I know the cutoff for the last chapter was a little awkward, but if I hadn't cut off then the chapter would've continued for a really long time. But I made sure to post this one right afterward so that it would be continued. You can post questions about characters or the storyline, too, if something is unclear!
In The Basement…
They were all a few steps behind Kululu, and they heard him say, "Kukuku… They're here!"
A commotion followed his words, but he ignored it and turned to face the new team.
"Come on in! Kukuku…" he said, gesturing them into the room. Natsumi and Fuyuki were automatically suspicious of Kululu's good manners, but the new team didn't seem to notice, and walked into the room, except for Doriri, who jumped up to the top of the doorframe and hung down by her ankles.
As Natsumi and Fuyuki walked up behind them to enter the room too, the only sound that could be heard was Kululu's maniacal laughter.
They walked into the room, going around the girls, and inspected the frogs' faces. In all nine frogs who weren't laughing, a look of confusion, shock, and misbelieve filled their faces. Kululu's was gleeful.
"Kululu! What did you do this time?" Giroro asked accusingly, standing up and aiming a gun at him.
"Kukuku… For once, I didn't do anything! It was the Keronian government!" Kululu replied defensively.
"Are they robots? We're getting replaced by robots?" Tamama asked, getting up and prodding the girls with his fingers to see if they were made of metal. This did not make them happy.
"Don't touch me!" Gertrude said loudly, whizzing her sword out of her sheath and pointing it at the space between Tamama's eyes.
"Ah! Whoa, so wait, they're not robots?" Tamama asked, glancing at Kululu. Everyone turned to face him, once again expecting an answer.
"Kukuku… No, they're not robots. They're clones, actually!" Kululu informed the room.
"WHAT?" came the reply of every mouth in the room. Doriri fell from her hanging position in shock, but Tamomi managed to catch her. Doriri nodded her thanks silently.
Kululu laughed and began to explain.
"About three weeks before the invasion began, Maj. Gen. Kadada asked me to calculate our chances of success. They weren't exactly favorable. Kukuku… So, anyway, they cloned the DNA they have on store for all military personnel, tweaked a few chromosome pairs, and put them in speeded growth capsules. Kukuku… They raised them in slightly different ways, and voila! A much more efficient, female version of us! Kukuku…" Kululu explained, sounding like it was a rehearsed speech.
"So… They're us?" Tamama asked, staring down the sword still pointed at his face.
"Yep. Kukuku… No prizes if you can guess which one was cloned from your DNA!" Kululu replied.
"Wait. Wait. WAIT! We are no one's clones!" exclaimed Kerora with her hands on her hips.
"Yes, you are! I have the files right here! Or, at least, illegally printed copies. Kukuku…" Kululu said, handing Kulala a stack of paper, knowing she'd be able to tell they weren't fakes. Her face grew pale as she skimmed the pages.
"H-he's telling the truth," she said shakily, looking up from the file.
"Although, I suppose if 'clones' is too weird for you, you can always refer to us as your 'siblings,' you know," Kululu said, and began to laugh again. Tamomi giggled, too.
"So, I have a brother?" she asked excitedly, still too young to fully appreciate the seriousness of the situation. Her gaze landed on Tamama, obviously her counterpart, and she ran over to give him a bear hug. Luckily, Tamama was also too young to fully understand.
"Um, she's me?" Tamama asked, bewildered.
"Kukuku… More or less! There will be obvious character differences, but genetically you're basically the same. Like identical twins. Kukuku…" Kululu said.