“...”

“...”

Silence reigned between Ticia and Emily as they walked around in the corridors. The clones around them momentarily stopped, glancing their way with a various mix of expressions.

Ticia was surprised when Emily grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her. She did not resist and followed after her. Emily wanted to talk to her privately and she had no reason to refuse. She too had a lot of questions for her.

Surprisingly enough, the ECGs did not follow their mother. Perhaps they knew that there was nothing to fear, or thinking that their presence would be a bother (it wouldn’t). They also seemed concerned about something else, their mood being down… Ticia was concerned, but she had to delay attending to her daughter’s morale until everything settled down.

Emily kept walking at a fast rate with Ticia following along. She still held Ticia’s wrist tightly, not letting go.

It’s warm…

Ticia wasn’t hurt by the way Emily held her wrist. She could even feel some slight trembling coming from Emily, but could not tell what emotions currently traversed Emily’s head. Strangely enough, she felt a bit of tranquility from Emily’s touch…

After a while they finally found a deskroom empty of people which they promptly entered. Once Ticia was in, Emily finally released her grip on her hand and quickly closed the door, locking it tight as if afraid Ticia would run away.

““...””

The silence between the two of them continued as they stared at each other, a slight yet clear distance between them.

Ugh, w-what do I say… I don’t-, I have no idea how to begin this discussion!

Emily looked at Ticia with a warm smile, seemingly wanting to hear Ticia speak up first. Ticia however was having a hard time speaking up. Not that she did not want to, but where to begin?

She had so many questions, so many things she wanted to confirm and ask. Who was Emily? What was her link to her? Were they truly related? If so, how should they treat each other?

Yet despite all the questions Ticia did not speak up. She kept fidgeting awkwardly under Emily’s gaze.

Ticia was not the only one feeling awkward though.

Emily was sweating bullets. Unlike Ticia she had managed to keep her unphased act, but in her mind she kept asking herself how to engage the conversation in a way that would make Ticia look up to her in a positive way.

In the end, Emily was the one to crack first.

“First of all, why don’t you remove your helmet?” She said, breaking the silence.

“Eh?” Ticia froze up before realizing that she still had her helmet on. On the side of her HUD she could see Rebot-ia’s emoji face giving her a lukewarm look. Ticia’s face immediately went vivid red from embarrassment.

D-don’t give me that look Rebot-ia! Why did I even bring you with me for this!? Agh, so embarrassing! What am I even doing!?

“Don’t worry Owner, I’ll put myself into ‘sleep mode’ so that you can have a private conversation!”

You can read thoughts now!? Ugh, no wait, I’m just too agitated…

Ticia’s reaction made Emily chuckle, further embarrassing Ticia.

“You’ve been keeping it all this time, are you shy? Or perhaps… a certain AI is teasing you?” She guessed, an amused smile on her face.

“Whoops, looks like I’ve done too much.” Rebot-ia not-so apologetic voice came out from one of the hidden speakers in the room as she giggled. “Long time no see, Emily, I’ve a lot of things I wanna say, but it’s not the time, am I right? Sleep mode activated: Awakening planned in 10 hours…”

The last part of the AI’s voice lacked emotion. At the same time, Rebot-ia’s usual smiley face was replaced with an offline symbol. Just like she said, she had entered ‘sleep mode’. Ticia had seen the AI enter this mode from time to time, so she knew the AI was not playing a trick on her. This time, she was truly alone with Emily.

“...” Ticia still fidgetted as the reality of being left alone with Emily once again hit her. She felt awkward, not knowing exactly how to treat the clone in front of her, and frustration directed towards herself slowly grew…

Emily’s expression remained warm and soft, yet she did not come closer to Ticia, as if afraid the latter would run away from her.

“I think I can kind of understand what you’re going through. It’s okay, we can slowly figure it all out. Now, please let me see your face.” She gently asked again.

“...”

Ticia stared back in silence for a short moment. Somehow, Emily’s words had settled her insecurities. She took a long breath in to calm herself, closing her eyes before removing her helmet and then immediately locking her gaze with Emily.

“Ah-”  Emily put her hands in front of her mouth as her calm act instantly broke.

Despite Ticia having the same face as her daughters, it seemed that the impact was bigger than expected on her…

Tears soon filled her eyes. She raised her trembling hands towards Ticia, her mouth opening to say something, but no words came out and she soon lowered her hand.

The mood somehow also affected Ticia. She couldn’t look away from Emily, inspecting every slight shift in the woman’s expression. She had not expected Emily to react like that, but seeing the woman so emotional only reinforced in Ticia’s mind the fact that Emily knew something she did not. As a result, she had a hard time holding back the large variety of emotions bubbling up down her throat.

