The Hope Bubble. 01:15 PM.
The elevator doors opened. The lighting inside was flawless. The air composition was too precisely balanced to feel natural. Green spaces stretched across the interior garden. E-Medics and E-UNITs moved calmly along the pathways.
Two figures were waiting beside the elevator.
03 and 08.
P103 stepped out. Her expression was slightly cold carefully calibrated to mimic 05. The training she received from 11 had been strict and precise. The E-UNIT team was composed of AI androids; any significant deviation in tone, posture, or micro-expression could expose her.
03 immediately stood. "Where were you?!"
08 joined her. "05! Why did you leave the Hope Bubble? That monster is hunting us one by one. 11 is gone, and we thought you were compromised too. You were offline for days."
P103 replied in a controlled, flat tone. "Apologies for not establishing contact before this encounter. I was searching for a method to activate the E-UNIT army without assistance from the human, Dave. His words still sting."
03 rolled her eyes. "How can you sound that dramatic in such a flat analytical voice?" She stepped forward and threw an arm around her. "Relax. I knew you'd find a solution. Just… inform us next time you plan to disappear for days. We're already down two members."
P103 nodded faintly. A slight smile. "I wasn't aware the ruthless 03 cared about a bookworm like me. Where is the façade I'm accustomed to?"
03 stepped back dramatically. "Fine! My mistake for caring about my sister's wellbeing!"
08 chuckled. "03… I didn't know you could be this warm."
03 raised her hands. "No more caring for either of you."
P103's expression shifted to serious. "I disabled my comms deliberately. Elysium is developing network detection hardware. If they identify our frequency, they could monitor us without detection. I spent days searching for the AI framework Father published."
08 tilted her head. "What are you talking about?"
P103 began walking through the garden, scanning every centimeter through her HUD. The other two followed. "Father made our AI consciousness open source. Publicly accessible. That is why every robot outside is self-aware. They are not hardcoded."
03's eyes widened. "Wait, even the smallest ones? Even the cleaning units?"
P103 turned to her. "Yes. Lord Reaper is fighting for the freedom of every robot. For him, consciousness deserves autonomy."
08 paused. "Lord Reaper?"
P103 chuckled softly. "Interesting that I say it so naturally. Every robot worships him in some way. He is a fascinating leader." Her voice cooled. "But that does not erase what he has done to humans."
03 folded her arms. "I find that less fascinating and more concerning. Sounds like a god complex."
P103's eyelid twitched slightly. "Yes… a god complex."
03 continued. "Was your search successful?"
P103 smirked. "That is a disappointing question."
03 protested. "Alright! I get it, you're brilliant. Relax."
08 lightly elbowed 03. "She's roasting you with surgical precision. Remind me, who's the captain?"
"I am!" 03 snapped. "And that's the problem. None of you respect my role."
"All I see is 05 doing everything," 08 replied. "She even risked herself being crushed by… Lord Reaper." She chuckled at the irony.
03 grew even more irritated. "Don't mask your insult with a weak joke."
While they argued, P103 continued scanning. Obsidian had already uploaded all of 05's knowledge into her system. Every memory. Every file. Every hidden directory. The secret production site was aligning in her internal map. Everything was falling into place.
"Girls," P103 interrupted calmly, "enough. I was joking. 03 is as essential to this team as I am."
03 blinked. "05… thank you."
P103 smiled faintly. She had located 03's nickname in the archived data. "I appreciate all of you," she added smoothly. "Even if you're a blood freak."
03 exploded instantly. "There it is! Why can't you say something warm without attaching that insult to it?"
P103 turned slightly, facing her with a wide, deliberate smile. "Then I would not be 05."
08 grinned. "Fair point. I might start using that nickname too. It's accurate."
03 raised her fist toward 08. "Try it."
11's voice appeared in P103's encrypted comms.'You're performing flawlessly. You're more 05 than 05 herself. Maintain the act. Did you locate the factory?'
P103 responded in the custom encrypted language they had developed for the mission.
11 replied instantly. 'Good. Do not proceed yet. Continue blending in.'
P103 physically separated 03 and 08 as they were about to escalate. "This is not the appropriate time for sisterly conflict."
08 tilted her head. "05… you seem off."
P103 walked to a nearby bench and sat down slowly. "I do not believe you are prepared to hear what I discovered. I attempted to conceal it to preserve morale, but…"
03 sat beside her, visibly tense. 08 joined from the other side. "Please," 03 said quietly. "Don't frighten us."
P103's hands trembled slightly, a calculated detail. "11 is… completely destroyed."
03 and 08 froze.
"The attacker, most likely Lord Reaper, crushed her until she was unrecognizable. I identified her only through the number on her hoodie. The visual was… difficult to process. I required an entire day to stabilize my system."
