V O L U M E . S E V E N - P H A N T O M S . A N D . P R E D A T O R S

---

Chapter 167: The Overwritten Resident

---

Her blue eyes opened to the world. Systems came online one by one as the magnetic charging chair released her. 03 stepped off it with a full battery and the readiness of someone who knows today is different from yesterday. She moved through the facility, past charging rooms and bays, the conversation everywhere she went centered on the same subject: the new involuntary addition to the team.

She followed the sound of an unmistakably loud voice to the training range outside the main building, a wide space of white plating and measurement markers laid into the floor. The yellow glow reaching her before she did confirmed it before she reached the entrance.

02 stood at full height in the center. 05 was beside her, asking questions about the sensation of operating the link, stylus moving constantly. 01 was warming up her motors in wide circuits around the perimeter. Gamma was crouched at Infinity's eye level, her face close enough to be uncomfortable.

"You have the glare!" Gamma was practically pressing her nose against Infinity's. "Those sharp 'I am going to remove a limb' eyes, that's yours, Captain."

02 spoke through Infinity. "I still can't stop my own expression from coming through the shell, or shift her face freely yet." She brought Infinity's hand up and patted Gamma's head with it. "The rest is closer to a third hand now. It's becoming natural."

‘She can feel what I feel, but I can't confirm yet whether she hears my thoughts.’ Infinity processed silently. ‘ My HUD is gone, just a camera feed, like watching security footage of my own face. How do I get out of this...’

03 came in and stood beside Infinity. "Morning. What's the plan with the shell?"

‘Don't call me that.’

05 expanded two screens. "We're running final tests before the mission. We found a range limit, we wanted to keep her here while 02 accessed her memory wirelessly from the field, but even wireless access has a ceiling. And pulling from her SSD directly is still impossible. Father built unusually strong protections into the link."

"I have a theory, but it needs confirmation." 02 spoke in her own voice this time, head lowered slightly. "In Omega's archived memories, there's reference to a specific shell with full consciousness, a unit Omega kept in her network to help regulate energy output."

05 turned to her slowly. "Captain. That's Reaper's sister."

"Who?"

"You haven't met her." 05 opened a note and started typing. "This could matter significantly. Regardless, we should start the actual test. The mission clock is moving."

03 dropped an arm around Infinity's shoulders. "What's the range limit?"

"One thousand meters." 02 smiled. "Want to see it demonstrated?"

03 raised an eyebrow. "When she passes that mark she'd be free, wouldn't she. That seems like a design flaw."

"We removed her battery," 05 said, not looking up from the notes. "She runs on shared energy from the link now, completely. If she tries to leave range, she shuts down. The only thing waiting for her outside a thousand meters is the ground."

‘How proud you must be of yourselves.’ Infinity held the thought behind her eyes. ‘ 02 stopped her from running more experiments on me yesterday. Twice. Which makes the person she stopped the worst of them.’

02 pushed 03 back using Infinity and spoke through her. "Watch."

Infinity bent her knees. The thrusters ignited and she was airborne immediately, climbing fast toward the marker. At exactly one thousand meters, her eyes went dark, the thrusters cut out, and she dropped, head first, nothing working, the ground coming up fast.

Then the power surged back online. A cold, automated prompt flared in her vision: [Connection Restored. Welcome back, 02.]

‘Doesn't even recognize its own resident. I hate technology.’

The thrusters caught her descent, she flipped mid-fall and slowed to a precise landing beside 03.

"That is not standard E-UNIT speed." 03 bent forward to examine her.

"That's the Omega crystal," 05 said.

"Finally someone who matches me!" Gamma wrapped both arms around Infinity before anyone could intercede. "Can I keep her? We could race across the city indefinitely."

‘The worst possible version of existence I can conceive of.’ Infinity felt the revulsion move through her without being able to show it. ‘ Racing this volume indefinitely while being classified as a pet. I would choose being 02's hand over that without deliberation.’

02 used Infinity to push Gamma back and spoke through her. "She is me, effectively. Keeping her as a pet means keeping me as one." She folded Infinity's arms. "I haven't reached that point."

‘Thank everything.’

"True!" Gamma accepted this immediately. "What have you actually been doing with her the last few days?"

"Being in two places at once turned out to have real applications," 02 said through Infinity. "Helping 05 with the investigation while running my city shift at the same time. Using two terminals simultaneously. Using the shell to observe my own movements from outside and correct them. And since she runs on my energy, she carries the same output I do."

03's eyes lit. "Can I join the link? I want—"

"No." 02's gaze sharpened through Infinity's face. "I would never put myself in a position where I'm removing a sister's autonomy. Take the idea out entirely."

03 rolled her eyes. "You didn't need to refuse that firmly."

01 came to a stop beside them. "Warm-up done. Dave's updates are all reading green."

02 nodded. "Give us room. I'm testing how far I can push control in the shell. Based on Omega's memories, the ceiling is higher than the hardware suggests. 01, shields up. This will be rough."

