Hello everybody! Here's Chapter 6! It was normally supposed to be posted on May 4th, but... Well... I got a little busy unfortunately...

And the reviews!

Agusthefedredhunter: So I wasn't the only one to have a mental image then XD!

Enjoy!


Chapter 6: Letters

-BOOM!-

"COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH!"

"FIRE! GET AN EXTINGUISHER! HURRY!"

Panic ensued within seconds, boots pounding the workshop/arsenal floor left and right.

"COUGH COUGH!"

-PSHHHHH!-

Screwball released the extinguisher, waving his hand in front of him to disperse the smoke.

"COUGH COUGH COUGH!"

"Force... I blew another generator…", remarked the engineer, looking at what was left of the generator covered in white foam, the wall and floor around it charred by the explosion, which fortunately didn't cause too much damage.

"Kriff, Screwball! What did you do this time?" asked Prev, approaching him through the smoke-filled room.

"Nothing!" Screwball defended himself.,"I just wanted to check if we could try recharging our depleted blaster cells with a generator from here."

"Again with that idea?" the other engineer asked, "Sithspit... This is the third time in a week you've blown up an electrical generator... I get your idea, and I respect it, for once it's not about modifying something beyond recognition, but, damn it, you can see it doesn't work! The generators aren't suitable... Soon you're going to cause an accident here, thankfully we store the weaponry on the other side of the room..."

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in Screwball's head...

"YES! PREV, YOU'RE A GENIUS!" And the engineer dashed through the smoke to fetch what he needed...

"SCREWBALL- Kriff... SCREWBALL! GET BACK HERE!"

...

The gaze of two clones lifted from what they had resumed, now that the fire had been extinguished, despite the smoke, namely a project that I-Island had sent and that their adoptive father had received.

"I bet you 50 yen the next explosion will be louder than that one.", said Hypno, to which Copper shrugged.

"I'll have to ask Omen, but bet taken."

Derac's voice came from the armament storage area.

"CAN SOMEONE TURN ON THE DAMN -COUGH COUGH- VENTILATION? WE'RE GONNA SUFFOCATE IN HERE -COUGH COUGH-!"

/

A gentle melody filled the garden as Brexx sat on a bench, striving to reproduce a piece of music he had heard and liked.

Patience, diligence, that's what it took to be a musician.

The trooper missed a note and started over, smiling under his helmet...

Music...

It fascinated him.

This world had so many styles of music... From the most violent, death metal, with bands like Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy, or Vader, old but still pioneering the genre, to the softest, like classical music with Beethoven, Mozart, or pop, with Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Lady Gaga...

Passing through reggae with Bob Marley or Dennis Brown...

All of this along with other genres like Blues, Rock, Jazz, Techno, Funk, Dubstep, Gospel, Metal... and many more...

What was impressive was that the oldest artists, deceased for some time, were still popular and still listened to, making it difficult for newer groups to ascend...

So many genres, so many names...

Brexx sometimes dreamed of reaching that level, of stepping onto the stage...

But it was just a dream, he probably wouldn't make it. He was a soldier above all else. Unaware, he had continued playing, his fingers plucking the strings with fluidity, gentleness...

Talent.

Lost in thought, he played the piece perfectly... And stopped playing on his own...

"Bravo! That was beautiful..." a voice rose behind him, somewhat surprising him. He turned his head and smiled.

"Oh, it's you, buir... You startled me."

Mio slid onto the bench beside him, smiling.

"I'll never get used to the fact that you call me and Kanai with names in a language we don't understand, what does 'buir' mean?"

"Mother, mom, or father, depending on who it's said to," the clone replied. Mio nodded before asking...

"How do you say son in this case?"

"Ad. We say ad. It also means daughter." Brexx replied. Mio remained silent, smiling... Then she looked at the sky, appearing moved...

"What you just played... It's the music that was played during our wedding with Kanai... We decided to go with a classic... 'What a wonderful world'... By Louis Armstrong... I thought I would never hear it again..."

Brexx listened attentively...

"I still remember the scent of perfumes in the air, the beauty of the event, the joy, even the euphoria... Of all those who were present... Kanai gently taking my arm, me, the bride in a white dress... We decided not to have a traditional wedding, but rather a wedding our way... It was the most beautiful evening of my life..."

Brexx had an idea and began plucking the strings, and a gentle melody began... The clone focused, letting himself be carried away by his imagination... His voice, soft, began the song he had invented himself...

"In the quiet dawn, love softly speaks,

With promises that time never reeks.

Two hearts entwined, in a dance divine,

A love story written in the sands of time.