Her brain was sent in a turmoil as it tried to guess what her link to Emily was. There were some dominant guesses, chief among them some Ticia never thought she’d yearn for again.

In the end, after a loud audible swallowing, she spoke up in a trembling, hopeful voice.

“...Who are you supposed to be to me?”

The question came out in a weird way, but the message came across. Emily froze at the sudden question. Her face suddenly turned puzzled.

“She… Did she not tell you about me?” She asked with a shocked, somewhat sad look. “It’s one thing if she didn’t tell the little ones but…”

“Who? Chloe?”

“No, your mother.”

“I never had one.”

“...What?”

Ticia answered bluntly with a somewhat harsh tone that surprised even herself. Her answer however had a devastating result on Emily.

“Y-you mean, your mother, she… died while giving birth?”

“I don’t know. All I was told was that I was found alone near an orphanage.”

“O-orphanage?”

“Yes, I could have been abandoned there for all I know.”

“That’s impossible!” Emily bursted out, startling Ticia as she unconsciously turned cold. “Claudia wouldn’t do that! She-she… No… Claudia…” She lost strength in her legs and fell to the ground as her eyes, filled with tears, became unfocused.

“...So it truly is Claudia Willbix…” Ticia mumbled to herself as she looked over the devastated Emily. Looking at her made Ticia want to try to console her, an instinct similar but slightly different from the one she had for her own daughters. She was in no state to do so however. A lot of thoughts went through her mind right now, but one was dominant.

Finally an answer….

She released a low, long sigh as some of the tension left her tired body. Finally she had a name she could put on her origins without any doubt.

Claudia Willbix, a person she never knew but who was described as a very kind woman by everyone she knew. There was still a lot she didn’t know and a flux of negative feelings bottled down within her heart but at least for a moment, Ticia felt satisfied.

“...Now I understand why Chloe evaded the subject. That little rascal, she knew I’d immediately break down huh?” Emily murmured with a bitter smile.

“Chloe and the others never said it clearly, but were the two of you more than close friends?” Ticia asked after some hesitation.

“Yes. Claudia is the love of my life. I would destroy the UFG for her if she asked me too. Welp, it’s gone now anyway.” Emily answered in one breath with a seriousness that startled Ticia a bit. The phrase Emily just said was so cliche she had never expected someone to say it with so much seriousness in their eyes…

“She was too kind for her own sake, and a big breasted idiotic idealist.” She continued, a fond smile on her face despite what she just said. “She was the one who freed me from the scientists and she became the center of my world. I have so many stories with her that I’d like to share with you… but I know it’s not the time for that.”

Ticia subconsciously nodded automatically when Emily looked at her with a serious face after finishing her reminiscence.

“Judging from what you said, I‘m guessing you have no clue about me or Claudia. Heck, you might even know nothing about the UFG. As much as you’re curious about me, I am too. Please tell me what you know and… how you lived until now, if it's alright.”

“Alright…” Ticia released a long sigh, knowing that the explanation would take a long time.

In order to talk about her and her daughter’s current situation, she needed to talk about the current state of the galaxy, but also her own past. Ticia thought she’d feel some resistance talking about it, but surprisingly enough, the words came out of her mouth rather easily. It kind of felt like she was emptying herself on Emily, but neither seemed to mind.

She told her everything, more than the necessary information. She told her past from her youngest memory to now: her first years in an orphanage, her life as a child in the streets and then as a child assassin. She even told her how a woman used her yearning for affection and used her to make profit in the hitman business. How she later on found out and lashed out at everything. How she decided to enroll into the military at the age of fourteen and met Rika and how she ended up the owner of a clone installation, then the birth of the nulls and the ECGs.

She went on like that for what felt like hours, waves of emotions passing through her tone of voice depending on what she was talking about. Emily just stood there, listening intently. Her expression changed depending on what Ticia said, but overall, she had a sad expression, biting lower lip in frustration…

When Ticia finished her story, she remained silent. Slowly, her gaze went down until Ticia could not see her eyes anymore and her shoulders began trembling.

Emily was crying once again, looking down with her fists tightened.

Perhaps… that was too much information for her… Ticia thought to herself. She had felt a strange sense of relief and security when she told Emily her past, but she was beginning to regret it now that she saw the clone’s current state.

Had it been one of her daughters sobbing in front of her, she would have rushed to console her, but in front of Emily, Ticia remained unsure what to do…

“...Should I give you some time alone?”

In the end, she offered to leave. It was more of an excuse for herself rather than something said out of consideration for Emily.

