Clone Girls

What was the ability of the twins?

That was a question Ticia had asked A-4 once, to which the AI gave a complete report that horrified her...

Null clones were the result of a calibration work, to test out the quality of the genes of the donor and filter out the most stable chain of genetic code for refining and improving the future mass production. But there also were other, more subtle things set up by the previous owners…

Calibrating was only one part of the matter. The other, more shrewd side, was the continuous search for ‘improvements’ by conducting experiments on said clones…

While Null CG-11 and Null CG-12 (Ticinia and Vinia) were lucky results from the calibrating, Null CG-05 and Null CG-06 (Miria and Tiria) were part of the experiment case. The question behind their experiment was rather  simple: What would happen if you let the cloning process begin on a specimen, and then divide it into two entities in its very early phases of development?

The report A-4 presented concluded the experiment as only half successful. On one part, the experiment was able to produce two stable specimens who showed a special affinity for one another, but on the other… Well, that was all. Both girls did not show any specificity other than a heavy reliance on one another and an immediate understanding of what the other thought, which A-4 counted as a weakness rather than a success.

Still, the AI did not give up on the experiment. A-4 believed in the strength of the genetic capacities of its owner, and concluded that the twins possessed a hidden ability that had yet to awaken.

What that ability was remained a mystery, and the AI was limited in its range of action because its owner immediately opposed any experiences. In the end, not wanting to incur her wrath, A-4 stopped any plans it had.

Then, the incident happened…

Ticia was left outside the facility, surrounded by enemies on all sides. In such a situation, she could not be sure to keep her family safe anymore. She needed them to grow stronger.

She rapidly saw that the twins were lagging behind. She could not allow that for their own safety. As such, even if it pained her, she decided to follow what A-4 had planned to do with the two girls, which was separating the two of them and provoking a sense of distress for them that would spark something, and, if A-4 was right, awaken their true potential…

Ticia just never thought things would derail this much…

 

***

 

Tiria was calm. Freezingly calm… It was a complete U-turn from the emotions she had felt just before…

The crying, the screaming, the unanswered questions. All had disappeared and been replaced by pure, silent rage, and despite that, she and Miria remained calm…

There was a reason for that. Miria and Tiria were experiencing something… rather unique.

Tiria could see through her eyes, but another view now completed her vision within her mind. It was what her sister saw through her eyes…

More than that, she could also ‘feel’ and ‘hear’ what her sister felt and heard. So she came to the conclusion that somehow, they were sharing their senses…

None of the twins questioned what was happening to them, they instead grabbed some pointy objects that had been thrown their way just a few minutes ago, before going straight to the two men who had stabbed their sisters and were arguing with the teachers…

The surrounding people were too busy bickering to notice them…

“Fuck! What did you just do!?”

“I-it’s not my fault! She jumped in!”

“Do you even realize what we could have done with those two specimens?! We’ve wasted so much money because of you two!”

“Yeah! How are you gonna repay us!?”

The man who was being blamed felt a slight pull on his sleeve. Irritated, he turned around.

“What is it? Can’t you see that I-”

*Stab*

““...Eh?””

The man, who had stabbed the ECG, did not have the time to finish his phrase, as both he and his companion suddenly felt a tingly, cold sensation in their belly…

But it did not stop there…

*Stab Stab Stab*

Miria and Tiria mercilessly pulled out their weapon before stabbing again and again…

““Eh? Agh, ah…””

Both men fell powerlessly to the ground, unable to even comprehend what had happened to them. The surrounding people froze on the spot.

Tiria did not miss this opportunity. She charged towards the next nearby person and delivered an elbow kick in that person’s stomach, before pushing him down.

“Gah!?”

Miria followed suit and sliced the throat of the man cleanly, silencing him forever as he stared in horror at the twin’s now glowing eyes…

Miria and Tiria did not wait for the man to finish dying before going over to their next target, one of the Guard students that just happened to be there…

“Wha- Wait!?” Was all he could say before a similar fate fell upon him. Miria even stabbed his heart, as if to relieve some anger she held back before…

People finally broke out of the initial shock once the twins targeted a third person, and began to move.

