⁕ The Line Which Divides Us (part 2)

The tension in the air was so thick that one could almost cut it with a knife. There was an unsettling look in Kadyn's eyes as she stared at her exact copy. Her mixed emotions, however, were not due to fear or anxiety but instead, due to the memories invoked by the encounter.

For the later part of her life ever since "the incident" when Kadyn was seventeen years old, Mike became the only person she had an actual emotional attachment toward. As a gesture of kindness, Mike offered her a private officer's room where she spent most of her days when out of deployment. There, she no longer has to share a barrack with the newcomers who now settled in the beds she and her sisters used to occupy. 

Kadyn never got along with the new sisters who, despite their personalities, shared the same genes as Kadyn and her sisters as five almost identical copies of them. However, calling the new sisters "clones" would be an understatement as they would be better categorized as "replacements" for Kadyn and her sisters. To avoid any type of major tension, Mike used his authority to program in order nb.2 into the five sisters which prohibits them from harming Kadyn in any sort of way. 

In the present, however, while KD-552 seemed to still be under the influence of order nb.2, KD-556 appear to have received new system upgrades which rid her of Mike's order. While Kadyn carefully approached her counterpart, she secretly whispered for Audrey to stay far from the scene and call for help.

[Kadyn] - "Do not show up in her sight. The moment she sees you, you are dead. Your mission now is to find a way to group up with our team and mount a counterattack against KD-552. I'll take care of KD-556. "

Whispered Kadyn while keeping a calm expression on her face. 

Although Audrey wanted to help Kadyn, she knew that Kadyn was the wiser person in their current predicament. With a silent nod, she began to silently back away into the base with her flashlight raised. 

[KD-556] - "How did grandma not retire? After all these years, you should've been nothing more than a pile of scrap and bones covered in rat shit while decomposing in a landfill. "

Said KD-556 in a malicious tone. 

[Kadyn] - "Bold words for dollar store version of me with slop dripping out of her crotch. "

However, KD-556 didn't take offense to Kadyn's insult as she didn't even bother cleaning the fluid running down from her legs.

[KD-556] - "I had a little experimentation with humans and I seem to understand now why the Grand Knight used to be so infatuated with you. Hollow acts and the addiction to carnal pleasure, that's all there is to the human psyche. While I felt nothing earlier, I still seek to understand why you stuck with him. Maybe by opening your brain up, I can finally understand why. "

Said KD-556 before she cleaned her bloodstained blade with her tongue. 

[Kadyn] - "Of course you can never understand. You machines are the most hollow of acts with artificial emotions and no higher sense of thought. "

Before Kadyn could react, KD-556 jumped at her and swiped her blade inches from her opponent's head. As both girls activated their accelerators, Kadyn watched as strands of her blonde hair slowly detached from her head. With the aggressiveness of a tiger, Kadyn used this opportunity to block KD-556's other hand before slashing her blade toward her enemy's head. To avoid decapitation, KD-556 pushed forward toward Kadyn and moved out of the slicing range only to be punched in the face instead by her opponent. 

However, their relentless exchange was just beginning as KD-556 wrapped her arms around Kadyn's neck and moved the blade toward her adversary's face. Before the blade could connect, Kadyn retreated her other arm and smashed the blade away from her face using her own. Immediately, Kadyn raised her elbow and smashed KD-556 in the face while KD-556 retaliated by driving her freed arm toward Kadyn's waist. 

A searing pain immediately reached Kadyn's brain as she felt her flesh melting against the edge of KD-556's blade. In desperation, Kadyn kept smashing KD-556's face to dislodge her to no avail. As the wound on her side grew larger, Kadyn finally caught her opponent off-guard by knee-kicking her in the chest. With this, KD-556 was finally pushed off Kadyn but neither of them was done just yet. 

Without deactivating their acceleration, Kadyn backed off while KD-556 grabbed the body of one of the dying soldiers she attacked earlier. Without hesitation, KD-556 charged Kadyn with the dying man's body as a shield. While Kadyn's battle management system ordered her to slice through the man, she refused as she noticed the fear in the man's eyes. Unfortunately, this dilemma cost her the limited time she had left to react. 

With the dying man right in front of her, Kadyn tried to stab around him to reach her foe only for KD-556 to suddenly pop her blade out of the man's chest. Despite Kadyn's best effort to dodge, the tip of KD-556's blade swiftly stabbed through her left shoulder through her joint. Then, like a savage animal, KD-556 tore through the man's body and coated herself in blood and gore before taking a few fiery stabs at Kadyn. Despite fighting with only one arm, Kadyn defended against every strike thrown in her direction. 

Despite Kadyn's best efforts, some of the attacks still managed to hit her. As Kadyn backed off, a sharp pain erupted from her left knee, followed by a shallow stab through her abdomen before she received a slash on her intact arm. Finally, both of their acceleration came to an end. What seemed like a combat which lasted 15 minutes only lasted 10 seconds in real-time. 

Kadyn abruptly collapsed against the wall while KD-556 approached her with a malicious smirk on her face. Despite her best efforts, the outcome of this battle is clear and there is no fighting the imminent doom that awaits her. 

[KD-556] - "That soldier is just a random dying man. Yet, like the dumbass you are, you tried to avoid hurting him. What point is there to your little virtuous act back there, other than guaranteeing your defeat? "

KD-556 kneeled down at Kadyn's level and stared at her with her cold empty eyes. 

[KD-556] - "You might be a little more human than the rest of us but how's that going to help you? Go on, empathize with me, convince me to not kill you with emotions and philosophy! You can pretend all you want just like the humans but you will also die like them! "

Said KD-556 with pure malice in her voice.

[Audrey] - "Kadyn! Come this way! "

Yelled Audrey as she activated her ability. 

