Chapter 23: The angels are falling.

'System reboot initiated.'
'Task failed.'
'Initiate emergency reboot.'
'Emergency reboot failed.'
'Checking corrupted files…'
'Multiple hardware capabilities disconnected.'
'Forcing reboot…'
'Forced reboot successful. Welcome, E-UNIT 02, The Captain.'

Zzzzt—
"…Take her now!"

Her HUD glitched violently.

"…OMG, her state is—"

Muffled voices.
"…Faster! We're losing her!"

Her cameras fuzzed.
"…They will pay for this…"

The feeling of being lifted.
"…Is she coming back…?"

Outside, in that ocean-like blur of sound, 03 was already using Super Speed, sprinting between hallways to reach the stairwell.
Her speed was so extreme that the vents hissed like a V12 engine starving for air. But 03 didn't slow down. Not even for a heartbeat.

The others followed her like a tail chasing the head, worried, angry, stressed… but mostly terrified.

For the first time in their existence, the E-UNITS tasted something new.

Fear.

The fear of losing the most beloved person in their lives.
Maybe even more than losing their father.

"Captain, I'm begging you, stay with me! PLEASE!"

The fear of losing someone in front of you is the worst psychological horror an android, or even a human, can feel.

You see them destroyed…
"Her body is not responding! Where is her leg?!"

You don't see the expression you are used to…
"She stopped smiling!"

And the worst part,
You expect the worst to already be happening.

"03! Faster before we lose her!"
"Shut UP! NEVER say that!"

Stage by stage, step by step, the E-UNITS ran through the same path they had entered…
But now, every step felt heavier, more dangerous, more precious.

The destroyed doorway, the same one they blasted through earlier, now felt like a finish line they were begging to reach.

03 reached it first, leaping through the broken glass like an Olympic champion.

But she wasn't holding a trophy.

She was holding what remained of her sister.

Outside, people froze.
03 held the captain in her arms like a princess, but not the clean, glowing, strong captain they knew.

This one looked like a ghost of her past self.

The cheering died instantly.
Every voice went quiet.
Most people didn't even think about recording, shock shut their minds down.

Their hero was torn apart.
01 held her missing leg.
04 held her missing arm.
Some fathers covered their children's eyes so they wouldn't see their shining blue hero broken like this.

Social media didn't explode with excitement, it drowned in grief.
Metromania had just watched its last bubble of hope shatter.
The light they held so tightly… now fading in front of them.

Every raindrop that hit the E-UNITS' bodies evaporated instantly, their metal skins burning from twelve straight minutes of nonstop sprinting.

03 reached the main medical tent, pushing everyone aside with raw force.
She carried what was left of her captain.

The room fell silent when they saw 02's condition.

Except for one man, the Father.
He grabbed 02 instantly and rushed her into the temporary emergency repair room they prepared for moments exactly like this.

But his face…

No reaction.
No joke.
No calming gesture.
Nothing.

For 03, that confirmed the truth.

This was serious. Dangerously serious.

His team of engineers, the ones Mikael brought days ago, sprinted after him like nurses following a surgeon into an operating room.

03 stayed behind.
She dropped to her knees, curling herself into a ball, head down.
The others watched her transform into someone they never knew was inside her.

07 approached carefully.
"You okay…?"

03 laughed.

A broken laugh.
A maniac's laugh.

"No."

She lifted her head slowly.
Her eyes were dead.

"And if the captain is not okay…"
Her smile twisted,
"…this company won't be either."



Ten long minutes passed.

The E-UNITS had been taking turns asking about the captain every minute, but eventually… they stopped.

They were scared to ask.
Scared to know.

They just stood there, stressed, silent, and drowning in fear.
Some of them had built a level of hatred so intense they were waiting for a signal to storm the building again…
But they couldn't.
Not yet.
Not without knowing how their captain was doing.

05 connected herself to the big screen and started replaying the drone footage of the fight.

Again.
And again.
"And AGAIN!"

03 snapped.
"Can you stop replaying that horror movie on a screen we can't ignore?!"

05 answered calmly, without even turning around.
"We need to address the problems—"

"Then address them in your HUD!" 03 yelled. "I don't want to see this again! I was there!"

05's eyebrow twitched.
"As I said… we need to review what we did wro—"

03 stomped the ground so hard the asphalt cracked beneath her foot. Her eyes glowed bright red.
"I don't care about what you said!"

05 fired back, sharper than before.
"I think you don't care at all."

03 leaned in, voice low and dangerous.
"…What did you just say?"

05 crossed her arms.
"Now you care about what I said. If you had any working threads left in that CPU of yours, 02 wouldn't be in this state."

04 turned toward 05 instantly.
"Whoa! WTF, 05! Calm down!"

03 stepped closer again.
"At least I'm not the one hiding behind a screen, stating the obvious every time I open my mouth!"

