Chapter Text
"Vodka-One to Command Post! They're overwhelming me! Please send backup!"
A lone mass-produced G-2 Devi-Armour struggled to fight off a swarm of Demons. The bug-like creatures were ceaseless, always moving forward. They came in all sorts of different shapes and sizes. And all types of Demons were a different kind of hell.
One could excrete a corrosive substance from their pores that could melt through even the toughest of Armour plating. One was large and slow, but would explode at will or upon death if it wasn't entirely destroyed in one clean shot. One could fly and release a gas that would mess with a human's mind, tricking them into believing their fellow man was the enemy. In total, there were nine types, referred to as the Nine Circles of Hell.
It just so happened that this G-2 was dealing with the smallest type. Circle-3: Gluttony. They scuttled around, like obnoxious bugs, they could bite through typical Devi-Armour plating with ease. Their power came from their numbers, it was all too much for a single pilot to take, they'd be eaten up within minutes, unable to do anything.
Without knowing the full story, one might assume this G-2 pilot had foolishly made the decision to attack these demons all on her own. There was no one around to help them. Not another mech in sight.
But of course. This pilot's entire squad was eaten. No evidence left behind.
The fact she'd never see them again, piled onto the fact she was their leader, that she failed to protect them, piled onto the fact she couldn't shake these fuckers off her. She was losing her composure. She wanted to cry.
"This is Command Post! Vodka-one, please eject your cockpit! There's no one available! You'll just have to hope and pray they don't come after you before you can be retrieved!"
Vodka-One whimpered into her comms unit, "I can't! Those acid spewers destroyed the ejection system hours ago! I can't fight these things alone! Please!"
The woman on the other side of the radio, the Unit Commander, fell silent for a moment, and Vodka-One worried she was being abandoned by her. But then. "...Vodka-one, please set your Armour to self destruct. Don't let your death go to waste." The voice was cold, but anyone used to these sorts of situations knew it wasn't an easy command to make. Sentencing your fellow human to death could never be easy. "Leave no trace of those flea-bitten cunts."
"I...!"
A new voice forced its way into the conversation. "Vodka-one! Disobey that command! This is Genesis-One! I'll get you out of there!" A cocky yet sweet sounding voice, one that Vodka-One recognised, but never expected to hear speaking directly to her.
Her hope reignited upon hearing those words. "V-Verza?!"
The Unit Commander grunted angrily. "Verz—! Genesis-One! Get back to your squad! Don't risk their lives for someone else's!" She didn't have it in her. Verza, ace pilot of the Empire, knew immediately that the Unit Commander was secretly happy about this.
"My squad can survive on their own, I've been talking it over with 'em! I trust 'em to go a few minutes without me!" She was right. Everyone knew it. None of them compared to Verza, but her whole squad was almost inhuman. No other squad could compare.
The Unit Commander sighed, relieved at Verza's stubbornness. "Very well. Get over there as fast as you can." She regained her composure. "Vodka-One, if she's not with you in two minutes, you must go through with self-destructing. Don't let your death be in vain."
Vodka-One nodded. "R-Right!" She steeled herself. It didn't seem so scary with Verza around.
That crazy bitch hasn't come close to losing a single battle she's participated in. A beacon of hope for all humanity. Those who knew of her felt either jealousy or admiration. She had everyone's eyes on her, and she never cracked under the pressure. Like war heroes of the past, she seemed almost mythical. Those fighting away from the frontlines never believed the stunts she could pull off. Exaggerated tales, they all said. Vodka-One could only scoff when she heard them talk about Verza like that.
She continued fighting, it wouldn't be long now.
Verza, in her stunning XA-Custom, the Cinder Genesis, landed on the battlefield. She crushed any Demons that happened to be in her way, equally as many buffeted into the air in the wake of the impact of her landing.
Her mech was towering, skinny looking. The plating was so light that it looked fragile. It was a glass cannon, but its fragility didn’t matter if she never got hit. Verza was a pro, after all.
It was covered in spikes, looked like it’d cut you with the slightest touch. Its presence on the battlefield was unlike any other Devi-Armour anyone had ever seen in the Empire.
Its head unit was notable for having a glowing red visor and sharp jagged teeth. Verza had commissioned it this way on purpose. She wanted to instil fear into anyone that saw it. She wanted it to distract from the terrifying monsters they were up against.
