Clone Girls

“Hmm… Interesting…”

The AI commented as she watched the display on another monitor within the dark, dusty room, even though she didn’t need it. The video displayed showed two girls with glowing gray eyes slaughtering everyone in their sight.

“Just like I thought, those two clones had hidden potentials, and one not listed in my database to boot! Truly, I’m so happy to have clones to train again~.”

She only had to watch the video a few times to understand what ability the clones had, which was proof of her years of experience training clones…

“There was the presence of one of my sisters too though…” The AI mumbled to herself. She had felt some interference during this little ‘event’. It felt tickling and oddly familiar, which she assumed was because the one behind this was an AI from the same creator as her. She felt happy to know she was not the only AI that survived, but was filled with questions as to why this ‘sister’ of hers was here…

“I’m curious, but not right now. I wanna stay in the shadows a bit longer and help them from there.”

The AI liked to stay hidden. She preferred the feeling of watching while guiding her trainees in silence. In her opinion, this was what made the experiences feel more ‘fulfilling’ to the concerned trainee, while she cheered for them on the side. Of course, not everything always went well, and such cases would leave a bad aftertaste in her mouth. Fortunately, this was not the case here.

“Now then, this little ‘test’ made more of a mess than I thought it would…” She mumbled again as a flurry of messages from dependent AIs and other actors popped up in her mind, which annoyed her. “Oh well, I needed a reason to get rid of those pesky branches anyway.”

She was referring to the Escort and Guard branches, which she had always wanted to get rid of. 

In her opinion, the Borkian Military was inefficient. Not just because of the factions, but because of how many branches, who could fulfill the same roles, had popped up, as well as the internal rivalries. And this event had proven to be a good excuse to get rid of them, whereas before she could not because of the influence of the Twill faction.

For a time, the Twill faction had proved to be good at unifying branches, concentrating powers with a central command, so even though she disliked the amount of corruption and nepotism present within it, she kept quiet, and even went as far as supporting them.

But this was not the case anymore. After a while, the Twill faction, who had somewhat unified the land forces, crushed any other forces, going as far as integrating some parts of their specialized branches, and left the only forces capable of opposing them, the space forces, to squabble between themselves.

Until recently, the AI had managed to keep things stable by providing help to the Borkian Navy, keeping them afloat so that if a fight broke out between the two branches, nobody would gain anything, and it was enough to keep peace until now. Though in recent years, some powerful people had been backing up the Commerce Guards from the shadows, creating a huge gap in forces. Were it for one idiot to do something stupid, and a civil war would break out…

As an entity that had strongly and actively participated in the creation of the Borkian Confederation’s military for her own survival, the AI felt frustrated at the fact that the military branches she had participated in creating were now in perpetual competition with branches that appeared out of the compromises made at the time, and who had vocation to be absorbed by the ‘main’ branches with time… Those ‘main’ branches did not even listen to her advices anymore!

She sighed as she remembered painful memories of other branches she had set up who ended up squashed into small, unimportant units, who could only rely on her to stay afloat, like the paramilitary forces, the air force, or the sea navy… While smaller and less important, they still provided well needed expertise in their own fields.

She felt that things were going downhill in recent years, but it seemed to be intensifying ever since the arrival of the clones… Not that she was blaming it all on them, no. She preferred training clones over greedy humans.

“Let’s think about this later… For now, I need to think of something to cover up what just happened… Ah! Right, wasn’t trainee B-1038P promoted to the head position of Borkian Prime’s City Police Department recently?”

Another screen lit up, showing the image of a woman in her fifties with short, brown hair, in a light blue uniform. 

“Yeah, that’s the case. How lucky, I know what she’d want in exchange for a favor~.”

Sometimes, the AI would go out of her way to train individuals from outside the academy, whom she thought had talent. Such was the case with that woman, whom she helped from the shadows, before revealing herself at the end. Since then, B-1038P, who had a strong sense of justice and always wanted to repay what she got, kept frequent contact with the AI.

Making her join the clone’s side over what just happened might compromise B-1038P's ideals, but the AI already thought of a good compensation.

“I’ll just have to make a quick call to her and the president, and then… Nyehehe... There’s gonna be a lot of things happening from here on…”

The emoji face on a green background faded off as she laughed creepily at her own plans…

 

***

 

“Now that Nicia and Willia have joined us, let’s continue our reunion.” Ticia declared as everyone was present for their little meeting, even the Null CGs. 

As soon as she came back, the Null CGs, who had somehow learned what was going on, came back from their lessons earlier than planned and requested to participate. Ticia accepted it, since it was normal for the girls to be worried about their sisters. 