“No, please stay. In fact, come closer.” Emily somehow managed to say without sobbing, her desire was so strong in her words that Ticia did not even think twice this time. She came closer to Emily, who promptly hugged her tightly.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you!”

“Wh-why are you suddenly apologizing to me?”

“Because I feel responsible! You-... You went through so much all alone for this long before meeting good people! J-just knowing all that makes me feel so pathetic, and I feel responsible!” Emily kept wailing, tears flowing through her eyes as she said those words in one breath to the startled Ticia while looking at her in the eyes.

Ticia had a hard time understanding why Emily was apologising to her.

“R-responsible? But you have nothing to do with all this though…”

“Of course I do! You’re also MY daughter after all!”

“Your… daughter?”

This time, Ticia froze up. It took her some time to process what Emily just said. So much so that she reflexively repeated the word.

“Yes.” Emily nodded, sniffing as her voice trembled, but she kept eye contact with Ticia.  “Not a clone of me nor a being made out from the main source, but directly from my gene codes! As much as Claudia’s, you are also my very own flesh and blood! If… If only I knew sooner… Claudia, you-, you big idiot…”

She kept crying, hugging Ticia more tightly as she put her face over Ticia's chestplate. Ticia remained frozen, as if in a daze.

After a while, Emily’s sobs became quieter.

“...Are you feeling better now?” Ticia asked, putting some strength in her hands to push Emily out of her chest.

“Slightly.” The woman responded with a sniff. “Thank you. I know you must be curious about a lot of things. Go ahead, I’ll answer anything I can.”

Ticia hesitated for a bit. Just looking at Emily's current state told her it clearly was not enough time. She herself was still in shock…

Her daughter… Am I really? Is it really okay for me to hope for such a thing again? At my age?

She swallowed all those questions. Something told her from deep within that Emily was telling her the truth, her grief was not an act.

Despite her clearly shaken mind, Emily tried to reign in her emotions. She understood why Ticia was here now. Ticia wanted answers. It was about her own identity after all…

After a short silence during which the both of them took seats opposite of each other, Ticia spoke up.

“What am I exactly? A clone or a regular human?” She asked.

“Both.” Emily swiftly answered. “You’re asking because you have the same characteristics as a clone, right? It probably has something to do with the way you were created. I am more than convinced you were born in a ‘natural’ way.”

‘Natural’... As in I was not born in an artificial way, but the ‘human’ way huh? Ticia slowly nodded.

“Was it in link with project Averuncum?”

“Yes, but don’t think you’re the result of that project. You’re not an experiment.” Emily quickly responded to her next question, putting emphasis on the ‘not an experiment’ part.

“Project Averuncum was, broadly speaking, a regroupment of thesis that aspired to increase the reach of cloning technology put into practice, so it was not a fixed project with a predetermined goal, so to speak. In fact, when Claudia entered the project team, it had a lot of diverging goals: improved genetic strengthening for clones, better gene exploitation, you name it. Claudia’s main research subject was the broadening of cloning technology to people who couldn’t be cloned, such as herself. She’d always dreamed of having a clone of herself just so she could give her tasks to her and lay back for the day.”

She said, reminiscing about the past with a soft, sad smile as she looked into the distance.

“Was she busy?” Wanting to know more about Claudia, Ticia asked. Emily was more than happy to talk.

“Extremely so. Heck, she’s a workaholic, and a clumsy one at that. I nearly choked to death from the surprise when she told me that for the first time, but you know? She said it was because she wanted to enjoy a lazy life with me.”

Emily’s smile grew so bright it captivated Ticia. By now, she had seen a wide variety of facial expressions and emotions from Emily, but it was the first time she had seen her look so… happy.

When she talks about Claudia, she seems at peace…

But then, Emily noticed Ticia’s gaze and she became a bit embarrassed.

“Ahem… Going back on the subject.” She said, scratching her slightly red cheek as she avoided eye contact. “Claudia always wanted to create a family, but she had an aversion towards any intimate contact with males. Moreover, other problems began to pop up around that time and grew in intensity. She became more and more entangled with the plans of the UFG, up to the point where she found herself in high positions.”

“Wait, I thought she wanted to be in those positions?” Ticia frowned.

“Of course she wanted those positions. Claudia had a very specific view of the UFG and clones. She understood that there was a need for the nation to go through heavy reforms if it wanted to survive, but by the time she was able to make impactful decisions from within, it was already too late.” Emily replied with a sigh. “The situation kept getting worse by the day, I had to convince her to give up on her dream to create a familly for now, until more stable times. It was a hard decision for her to make, but she relented. Or at least I thought so…”

Emily’s mood dampened and a small silence once again appeared. Despite being slightly affected by the mood, Ticia decided to press on with her curiosity.

