⁕ Gearing Up

Kadyn's eyes twitched slightly before she opened her eyelid to meet the blinding light of her hospital room. With a rhythmic jerk, Kadyn abruptly sat up in a cold sweat. Before her memories slowly returned to her mind, she thought that she was in the custody of imperial forces. The room was indeed inside an imperial facility considering the design but she immediately saw Dane by her bedside. 

[Kadyn] - "Ugh... What happened? What are you doing here, Dane? "

Said Kadyn while rubbing her eyes. 

[Dane] - "I heard you were fully healed, so I came to check up on ya. "

Kadyn's expression was that of confusion as she stared at Dane. 

[Kadyn] - "But... I tried to kill you. Why do you even care about what happens to me? "

[Dane] - "I don't hold a grudge against ya. I know how ya felt and I know what we did. Despite yer anger, you still held yer blade. That's how I know ya ain't like the rest of yer kind. I doubted yer humanity but you have proven to me that you are indeed a good person who meant no intentional harm. "

Said Dane in a sincere tone. 

[Kadyn] - "Look, I'm sorry for what I did. I just tend to lose it sometimes. "

Said Kadyn with guilt in her voice. 

[Dane] - "I don't blame ya. What they did to Mike just ain't right. "

Kadyn slowly moved out of her bed and saw a bunch of flowers by her bedside. With a curious expression, Kadyn began to read through a few of the notes attached to the different bouquets. Most of them were from the few people who saw what she did in her fight against Conquest that day. One of them was even from CK and another from McCree. They all praised her bravery and admiration for her fearless nature when confronted with such an enemy. 

[Dane] - "You've even got some fans now. "

Said Dane with a smile. 

[Kadyn] - "How long was I out for, Mister Dane? "

Said Kadyn while she scanned through another note with a slight smile. 

[Dane] - "One whole damn week. Yer injuries were pretty dang serious. I was quite shocked when I realized you came all the way to my office and almost killed me with wounds like that. "

Kadyn let out a silly smile before she got off her hospital bed. With slow steps, she advanced to the coat hanger and grabbed Mike's coat. 

[Dane] - "I'll let ya change back to your usual dress. I'll wait for ya outside. "

Said Dane as he closed the door behind him. 

Now left alone, Kadyn gently hugged the coat and pressed her head against its soft fabric. Despite everything, this gesture somewhat put a bandage on her wounded heart. After putting on all her formal clothes, she placed the coat on her back and imagined Mike hugging her. 

[Kadyn] - "Thank you, my knight. "

Said Kadyn as she pressed her palm against her heart. 

After following Dane through the recently captured Imperial base, she arrived at the new barrack that her team called home. Upon her arrival, she was immediately surrounded by her teammates who all showed a concerned look, except for Senju. 

[McCree] - "You're quite the daredevil back there, ya know. I've got mad respect for fearless busters like ya who jump straight into danger. "

Said McCree as he shook her hand and padded her on the back. 

[CK] - "Comrade, welcome back to the living world. "

Said CK with enthusiasm as he hugged Kadyn.

[CT] - "Hey, nice job back there, girl. "

Said CT with an awkward smile. 

Meanwhile, Senju simply cleaned his blade while paying no mind to Kadyn's presence. 

[Dane] - "Alright, settle down folks, I gotta check how ya'll are doing with your new abilities. "

Kadyn had a look of surprise when she suddenly noticed the crystals on her teammates' arms and the generator on their shoulders. 

[Kadyn] - "You equipped them with crystals? "

[Dane] - "Indeed. They seemed to be all compatible. Well, the three of ya, come with me to the testing chamber. "

While CK, CT and McCree followed Dane down the hallway, Kadyn stayed inside the barrack with Senju. After turning around, she saw that Senju also had crystals around his arms. 

[Kadyn] - "Aren't you going with them? "

[Senju] - "Already got mine tested. Now, I need you to answer a few questions. "

Said Senju in a cold voice. 

With a slash of his blade, his ability activated and caused a massive cut to appear on the door control panel. The door suddenly shut off and sealed the two of them inside the small barrack room. 

[Senju] - "I did a bit of personal research and found that you tried to kill Doctor Dane. On top of this, your actions these past few days were quite suspicious. The fact that you jumped on the ship to confront an enemy who you are clearly not suited to fight against. Also, considering how you took down a heavily fortified enemy base all by yourself. I find all this quite... strange and unbelievable. "

Said Senju as he stood up while playing with his sword. 

[Kadyn] - "This is nothing but an assumption. However, if you believe that I'm hiding something, I'm not. "

Said Kadyn while her eyes stayed fixated on Senju's hands. 

[Senju] - "Oh, so you meant to tell me I'm paranoid. I don't think so. "

Said Senju while shaking his head. 

[Kadyn] - "You think I'm some kind of undercover spy, is that what you think? "

[Senju] - "Doesn't take a genius to see how your story about you being a helpless lost girl who is simply looking to rescue a man here is some made-up bullshit. A KD-series android assassin with feeling and empathy is already a tone of crap to swallow. Now, you've shown your true colour when you made an attempt on Dane's life. What more is there to say? You can fool them but not me! "

Said Senju with an accusatory look while pointing his finger at Kadyn. 

[Kadyn] - "I... I held back! Dane forgave me! "

Said Kadyn as she backed off slightly. 

