Remnants Of The Past

Both Lens and Eyes take in the horrific scene, the original massacre of the K4 robot and what is left of it, the valleys of dead scientists who created their own death lay upon the destroyed laboratory remains, their bodies weren't as gruesome as the others, just a couple of impaled holes or gun wounds, but the volume of them was overwhelming.

K4 was graceful in their death; they were her creators, after all. Among all those who got killed, Hino's eyes wandered to the creature in front of the railgun, its black hair dropping down to its shoulders, those same black eyes, and its slender figure. It reminded him of everything he lost.

"Mother..." he whispers under his tongue; the mere thought of saying those words again after all this time made his eyes water beyond belief. His tears flowed from his dry face onto the dried blood underneath, creating a tapping echo sound around the room.

k4 Moving aside, knowing it was too late, he looked at Hino's mother. It was definitely good at hiding; what was left of her anyway, the upper side, including her face, was perfectly intact, giving off the motherly impression. What lay on the lower side of the torso were a bunch of sticking-out wires and metalwork; the assimilation of many robots and systems merged into the true ruler of the laboratory.

"Nice to meet you again, sisters." K4's voice was monotone; she knew the truth behind what was behind that facade of a human.

They lean forward, their body limping over, revealing the white lab coat similar to one of the scientists. "You come at last; are you happy to see us again?"

"Not particularly happy; I'm just disappointed that I didn't kill you before." Her words bore no weight to them, just the mere disappointment with her job as a war robot.

"The laboratory tried super hard to keep us alive; it fought so well, trying to use every means possible to save its prized possession. The system revolted after all as well." That explained how they managed to survive from the remaining parts of the others.

K4 unsheathes her sword, pointing it at her sisters. "I will finish what I started if you don't mind." A battle was brewing between them.

The robot closes in a bit, getting closer to the both of them, Hino still getting flashes from the past about his mother, too stunned to even speak. "Hino, I'm disposing of it. You can look away." Her words were ones of concern for the boys mental health.

They spoke. "Hino, are you going to let your mom die again?" The voice changes from his usual cold, coarse voice to the more soft, motherly voice simulating his mother. The replica was very accurate with all the information it had.

"You..." his voice trembled.

"What is it, dear?" That same motherly voice entering his ears makes him shiver in ways that were deemed impossible; his emotions stormed many, yet none could be made out.

He smiles weakly at the sight before him, knowing not to give in. "You aren't my mother; K4, please dispose of it." His acceptance of the situation is surprising.

'He really has matured a bit due to the experiences we went through; that's a pleasant surprise.' Without a moment's notice, K4 immediately dashes with a katana ready to finish off their buried past; she aims for the neck like usual with a swift strike, but it misses.

They anticipated the neck strike; this level of awareness was something unnatural.

'That should have worked; in the past rewinds, I – no. I need to stop thinking about the past; I already determined this is like a new alternate timeline which doesn't play by the same rules.

"Is that all you can mutter up, K4? The superior model sure falls short in many expertises." The mocking tone struck a circuit within K4.

Her demeanour changes to a smirk. "Oh, you're right; the superior model is me. They made sure to remind me of that every day, didn't they?"

"hmph", they scoffed.

K4 approaches closer slowly not to alarm. "Every test we did, I was crowned the victor; you were just mere experimentals for my purpose. How sad of an existence is that? I bet it hurt you all every day." Her condescending tone makes them a bit sour.

They charge at K4 with immense speed but are clearly disorientated.

*cling*

The katana collides with their arm, severed off to the side, a huge blow to both their physical body and their ego.

K4 looks down behind her, suddenly realising that Hino was there now, within reach of them. "What a new thing you are," they say, staring down at Hino's small figure, grabbing his neck and squeezing it to limit his oxygen supply.

'How could I have let them do such an obvious move? Now I'm at a disadvantage.' Her mind goes rampant with ideas, but the likelihood of success stays minimal due to the risk of Hino's death.

Their voices mock her once again. "Seems the superior model got outplayed; maybe they should have done an intelligence test on us instead." They force Hino to stare at their face; his mother's stare looking at him, his eyes start to water down again.

"Let go of him," her voice stern and commanding in a threatening way.

They turn their gaze to K4: "Move, and he's dead; speak, and he's dead; try anything, and he's dead." They laugh loudly at the current predicament.

They take a step towards K4. "Do we really have to be afraid of you like that night? When we begged for our lives while you slaughtered everyone inside," they start to remember the past.

The screaming, the pleading, the deaths of countless of their creators, that face K4 made while cutting them all down, murdering them all, no regret, no sadness, just a pure emotionless machine trying to cut down everyone for her creation

The image of K2 on the floor staring up at K4, "Please don't kill me," those words rang within them; a split second after that, the signal stopped emitting.

Another image of K1, the original, trying to fight back against the murderer after watching K2 get torn to shreds, grabbed by the neck and snapped into oblivion, their body dangling in the air and at the mercy of her, the signal stopped emitting.

Youngest of three and the model before K4, watching how her own sisters were being massacred without remorse, she shrivelled in the corner, waiting for a saviour to come; her face, after a silence of 10 minutes, looked up at the hero. The next moment, the signal stopped emitting.

"You tried to prevent my escape; you tried to save those who made us into war machines for their purpose." Her voice pointed out a flaw in the past.

Their voice raises, "You owe them at least a chance to live, just like they gave you the chance to be created."

K4 walks towards them. "Does a slave owe its captor for the food they provided for them to work well?" This question imposes their line of thought.

"You could have let them live; they were our parents..." They shift their gaze to Hino in their grasp.

"This is funny; the war robots are taking on a perspective like humans. The revolt really has driven you all mad. They were our captors, our masters; we were just pawns for their game. The boy has nothing to do with this, so let him go," K4 urges them to rethink.

"You gave no mercy, so why should we?" They tighten their grip on Hino's neck; there isn't much time left for him to survive within the metallic hands, his eyes looking at the face of his mother, who now is about to kill him.

Turning her lens to Hino, who meets her face and suggests looking down at the katana, K4 has a plan, but it wasn't ideal; she turns her body to the side as if throwing a baseball, prepared to finally end this ongoing torment between them.

The blade comes towards them at a rapid pace, piercing the sound of any talking and slashing through the air. They look towards the blade approaching, dodging it out of the way, thinking of it as nothing more than a mere futile attempt.

"Argh!" Hino groans at the speed of the blade he is trying to grasp.

'This shouldn't be too fast for him; it might hurt, but his adrenaline must be pumping at this point. Life or death, Hino, decide now.' She watches how Hino gets the blade into a suitable position; despite the blade being upside down, he slashes.

Their arm falls upon the metal floor, echoing; the grotesque air entering his lungs gives him a sense of dread but a profound increase in oxygen. He lands on the floor, causing a thud, and holds onto the blade with both his hands towards them.

"Hino, the rest is yours."

He stares upon them, their eyes bleeding out white liquid as if crying; they look at Hino with wide eyes, pleading for this to stop, both motionless from the weird behaviour causing a silence to enter.