Here we stand, hand in hand,

In this moment, love's command.

Underneath the heavens above,

Our hearts entwined, bound by love.

Through every joy and every tear,

Our love grows stronger year by year.

In laughter and in whispered vows,

We'll face the world, together, we'll rouse.

Here we stand, hand in hand,

In this moment, love's command.

Underneath the heavens above,

Our hearts entwined, bound by love.

Through the storms, through the skies,

We'll soar together, side by side.

With every breath, with every sigh,

Our love will never, ever die.

Here we stand, hand in hand,

In this moment, love's command.

Underneath the heavens above,

Our hearts entwined, bound by love.

So let the music play,

As we journey on our way.

In love's embrace, we'll always stay,

Forever and a day."

He finally fell silent... Mio was almost on the verge of tears... She remained silent for a long time, her eyes unfocused, almost in tears... Before asking...

"Tell me, ad... How did you learn to play like that?"

"Honestly buir... It's talent, I've always loved music... As for how I learned to play this instrument, well... It happened after an intense battle... We had been deployed..."

/

"Sergeant! Are you up for a game of sabacc?" asked Joker, turning his helmetless head towards the bed that Sergeant Riot had claimed. The clone in question looked up from the book he was reading and shrugged.

"Yeah... Why not?"

He jumped down from his perch, landing gracefully on the floor before approaching Joker and sitting down. The latter smiled and asked.

"Anyone else up for it?"

There was a moment of hesitation, then a few responses came... Soon, on the floor of their barracks, sat Sergeant Riot, Mediclone Xool, and troopers Arrow, Checkmate, Joker, and Device, meaning almost the entire Gamma squad.

Firdiss and Dozer had declared that they would just be there as observers, and Hellink had gone off to do something in their adoptive father's office.

Another engineering thing, no doubt...

Joker shuffled the cards with the mischievous air he always adopted when playing, before giving them out... Everyone picked up their hands, and Device grunted. As bad at concealing as he was, it was easy for the others to tell he had a poor hand. The game began, cards being laid down one after another, for a long while...

"Done! I win!" exclaimed Checkmate, laying down his cards on the floor and punching the air.

Riot remained impassive, looking at his cards, before glancing at the others... Everyone, except Device who was definitely going to lose judging by his expression, remained perfectly neutral... He had a lousy hand...

He wouldn't win...

However, suddenly, Joker laid down his hand.

"I've lost, no way out of this." Then it was Xool's turn, then Arrow's, then Device's, and finally Riot's to lay down their hands. Wow... They had all been stuck?

"Well played, Checkmate.", Joker congratulated with a smile, "Anyone for another round?"

Everyone responded with a unanimous yes, and this time, Dozer and Firdiss decided to join...

The same preparation process for the game was done by Joker, then the game began...

...

"Wow... That was quick.", remarked Arrow, raising an eyebrow, when Joker achieved victory very quickly. Dozer laughed heartily, while Firdiss allowed herself to grimace at her cards.

"I really don't know how to play sabacc..."

/

Aether woke up with a yawn, stretching on his bed after a short nap. He cracked his knuckles and neck, then got up, rubbing his eyes, and looked around the barracks. Nylimm, Ex, and Mirage, the three gunners of the squad, were in one corner, discussing the physical trial from a few days ago and their 'heroic exploits,' exaggerating and embellishing what they had done, Grym was reading something on his datapad, probably reviewing communication codes or other important points for his specialization, Xanks was dozing off, earplugs in and sleep mask over his eyes, Tarrenn was reading a book, what the Japanese called manga, and Derac was cleaning his helmet with a cloth.

"Hey guys.", said the sergeant as he got up, putting on a white T-shirt and red sweatpants he had bought on his last shopping outing. The others looked up and greeted him, then the sergeant left Theta squad's dormitory to stretch his legs...

He walked for a good ten minutes, surprised by the lack of activity as he usually found, and headed towards the mess hall. When he entered, he noticed that the temperature was warmer in the large room, the Lambda guys doing something in one corner, but his eyes fell on Hope, engrossed in a very thick book with an ornate cover. He approached his best friend with a big smile and sat on a bench across from him, with a grin.

"Well, Hope, what's so interesting about that book that you didn't notice your best friend arriving?"

The other sergeant looked up from the book, surprised.

"Oh! Aether! I didn't notice you, sorry... I was reading a book I found in the mansion's library, 'World Religions.'..." Aether tilted his head, interested.

"Is it interesting? I didn't know you were into that kind of thing..."

Hope smiled.

