““Fight! Fight! Fight!””
Those words were the only thing Miria and Tiria heard as they faced one another, while being encircled by people who bullied them all day and unknown people…
Both had tears in their eyes and were trembling in fear, and the reason why…
“What are you doing, chipmunk? Go on and hit the little one from the Escort class!”
“Yeah! Beat her up to a pulp!”
“Hey, useless kid! Do something and hit your fellow clone! We can’t lose in front of the Guards again!”
“If you don’t, we’ll make you regret being the useless girl you are!”
In the midst of those words, Miria and Tiria stared at one another, not moving an inch. There was one question in their mind right now…
How did we end up in this situation?
***
Going back a bit in time, Miria was going to class in a better mood than usual. The reason why? She and her sister Tiria had been spending most of their free time with their mother since she came back.
They had a lot of fun together and chatted about a lot of things, which made the both of them forget their situation for a moment, but it was still present in their mind.
Once, she and Tiria broke down at the same time in front of her, and spilled everything that happened to them. Ticia consoled them as best as she could, but also said they needed to endure, and reflect on what was happening to them…
And reflect they did. In fact, they did not need Ticia to think back on their current situation. It had been made obvious during the wargame, as well as during classes...
It was the first time they felt the distance growing so much between them and their sisters.
When they trained between sisters, they did not get this feeling of being left out, but Miria and Tiria understood why now. It was because most of their sisters, who had outgrown their other sisters in terms of skills, adapted to their other sister’s current level.
It was only goodwill from them, but this goodwill had now turned into poison for Miria and Tiria…
The treatment both of them received respectively while in their specialization classes was especially bad too…
It just showed how much they relied on one another for everything, and they understood how useless they became once they separated. They needed to learn how to be autonomous by themselves.
But that was the problem…
We can’t do it…
Both Miria and Tiria felt stressed out. Even though nobody said it to them, they understood that their separation was for their own good, so despite struggling against it with the support of Ria, they still accepted their fate in the end, never expecting this degree of pain to come about and hit them continuously.
They did not want to disappoint their mother, nor betray the trust their sisters had in them. They wanted to show their worth in fact. But neither of them could manage to stay one room apart from the other… When one of them was missing, it felt as if… they were incomplete… It was a weird feeling, one that only they could understand…
A lot of questions passed through Miria’s mind, and she knew her sister thought the same. Why were they like this? Why were they unable to progress as fast as their sisters? And most of all… What is the point of their ability?
She did not find any ‘positive’ answers to her questions…
“Sister, be careful.” As she entered a deep reflection that worsened her mood, a voice suddenly called out from behind, making Miria react immediately. Thanks to that, she avoided crashing into a signpost.
“Oh…” She said as she immediately stopped in her tracks, before sending a thankful look towards the ECG. “Sorry, 055…”
“Please, sister, watch where you are going, lessons aren’t over there.” ECG-055 warned lightly, glancing at the direction Miria kept looking at all this time.
“But Tiria is.” Miria answered with a pout. She could not help but look for her sister, and she was sure it was the same for Tiria.
“She is not, she went North from our position.” The ECG said however, shaking her head.
“Eh?” Miria froze for a moment, she did not think she would get even that wrong…
When I’m with Tiria, I can easily orient myself, so why can’t I now? Her thoughts went negative again.
“...I’m such a useless clone…” She whispered with a bitter expression.
“Sister?” ECG-055 asked, having heard what she said, but Miria shook her head and tried to keep her act together.
“Oh, it’s nothing, 055, let’s continue, I don’t want you to waste more time.”
I can’t worry others any further…
“...Sister, I am not wasting any time by following after you.” ECG-055 suddenly said, but Miria did not listen, or rather, her mind had already closed the discussion over the matter, and she was already walking again. Seeing that, ECG-055 sighed.
“Please excuse me.” She suddenly declared as she grabbed Miria by the shoulder.
“Eh? 055? W-what are you doing?” With a force that Miria could not defend against and great confusion, Miria got dragged into a small alley with few traffic.
“Sister, let’s talk for a bit about your current situation.” ECG-055 declared with a serious expression, probably the first one Miria had ever seen her make…
“What about it?” She asked, trying to keep a calm appearance on the outside, though in her mind, she was already panicking.
What about my current situation? I’m fine, I swear!
“Please do not lower yourself like this.” ECG-055 insisted, closing her face from her sister, who flinched in surprise. This was the first time an ECG had reduced the distance so much with her!
Wait a minute, are they even able to think like that? She ended up thinking. Though it was a bit offensive when told like this, it was true that some ECGs still had a hard time expressing themselves, and ECG-055 was one of them.
A thought suddenly crossed Miria’s mind.
“...Did mom ask you to say that?” She asked with a serious expression. She was pretty sure it was the case, since her mother was worried about her and Tiria. But to her surprise, ECG-055 shook her head.
“No, I am moving of my own volition.” She declared with a serious look and a hint of worry.
“...” Now Miria was left staring at her sister’s close face in true amazement. Her little sister was acting like this not for their mother or the Null CGs, but for herself!
…She’s grown. Miria could not help but state this. For a clone that was originally born with nearly no autonomy and the only goal of saving mother no matter what, this is borderline defectiveness.
Meanwhile, as Miria thought that, ECG-055 continued on.
“I do believe there is no need for you to feel down about your abilities.” Those words made Miria focus again on reality. She was happy her sister thought like that, but…
Her face lowered, and she tightened her fists.
