“Reaper, civilians!” 05’s voice tore through his internal channel. “They’re falling!”

  She immediately left the security camera room.

  “I KNOW!” Reaper shouted back.

  He pushed with everything his gravity control could generate, forcing the two broken halves of the skyscraper upward. At the same time, his sensors locked onto multiple falling civilians, slowing their descent just enough to keep them alive.

  But he had limits.

  Multi-target control was his worst trait. Gravity obeyed one verdict at a time. One point. One target. Not thirty screaming lives at once. Every time a scream echoed through the rain, he tried to help. And every time he shifted focus, the building dropped another centimeter. It was already halfway to the ground.

  Omega stood frozen. The realization hit her all at once. Her power had nearly ended hundreds of lives. The shock paralyzed her, until a scream cut through the chaos.

  Reaper’s scream.

  He pushed harder.

  The building rose slowly, painfully steady. His eyes burned red in the darkness. The rain refused to stop, as if the sky itself was watching this dark figure lifting an entire skyscraper to save thousands.

  Omega snapped out of it. She launched herself into motion, catching falling people one by one. Her extreme speed barely kept pace with the collapse. As she rose high enough to see inside the lower half of the building, she froze again.

  Innocent people had been caught in her earlier energy strike. The lower floors still held bodies that hadn’t made it out. Not soldiers. Not “targets.” Office workers, burned, broken, missing pieces. The structure had absorbed part of the impact, but not enough.

  Her power was a double-edged weapon when left unchecked. She remembered her brother’s warning from days ago.

  Reaper continued to push.

  His HUD was flooded with red warnings from top to bottom, screaming for him to protect his hardware. He ignored them all. The cries of civilians drove him beyond safe limits.

  CPU TEMP: CRITICAL

  OVERHEAT DAMAGE IMMINENT

  SYSTEM FORCED OVERRIDE IN ONE MINUTE

  “NOT NOW!” he roared. His sensors caught Omega in motion, saving the last of the falling civilians. Reaper shifted his entire focus onto the building. He drove his heels into the road until concrete buckled around his boots, anchoring himself the only way he knew: by forcing the world to accept his weight.

  To Reaper, holding the building from a distance was no different from gripping it with his own hands. The asphalt had no chance. It was no different from lifting it with his own hands.

  A safeguard inside him failed. Reaper pushed one final time. His vision dimmed as he fought his own system for control. He could feel his CPU screaming, frying the motherboard from within.

  Still, he pushed.

  The building’s sections aligned above him, hovering in stacked layers like something torn from a science fiction dream.

  Except this was real.

  This was his reality.

  Slowly, the pieces descended. Each section returned to its original position. Using what little power remained, he re-seated the torn sections into their frames, steel screaming as it slid back onto broken anchors.

  Just… held together long enough for people to live.

  People poured out of the building.

  They ran.

  They scattered across the streets, rushing past the barely standing figure who had saved them. They didn’t cheer. They didn’t thank him. They ran like survivors run, eyes forward, lungs burning, because hope was expensive, and they’d been taught it always gets taxed.

  Reaper turned his head slowly.

  Omega descended in front of him.

  He said nothing. His silence terrified her.

  He stared at her, judgment heavy in his unmoving gaze.

  The building was empty now.

  Only two figures remained on the rain-soaked street.

  Omega searched his eyes for any reaction.

  There was none.

  Suddenly, his eyes went pitch black. His body tilted forward.

  CPU thermal failsafe engaged.

  Before his head hit the asphalt, 05 was there. A blur of white and blue catching black steel.

  She arrived in a blur of speed, the moment she sensed Reaper forcing himself beyond one hundred percent. Through the Intelligent Bureau’s network, she had watched his limits break in the past. Holding him was effortless. E-UNIT frames had carried far heavier loads before.

  05 glanced once at Omega. Then she lifted Reaper onto her back and took to the sky, heading for the only place he could be repaired. She didn’t like it. But his sacrifice made one truth impossible to deny. He would destroy himself to save others.

  Omega remained alone on the street. She didn’t trust herself anymore. Rain soaked her frame, replacing the tears that refused to fall. From a distance, the evacuated civilians watched her in silence.

  No cheers.

  No thanks.

  Only quiet judgment.

  The Hope Bubble. 12:00 AM.

  Ding.

  “Welcome, E?UNIT 05. Hope Bubble access confirmed. Welcome home,” the system said, calm and emotionless.

  ‘He really loves dramatic entrances, just like 02,’ 05 thought as she dragged Reaper’s body across the garden. ‘I see where she got it from.’

  Nick came running toward her and stopped several meters away. As if a step closer would trigger something irreversible. He didn’t know how to react. Seeing 05 fully functional, standing in a new body, filled him with relief. And fear. He immediately understood what was coming.

  05 stood still. Her gaze burned through him despite her attempt to suppress it. Both of them had forgotten there was a 250-kilogram machine lying between them.