"I know, me neither, honestly, I surprise myself by being interested... But really, once you get into it, you can't find it boring." Aether looked at the book for a long moment...

"Will you pass it to me when you're done?"

"Yeah! Sure!"

/

"Uco, put that down, you're going to burn your fingers!" grumbled Lockdown, exasperated by his vod's antics, the medic honestly felt like he was babysitting 5-year-olds...

Basis, Hypno, Atlas, Uco, and Tripwire... Exception made for Junior, the second medic in Lambda squad, and Viper, one of their gunners.

Honks, their sniper, fell somewhere between the two categories.

"Nah! I assure you it'll be fine!" replied Uco, with a wide grin, holding a lighter over the pot filled with shrimp soaked in cognac that Uco had found Force-knows-where.

"sigh That's exactly what you told me last time while tinkering with an incendiary grenade. Do I need to remind you of the burns you got on your hand?"

Lockdown responded before turning to the other members of the squad.

"By the way, I'm still mad at you guys for encouraging him to juggle with it. Bunch of kids."

The others remained silent, sheepish...

-Click!-

The lighter produced a flame, which Uco looked at with a strange admiration, as if entranced by a song only he could hear... Moved by a desire to spread it, to see it grow, to become stronger...

He slowly approached it to the cognac...

-Whoosh!-

The alcohol suddenly caught fire, the small flame turning into a blaze before calming down... Uco remained hypnotized by the flame, but snapped out of it, and began to stir the pot, agitating the shrimp that had just cooked. Flames still danced here and there, and after a while, they extinguished. The pyromaniac trooper placed it on the cafeteria table.

"Well, we don't have utensils, so eat with your hands. Be careful, it's hot."

Contradicting himself, he picked up a shrimp with two fingers and swallowed it in one gulp.

"Yeah, it's really good!"

Basis glanced suspiciously at the pot.

"Are you sure it's edible? We're not going to get poisonned, right?" The flametrooper shook his head, a big smile on his face, as he swallowed another shrimp.

"Nah!"

There was a sigh.

"I'll taste it... Junior, if I fall to the ground and start convulsing, it's because I've poisoned myself... And try to prevent the other immature ones from trying to gobble down any more. Because I know they'll try to take some."

Lockdown glared at them before swallowing a shrimp... He widened his eyes and Junior feared the worst for a moment, preparing to stand as a barrier against the rest of the squad...

"KRIFF! THIS IS REALLY GOOD!", Lockdown literally had stars in his eyes... He took another shrimp and ate it.

"How did you found out about this recipe vod?" Asked Viper, letting his crossed arms fall to his sides.

"Eh... I found it by chance while watching a cooking show..."

"I didn't know you liked cooking. I even found that you thought kitchen chores were the worst," remarked Honks. The pyromaniac laughed.

"Well, I changed my mind! It allows for big flames and at least I won't get scolded for it! But I have to make sure I don't mess up the recipe."

/

"Have you ever tried making interface modules?"

Asked Atlas, looking at the blueprint of a relatively advanced bionic for this world that I-Island had sent to their buir.

"A what?", asked Kanai Yaoyorozu, looking confusedly at the two clone engineers, Atlas and Hellink, who glanced at each other.

"Oh yes. Sorry. An interface module. Bionics in our world use interface modules, like the hand of a robot, through which the sensations of touch, sensation, transmitted messages, in short, the capabilities of the prosthesis are enhanced. Even though this prosthesis is advanced for here, it is far from the capabilities we had. The good bionics in your world, capable of matching ours, are often too bulky and cumbersome.", explained Atlas, before Hellink spoke up.

"Say, can you call the creator of this blueprint? We would like to modify a few things about his idea. There are some things in the aesthetics that bother me. See here? The kind of battery they put? If they want to put a power source, the casing must be better protected, and it's too bulky, other important systems wouldn't fit in there. And as Atlas suggested, we can add some things..."

Kanai remained silent for a moment... Thinking...

"Yes, I can try. But it will be up to him if he accepts."

Atlas smiled behind his helmet.

"Thank you."

/ Voc was leaning against a tree in a corner of the mansion's large green space...

A notepad and pencil in hand... He was diligent. And focused.

A curve here, some shading there...

"Perfect..."

The bird, a red-billed leiothrix, which seemed to have posed for him all this time, chose this moment to fly away. He put his pencil down in his notepad and closed it...

He finally finished...

He loved drawing, it calmed him and gave him a sense of well-being... A melody rose in the distance...

