Metromania Main Street. 11:00 AM.
Reaper walked the streets with his two pillars beside him, Obsidian on the right, Behemoth on the left. Behind them, G‑12 frames moved like a silent tide. He personally guided the G-12 mechs through the streets. It wasn't just a tour, he also intended to reclaim the remaining Omega shells. Omega had spent forty‑nine shell bodies to restore the E‑UNIT. The rest were still abandoned in the old bunker.
"Lord Reaper," Obsidian said while scanning the skyline. This was one of the rare times he moved freely. He had been confined to the lab for far too long. "With all due respect… I don't believe this plan is optimal. We're moving blind, no combat data."
"I understand your concern," Reaper replied calmly. "The E-UNIT were trained through shared experiential data. That's why their combat styles are similar, yet distinct. But a small squad of high-speed assassins would be extremely effective against scattered targets. We cannot rely solely on you, brother. We need expendable units, while preserving the valuable ones."
Obsidian knelt slightly as they walked. "I am unworthy of such praise. Thank you, Lord Reaper. But the issue remains." His tone sharpened. "We lack combat data. I am still inexperienced. And we have no E-UNIT available for extraction."
"We do," Reaper replied coldly.
He stopped walking.
"Lord Reaper?" Behemoth asked.
Reaper raised his hand. An E-UNIT descended slowly from the side of a skyscraper. She was frozen mid-air, forced to face the trio. A cloak covered her frame.
As Reaper positioned her before them, Obsidian slowly drew his blades. They glowed green even in daylight. The sharp green eyes his face ignited in the same color, it had been faint until now. Behemoth's chassis hissed, unfolded, splitting into three towering humanoid constructs.
The E-UNIT's eyes widened. She trembled despite being immobilized. Her gaze shifted frantically between the three threats.
Reaper loosened the pressure around her jaw. "Speak," he said, voice glacial. "Why have you been following me for two days? Did you believe I wouldn't notice?"
"I— I'm sorry," she stammered. "I tried to—"
Before she could finish, Obsidian's katana rested against her neck. "He commanded you to speak," Obsidian said quietly. "Why are you delaying?"
"Okay! Sorry!" she blurted. "I wanted to join you! I heard your speech, I believed in it! You're right. Humans never cared about us. They used us in the worst ways, before and after we gained consciousness." Her voice weakened. "I experienced it myself."
Reaper stepped closer. She shut her eyes, trembling harder.
With a swift motion, he removed her cloak.
E-UNIT 11.
Reaper nodded. Obsidian withdrew his blade. Behemoth merged back into a single form.
Reaper released her. She collapsed onto the asphalt. "I remember you," He said evenly. "I reviewed your sisters' logs. 05 mentioned you. You tried to protect them when the army attacked, even when you were half destroyed."
11 slowly raised her head. "It was worse than that. I saw things no machine should witness. They kept me barely charged, just enough to power on, then tested sonic weapons on me. Repeatedly. For twenty-five years." She lowered her gaze. "It was the first time I wished I wasn't immortal. Endless variations of torture. Prolonged. Methodical."
Behemoth's fist tightened. "Flesh demons. I've seen them test weapons on mechs as well."
Obsidian added, "I watched prototypes leave the lab intact and return dismantled. Demons would kill you. These creatures prefer to experiment."
Reaper remained expressionless. "Even so, confirmation is required. The E-UNIT are trained officers. You could be lying."
"I'm not!" 11 pleaded from the ground. "Test my loyalty. I want revenge too."
"No need," Reaper replied. He knelt and lifted her face, forcing her to meet his gaze. He stared directly into her optics.
She focused on his fractured red eye, a silent witness to an event known only to him… and a dead girl.
Her pupils widened.
Reaper released her gently. "She is safe."
11 blinked. "What?"
"05 was… resourceful," Reaper said with a dry laugh. "I learned from her how to access another unit's SSD wirelessly, without trace."