“Aaaaah!”

“Murder! Somebody has been murdered in broad daylight! Call the police!”

“Get them away from me, I don’t want to be next!”

Some panicked and tried to flee, while some others…

“G-get them under control! Don’t let them damage our reputation further!”

A group composed of students, ruffians, and what seemed like soldiers off duty began to surround the twins…

Miria and Tiria immediately put their backs against one another. The first thing they did after that was to throw their weapons, which stabbed straight into the neck of the closest people.

““T-these girls…”” The men got enraged by that, and seeing that the twins were now weaponless, they rushed towards them. This was their biggest mistake however.

The twins, with cold looks, simply crouched as they tried to grab them, before separating and attacking one person each.

They jumped on the back of the people who tried to grab them and did neck snaps, fleeing away into the crowd before the victim even fell to the ground.

The men tried their best to catch them, but the twins made good use of their smaller height to pass through them.

After a bit of back and forth, snapping necks here and there, Tiria caught the sight of two policemen.

They were clearly intent on stopping her, but Tiria did not cower. In fact…

[Miria. Weapons.]

She thought she was lucky.

[Yeah, I can ‘see’ them. Coming right away.]

Miria’s reply came to her mind again. Tiria found it a bit weird, but she felt happy she had a new way to communicate with her sister now. One even more private than usual…

Tiria could see through their shared vision her sister getting closer, though the policemen did not wait for her sister…

“Get the girl!”

They raised stun batons and rushed towards her.

Tiria met them head on. Literally.

“Guh! W-what’s with that girl!?” The first man said as he received her charge in his stomach.

Tiria’s surprise move might have seemed crazy to them, but she had a plan. She grabbed the man’s belt and reached for the weapon holster. In an instant, she undid the security and took hold of the cross of the pistol, pulled it out, then immediately shot the policeman.

The man did not even have time to understand what just happened as his mind slowly clouded. His colleague, surprised at first, immediately raised his stun baton towards her, but then Miria arrived and grabbed his raised arm.

“Wha-!? Hey, release me!” He tried to swing his arm around, but before he could, Tiria shot him down.

Miria did not even wait for him to fall to grab his weapon and his stun baton.

[It’s weak, but it’ll do.] She commented in her mind as she shook the batton as if to test it out.

[We just have to shoot them after stuning them then.] Tiria also replied in her mind, and her sister nodded. They then stared at their enemies. They had frozen in place the moment the twins had shot down the policemen, and looked with horrified eyes at the two girls.

The clone girls did not care though, there was only one thought passing through their mind…

[[We’ll make you pay.]]

The surrounding people shivered as the glow within their inexpressive eyes intensified.

 

***

 

What followed could only be described as a massacre.

“Agh!”

“Help me!”

“Don’t kill me please! I didn’t do any-guah!”

The Guard and Escort students, the ruffians, the gamblers and the policemen. Even the passersby who had just stopped and watched were not spared. Miria and Tiria mercilessly killed everyone in sight.

They first took care of the policemen since they were the biggest threat,  while avoiding the ruffians and killing those in the way. Like this, the girls had disposed of most of the people who had guns. Of course, there were other people who also had guns and other various weapons, but the twins made sure to locate them, and mark them as priority targets.

“I don’t want to die here!”

Once the policemen had been neutralized, and the twins began to eliminate the people with weapons, some people tried to leave the place, but just as they tried to leave…

“Wha-? W-why are the cleaning bots blocking the way!?”

For a reason unknown to them, the cleaning robots and automated cleaning vehicles had gathered around them, blocking any exit from the place…

“What the fuck?! Are they malfunctioning or what?!”

“Hey! Move out of the way, you tin cans!”

The cleaning bots were supposed to obey orders from anybody, and yet, for some unknown reason, they remained standing still. This pissed of the people who tried to flee.

“Fuck! What the hell is happe-guah!?” The man who cursed received a laser beam in his back.