“...But we’re useless, we can’t fight back once we’re separated, and even if we’re together, we’re just…” She said in a low, trembling voice, events from the wargame reappearing in her mind…
Why were they unable to take down more than one enemy when Willia and Nillia took three? How come their eldest sister, Licia, who has not received any genetic modifications, was still better than them? Miria asked herself those questions all the time now, and she could tell Tiria was the same just by looking at her in the eyes. Both of them were unconsciously going down the spiral of negativity, slowly reaching their limits…
“Sister, you and sister Tiria are not useless, you are superior to us in everything.” ECG-055 reminded.
“Don’t say that, mom is gonna get angry.” Miria replied with a small laugh. While it was obvious to all clone girls that Ticia cherished them, she knew their mother for longer than ECG-055…
Mom is hiding something from us… She was not the only one who thought like that. In fact, all the Null CGs were thinking the same. She knew that out of all her sisters, only Licia knew the truth, but they did not ask anything, out of respect for their mother. Licia also promised they would know everything once the time was right. Because of that, an increasing pressure grew on all of them, who wanted to be of use to their mother.
“I know that, but that is the undeniable truth about clone hierarchy.” ECG-055 said. “Certainly, prototypes are usually disposed of, but so what? If they are not killed, they stay at high positions within our hierarchy. Not only that, you have been given a name from birth, are well cherished by our Mother, and possess Prime authority over us all.”
Prime authority was the embodiment of reaching the highest level of the clone hierarchy. It was a title rarely given in the past, because it held authority over all other clones. A-4 had given this title to the Null CGs when the ECGs were created, fixing their positions as Null CGs into place…
“I am speaking for all my sisters. You are precious to us, who are out of the norm clones. So long as we are alive and near you, our Prime sisters, we shall give our lives away so that no arms come your way.” ECG-055 ended her words with a salute.
“055…” Miria could feel the earnestness in her sister’s words, and she felt touched. As a clone herself, she could understand ECG-055’s feelings.
“I and 056 shall protect the two of you.” ECG-055 added with a small, gentle smile, and Miria was left staring at it.
055, you are doing so well compared to me… Miria could not help but think, before shaking her head. No, no, stay positive, Miria. 055 is simply showing the example to you, that’s all. How could I show such a shameful side to her?!
She released a long breath while closing her eyes, before clapping both of her hands on her cheeks at the same time.
Me and Tiria, we’ll find a way to improve. She declared to herself, before looking at her sister.
“Thanks, now I feel a little more motivated…”
ECG-055 nodded at her words, still with a small smile. Miria turned, and began walking determinedly towards her classroom.
***
Her courage immediately faded away as she took the first step into the room and all eyes locked on her.
Every other student was present, staring at her with smirks and sneers on their faces, which made Miria tremble.
“Hey, look, it’s the failure.”
“Arriving quite late today, aren’t you? Did you piss yourself?” One asked.
“I-I did not…” Miria weakly replied as she retreated to herself. She wanted to run back to Tiria at once.
“What’s that? I didn’t hear you?” The one closest to her suddenly said, before shrugging. “Whatever. I don’t care about the opinion of a little girl who got there thanks to her connections rather than her skills.”
This was a shared sentiment between the students of this class, who shed blood and ears to enter the Guards units.
You’re the ones who are a bunch of nepotists… Miria could not help but comment as she knew their skills were somewhat average for most of them, though she would never dare to say it out loud...
Due to their origins, the Guards had the particularity of holding important weight in negotiations between politicians and other high figures. Thanks to that, they had managed to push their vision of teaching onto the academy, regrouping all students into one huge class per year.
Miria was nothing but a perturbing outsider to them…
As Miria was silently braving the indifferent looks from her ‘classmates’ and moving towards her seat at the back, one student suddenly got up and faced her.
“Yo, weakling. How are you doing today?”
“...” Miria stayed silent, unable to make eye contact with the man who was taller than the average. This irritated the man however…
“Hey! I asked you a question!” He tried to get closer to Miria, but ECG-055 suddenly got in front of Miria, surprising everyone.
This was the first time ECG-055 made a move to protect Miria so openly, as she only pressured people with death stares before… Although she stayed silent this time too, there also was another message…
‘Don’t bully my sister anymore, or else I’ll take action.’
“Tsk, we can’t even greet people anymore in this class, what a pain.” the tall man retreated in frustration. This was because they had seen what the ECGs were capable of, and they did not want to anger one of them directly… As he sat, he asked a question to no one in particular…
“Where's the teacher anyway? Classes should be starting by now…”
Before anybody could answer, the teacher entered. Everybody stood at attention as he began to talk.
“Attention class! Today’s schedule has been changed at the last moment.”
His words caused some whispers.
“Changed?”
“Really?”
“What’s going on?”
“Quiet.” the teacher calmed the whispers. “We will do a joint class with the Escorts today.”
His words caused a clamor within the class.
“What!?”
“With those useless shits!?”
“Teacher, what’s the meaning of this? Escorts are just copycats of our superior tactics!”
“Quiet!” the teacher was forced to calm things down again, this time with a sterner voice. Though Miria doubted he had a different opinion than the students on that matter…
“What are you all disgruntled about? Scared of them?” He asked scornfully.
““No sir!”” The Guards students answered immediately with offended expressions.
“Then follow my orders and listen to them, damn rascals!” The teacher yelled, before calming down a bit and pointing toward the board. “As you all know, hand to hand combat is an essential part of our formation for us guards, who shall protect VIPs in the future…”
Miria did not listen to what the teacher was saying anymore. she was focused elsewhere…
He just said Escorts, right? That means I can see Tiria?