It was the Empire’s very own Demon. It worked as intended. Everyone was thankful to have it on their side. However, if Verza were to ever stage a coup or become entranced by a Demon’s hypnotic gas, most of the pilots here wouldn’t be able to fight back. Too frozen in fear to lift a finger.
Vodka-One didn’t have time to gawk though. She finally had some wiggle room, so she shook off the remaining Demons that had latched their teeth into her G-2 and jumped away from danger. She wasn't in any condition to fight, so she had to stand back. Otherwise she'd just get in Verza's way.
"You good?!" Verza yelled over the comms.
"Y-Yeah! Thanks for saving me! I owe you one!"
The Cinder Genesis was being surrounded, and fast. But Verza was faster. As soon as they got close, she dodged, then shot, crushed and sliced her enemy to pieces. It was way different in person. Vodka-One couldn't process it. She knew of Cinder-Genesis' speed was ridiculous from all those tapes of previous battles she watched, but this was beyond her. Verza was moving too fast for her to keep track. Even the Demons were getting disoriented, given their aimless scuttling.
After a mere seventy seconds of effortless slaughter, all that was left of the Demon swarm was one. Even a beginner could have taken it out. They were, in the context of mech combat, effectively harmless. It tried running, but, like a sadistic beast toying with its food, Verza leapt ahead of the creature and forced it to backtrack, only to do the same thing again. Again, and again. Vodka-one could hear a dark chuckle coming from the comms.
The Unit Commander heard it too. "Genesis-One, stop messing around and kill the bastard already! This isn't a game!"
Verza sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I hear ya." Finally, she picked it up and crushed it effortlessly in Cinder Genesis' fist.
Not one scratch could be seen on Cinder Genesis. Instead, the blood and guts of the Demons she'd slaughtered had covered it. Those were her battle scars. Every splattering of blood, every piece of flesh, they were trophies that proved her skill.
"Command Post to Genesis-one, good work out there. Your squad has cleared their designated area. Everyone else is almost done too. We all get to live another day." The Unit Commander sounded genuinely out of it. She was assisting six different squads today.
That wasn't usually how these things played out, but they were short-staffed at the moment. most of everyone else was sick, and replacements hadn't been issued. Glory to the Empire's underbudgeting. It’s no wonder they were only just getting by in this war. It was also a matter of being unlucky, though. Flu-season was upon them, not much could be done about that.
"Genesis-One, I've been told to inform you to meet up with Lt Col. Titor after you make it back. Don't forget." She yawned. "God, I'm tired. Everyone get your asses back home so I can rest."
Another successful battle in the never-ending war.
"..." I looked at it with disgust.
They told me it would look how I looked before I started transitioning, but I had forgotten just how repulsive I found that old version of myself. My eagerness to see my very own clone had drained away completely. I didn't want to stare at this thing, but I hadn't the nerve to leave now that I was here.
"Verza, you look pale. What's wrong?" The uncomfortable silence that I had manifested was broken by a woman in her late thirties. The lead scientist behind this project. She wore her messy brown hair in a ponytail and worse these absurdly nerdy glasses.
I had to answer. As a mere pilot, it was hammered into me to always obey my superiors, no matter who it was. "It's nothing, just, it looks so life like, I thought it'd be slightly off, but it looks exactly like I used to... down to the last detail." I played it off coolly, laughing all the while. Lying felt wrong, but I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of everyone. Especially not my girlfriend, who was watching from outside this depressing room that had nothing but a bed and a desk. I almost felt bad for it, but I knew this would probably look more like a proper bedroom once it gains a personality of its own.
It.
The clone.
My clone.
The scientist lady scoffed. Apparently she saw right through me. Getting between me and the clone, she lightly hit me on the head with her clipboard. "You're not feeling bad for it, are you? Relax, once it starts feeling gender dysphoria, we'll put it on those pills of yours. It'll look just like you do now in no time." The woman smiled at it. Clearly feeling accomplished with her creation. "Once this war's over, I'm gonna live the good life for sure. This is my ticket to luxury! And an excuse to get the Base CO off my ass!"
This woman was Lieutenant Colonel Sheika Titor. She was known as an eccentric mad scientist that wastes our base's resources, but now that she's produced a perfect clone of the best Devi-Armour pilot in the Empire's entire military, she'd most likely avoid getting demoted for her wastefulness.
