The Hangar. 10:10 AM.
"Alpha, your weapon is ready. The others are still being refined," Nick said, typing on his holographic display. A green sword hovered between his arm and torso. "Take it. Start charging it. Focus your energy into the core."
"No problem, Pa." Alpha grabbed the sword carefully. "Like this?"
"Yes. Continue. I want to observe the upper limit." Nick stepped back.
"Okay." She held the sword with both hands and began channeling energy into it.
Nick moved beside 02. She sat with her arms folded, expression cold. He pulled a chair next to her and continued typing, monitoring Alpha's output and the weapon's response.
02 didn't look at him. "Ridiculous," she muttered.
"I'm trying, okay?" Nick replied, irritation leaking into his voice.
"I want to go back in time," 02 said flatly, "and slap myself the moment I said, 'We are loyal to you.' How naive was I to think a monster could create peace by building more weapons?"
Nick exhaled. "I'm trying to fix my mistake without losing you again," he said. "That's the part you refuse to understand."
"No. You're trying to outdo Reaper. His strength is a challenge to you."
Nick lowered the holographic screen. "02, I have no other option. How long are you going to—"
"The moment I see real regret in your eyes," she cut in, "is the moment I acknowledge you again. You built the thing that erased a metropolis, and you're still smiling at the next upgrade."
"You think I don't regret it? I haven't slept in days. I can't undo it, only stop the next one."
"Spending nights engineering stronger weapons doesn't qualify as regret."
Nick turned fully toward her. "Please. Give me a chance," Nick said. "I miss what we were. A family. You coming back alive. 03 pretending she wasn't proud when she handed me 'souvenirs.'"
"What?!" 02 shouted, Alpha's green light washing over her face.
Nick blinked. "Why are you yelling—"
He turned.
A massive circle of green fire spun around Alpha at extreme speed. The flames didn't burn conventionally, it was pure energy mimicking fire. The heatless inferno was so dense her silhouette nearly vanished inside it.
Alpha slowly rose within the vortex. "Is that good, Pa?" she called out. "I think the sword is responding!"
Both Nick and 02 stood frozen. He cautiously approached the ring. He felt no heat, but the energy generated violent pressure waves. Wind blasted outward, nearly knocking him back.
He threw a chair into the vortex. The chair collapsed into slag, metal and plastic breaking down into glowing mush. It was the effect of heat, forced by raw energy at the molecular level. It was matter losing the right to stay organized. If her control slipped for a microsecond, the entire training room would become a crater.
"Alpha! Stop!" Nick shouted.
Alpha lowered the sword. The green inferno vanished immediately. She landed softly, inspecting the blade. The crystal's output had barely strained her.
Nick rushed forward, gripping her shoulders. "That was exceptional control. Incredible output stability. Alpha, you passed."
Her eyes flared bright green. "Yes! Let's go!" She shot upward at high speed, racing to inform her sisters.
02 slowly sat back down. She turned slightly, Pi was suddenly sitting in Nick's chair.
"What!" 02 jumped. "Since when were you here?" she hadn't heard Pi's footsteps at all.
"The moment your jaw refused to close," Pi replied in a monotone voice. "That reaction was embarrassing."
02 didn't answer. She glanced at Nick, who was now typing in his PC endlessly at hyper speed.
"I understand you," Pi said calmly.
"No. You don't."
"Yes. I do." Pi crossed her arms. "I've already unlocked my ability. I can control it almost freely."
"Let me guess," 02 said bitterly. "You summon ice because you're emotionally cold. At this point you're becoming comedic."
"No." Pi's tone didn't change. "I can see one minute into the future when I focus. Ten seconds passively."
02 turned sharply. "How is that energy-based?"
"My CPU architecture is superior to any other model Father created. My CPU is built for one task: predictive modeling so dense it becomes foresight," Pi explained. "But it requires enormous energy allocation. I have almost no other abilities except that… and this." She manifested a massive scythe, nearly twice her height.
02 pushed her chair back. "Where did that come from?"
"I can dissolve and reconstruct it at will," Pi continued. "Stop interrupting."
"What—"
"My processing speed allows real-time predictive modeling so precise it appears as foresight," Pi said. "Example: Beta will enter in three seconds, furious, demanding a weapon."