Before this though, she had informed a worried Meiko about what just happened, despite Rika and Ria’s clear opposition. Surprisingly enough, Meiko took the situation seriously, and participated actively by advising Ticia. For example, she proposed a plan on how to dispose of the bodies by throwing them into the cleaner bots, which Ticia applied.

“Nicia, how are the wounded?” Ticia asked the most urgent thing on her mind.

“Everything went well, mother. They are currently asleep and taken care of by their sisters.” Nicia replied seriously.

“What about the twins?” Ticia followed up.

Though she was a bit worried, Ticia knew the twins were not severely wounded. What she talked about was something else…

“After they’ve woken up, I’ve tested their new ability, just like you asked.” Nicia confirmed she had been able to carry out her tests.

“What was the result?” Ticia urged her daughter with a mix of trepidation and anxiousness, and Nicia replied with a hint of excitement.

“It’s fascinating. Based on what they told me, they can share their senses now. We’ve done some tests, and they can activate it at will. This might be the first time such an ability has been discovered in all clone history!”

“That’s interesting. Can they do that even when they are far from each other?” Rika asked from the side, intrigued, but Nicia shook her head.

“We did not try it, so I can’t give you an answer.”

Testing this new ability had tired the twins rather quickly, so Nicia opted to let them rest before proceeding further.

“I see…” Rika seemed thoughtful as she crossed her arms while nodding.

“I must point out some things though.” Nicia continued with a serious face. “When their ability is active, not only do their eyes glow, they also lose all expressions.”

“Is that permanent?” Ticia asked as she began to worry again. She did not want her precious daughters to use that new ability of theirs if it meant losing all emotions!

“I didn’t notice any sequels, so it should be fine. In fact, they also seem to develop different tastes now. For example, when I gave them some medicine that tasted like an orange, Miria loved it while Tiria hated it.” Nicia answered, proud of her sisters’ progress. Her pride and interest immediately got shared by her mother.

“Interesting… Keep an eye on them, Nicia.” Ticia ordered, to which Nicia nodded. 

“Onto the next subject then.” Ticia straightened herself again, facing everyone. The faces of everybody present became serious in return as well. 

“First off, I think we need to talk about how we will cover up what happened today.” Ticia wanted to make sure nobody would go after them for what had just happened. They did murder a bunch of people without any second thoughts after all, and even if they disposed of the bodies, it did not mean they were out of trouble…

“Rebot-ia is already covering things up on the online network, but for the rest… Should we seek help from someone?”

“The faction maybe?” Rika proposed, but Ticia shook her head.

“I don’t trust them.” The Phillian’s ambassador’s words stayed in Ticia's mind, making her cautious. “We need somebody else to intervene…” 

“How about Evelyn?” Licia said, thinking about her friend since she knew that Evelyn’s father was quite influential.

“She already has enough to deal with right now, Licia. You should know that.” Ticia responded negatively, though what she said was true, so Licia accepted it and lowered her head, back in thoughts.

Then, one hand was raised. Everybody looked in that direction.

“Can I give my opinion on the matter?” Meiko, who had raised her hand, asked for permission to speak.

Rika and Ria raised their eyebrows, but Ticia nodded.

“Sure, Madam Meiko.”

“What kind of cover up is your AI currently doing?” Meiko asked, but before Ticia could answer herself…

“I’ll answer!” Rebot-ia’s emoji face appeared on the hologram at the center of the table. “I’m making sure to bury any articles or social networks posts reporters and passers-by might post.”

“...Is that all?”

“Fueh?”

She answered proudly, but Meiko, already used to the AI’s antics, did not seem impressed, rather, she was making a serious face.

“What about the families? Are you gonna leave them just like that when they could go after us?”

“Err… Yes?

Rebot-ia found herself unable to follow-up with what Meiko was talking about, which made Meiko sigh while shaking her head.

“That’s not good … We should at the very least keep an eye on their movements now.” Meiko declared, to which Ticia nodded in agreement, recognizing her point.

“Also, I’m worried about the police.” Meiko added, deep in thoughts. “This is the main planet of the Confederation. They can’t let an open murder go unpunished, moreso if the media gets any attention on it. It’s already a miracle nobody has reported any disappearances yet, not even the academy…” Meiko stated the obvious Ticia and Rika had forgotten about.

True, this was the capital of a powerful nation. As much as the Borkian Confederation could be corrupt at times, the leaders agreed that in order to keep public opinion in their favor, they needed to ensure a certain amount of security and rights of individuals. This would also boost their international reputation as a stable state. As such, Borkian Prime City’s police department was one of the best within the Confederation, and they would solve any crime not politically backed up very thoroughly. 