She felt immense delight at this fact, and she would have run out of the class immediately were it not for ECG-055 who kept an eye on her, so she tried to refocus on what the teacher was saying.
“...As such, and with the agreement of the academy’s board, I and the Escort’s teacher have agreed on a small competition between all students.”
“Eh?” Miria froze. Then that would mean…
“Show those escorts what you’re made of, alright?” The teacher finished the last bit while sending a sneer towards Miria who paled…
Meanwhile, the other students were discussing the matter in small groups.
“For real?”
“Does that mean we get to beat up the Escorts to our heart’s content and without any repercussions?”
“So long as you do not ‘kill’ your adversary or cheat, every move is allowed.”
“Then it’s a yes!”
“Haha! I've dreamt of this for a long while now, beating up those copycats!”
As they grew more and more excited, the teacher reigned them in again…
“Quiet! If you don’t have any questions, we shall immediately go over to the training grounds.”
Nobody raised their hands except the tall man who had stopped Miria earlier.
“Yes?”
“Does this include ‘her’?” He said, pointing towards Miria with a smirk.
“Yes, it does for the kid, the adult one is forbidden from participating or intervening.” The teacher replied with a smirk of his own.
“You heard the instructor, little clone. Don’t shame us on this one.” the tall man added, which caused laughter to erupt in the classroom.
“...Yes.” Miria answered in a low voice, trembling.
I’ve got a bad feeling about this…
***
And there they were now, facing each other as people around them were sending jeers their way…
They should have guessed something was wrong when they were brought up to a place outside of the academy…
Miria and Tiria immediately went to each other when the Guards joined up with the Escorts, which was an error. The Guards students immediately focused on them, and requested the teachers that the first match be Miria against Tiria. Since the Escorts were also not reeling at the idea of getting beaten up by the Guards, they also asked, hoping for a good laugh before facing their inevitable demise.
As if it had all been planned from the beginning, the teachers smiled, and agreed immediately. No rules or settings had been laid out, and people just shouted at them to beat the other up.
As for the ECGs, they immediately showed some signs of protest, but got separated from the twins by the mob. Miria and Tiria desperately searched for them from within the mob, but could not find them…
Worse than that, the mob was growing in number, passing people got curious and approached the group.
“What’s this, a fight?”
“That’s the Guards and the Escorts, it’s rare to see the two of them not fight one another. What the hell is happening?”
“H-hey, aren't those clones at the center? What are they doing?”
Those newcomers were separated into two groups, those who felt the opportunity for a good distraction, and those who worried over the consequences of what was about to happen, since the clones were under the Unkillable Valkyrie.
None of them would act however, they either continued on whatever business they had or simply kept their distance while observing the situation, much to the twin’s disbelief…
It also did not escape their eyes that some people in the mob were not from the academy at all, in fact, they seemed to be growing in number…
Before anybody knew it, gambling was taking place…
“How am I supposed to win money if none of them makes a move?”
“True! Hey, the one with the Blue ribbon! Hurry up and beat the crap out of the one with the Red ribbon!”
“Don’t listen to him, Reddie! you must win no matter what or I’ll lose all my allowance!”
“Agh, this isn’t doing it. They’re not moving!” One student suddenly said in frustration as Miria and Tiria still stood there, not moving an inch.
“If this continues, how are we supposed to make a profit?”
“Damn, is there any way to make them move?”
“Ah! I know! Get those bitches here!”
No sooner had one of them said that that two girls the twins knew very well appeared…
““055/056…””
The men had brought back the ECGs, who had somehow been tied up…
““...Apologies, sisters…”” both ECGs said at the same time with regretful and ashamed expressions. To them, they had failed at their duties.
The twins did not think that way though, they were just unlucky. with so many people around, it was not surprising that the ECGs got overwhelmed…
Miria and Tiria shared a glance. Although they were unwilling, right now, their sisters were held hostage. The only thing they could do to help them was to fight one another…
They came up with an idea. Although they were reluctant to do it, since the lives of their sisters might be threatened, they needed to gain time until either Rika or their mother came to their rescue. For now, they would use their ability to fight…
To the cheers of the surrounding people, both girls struck one another… When one struck, the other defended, and by using their ability, they were able to block the blows. Not everything was perfect though, as despite understanding what the other was about to do, both girls found themselves doing the same move at the same time, resulting in unwanted damage.
“I gotta film that!” One person within the crowd suddenly exclaimed, but when she began to film…
“Huh? Hacked? What the hell?! This is an offline camera! No, wait- Where are my nude peeping photos!?”
People created some distance from the woman and looked at her with judging eyes. Ashamed, the woman ran away. After that, nobody attempted to record the fight…
““Guh!”” Miria and Tiria both delivered a kick into the right thigh of the other. It hurt but they still kept fighting…
An eternity seemed to have passed for them, and there was still no sign of their mother, sisters, nor Rika…
“Hmm, this is more boring than I thought.” One of the onlookers suddenly said.
“Yeah, I thought they would fight seriously like in those videos, but, all they’re doing is the same move? How could they just think of the same thing at the same time…”
“This isn’t worth my money…”
The gamblers seemed bored, which made the organizers pannick.
“Crap! If this continues, we’ll lose money!”
“We’ve gotta find an idea to make it more interesting!”
“Think, Dewey! Think! Ah! I know!”
A knife was thrown near Tiria’s feet.
“Here, Red ribbon! Use this to fight your opponent!” Someone yelled.
“Ah! Not fair!” Somebody else yelled, before a knife also landed near Miria. “Blue ribbon! you must win no matter what!!”
Other people also sent their knives, and a lot of them landed near the girls.