“...I have a small question…” She said.

“Yes?” Emily answered with a small forced smile, which made Ticia hesitate a bit before speaking.

“I’ve heard many times that making a clone out of a clone was impossible, but based on what you just told me…”

“That’s right, you were directly made out of my genes.” Emily affirmed.

“But how?” 

“I’m not good with science, so I can’t really explain it, but the fact is that YOU exist.”  She said with a serious look, pointing towards Ticia, before her expression softened once again into a wry smile. “Claudia had a knack to achieve the impossible. Besides, she also was good at receiving help from others. That’s why I’m not much surprised about it.”

Emily paused. She sighed, putting one of her hands under her shin.

“I should have known, with such determination, there was no way she’d give up. She knew how dangerous it was though. After the uprising, we were under heavy surveillance for ‘suspicious behavior’ ‘sympathy towards rebels’. While Claudia remained under surveillance they kept me here, a way to keep her and me in check for sure. We were hardly allowed to see each other because of that... Moreover, with the loss of our family and the arrival of the virus, she became more and more scared of losing me… That’s why she froze me up without my consent. That was probably one of the only times where she managed to trick me… Her sorry yet determined look as she apologized… I still remember that moment like it was yesterday…”

“I mean… You were frozen, so it technically WAS yesterday for you…” Ticia commented while scratching her cheek. She did not know how cryology worked, so her words were more meant to lighten the mood.

Looking at Emily’s wide eyes, she thought she had outspoken, but Emily soon began to laugh.

“Hehe, yes, you are right.”

It was a short laugh, but it was heartfelt, which put Ticia at ease. Emily might have been depressed, but she did not seem as devastated as she was at first.

Thinking like that made Ticia think about Claudia, who had just been confirmed to be her mother. Her mood soured as a result.

“... Sorry for your loss…” She unconsciously blurted out, unsure about how she should feel about it. Emily immediately caught on to her own thread of thoughts.

“That hasn’t been determined yet.” She said in a strong tone, a serious look once again focused onto Ticia’s eyes. “Something must have happened. I’m sure she’s still out there, somewhere. My guts are telling me she’s still alive.” 

Her convictions were so strong that Ticia did not have the courage to turn them down.

Besides, even if she is, then why would she…

“And don’t act like it has nothing to do with you.”

“Eh?”

Just as Ticia’s thoughts were about to descend in a spiral of dark thoughts, Emily suddenly grabbed her hands, locking gaze with her.

“There’s no way she would abandon you after going through so much effort just to have you, so don’t think you were abandoned. You were not.”

“That’s…” Ticia stopped, unable to find an argument against Emily’s words.

In the end, she was unable to argue back, so she changed the subject to the present matters.

“...I don’t have the time to be bothered with it. I have a family to protect.” She said to Emily, mirroring her serious expressions.

My girls are my first and foremost priority. I can’t say our situation is the best currently. We’ve found pretty much all we lacked, now we need to grow our manpower and…

“Right, those sweeties.” Emily’s expression immediately softened before showing concern. “They were a little too young to be brought to the battlefield in my opinion… Is the situation outside that terrible?”

“Yes and no. It’s just…”

“You’re worried for them. That’s pretty normal.” Emily kept her smile, showing great concern and understanding towards her.

Ticia appreciated it. It made her feel more at ease…

“So? Aside from your daughters, who’s worrying about you?”

“Eh?”

Emily’s smile suddenly turned playful, surprising Ticia.

W-what’s that question supposed to mean!? A-and that look… I can’t get my hands around it but it feels like she’s teasing me!?

Just as Ticia was scrambling to understand the meaning behind Emily’s words, the latter laughed.

“Hehe, judging from what you told me, I can tell that there are at least some people. Your reaction only confirms it. That’s good.” She said, a heartfelt, serene smile on her face which once again surprised Ticia. Emily was happy for her.

“It-it’s not like there are that many…” Ticia ended up fidgeting, feeling embarrassed.

“Yeah, which is why I want to become one of them.”

“Eh?”

“No, scratch that. Ticia, I want you to recognise me as your mother.”

The casual line, followed by a more serious one froze Ticia’s thought process. She looked over to Emily, who had the most serious expression on her face. She was dead serious.

A mother… For real? Eh? Eh…?

“Erm…”

Just as Ticia was still in the process of understanding what Emily just asked, the Eve class clone’s mood suddenly shifted.

“I know I might be overstepping a bit. I wasn’t there for you but-” She began to look apologetic, but before she could continue, Ticia stopped her.