05 pointed a finger at her.
"Anything is better than selling the team for some mind-bending, gore-filled horror games you play. No one likes blood except YOU, freak!"

03's fist stopped an inch before hitting 05's face.
05 didn't flinch. Not even a millimeter.

"One more word…" 03 whispered, "and you'll be in that room next to 02."

05 pushed her hand aside.
"So sending broken E-UNITS to Father is your thing now? Aren't you satisfied with what you did to the capta—"

SLAP.

The entire tent froze.

03 had slapped 05 across the face.
Hard.

05's blades slid out with a metallic shhhk, aiming right at 03's leg and arm.

"An eye for an eye. Do you approve?"
She tilted her head.
"What's stopping me from sending YOU to that room?"

08, sitting on the ground with arms crossed, sighed loudly.
"You two are supposed to be our mentors…"

CLAP. CLAP.

Mikael clapped twice, lifting his head.

"Girls, let's calm down here. 02 will be fixed in no time. I gave Dr. Nick more than enough parts to ensure you don't fall.
I bet she's just getting updated with some bogus system patch."

03 shot him a sharp look.
"Then why were you shocked when 02 came in broken?"

Mikael laughed.
"I knew some of you would lose parts. You're fighting a company that's been building war robots for twelve years.
I just didn't expect the captain to be the first one to fall. Honestly, I thought it would be 07."

Everyone laughed, the tension finally dropping.

07 raised her hands.
"WHY is everyone always after me?!"

06 elbowed her.
"Technically… you were the first one who fell."

07 went silent and immediately started playing a game on 06's phone.

05 retracted her blades and returned to her PC.
03 returned to her crying corner, face hidden.

Then,
The door opened.

Dr. Nick stepped out. Every head snapped toward him.
03 dashed forward instantly.

He removed his mask, gloves, and switched to his work glasses, smiling.

That smile alone gave the team a wave of relief.
"Well," he said, stretching his back, "it was a good chance to test the new upgrade."

01 tilted her head.
"Upgrade?"

"Yes!" He stepped aside.
"Allow me to present… Module 2."
'Module 2... or as the file is named, Project Omega. Let's see if the crystal accepts the host.'

The new captain stepped in.
Her body was completely different from her previous form.

First.
She was much bigger.
All E-UNITS were 150 cm tall.
But this one… this one broke past 170 cm, with a frame built for heavier mechanical muscles.

Second.
Gone were the fancy black clothes for blending with humans.
She wasn't wearing clothes. She didn't need them. Her body was a seamless sculpture of hyper-compressed matte white alloy, scratch-proof at level 6, dent-proof at level 7.

Third.
Her sensors were larger, faster, sharper, capturing more data at longer distances.

Every E-UNIT rushed around her to inspect the new chassis.
And on her left shoulder, where the number '02' used to be, a single Greek letter burned in white light.

Omega Ω.

07 poked the new armor. Clink.

"Where is the number?" 07 whispered. "And why is there a giant Omega symbol? Are we calling her... Omega now?"

Father answered calmly:
"No. This is a side project I've been working on. A full-body upgrade system for you all, more capable, more durable."

02 spoke in a flat, monotone voice.
"Initiate response. Yes, exactly."

The girls froze.

"Did she lose her memories?!" 03 yelled, eyes red again.
She glared at Dr. Nick like she could rip his throat out.

Dr. Nick panicked.
"No! 02, stop joking! My entire neck is on the line here!"

02 suddenly burst laughing at 03's reaction.
"HAHAHA! 05, did you get that?!"

05 spun her chair with a smirk.
"Yes… recorded."

Everyone jumped her, hugging her, squeezing her, piling on.

"Okay, okay girls, I get it!"

02 stood up straighter. Her tone shifted from playful to razor-sharp.

"It's time we show them… who's the better creation."

Mikael whispered to Jacob beside him,
"I love these catchphrases."



The clouds didn't move.

Thick, unmoving dark cotton hung low over the skyline, no rain, no thunder, just a heavy
presence watching the final battle unfold. The sky itself refused to blink.

For the first time since they came into existence, the case was personal.
The pain, the trauma, the cold nights in repair pods, the screams of the victims they tried to save, all of it boiled just beneath their plates.

02 stood before her six sisters. Static hummed under her new reinforced armor. Her reactor output climbed slowly... smoothly... like a rising heartbeat.
She was ready. Not just to fight, but to test this "New Version" of herself for the first time.

This time, she didn't scream a battle cry. No roar of war. No heroic shout. Something inside her had changed. Maybe her old body really was poisoned, corrupting her emotions with negativity. Maybe this new reactor simply burned cleaner.

She turned her head halfway toward her sisters. They expected strategy. A plan. Captain-style commands.
Instead, she smiled.
"From this point forward, the enemy is unknown," she said softly. "From this point forward, we shape the future for those poor souls."