This made Miria and Tiria stop in their tracks however…
““Why did they stop moving?”” The public immediately questioned, but the reason was simple. Neither Miria nor Tiria wanted to hurt the other more than they already did.
“I-I can’t…” Tiria said with a trembling voice as she stared at Miria in the eyes, both had tears in their eyes.
““I-I don’t want to hurt you!”” They blurted out at the same time, falling to their knees and bursting out loud.
They had reached their limit. It was already surprising that both of them had managed to go that far anyway, but when they thought back on why they managed to do it, they found one simple answer…
For the family…
That’s right, what the twins cherished the most after each other was their family. Their mother who had been a bit clumsy and indecisive at first but still showed immense love towards them, their eldest sister who bullied them out of jealousy to the point of hurting them, before making a U turn and caring for them, their other sisters who they loved very much, whether it be Null CGs or ECGs. They even began to include Rika in that family, because even though she was the one who put them into those despitefull classes, they also saw her more than once checking on them in secret, with a face full of worry…
It was because their little sisters were in the hands of those people that they fought, trying desperately to help the very sisters who tried to raise their mood just an hour ago…
But were they really helping them right now?
If they truly wanted to help them, they should have fought the people holding them, not themselves…
““We’re so stupid- *snif* We’re sorry!”” Both apologized out loud, crying their heart to the sky while the onlookers watched the scene in bafflement. Only the ECGs could understand them right now…
“...What’s with those two idiots, suddenly crying?”
“What about the fight? I still need the money to pay back my debts!”
“Fuck… Nobody told me this would be such an unpleasant scene. Make sure you have people willing to fight next time!”
People were beginning to grow agitated with the twins now, until somebody threw something at Miria.
“Give me back my money!”
The metallic object landed straight on Miria’s head, creating a wound from which blood began to leak. Still, Miria and Tiria continued to cry, unperturbed.
Other people also began to throw things at them, and anger grew, the organizers, students and teachers alike, who feared to also be chosen by the mob as the next victims, began to pannick.
“I-it’s not our fault they stopped fighting! Blame it on them, not us!
“Yeah! Those bitches are doing it on purpose, so tell them to fight if you want your money back!”
“Comme on! Fight! People are waiting for their money!”
They began to join the group throwing things at the twins…
Whether it be rocks or other things, Miria and Tiria were unphased, they just cried out loud their powerlessness as new wounds opened…
“Fuck!” One person suddenly exclaimed. “If Red ribbon can’t do it, then I’ll do it for her!”
The person suddenly picked one of the knives on the ground and rushed towards Miria.
“Wait, if that’s the case, then I’ll kill Red ribbon in the name of Blue ribbon and my money!” Another followed suit, brandishing his own pocket knife towards Tiria.
““!!!”” Miria and Tiria reacted at the last moment. They would be unable to avoid the knife. Their eyes already void of life and filled with despair watched on as the knife drew closer to them, and they accepted their fate…
But it did not happen.
Before the knives reached the two of them, a shadow suddenly blocked their view.
*stab*
Two grunts were heard as the knives cut through flesh.
““...Eh?”” This weird exclamation came from both Miria and Tiria as well as the men holding knives, because who they stabbed were not the twins, but rather…
““055/056!””
Within the chaos, the ECGs had managed to free themselves, albeit with some wounds. They looked haggard, beaten up, and exhausted, but even with that, they were able to protect their sisters, just like they promised… Now, they had a knife planted in their back…
Miria and Tiria looked in horror as their sisters smiled at them.
““Prime sisters…it’s not, your… fault…”” They both tried to caress the face of the twin they were in charge of protecting, before going limp and falling to the ground, unconscious…
““...Ah...”” Both Miria and Tiria stared at their sisters, whose current state was unknown, and tears began to flow again.
This was… their fault, that’s how they felt, and they cried their hearts out.
“Shit, we got the adult ones instead!”
“Agh, why did you do that!? Do you know how much money we could get by selling those!?”
“How could I know they jump straight in front of me!?”
They heard the people around them beginning to argue again, reminding them of their presence.
Miria and Tiria unconsciously made eye contact. the both of them looked pitiful, but that was not what they were thinking right now…
‘‘It’s not your fault.’’
That was what their sisters just said…
Then… Whose fault was it? Rika? Their mother? Both of them had put them in those classes after all…
No…
The real people responsible were right in front of them…
““Unforgivable…”” Both muttered at the same time. they felt an amount of hate that was uncomparable to what they had ever felt before…
Everyone was so busy arguing with one another that they did not notice the twins getting up.
Who was going to give justice to those people? The Borkians? Certainly not. They took the knives that were lying around, and looked at the ones who had stabbed their sisters with hateful eyes…
This emotion was so strong that it awoke something within them…
“I want to kill them.” Miria suddenly heard the voice of her sister.
“Me too.” She replied, not even wondering what was happening. This went deeper than just understanding the other with just a look and being similar in every way…
Something snapped in their mind…
And it released the true talent of the twin clone girls…
Chauchat
Author's monologue:
Hey there! I'm back with another chapter!
It's not a happy one at all... Well, what can I say, it was time I dealt with the twin's problem anyway... and hey, it the first twin POV, hurray?
No really, it's painful and hard to write those scenes, it reminded me of the one with Ticinia and Vinia, though in a more brutal way...
Last week has been real busy for me, and I'm steel feeling incredibly sleepy, so there might be some incoerences and wording mistakes... If you see them, say it please, I'll try to fix them once I've recovered enough....
So yeah, that's it from me for today! I'll see you all in the next chapter!
PS: you can join the discord here! https://discord.gg/
““Fight! Fight! Fight!””
