⁕ The Seed of Spite

"It was at that moment, Robinson finally found her under the bus stop, waiting for her moment to leave this place. He knew, at that moment, that he could not afford to lose her again. In complete abandon, Robinson rushed toward his beloved Angeline, completely ignoring the traffic and rain which tried to stop him. As she noticed him approach, she excitedly opened her arms in tears. In one fell swoop, Robinson picked up Angeline and spun her around before the two lovers embraced... "

As KD-554 tried to flip the page of the book in her hand, she accidentally ripped the paper apart. As she tried to put the page together, she abruptly noticed the exposed circuit in her mechanical hand. She hadn't even realized that she had been wounded since she couldn't feel anything. Worried, she slowly reached into a drawer on her side and grabbed a small mirror. Slowly, as she sat up from her bed, she noticed the extensive amount of combat damage on her body, accumulated from all her previous missions. 

Suddenly, KD-554 was startled by a wave of movement in front of her privacy curtain. As she discreetly peeked through a gap, she noticed Kadyn sneaking out of the barrack in the middle of the night. Curious, KD-554 decided to follow Kadyn to see what she was up to. After trailing behind Kadyn through a long journey through the silent Imperial base, KD-554 was shocked to notice the Grand Knight approaching Kadyn. 

However, instead of being formal with him, Kadyn embraced him before the two snuck into a private room. With a baffled look, KD-554 snuck up to the room where she hacked the camera system to spy on the two. Inside, Mike took off his helmet before he shared a long kiss with Kadyn. Then, unlike anything KD-554 had expected, Mike treated Kadyn with a loving tenderness as the two began to make love on a large soft bed. 

[KD-554] - "It's impossible! "

Whispered KD-554 as she covered her mouth in shock and disbelief. 

KD-554 struggled to understand how a man like Mike could ever choose to love a freak of nature like Kadyn. The look of pure bliss and happiness on the two's faces was a type of expression KD-554 only ever had to occasion to notice but never experience. With a defeated look, KD-554 stood up and began walking back toward her barrack. 

[Guard] - "Move it, droid! "

Yelled a guard as KD-554 passed too close to him. 

Despite the distance, KD-554's vision was still connected to the camera as she noticed the aftermath of the couple's intimate session. Like a frozen statue, KD-554 stood by the entrance of the barrack, waiting for something which could avenge her pain. Maybe the Grand Knight was simply using Kadyn for sexual pleasure? Maybe it was a part of Kadyn's mission? Maybe, just maybe, she understood their relationship wrong.

[Mike] - "How did you get hurt? "

Said Mike with a concerned look as he inspected a small cut on Kadyn's neck. 

[Kadyn] - "It's just a scratch from my mission today. Don't worry about it. "

Said Kadyn dismissively as she pushed Mike's hand down. 

[Mike] - "Let me at least patch it up a little. "

Said Mike as he reached for a medical kit.

Gently, Mike applied a bandage over Kadyn's wound. As soon as he was done, Kadyn lovingly gave him a kiss on the cheek. 

[Mike] - "Oh, also, I got you this on my way here. "

Said Mike as he presented Kadyn with a fox plushie. 

[Kadyn] - "Awww! It's just like me, a fox. "

Said Kadyn excitedly as she hugged the plushie. 

Upon seeing everything, KD-554's eyes twitched with frustration as she finally decided to shut the recording down. As she reached her bed, she noticed the romance novel she stole from Kadyn still sitting on her sheet. In a burst of anger, KD-554 grabbed the book and tore it apart with all her strength, turning it into a pile of scrap paper at her feet. Although KD-554 wanted to cry, no tears could be produced by her inorganic body. 

The next morning, as KD-554 got out of bed, she was suddenly approached by Kadyn. 

[Kadyn] - "Say, KD-554, can I ask you something? "

KD-554 recoiled before turning to face Kadyn with a frightened look in her eyes.

[KD-554] - "I did not! I was here all night, I never left my bed! "

[Kadyn] - "Oh, that's good but have you seen where one of my novels went? I can't seem to find it anywhere. "

KD-554 breathed a sigh of relief as she eyed the garbage can at the edge of her vision. 