Brexx must have been inspired or trying out a piece he found beautiful and melodic... There was a rustling of armor beside him, and he turned his head to discover Midnight. The mediclone had taken off his helmet and closed his eyes.

"Kriff... Feels good, doesn't it?" asked the mediclone. Voc nodded...

"We could never dream of such a paradise. We've known some beautiful planets, though... But wow... This is the first time I've enjoyed one so beautiful.", continued Midnight... Voc laughed.

"True... So what brings you here in the woods?"

The medic shrugged.

"I finished inventorying the medical center, so I decided to get out and smell the air and the scents we have here... Plus, it stank of burnt and smoke in the hallway, Screwball must have done something stupid."

Voc sighed...

"Another one?"

"Yeah. Well, at least it smells good of plants and flowers here. The bark, the grass, and the earth, it's surprising with our proximity to an urban environment. Have you seen their garden? I went to take a look, a gardener was pruning a bush of white flowers... Kriff... It smelled so good!"

And Midnight went on with the detailed description of the fragrance he had smelled...

/

"Hey! Mirdip! Have you seen Midnight by any chance?" asked Ock, sergeant of Beta squad, entering the barracks where the second surviving flametrooper of the company, Corporal Mirdip, was changing, waking up from a nap.

"No sorry, didn't see him, he was gone when I woke up. Did you check the infirmary? I heard him say something about inventory at the medical bay..."

"Yeah, I went there. Slunt and Fix told me he had finished his part, they seemed about to finish too."

Mirdip nodded slowly.

"Okay, I see. But why do you need him?"

"The Rugby World Cup is on. Japan vs Uruguay. It's about to start, and Midnight really wanted to see it.", explained Ock.

"Wait, the match is today? Kriff, I forgot!" exclaimed the corporal, widening his eyes, and hurriedly putting on his T-shirt. Ock chuckled, amused... Mirdip was probably one of the people who most frequently forgot important things...

"Go ahead, you're lucky it hasn't started yet."

/

Fix put down his datapad, sitting on one of the medical beds in the infirmary...

"Finally done... It's so much easier when Lockdown is around..."

Slunt looked at him, finishing counting the bacta patches left.

"You know how tough Lambda squad is. Lockdown is almost like a genetic father to them all... And still, it's not like yours."

Fix laughed.

"Don't even mention it. We have the apocalyptic trio... Screwball, Crackpot, and Canonball... Force... I don't even know how the general could stand us, the tumultuous Epsilon squad!" exclaimed Fix, with grand theatrical gestures. The two burst into laughter for several minutes.

/

-PEW!-

-TSHPOK!-

"Bam! Right in the mid! So what do you say, Fog?"

"I say I can hit it blindfolded, Smoke."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Alright, stop it. You two sound like two four-year-olds trying to figure out who's Mommy's favorite.", intervened Hyro, sergeant of Iota squad, between his two men.

The three were at the shooting range, firing shot after shot in a friendly competition. Smoke, their sniper, was obviously winning.

Rule No. 72: Never challenge a sniper to a precision contest. It was the best way to cause an argument.

Well... Not like Fog and Smoke were mature anyway...

Hyro wondered if that's what Jedi generals felt like when they had rowdy troopers under their command... The urge to take them both and knock their heads together... Just for a few seconds of quiet... But knowing them, they'd probably manage to keep arguing even KO.

Hyro sighed... Sometimes it was hard being the oldest in the squad...

"By the way, it's your turn, Sergeant.", Fog noted. Hyro stepped forward, took his weapon...

Aligned it with the target... And fired without hesitation.

"Hey! Not bad! Almost dead center. Better than Fog, anyway.", said Smoke, looking at the target on the other side of the range, a smug smile behind his helmet.

"Hey!" exclaimed the AT trooper.

/

"... And like... I thought it was a clown for a moment. But no, it was actually his quirk.", Canonball recounted.

"A quirk that makes you look like a clown? Oh yeah, I knew there were weird quirks, but to that extent... You think he did clown stuff?", joked Crackpot, eliciting an irritated grunt from Jak, who stomped behind them. Mag turned, raising an eyebrow.

"Wow, Mr. Grumpy-from- birth, what's got into you?"

The sergeant of Zeta squad grumbled.

"Nothing, it's your nonsense that's getting on my nerves."

The three troopers of Epsilon squad looked at him, and Canonball murmured to the other two.

"Hey, you know why he's like that all the time?" Crackpot shrugged, and Mag murmured after a glance.

"I heard his growth pod had a technical glitch, now he's always grouchy." The voice of the grouchy one rose, even more irritated.