Those words were the only thing Miria and Tiria heard as they faced one another, while being encircled by people who bullied them all day and unknown people…
Both had tears in their eyes and were trembling in fear, and the reason why…
“What are you doing, chipmunk? Go on and hit the little one from the Escort class!”
“Yeah! Beat her up to a pulp!”
“Hey, useless kid! Do something and hit your fellow clone! We can’t lose in front of the Guards again!”
“If you don’t, we’ll make you regret being the useless girl you are!”
In the midst of those words, Miria and Tiria stared at one another, not moving an inch. There was one question in their mind right now…
How did we end up in this situation?
***
Going back a bit in time, Miria was going to class in a better mood than usual. The reason why? She and her sister Tiria had been spending most of their free time with their mother since she came back.
They had a lot of fun together and chatted about a lot of things, which made the both of them forget their situation for a moment, but it was still present in their mind.
Once, she and Tiria broke down at the same time in front of her, and spilled everything that happened to them. Ticia consoled them as best as she could, but also said they needed to endure, and reflect on what was happening to them…
And reflect they did. In fact, they did not need Ticia to think back on their current situation. It had been made obvious during the wargame, as well as during classes...
It was the first time they felt the distance growing so much between them and their sisters.
When they trained between sisters, they did not get this feeling of being left out, but Miria and Tiria understood why now. It was because most of their sisters, who had outgrown their other sisters in terms of skills, adapted to their other sister’s current level.
It was only goodwill from them, but this goodwill had now turned into poison for Miria and Tiria…
The treatment both of them received respectively while in their specialization classes was especially bad too…
It just showed how much they relied on one another for everything, and they understood how useless they became once they separated. They needed to learn how to be autonomous by themselves.
But that was the problem…
We can’t do it…
Both Miria and Tiria felt stressed out. Even though nobody said it to them, they understood that their separation was for their own good, so despite struggling against it with the support of Ria, they still accepted their fate in the end, never expecting this degree of pain to come about and hit them continuously.
They did not want to disappoint their mother, nor betray the trust their sisters had in them. They wanted to show their worth in fact. But neither of them could manage to stay one room apart from the other… When one of them was missing, it felt as if… they were incomplete… It was a weird feeling, one that only they could understand…
A lot of questions passed through Miria’s mind, and she knew her sister thought the same. Why were they like this? Why were they unable to progress as fast as their sisters? And most of all… What is the point of their ability?
She did not find any ‘positive’ answers to her questions…
“Sister, be careful.” As she entered a deep reflection that worsened her mood, a voice suddenly called out from behind, making Miria react immediately. Thanks to that, she avoided crashing into a signpost.
“Oh…” She said as she immediately stopped in her tracks, before sending a thankful look towards the ECG. “Sorry, 055…”
“Please, sister, watch where you are going, lessons aren’t over there.” ECG-055 warned lightly, glancing at the direction Miria kept looking at all this time.
“But Tiria is.” Miria answered with a pout. She could not help but look for her sister, and she was sure it was the same for Tiria.
“She is not, she went North from our position.” The ECG said however, shaking her head.
“Eh?” Miria froze for a moment, she did not think she would get even that wrong…
When I’m with Tiria, I can easily orient myself, so why can’t I now? Her thoughts went negative again.
“...I’m such a useless clone…” She whispered with a bitter expression.
“Sister?” ECG-055 asked, having heard what she said, but Miria shook her head and tried to keep her act together.
“Oh, it’s nothing, 055, let’s continue, I don’t want you to waste more time.”
I can’t worry others any further…
“...Sister, I am not wasting any time by following after you.” ECG-055 suddenly said, but Miria did not listen, or rather, her mind had already closed the discussion over the matter, and she was already walking again. Seeing that, ECG-055 sighed.
“Please excuse me.” She suddenly declared as she grabbed Miria by the shoulder.
“Eh? 055? W-what are you doing?” With a force that Miria could not defend against and great confusion, Miria got dragged into a small alley with few traffic.
“Sister, let’s talk for a bit about your current situation.” ECG-055 declared with a serious expression, probably the first one Miria had ever seen her make…
“What about it?” She asked, trying to keep a calm appearance on the outside, though in her mind, she was already panicking.
What about my current situation? I’m fine, I swear!
“Please do not lower yourself like this.” ECG-055 insisted, closing her face from her sister, who flinched in surprise. This was the first time an ECG had reduced the distance so much with her!
Wait a minute, are they even able to think like that? She ended up thinking. Though it was a bit offensive when told like this, it was true that some ECGs still had a hard time expressing themselves, and ECG-055 was one of them.
A thought suddenly crossed Miria’s mind.
“...Did mom ask you to say that?” She asked with a serious expression. She was pretty sure it was the case, since her mother was worried about her and Tiria. But to her surprise, ECG-055 shook her head.
“No, I am moving of my own volition.” She declared with a serious look and a hint of worry.
“...” Now Miria was left staring at her sister’s close face in true amazement. Her little sister was acting like this not for their mother or the Null CGs, but for herself!
…She’s grown. Miria could not help but state this. For a clone that was originally born with nearly no autonomy and the only goal of saving mother no matter what, this is borderline defectiveness.
Meanwhile, as Miria thought that, ECG-055 continued on.
“I do believe there is no need for you to feel down about your abilities.” Those words made Miria focus again on reality. She was happy her sister thought like that, but…
Her face lowered, and she tightened her fists.
