there something on your mind?"

Friedrich der Grosse happens to be taking a relaxing stroll when she spots Tirpitz staring  afar, so she approaches her out of curiosity. She could briefly wonder about it and continue her walk, but her affection for all Iron Blood ships couldn't let her ignore it.