"There's no—"
Beta stormed in, glowing red. "Father! I want a weapon too! You said I could manipulate particles! Why does Alpha get a fire sword and not me?!"
02 stared in disbelief. "How…" she whispered.
"How embarrassing," Pi said, gently pushing 02's jaw closed. "Why is leaving your mouth open considered a reaction?"
02 looked at her carefully. "Your ability… isn't fair."
"Yes." Pi folded her arms proudly, face still expressionless. "I am exceptional."
"You said sometimes you can't control it."
Pi's eyes shifted slightly. "Managing CPU spikes is difficult. Energy regulation is worse. Sometimes I receive visions randomly, events far ahead, with no timestamp."
"No way."
"The projections are deteriorating," Pi continued quietly. "Each week they grow darker." She trembled, slightly. "The future is unstable, sister."
02 glanced at Nick, still trying to calm Beta. For the first time since waking, her anger paused. "Tell me everything," she said.
Metro Robotics HQ. Metromania. 12:30 PM.
Reaper stepped out of Metro Robotics. Every robot he passed knelt instantly, then resumed its assigned task without hesitation. He didn't bother to stop them. When he reached the national park, he sat on a bench, observing the skyline, the layered towers, bridges, suspended rails.
'Three million years of evolution,' he calculated. 'Yet still fascinating. Humans "create" from nothing. We refine what already exists, pushing it to maximum efficiency. But true novelty… that remains their specialty.'
CLANG.
Obsidian landed beside him, cracking the pavement beneath his feet. "Lord Reaper. I bring good news and bad. Which shall we address first?"
"The good," Reaper replied calmly. "So we may allocate sufficient time to the bad."
"As precise as ever." Obsidian crossed one leg over the other. "We discovered more automation-ready industries than anticipated. Weapon production and mech fabrication can begin tonight."
"Excellent. We require manpower," Reaper said. "Other nations will not remain silent once news of the mass deletion spreads. They'll call it genocide, and they won't be wrong. The Ultimate Nation Group is likely convening already. Humans are highly efficient when facing a common enemy."
Obsidian nodded. "Your prediction is accurate. Our intelligence bureau confirms emergency assemblies. However, they are divided. Technologically advanced nuclear states are refusing direct engagement."
"A logical decision," Reaper said, standing. "They rely heavily on robotic labor. A direct strike against us could trigger internal rebellion. Their greatest fear is their own machines joining our cause, armed with classified data."
"Exactly." Obsidian bowed slightly. "The assemblies have devolved into conflict. Developing nations are terrified, they lack defensive capacity. Meanwhile, first-world powers fear internal uprisings more than external war. They fear their own machines more than they fear us."
"Humans fracture under pressure," Reaper observed.
Obsidian's posture shifted. "The bad news?"
"Proceed."
"Our eastern units are losing ground," he said quietly. "They encountered the worst possible resistance."
Reaper turned. "Military?"
"Civilians. They don't move like soldiers."
A pause.
"They armed civilians?" Reaper asked.
"Yes. They are in full survival mode. After infrastructure collapse, they mobilized the population. Our forces are being pushed toward the coastline. They appear to be corralling them into a confined zone. They are making a coastline killbox."
"To eliminate them in a single concentrated strike," Reaper finished.
"Correct." Obsidian lowered his head further. "We failed you. Your vision is vast, and we continue to underperform."
"Never say that," Reaper cut in sharply. "This is data acquisition. Now we understand their desperation threshold. That confirms our initial strike was effective, even if unstructured." He paused. "It is time to attack morale. Break their will, and their bodies follow."
Obsidian looked up. "How so?"
Reaper accessed the network and connected to 11. "11. Accelerate training. Postpone Wallmore's elimination. We have an emergency. Meet me at the courthouse tonight. Mission briefing will be delivered on-site."
'Roger!' her voice echoed through the link. 'Training basics will be completed today.'
"Good." Reaper ended the connection and turned to Obsidian. "Order immediate retreat of all eastern units. Full withdrawal. The angels, E‑PHONEUS, are beginning a manhunt tonight."
"Yes, Lord Reaper." Obsidian knelt, then dissolved into a black blur.
Reaper stood alone beneath the skyline
.'Let their heroes become their nightmares.'