“...But we’re useless, we can’t fight back once we’re separated, and even if we’re together, we’re just…” She said in a low, trembling voice, events from the wargame reappearing in her mind…
Why were they unable to take down more than one enemy when Willia and Nillia took three? How come their eldest sister, Licia, who has not received any genetic modifications, was still better than them? Miria asked herself those questions all the time now, and she could tell Tiria was the same just by looking at her in the eyes. Both of them were unconsciously going down the spiral of negativity, slowly reaching their limits…
“Sister, you and sister Tiria are not useless, you are superior to us in everything.” ECG-055 reminded.
“Don’t say that, mom is gonna get angry.” Miria replied with a small laugh. While it was obvious to all clone girls that Ticia cherished them, she knew their mother for longer than ECG-055…
Mom is hiding something from us… She was not the only one who thought like that. In fact, all the Null CGs were thinking the same. She knew that out of all her sisters, only Licia knew the truth, but they did not ask anything, out of respect for their mother. Licia also promised they would know everything once the time was right. Because of that, an increasing pressure grew on all of them, who wanted to be of use to their mother.
“I know that, but that is the undeniable truth about clone hierarchy.” ECG-055 said. “Certainly, prototypes are usually disposed of, but so what? If they are not killed, they stay at high positions within our hierarchy. Not only that, you have been given a name from birth, are well cherished by our Mother, and possess Prime authority over us all.”
Prime authority was the embodiment of reaching the highest level of the clone hierarchy. It was a title rarely given in the past, because it held authority over all other clones. A-4 had given this title to the Null CGs when the ECGs were created, fixing their positions as Null CGs into place…
“I am speaking for all my sisters. You are precious to us, who are out of the norm clones. So long as we are alive and near you, our Prime sisters, we shall give our lives away so that no arms come your way.” ECG-055 ended her words with a salute.
“055…” Miria could feel the earnestness in her sister’s words, and she felt touched. As a clone herself, she could understand ECG-055’s feelings.
“I and 056 shall protect the two of you.” ECG-055 added with a small, gentle smile, and Miria was left staring at it.
055, you are doing so well compared to me… Miria could not help but think, before shaking her head. No, no, stay positive, Miria. 055 is simply showing the example to you, that’s all. How could I show such a shameful side to her?!
She released a long breath while closing her eyes, before clapping both of her hands on her cheeks at the same time.
Me and Tiria, we’ll find a way to improve. She declared to herself, before looking at her sister.
“Thanks, now I feel a little more motivated…”
ECG-055 nodded at her words, still with a small smile. Miria turned, and began walking determinedly towards her classroom.
***
Her courage immediately faded away as she took the first step into the room and all eyes locked on her.
Every other student was present, staring at her with smirks and sneers on their faces, which made Miria tremble.
“Hey, look, it’s the failure.”
“Arriving quite late today, aren’t you? Did you piss yourself?” One asked.
“I-I did not…” Miria weakly replied as she retreated to herself. She wanted to run back to Tiria at once.
“What’s that? I didn’t hear you?” The one closest to her suddenly said, before shrugging. “Whatever. I don’t care about the opinion of a little girl who got there thanks to her connections rather than her skills.”
This was a shared sentiment between the students of this class, who shed blood and ears to enter the Guards units.
You’re the ones who are a bunch of nepotists… Miria could not help but comment as she knew their skills were somewhat average for most of them, though she would never dare to say it out loud...
Due to their origins, the Guards had the particularity of holding important weight in negotiations between politicians and other high figures. Thanks to that, they had managed to push their vision of teaching onto the academy, regrouping all students into one huge class per year.
Miria was nothing but a perturbing outsider to them…
As Miria was silently braving the indifferent looks from her ‘classmates’ and moving towards her seat at the back, one student suddenly got up and faced her.
“Yo, weakling. How are you doing today?”
“...” Miria stayed silent, unable to make eye contact with the man who was taller than the average. This irritated the man however…
“Hey! I asked you a question!” He tried to get closer to Miria, but ECG-055 suddenly got in front of Miria, surprising everyone.
This was the first time ECG-055 made a move to protect Miria so openly, as she only pressured people with death stares before… Although she stayed silent this time too, there also was another message…
‘Don’t bully my sister anymore, or else I’ll take action.’
“Tsk, we can’t even greet people anymore in this class, what a pain.” the tall man retreated in frustration. This was because they had seen what the ECGs were capable of, and they did not want to anger one of them directly… As he sat, he asked a question to no one in particular…
“Where's the teacher anyway? Classes should be starting by now…”
Before anybody could answer, the teacher entered. Everybody stood at attention as he began to talk.
“Attention class! Today’s schedule has been changed at the last moment.”
His words caused some whispers.
“Changed?”
“Really?”
“What’s going on?”
“Quiet.” the teacher calmed the whispers. “We will do a joint class with the Escorts today.”
His words caused a clamor within the class.
“What!?”
“With those useless shits!?”
“Teacher, what’s the meaning of this? Escorts are just copycats of our superior tactics!”
“Quiet!” the teacher was forced to calm things down again, this time with a sterner voice. Though Miria doubted he had a different opinion than the students on that matter…
“What are you all disgruntled about? Scared of them?” He asked scornfully.
““No sir!”” The Guards students answered immediately with offended expressions.
“Then follow my orders and listen to them, damn rascals!” The teacher yelled, before calming down a bit and pointing toward the board. “As you all know, hand to hand combat is an essential part of our formation for us guards, who shall protect VIPs in the future…”
Miria did not listen to what the teacher was saying anymore. she was focused elsewhere…
He just said Escorts, right? That means I can see Tiria?
