NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 14
Deep within the forest, screams echoed, making flock of birds fly away. A gruesome scene took place as one individual was mercilessly killing people. Corpses were scattered everywhere as that person who wore a white armored suit shot every person in her sight, whether they were alive, wounded, or already dead…
"Ragh! I’m so stupid!" The person suddenly said. Of course, this person was Ticia.
"Why did I accept it!?" She thought back about what happened not long ago within the training ground as she continued her ruthless killing spree.
***
"Then… My second wish is… to accompany you outside and see you working!" Lidia exclaimed with expectations.
"No." This time, Ticia’s response was immediate. Her face became serious.
"I can’t?" Lidia looked at Ticia hopefully.
"It’s dangerous outside."
"I can take care of myself, mother!" Lidia insisted. "I’ll be very careful! And I’ll follow you!"
"That’s still a no, Lidia. Even if you follow me, big sis… can’t guarantee your safety…" Ticia was serious about this, even she was not perfect. Protecting people wasn’t part of her skillset. She was a soldier, a merciless killer who would complete her objective, not a low class escort soldier…
"This is the end of the discussion, now let’s take a quick shower and relax. You can make another wish later." Ticia began to leave, but she immediately froze the moment she heard Lidia’s next words.
"M-mom! Wait! I…I just want to help you…" The voice weakened.
Ticia did not turn around. She was conflicted not only by Lidia’s insistence, but the way she just called her. She wants to help me so much that she changed the way she calls me… Is it really that important to her? She dug into her memories. She recalled one of A-4’s reports that the AI gave her some days before the clone girls were born. It was a report that disgusted her, so she tried to forget it. Within it, there was information about some 'security measures' against the clone girls, just in case. This included the introduction of a purpose to their life, to make them more subservient.
Right… There was something like that… Ticia remembered one specific purpose that was implanted into the clone girl's minds. And that was to be useful to the one they considered their ‘leader’. In Ticia’s case, she was the so-called leader. Even though the Null class clone girls were somewhat resistant to this ‘goal implantation’, thanks to the lack of genetic modifications which would make the individual less rebellious. Some of the Null class clone girls, if not all of them, were probably influenced by this and unconsciously yearned to achieve this goal.
This is disgusting. Ticia said to herself, just thinking about it made her mood turn even more sour. But this explained some things at least. Lidia is definitely under that influence!
Even if she refused now, the girl would probably pester her until she agreed, and this was something Ticia wanted to avoid, because if the other clone girls heard about this, there was a risk of reminding them about this said goal. At the worst, Ticia would enter a never ending cycle of the girls asking to go outside.
Still, it's wrong to make Lidia watch me kill people! Ticia reminded herself yet again. This is not a 'bring your kid to work' day or whatever some civilians do! Wait a minute, did I just consider Lidia as my child? Her thoughts had gone in a strange direction.
I mean, it's technically true, but no! I am not their mother! I am their big sis, yes, I am their big sis and as such it is my duty to take care of them. I won't let them become like me!
When Ticia was a child erring the streets, she had seen everything a kid shouldn't have seen. From adult relationships to… murder. She too became part of this violent world at some point, becoming an assassin. She did not remember how old she was when she first killed somebody, nor does she remember what she felt, it was a period of her life where she did not show a lot of emotions after all. But by the time she enlisted herself in the army to escape this miserable life, she had already gained a name in the hitman industry. Whether they were good or bad people, she did not care, she only obeyed the orders a stranger gave her in exchange for some money and warm food.
Still, Ticia knew that this kind of lifestyle, which had hardened her personality, wasn't the norm. As such, she wanted to give the clone girls something she did not get herself, to avoid them suffering the same fate as her… A warm shelter with a loving family, far away from the dark and problematic life of the adult world.
Having found her resolution, she faced Lidia. "Lidia, I want you to understand, I care about you all, and by just being yourself, you are already helping me. So please, don’t force yourself to come outside with me."
"Mother…" Lidia stared at Ticia, a mixture of emotions were visible on her face. Today was probably the only day she had shown so much emotion. After a while, she spoke up. "I understand mother’s resolution, but… I still want to go outside with you."