I glanced sarcastically at her. I was kind of hoping for an apology for all the uncomfortable experiences I had to go through in order to even produce this clone, but Sheika was lost in her own world, rubbing her cheek against my clone's while affectionately hugging it. Hours upon hours or prodding, groping and medical equipment going places I never want them to go again, all while being totally naked. For three whole months, I put up with that bullshit.
My girlfriend, Captain Lyanna Zael, had complained to Sheika after I told her all about it, but the mad scientist didn't even entertain the argument, and instead used her position against her. She gave us a few days off to spend some alone time together. All was forgiven in the eyes of Lyanna.
Seeing as I was currently non-existent in Sheika's thoughts, I decided to ask permission to leave. The less time I spent around my clone, the better. Its pre-transition looks aside, the fact it wasn't emoting, wasn't speaking, like it was brain dead, was unnerving to me. Sheika had warned me about this too, but supposedly it would soon become more human if everything truly went well. It was literally born yesterday. So I just needed to show some patience with it.
"I'm glad all my suffering ended up not going to waste, Lt Col. Titor, but I'd like to get back to my training, I can't let my skills get too rusty," I said flatly. "I wasn't exactly on my A-game this morning."
Sheika's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh! Yeah, sure, you can leave. Thank you for your help the past three months, Verza," she replied, peeved I was interrupting her narcissistic praise of her own creation. I wish she'd refer to me by my title at least once. I was a captain. That was below her, sure, but none of the other higher ups ever called me anything less. "Just don't overwork yourself, kid. If those bastards attack us when you've exhausted yourself too much to participate, this base might be screwed."
The "bastards" in question were the Demons.
Or at least that's what we call them. One day, without warning, they rose from the ground, and for about seventy years now, they haven't stopped. They bred like rabbits. Awful creatures.
I laughed. "I train so much specifically so I don't get tired fighting those things, don't worry about it."
We parted, and I joined my girlfriend outside. She was so pretty. Prettiest girl I’ve ever met. Just looking at her calmed my nerves even better than any medication could. She was wearing her imperial military uniform right now, but it looked amazing on her unlike everyone else. She made anything look good. She had wavy auburn hair and beautiful blue eyes and unblemished skin. I felt so lucky to have her all to myself. She hugged me tightly and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "That thing's so creepy," she whispered, chuckling.
I agreed, naturally. "Not for long. Pretty soon it'll be just as beautiful and expressive as me, and if it's lucky, it'll become half as good as me in an Amour," I boasted. Lyanna loved when I did. When we first met, she thought I was way too modest for what I was. Ace pilot, the envy of most, if not all, other pilots on this base. My likeness was even used as propaganda to get civilians to join our cause. So why not brag a little? Especially if it's to please my beautiful girlfriend. I swear I'd marry her as soon as I could.
It was only a question of when. We were both so busy defeating our country that marriage was probably a ways off.
"Heh! Well, someone half as good as you is still better than average," Lyanna said. She kissed me again, this time on the lips. She was so needy, I could tell she was excited to have me returning to a normal daily routine. All that clone nonsense took up so much of my time, I barely had any opportunities to relax. I'd always come home tired, plus I'd train less. I'll admit our relationship became a little rocky, but I knew Lyanna would put up with it. We've been through worse on the battlefield, sometimes even being at each others throats over our squads getting in each others ways.
Nothing a good night of pleasure couldn't fix. We were a simple couple like that, I suppose.
I could feel a devilish grin starting to form on my face, once we were out of view of the guards stationed outside the clone's room, I pressed Lyanna against the wall and whispered in her ear. "It's been such a long time, let's say we skip training for today and go straight to my room?"
She gasped. "But you—." What I had just said was unheard of. Typically I'd never skip out on training no matter the occasion. Even on those days off I was granted, I still trained for five hours each day. "Oh, who am I to question this! Quickly, let's get going before you change your mind." I knew it'd make her happy.
To be honest, before I met Lyanna two years ago, I had severe sex anxiety. I could only last a minute at most with my previous partners, they all felt disillusioned with me after that. But Lyanna was so nice, she didn't mind that I could only last a minute. "Who cares as long as that minute is the best minute ever," she'd say, smiling brilliantly.
I'm over it now. My underperformance in bed, I mean. We've found ways to extend our time in bed anyways. We'd just save penetration 'til last. Lyanna's smart like that. It was all thanks to her.