"That's not it, you idiots, I'll say it again, it's your kriffing nonsense that's getting on my nerves." Mag said, aloud this time.

"See, I told you!"

"MAG I SWEAR ON THE NAME OF KAMINO I'M GONNA STRANGLE YOU!"

/

The entire Eta squad, Sergeant Ion, Corporal Dion, and troopers Bug, Cliffjumper, Rime, Bullet, Hex, and Spike, were sitting on the couch or on the floor around, patiently waiting for the Uruguay vs Japan rugby match to start. And opinions were divided.

"But no! Have you seen Uruguay's pack? Kriff, especially with that guy whose quirk allows him to increase his weight, Japan's defense line is going to crumble!"

"Yeah, but have you seen the Japanese hooker? And their three-quarters? They're lightning fast! Uruguay may have a big pack and a good defense, but a lot of them are heavy, you'll see, the moment there's a gap in their defense, the Japanese ball carriers will pass them with ease."

"No! You forgot about the Uruguayan team's backs, they'll get intercepted as soon as they step behind the defense line."

And opinions flew, plunging the living room into complete chaos, to the great despair of the butlers who couldn't understand a thing of what was being said.

Rugby...

A sport that had caught the attention of clone survivors for its strategy, the spectacle it offered, and above all, the unique, hard-hitting aspect, different from American football, that you could find in this sport.

Cliffjumper and Bug stayed on the side, silent, watching the chaos unfold before their eyes.

"Hey, Cliffjumper, tell me, I've always been curious, why did you choose that nickname?" asked Bug. The other remained silent for a moment...

"Eh... Because I was a complete idiot and decided to jump over a low wall... And I forgot it was the side of a hill. And you?"

The other shrugged. Bug had been a recent addition to the company, which sometimes explained his ignorance.

"I was attacked by some pretty aggressive bugs once on Kamino, kriff... It was an medic who brought them back from a planet in his bag. There was a little infestation in their barracks, and ours being adjacent, they got in through a hole in my bunk..."

"Ah, I see..." Cliffjumper replied, holding back a chuckle, before turning his attention back to the ongoing debate.

"AND I'M TELLING YOU JAPAN IS GONNA WIN!"

"OH NO THEY WON'T!"

/

Shield stepped in front of him, taking two punches without flinching, before a hefty slap sent Fearless flying backward. While Incident had initially wanted it to be a friendly match, it quickly turned into a real brawl, with none of the participants pulling their punches. Honestly, he was enjoying it. It had been a long time since he'd had such an intense two-on-two duel.

The sergeant of Epsilon squad positioned himself to Shield's left, protecting his squadmate's weak side, as Fearless got back up, shaking his head, dazed but with a wide grin, and joined Warden, who was analyzing their positioning.

Everything remained silent for another long moment, the two pairs sizing each other up... Then Fearless launched another attack. This time, instead of Shield intercepting the blows, Incident surged forward, tackling the Alpha squad trooper before attempting to pin him down. But it was in vain; Fearless fought like a wild animal, scratching, hitting, and preventing Incident from grabbing his legs or arms.

The sergeant heard Shield behind him, grunting with satisfaction as he absorbed blow after blow, still driving his opponent into a corner.

He turned his head for a brief moment just in time to see Shield send Warden flying out of the duel area with a right hook to the jaw. However, that split second of inattention... made him topple sideways, the air knocked out of his lungs after Fearless elbowed him in the solar plexus, sending him tumbling to the side in the green grass.

Seeing his sergeant in trouble, Shield approached with long strides, as Fearless got back up, and caught the Epsilon trooper off guard by charging him instead of Incident.

However, the duel ended very quickly when Shield, recovering from his surprise, truly went on the offensive, forcing Fearless to retreat until he was out of the dueling zone with strong punches.

Incident finally got to catch his breath.

Fearless had hit him hard; he still hurt. He accepted Shield's outstretched hand, helping him up, and raised a fist in a sign of victory.

"I told you, Epsilon was bound to win.", grumbled Omen from the lawn where he sat, a blade of grass stuck between his teeth.

"Damn, Omen, you can really be a killjoy sometimes!" remarked Neex, the explosives maniac of Alpha squad.

"It's alright, Neex, you know how he is. And he was right, as always," replied Virr, a smile beneath his helmet, as he helped Warden up. "You okay, vod?"

Warden rubbed his sore jaw after such a heavy impact.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Kriff, Shield, you didn't hold back with that right hook."

The trooper shrugged. "Sorry, I got a little carried away with the fight..."

"You should've hit harder! Kriffing hell, that was fun!" exclaimed Fearless, still lying in the grass, eyes to the sky, forearms covered in bruises where the punches had struck him.