"*sigh* Lidia…" Ticia made a complicated face. "That’s still a no, you won’t change my mind about this."
"..." Lidia's face still showed stubbornness even though she said nothing.
Ticia sighed. This is getting nowhere! I must find a way to make her forget about it…
It was while Ticia was thinking about countermeasures that Lidia suddenly said.
"Then, I’ll tell my sisters that ‘big sis’ doesn’t keep her promises."
"Alright! Let’s go outside! Tomorrow, big sis is gonna show you-ah." Ticia exclaimed reflexively, she did not want the clone girls’ trust in her to decrease because she did not keep her promise, and here was the result. By the time she realized what was happening, she had already agreed to something outrageous in her eyes. Meanwhile, Lidia was already all smiles.
"Thank you mother! I knew you would say yes in the end!"
Had she been played with again?! Pulling herself together, she tried to call out.
"W-wait, Lidia! I-"
"I love you mother!" Lidia suddenly declared as she hugged Ticia.
"!?!?!?" This sudden hug, which was similar to Ticinia’s, coupled with Lidia shouting her love to Ticia, made Ticia’s brain short-circuit. Within her head, the words Lidia had just pronounced repeated itself like an echo, and her chest was filled with a very raw emotion she had a hard time identifying.
By the time her mind rebooted, Lidia was no longer there, and she was left alone within the training room. There was no way for her to go back on her words anymore.
***
"And that’s why I’m here. Do you understand now?" Ticia said as she finished her rant. She was talking to one of her victims, an injured soldier of the Ionian Republic, who was the last one alive.
"Please, gh… Spare me…" He managed to say.
"Nope." Ticia said as she just shot the man in the head with her pistol. She then got up and stretched herself. "Ngh, Aaaaah~. I feel so much better now!"
"Suggestion: Owner Ticia should do a sanity check."
"I told you already, there’s no need, A-4, I’m totally fine~."
"This unit does not think so."
"No, really, don’t worry! Everything is fine!" Ticia insisted, but the killing spree she had done just to relieve herself only made A-4 question whether it made a good choice by making Ticia its owner.
After agreeing(?) to Lidia’s second wish, Ticia had immediately met up with A-4. She then began to rant incessantly to the poor AI about how she had been ‘tricked’ into agreeing to Lidia’s wishes. Having enough of this neverending ranting, the AI had suggested that Ticia prepares in advance. From those words however, Ticia concluded that she just had to kill every soldier within a planned location, so that tomorrow, no soldiers would be present when she took Lidia out there.
Thus happened the following massacres. Ticia ranted to her enemies while she was killing them. It was truly a surreal situation where Ticia just took her victims as ranting buddies, while her victims saw her as a demon instead, not that Ticia minded. She was long lost into her own world.
"Alright, I’m done here! Let’s hurry up to the next zone! I need to vent out some more!" Ticia said as she rushed out into another direction. "Ah, right! A-4, don’t forget to clean everything up! I don't want a single body left!"
"...Orders received…"
Helpless, A-4 could only obey its owner and guide her to her next target while scheduling a mental health check just in case.
That day, all troops of the Ionian Republic within the South-West forest of Clone installation 3 were eliminated, causing a huge commotion within the republican headquarters. This however, would have bigger repercussions than Ticia thought.
***
Meanwhile, Lidia entered a room on the fourth floor. Inside this room, Ria, Nicia and Ticinia sat around a round table, enjoying some tea. This room had become Ria and Nicia’s tea room, and the two of them would pass some time having some tea there everyday. Ticinia sometimes hung out with them, she had taken an interest in making tea, and Ria and Nicia would help her do a taste test of the ones she made.
Ria noticed Lidia, she called out to her with a radiant smile on her face. "Ah, Lidia, perfect timing! I was just about to go search for you. Come, join us and take a seat." She invited her, Nicia and Ticinia stopped their conversation and also looked at Lidia.
Lidia simply nodded, a serious expression on her face. This was her usual expression which was a far way from the multitude of emotions that she had shown to Ticia just a moment ago. She took a seat, and Ticinia poured some tea into a cup for her. After taking a sip from it, everybody looked at her, the joyous atmosphere no longer there, replaced by a serious and tense one.