““Hieeck!?”” The others panicked as they looked back and saw one of the little girl, covered in blood, stare at them with her laser blaster pistol pointed at them.

The message was clear: None of them would leave this place unharmed… No, more like ‘alive’...

As a sense of despair overtook those who tried to flee, another part of the mob tried to get rid of the twins.

“You little shit! Guah!?”

“No, Damian! Shit, I won’t forgive you, I’ll aveng-gah!”

[Annoying.] Miria commented, feeling bored of this already.

[I don’t particularly think of it like that though?] Tiria replied, a bit surprised. For the first time, the both of them had a different opinion.

Still, it did not mean Tiria took joy in doing what she did right now. She just had no opinion on it. While she thought nothing much and Miria was getting annoyed, the two of them still continued to massacre anybody that came across them. Sometimes, they even went further. Such was the case when Miria came across the tall Guard student who used to bully her...

“N-no, please..” The student cowered as she approached, pissing himself. The confidence he always showed to Miria and his comrades was long gone, replaced by something ugly that Miria found disgusting to look at.

Her cold rage was unveiled as she remembered the bullying she’s been through. She first immobilized him with a shot to one of his legs.

“Agh!”

Once he fell to the ground, she activated the stun baton, and delivered a barrage of strikes, beating him to a pulp until his face became unrecognizable and he spurted blood while twitching…

Other students received similar fate, though if there were any pointy objects nearby, the girls did not hesitate to take them and stab the students before throwing it at a random person who was unfortunate enough to cross their eyes…

Some time passed as the slaughter continued. Miria and Tiria had killed at least half of the people present there. Some still struggled for their life and attempted to kill them, others had abandoned any hope, and cowered in fear, waiting for the two girls to deliver their judgment.

As for Miria and Tiria, they became used to their newfound ability, using it to its fullest to cover one another. Like that, Miria saved her sister from a delicate situation where three full grown men were surrounding her by shooting the one who was behind her sister, and Tiria also saved her sister by shooting an enemy by relying only on her sister’s ‘senses’.

Both were feeling happy with this new ability that allowed them to grow in strength and confidence and avenge their sisters. Their anger had yet to subside though. They wanted to kill each and everyone of them, and yet…

“Don’t make another move, or I'll finish this one!” The teacher of the Guards, who had somehow avoided Miria and Tiria for this long, raised the unconscious ECG-055 and used her as a shield while pointing a laser blaster at her head. This had an immediate effect one the twins, who immediately stopped and looked towards him.

“Hehe. See? I was right, taking hostages was the solution.” The teacher of the Escort said as he joined up with his peer, holding ECG-056 in the same way.

“Shut up, you money hungry bastard.” The guard teacher scorned. “If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

“Oh come on. you’re the one that agreed to my plan, I could only have taken the ones under my charge but I generously offered you an alliance.”

“Yeah, and it cost us our students.”

“Meh, that’s just detail and you know it, there aren’t any important people from the Guards in the academy anyway.”

“...” 

The Guard teacher stayed silent, he knew those words to be true. While the Guards, like every other branch of the armed forces, kept to the promise of academic neutrality on the surface, that rule was only true for the academy on Borkian Prime. Each faction had its own academy in the sector where they held the most power, and the students they sent to the Borkian Prime military academy were only for a ‘show of loyalty and respect of the constitution’. So long as they kept that little show going, the academy would not oppose their actions.

What had made the Escort teacher move was the greed for money. With so many bounties placed on the clones for various reasons, he could not hold himself from making a move. Which was fine in the Escort branch since they had no centralized command structure.

As for the Guard teacher, after receiving the offer from his colleague, he passed the information to his superiors. Those superiors, who had managed to free themselves from the Twill faction’s influence thanks to recent events, decided to gain more notoriety and sell the adult clone to one of their clients.