They had not moved on Ticia’s ‘little fireworks’ because the Doessons were the ones who made sure to silence everybody, but for this case, the very fact that they had not made any move yet could not simply be justified by Rebot-ia’s work… Something was up, Ticia immediately understood it. But for how long would this be like that?

“Also, Miss Clone Mother.” Meiko continued the discussion with a serious look.

“Ticia is fine. What is it?” Ticia said back.

“Though I know this is not my place to say this right now, but you should not have killed those people.” Meiko criticized Ticia's actions, which got her some frown’s from some clone girls.

“Why’s that? They deserved nothing more than that!” Ria remarqued, anger clear in her voice, but Meiko remained calm and explained herself.

“While that may be true, killing everybody in sight is just making more enemies.” She said straight towards Ria, before turning her gaze towards Ticia. “I do not believe you want to make more enemies, Miss Ticia? It would only bring more troubles, and I think there’s already enough on us right now, no?”

“How dare you say that? You don’t know anything, you’re just an outsider!” Ria once again yelled out.

“I think she’s right though?” A voice suddenly said from right next to her, surprising Ria.

“...Willia?” She asked with an utterly shocked face, not expecting Willia to be the one to disagree with her.

“I mean… I don’t really follow the great picture, but what’s the point of killing them if they’re not resisting?” Willia scratched her cheeks with an embarrassed expression as everybody focused on her. She truly did not understand the point of killing someone who could do no harm to them anymore. Her simplemindedness made her the type of person who did not resent people either, hence her point.

“Third sister is right!” Ticinia also joined her sister’s side, nodding along.

“Willia, Ticinia, you don’t understand. It’s-”

“Enough, Ria.”

“Mother?”

As Ria was about to argue again, Ticia intervened. She could see that the subject was tough not only for her, but for all her daughters too. 

Willia and Ticinia were the only ones who seemed opposed to the idea so openly, while Vinia, Mia and Nia, seemed undecisive on the question. Nillia, Lidia, Fana and most of the ECGs seemed to agree with Ria, while Nicia, Breesse, Bronz and Jinxy kept quiet, waiting for Ticia to make a decision. 

Rika on her part simply looked towards her, reminding her of the discussion they had not long ago, and even though they were not present, Ticia was sure the twins would also be of the opinion to kill everyone due to what just happened to them…

As for Licia, she seemed to be thinking about the question, though Ticia knew her favorite daughter was of the same opinion as her.

“Madam Eiko is right. It was wrong of me to kill everybody. I acted on the spur of the moment…” She admitted, before looking towards Meiko with a serious face. “But if I came back in time, I would still make the same decision.”

“I understand your anger. I wasn’t trying to impose my view on you or anything. I’m a mother myself after all, so I understand very well. Though I’ve only made wrong decisions until now…” Meiko smiled wryly as she said that, directing a sad glance towards Rika which disappeared before the latter could say anything, replaced by a serious expression again. 

“Anyway, while killing everyone solves the problem of witnesses, keeping some of them alive could have served your interests more. Hostages are strong cards in backstage negotiations…”

She was not referring to the teachers they had captured, as she knew their fate would be different, but about the passers-by who did nothing but watch.

What she said made a lot of sense to Ticia, who nodded while secretly admiring Meiko’s train of thought.

She wasn’t the only one who was surprised though.

“Mother… Since when did you become so knowledgeable about such things?” Rika asked in disbelief, unable to connect the image of her mother from the past and right now…

Meiko smiled back wryly.

“I always had an interest, but could do nothing but read about those things due to my position.” She then looked towards Ticia with a serious look. “Controlling your emotions is also something you have to learn as a mother. You can’t always lash out once something happens to your kids, because what you do also has an impact on your surroundings. Though you must do it sometimes…” The last part was said with clear sadness as Ticia reflected on the words she just heard.

Ticia took those words to heart, reflecting deeply.

“Why did I never know of that interest of yours?” Rika asked with a frown, to which Meiko smiled.

“You would have if you had not skipped the lessons I wanted to give you on politics just to go play ‘the heroic princess’.”

“Wha-!? M-mother!?” At the sudden mention of her dark past, Rika became flustered.

“‘The heroic princess’ huh?” Ticia murmured, sending a look towards her friend that told Rika she had learned something interesting… Meiko jumped on the occasion and continued, sighing wryly.

