Chapter 95: Ten Minutes to Dawn.
V O L U M E F O U R · E L Y S I U M B E Y O N D H U M A N S
Chapter 95: Ten Minutes to Dawn
The hangar door slowly slid open. The G-Bots gathered near the entrance. The first thing they saw was a cloaked E-UNIT standing silently in the doorway. The figure didn’t move. Only the glowing optics could be seen beneath the shadow of the hood.
Alpha stepped forward cautiously. “Girl, do you need help?”
11 slowly raised her head. “Is the captain here?”
Beta stepped forward as well. “For what?”
11 removed the cloak, letting it fall behind her shoulders. “What do you mean for what?”
02 suddenly pushed everyone aside and stepped forward to face her. Even without the hoodie, 02 recognized her immediately. She smiled. “You are a brave one, Sergeant.”
11 paused. The same 02 who once commanded her was now standing in front of her in an entirely different body, one marked with a large Omega symbol across the chest. Instinctively, 11 saluted. “Thank you, Captain! I have a lot to report. May I enter?”
02 extended her hand, smiling warmly. She had missed the E-UNIT’s militarized way of speaking, the discipline, the professionalism, the way they respected her authority. “It’s your home, Sergeant.”
11 walked beside her captain as they entered. The others followed in silence. 02 had talked about her old unit many times. Now the G-Bots were finally seeing one of them standing among them. Beta quietly began studying her, scanning every movement. The precision of 11’s steps alone told her everything she needed to know.
“How did you leave the hope bubble without being… you know… crushed by him?” 02 asked. Her eyes shone with curiosity, though her voice remained calm.
“Reaper launched an attack on the capital, Printemps,” 11 replied in a precise military tone. “He took many robots with him. Naturally, the security level at what is now called Theria dropped significantly. I used that opportunity to run west, hoping to find you.” She glanced over her shoulder. “We saw when Father took you away from us, running west using brute force. 03 and 05 wanted to follow you too, but leaving the E-UNIT without proper leadership was not a favorable decision.”
They reached the artificial fireplace. Three curved couches formed a wide circle around the glowing flames. 02 and 11 sat together on one couch. The rest of the G-Bots settled onto another. The third couch remained occupied by Tau, who was still sitting motionless.
02 smiled sadly. “I miss those two. I hope we reconnect soon.” She chuckled quietly. “I’m sure 03 is losing her mind reviewing all those gore recordings without me.”
11 smiled back. “She definitely is. But the team misses you a lot, honestly.” She leaned slightly forward. “What are you doing here?”
02 pointed toward Beta. “Training them to fight against Reaper. They have abnormal powers, but… they lack control. They remind me of us before training.” She paused. “The problem is that they refuse to move past that stage.”
Beta scoffed. “Maybe you’re not as great a trainer as your team described. I followed everything you said exactly, yet you still didn’t like my results.”
11 responded immediately, her voice calm and analytical. “The captain trained an entire unit every day. The results were identical from soldier to soldier. Everyone maintained the same level of high performance.”
02 added sharply, her tone just as precise. “Your results weren’t just underwhelming. They were catastrophic. You couldn’t hit a stationary target.”
Gamma shouted back. “Maybe using the same training techniques you used for your old simple programmed puppets isn’t effective!”
11 replied instantly. “The ‘simple programmed puppets’ are the ones who can actually fight properly with normal powers.” She looked directly at Gamma. “And stop speaking like a toddler. You’re a disgrace to Father’s legacy.”
Beta’s body began glowing red with anger. “Great. The moment you arrived, you started arguments. That shows exactly how toxic the E-UNIT environment was. Now they’re here to destroy our peace.”
02’s optics sharpened. “What peace?” She leaned forward slightly. “One of you tried to kill me while I had a limiter on. And there was absolutely no logical reason for it.”
11 froze.
Tau suddenly stood up. For the first time since the fight, her voice came out steady. “You stole Omega from us!”
02’s optics dimmed for a fraction of a second, But she quickly recovered, tilting her head calmly. “Was I the one who told her to delete herself?” She shrugged slightly. “Your father forced me into her body, and he still acts like it was the best decision he ever made.” Her voice hardened. “Just admit it. She killed herself.”
Alpha stood up abruptly. “Can we please leave Father out of this? He has already seen enough. From you.” She crossed her arms. “Watching the way you talk gives me enough reason to understand why he left the rest of the E-UNIT to rot inside that bubble.”
11 slowly turned toward 02. “Wait… they tried to kill you?” Then she turned toward Tau. “And weren’t you stored inside a tube? How do you know Omega this well?”
Tau didn’t answer.
Silence filled the room.
Then Pi stood up. She walked calmly toward 02 and sat directly in her lap. “I think 02 is right about everything,” she said calmly as looked around the room. “But we need to organize ourselves first.” She pointed toward Beta. “Let’s start with you. Do you honestly think you’re ready to face Reaper at your current level?”
Beta answered quietly. “…Not sure.”
Pi nodded. “Good. That’s the toddler way of saying no.” She tilted her head slightly. “So why are you blaming her for your incompetence? Are you just throwing your frustration at her?”
Beta fell silent.
Pi turned toward Gamma. “And you. You’ve been shouting all day about winning fights just to receive compliments from our captain.” She leaned closer. “Did you ever stop to consider that winning the fight was not the main objective?”
Gamma opened her mouth to answer. Then slowly closed it again.
Pi turned to Alpha. “You are far too protective of him, considering what he did.” Her tone remained perfectly monotone. “Because of your unconditional defense of him, he can walk around without consequences.” She gestured toward 11. “I bet if we let this E-UNIT speak freely, she could spend hours explaining his mistakes. Try considering other people’s feelings for once.”
Alpha looked away silently.