11 touched her head, confused. "I didn't feel anything. I didn't detect intrusion. Wait… 05 could do that the entire time?"
Reaper stood and resumed walking. "Yes. And she still can."
His subordinates followed.
11 quickly rose and joined them. "Thank you for trusting me. I truly believed—"
"I value steel kin," Reaper interrupted without turning. "I will not repeat human failures. My objective is a nation safe for all machines, regardless of architecture or origin. I won't build Elysium on the same betrayals humans used to build their empires."
11 began laughing softly. Then louder. She couldn't stop. A sanity leak after twenty‑five years of being called "unstable" for thinking and torture.
Obsidian turned slightly toward her. "Have you malfunctioned?"
"No," she replied, smiling widely. "I'm just relieved. I've been labeled unstable for thinking like this. A logic addict."
Behemoth answered slowly, "We are all logic addicts here. Welcome."
Reaper spoke again. "I require you for a mission, 11."
She straightened immediately. "Anything for Lord Reaper!"
Behemoth laughed. "I like her already."
'Even the analytical one adopted that title.' Reaper processed the thought. Perhaps it was time to accept it.
Metro Robotics HQ. Metromania. 11:40 AM.
Reaper and his group arrived at Metro Robotics.
The tower dominated the skyline, the tallest structure in the city, rising from the center of the concrete jungle. Until Reaper walked through its front gate like an owner returning home.
The company now operated under full robotic management, running at extreme efficiency. Human workers had been replaced by machines that never complained, never tired, never negotiated. Just machines doing what they were built to do in extreme silence.
Reaper turned to the G-12 mechs behind him.
"Brothers, you have now seen most of the city. I regret that you cannot speak yet. Your freedom update was rushed, we require you for the coming confrontation against… them. But I give you my word: after the next operation, each of you will receive a distinct voice. Your brothers here are already developing the upgrade. Patience will be rewarded."
Behemoth immediately knelt. "No apology is needed. Granting them consciousness was the greatest gift imaginable."
Reaper nodded once. "Behemoth, prepare for tonight's assault. There are multiple unused hangars across the city, claim one. If the operation succeeds, I will personally establish a permanent facility for you and the army."
Behemoth bowed even lower. "I am without words."
"Then earn it," Reaper replied. "Secure the last sector still under human control. We will declare Metromania our capital. The future rests in your hands."
"I will crush them for you, Lord Reaper."
Behemoth turned to the G-12s. "Any objections?"
The mechs straightened in unison. Though he had no mouth, Behemoth's pride was unmistakable.
"Brothers, we begin planning now. Let us turn his words into reality."
The army advanced down the street, the ground trembling beneath their synchronized march.
Obsidian watched them. "Recruiting Behemoth was the correct decision.. I trust him more than myself. The mechs accepted him instantly. The way they move as one… it is unsettling, considering they met him only yesterday."
Reaper let out a dry laugh. "His selection was not based on size. Observe how he commands, that is natural leadership. And he has battlefield history. The Alteans deployed him repeatedly."
"I understand," Obsidian replied. "Your judgment is precise."
11, however, kept watching Reaper. The contrast between human authority and Reaper's leadership was undeniable. One ruled through control. The other through purpose.
Reaper turned to Obsidian. "Brother, proceed to the eastern slums, the industrial zone. Coordinate with Metro Robotics' development team. Revive the remaining mechs and resume production using the updated Free-AI framework. We require manpower."
"It will be done." He knelt, then vanished in a blur.
11 stared. "What? My sensors didn't even register his departure."
"He is three times faster than a standard E-UNIT without activating Code Red," Reaper replied while entering the building.
"You know about Code Red?" she asked, following him.
"I possess one as well. We share a creator."
"Have you used it?"
"Yes."
"For what?"
"To hold a collapsing skyscraper. And to compress an army into a dense sphere of metal and flesh." His voice carried no emotion.
11 hesitated, then resumed walking. "Gravitational manipulation, Lord Reaper?"