I've joked with her about how I sacrificed my sexual stamina for my seemingly inhuman piloting skills. It landed well with her, eventually I just stopped worrying entirely.
It's just...
That clone. The poor thing probably won't be as lucky as I have. It's pitiable. It'll just experience the same issues I've had, undoubtedly. My admirers would definitely try taking my clone, it'd probably break the poor thing's heart when it realises it's inadequate for most of them. It won't have someone like Lyanna. It's really a shame.
Well, it's not my problem. I shouldn't let it get to me. I'll pray it finds its own happiness though.
Eagerly, Lyanna dragged me along to my room, and I remembered that, after the exhaustive three months of thankless work being a guinea pig for Sheika which threatened to drain all happiness from my life, I couldn't be happier than I was spending my time with my wonderful, loving girlfriend.
Being in the seat of an emulated Devi-Armour didn't feel quite as euphoric to me as piloting the real thing. Of course it didn't. But these giant mechs don't come cheap, so I had no choice but to practice in a facsimile of my beloved Cinder Genesis, my own custom Armour. I named it myself. I only ever got to pilot it during real battles and a once a month mech to mech combat exercise against other pilots to make sure everything's in working order.
I wanted those bastards to attack again already so I could get behind the controls of my Armour. It'd be so long. A week. Usually they'd attack a little more frequently. I've never really thought about it, but it must be the cold weather this time of year. Thinking back on it, they're always more active during the summer.
I slashed through emulated Demon after emulated Demon. They changed the emulated scenario every day, but I quickly felt bored of them no matter what it was like.
The risk of a real battle was required to satisfy me. No one would rely on me so heavily if not for the Demons, so these faux battles meant nothing to me.
The power I felt ordering my squad around was unlike any other feeling.
I had none of that here, but I still required it. I only got to my level through such vigorous training.
Dissatisfied over the sanitised feel of it all, I hopped out of the faux cockpit. It didn't feel as powerful, it didn't feel as fast. It was nothing more than an illusion of those things.
I had worked up a sweat though. The only perfectly replicated aspect of the real thing the emulation got right was how stuffy it got.
I unzipped my flight suit and was immediately hit with an awful smell. "God damn it..." I had to rush to the showers. I hated this.
At least I wanted to. But I was made to freeze in place. Sheika stopped me, or rather, she got in my way just as I turned a corner. I just barely avoided slamming into her. I moved to salute, but before I completed the action, the mad scientist quickly said, "At ease," and I stopped myself.
"Perfect timing, Verza. You're just the woman I was looking for." She laughed in a mocking tone. "I've got some great news about Verza Two." That was the name she'd decided on. Quite the lazy choice, but if it works, it works.
In a breathy voice, I replied. "That's really great, but I kinda need a shower." I smiled, but I really didn't wanna deal with the sweat drying up on me. I was quite the clean freak when it came to this. It only came to worsen my dysphoria. I always associated this smell with men, so I always aimed to get rid of it as soon as I could. The flight suit only did so much to hide the smell. That wasn't its intended function, it just happened to help, is all.
"Oh, I'm sure you can handle a few minutes of stickiness," Sheika retorted dismissively. She looked back towards the first branching path of this hallway. My eyes followed hers, and I saw Verza Two looking at me, hiding behind a corner. "It's a little shy right now, but it's made excellent progress! It has the intelligence of the average high school student, and it's not showing any signs of slowing down. I expect it'll be at an adult level in a few days! Oh! I'm a genius for raising such a perfect clone! Hahahaha!"
I nervously chuckled. "R-Right." I can't believe I have to work under this narcissist. "So, is this its first time leaving its room? It looks pretty stressed."
Sheika puffed out her chest. "It's the first time I've gave it permission to leave its room, but it's a sneaky little thing. It always escapes every day, one way or another." That definitely irritated her. "But that's no issue now. I'm putting it through immediate Devi-Armour training. Just a sync test for today. It'll only take a few minutes. By next week it should be joining you on your training."
"Is it alright if I talk to it later?" I was a curious. Of course I was. It no longer looked creepy to me from behind that corner. I still disliked its looks, but the childish attitude of it was somewhat adorable. As crazy as it sounds, I felt some kind of weird sense of obligation to treat this clone like a younger sister. I lost my family to those Demons years ago, having a little sister again wouldn't be so bad, I thought.
"Well, sure. But you should probably stop referring to it as an 'it' when you're talking about it from now. It's expressed a need to be a woman so many times already, it kinda got on my nerves."