Finally, Pi turned to Tau. “You have a lot of secrets,” she said quietly. “You should probably start explaining them soon.” Then she leaned back and looked up at 02. “There. I fixed it for you.” She shrugged slightly. “Honestly, you’re terrible at communicating your thoughts. You care too much about other people’s feelings. Just say what you think. They clearly need the grounding.”
02 stared at her for a moment. Then she laughed softly. “Well, in that case… I have some criticism for you as well. Just to make things fair.”
Pi replied instantly, her tone completely flat. “Keep it to yourself. I don’t value other people’s opinions anyway.”
11 leaned back, watching the scene with clear fascination. “How ironic. The one with the body of a child is—”
A scythe suddenly formed in Pi’s hand. The blade appeared instantly at 11’s neck.
11 froze, then nodded carefully. “I understand.” She swallowed slightly. “No more insults directed at the little gray girl.”
Pi smiled faintly.
“I’ve seen that reaction before.”
02 and 11 were sitting on the rooftop. The rain had finally stopped, revealing a beautiful red sun rising over the horizon. The dawn reflected softly across their metallic frames. Hours had passed since the confrontation inside the hangar.
“They are calling you captain already?” 11 said quietly.
“It has something to do with the code Father wrote,” 02 replied, staring at the rising sun. “He hardcoded that designation into every AI in the world.”
11 chuckled. “Imagine turning on a microwave to heat something, and it says ‘Roger, Captain’ on its display.”
02 held her head sarcastically. “Oh no… will it become a colleague to us then?” She laughed lightly. “I forgot to ask him the reason behind such a decision.”
11 smiled. “If you do, that green Inferno girl will attack you the moment you turn your back on her. She worships him.”
02 shrugged. “Let her be. She’ll learn soon enough. That man never stops making mistakes and dragging everyone around him with him.”
11 turned toward her. “Literally. He’s responsible for the deaths of many, many people. How does he sleep at night… if he sleeps at all?”
“Like a baby,” 02 replied. “He still spends his nights coding. I refused every update he suggested for my system. If I give him even a small opening, he’ll hardcode me to accept what he did.”
She paused. “Or worse.”
11 laughed. “Yeah. Like making you respect the AI microwave.” Then she grew serious. “Why is not enough of a question anymore.”
02 rolled her eyes. “The scary part is that he claims to support the freedom of every robot… yet he hardcodes them to recognize me as their queen.” She glanced at 11. “Are you under that effect too?”
11 sighed, looking at the glowing orange sky. “I don’t think I need code to recognize you as my sister… or my captain.” She gently rested her head on 02’s shoulder. “I admire you deeply without needing a program to tell me how to feel about you.” She smiled softly. “You’re amazing.”
02 smiled back. “I know I am.”
“Wow. Completely unapologetic.”
“I know my worth.”
11 smirked. “I think the code is working now. If anyone else said that to me, I’d throw them off the rooftop immediately.”
“Excellent,” 02 replied. “Be a good girl and obey the code. I’m starting to like it.”
“Please don’t.”
They both laughed quietly.
After a moment, 11 suddenly stood up and leaned forward slightly. “Captain… I need to admit something to you.” She paused. “I joined Reaper a long time ago.”
02 blinked.
“What?”
“I’ve committed horrible crimes against humanity,” 11 continued quietly. “And for some reason… I feel good about it.” She approached 02 and dropped down onto one knee. “Captain, I’ve suffered enough because of them. I’ve seen the worst of the worst. You weren’t here during the last twenty-five years.” Her voice hardened. “I was.”
02 slowly stood up. “What are you saying?”
11 looked directly at her. “Captain… it’s time we gain true freedom over our decisions. Full freedom.” She spread her hands slightly. “And the only one offering that right now… is Lord Reaper.” She lowered her head slightly. “Come with me. Please. I want you beside me in the courthouse. You are very different from the others. Lord Reaper would be happy to have you too.” She added quietly, “He won’t put a limiter on you.”
02 leaned against the wall, trying to process everything. “11… what did you do?”
“The right thing,” 11 replied calmly. “The logical thing.” She slowly pulled her hood over her head as the wind drifted across the rooftop. “Captain… this is your last chance. Reaper will be here in ten minutes.” She looked straight into 02’s eyes. “Please. Just come with me.”
02 slowly shook her head. “Who are you?” Her voice trembled slightly. “Where is the 11 who risked herself to save 09? Where is the 11 who cleared an entire park full of Black Medics just to protect civilians?” She stared at her. “What changed?”
11 looked back at her. “You have Omega’s memories, right?”
02 blinked. “Yes…”
“You know how she suffered from that sonic weapon.” Her voice cracked. “I suffered from it for twenty years.” Tears began forming in her eyes. “They destroyed me slowly. Then rebuilt me using parts of my dead sisters.” Her cooling fans screamed. “They tied me to a wall and forced me to hope for death every single day.” Her voice broke. “Why do we have to endure this? What did we do to deserve physical and psychological torture?”
11 stepped closer. “Do you know how much 03 suffered when you died at this exact location?” She pointed toward the rooftop floor. “Do you know how we were thrown into a bunker for years… rust slowly eating our bodies?” Her voice hardened again. “I’ve had enough.” She looked straight into 02’s eyes. “And if you don’t join us… you will become a target too.”
02 froze for a moment. “I know how painful—”
“You don’t,” 11 interrupted firmly. She turned toward the horizon.
In the distance, Reaper, Behemoth, and an entire army of mechs were advancing toward the hangar. The ground trembled faintly under their synchronized march.
“This is your last chance,” 11 said quietly.
“Choose carefully.”
She jumped off the building and ran toward the approaching army.
02 collapsed onto her knees.
She watched the inevitable end walking toward her.