[KD-554] - "Why the fuck would I know where you put your pathetic novels? "

Said KD-554 aggressively. 

[Kadyn] - "Woah! Someone didn't sleep well. "

Though Kadyn didn't mean to taunt KD-554, the way she phrased her words rubbed her in an extremely wrong way considering what she saw last night. 

[KD-554] - "Ugh, go take a fucking shower, you smell like a wretched prostitute! "

Said KD-554 with poison in her stare.

[Kadyn] - "Oh! What? Erm... "

Exclaimed Kadyn as she quickly rushed toward the bathroom while smelling her body.

As Kadyn disappeared into the bathroom, KD-554 inspected Kadyn's bed and noticed a black coat protruding from her bedsheet. Coming in closer, KD-554 pulled the coat out of Kadyn's bed and immediately recognized it as the Grand Knight's coat with golden decors and the cyberknight symbol all over it. 

[KD-554] - "Why... It's so unfair! She's nothing but an emotional wench! She's not nice like KD-551 or KD-552, she's just a killer just like us pretending to be cute! She didn't deserve this, she's just a blood-thirsty animal like how she was intended to be! "

Whispered KD-554 before throwing the coat onto the floor. 

[KD-554] - "What makes you more deserving of his love than us? You are more of an animal than any of us! You are the one returning from your missions coated in blood and you are the one being emotionally unstable! You killed and slaughtered more people than me and our sisters combined, yet you get the best deal out of all of us! It's unfair, It's unfair! "

Yelled KD-554 as she stumped on Mike's coat in anger. 

KD-554 clenched her fists as she turned to look at the memorial she and her sisters set up for KD-551 and KD-552 after their disappearance. Agony filled KD-554's heart as she tried to cry but couldn't.

[KD-554] - "We agreed we were a family. We agreed to share this struggle together and be loyal to only our own kin. Yet she betrayed us! "

Whispered KD-554 as she approached the makeshift shrine of her missing sisters. 

With a thud, KD-554 knelt before the pictures of KD-551 and KD-552 before sobbing in pain. 

[KD-554] - "We made a promise... Yet this cruel world took you two away from us. Both I and KD-553 continued to move forward with our lives, bracing against this storm unfairly cast upon us by fate. However, KD-555 decided that she was better than us. While Death claimed both of you and fate trapped me in this ugly prison of a body, she was being pampered and loved by one of the most powerful men in this world. "

Whispered KD-554 with rage in her voice.

[KD-553] - "Ah, so you found out about it. "

Said KD-553 as she kicked the coat on the floor. 

[KD-554] - "What? You knew about this all along? "

Said KD-554 with shock in her voice.

[KD-553] - "She might be an efficient killer, but our little sis is nothing more than an impulsive dumb girl. I'm actually surprised you hadn't noticed her unusual routine. "

Said KD-553 in a composed voice.

[KD-554] - "It's unfair! We worked so hard to earn our worth in the eyes of Doctor Tsujinaka! We practiced our skills and improved our efficiency while she was just blindly slashing. We were loyal to each other while she never even once did anything for us! "

Yelled KD-554 as she approached KD-553.

In one fell kick, KD-553 sent the coat into the air before catching it with her hand.

[KD-553] - "I was mean to her for a reason. From the start, I noticed she was a self-absorbed, selfish little prick. If not for her screw-ups, KD-552 would've still been here with us. She made KD-552 pay for her mistakes and now, she's stepping over our heads while thinking we wouldn't notice. "

Said KD-553 in a tone of seething resentment. 

KD-553 spat onto the coat before throwing it back onto Kadyn's bed. Meanwhile, KD-554 reached behind Kadyn's pillow and grabbed the fox plushie Mike offered her last night.

[KD-554] - "Out of all of us, you are the one most deserving of the Grand Knight's affection. I wouldn't even be mad if you were the one sneaking out to see him. "

Said KD-554 as she began to carve the plushie apart with her nails. 