[Senju] - "You probably drugged him or put some kind of mind control device in his head. I know the Empire isn't the best when it comes to morality. There is no way a man with a massive scar across his face could just "forgive" his assailant like that! "

Said Senju as he began to circle Kadyn. 

Kadyn carefully kept her distance from Senju as both began to circle each other. 

[Senju] - "Now, I've already put a recording device on my bed. You will confess your true mission here or I'll show you no mercy! "

Said Senju as he raised his sword at Kadyn. 

[Kadyn] - "No matter how much you try to make me look criminal, the others know the truth about me. Stop this foolishness, Senju! "

[Senju] - "Very well, then. This is your choice, wench! "

Yelled Senju as he abruptly stabbed at Kadyn. 

Kadyn didn't know how to react as she held back her urge to respond with a fatal counterattack. She barely had time to dodge before Senju's blade glided across her side and caused a small bloody gash on her abdomen. 

[Senju] - "I won't even need my ability to kill you. Once I'm done with you, all your fraudulent exploits will be exposed. "

[Kadyn] - "Don't tickle the dragon's tail, Senju. I'm telling you I'm innocent! "

Senju didn't care about what Kadyn said as he went in for another strike. At first, Kadyn simply dodged his strikes which cut through bedding and walls. However, eventually, Kadyn had to put an end to this nonsense. All of a sudden, time slowed to almost a stop before Kadyn extended her wrist blade and thrusted forward. From Senju's perspective, however, it appeared as if Kadyn suddenly appeared in front of him and drove her blade against his sword. 

In an instant, Senju's blade shattered into a few pieces under the impact of Kadyn's attack. A look of shock filled Senju's face as he stared at the remains of his obliterated sword. 

[Kadyn] - "I'm not a spy. I don't want to kill you or do any harm to anyone here. What happened to Dane was an accident on my part and I apologized to him. "

Senju didn't speak as he remained in a state of shock but as soon as Kadyn turned around to fix the broken door controls, he abruptly snapped back to reality. 

[Senju] - "Liar... Don't you dare turn your back on me, liar! "

Yelled Senju as he activated his crystals. 

[Kadyn] - "I never lied to you. All this might seem unbelievable but this is the honest truth. When you tried to kill me just now, did I once drive my blade into your chest? I could but I didn't and you know it. If I was truly the enemy, why would I even hold back on you? If I truly was an evil assassin android with no emotion, why do I even bother with your safety? "

Kadyn's words were filled with logic but Senju's rage-driven mind wasn't in a state to process any of it.

[Senju] - "I don't care what you say! You spared me to humiliate me, you did all this just to make me look like the clown! You are mocking me! "

Yelled Senju as he activated his ability and sliced forward with his broken sword. 

In an instant, Kadyn appeared in front of him while his ability caused a massive cut to appear on the spot where Kadyn used to be. Before Senju could react, Kadyn punched him in the face and knocked him out cold on the floor. Immediately after, Kadyn bent down and checked his pulse to make sure he was still alive. After confirming that he was simply knocked out, Kadyn grabbed the camera and put it into her coat pocket. 

Later that day, Kadyn showed the footage to the rest of her team while Doctor Dane was also present. Despite the condemning evidence presented by Senju, Kadyn's actions ultimately confirmed to the rest of her team that she was clean and innocent. From the fact that she didn't hide the footage and showed it to her team to how she spared Senju despite how he repetitively tried to kill her, it was all clear to them that Kadyn's affiliation and heart were in the right place. 

Meanwhile, at the imperial base, Death, Famine and War all kneeled in front of CR-455. 

[CR-455] - "Lord Sniper's death is truly a tragic event. However, we must continue his work and bring about the revolution he preached. "

[Death] - "Of course, my lord. We are all at your service. "

CR-455 let out a slight smile of satisfaction before his servant arrived beside him with a cup of champagne. In an unprofessional manner, CR-455 began to loudly gulp down his drink in front of the horsemen. This act irritated War as he shot an annoyed glance in CR-455's direction. 

[CR-455] - "As I was saying, I need your help in keeping the empire safe from the filthy traitors who refused to recognize the legitimacy of my rule. "

Said CR-455 as he sat leg-crossed on Sniper's old throne. 

[Death] - "Understood, my lord! "

[CR-455] - "And those filthy Allied Forces, they are such a pain to deal with. I don't have enough cyberknight to spare and not to mention, not enough forces to send. You, the fat guy in orange, I don't your name. "

Said CR-455 in an arrogant voice. 

[Famine] - "Famine, my lord. "

[CR-455] - Yeah whatever, I want you to fuck up the Allied Forces enough to cripple them for the rest of the war. Preferably, I want them all dead. "

Said CR-455 as he waved his hand. 

[Famine] - "Of course, my lord. It would be my pleasure. "

Said Famine with a devilish grin on his face. 

[CR-455] - "On the other hand, you two shall be my personal bodyguards. I don't want any surprise attacks from these traitors on me. "

[Death and War] - "As you wish, my lord. "

While Death wholeheartedly spoke his words, War's tone was filled with a secret tone of contempt. Death only followed the prophecy blindly based on who was capable of wielding the white crystal. However, War could see that no matter how much power CR-455 wielded, he is nothing but a buffoon and not anything like Sniper. 

To be continued...