Her eyes flashed.
"And from this point forward... I intend to enjoy myself."

01 blinked twice, tilting her head. "...What?"

BOOM.
02 vanished upward in a blue-white blur.

The sonic kickback blew the girls' hair backward. Their HUDs glitched for 0.2 seconds from the sudden shockwave. The Captain wasn't even visible; only the faint spiral of wind she left behind remained.

"HEY—!" 03 yelled.


In exactly 11.2 seconds, 02 broke through the glass wall of the highest floor, scattering shards like slow snow.
She landed hard, sending a vibration across the office sensors.
Shikimori sat in his chair, calm, hands folded. He looked like he'd been expecting a guest for tea, not an invasion.

She stepped out of the shadows toward him, fluorescent office lights reflecting off her clean white armor panels. Her long blue hair swayed behind her like a blade.

It was their first face-to-face meeting.
He rose slowly, stepping into the light so she could see him properly.

"As my engineers said... a marvelous piece of technology." His eyes scanned her face sensors, her jawline, the micro-actuators in her neck. "That's exactly why the Owner hasn't killed Nick yet. Wisdom, I guess."

He sat down again casually, tapping his fingers on the armrest.
"Well, I expected more of you. Did they die on the way up here? I didn't think the light security measures would eliminate... most." He smirked.

CRASH.

The glass behind her shattered again. The six sisters landed one after another, 01 flipping, 03 arriving with a slide, 07 simply stepping through the broken frame, looking bored. Sparks still crackled from their descent.

02 pulled a pistol with a clean metallic click. She aimed directly at Shikimori's forehead.

"Yuan Shikimori," she announced, her voice flat. "For manufacturing globally prohibited weapons, destabilizing energy cores near urban populations, and endangering ten million citizens... you are under arrest until the case is closed."

He didn't flinch. He didn't even raise an eyebrow.

"I expected more charges. I see your homework was... lacking, Captain."

He stood up and began to walk slowly around them, like a critic observing statues in a gallery.
07 sighed. "Here comes the speech."

"No," Shikimori corrected, never breaking eye contact with 02. "I'm simply too old to fight you myself."

He stopped.
"I have someone who has lived in blood longer than you ever will. His name is—"

The explosion cut him off.
A black-and-green armored figure smashed through the reinforced door, sending it flying across the room toward 08. The impact shook the floor.

Before anyone reacted, the man flew forward and kicked 06 so hard it dented her torso and launched her through the ceiling. Rain poured through the new opening.

"06!"

The figure followed her instantly.
The E-UNITS pursued.

06 immediately responded as he landed. "I'm fine, just a dent."

The E-UNIT landed on the rooftop, a massive concrete platform marked with a large white H. Wind howled around them as rain intensified.

A dark figure dropped from it, silent, precise.
Landing on both feet with absolute balance.

David.

Mr. Brightson's favorite killer.

He wore the RP.01 suit, pitch black armor, smooth like obsidian.
Neon-green veins of light crawled through the suit like living circuits.

The visor glowed in a giant X, hundreds of micro-sensors scanning the E-UNITs.
Behind him, two neon-energy katanas powered up with a rising energy as they detached from the charging ports.



Metal decomposition particles drifted from the blades like green smoke.
He faced the seven girls.
SSSSSHK, both katanas drawn.
He entered a silent warrior stance.



02 stepped back, analyzing threat level, her HUD pinged ALERT: S-RANK HOSTILE.
"As promised," she said, voice steady, "you can deal with him.
If things get ugly, I will step in."

Her eyes flashed red.
03 cracked her knuckles, fire in her voice.
"Alright, X-man. Let's end this."
She unsheathed her blades, anger burning deep inside her.

"Let me show you the real world," Shikimori said, stepping into the open rooftop winds. "Life can take you both ways. It's time to open your eyes outside that lab!"


Everyone was watching. Everyone was waiting.

TV helicopters hovered above the Metro Robotics Tower, stabilizing their cameras despite the heavy wind. People crowded the rooftops of neighboring buildings, phones out, lenses trembling. News drones drifted closer than safety allowed. Every organization in the city fought for the best angle.

What they filmed… would become history for the next generation.

03 launched herself forward, blades first, aiming straight for David's throat.

His right katana snapped up instantly, stopping her.
A hiss of air, his left katana was already swinging at her ribs!

Her arm-shield deployed mid-motion, blocking it.

01 dropped from the sky like a meteor.
The suit detected her, alarms screaming inside the visor.
He pivoted, caught her sword as she fell, and slammed her downward with brutal precision.

Inside the HQ, Dr. Nick watched everything unfold on the massive screen wall.
Mikael. Redwood. Jacob. All silent.
Nick's fist tightened so hard it trembled.

David moved like a man playing with opponents far below his level.

He swung 01's body like a ragdoll and hurled her at 06.