"Let’s hear what you have to report." Ria said. She was like an officer in charge of a briefing. In fact, that was nearly the case. While the room served as a tea room, Ria also used it as a reunion room for the clone girls who had similar objectives to her.
While Ticia considered the clone girls like normal kids, they were anything but normal. The implanted knowledge within their brain had already made them conscious of some realities of the adult world, so considering them as normal eight year old kids was simply impossible.
"Just like you predicted, Willia tried to show her fighting capabilities in front of ‘her’ by fighting Nillia." Lidia said matter of factly.
Ria nodded. "So, what was the result?"
"A draw."
"As expected." Answered Nicia after taking a sip from her own cup of tea, she had predicted her two sisters would not be able to beat one another. "From what A-4 told me about their genetic capabilities, the both of them are the perfect opposite. They would become quite the impressive duo if teamed up together."
After that incident some days ago, Nicia had begun to learn more about her modifications and the ones her sisters had. She passed her free time studying within the infirmary, studying the capacities of the human body, and how to deal with wounded people. Thanks to this, she was capable of doing precise analysis about her sister’s capacities.
"So, how did it end up like that?" Asked Ticinia from the side, curious about how the match proceeded.
"Willia headbutted Nillia on the forehead, shouting it like it was some sort of ultimate move. The two of them ended up unconscious."
""..."" There was a moment of silence. Ticinia grimaced as she put her left hand on her forehead, imagining what it must have felt like. Nicia sighed, looking exasperated, and Ria had a wry smile on her face.
"That’s a very Willia-like thing to do…" The latter of the three finally said.
"Really… Why is she such an idiot? Can’t she use her brain for one second?" Nicia criticized.
"Come on, sis." Ticinia interjected, protecting Willia. "Sister Willia is doing her best, besides, she is funny and gives Ticinia lots of hugs! So there’s no problem!"
"Yes, yes, Ticinia, everyone loves to hug you anyway…" Nicia said, not taking her seriously. This made Ticinia pout cutely, and her sisters, Lidia included, got the sudden urge to hug her, but managed to control themselves.
This attraction to Ticinia was weird in itself. From what Nicia had seen within the reports on her sister’s genetic modification, none of them had such an effect. In the end, she came to the conclusion that this was caused either by Ticinia’s personality, which somehow provoked an instinct to protect the girl at any cost from the others, or a side effect of the combination of her genetic modifications. Either way, Ticinia was terribly cute, and her sisters wanted to protect her, even Licia.
As for Ticia, somehow the effect was twice as effective on her.
"So? Since you came back so late, I’m guessing something else happened?" Ria asked, recentering the conversation around the initial subject.
Lidia nodded. "Since I was left alone, ‘she’ offered to grant me a wish if I managed to guess who would win."
"Ooooh~. That’s nice!" Ticinia exclaimed.
"I’m guessing you managed to find out then." Nicia commented, and Lidia nodded, not mentioning the victory dance she did at the end. That… was better kept a secret between her and Ticia…
"Had I known, I would have come to the training ground…" Nicia mumbled, a bit jealous since she too, knew how the spar would have ended.
"You’ll get your chance another time, Nicia." Ria said, and Ticinia and Lidia nodded at Nicia as a sign of support. "Still, it’s a good thing you could get big sis to grant you a wish."
"Two actually." Lidia announced, a small smirk appearing on her face. She was boasting, and it had an effect as this time, not only Nicia, but Ria also frowned. Meanwhile Ticinia was just happy for her sister.
"That’s amazing, sis!" She had stars in her eyes, as if she had met her idol. This did not go without effect on Lidia, and her pride grew stronger.
"...You can give me lots of hugs, you know?"
"Yes! I'll give you lots of hugs later!" Hearing that, Lidia made a small fist pose, a smile on her face. She just got permission to hug Ticinia to her heart's content! This was the breaking point for her sisters though.
"Ahem! Can we go back on the subject?" Ria said, sending a glance at Lidia that told her to stop bragging. She obliged.
"I managed to convince ‘her’ to take me outside and accompany her at work tomorow."