She felt immense delight at this fact, and she would have run out of the class immediately were it not for ECG-055 who kept an eye on her, so she tried to refocus on what the teacher was saying.
“...As such, and with the agreement of the academy’s board, I and the Escort’s teacher have agreed on a small competition between all students.”
“Eh?” Miria froze. Then that would mean…
“Show those escorts what you’re made of, alright?” The teacher finished the last bit while sending a sneer towards Miria who paled…
Meanwhile, the other students were discussing the matter in small groups.
“For real?”
“Does that mean we get to beat up the Escorts to our heart’s content and without any repercussions?”
“So long as you do not ‘kill’ your adversary or cheat, every move is allowed.”
“Then it’s a yes!”
“Haha! I've dreamt of this for a long while now, beating up those copycats!”
As they grew more and more excited, the teacher reigned them in again…
“Quiet! If you don’t have any questions, we shall immediately go over to the training grounds.”
Nobody raised their hands except the tall man who had stopped Miria earlier.
“Yes?”
“Does this include ‘her’?” He said, pointing towards Miria with a smirk.
“Yes, it does for the kid, the adult one is forbidden from participating or intervening.” The teacher replied with a smirk of his own.
“You heard the instructor, little clone. Don’t shame us on this one.” the tall man added, which caused laughter to erupt in the classroom.
“...Yes.” Miria answered in a low voice, trembling.
I’ve got a bad feeling about this…
***
And there they were now, facing each other as people around them were sending jeers their way…
They should have guessed something was wrong when they were brought up to a place outside of the academy…
Miria and Tiria immediately went to each other when the Guards joined up with the Escorts, which was an error. The Guards students immediately focused on them, and requested the teachers that the first match be Miria against Tiria. Since the Escorts were also not reeling at the idea of getting beaten up by the Guards, they also asked, hoping for a good laugh before facing their inevitable demise.
As if it had all been planned from the beginning, the teachers smiled, and agreed immediately. No rules or settings had been laid out, and people just shouted at them to beat the other up.
As for the ECGs, they immediately showed some signs of protest, but got separated from the twins by the mob. Miria and Tiria desperately searched for them from within the mob, but could not find them…
Worse than that, the mob was growing in number, passing people got curious and approached the group.
“What’s this, a fight?”
“That’s the Guards and the Escorts, it’s rare to see the two of them not fight one another. What the hell is happening?”
“H-hey, aren't those clones at the center? What are they doing?”
Those newcomers were separated into two groups, those who felt the opportunity for a good distraction, and those who worried over the consequences of what was about to happen, since the clones were under the Unkillable Valkyrie.
None of them would act however, they either continued on whatever business they had or simply kept their distance while observing the situation, much to the twin’s disbelief…
It also did not escape their eyes that some people in the mob were not from the academy at all, in fact, they seemed to be growing in number…
Before anybody knew it, gambling was taking place…
“How am I supposed to win money if none of them makes a move?”
“True! Hey, the one with the Blue ribbon! Hurry up and beat the crap out of the one with the Red ribbon!”
“Don’t listen to him, Reddie! you must win no matter what or I’ll lose all my allowance!”
“Agh, this isn’t doing it. They’re not moving!” One student suddenly said in frustration as Miria and Tiria still stood there, not moving an inch.
“If this continues, how are we supposed to make a profit?”
“Damn, is there any way to make them move?”
“Ah! I know! Get those bitches here!”
No sooner had one of them said that that two girls the twins knew very well appeared…
““055/056…””
The men had brought back the ECGs, who had somehow been tied up…
““...Apologies, sisters…”” both ECGs said at the same time with regretful and ashamed expressions. To them, they had failed at their duties.
The twins did not think that way though, they were just unlucky. with so many people around, it was not surprising that the ECGs got overwhelmed…
Miria and Tiria shared a glance. Although they were unwilling, right now, their sisters were held hostage. The only thing they could do to help them was to fight one another…
They came up with an idea. Although they were reluctant to do it, since the lives of their sisters might be threatened, they needed to gain time until either Rika or their mother came to their rescue. For now, they would use their ability to fight…
To the cheers of the surrounding people, both girls struck one another… When one struck, the other defended, and by using their ability, they were able to block the blows. Not everything was perfect though, as despite understanding what the other was about to do, both girls found themselves doing the same move at the same time, resulting in unwanted damage.
“I gotta film that!” One person within the crowd suddenly exclaimed, but when she began to film…
“Huh? Hacked? What the hell?! This is an offline camera! No, wait- Where are my nude peeping photos!?”
People created some distance from the woman and looked at her with judging eyes. Ashamed, the woman ran away. After that, nobody attempted to record the fight…
““Guh!”” Miria and Tiria both delivered a kick into the right thigh of the other. It hurt but they still kept fighting…
An eternity seemed to have passed for them, and there was still no sign of their mother, sisters, nor Rika…
“Hmm, this is more boring than I thought.” One of the onlookers suddenly said.
“Yeah, I thought they would fight seriously like in those videos, but, all they’re doing is the same move? How could they just think of the same thing at the same time…”
“This isn’t worth my money…”
The gamblers seemed bored, which made the organizers pannick.
“Crap! If this continues, we’ll lose money!”
“We’ve gotta find an idea to make it more interesting!”
“Think, Dewey! Think! Ah! I know!”
A knife was thrown near Tiria’s feet.
“Here, Red ribbon! Use this to fight your opponent!” Someone yelled.
“Ah! Not fair!” Somebody else yelled, before a knife also landed near Miria. “Blue ribbon! you must win no matter what!!”
Other people also sent their knives, and a lot of them landed near the girls.
