Odin's earpiece crackled to life as her handler came onto comms.
"Wait. We will distract her, and then you may commence your assault."
"Jawohl."
Odin turned her face up to gaze passively. Six orange wings of light coruscated around her form, filling the air with the stench of ozone.
Bismarck. Her genetic precursor, whose blood flowed in her artificial veins.
She was a prodigal child created to kill her own mother.
She didn't feel bad about it. She wasn't angry at Bismarck, no. Actually, Odin suddenly realised, she wasn't feeling anything right now. Just another target-just another mission.
"Missiles deployed."
Countless glowing motes of light erupted from the ground, streaking towards Bismarck's form. Once they had drawn close, they exploded in a shower of cacophonous noise, the shockwaves pulsating over Odin, who was at least three hundred metres down.
"Now!"
Odin leapt at Bismarck, boots slamming into the ground as she propelled herself up at eye-watering speed, a loud bang breaking the air as she broke the sound barrier. She unsheathed her sword in one smooth motion as she braced in midair to resist the prodigious amount of g-force that was acting on her body.
In less than a second the plunging through the cloud of swirling hot smoke that surrounded Bismarck. Exploding out from the acrid fog, Odin found herself face to face with her progenitor. Here the wings of light crackled and writhed around her, creating a tornado of air that sometimes set alight with bright blue flame and Odin found it nearly impossible to breathe in the heated atmosphere.
You were cloned from Bismarck's DNA-
Twenty-two of you, exact copies-
Aleph, Beth, Gimel, Dalet, He, Vav-
Strange memories that she couldn't remember as hers flooded through Odin's head, and it was precisely then she realised she couldn't remember how she was born. The oldest memory she could drag up was being dragged out of a tank, coughing up tasteless goo from her lungs.
Your name is Odin.
My name is Odin.
In the end, that was all that mattered as Odin's self-sharpening sword of awakened steel swung down, a lightning-azure guillotine scything through the air, and Bismarck fell down into the hole in the War Memorial, bisected at the waist.
Odin finally lost the battle with gravity, too, and started falling. Twisting her body to control the direction of her fall, she was able to prevent herself following Bismarck into that gaping pit and landed on the edge of the melted opening instead, noting the way her boots sunk slightly into the still-hot steel.
She peered into the hole, trying to see where Bismarck had gone. However, all she could see was the empty interior of the hollow pyramid, a gaping, jagged wound in the floor revealing a shaft that went deeper that she could see, plates of melted armour set at regular intervals along the height of the shaft.
"She... destroyed all of that?"
Looking for me?
The voice came from inside her head, reverbing and causing her skull to undergo a peculiar vibrating sensation. Odin spun around, trying to ignore the intense dizziness, and there she stood.
Her burnt white gown having fallen off her body when she was sliced into half, Bismarck stood wreathed from head to toe in flashing lightning. Her hair floated around her head lazily as the wings of light began forming on her back again, the KAN-SEN slowly floating above the ground.
Without thinking, Odin's body surged forward and upward, bringing the blade up and slashing down at Bismarck. The Iron Chancellor raised a hand lazily and caught the blade in her fingers as it came down, and then all Odin could see was white, pure, hot, white, as she was jolted through the metal blade repeatedly by wave after wave of electricity.
When the shocks had finally stopped, Odin collapsed to her knees, smoke rising out from her body. She couldn't feel her sword arm. Watching numbly, the KAN-SEN stared as Bismarck ran a finger over the blade, appreciating its honed edge and resilient make, before snapping it in two with one hand.
No way-no way she just did that-
Odin felt her body jerk again as Bismarck's hand flashed out, too fast to perceive, towards her.
Is that-is that my-
Covered in blood, still beating, lying in Bismarck's red-spattered hand was a steaming heart. Odin dully realised her chest had a gaping hole in it.
Ah.
In a starburst of blood Bismarck crushed Odin's heart, and she collapsed to the ground, vision slowly fading to black.
"KMS Odin has been damaged severely."
A person-a sister-who looked just like her-smiling.
"Brainwaves are fluctuating far beyond norm."
Smoking meat-pain-begging-
"If this keeps up the subject will begin retaining memories."
A shambling mass of flesh and steaming goop.
Whose memories are these?
Odin's right rigging began to twitch and growl, snapping at Bismarck's heels. Despite her semi-conscious state, Odin could hear clearly the cracking and tearing of metal plates.
"Rigging Beth is entering Berserk State."
And then her eyes shot open, as if injected with a bucket of adrenaline. Strangely her chest didn't hurt anymore, although she felt every drop of blood course down her stomach with alarming sensitivity.
Odin got back to her feet and started walking towards Bismarck with slow, plodding steps.
"What… are you doing?"