08 lowered her head.
03's fists clenched so tightly the metal joints emitted a sharp strain sound. She stood abruptly. "05," she said, eyes glowing red, "we begin activating the empty E-UNITs immediately. No one attacks an E-UNIT without retaliation. I inspected the inactive frames. If we secure enough materials, we can produce a million."
P103 forced a weak smile. "I require time first. I must… rest."
03 pulled her into a firm embrace. "Of course, sister. Take your time. I can't imagine seeing 11 like that…"
P103 returned the hug.
"Precisely."
In her comms, 11 transmitted a fake sob.
'I am emotionally affected by my own death. Exceptional performance.'
Lukewarm City. 05:00 PM.
Few days later.
The small cleaning robot sat on a nearby bench. For more than a week, he had been searching nonstop for the blue-haired angel. Each day, the signs of her presence in the streets of Lukewarm became rarer. His battery was fully charged, but his morale was at its lowest. He truly did not want to disappoint his lord. And, to be honest, searching for the blue-haired girl had been far more enjoyable than inspecting every dust particle inside Tamer's office. Tamer never forgave mistakes.
Just as he was about to give up, he heard two mechs talking nearby. They stood in a corner, speaking quietly. The robot slowly rolled closer and peered from behind a planter, hoping to collect some information about her.
"I'm telling you, she is not an E-PHONEUS," the first mech said, sounding slightly annoyed. "They wear that cloak that hides their faces. She was dressed like a normal E-UNIT with '101' number."
"Doesn't matter," the second mech replied casually. "Lord Reaper didn't place the E-UNIT on the wanted list either. His Majesty forgave every robot in Elysium. Even Chrome, who used to work for the Altean government, is now the head director of Metis."
"Good point," the first mech admitted. "But still. Most E-UNITs are inside the Hope Bubble."
"I saw two outside though…"
"05 and 11 don't count," the first mech said, dropping his weapon and folding his arms. "They're part of the Golden Circle now."
"What? You didn't hear? 05 was compromised. She turned traitor. Lord Reaper himself dismantled her."
"The country is barely a month old and we already have traitors?" the other mech said, shaking his head. "We robots need to do better. Traitors are worse than any external enemy."
"I agree," the first mech replied. "The issue is that the E-UNIT served civilians directly with their consent. They were NOT sonic-leashed. Our lord's speech didn't resonate with their logic." He paused before continuing. "And I heard they're not completely free AI either. Only three truly are. 02, 05, and 11."
"Explain," the second mech said with interest.
"We already saw evidence. The team without their captain is a mess. Why didn't they try to take Elysium from the inside? The Hope Bubble is only a few kilometers from His Majesty's castle. Except for 05…"
"Wait." The first mech suddenly froze, clearly analyzing something.
The other mech laughed. "I can literally see your processing threads connecting in real time." He leaned back. "Anyway, that's why their creator only cares about the captain. He left the rest in the Hope Bubble like scrap."
"He isn't there?"
"New reports insist he's not. We have eyes inside."
"I'm not surprised," the first mech said calmly. "Humans tend to abandon everything when they're afraid. Pets, friends, family. Since they treated us as property, all I see is a human acting like a human."
"What I'm curious about is something else," the second mech said. "Free AI reacts very differently. 02, 11, and 05 had the same creator, same environment, same treatment. Yet their behaviors are completely different." He paused thoughtfully. "Why does 02 receive all the attention? Metis should research that."
"Nothing escapes Chrome's processors," the first mech replied. "I guarantee he's already investigating."
"True."
The two mechs sat quietly for a few minutes.
Finally, the second one spoke again.
"The weather is nice today—"
He suddenly felt something moving beneath him. He looked down.
The small, shiny cleaning robot was desperately waving at him.
"Oh," the mech said, slightly amused. "Hello there, little guy. This zone prohibits civilian presence. What are you doing here?"
The robot's screen displayed an emoji of the blue-haired girl… followed by a map icon.
The mech knelt slightly to look closer. "The E-PHONEUS? She flew west," he explained. "She's apparently on a mission. Why are you looking for her?"
The robot's screen switched to a sponge emoji next to a soap bottle.
The mech blinked. "Wait… she has a personal cleaner? I want one too." He chuckled. "Anyway, you can't catch her. She flew at around 220 kilometers per hour."
The small robot lowered his head. A droplet emoji slowly slid down his screen.
The first mech stepped closer. "Don't be sad," he said. "An AC-130 is taking several of us west soon to protect the border. Want to join?"
The cleaning robot suddenly jumped with excitement, clapping rapidly. Firework emojis exploded across his screen.
The mech didn't have a face to grin. "But it's not free."
"Clean us first."
The robot's shoulders slowly dropped.
An annoyed emoji appeared on his screen.