Sheika's hypocrisy had no end, but I acquiesced. "Oh, that's great. Is she dealing with her dysphoria well enough? I know I didn't before I started taking estrogen," I explained.
"At first, it was freaking out, but the second I told it about HRT, it shut its trap. Who knows what it's thinking to itself though." Sheika sighed. "Verza Two, come on now!" She snapped. Both me and my clone jolted in place at the sound of that. "It looks like you're mad at me for stopping you in your tracks. We'll talk later, you take your shower," she added, addressing me this time.
I continued my run to the showers, but...
As I passed my clone, I could have sworn it was glaring at me. I've never seen such a vile look on someone's face before. I had to double take, but she wasn't looking at me the second time.
Was I just imagining things?
I couldn't think about that right now, I needed to get clean and meet up with Lyanna. She'll be done with her training soon enough too. I wanted to relax with her.
"Lyanna?"
She wasn't in her room. Not in my room either. I couldn't find her anywhere in the barracks, in fact. I ended up waiting around for about an hour and a half outside her door before just deciding to head down to Sheika's lab. I could just see Lyanna later, right? That was my thought process at least.
When I arrived, the door opened for me without me needing to knock. Because of my direct involvement in Verza Two's creation, I was given access to Sheika's office.
What I saw when the door opened could be considered comical to some, in fact, I had to suppress the urge to laugh.
Lyanna was there, grabbing Verza Two's arms by the wrists from behind handling her like she was a doll. "Come on, don't try and hide yourself," she told her, playfully. "Just admit it, Verza, you look cute in this!" She giggled, while my clone had a look of embarrassment on her face.
"I-I don't know... Are you sure?" Verza Two said, squirming around. She was completely different from how I saw her before. Covered in makeup, and wearing a pretty dress.
Huh?
It dawned on me. I never bothered wearing feminine clothing before Lyanna convinced me to. Would I have really looked that girly if I just tried hard enough?
I don't let this slight jealousy get to me though. I stepped in and placed my jacket on the coat rack that was lazily shoved into the corner of the room. "I know it must be fun to play dress-up with Two, but did you really lose track of time that badly? I was waiting for you for over an hour," I said, half joking. I could overlook this, it's not a big deal.
Lyanna looked up at the clock on the wall and almost gasped. "Shit, it's that late already?" She cursed, cringing at herself. "Sorry babe, I completely lost track of time, can I make it up to you? I've saving up, we could—!"
"Relax." She always overcorrected herself when she made mistakes. "I mean, you have technically been spending time with me, since me and Two are the same person, right?" I tried to smile, but even as I said it, it felt a little weird. I wasn't used to this clone business at all yet. "J-Just joking, of course, ahaha..." I quickly added.
Lyanna tilted her head her eyes showed a little confusion. "Well, if you insist, but that offer still stands if you change your mind. I'd like to have dinner with you, y'know? It's not like I'd be punishing myself by paying for it."
I walked over to her and Verza Two unexpectedly ran away from her. It kinda hurt to see that she didn't like me, I'll admit. It must've shown on my face, because Lyanna placed a hand on my cheek and gave me that kind, innocent smile that always made my heart skip a beat.
"Don't take it personally, she just told me that she's worried she won't look as nice as you when she transitions," she explained. "She doesn't hate you at all."
"She's got to be kidding she looks fantastic already," I chuckled. "She'll get along with me eventually, right? She's still got the mind of a teen so maybe this'll just be a short lived phase, huh?"
Lyanna just looked more confused at that. "Huh? What do you mean? But she acts exactly like you."
Then that must mean... "Oh, so she's already reached that point in just an hour? Sheika's gonna be so obnoxious about that. She told me that Two was only a high schooler an hour ago."
Lyanna scratched the back of head in discomfort. "Um... no, I met Two this morning and she was like this as well."
My first thought was that Sheika just wasn't paying attention to Two's growth, but then I thought that maybe Sheika was just making fun of me.
Lyanna blushed and shook her head. "Actually, that just makes it sound like I'm saying you always act like you're still a high schooler, huh? Miss Titor wouldn't ever make a mistake like that. If she says Two is at that level, then I guess she must be. I might just be associating her with you regardless of her intelligence because, well, you know..." That adorable flushed expression. I wanted to kiss her right now, but what she said made me a little uncomfortable. What if she gets confused and can't tell which of us is which? Jeez, that'll be a nightmare.