[KD-553] - "You really think so? "

[KD-554] - "Yeah, because you have been by my side all this time. You don't hide behind any facade and you always agree with me when even the others don't. "

Said KD-554 as she pulled the plushie apart without mercy. 

As KD-554 continued to tear at the plushie even as it fell completely apart, KD-553 abruptly grabbed the toy and threw it into the garbage. There was a disturbed look on KD-553 as she stared at the brutalized plushie in the garbage can.

[KD-554] - "I bet you hate her just as much as I do. "

[KD-553] - "Yeah. I do. "

Said KD-553 as she immediately hid her disturbed look when facing KD-554. 

[KD-553] - "Hey, let's go see Tsujinaka and see if she can fix you up. You look horrible with all this battle damage. "

Upon hearing KD-553's caring words, KD-554 felt a warmth in her heart as she showed a smile while nodding her head. 

Later, as the two sisters stood before Doctor Tsujinaka's desk, they received nothing but a cold silence from her. With an unimpressed expression, Miho shook her head before waving the sisters away. 

[Miho] - "Why would I waste my resources fixing you up? I wouldn't even waste a single strand of bandage for your flesh and blood sister there if she got blown to bits. Return to your barracks now! "

The apathy and cruelty of their mother shocked the sisters as they stared at her in disbelief. 

[KD-554] - "But mother, I can still serve! If you can just give me some critical repairs, I promise I will make it last. "

Said KD-554 with a desperate look in her eyes.

[Miho] - "I have dismissed Doctor Ethan from my project, so even if I wanted I can't fix you. You are a relic from the previous generation of the KD-series assassins. If it wasn't for his idiotic insistence, I would've flushed you down the drain the moment you became a disgusting sludge on my floor. Now, stop bothering me and return to your barrack this instant! "

Said Miho coldly without even looking at KD-554.

Meanwhile, KD-553 looked at the laboratory behind Miho's desk with concern in her eyes. Before she could utter her worries, two guards forced the sisters out of Miho's office at gunpoint. Once outside, KD-554 angrily slammed her fist against the wall before beginning to cry. 

[KD-554] - "I didn't choose to be like this! She spoke to me as if I'm just trash but it was never my fault to begin with! "

[KD-553] - "Hey, it's alright! You knew she was a bitch all along, so it's completely expected. If she can't fix you, I'll find a way to get you back in shape. "

Said KD-553 as she leaned beside her sister. 

[KD-554] - "I got no one else in this world besides you! I have no mother, no family or sisters. I only have you who understand and care about me, KD-553. "

Cried KD-554 as she leaned against her sister's chest. 

[KD-553] - "Look, not to be insensitive, but there is something I must say urgently. The five glass tubes housing our cousins behind Tsujinaka were empty when I saw them earlier. "

Said KD-553 with a panicked look on her face.

[KD-554] - "*Gasp* What? Do you mean they are... "

[KD-553] - "Tsujinaka didn't want to fix you because we are going to be replaced soon. "

There was an uneasy silence as the two sisters marched back to their barracks. As they approached the entrance, they immediately ducked behind a corner just as the five new assassins arrived from the opposite side. The new assassins looked almost like copies of the original five sisters with the same hair and face as them. However, unlike the sisters, the five new killers lacked any emotion on their monotone faces as if they were robots sporting human face masks. 

[KD-554] - "Shit! I wasn't expecting them to be here already. That's why she was insisting on us returning to the barrack. What do we do? "

[KD-553] - "We have to at least warn KD-555 or fight them. "

[KD-554] - "What? No! I'd rather escape instead! It's not like we can't rampage through this base and get to a ship. "

[KD-553] - "We can't just abandon KD-555! She might be a bit of a bitch but she's still our little sister. "

Said KD-553 as she prepared to leap out of cover. 

However, KD-554 suddenly pulled her back and slammed her against the wall before pressing her palm over her mouth. 

[KD-554] - "Shut your mouth! We don't want them to hear us! Besides, KD-555 betrayed us! She never even did anything to help us when we were in trouble, so why should we risk our lives to save hers? If she thinks she's this much better, then why doesn't her boyfriend save her instead? "

Whispered KD-554 in a panic. 