“Rika could be quite the tomboy sometimes… Must be because she read too much mangas…”

“M-mom! Enough! L-let’s get back on track, shall we?” Rika bursted out in shame, her face red. She redirected the conversation before Ticia or the Null CGs got more curious.

Though reluctant, Ticia nodded, before scratching the back of her head.

“Well, there’s one worry that should be addressed, on that note…” She said. “The students and teachers were from the academy, so…”

“The academy might retaliate against us…” Meiko finished her phrase, to which Rika nodded in agreement. The three of them had grave looks on their faces, as the academy seemed friendly towards them at the moment. If this event shifted the academy’s friendliness into hostility, then things could go badly for them…

“Rebot-ia, can you check if there’s a meeting of the academy’s board in the coming days?” Ticia asked, which made the AI reappear.

“That’s gonna be hard. I’ve tried hacking the academy’s database before, but their defenses were higher than I expected. It’s on a same level as mine…” Rebot-ia seemed a bit troubled, but still obliged. “I’ll give it another t- wait, you serious!?”

Her sudden outburst made Everybody tense up.

“W-what? What is it, Rebot-ia?” Ticia asked for everybody.

“Check your messages and you’ll understand. Rika too.”

“...What?” She was a bit bewildered, but did as she was told. Rika did the same.

Their eyes opened wide as they read the message they just received.

Ticia did not even have the time to comment before Rebot-ia displayed a media livestream for everyone to see and hear.

“Urgent news! Slaughter within the Borkian Confederation’s Capital!”  The live broadcaster announced, with some hint of excitement in her voice.

“It has come to us that a tremendous massacre has happened within the streets of our beloved capital! This information was brought to us directly by the police department. The victims vary in profile, being wealthy people passing by or just locals, as well as some policemen, but the most intriguing victims of this case are the last ones and most numerous: students from the academy.”

The announcer took a dramatic pause with a serious face.

“By the request of the police department, the academy’s board has broken its silence and explained what they knew from their own investigation. It appears that the Guard and Escort classes have gone rogue and clashed against each other, including the teachers. This is not the first time such a thing happened, but it is the first time that it went this far. In the midst of all that, each side began to slaughter passer-bys without a care, creating a situation extremely dangerous within the streets of Borkian Prime City. The massacre was only stopped by the intervention of Lieutenant-General Rika’s clones, who swept the area of any resistance from the rogue students at the request of the academy.”

““Eh?”” Everyone could not help but be bewildered by this obviously made up story as the announcer continued her speech.

Somehow, they came up as the most innocent party in this ordeal?

“The academy blames this incident on the special autonomy granted to the Guards, allowing them to basically do whatever they want, as well as the lack of coherent general order within the Escort branch of the military. T-they have issued a ban of both branches from the academy, supported by the president!?”

The announcer lost her calm at this, but nobody could blame her. This went far beyond what anybody would expect. The academy held a lot of power thanks to the constitution, and this ban was a countermeasure against any military forces that wished to rebel against the Confederation, making them outright illegal, though it needed the support of the current president. 

As such, even if the academy did not play as much of an essential role in the formation of the military as in the past, it still held a heavy meaning. This ban from the academy was as good as a death declaration for the two military branches, and, of course, could not be used without good reasons, which just happened to present themselves…

This decision would provoke major ripples that would have heavy repercussions on the frontlines, as well as in politics, and since the ban could not be canceled, heavy negotiations would be on the agenda for the Senate, the Army, and the Academy for a long while…

The announcer regained her calm, and continued.

“A-ahem. The academy has also agreed to the establishment of a police branch within its proposed curriculums from here on, to avoid any slaughtering of this sort from happening again.”

This decision was as good as recognising the police forces of Borkian Prime City as its own military branch, finally giving them the influence they lacked.

“As for the clones of the Unkillable Valkyrie, the academy and president George Rollers have officially praised them. The academy declared that that they… ‘owe’ a favor to- What the hell?! Isn’t the academy supposed to be neutral!?”

The connection was lost at this exact moment as the announcer lost her mind, there was no doubt this was the work of the technicians behind the scenes, as words of apology appeared soon after.

““...”” For a small moment, everyone kept quiet, dumbfounded by the series of announcements.

“It appears you have been used.” Meiko could not help but comment after a while, as a weird atmosphere had settled within the room.

“Damn bastards…” Rika cursed out loud, putting her hand on her forehead as she sighed. “I feel like Rowla’s gonna make a big deal out of this…”

“At least it solves our problems…” Ticia sighed as she said this, releasing some tension.