"D-Don't worry about it, alright? I'm not gonna take offence to that. It's an easy mistake!" I knew what I was saying was true, but I felt uneasy. A thought in the back of my mind was telling me it wasn't.
Was I really still mentally in high school?
Lyanna quickly calmed down and nodded. "Sorry for overthinking so much. I just never want to upset you, y'know?" She was being genuine. But she could stand to be a little less worried about my feelings. I could handle it. It's one problem that she's not been able to get over for the two years I've known her. I loved her regardless. Actually, I'd say it made her even more endearing, in a way. I'm so lucky to have her.
Oh, right. I almost forgot. "Well, why don't you go back to your room and get dressed in something more casual? I need to talk to Sheika about something, but I'll join you in a bit." We were going in a date. I had decided that right now.
Lyanna agreed with no issue. We parted ways, and I made my way over to a couch at the back of the room.
Where was Sheika right now anyway? Did she leave Lyanna to babysit Two on purpose?
...
Sitting in silence with Two glaring at me from across the room was kind of uncomfortable. She really was staring daggers into me. It was almost unbearable.
Some small talk might be able to fix this.
"So, how'd your training go?" It was an innocent enough question. I didn't wanna aggravate her.
"Don't talk to me." She said. It was my old voice, but she was trying to make herself sound feminine anyway. A cute attempt, but it'd take more effort than that. As shitty as it was to say, I felt euphoric seeing her struggle to sound like a girl. It was a sign of how far I'd come.
I didn't like how angry she sounded, though. An irrational irritation welled up in me. "Just answer me, Two. I'm not gonna take this disrespect from you. You're just a copy of me. You could show me at least a little respect, right?"
Two rolled her eyes and walked to the middle of the room with her arms crossed. "What makes you think you're so special? A pathetic woman like you shouldn't be acting so high and mighty," she muttered. So contemptuously. So spitefully.
"...huh?" The acid she was spewing had missed me. I'm above getting hurt by things like that, I was more shocked that she had said it at all. I'd never say something like that no matter who I was talking to.
"You heard me. What's so special about you? You failure of a woman. "
It definitely hit me this time. I got up and stomped over. I was mad. "Why don't you apologise? I could get Sheika to scrap this whole project if you keep misbehaving."
Because she was wearing high heels, Two was looking down on me slightly. It pissed me off that she was so easily passing without even starting HRT. I couldn't handle the fact that I could've looked this good if I just tried. Ugh, whatever! It didn't matter. I still looked better than her now, of course, but I could've saved myself a lot of heartache early on if I just did this. Shit!
Two grinned maliciously. "Don't talk down to me with your empty threats, cunt," she spat. It made me shiver. "I'll make you regret it if you keep prodding."
I...
All of a sudden, I felt like I was in danger. This wasn't right. This wasn't like me. Why is she so...
"You wasted so much time demeaning and embarrassing yourself to help complete this little pet project of Sheika's. There's no way you'd ask her to scrap me. Not that she would even if you did."
"I—." Before I could talk back, she cut me off.
"Hating you isn't a flaw. I imagine everyone here secretly hates you. It's only natural that I would too."
"But you're my—." My voice came out meeker than I ever intended.
"God, are you serious?!" She gritted her teeth as she pushed me back, causing me to trip and fall on my ass. Now, she was towering over me. "I'm not just you, I'm meant to be better. That's why I was made, after all."
Dread was threatening to submerge me, only my trust in Sheika kept me afloat, kept me from believing such an obvious lie. "B-but Sh-Sheika s-said it was to—." Why was my voice shaking so much? Two shouldn't be this overwhelming, she's only me, I'm not capable of this, so why is she?
"Who said anything about Sheika?" She asked, mockingly. It was like she thought I was stupid for even bringing this up. "I decided this myself. I've been stalking you all week. After seeing how pathetic you are outside of your Armour, I knew what my reason for being truly was. I'm your replacement." That smile on her face was creeping me out.
A replacement? That isn't right at all... Even if she was going to end up a better pilot than me, that's no reason to hate me. No reason to treat me this way. I said as much, in a pathetically small voice. "L-Let's just be friends..."
"Hmph! You insult me!" She smacked me hard across the face. I shielded myself with my arms, expecting another one. "Friends? Why would I bother with befriending you when I can just take yours?" She placed a foot on my face and pressed down hard, I was only barely keeping myself from falling back.