KD-556 immediately entered acceleration and attempted to end Kadyn with one swift stab but she quickly found out that something invisible was between her and her prey. Upon trying to approach Audrey to no avail, KD-556 suddenly noticed the glowing crystals on Audrey's arms. Reluctantly, KD-556 quickly backed off and retreated out of sight as she was not sure what Audrey's ability was capable of. 

During this time, Audrey rushed up to Kadyn and helped her stand up by supporting her against her shoulder. 

[Audrey] - "Come on, let's get out of here. "

[Kadyn] - "What are you doing? I told you to leave me be. "

Said Kadyn in a weak voice. 

[Audrey] - "I was but you two were fighting so quickly that I was not even fully out of sight before you crashed against the wall like an out-of-control car. "

Said Audrey as she helped Kadyn walk.

[Kadyn] - "I could handle her on my own. Now she might be also coming after you. "

[Audrey] - "You were on the edge of death, stop being in such denial. "

After making it into an abandoned communication room, Audrey activated her ability and increased the door's structural friction. Immediately as she did so, a dent appeared on the metal in the shape of a blade. 

[Audrey] - "Oh God! "

Said Audrey as she jumped backward. 

After setting Kadyn on a chair, Audrey quickly grabbed the first aid kit on the wall before emptying its contents onto the table. 

[Audrey] - "You are bleeding hard. Hold still, I'll get you patched up. "

Said Audrey as she rushed toward Kadyn with disinfectants and bandages.

While Audrey worked on Kadyn's wounds, the tension finally seemed to settle down. 

[Kadyn] - "What am I doing... Why can't I just... I'm such a useless piece of crap. "

Cried Kadyn.

[Audrey] - "Stop saying stupid things! "

[Kadyn] - "I failed... I failed to save that innocent man earlier and now I lost to that monster. How many people are going to die because of me? I'm a failure, a shameful piece of useless crap! Mike would have- "

Said Kadyn while sobbing.

[Audrey] - "Shut up! That's enough! Mike this, Mike that, I'm so tired of this shit! You might be his soulmate but you are not him! YOU ARE NOT MIKE! "

Yelled Audrey as she stared intensely at Kadyn.

Her words immediately caused Kadyn to fall silent.

[Audrey] - "Mike can save lives because he has the ability to do so. He can be a hero because he has the heart to do so. He will not lose a battle because he has what it takes to win! But not in a gazillion years is his name Kadyn! You are Kadyn, not Mike! "

Yelled Audrey with her finger pointed at Kadyn.

A few seconds later, Kadyn appeared to resonate with Audrey's words as she lowered her head in shame.

[Audrey] - "Kadyn, you are who you are. You have your own morals, your own reasoning and your own way to live life. It's time to think how Kadyn would think and not how Mike would think. So please, I beg you, accept yourself! By yourselves, you and Mike are both imperfect individuals but together you two make a great couple by completing each other. Now, when you can't save everyone, when you can't win every fight, let us, your friends complete the pieces you can't reach to achieve victory. "

Said Audrey as she stared at Kadyn with hope in her eyes.

[Kadyn] - "I got it. Thank you, Audrey. "

Said Kadyn as a slight smile appeared on her face.

After finally having all her wounds patched up, Kadyn gradually stood up with the help of a metal rod she found. 

[Audrey] - "Do you have any plan, Kadyn? How the hell are we going to get out of this mess? "

[Kadyn] - "Let me think of something... KD-556 were to attack, she would probably want to kill Audrey first. What if... "

Whispered Kadyn as she looked at her coat and Audrey's attire. 

[Kadyn] - "But it would need a little more to convince her. "

Kadyn took a look at the room and noticed how some of the buttons on the control panel were glowing red. Carefully, Kadyn used her blade to extract the LED bulbs from the control panel. 

[Kadyn] - "Hey, Audrey, I got an idea! However, I need you to trust me for what I'm about to say might sound bloody crazy. "

Said Kadyn as she took off her coat.

[Audrey] - "I'll take my chances, thank you. "

Said Audrey as she glanced at the dent in the metal door. 

Later, Audrey and Kadyn marched through the hallway in complete darkness. Their only guide was Kadyn's thermal vision which helped them navigate through the base. However, unbeknownst to both of them, they were being stalked from afar by KD-556. As a test, KD-556 threw a large pebble at Audrey before quickly taking cover behind a walk. When Audrey turned around after being hit by the rock, it was confirmation for KD-556 that she could react to things she could perceive. On top of that, she was hit by a pebble while her ability was active as seen by the heat being emitted from under her sleeves. 

With that, KD-556 entered acceleration as soon as Audrey turned around and rapidly made her approach. With one swift stab, KD-556 punched through Audrey's back but just as she thought she had her, she failed to feel any flesh behind the uniform.

[Kadyn] - "Well, looks who's back. "

Said Kadyn as she leaped out of Audrey's uniform. 

KD-556's confusion was quickly satisfied as she noticed the rows of LED lights attached to Kadyn's arms which appeared like the glow of crystals under thermal vision. The lights were connected all the way to the battery used by Audrey's pistol-mounted flashlight. Meanwhile, the real Audrey was hiding under Mike's coat, which was specially designed to hide the glow and heat signature from a cyberknight's crystals. 

Just as KD-556 tried to charge toward Kadyn, she noticed how her arm was stuck inside the fabric of the uniform she stabbed through. 

[Kadyn] - "As a human, I might lack the savage strength of a machine like you, but I have the creative intellect of a human and the help of those who she emotionally associated with. "

In a panic, KD-556 used her other blade to stab at Audrey but Kadyn quickly moved her friend out of her opponent's range. 

[Kadyn] - "Now, what will you do, android? "

Said Kadyn as she extended her blade while locking her determined stare onto KD-556. 

To be continued...