"Wait a minute… You’re telling me you managed to convince big sis to take you outside?!" Nicia got up, slamming her hands on the table. She was utterly surprised, just like Ticinia and Ria. "How did you manage to do that!?"
"Ria’s technique." That was all Lidia said, but her sisters understood.
"Ah, I see, so it works even if I’m not the one doing it." Ria nodded, convinced. Nicia sighed, sitting back on her chair.
"What kind of blackmail did you use?" She asked, remembering how Ria had managed to make Ticia talk to her about the situation outside clone installation 3.
"I told her that if she did not grant my wish like she promised, I would tell everybody that ‘she’ lied to us and does not grant all the wishes like she promised."
"And it worked…"
"Yes, she immediately agreed to it."
"I thought so, but the image big sis wants us to have of her really is her weak point…" Ria concluded, thoughtful about how to exploit this weakness to her advantage.
"We can use this technique to make big sis agree to get our help then." Nicia added, Ria and Lidia nodded.
"You can't! That's a no go!" Ticinia suddenly interjected, crossing her arms like a cross in front of her and shaking her head.
"Eh? Why, little sister? This technique has proven effective, so we should exploit it." Nicia questioned, none of them expected Ticinia to reject it so strongly.
"You can't use it every time! It's bad, very, very bad!"
"Is it that bad?"
"Yes! I mean… If you do this all the time, wouldn't big sis become immune to it?" This was the excuse Ticinia blurted out. In truth, she just didn't want to see her 'big sis' get exploited like that!
"It's true that this could happen…" Ria became thoughtful. "It's big sis we're talking about, after all. Seems like I need to rethink about this."
"Y-yes! Besides, wouldn't we lose all the credibility we built up if we used that technique so often?" Ticinia jumped on the occasion, trying to convince the others to give up the idea. "It's too childish!"
"But we ARE children, Ticinia." Nicia said back.
"Ugh" Ticinia had no argument against this fact. "S-still, that's a no go. Bad, it's just bad to do that!"
"Alright, we understand, Ticinia, so calm down." Ria said, putting a hand on Ticinia's head. It had an immediate effect on the clone girl who calmed down immediately. "Let's just keep this technique as an emergency measure. Like this, the trust big sis has in us won't decrease."
The clone girls nodded, this was probably for the best, since none of them wanted Ticia to think of them as just a child who only knew how to throw a tantrum.
"On another note, please tell us everything about what you see out there." Ria demanded from Lidia. "And if something is about to happen to big sis... You know what to do..."
"Of course sister."
"Ah! I remember!" Ticinia suddenly exclaimed. "Big sis mentioned one time that she had a ‘superior’!"
"Are you talking about the report you made some time ago about the lullaby?" Ria asked.
"Yes! That one! Maybe you will meet her?" Ticinia was very curious about this superior of Ticia, although her ‘big sis’ had said that she was not under her anymore, that didn’t mean there was no hope to meet her.
"I’ll keep it in mind." Answered Lidia, after all, if she did meet that person, she would probably get another excuse to get some hugs from Ticinia.
"Now that I look at it, your eyes are a bit swollen, Lidia" Nicia remarqued. "Did you cry?" She asked with a bit of worry in her voice. Did she force herself to cry to add some force to the blackmail technique? Or did something else happen?
"Yes, but it has nothing to do with Ria's technique, don't worry about it." Lidia affirmed, and Nicia stared at her for a moment, evaluating her words. She wasn't going to say she cried as a result of Ticia denying in her face one of her most dearest wishes!
How did Nia manage not to cry… Lidia thought back on the events of that day, when they first received their names. Nia just took it ahead on their first day, just after Ticia had already denied it. And yet she continued on, without showing much emotions. It was a contrast to her current childish personality.
"…If you say so…" Nicia said, before taking her cup of tea to drink.
"So? What was your second wish? Did you use it or not?" Ticinia asked impatiently, her curiosity regained.
Lidia nodded as an affirmation. Ria was about to ask what she wished for when a big smirk appeared on her face and she calmly said.
"I made her authorize me to call her ‘mother’."
"Pffffft." Nicia spat out her tea, Ria and Ticinia had big eyes, shocked by this revelation.