I could feel my eyes widen, my heart race quicker than before. My despair was skyrocketing, all too soon. If I didn't do something right now, I'd never recover from this feeling of submission.
I didn't want to feel this way, why wasn't I fighting back at all? Was my fear that bad?
"P-Please stop," was all I could muster in retaliation. "I won't get in y-your way."
Two's mocking grin only bore deeper into me when she heard that. She leaned over, it was too intense for me, I felt like I was gonna start crying. "I'll stop..." she whispered, pushing the heel of her shoe past my lips. The pressure it put on my teeth was hellish. I felt like they'd shatter. "But only if you swear fealty to me."
My survival instincts were going into overdrive to get me to stop taking Two's abuse.
What was my last ditch effort to turn this situation around? I kicked at her other leg. If I could make her trip up, she'd have no choice but to stop this madness.
She furrowed her brow. "I see, so you've still got some fight left in you, do you?" she muttered, stepping away before I completely took away her balance.
I was still shivering, still terrified, but at least I've defended myself for the time being.
God, why can't Sheika show up already?
Verza Two's eyes wandered down. She was examining me? Her sadistic grin turned scornful all of a sudden. Disgust crept over her. "You pathetic wretch. Is this what you're into, then? Disgusting."
I felt so paranoid that I wound up finding her disgust so terrifying that it looped around to being humorous. I let myself meekly giggle about it. I didn't know what she was even talking about. Not until...
Two stomped on my crotch, and a pain I've never felt before shot through my body like a static shock. I looked down at myself... I couldn't believe it... My dick was rock hard, it had been this whole time. "This is worse than I thought." The overwhelming hate of her words continued to stab me, to weaken me. "Getting hard over this is just disgusting. Freak." She stomped once more.
I moaned. There was nothing erotic about it, I just sounded like a creep. It hurt, that much was expected, but why... did it feel so good?
Two spat in my face. "Well, it's not all bad, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't glad you give up so easily." She did it again. "How are you still erect after this? Masochism's so lame. I can't believe I'm your clone." Again, harder than before.
Damn it. I couldn't control my breathing. I wanted this to stop but my body was betraying me. Why did this make me so horny? I was so hard that I wasn't even trying to escape. I was... letting this happen to me. The thought of it caused me to shudder, I've never felt smaller. Shit. I was even spreading my legs wide open, why was I doing this? What if Sheika or Lyanna walked in on this?
Two kicked her shoe off and awkwardly slid her foot into my pants. "You're seriously fucked up. Just look at you. Can't you see how stupid you look?" She sounded so disinterested. And, with hands in her pockets, it was like she wasn't even trying. But I could see a light in her eyes, a beautiful light. Her pupils were dilating and I could see exactly what she was thinking through them.
Wonder.
She was learning to enjoy this.
I was learning to enjoy it too.
Both of us were learning something dangerous about ourselves.
Through the pain and arousal I was unwillingly feeling, fear was surfacing, if I didn't put a stop to this, she'll keep doing this to me. She'll never stop.
Never.
It was just too overwhelming. I was powerless against my own clone.
She ceased stomping my dick, and stroked it instead. I could feel the pressure of her toes squeezing it as she dragged her foot up and down along the shaft. I've never been given a footjob before, not even from Lyanna. I've never felt this pleasure before either. It was frying my brain.
"Look at you," she chided. "You're not even fighting back anymore." Her malice was nauseating, but it just melted into my arousal. Nothing she could say right now would break me from my horny stupor. "What would your fellow pilots think if they found out their poster girl was getting off to something like this? Fucking freak." I was close, I could feel it. Would she stop when I came? Her mocking laughter was driving me nuts. "Up. Sit up!"
I did as I was told, just barely. So suffocated by my own erotic thoughts that I almost fell back down.
Two stepped away, mere moments before I could cum. I whined stupidly. She got her face uncomfortably close to mine. "Open your mouth."
"Hhhuhh?" Too fucked to understand. Why would she want my mouth open?
She slapped me and demanded again. "Open it. Now."
I did as I was told. I wanted her to let me cum, why did she stop? I didn't want it to end like this! She'd finish me off if I listened, right? "Aaanhhh..." Like an idiot, I make a stupid noise while doing it.
"Disgusting." She spat right in my mouth. I almost gagged. "Swallow it."