"Understood." 01 drew one blade.

03, 05, and Gamma moved to the edge of the range. 03 couldn't bring herself to sit, she stood with her eyes fixed on the shell. 05 had three screens going. Gamma dropped cross-legged on the ground and watched the two glowing blue figures with the focus she reserved for things she genuinely enjoyed.

02 stepped back, leaving Infinity to face 01.

03 leaned toward 05. "Can 02 let Infinity speak without losing the control?"

"Yes. We tested that this morning." 05's expression shifted. "It wasn't a pleasant session."

Infinity brought one blade out and held it two-handed.

01's eyes went red. "Captain, you don't need to limit yourself to one on my account."

02's voice came through Infinity, and the smirk was hers. "They tell me you're the best single-blade fighter on the team. Better than me, apparently. I want to correct that record."

01 returned it. "I won't be handing over my only title."

She moved. Fast, measured steps that built to a sprint across the white field, blade already in motion.

Infinity held still.

‘Move. She will take my head off.’ Infinity thought at herself, at 02, at anyone.

A fraction before 01's blade reached her, Infinity stepped left. She spun in the same motion and swung at 01's open side.

Clang.

01's shield came up and absorbed it. She jumped back and assessed.

‘She manufactured an opening from nothing.’ Infinity's thoughts ran fast. ‘ Any rational fighter rolls back from a direct strike. The speed at which she read that and moved—'

Infinity advanced and threw her blade forward.

01 caught it on the first shield. Infinity opened a second and dragged it 01’s shield, red energy scattering, locking her there. She used the contact to drive her head forward.

Clank.

The headbutt put 01 back a step, HUD flickering. Infinity retrieved the thrown blade and pressed forward, swings coming without pause, each one aimed at head, neck, or side. Nothing else. Only critical targets.

‘That was aggressive.’ Infinity tracked the exchange. ‘ But it worked. 01's style requires space and an opening, 02 studied that and is removing both. She's pushing 01 back because 01 doesn't know what comes next.’

02 spoke through Infinity mid-exchange. "You're folding, 01. Is engaging an opponent actually this difficult?"

01 kept blocking, a smile working its way through the pressure. "An opponent who moves and reads like this isn't something I normally encounter." She deflected another swing. "And stop pointing that expression at me, those eyes are yours, not hers."

Infinity pulled back, let 01 take two steps forward, then came again, blade at her face. 01 blocked it without effort. Infinity's second blade appeared and swung.

Everything stopped.

01's eyes went wide. The plasma heat was measurable at her neck. The blade sat millimeters from it.

‘I couldn't follow the second one. Not even close.’

01 went to one knee. "You said one blade. You specified."

Infinity lowered the weapon and extended a hand. "I wouldn't actually take your title like that."

"It's extremely strange," 01 said, taking the hand and rising, "receiving that kind of sportsmanship from someone who was trying to remove my head a moment ago."

Infinity laughed, 02's laugh, but present. "If I were actually your enemy, you wouldn't have made it past the first—" And then 02's voice came through directly, warm and specific. "—ten seconds. My 01."

05 and 03 arrived at a run.

05 led. "The link density is exceptional, the transmission delay is 0.0005 seconds. Functionally the same as voluntary movement."

03 dropped to her knees with the expression of someone sustaining a genuine emotional wound. "Please. The link. I'll do anything. Do you hate me specifically?"

Infinity crouched and held 03's face in both hands. "I won't do it. I value you too much to take your autonomy for a power you can reach other ways. I will never use the link on my sisters. Not even if it costs me."

03 stood up, jaw set. "You're guilting me through your shell now. That's the cheapest possible approach."

Original 02 let the expression fall. "We need to move. Training is done." She turned to 03. "Bring the Bulwark Frame, we need a tank and Delta is still building the full set." She turned to 05. "Keep the investigation on E-UNIT 00 running. Nothing is too small to note." She turned to 01. "You're acting captain while I'm gone. Take care of them."

01 straightened. "When was this—"

"I trust you. That's sufficient."

01 reached for her blade handle. "I can't refuse when you phrase it that way."

"You also lost the fight. So the choice was already made."

"You cheated!" 01 pointed at her.

"Then we go again." 02's eyes shifted to red. Her thumb flicked the hilt of her blade, exposing barely two centimeters of plasma. The atmospheric pressure in the training range dropped instantly. The ambient hum didn't just fill the air; it vibrated violently against their endoskeletons, a suffocating weight pressing them into the floor.

"Alright, I accept!" 01's voice barely cleared the noise. "I'll take the captaincy!"

02 put the blade away before it was fully drawn. "That's what I wanted to hear."

‘What a bully.’ Infinity formed the thought cleanly.

A notification appeared in her vision, delivered directly through the link, from 02.

[I've been able to hear your thoughts the entire time. You're going to make excellent company.]

‘I hate my life.’

‎