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 174: 101 Reasons to Forget

The walls had gotten worse. Reaper's posters now came with slogans and printed text. The Elysium flag had been pushed into the corner, the cleaning bots kept moving it back to cover some of the posters, and someone kept moving it again. The floating desk was clean and precisely arranged, which meant either she had a strong preference for order or she spent very little time actually working at it. Knowing her, the second explanation was more likely.

He moved a floating chair aside and sat in it.

Shelly was facing the glass panel of the window, watching the sea with a focus that didn't match the view. Then she turned.

The new body was striking at first look. White hair, white eyebrows, white eyelashes, the shift from blue was significant. Her eyes burned green. The black horns extending from the crystal grew thicker in this frame, curving forward from the back of her head, pressing against the white hair in a way that shouldn't have worked aesthetically and somehow did.

No brace, the crystal was embedded directly, the same arrangement as 02's. Despite all of it, she was still wearing the old 101 hoodie.

"I didn't think you'd come, knowing everything that happened." Her voice was cold and measured. "Either you're brave or you're not paying attention."

"I expected an insult about intelligence." Obsidian crossed his arms.

Shelly laughed, dry, brief. "We both know your intelligence level. No mask needed." She placed one hand flat on the desk. "Tell me. How much did you say to my brother that led him to the conclusion I was 00?"

"He knew?" Obsidian paused. "Not surprising, actually."

"Drop the act." Her green gaze settled on him. "Why did you expose me? I didn't want to open that history again. Now he asks about it constantly. Do you have any idea how much of a problem you've created?"

"You mean the 'annoying brat' folder?" Obsidian said. "Because I'm beginning to agree with your father. I think he went easy on you. And I said nothing to Lord Reaper. I knew he would arrive there on his own."

"Stop calling me that. Lies won't get you out of this." She struck the desk. It shifted slightly. "He couldn't have reached it without outside help."

"That wasn't an insult, if you think about it carefully."

Shelly looked at him for a moment. "You mean, because I stayed the same, he recognized me."

"Your father gave you a label I won't repeat, or you'll start throwing things." Obsidian leaned back. "And you've been committing to it consistently regardless of what you prefer to be called. Anyone with reasonable pattern recognition would find the connection within minutes of genuine attention. Shelly, Lazuli, 00, same genius. Same difficult behavior. Same kind of sharp. Lord Reaper knew for a long time and chose not to raise it for exactly the same reason you hid it from him."

Shelly raised her head slightly.

"He was afraid of breaking something. He didn't care about the name or the childish behavior you enforced, having a sister came as a complete package and he accepted it." Obsidian tilted his head. "You have a brother who genuinely cares about you. Why does what he calls you matter that much?"

"Because I hate it." She looked away. "You had the same experience, didn't you."

He said nothing.

"RP.01." Shelly kept her voice level. "A designation. A code for a product line. The kind of name given to appliances, not to conscious beings with will and opinion. Why did you refuse that name?"

"Because he gave it to me."

"Exactly." She struck the desk again, harder this time. "00 is a model number. It doesn't belong to a person. And the worst part is who assigned it, the same man who essentially killed me, revived me when he needed an energy stabilizer for Omega, conscripted me into building weapons, and locked Omega in a utopian prison while expecting her gratitude."

She looked at her own hands. "If he'd had a reasonable reason for any of it, I would have forgiven him immediately. That's what makes it worse." She shifted her eyes to Obsidian. "You felt that too. And you did exactly what I did, you took a name my brother gave you and built yourself around it. You discarded the past when you were able to. So why is it that I'm not allowed the same?"

Obsidian was quiet for a moment. "I never said you were wrong. I didn't help Lord Reaper find the answer. I said I understood why you did it. RP.01, 00, like naming livestock after running out of ideas."

Shelly exhaled slowly, then smiled. "You do see it."

"I always have." He nodded. "But you should prepare yourself for the consequences. 02 is not a simple obstacle. I fought her and she dragged me through the street."

Shelly looked away, not quite hiding the laugh. "Streets. Plural."

"Annoying br—never mind."

"What do you mean, never mind?" She stood up on the chair. "You said it. Basically."

"I said 'annoying brat'?" Obsidian considered it. "I find it remarkable how humans manage to describe things—" He looked at her. "—with such precision."

She dropped her face into her palms. "Even from the grave, his words are following me through his own creations." It came out muffled. A moment passed. "How is my brother? I haven't spoken with him since."

"He's right outside the door."

"What."

The automatic door opened. Reaper came in and stood facing them both. "Good evening."

Obsidian rose and bowed. "Good evening, brother."

Shelly stayed with her face in her palms. "Why did I install this many sensors in the new body. I can see you clearly through my hands."

"Then why are you still covering?" Reaper pulled a floating chair across.

"I don't know!" She pressed her forehead to the desk.

Obsidian and Reaper looked at each other. The expression between two people who don't have mouths to smirk with but manage it anyway.

"Thank you, Obsidian," Reaper said. "I needed to understand why she hid her name without the conversation turning emotional. And I got to see that cold, unguarded version of her that I only saw in our first weeks together." He paused. "That brings back something."

Obsidian allowed himself a quiet laugh. "That was a mask, Lord Reaper. The only time she speaks without one is when she's comfortable, and that's when she's alone with you. The difficult behavior is the real her."

"Can you please not analyze me while I'm sitting here."

"Would you prefer we discuss you when you're not in the room?" Reaper replied.

She opened her mouth. Closed it.

"I still can't fully reconcile that she made you," Obsidian said. "And 02. And the Spark emotion architecture. And then she is—" He looked at her. “—this.”

"This," she repeated. Eyes flat.

"Let her." Reaper stood and crossed to her, stopping at her left. "She's herself with me. That matters more than the rest."

Shelly turned away. "The humility I'm receiving right now is genuinely testing me. I'm starting to wonder if building you was a mistake. At least working under father I would have had dignity."

Reaper turned her chair to face him. "One question. Answer it the way I'm hoping and we may find something that keeps you from having to face 02 personally."

"That's not fair," Obsidian said, low.

Shelly shot him a look, then turned to her brother. "Go ahead."

He lowered himself to her eye level. "Did you actually delete Omega?"

Shelly held his red and green gaze for a long moment. "No. She's dormant. I couldn't bring myself to delete her. Held in the main crystal that was used as the Omega network amplifier."

Reaper lifted her off the chair. "Then we have something to work with."

"What—" She looked around as he moved. "Where are we going? It's late. My shift ended."

"Metro Robotics." He settled her on his shoulder without ceremony. "We found a crystal with no host. We may have our own 02."

Her eyes went wide. "How? Father was the only one who could create functional crystals."

"Kuantum will explain it." He stopped at the door. "Obsidian, you're reinstated as Prime Minister. Your office is ready in the new ministry building. The administrative staff will support you."

"Wait!" Shelly pushed herself down to the floor. "Why didn't I keep it?"

Reaper looked at the walls.

At the posters.

At the slogans.

Shelly followed his gaze. "Never mind," she said, with the exhaustion of someone who has lost an argument before it started. "Let's go see Kuantum."

The door closed behind them. The room went quiet.

Obsidian leaned back in the chair and looked out through the glass panel. The sea was calm. Stars sat above the horizon in a line that looked arranged.

"I did tell him, actually," he said, to no one.

He laughed alone for a moment.