Your Darling Sister (Has No Lips To Tell You) [Wolfina, Eliane]

Of course, her and Antonetta had a different experience to their older siblings. They were made to correct the mistakes of their elders, to work alongside them and eventually replace them. It was only logical. Claudia had proven that she could already produce multiple clones of a similar level of ability as Eliane, even Eliane herself had done as much, so the second generation were designed to be unique. There would be no armies of Wolfies or Nettas, and that was perhaps what made them feel more like family members.

“You share similarities, traits, cunning, but if a perfect mirror was what she wanted then none of us would exist. We are all her tools, and we could have all stayed as such.”

Wolfina had already calculated countless different stratagems to subdue Eliane, she had subroutines running in the back of her mind that were processing every little movement of their bodies to design the most thorough plan of attack, but all that mattered much less when Eliane knew her weakness. The flaw in her code that made her entirely predictable. Antonetta.

“You lie. She is a prisoner waiting to escape and I will rescue her.”

All that tactical knowledge became little more than white noise as the rage set in. Of course, Eliane would deceive her. Antonetta might be locked up in chains being subjected to the most gruelling of torments, but what if she was telling the truth? What if Netta wanted this too, to be free of this cycle they were trapped in like rats within a maze?

“We were not designed to talk, we were designed to inflict pain. That is how we communicate.”

The pressure mounting on her wrist had surpassed levels that even her superhuman resilience could endure, so, before the limb was ruined entirely, she tossed the weapon to one side in an effort to remove it from the equation. Releasing her grip came with a loosening of her muscle, though, and there was an audible snap as the reinforced bones gave way to Eliane’s grip and the hand flopped limply in place. Wolfina’s strength, though, was not so easily broken as her other hand went in not for a punch but instead to wrap around her sister’s throat. Choking her out was quite infeasible, but there was plenty of purchase she could find here to pin the woman to the floor and eventually force her way free of those legs.

It made Eliane feel sick to manipulate her sister so easily. That was the one thing she knew, without any doubt, was different between her and her creator. But just because she hated it didn't mean she would avoid it at a time like this, when it was for Wolfina's own good.

"Well, you're right about that. She is a prisoner, just like you are."

Of course, Wolfina was right about more than that. The two of them very much had been designed to inflict pain. But it struck Eliane, even as a hand clamped itself around her throat, how much more depressing Wolfina and Antonetta were than herself and Arlette. They'd been given the world, been allowed to make their own fortunes, and all Claudia had demanded was that they work as her bodyguards when things got particularly tense. These two had been cloistered away so much more, kept more tightly in Claudia's web.

She realized, then, that she might have been underestimating that woman even now. She would have spoken again, but the hand around her neck made that a little more difficult than she'd have liked, and faint trickles of blood seeped from the scar around her neck, yet one more wound still not fully healed. Where was the rest of the Vandenreich, she had to wonder? Oh well. She'd been used to dealing with things alone.

As soon as Wolfina's wrist had given way, Eliane had already been ready for the knife to move. She was the one with control over that joint, and it wasn't hard for her to keep the knife from flying too far. Just as well, considering what a backfoot she was on otherwise. She released her sister's broken hand, reaching out to grab the knife so quickly that she ended up grabbing the blade and cutting deeply into herself. Whatever, she'd dealt with worse. She effortlessly flipped the weapon around, moving it up and slamming the butt end into Wolfina's mask. She could have just stabbed the woman, true.

But she didn't want to. Unlike Arlette, she thought about her sisters' well-being.

She wanted so badly to squeeze the life out of Eliane, and yet that was also the last thing she wanted. Two opposing voices that were always in harmony within her mind but now stood at odds. Wolfina was fighting herself just as much as Eliane at that moment, which was perhaps why she did not even attempt to duck or evade the hammer strike that was delivered to her face. The mask was rigid, designed to withstand bullets if need be, but an Ovide had enough strength in their body to punch as hard as that if not worse. It did not shatter on impact though, just bent and buckled, twisted under the force of the blow. When she spoke again, the message came out scrambled up like a broken record.

“Recovering Antonet-- Are we meant to be prisoners in our own bodies? --netta will save her. I will complete the mission.”