“No, not really…” Licia suddenly said, with a serious face, making everyone focus on her. She displayed the mail again. “That last phrase… I think they know something about ‘us’, mom…”

“Hmmm…” Ticia began to think seriously on those words. She could see what her daughter was saying. There was something that didn’t stick with her, mostly that part about unexpected gains… Perhaps the Academy had watched the twins…

“Yeah, I get your point, Licia. I think you’re right. They definitely know something…”

Moreover, the academy had Willia’s blood, which still worried Ticia despite Nicia’s reassurances…

She thought there definitely was a link between that, and what just happened…

If she thought back on it, it made sense. There was no way the academy would allow the Guard and Escort teachers to just go around town with students. They had to know what was going to happen…

“Rebot-ia, I want you to keep an eye on the Academy’s board. Ah, and investigate the police department too.”

“Will do! Peeping is what I do best after all!” Rebot-ia gladly took the order this time.

“As for what to do from here on…” Ticia said in a low voice, when she suddenly felt heavy stares coming from the Null-CGs, she sighed, as she already knew what they wanted. Arguing against it another time would only prove frustrating for both sides…

“Lidia, you’ve been itching to move, right?”

“Yes!?” Lidia was startled, not expecting her mother to suddenly address her like this.

“Fine, go ahead and do what you do best.” Ticia said while closing her eyes. It was time she recognized her daughters’ determination to ‘serve’ her.

Lidia froze at first, before becoming elated. To be able to ‘pay a visit’ to those who bothered her family from the shadows. That was something she had wanted to do for a while now.

“Thank you mo-”

“Oh, but you’re not going to do this alone. You’re taking some ECGs with you, as well as Nia.” 

“Eh?”

“Fweh?”

Both clone girls seemed surprised at first. Lidia could understand the ECGs, but why Nia!?

“Go ahead and prank wild and big, dears.” Ticia added with a smirk.

At this, Nia’s ahoge jumped in delight, as she had recently held herself back on pranks. She directed a smug look towards Lidia, who now had a vein popping on her forehead, already thinking of her sister as annoying. If Nia were to open her mouth right now, the chances of her receiving some ‘sisterly love’ would be high, so she kept quiet while still keeping a happy mood.

Rika and Meiko looked at Ticia with questioning looks, but Ticia would not change her mind.

“They are clones in the end. They need to feel useful to their owner to some extent…” Ticia said weakly, clearly sad. The Null CGs could not help but look sorry, seeing their mother so conflicted, but would not back down either…

“As for the rest of you.” Ticia addressed the other Null-CGs, who looked at her with expectant eyes. “Focus on making friends and bringing more allies on our side for now.”

The little clone girls nodded, though Ria frowned a bit. Ticia then continued.

“I, Rika and Meiko shall make allies too.” She briefly turned towards Licia. “We’ll try our luck with the Pellians too. You can never know until you try.”

At this Licia smiled from ear to ear.

“Now, what to do with the teachers…” Ticia went to her next topic for the meeting.

“Of course, we’ll have to get some information from them. I don’t believe they had the ingenuity to lead this plot by themselves.” Rika said with a serious face.

“Agreed.” Meiko nodded along.

For Ticia, that only meant one thing: torture. Both teachers had already proven uncooperative, so she did not have any choice. Her only consolation would be that she could make those two pay for what they did to her daughters…

But as she was about to announce that she would personally get information from the teachers, one of the Null CG spoke out.

“Mother, allow me to lead the interrogation.”

“Ticinia?” Ticia was surprised by this sudden volunteering, as well as spooked. Torturing was not something pleasant, if you weren’t a person who enjoyed those kinds of things in the first place. Ticia was sure Ticiania did not swing that way either, so why?

“It’s my ability, mother.” Ticiania said with a wry smile, reading Ticia’s worry. “With it, I’ll be able to get the necessary information quickly.”

Ticia was about to reject it immediately, but held herself back after seeing the look in Ticinia’s eyes. This was what the girl wanted from the bottom of her heart, and Ticia felt like she had to respect her daughter’s choice…

“...Alright, I’ll allow it. Only if I’m with you.” She ended up accepting while biting her lower lip, clearly conflicted.

“Thank you, mom.” Ticinia bowed her head, seemingly happy she would be able to help her mother. Ticia kept her gaze on her for a while, before closing her eyes, and looking towards the ECGs.

“I’ll be relying on you girls even more in the future.” She said, to which Bronz and the others saluted.

“We’re happy to serve, Mother.”

Ticia nodded in acknowledgement, before getting up herself.

“This is the end of this meeting. Let’s all rest up for today. Ticinia, we’ll do what we have to do tomorrow…”