When it came down to the twins though, there were not any offers in particular as those showed to be rather useless, although some scientists were interested in them. And so, the Escort teacher advised them to make more money by ‘making them fight one another’ and do some bets. It was a bit disgusting to the Guard teacher, but he would not say no on a bit of bonus money, so he agreed. And now here they are in this disastrous situation…

The twins were staring daggers at them now, the glint in their eyes making him shiver. Never had he expected them to be this fearful. Not only that, but the clone he should have brought to his superiors had now become a ‘damaged product’, and he was sure they would reproach it to him…

This whole affair had become a mess, but perhaps they could still save themselves, as his cunny partner said…

“A chance!”

Since the twins had now stopped moving, some people, forgetting about their fear, rushed towards them. Miria and Tiria seemed to accept this fate, but kept glaring at the perpetrators.

But as some of them reached the twins, their heads suddenly exploded…

““Wha-?””

Everybody froze in place, wondering what just happened, when they heard a cry from behind…

“C-clones!”

The cleaner bots that blocked the passage suddenly cleared a passage, from which young women with white hair entered the area. All of them were unexpressive, but there was an air of tension that most could feel…

There were some that could not however…

“F-finally someone…” A man who seemed rich from his clothes rushed towards them, before commanding in a scornful tone. “Hurry up and take care of your impuden-”

He was shot in the head before he could finish his words.

At this instant, the trapped people knew, the people that had just come in were not their allies, nor were they friendly towards them. At least they did not seem to attack them so long as they stayed silent and out of their way, which they did.

About eighty five armed clones entered, with the last ones blocking all the escape points. Out of this group, two women stood out. The first was a woman with scar on her face and her black hair done in a ponytail. The second was a clone with shorter white hair that had black tips. Both of them had exceedingly cold expressions as they glared at the two teachers…

““Mother…”” Miria and Tiria fixed their gazes on Ticia, who looked back at them.

Ticia grinded her teeth in anger, seeing her daughters in such a state reminded her of her past self, when she lost her last hope at getting recognition from her ‘mother’ and killed everyone…

She had failed again at protecting her daughters…

As soon as she heard from Rebot-ia that something was happening, she grabbed a weapon and went straight towards the indicated location. Her daughters followed suit, including Nicia and Willia, who happened to not have any lessons right now, and Rika, who linked up with her with another group of ECGs on patrol. They rushed as fast as  they could, hoping for the best. And yet here they are, with Miria and Tiria clearly not their usual selves and two unconscious ECGs… It was no wonder that Ticia felt devastated…

But then, she felt a strong grab on her left shoulder. It was from Rika. When she looked over at her friend, she could see her glaring at the teachers. This was Rika’s way of saying that she was also at fault, and that she felt the same, Ticia understood that. Still, she did not blame it on Rika either.

Thinking back on it, the main culprit might have been A-4. He was the one who vaguely suggested separating the twins in the hope of something happening. Though Ticia did not think the AI had thought this far…

“...Stupid tin can…” She could not help but curse out loud.

Seeing this, the teachers took this as an opportunity.

“...How about we negotiate?” The Guard teacher asked.

“Negotiate?” Ticia frowned. She wanted nothing more than to rush over to her daughters, but knew that she could not yet.

“Do you truly  believe you are in a position to negotiate right now?” Rika added from the side, her wrath clear in her voice…

“I mean, you can kill us, but we’ll take those two with us too.” The Escort teacher added with a sneer that disgusted both Ticia and Rika. Still, he was right. They could not move against him.

…‘They’ being emphasized here. Because one ECG was not counted in that group.

“Achoo!” Jinxy sneezed in this tensful atmosphere, pulling the trigger of her weapon in the process.

The shot went straight to the Escort teacher’s arm that was holding his weapon.

“Argh!”

“Wha-!? Snipers! Agh-”

As his comrade was screaming in pain and let go of his clone, the Guard teacher stared in pure shock at his comrade. A bad move, since Ticia immediately went over to him and knocked him out while he was distracted.

“Secure the ringleaders!” Rika ordered.

““Yes, General.”” Four ECGs approached the teachers, and began dragging them away.

At this moment, Nicia and Willia approached the unconscious ECGs.

“How are they?” Ticia asked with a voice full of tension.