"Yeah, but let's not break any bones; already, the blow you gave me was borderline..." said Incident, to which his intrepid brother replied with a laugh.

"Sorry about that, but I felt obligated to go after Shield, and that blow was the only way to get you off me."

Everyone raised an eyebrow and remained silent, which Fearless noticed.

"What? You know me! I always have to charge at whatever's bigger or stronger than me!"

"Dozer is better suited for those kinds of things," noted Neex.

"Dozer wasn't there when we faced the living slime pile. That didn't stop me from charging at it."

"What was the outcome of that fight, remind me?"

"Oh, come on, I just like charging at anything dangerous; it's not my fault, it's my nature! At least I don't flood people's brains with data on thermal detonators, how they work, their blast radius, and a bunch of other info."

"The other info is-" Neex shut up when everyone burst out laughing; the point was valid, and Fearless had trapped him... Again...

/

Focus felt tears welling up in the corners of his eyes...

He had never openly shown his pain, except when the grim news was announced.

Around his captain.

Around Warden.

Around Izuku.

Around Momo.

Around the rest of his brothers.

Focus remained closed off to his emotions.

But when he was alone... He let it all out. 3 years. 3 years of not being able to get rid of his damn tears. He almost cursed himself for his weakness and helplessness.

Why them and not him? Alone in a broom closet, he allowed himself to cry.

Tears streaming down his cheeks behind his helmet, dripping slowly, one by one, onto the floor and onto his armor. Being the last, alone, unique survivor of his squad was a heavy burden.

Being the last one to bear the name of Delta, Delta squad. Sometimes Focus wondered what would have happened if the others had survived...

First off, he wouldn't have been so sad and closed off to all contact with his brothers, except Warden. Seeing the faces of his comrades, even if they weren't them, tore his heart apart horribly. It was a major disadvantage among clones...

You saw your friends or brothers dead in the face of each one.

If that happened to an average human, they would quickly go mad. But they weren't average humans. They were laboratory products, trained from a young age to fight. Few were the cases where clones went insane.

The Kaminoans had succeeded in taking away their 'humanity' with their serial numbers and experiments, making them appear like droids to many Republicans... But they hadn't succeeded in erasing their humanity.

Sadness, grief, and everything else.

Sometimes Focus wished their emotions had been suppressed.

To avoid precisely this kind of thing...

Him curling up in a broom closet.

Him crying.

He heard footsteps outside, which stopped in front of the door. He bit the inside of his cheek, stopping his tears, before getting up, wiping the tears on the floor with his boot, and those on his armor with his glove, as the door opened.

His cold, black visor met the surprised gaze of a butler.

"What?"

"Don't ask...", the clone replied with a neutral voice, before leaving, the servant stepping aside to let him pass, slightly confused.

/

"It's been six days already.", Xyomm remarked, sitting on a stool, "Are we sure we've passed at least?"

"Dengloy will tell us.", Lock replied.

Momo's large chamber had quickly turned into an impromptu meeting room, with the command of the Horn Company, along with Momo, gathering here, like every day for the past six days, eagerly awaiting Dengloy's return from the mailbox.

The ravenette shrugged, slumped on her bed, swinging her feet in the air.

"It wouldn't be surprising if it hasn't arrived yet, if what you've told me is true, then the number of participants to look through must be enormous. They probably have a virtual assistant, a point tally, it's more than likely, but that doesn't mean it's quick."

The clones remained silent...

"By the way, Torda, I never asked you, but it seems you're closer to Lock than the rest of the company. Why?"

Torda chuckled, smiling at Lock.

"Don't get me wrong, vod, we're all attached to each other, with a strong bond, but it's true that our bond is special.", the lieutenant replied.

"I suppose you've probably noticed, but some of us share stronger and tighter bonds than others.", Xyomm said, "It's very simple. On Kamino, we're born in 'batches,' which means a group of five clones. I don't know the exact numbers, but several batches are born per hour, which means we have an almost continuous flow of births every day. These two...", Xyomm pointed towards Lock and Torda, "Come from the same batch, as well as another... Lieutenant, who passed away when we were still on the other side... Drum..." at the mention of that name, the other two bowed their heads, "Often troopers born in batches will be assigned a specialization to study, or the batches will sometimes be separated according to the needs... That's what happened to their batch..."

"Drum, I, and Torda became officers and were assigned to the Horn Company, our other two brothers, we never saw them again. Nor did we get any information.", Lock explained.