Once again, I obeyed with little resistance. I couldn't resist her intentionally anymore.
She clicked her tongue in disappointment. "You really are a wretched creep. Fuckin' narcissist." Two wasted no time swinging her leg back, as far as it would go, and kicking me in the nuts as hard as she could.
And that was it. My breaking point.
I lost my breath as I came. A pitiful amount of clear-ish white ejaculate spewed onto Two's foot. I collapsed, the arousing fog that clogged my mind was fading as I drooled onto the cold, hard floor of Sheika's office. I couldn't think of a more pathetic sight. Two was probably feeling more visceral hatred towards me by the second. I watched her step closer. My cum was dripping off her foot. "Clean up after yourself, loser," she demanded. Pressing her foot up against my mouth.
A pit in my stomach was forming. What have I done? I kept my mouth shut. I closed my eyes, pretending this wasn't happening, I didn't want to give in any longer.
"Go on, or I'll tell Lyanna. You pathetic tranny."
My heart nearly stopped. That's all it took to realise she'd won. I'd let her win. I was a loser. A sore loser for resisting at this point after letting her do whatever she wanted for the last couple minutes.
Wait, was there even a competition between us in the first place? There must've been. Why else would Two waste her time on me?
I didn't disobey. Coming down from this high was making me feel guilty. Of course it was. All my dignity and self respect came flooding back to me, and it made this all the more demoralising. my desire to resist and cease lowering myself to this level and my desire to save face to avoid anyone knowing about this were clashing. I didn't want Lyanna to see this. I didn't want her to know about this. If she ever found out, what would she say?
My body once again failed me as my now flaccid dick twitched and dripped just a little more cum onto my leg as I imagined Lyanna's lovely smile being replace by a derisive scowl.
No, I'm stupid! I shouldn't think about her that way!
I couldn't possibly face her again if she found out.
So I got to work.
I did a meagre job of cleaning my clone's foot. I wanted to say I didn't want to, but I was doing everything I could to resist before she threatened me. In reality, despite all my groaning, I wanted this too. I was too scared to not want it.
Just like that, it was over.
My mood was getting worse. Why did I do this? Why did I give up so easily?
Does this mean I've cheated on my girlfriend? This guilt would eat away at me for life it was so crushing. I curled up, shielding myself.
Lyanna, save me. God, save me. Why did I submit? I cried. My tears stung, my entire body felt like it was rejecting me for allowing Two to do that to me.
I don't wanna move. How long was I lying here?
"Ah, Verza. What are you doing sleeping on the floor? You pass out or something?"
"..." Sheika... Why couldn't she have shown up a little sooner? Why couldn't she have been here from the start?
I heard footsteps approaching me. Sheika's obviously. "I know I was gone a while, but that's no reason to mope. Get up, will you?"
"..." I looked up. Pity was the only thing on her face. I got to my hands and knees. "Verza Two... She..." I could tell her what happened objectively. There was no shame in it. This was obviously non-consensual, I just needed to tell Sheika, and it would all go away, and I'd be absolved of guilt. She would understand, and I'd be saved.
But.
I could see Two in the corner of the room, reading a book like nothing ever happened. She took some of her valuable time to gaze back at me. She reached her foot out, and hypnotically moved it around, her toes wriggled. It reminded me so much of the footjob she just gave me. Was she threatening me with more kicks?
I bit the inside of my mouth to stop myself from moaning. "She..."
She was mocking me. I understood. She knew I enjoyed it. I didn't want to accept it, but she was taking it in stride. The hypnotic motions of her feet were telling me—no, warning me—that if I told Sheika anything, I'd never feel that pleasure again.
...
I always thought I wasn't so easily distracted or swayed by my emotions. I always made it a point to save it for things that truly mattered. At least I always tried. But today... Was I really giving up on that version of me? Did it ever even exist in the first place? Was it all just a pretence?
"Sheika, she's..."
I just needed to tell her to save me. To get Two away from me. It was that easy, that simple. The least amount of effort. It wouldn't be hard. Not at all, I was safe with Sheika. I could confide in her about this horrible situation, and everything would be okay...
But even that was too much for me in my current state. Beaten, weak, subservient to my own fucked up desires.
I smiled a weak, pathetic, incompetent smile that betrayed my despairing mind, and finally spoke the words my id so desperately wanted me to say. Lying through my teeth, I sung her praises.
"She's a perfect success."