“Hmmm…” Nicia seemed thoughtful for a moment, before nodding and releasing a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness, the damage isn’t irreversible. They got lucky the knives weren’t pulled away. With this, we can get them back to full health within two weeks only. I would recommend treating them immediately though.”

Ticia nodded.

“Can I leave it to you then?”

“Of course!” Nicia replied strongly before looking at Willia. “Third sister, can you help me for a bit? I need an assistant.”

“Yeah.” Willia nodded seriously, unlike her usual self.. “So long as you give me a detailed information on what I must do so that I don’t mess up.”

With the help of some ECGs, they transported their wounded sisters out of there. Ticia looked at them until she could not see them anymore, before focusing on her second problem: the twins.

“My girls.” She said, raising her arms as her face finally softened into a warm, worried look. “Come here.”

The twins obliged, still in their weird state. the glow within their eyes did not escape Ticia’s sight, but she decided to question it later. For now, she needed to reconfort the twins.

Acts were better than words in those moments. That was why she contented herself with hugging the twins as strongly as she could, expressing the most warmth she possibly could.

The twins hugged back, still inexpressive. They stayed like this until..

““Ugh *snif* ””

They slowly but surely broke out into tears, their eyes returning to normal.

“There, there, it’s okay, the moment has passed…” Ticia tried her best to console them, and the twins began to cry their hearts out.

The scene played for a moment under the watchful eyes of the ECGs and Rika, before the twins, exhausted, fell asleep.

Three ECGs approached them at that point, and Ticia’s face changed back to a cold look.

“031, 032. take Miria and Tiria away and bring them to Nicia.”

““Understood, Mother.”” The ECGs saluted before carefully picking up their sisters and walking out of the place.

“Should I take over?” Rika offered as she saw Ticia look towards her leaving daughters, seemingly wanting to stay with them, but Ticia shook her head.

“No, we still have matters to deal with here.” She glared towards the remaining people, who flinched. Some of them thought everything was over now, but Ticia did not think so.

“What shall be done with the remaining enemies?” Bronz asked, a rage hidden behind her eyes that her mother did not miss.

The ECGs were as much affected as she was, their sister’s failure was their failure, and they hated the fact they could do nothing to protect the twins and avoid the hurting of their sisters…

They wanted revenge, and Ticia would not disappoint them.

“Kill them all.” She declared in a cold voice that made the surviving people pale.

“Understood, Mother.” Bronz saluted before making a sign towards her sisters. Each began to point their guns towards someone.

Those people panicked.

“N-no, wai-”

“Pl-plea-”

“I didn’t do any-”

Each was shot down before they could say anything. The clones killed each of them mercilessly, with a cold look on their faces…

“...You’re not saying anything?” Ticia asked Rika as she watched on the scene to which Rika shook her head.

“This is your choice Ticia, not mine.”

“But… Killing those people could cause more problems for us.” Ticia began to think about the future. She did not know who those persons were affiliated with, which could cause problems for her family later on. She needed to think before acting now, as her choices would impact the lives of her daughters…

“We'll deal with those when they come up.” Rika closed her eyes as she said that, before staring straight at Ticia. “I’ve decided to follow you on your quest for a home. How you decide to build it is not for me to decide. I’ll just tell you if there’s something I disagree with.”

And with that, Rika went back to watching the executions with a cold look. Ticia stared at her friend for a moment, pondering on what she had just said.

Indeed, she was the one making decisions for herself. She had her own thoughts on the whole situation.

All this time, she had been on the defensive, making a show of force to scare their enemies away. But today’s events proved it was not enough. She needed to be more active, to instill fear into their hearts so that they would not dare act against her without any second thoughts again…

For that, she needed to pass on the offensive, and she knew that some of her daughters were waiting just for that moment…

“Bronz!” She loudly declared as the execution finished, gathering the attention of her daughter. “Once things are wrapped up here, gather 011, 021, 031, 041, and all the other ECGs responsible for their siblings.”

“Understood.” Bronz saluted. “Can I know the reason, Mother?”

Ticia stopped as she was about to leave the place. She glanced back while answering.

“...It’s for a meeting on our family's next moves.”