"To get back to the main topic, clones from the same batch are very close to each other, and their bonds are strengthened by what they experience.", Torda concluded. Momo nodded, as the door opened.

The four pairs of eyes turned in unison towards Dengloy as he entered the room, an unreadable expression behind his helmet.

Then, he sighed...

"There's nothing... Still no response."

There were sighs, and the expressions turned discouraged...

"I lied, there are two letters.", Dengloy suddenly said, excitement filling his voice. The ravenette jumped out of her bed, Lock remained calm and rose slowly despite the visible impatience in his eyes and expression. They each took their respective letters and opened them.

"I passed!" exclaimed Momo, raising her sheet high, punching the air with a triumphant fist, happy as a clam. She turned to Lock, who had opened his but was reading it carefully. Then a smile spread across his face.

"I passed. And I broke some records."

He showed his sheet, and Momo widened her eyes looking at the number of points...

"What? How? But?!"

"We nailed it!", exclaimed Xyomm, looking at the numbers, getting up, arms in the air in victory, before he and Dengloy gave each other a check, Torda remained seated, and sighed in relief...

"Yeah, 137 villain points and 82 rescue points.", Lock was all smiles, before putting his hands behind his head, "It's good to have a 'cloning quirk.' We'll announce this tonight in the mess, it's something to celebrate after all!"

/

++Battery at 92%++

++Anomaly detected in sector 23-J++

++Analysis...++

++Analysis completed.++

++Alert, potentially hostile force.++

++Emergency activation. Code: Besh-Xesh-201++

++Activation successful.++

Two white optics intermittently blinked before fully activating as the last systems came online. The image sent to the processors was initially entirely pixelated, glitched, then blurry as the optical sensors adjusted.

Unit 201 looked around, on alert, its defense protocols already on. It brought its three-fingered left hand to the cable connecting its charging port to the electrical generator and ripped it out with a sharp tug before standing up, its right hand already gripping the E-5 magnetically attached to its metallic right thigh.

Apparently, it wasn't the only one notified by this alert, as Unit 491 also stood up, the two machines exchanging a silent glance in the darkness of the generator room, situated in the hangar they had claimed as their operations base to a group of organics with supernatural abilities. And which didn't come from the Force.

Information stolen from primitive electronic devices, whose antivirus defenses had shattered as the machines' advanced hacking systems dug deeper to learn as much information as possible, before leaving the device in place next to its deceased owner, had taught them that these abilities were called quirks. 491 nodded, then slowly advanced, its mechanical feet clanking on the floor, 201 followed, its weapon still lowered.

The two exited the room where the other 18 were charging, wary, and with their audio systems augmented to the maximum after donning clothes to conceal their mechanical nature...

The advantage of this room was that it was secluded and hidden by large piles of debris, formed when the roof collapsed. 201 picked up something on its audio, and raised a fist, emitting a discreet click to get 491's attention, who stopped moving, and the two machines crouched behind their cover.

"... That'll be 3000 yen for this accessory."

"Remind me what it's for again?"

"It'll allow you to reinforce your wrist bones, I imagine you break them frequently given the scars?"

201 discreetly glanced over the debris to see who the two intruders were, his optics zooming to get a good look... Two men who seemed to be in the midst of a business discussion were standing in the middle of the hangar.

The first, wearing sunglasses, a cigar between his teeth, had gray hair and rather decorated purple clothing, was holding an open briefcase with sorts of esoteric gadgets inside.

The second, on the contrary, was dressed in rags, had a brute-like head with a crushed nose, probably a few broken teeth, and two red gloves hanging from a worn leather belt, which held up pants whose fly wasn't properly closed due to the mass of fat from the man's belly.

"Meh, not easy being an illegal fighter. Everyone's got some serious skills in the arenas..."

201 had seen enough. He signaled with gestures.

'Two hostiles, no visible weapons, discussing business. Safe to engage.'

As soon as this was indicated, 491 emerged from cover and pointed his E-5 at the two, his mechanical voice rising in the air.

"Kneel down and hands up."

Surprise struck the two men, the well-dressed man even dropping his briefcase, which clattered as it hit the floor. The illegal fighter shot a glance at the other man.

"You were trying to set me up!"

Behind his sunglasses, the man's eyes widened.

"I- No! I didn't do any of this!" The ragged man took a step forward towards 491, and 201 also stepped out of cover at that moment, firing at the ground in front of the man's feet, stopping him dead in his tracks as fear filled his eyes. The well-dressed man looked at the burn mark in front of his client's feet with some admiration... Before speaking...