This made Miria and Tiria stop in their tracks however…
““Why did they stop moving?”” The public immediately questioned, but the reason was simple. Neither Miria nor Tiria wanted to hurt the other more than they already did.
“I-I can’t…” Tiria said with a trembling voice as she stared at Miria in the eyes, both had tears in their eyes.
““I-I don’t want to hurt you!”” They blurted out at the same time, falling to their knees and bursting out loud.
They had reached their limit. It was already surprising that both of them had managed to go that far anyway, but when they thought back on why they managed to do it, they found one simple answer…
For the family…
That’s right, what the twins cherished the most after each other was their family. Their mother who had been a bit clumsy and indecisive at first but still showed immense love towards them, their eldest sister who bullied them out of jealousy to the point of hurting them, before making a U turn and caring for them, their other sisters who they loved very much, whether it be Null CGs or ECGs. They even began to include Rika in that family, because even though she was the one who put them into those despitefull classes, they also saw her more than once checking on them in secret, with a face full of worry…
It was because their little sisters were in the hands of those people that they fought, trying desperately to help the very sisters who tried to raise their mood just an hour ago…
But were they really helping them right now?
If they truly wanted to help them, they should have fought the people holding them, not themselves…
““We’re so stupid- *snif* We’re sorry!”” Both apologized out loud, crying their heart to the sky while the onlookers watched the scene in bafflement. Only the ECGs could understand them right now…
“...What’s with those two idiots, suddenly crying?”
“What about the fight? I still need the money to pay back my debts!”
“Fuck… Nobody told me this would be such an unpleasant scene. Make sure you have people willing to fight next time!”
People were beginning to grow agitated with the twins now, until somebody threw something at Miria.
“Give me back my money!”
The metallic object landed straight on Miria’s head, creating a wound from which blood began to leak. Still, Miria and Tiria continued to cry, unperturbed.
Other people also began to throw things at them, and anger grew, the organizers, students and teachers alike, who feared to also be chosen by the mob as the next victims, began to pannick.
“I-it’s not our fault they stopped fighting! Blame it on them, not us!
“Yeah! Those bitches are doing it on purpose, so tell them to fight if you want your money back!”
“Comme on! Fight! People are waiting for their money!”
They began to join the group throwing things at the twins…
Whether it be rocks or other things, Miria and Tiria were unphased, they just cried out loud their powerlessness as new wounds opened…
“Fuck!” One person suddenly exclaimed. “If Red ribbon can’t do it, then I’ll do it for her!”
The person suddenly picked one of the knives on the ground and rushed towards Miria.
“Wait, if that’s the case, then I’ll kill Red ribbon in the name of Blue ribbon and my money!” Another followed suit, brandishing his own pocket knife towards Tiria.
““!!!”” Miria and Tiria reacted at the last moment. They would be unable to avoid the knife. Their eyes already void of life and filled with despair watched on as the knife drew closer to them, and they accepted their fate…
But it did not happen.
Before the knives reached the two of them, a shadow suddenly blocked their view.
*stab*
Two grunts were heard as the knives cut through flesh.
““...Eh?”” This weird exclamation came from both Miria and Tiria as well as the men holding knives, because who they stabbed were not the twins, but rather…
““055/056!””
Within the chaos, the ECGs had managed to free themselves, albeit with some wounds. They looked haggard, beaten up, and exhausted, but even with that, they were able to protect their sisters, just like they promised… Now, they had a knife planted in their back…
Miria and Tiria looked in horror as their sisters smiled at them.
““Prime sisters…it’s not, your… fault…”” They both tried to caress the face of the twin they were in charge of protecting, before going limp and falling to the ground, unconscious…
““...Ah...”” Both Miria and Tiria stared at their sisters, whose current state was unknown, and tears began to flow again.
This was… their fault, that’s how they felt, and they cried their hearts out.
“Shit, we got the adult ones instead!”
“Agh, why did you do that!? Do you know how much money we could get by selling those!?”
“How could I know they jump straight in front of me!?”
They heard the people around them beginning to argue again, reminding them of their presence.
Miria and Tiria unconsciously made eye contact. the both of them looked pitiful, but that was not what they were thinking right now…
‘‘It’s not your fault.’’
That was what their sisters just said…
Then… Whose fault was it? Rika? Their mother? Both of them had put them in those classes after all…
No…
The real people responsible were right in front of them…
““Unforgivable…”” Both muttered at the same time. they felt an amount of hate that was uncomparable to what they had ever felt before…
Everyone was so busy arguing with one another that they did not notice the twins getting up.
Who was going to give justice to those people? The Borkians? Certainly not. They took the knives that were lying around, and looked at the ones who had stabbed their sisters with hateful eyes…
This emotion was so strong that it awoke something within them…
“I want to kill them.” Miria suddenly heard the voice of her sister.
“Me too.” She replied, not even wondering what was happening. This went deeper than just understanding the other with just a look and being similar in every way…
Something snapped in their mind…
And it released the true talent of the twin clone girls…
Chauchat
Author's monologue:
Hey there! I'm back with another chapter!
It's not a happy one at all... Well, what can I say, it was time I dealt with the twin's problem anyway... and hey, it the first twin POV, hurray?
No really, it's painful and hard to write those scenes, it reminded me of the one with Ticinia and Vinia, though in a more brutal way...
Last week has been real busy for me, and I'm steel feeling incredibly sleepy, so there might be some incoerences and wording mistakes... If you see them, say it please, I'll try to fix them once I've recovered enough....
So yeah, that's it from me for today! I'll see you all in the next chapter!
PS: you can join the discord here! https://discord.gg/