A shot rang out as three blue projectiles arced towards the Iron Chancellor, easily dispersed by her lightning.
"Just what…do you hope to accomplish?!"
Bismarck threw a punch at Odin and the KAN-SEN was pushed backwards as she raised both hands to block, feeling her arms shatter.
No pain.
No matter.
The rigging on her right continued to twitch and writhe, plated of metal and screws falling to the ground. Finally, the entire thing shattered, throwing shrapnel in a hail around Odin.
With the armour gone, the rigging resembled a shambling mass of flesh, shivering and jerking as its five misshapen eyes swiveled to view Bismarck.
"Rigging Beth has entered Berserk State."
"What the hell is that?"
The Iron Chancellor took a step backwards, fear showing for the first time in her eyes. Odin grinned savagely as she felt the rigging on her left undergo a similar change, the slavering, formless beast within rising to gaze at her opponent.
Don't touch Shin!
The two rigging-beasts simultaneously lunged, too fast to dodge, at Bismarck, tearing and biting at the KAN-SEN's form. Lightning coursed over their form, causing bits of flesh to drop to the ground, but they continued to attack savagely, as if unheeding their fate. Odin heard Bismarck cry out as a fountain of blood jetted out, splashing all over the top of the War Memorial, and she laughed as her rigging mauled her opponent to bits.
No… more… you little bitch!
Both pieces of flesh suddenly stopped their attack, twitching and writhing as they were enveloped in sizzling lightning
"What's wrong...keep fighting!"
Shin, Shin, Shin Shin Shin Shin Shin Shin Shin Shin Shin Shin
It's hot, it's hot, it's hot, it's hot, it's hot
Help! Please help us-! We're sisters, aren't we-
Friends-
Please, please, please, please, please-
"Augh!" Odin clamped her hands over her ears as the voices blended together into a cacophonous symphony. Meanwhile, the aura assailing her rigging grew brighter and brighter until they exploded in showers of blood, the only remnants being two mangled spines which were clutched in the hands of Bismarck.
"Rigging Beth and Ayin have been terminated."
The Iron Chancellor limped towards Odin, bleeding from a deep wound in her neck. She was limping painfully, slowly, each step causing her to snarl in pain.
How dare you. How dare you.
The sheer vitriol in Bismarck's telepathic voice sent shivers of fear through Odin's body. The battlecruiser stumbled backwards in a moment of sheer panic.
"Eek!"
Too slow.
Odin felt Bismarck seize her by the throat. She kicked wildly and tried to scream, but the Chancellor gripped her with an iron vise and the only thing that escaped from her throat was a mere rasp.
Bismarck squeezed slightly and Odin felt her neck crack. It wasn't broken, not yet, but the crunch was disturbing. Odin had not felt fear before, not even at the prospect of death, but right now, the terror was overpowering.
Now. How shall I punish you?
Odin stared fearfully into Bismarck's eyes, frozen over with a hate so strong that seemed to originate from another dimension. Strangely, she felt a burst of pity.
It must hurt, to hate this much…
What did you say?
No way in-how did you-how did she hear-
I don't need your pity, you second-rate wretch.
Bismarck tossed Odin into the air, and the KAN-SEN felt herself being slammed into the jagged metal of the Memorial. She screamed as she felt her nose break, the skin on her face sizzling as it pressed against the hot steel.
Bismarck lifted her up again and smashed her down. Odin saw fireworks dance in her vision. Like Weihnachtstag.
What's Weihnachtstag?
Fire-flowers exploding in the air-people cheering-warmth, hearth and home.
Whose memories are these?
A smiling woman, her eyes full of love-a warm hand on her cheek-a stinging slap.
"Stop looking inside my head."
Odin dimly registered that this was the first time Bismarck had spoken to her physically as her head was slammed down yet again. She felt the bones in her skull grind against each other.
A shot fired from ruined rigging-fire, ash and smoke-the mocking laughter of a brown-haired woman as her body was ripped apart.
Yet another failure.
"Stop it-I don't want to remember!"
Ah. Bismarck… you are a monster, but… it's been so painful, hasn't it?
"I AM NOT-A-MONSTER!"
Odin finally felt her skull smash for the last time into metal as Bismarck screamed her rage and grief, her entire body going limp, every nerve wailing in pain.
Thunder.
Something blew past her, the shockwave rippling over her body. She felt it strike Bismarck behind her.
Who dares-who dares-
"I do."
Through Odin's rapidly fading consciousness, she saw a girl stalking through the fire and flames to the bottom of the War Memorial, the guns strapped to her petite form smoking. One small hand curled around a mace topped with an ornate crown, the girl stepped forward, a savage, murderous grin on her face.
"It's been a long time, Bismarck."