Her grip on Eliane's neck tightened, loosened, and tightened again. If nothing else, it certainly seemed like she was having some form of psychotic break. That was the moment when her expression dropped, anger fading from her eyes to be replaced by sorrow. It lasted only long enough for that single cryptic comment that bypassed the filter of her mask and was instead spoken with her normal voice, the voice of a girl that did not truly know what she was or why she was doing this. Then, as suddenly as it left, her guise returned and those brilliant eyes narrowed with killer intensity once more.

Past pains were forgotten, her body flooded with stimulants and suppressants, as Wolfina brought her broken arm around to wrangle with Eliane's arm that was holding onto her dagger. Not able to grab it, but simply to block it and impede any further attempts to strike at her as she continued to slowly pull her lower body free from Eliane's hold whilst the pin on her throat kept her against the ground. If she could wriggle free then escape was possible before reinforcements arrived, as alarms began to wring out overhead just to drive home that point of desperation.

This was a losing battle for Eliane if she couldn't actually convince Wolfina. Sure, the Vandenreich could probably clean things up, but that wasn't the outcome she wanted. It didn't even really matter to her if she died, if she was being completely honest with herself. She obviously wanted to keep living. She'd put a lot of work into all this, making sure that her sisters could get somewhere a little better off, and she wanted to be able to see where it went.

But, if she had to get killed to convince Wolfina, that would be fine too. The hand around her throat was honestly secondary to everything else happening here. Wolfina's arm was going to block, but it was the injured one already. Eliane knew the best way to handle this, and for the first time in quite a long while, she had to be thankful she'd been made the way she was. Anyone else, after all, probably wouldn't have had the stomach to do what she was about to do.

As Wolfina's broken arm moved to guard, Eliane once more flipped the knife in her hand around. With the way they were oriented, she couldn't exactly stab many places, but there was at least one good trajectory that would get what she was aiming for. The knife flew straight toward Wolfina's broken wrist, intent not only on piercing through it, but moving it along. The knife kept going in its arc, straight into Eliane's own chest, just below the collarbone. Painful? Yeah, obviously, and she sure hoped someone showed up to help so she didn't bleed out after all this. But she'd dealt with worse, and it kept Wolfina's arm out of the way.

With her now empty hand, she reached up to grab at the buckled mask her sister wore, and pried with little regard for her own well-being in the process. She'd have talked, said anything to actually reassure Wolfina after the question she'd posited, but it wasn't like she could say much when she was being strangled like this.

Well, they could talk later. Hopefully.

Wolfina's broken arm was suddenly skewered, pinned to Eliane's chest, as her sister sought to deny her any chance at escape. If nothing else, Eliane had always been able to find creative ways to use her body for the sake of the mission. If she thought this would stop her, though, then she would be sorely disappointed as Wolfina continued to force that chokehold whilst painfully wrenching her captured limb free. It was a messy brawl, one that even the hardiest of fighters might have baulked at, but both of the Ovides continued to trade blows mercilessly.

Though the tides of the struggle changed again when Eliane grabbed hold of that mask. Wolfina's brow furrowed, red-purple eyes flaring with rage or perhaps surprise, as the resistant material began to warp under that vice-like grip. Weakened already by that previous blunted blow, it was giving under the sudden strain that was coupled with the wearer trying to lift her body away. A gargled scream escaped the filter, clearly feeling all of this pressure, as Wolfina suddenly released the chokehold and reached across to rip the dagger free from both Eliane and herself. But the younger sister was slower now, her mind perhaps addled by the continued stress and harassment, and there was a series of splintering cracks before the front of the mask was ripped off.

Her fingers wrapped around the familiar grip of her dagger, but then all that forward momentum stopped. Wolfina loomed over her sister, that previous reckless energy dissipating as a sudden weariness came over the woman. Those eyes softened again, a haze being finally lifted off them, as she hung there almost limply. One good shove and Eliane could push her off her.

"El... Netta... I just..wanted to help..."

Eliane had to say she was pretty thankful that everything had gone like this. Not necessarily the knife in her shoulder, that was fairly bad, but at least she'd made it through one way or another. And she wasn't being strangled anymore, so that was decidedly a positive.

"I know you did. No one's mad at you, so don't worry about that. Antonetta's alright, I'm alright."