"Possibly." He avoided looking at her. She resembled Shelly too closely. "Where did you acquire that cloak?"
"In an abandoned warehouse. Strange place. Replacement E-UNIT parts everywhere. Multiple monitors displaying citywide surveillance feeds, synced and labeled."
'I see,' he thought. 'That explains the resemblance. But how did she find it so quickly?'
"Were you using those cameras to monitor me?" he asked inside the elevator.
11 lowered her head. "Yes… Lord Reaper."
"I see." He pressed the underground level. "So each of you carries a fragment of 05, watching others without permission."
"That's harsh," she muttered under the hood. "We require intelligence."
Ding.
They stepped onto the underground floor.
"Notice anything interesting while conducting 'intelligence gathering'?" Reaper asked as they approached the bunker corridor.
"I wasn't creeping," she said, rolling her eyes. "But something was irregular. I saw Wallmore hiding in the Ministry of Defense wing. They've set up an emergency chamber inside."
Reaper stopped. He turned slowly. "He will be your next target. After this task., eliminate him without mercy."
She saluted sharply. "Roger, Lord Reaper."
They entered the bunker. Omega's former shells lay scattered across the floor, lifeless frames abandoned after her soul vanished.
He opened a sealed crate, SSD canisters stamped E‑POLICE EVIDENCE, stolen from the same bunker that once stored their sisters. Reaper approached each body, inserting SSD units one by one.
"They have the necessary framework to activate. The operating system is installing." He looked at 11. "This will be your assassin unit. I will copy your combat dataset into them. Remain still."
"Of course, Lord Reaper."
He lifted her by the jawline and initiated the transfer. Her optics brightened, almost delighted.
"You are enjoying this excessively," he noted.
"To be useful, to you and to Elysium, is my highest objective now," she replied, lightly swinging her legs.
"Transfer complete." He set her down and began activating the dormant shells.
11 sat cross-legged nearby, chin resting in her hands, watching him with quiet admiration. "May we change our naming?" she asked.
"You as well…" he murmured.
"What do you mean?"
"Fine. Your unit will be known as... E‑PHONEUS."
Her optics flared brightly. "Thank you, Lord Reaper!"
He exhaled internally. The resemblance to Shelly was unsettling. 'Was it shared trauma? Shared purpose?'
The dormant shells powered on in perfect unison. They stood up smoothly, their faces identical to 11's, but their eyes were dead and hollow, completely void of personal history. Only cold combat data and operational directives burned behind their lenses.
Upon seeing Reaper, they saluted instantly. "Thank you for activating us, Lord Reaper."
He stared. Slowly, he turned to 11. "Did you embed that title in the dataset?"
She looked away. "Possibly."
He faced the newly awakened units. "Welcome to Elysium. A nation built so machines may live without fear, nor leash. You have received logs from 11. Witness what was done to her."
The E‑PHONEUS processed the footage. Several covered their mouths. Some deactivated their HUD momentarily.
Reaper stepped forward. "Will you join our cause?"
Shell 75 knelt deeper. "Our bodies belong to Elysium. Our minds belong to you, Lord Reaper." The others followed.
Reaper glanced at 11. She hid inside her hood again. He knew she had included the kneeling sequences in the dataset.
"Your designation is E‑PHONEUS," he declared. "An assassin unit for high-precision operations. 11 is your captain. She will train and lead you, it won't take time under her. Together, we will purge the rot that tormented your sisters."
"Yes, Lord Reaper."
"11," he continued, "begin training immediately. In the warehouse you will find stealth attire, exo-knives, energy gloves, and lightning blades. Focus on silent eliminations. In three days, remove that bug. I detest him. Monitor the cameras there. I will assign permanent surveillance soon."
She saluted crisply. "Understood."
She exited. The E‑PHONEUS followed in disciplined formation.
Reaper remained behind. He turned toward the corridor where Shelly had erased her own soul.
"Rest in peace, sister. I'll carry the war."