"Gentlemen... There's no need to fight here... Are you new members of the Illusions Centurions? You should know I made a deal with you to use their territory as an exchange location."

"Those called the Illusions Centurions are no more, they have been ruthlessly exterminated to the last."

A new mechanical voice, cold, neutral, and even for a machine's voice, commanding respect, rose behind 491 and 201 as a third machine stepped forward.

Its brown body was decorated with white symbols, and a large gash marred its right optic.

The newcomer had his E-5 in hand, but the barrel was pointed toward what remained of the roof and his vibroblade was still magnetically fixed on his back, he moved almost casually, his single valid optic remaining fixed on the two intruders.

201's protocols told him to step aside, which he did, and Unit 142, captain of their small group, stood between him and 491.

He hadn't dressed, and his magnificent killer machine design was thus exposed to everyone. The well-dressed man looked at him without flinching.

"That's impossible, in this part of Musutafu, the Illusions Centurions have always been the undisputed masters."

"However, they found someone stronger than them, and paid the price for facing us. Their leader, Seto Tsuneo, may have taken my optic, but I took his life.", 142 replied, pointing the blade of his vibroblade menacingly towards the man.

"As for you, you better not move an inch, or I won't hesitate to kill you.", 142 continued, this time pointing at the ragged man. The well-dressed man's eyes narrowed, fixing 142 with a skeptical look.

"I'd need proof to believe you, because if I report to them that you're squatting on their territory without authorization, they'll be furious, even your technopathic quirk won't save you."

142 played the sound of a laugh...

"Who told you my body is a result of a quirk. As for your proof... 491, go grab 'the object' from storage."

491 silently nodded and left, leaving 201 and 142 facing the two men...

He returned a few minutes later, holding something wrapped in a piece of fabric, to give it to 142. The machine kept the piece of fabric in its hands for a few seconds, as if... It enjoyed feeling the weight of the object...

Before tossing it at the feet of the man...

The piece of fabric opened, and a cracked helmet stained with blood rolled, stopping by the man's shoes. The two intruders gasped.

Who couldn't recognize the rounded black and white helmet, adorned with a once-white crest, now gray, battered, and soaked in blood, with the visor once gleaming with golden paint, now broken, and the gold replaced by a tarnished, dirty yellow, and whose communication device, taking the form of a sort of rectangle on the side of the helmet, had been dented and pushed in.

"Does this proof suffice for you?"

The well-dressed man stood there, terrified, trembling like a leaf, and the illegal fighter...

Took a single.

Tiny.

Step.

Backward.

-PEW!-

And his flabby body recoiled, the head falling from the body after a precise blaster shot struck his neck and decapitated the man.

His hands rose, feeling for where his head should normally be in a macabre muscle reflex, before collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut...

142 coldly regarded the body before stepping forward to stand in front of the remaining intruder.

"The Illusions Centurions have all been killed, to the last. You have proof of that now. This place belongs to me and the rest of my unit. I am... as you humans say, in a magnanimous mood, you are lucky. I stated only one simple rule. Do not move. Your... client... did not abide by it. And this is where it led him."

The machine's gaze shifted to the man, who was dwarfed by 142 by 4 centimeters.

"Tell me... What is your name?"

"I don't give my real name, but my nickname is Giran. I'm a supplier for both the criminal underworld and vigilantes."

142 didn't respond, his processor analyzing the response for a few fleeting moments...

"Leave. You could be useful to us in the future. Know that here, you will not be threatened."

Giran glanced at 491 and 201, whose heads were still concealed by the darkness of their hoods...

"Very well... Can I give you my phone number? I just need the name of your group and your name," Giran said, pulling out a notepad from a pocket.

142 noticed that the prospect of gaining new clients seemed to have diverted his attention from the fat corpse of the ragged man.

"You can contact us through this," 142 replied, taking a small device from his leg, "Press this button and wait for the response."

Giran took the device in his hands, lifting his glasses to look at the strange object, it didn't resemble anything he had seen before... Another thing related to a quirk perhaps?

"I just need your name and the name of your group."

142 played the sound of laughter again, but this time it was somehow much more ominous.

"I am a machine, designation '142', 142nd model created..."

Giran could have sworn the machine's optics gleamed with an even more sinister light...

"Our group has no name, we are a unit. If you so desire a name to attribute to us, here it is."

No, Giran wasn't hallucinating. The... Machine in front of him managed to become even more menacing than it already was. And on top of that, it changed its voice to become much more deeper…

"BX Squad Mu-74..."

"'Horn Hunters'..."


Late happy May the 4th!

May the force be with you all.