"You, you managed to make her recognize it?!" Nicia exclaimed in disbelief.
"Not really." Lidia shook her head. "Calling her like that makes her stiff, and I don’t think she has truly recognized me as such." She said with a sad voice. "Besides, I am only allowed to call her ‘mother’ when we are alone together."
"Still." Ria sighed. "You managed to convince her. That’s already a big step forward." A big smile appeared on her face. "Congratulations, sister."
"I’m so happy for you!" Ticinia exclaimed again, she had a hard time staying seated as she wanted to hug her sister out of joy right now. Still, she kept herself in check.
"Well, a win is a win." Nicia ended up saying after another sigh. "Congratulations on winning this competition, sister."
"Thank you all, I truly hope you will be able to call mother like that too." Lidia honestly said, she truly wished all her sisters would be able to finally make their common wish become a reality.
There was no need to be jealous about this fact. All the clone girls had a competitive spirit in some aspect, and attaining this wish was considered a competition. None of them would ask how the other would convince Ticia to recognise them as her daughter, they all wanted to obtain this recognition in their own way anyway.
Lidia had to admit that she had forced it a bit. If she didn’t begin to cry because of Ticia denying it at first, chances are she would not be able to call her like that.
Of course, the clone girls could actually call Ticia their mother whenever they wanted, but they also wanted to respect Ticia’s wishes, so they obliged and called her ‘big sis’, even though it hurt them.
All clone girls recognised Ticia as more than a leader, or a big sister. To them, Ticia was the reason they were born, and from the implanted information they had, this was the equivalent of what was a ‘mother’. From then on, the terms ‘leader’ and ‘mother’ became mixed, and the clone girls, who felt the need to be useful to their ‘leader’, began to see the fact of being allowed to call Ticia ‘mother’ as a sign of recognition.
Of course, the opinion depended on each clone girl. Ria for exemple, was fine if Ticia did not allow her to call her ‘mother’. She thought she would use other stratagems to make herself useful to Ticia, and then maybe, later on, try her luck. Then there was Ticinia, who was fine because Ticia gave her a lot of attention already.
"Remember, Lidia." Ria suddenly warned Lidia. "Whatever happens, you must be sure to never, ever, mention this in front of Licia."
Lidia nodded, this was one of the worries of the clone girls who reunited in this room. Their eldest sister, Licia, was extremely jealous.
From all the clone girls, Licia was the only one who did not show emotions. She did not speak much, and just stared at people. For some reason, she also refused to use the names Ticia gave them, referring to their numbers instead. Ticinia, who was somewhat sensitive to people’s emotions, identified this as a growing jealousy. And while she herself was trying to calm her eldest sister by giving her hugs and passing time with her, this jealousy had already had its effects between the clone girls. Licia did not hide her dislike of Ria for exemple, and the both of them did not speak to one another anymore. If she found out that Lidia managed to win first place in this competition of recognition, although Licia was the less active in it, it would definitlely have repercussions. Ria was sure of that.
"With all that said, let’s end our reunion here." Ria said, clapping her hand. "A-4, what is big sis doing right now?"
"Answering Null CG-02 Lidia’s question: Owner Ticia is currently still out ‘working’."
"Thank you A-4." Ria nodded. "I’ll stay here a bit longer, anybody wants to accompany me for another cup of tea?"
"Gladly." Said Nicia, already preparing another tea. The two of them would discuss their next moves together.
"Well, I’ll go inform Mia!" Ticinia said, getting up from her chair. Mia was the only member of their group who could not liberate herself to chat today. That was mostly because of Nia though. Ticinia began to walk joyfully to the entrance, but then a hand grabbed her left shoulder.
"Fueh? Sister?" Ticinia asked as she turned her head to face Lidia.
"Before that, I need you to charge me up." Lidia said with a smile on her face.
"?" Ticinia just tilted her head.
""..."" Ria and Nicia watched on, as Lidia dragged a confused Ticinia out of the room, and a creepy laugh echoed from the hallway. They both looked at each other.
"Next time, we should make sure to charge up on Ticinium before Lidia."
"Agreed."