“T-that’s not it! And besides, it wasn’t your fault!”

“Eh?”  Ticia’s sudden outburst startled Emily. She looked towards Ticia with a puzzled look.

Ticia now looked embarrassed.

I-I mean, she was stuck down there all this time, I can’t just blame her for that when it wasn’t even her fault, right? That’s just too childish…

There was truly no logical way she could blame Emily for all this. She was as much of a victim as her in all of this. The main perpetrator in this story was Claudia and the way she selfishly acted…

She wanted to share her thoughts, but the words would not come out due to how embarrassed she was…

“I-I can tell you’re genuine about this.” She mustered, her cheeks reddening from embarrassment. “I might not be able to call you my mother immediately b-but I’ll try.”

T-that’s as much as I can do… I can’t say I’m flat out open to her being my mother, but I can’t remain ignorant to her sincerity…

Ticia was rather sensitive when it came to the matter of her parents. Just saying this had demanded of her a lot of effort, effort she had mustered from paying attention to how Emily interacted with her…

Her conclusion was that Emily was wholeheartedly genuine about wanting to be her mother.

“B-besides, you were kinda cool earlier… Bgu!?” She blurted out unconsciously as she remembered Emily’s actions back when she faced Warmonger. This had an unexpected immediate effect however…

Emily tightly hugged Ticia, crying of joy.

“Ah! You’re so cute! Is this the feeling Claudia yearned for? Thank you! Thank you so much! I’ll do my best!”

“C- can’t breathe…”

“Ah, s-sorry, I lost control…”

“N-no, it’s okay. We’ll both need a bit of time to adapt, I think…”

Both ended up feeling apologetic and awkward.

But… it’s not bad… Ticia ended up thinking, a small smile slowly building up on her face. Sure, it was awkward, but also heartfelt. Ticia felt like she had finally gained what she had yearned for all this time…

“Ah! But you’re not the only one who I need to convince. Your daughters too… Ugh, how do I get closer to them…”

“Pffft!”

Just as Ticia had come to terms with her inner self, Emily began to worry about how to get recognized by the clone girls as their grandmother. Looking at her, Ticia could not help but burst out laughing.

“W-what is it? Did I say something wrong?” Emily grew worried, but Ticia kept laughing. She shook her head to reassure her.

“No, nothing at all m-” Ticia stopped in surprise at herself. The word. It had come out of her mouth almost too naturally.

“M-?” Emily tilted her head in confusion. She had seemingly not understood what Ticia had been about to say…

Gah! That look… Ugh, now I can’t back down now, can I…?

Ticia gathered her courage, it  was harder to say it now that she was conscious of it.

“M-mom…” She ended up uttering while avoiding contact, her face as red as a tomato.

“~~~!?!” It had an immediate effect on Emily. Her eyes grew wide, before filling with tears.

“P-permission to hug you?” She asked.

“G-granted? I mean- why are you even ask-bgu!?”

And just like that, they were back to the situation they were in a few seconds ago…

“I’m never letting you go from now on!” Emily declared.

“T-that’s a bit problematic…” Still red, Ticia answered, though she did not seem to mind as much as before.

Emily loosened her embrace a bit, much to the relief of Ticia. This allowed Ticia to continue their conversation.

“I don’t think you have to worry much about the ECGs, they are pretty open and from what I’ve seen, they’ve already accepted you as such.” She said reassuringly.

“That’s a relief…” Emily let out a sigh of relief, showing how much she was concerned by the subject.

“Now for my remaining sweethearts…”

“R-right, there’s more of them…”

Ticia laughed at Emily, no, her mother’s reaction.

“Not that much. Twenty ECGs did not come with me, plus their twelve big sisters. They’re very precious to me.”

Ticia then told Emily about the Null CGs. She had already mentioned the girls just before, but this time she presented each and everyone of them, describing their personalities, likes and dislikes. Emily nodded along, memorizing everything Ticia told her with a serious look on her face.

“I see… Licia, Ria, Willia, Nillia, Miria, Tiria, Lidia, Nicia, Mia, Nia, Ticinia and Vinia correct? Very precious indeed…”  She said, nodding along. Ticia was surprised that she seemed to have already memorized their names, but that simply showed how much Emily was invested in knowing her granddaughters.

“Talking about them makes me want to see them.” Ticia sighed, remembering her daughter’s smiles.

My battery is running extremely low right now. The ECGs will have to do with a few more hugs…

“...Ticia, you said your goal was to create your own home, right?” Just as Ticia was lost in her own thoughts, Emily, who had been pondering about something, suddenly called out to her in a serious tone.

“Yeah.”

“In that case, I have an idea…”