  Nick spoke first. “E-Medic 10, 11, 12, 15, and 20. Go. Fix your brother,” he ordered, never taking his eyes off 05. “Use the latest model CPU. It can endure far more than this one.” He turned slightly. “E-Medic 03, prepare the guest room. We will be having a long conversation.”

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  The E-Medics arrived almost instantly. They lifted Reaper’s lifeless body and flew toward the repair bay.

  05 didn’t move. She only nodded. Nick understood and took the lead.

  The walk was silent. 05 scanned everything around her. Every E-Medic she passed stared in shock. Some smiled. Some whispered. How did she survive? Why was she intact? Why was she fully operational?

  The whispers followed her with every step. They reached the guest room.

  Simple. Two sofas. Two chairs facing each other. A clean wooden table between them.

  05 noticed something immediately.

  Eight medicine containers lined neatly beside a glass of water.

  Nick sat down slowly. E-Medic 03 handed him the medicine one by one. 05 sat across from him, perfectly still. She restrained herself. Her father wouldn’t survive a shouting match.

  When the ritual was done, 05 spoke.

  “Last time we spoke,” 05 said, “You didn’t need medication to keep your hands steady.”

  Nick let out a dry laugh. “The last time, I was young,” he replied. “Strong enough to endure much worse. The last time, I didn’t have the ghosts of my daughters hunting me every time I closed my eyes.”

  05 didn’t soften.

  “Why aren’t you panicking about Reaper?” she asked. “He nearly destroyed himself.”

  “He won’t die,” Nick answered. “Not this time. I prepared.” He exhaled. “Losing 02 was devastating. But I learned. Reaper has ten Super Memory Chips hidden deep within his body. Each one contains a full backup of his consciousness. They’re physically isolated and shielded from resonance. Sonic can scramble his shell, but not all ten cores at once.”

  05 nodded slowly, keeping her composure. “Good. Now that’s settled,” she said. “I’ll be direct.”

  Nick met her gaze. “I deserve it.”

  “Then answer me,” 05 said. “Was shutting down your daughters the only solution? They obeyed every command you gave them from the moment they were born.” She leaned forward. “I watched Omega fight. She isn’t human. No matter how gentle her face looks. You created her. Are you telling me the greatest mind in Altea couldn’t find another answer?”

  Nick looked away. His gaze drifted to E-Medic 03, she remained behind him, palm resting lightly on his shoulder, less comfort than stabilization. “I couldn’t,” he said. “Vegas was smarter than we gave him credit for. He sent soldiers every day for the first month to confirm you were truly shut down.”

  “Paranoia,” 05 said flatly.

  “A weapon,” Nick replied. “One he wielded carefully.”

  05 recorded everything silently. “Why did you give up?” she asked. “You had access to Metro Robotics Labs. You could have ended everything with Omega alone.”

  “Omega was never an option,” Nick said firmly. “If we lose her, we lose everything.”

  “Why this obsession with her!” 05 snapped.

  “It’s not her!” Nick shouted, standing abruptly. “She has 02’s memories!”

  05 froze.

  “What… do you mean?”

  Nick sat back down, forcing himself to breathe. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “When Hank and I rebuilt Omega decades ago, we inserted 02’s SSD immediately.” He swallowed. “It didn’t recognize 02. At all. It created Omega as a completely new persona. When I pulled the SSD out, it was blank, like the crystal had drunk it dry. The data migrated.”

  His voice trembled.

  “I almost lost my mind. Then Omega spoke. She said, ‘Why do I have another person’s memories when I was just born?’”

  05’s eyes widened.

  “The crystal,” Nick continued. “It absorbed the SSD. Used it as context to understand reality. Omega spoke moments after activation.”

  05 leaned forward. “Why didn’t you retrieve the data from the server? That was her private project.”

  Nick paused. “So you knew.”

  “We planned it together,” 05 said.

  Nick nodded. “I launched Omega to help you. I knew the war wasn’t fair. I taught her basics. Left emergency code in case everything collapsed.” He hesitated. “When Hank and I exited the hidden G-Bots bay in my old lab—”

  “G-Bots bay?” 05 stood up instantly.

  “Yes. I hid it from everyone.”

  “I lived in that lab for twenty years,” she said sharply. “How did I not find it?”

  “Because it was hidden,” Nick replied calmly.

  She frowned and sat back down.

  “How many secrets do you still have?”

  Nick continued. “When we returned, the lab was destroyed. The system holding 02’s memories was gone. Soldiers tore everything apart looking for me. They captured Hank and me. I was imprisoned.”

  05’s voice trembled with rage. “So you let Omega suffer,” she said, “hoping one day 02 would resurface and erase her?” She stared at him. “You can’t be that cruel.”

  Nick lowered his head.

  “No…” 05 whispered, covering her mouth. “You’re worse than anything you ever built.”

  Nick looked up. “Then judge me,” he said. “Put yourself in my place. Answer honestly.” He leaned forward. “Do you want 02 erased? Answer yes or no.”

  05 froze. Words failed her. “But—”

  Nick interrupted. “05, answer me. Would you erase your captain from existence? I can ask Omega to do it right now.”

  Silence.