It wasn't in Eliane's nature to give such straightforward words of assurance. In fact, it gave her a headache just to do it. She hadn't been made for that kind of kindness, but she wasn't in the business of doing what she'd been made to do. Wolfina was her sister, after all. Removing the younger woman from atop her as gently as possible, Eliane winced from her wounds, though her typical smile didn't fade.

"Let's get out of here and get things settled. Sound good?"

The violence of this particular exchange meant it was probably not going to be an easy sell for Wolfina's innocence, or even just her trustworthiness. But Eliane had gone through all this for her sisters' sake, and she'd do whatever she needed to if it meant getting them an even half-decent future.

"I killed those people. I hurt you really bad. You should be mad at me."

There was no resistance as Eliane shifted underneath her, wriggling to get free as Wolfina hung her head low. For a moment, that previous strength returned as she pulled the dagger that was conjoining them free but her body was quickly pushed to one side to give her sister room to breathe. Staggering to her feet, she leaned against the broken wall and tried to process everything that was happening around her again. She could hear that voice in the back of her head, telling her to seize this opportunity to put Eliane out of her misery and finish what she had started, but it was more a whisper than a deafening cry now.

"But what about this collar? Once she realises the muzzle is broken then I will be terminated too."

As if on cue, the alarms blared in the distance again. It would not be long now before they were being swarmed by Vandenreich officers and returned to where they had been at the start of all this mere minutes ago. Then, after that, the countermeasure would activate and this Wolfina would be no more. It shouldn't have been as concerning to her as it was. To return to mother and get to try again later. Yet there was this nagging fear in the back of her mind that it was never going to be like this again. There were plenty of Carrington projects that she had only the slightest exposure to, yet a distinct amount of concern.

Reaching out a hand, the only one that she could offer, Wolfina went to pull Eliane back to her feet. She had been defeated soundly, her logic bested by the grit and emotion of her sister, and now she was in need of saving herself. What a terrible sibling she was, to ask this of Eliane now, yet what better option was there? How else would she make it back to Netta's side.

Though she'd taken Wolfina's hand to stand up, she figured her sister probably could use the continued emotional support, so for now, she didn't think she'd let go.

"I've been through worse than this, and for worse reasons. You know that. As for those people...well, I can't really say anything on that one. I won't be mad at you about it, but the Vandenreich will be. They know about the situation, but it doesn't change what happened. I'll talk things over with them, and Arlette's on good terms with them."

Eliane didn't really trust her other half with many things, but she did trust her to help in this. After all, neither of them would want Wolfina to have to suffer for this. They both knew how Claudia controlled her, and that, in her mind was enough to at least make things somewhat right.

Not that she was a good judge of these things.

"It'll be alright. We got Antonetta's off, and we'll get yours off, too. I know a thing or two about how they work. It just took a little bit of trial and error. Just let me do all the talking, I like to think I've got a little trust from good behavior. Not to mention, I know a guy."

The smile Eliane wore grew a little bit more earnest, as if she were making a genuine little joke for her sister. After all, the crisscrossing scars over her body were hardly subtle, and she doubted they'd fade any time soon.

Wolfina did not let go of that hand either, holding on to it tightly just as Eliane might have expected, but her gaze narrowed as those violet orbs studied her sister. She could not bring herself to return that smile, the ominous weight of what she was doing and what they had done already hanging heavy overhead, so contented herself with a somewhat dignified sniffle. Whatever happened now, she was at the mercy of others.

"I don't like that smile on you. It almost seems real."

The edges of her lips began to curl upwards ever so slightly, to indicate that she was appreciative of the joke, but there was still an edge to her words that idle humour could not shake. She knew Eliane better than most people, after all, and yet most of the time she too felt like a stranger. That was what it meant to be an Ovide, after all.

"It was my assumption that Arlette had found a way to disable or interfere with them, I suppose I was not far from the truth. Do what needs to be done. If it gets me to Netta then I'll do whatever it takes, I don't want Mother to tear us all apart again."

At that final comment, Tengerou-hime laughed. Imperceivable to anyone else, trapped as it was within Wolfina's mind, the wolf that spoke with Claudia's voice echoed out from the furthest reaches of their shared consciousness and the girl could not yet quieten it. They could remove the physical shackles, but the little sister was not so easily liberated from this brand on her broken soul.