[KD-553] - "We are not leaving her like this! She won't even last a second like this! "

Whispered KD-553 after pulling KD-554's hand away.

[KD-554] - "Listen to me, sis! Even with three of us, we can't win against five of them! This is no longer about our agreed promise as a family but about survival! If we die today, everything we fought for would've been for nothing! We have to live for our fallen sisters and not become the Guinea pigs Tsujinaka intended for us to be! "

[KD-553] - "I hate KD-555 for what she did as well but what would KD-551 and KD-552 think of our action today? Us running away and abandoning a member of our family is not something both of us could live with! "

[KD-554] - "That family is dead! It died when we lost our two older sisters! It got buried when our little sister betrayed us! We are all that's left of it. You and me, we are a new family! "

Yelled KD-554 with a deranged look in her eyes.

As the sisters argued, inside the barrack, Kadyn stared confusingly at the row of women intruding in the area. As she approached her bed with a towel over her body, she noticed the dirty coat on her bed and her plushie in a thousand pieces in the garbage can. During this time, the new assassins mercilessly tore down the small shrine dedicated to KD-551 and KD-552. 

It didn't take long for Kadyn to notice the designation number KD-551 to KD-555 on each of the new assassins' shoulders and understand why these women were there. In fear, Kadyn backed away as her towel fell to the ground. Meanwhile, the five pairs of green eyes before her slowly shifted to a deep crimson colour. 

[Mike] - "Sigh... What would you do without me? "

Said Mike as he covered Kadyn's naked body with his coat. 

Upon seeing the Grand Knight, the assassins immediately switched their eyes back to green before all bowing before him. Relieved and happy to see Mike, Kadyn quickly stuck herself against him affectionately. 

[Kadyn] - "How did you know I was in danger? "

[Mike] - "Remember when you told me about what happened to KD-552? Well, by investigating her case, I had to consult your mom and let's say she's not a very caring parent since she planned for her new daughters to kill her old ones. "

During this time, outside, the sisters suddenly stopped their argument.

[KD-553] - "Hold up! That voice... That's the voice of a man. "

Said KD-553 as she peeked over the corner. 

Meanwhile, Mike approached the five sisters while commanding authority with his posture. 

[Mike] - "Under my authority as the Grand Knight of the National Empire, I shall impose three rules which you must abide by from this moment onward until your death. One, none of you shall harm KD-555 in any capacity or form. Two- "

[Kadyn] - "And my two sisters! Don't forget to include them too. "

Interrupted Kadyn. 

[Mike] - "Alright, one, none of you shall harm KD-555, KD-554 and KD-553 in any capacity or form. Two, none of you shall speak of my presence here today and will die keeping my involvement a secret. Finally, no figure of authority lower than my rank has the right to override my previous rules. "

Upon seeing Mike's involvement, Miho stormed out of the cinema facility where she was watching the scene unfold. After getting on a VIP transport, she ordered the driver to take her to the barrack. Meanwhile, the sisters were ordered to rebuild the shrine they destroyed while Mike picked up his dirty coat from the bed. 

[Mike] - "I'm going to seriously run out of coats if you keep taking them. "

[Kadyn] - "But they got your scent and I love keeping you close to me. "

Mike bent down and inspected the remains of the plushie in the garbage. 

[Mike] - "So bloody uncivilized. I'll have to buy you a sturdier one next time. "

[Kadyn] - "Hey, Mike, thank you for being here for me. "

As Mike was about to answer, Kadyn abruptly leaned in and began to share a kiss with him. However, just as Kadyn was drowning in passion, she suddenly noticed her sisters peeking at her from the entrance's corner. 

[Kadyn] - "AAAH! It's not what it looks like. I was just offering my gratitude to the Grand Knight for his help. "

Yelled Kadyn as she pushed Mike away. 

With a smile, Mike placed his finger before his mouth as he walked past the two sisters. After making sure the new assassins were passive toward them, KD-553 entered the barrack followed by KD-554. 