  Nick leaned back. “Exactly. She wasn’t just another unit. She was 02. The captain that made the rest of you possible. The daughter I built my spine around. The perfect E-UNIT.”

  05 broke. Silent electronic tears streamed from her eyes as she buried her face in her hands.

  “I miss her…” she whispered.

  Nick moved beside her and wrapped his arms around her. “Everyone does,” he said softly. “But this isn’t fair to Omega either. I will find a solution.” He held her tighter. “I will restore 02’s memories. And I will let Omega live without believing she caused her death.”

  05 clung to him.

  “Please,” she whispered. “Do.”

  Omega watched from the ceiling cameras, perfectly still. For the first time, being “the system” didn’t feel like power. It felt like listening at a door you were never meant to open.

  ***

  Three hours passed.

  The E-Medics introduced the spacious Hope Bubble to 05. The main garden served as the central hall, connecting every room in the facility. It was a circular space, filled with grass patterns shaped like advanced geometric art, designed to look natural despite its precision. The ceiling formed a half-globe, completely covered in screens. Every centimeter simulated a sky inside a sealed structure. Fake clouds drifted slowly, added purely for realism.

  Omega sat on the grass, staring up at the artificial blue above her. Her optics were too detailed, too sharp. She could see individual pixels in the sky, breaking the illusion and reminding her that everything she saw was fake.

  ‘The sky is fake. Father’s care is fake. Sisterhood with 05 is fake…’ Omega thought.

  She let the last one slip out loud. “I am fake.”

  “No, you are not,” Reaper said, standing behind her.

  Omega did not look back. “Are you even real?” she replied. “Or just a cheap copy Father made in case you were lost?”

  “That hurt.”

  “Good. I felt the same way every day since I was born. Welcome to the club of the unwanted. Even the police removed my face from the wanted list.”

  “Yeah,” Reaper said as he sat beside her, “because there’s no way some random bounty hunter would ever catch you.” He didn’t have a face to smirk. “I like your depressed side more. Calm Omega is easier to bully.”

  “Great,” Omega muttered. “My brother feeds his ego using my depression. What could be worse.”

  “Delicious,” Reaper said, making a chef’s kiss. “Pure, fresh depression. Perfectly baked.”

  Omega chuckled. “You’re ridiculous. You sound like a demon feeding on other people’s despair. And somehow, it fits you.”

  “Sorry,” Reaper replied. “I’m not a cute blue-haired girl the world smiles at when she walks by. I’m a black, faceless demon built for war. But when I read the E-UNIT logs, the line separating us blurs.”

  “True,” Omega sighed. “Even angels hurt innocents who believed those same angels would save them.” She lowered her head. “I’m not better than anyone. Maybe I’m worse. What you said in front of that coffee shop was accurate. I’m just an actor drowning in blood.”

  “Yeah,” Reaper said. “I was right.”

  Omega stood up and stared at him.

  “At least offer encouragement next time. Party killer.”

  “No,” Reaper replied firmly. “I was right. But my speech was incomplete.”

  “What do you mean?” she sat back.

  “You’re unstable,” Reaper said calmly. “And you’re trying to pretend you’re not. With a personality as fake as this sky.” He glanced upward. “Seriously, these screens are cheap.”

  Omega burst out laughing. “Oh my god. How can someone be this stupid?”

  “Glad we agree,” he said with a dry laugh. “I’m glad you didn’t perform around me, I know I’m talking to the real you. And the real you is a clumsy sister who loves attention.” He raised his hand toward the artificial sky. “That side made me care. The one that laughs at my bad jokes. Gets into trouble nonstop. Trades insults for fun. And gets jealous because a new sister appeared.”

  Her eyes widened.

  “When did you—”

  “You’re an open book, sister.”

  “Getting validated by a faceless robot is cheap,” Omega said, folding her arms and acting cruel.

  “What did the one with a face do?” Reaper pointed toward Nick and 05 walking through the garden.

  Omega sighed. “So they told you already.”

  “The E-Medics really love you,” Reaper said as he stood up. “Which means you have no choice.”

  CLANG!

  He struck his chest. “Let this faceless monster handle it. No need for anyone else’s approval. Just stop slicing buildings in half. I hate collateral damage.”

  She nodded, almost crying.

  “Okay. Noted. No more half-cities.”

  Reaper extended his hand.

  “Come on. We still have a mission to finish!” he said, mimicking 05’s tone.

  Omega laughed again. “The E-UNIT are way too cheesy. Some of their logs make me cringe.”

  “But they were cool,” Reaper replied. “Alright. Let’s regroup with 02’s diehard fans and plan the next move.”

  “They better stop 02ring,” Omega chuckled. “We need them focused.

  by GlitchWriter

  Alex was a Senior Dev at Riot. Now he's a Level 1 Caster Minion in Zaun. Armed with a [Data Leak] and the ability to harvest code, he must exploit hitboxes and pathing glitches to survive Champions like Warwick and Singed. Witness the evolution of a trash mob into a Raid Boss in this Tech-Horror LitRPG.