[KD-553] - "At least you thought of including us when he gave his orders to these freaks. "

Said KD-553 as she roughed up Kadyn's hair while passing by her. 

As Kadyn turned to face KD-554 with an awkward smile, she was instead hit with a cold spiteful stare as her older sister walked past her. Suddenly, the silence was broken by the hurried footsteps of Doctor Tsujinaka.

[Miho] - "You damn traitors! All of you, I demand that you execute these three immediately! As your creator and master, I order you to do as a say now! "

Yelled Miho as she drew her side pistol and aimed it at the new assassins. 

Despite Miho's angry shouts, the five assassins refused to even acknowledge her presence. Angered by the disrespect, Miho fired at the ground in front of her new assassins but they were unbothered by the threat as they had a crippled limbic system. At this point, Miho was in a delirious state of rage as she pointed her gun at Kadyn and her sisters. 

[Miho] - "If you won't do it, then I'll kill them myself. "

As soon as Miho uttered her last words, Kadyn appeared before her with her wrist blade already coated in blood through her back. A look of shock and fear appeared on Miho's face as she exchanged one last stare with Kadyn. Due to her time with Mike, Kadyn had learned to be efficient and humane about her ways as her stab was a quick and lethal jab through her target's spine. There was no fountain of red or gore as Miho collapsed to the ground before dying. 

At that moment, KD-553 gained a level of newfound respect for Kadyn as she realized that her little sister was no longer the reckless and selfish fool she once believed she was. Not only did she step up to protect her sisters, but she also acquired a respectable level of mastery over her blades. However, KD-554 didn't care about any of that as she leaped in to continue brutalizing Miho's body with her blades. 

[KD-554] - "You get what you fucking deserve, you old stupid cunt! " 

Yelled KD-554 as she slashed and bashed her mother's dead body in complete abandon. 

As KD-554's rage finally died down, Kadyn offered her hand to help her sister get off the floor despite how even KD-553 was reluctant to approach her. However, KD-554 cruelly slapped away Kadyn's hand before standing up and walking away, body coated in blood. 

[KD-553] - "Sigh... You, KD-552... Mother fucker these names... "

Said KD-553 as she stopped to think of a way to distinguish her sisters and the new copies. 

[KD-553] - "You, KD-55/2, clean up that mess on the floor of Doctor Tsujinaka. As for the rest of you, listen up, you will take the left side of this barrack while we take the right. Don't bother us and we won't bother you. "

Commanded KD-553 at the five sisters. 

Almost simultaneously like robots, the five sisters began to move with KD-55/2 cleaning up Miho's corpse while the rest moved to claim their respective beds. 

[KD-553] - "Sheesh! These copies give me the creeps. It's like a mirrored version of us but dead inside with no emotion or thoughts. "

Said KD-553 as she arrived beside Kadyn. 

[Kadyn] - "I agree. It's like an evil version of us five. "

[KD-553] - "Strangely, I think their KD-554 looks tamer than our KD-554 in some ways. "

Said KD-553 as she crossed her arms. 

After a short silence, KD-553 leaned slightly toward Kadyn's left ear.

[KD-553] - "Do you think the Grand Knight would be open to the idea of a mistress? "

Whispered KD-553.

[Kadyn] - "You are suggesting some seriously daring ideas when standing within my blades' reach, sis. "

Said Kadyn jokingly. 

[KD-553] - "Ugh, imagine hogging all the fun like this. "

[Kadyn] - "He's also not interested in a woman who has killed as many men as she has allowed inside her. "

[KD-553] - "I hope he cheats on you, you dumb little shit. "

Said KD-553 as she slapped Kadyn on the head.

[Kadyn] - "Haha! Don't worry, if you want to, I can try to help you find a good partner. He does know a lot of handsome people up the command chain. "

[KD-553] - "That's more like it. "

Meanwhile, inside the bathroom, the searing water at near boiling point poured upon KD-554's body. Although even the blood coated around her body began to simmer, KD-554 herself couldn't feel anything at all. What truly was burning and consuming her was the hatred brewing within her mind and heart toward Kadyn and everything she stood for. 

To be continued...