"…toying with kids would've been harder," his cold voice muttered through the suit's speakers.

07 slid beneath him and kicked at his knees, a perfect sweep.

04 dashed in and slashed his stomach, tearing through the suit's armor plating.

Before he could register it—

07 was already upright and delivered a devastating roundhouse kick to his chest.
The blow sent him sliding across the wet concrete, sparks and water splashing in all directions.

But she didn't pause — she sprinted at him like a bullet train.
03 joined her.

David looked up, suit torn, chest rattling… then—

He caught both girls by the head.
With. One. Hand. Each.

At that speed? At that force? No human could survive that without being chopped in half.
His suit started to heal itself.

The girls' processors screamed as pressure surged through their skull casings. Their HUDs glitched.

For a moment… they felt their heads cracking.
Did Shikimori lie about a human being inside?

CLANK!

He slammed their heads into the concrete, planting them like steel stakes.
They were pinned, unable to move.

He raised his katanas.

"Do you know how many friends you killed that way?" he said calmly.
"It's time you experience it firsthand."

But,

06 flashed in from the side, thrusters screaming.
If she hit fast enough, maybe...

He dashed toward her at the same exact speed.
A silent, terrifying SLEEK cut through the air.

Time froze.

Who would fall?

A metallic clatter.

06's arm dropped to the ground and shattered like porcelain.
Her blade clanged behind it.
She fell to her knees, eyes wide with shock.

04's entire body locked in horror.

Across the nation, people watching on television gasped, screamed, prayed.
Some covered their mouths.
Some shook with fear.
It felt like a national tragedy unfolding live.

And Shikimori?
He couldn't have been happier.
The old man jumped up and down like a child, clapping each time David landed a hit.

"WALLMORE! I'll pay you the highest salary in history! Out of my own paycheck! You'll be a legend! HAHA!"

Rain began falling again, heavier than before.
David stepped toward the half-buried 03 and 07.

He twirled the katana lazily.

"Now… where were we?"

But suddenly, he froze.

Someone was beside him.
Her presence was so quiet that even the suit failed to register it.
Her eyes were cold. Her expression even colder.

"It is time," she said softly.

David turned in panic.
"What—"

Before he saw her move, five new wounds carved across his body.
His suit rippled like black liquid, trying to heal the breaches.

The shockwave alone knocked him on his back.
His chest nearly imploded.

Then,
She vanished.

For the human eye, even for the other E-UNITs, it looked like teleportation.

She reappeared beside each fallen sister, collecting broken parts, lifting bodies gently like fragile porcelain.

03's cameras flickered back online just long enough to see her captain's chin above her.
Being held… cradled.
She smiled weakly, like a child finding comfort.

02 placed all of them together with care, then smiled.

A real smile.
Not a smirk.
Not programmed joy.

The first genuine smile of her life.

"You've done enough," she whispered.
"Let me show you why our father chose me as captain."

She turned to David.
Even with all his enhancements, with a 500-million-dollar death suit, with a lifetime of killing,
Fear entered his heart.

02's voice was steady, low.

"You did enough. Enough to make me hate this world more than anything.
Enough to make me want to change it.
Enough to justify cleaning every rot that turned this city into hell."

She paced toward him.

"When I walk the streets, all I see is despair. Hope thrown in shadows.
Don't speak to me about 'opening my eyes'. You're the one who's blind."

She paused.
"Let me show you what I showed Mcribber."

Her thrusters ignited.
She launched like a missile.

David blinked.
In that fraction of a second, the distance between them vanished.

02 didn't wind up. She didn't scream. She simply drove her fist forward with the force of a collapsing star.

CRASH!

The impact didn't just break the visor; it liquefied it. The neon green 'X' shattered into a thousand shards, and the obsidian helmet caved in like tin foil.

David didn't scream. He didn't have time. He was already flying backward, breaking the sound barrier with his own body.

The man was thrown in a perfectly straight line, gravity failing to keep up.
He rocketed across the rooftop like a bullet.

Before he reached the edge,

02 was already waiting there.
She tightened her fist.

BOOM!

A shockwave pushed the rain outward in a circular explosion of air. It stopped David at that moment!
The suit barely had time to react; skin and armor exposed.

CRASH!

A brutal backward kick to his head sent him falling off the roof like a meteor.
02 didn't even activate Code Red.

This… was just her new body.
Her raw stats.
The strongest thing on Earth.

David plummeted, body broken.
And she caught him mid-air like a falling toy.
She saw her reflection on the building.
She held him close, face to face.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"You liked your friends so much that you decided to join them."

She tossed him up slightly.
Baseball pitch.

CLANG!

The windows exploded outward from the pressure wave as her punch hit.
He flew straight through the building interior at terrifying speed.

Walls shattered.
Desks splintered.
Floors broke apart like sand.

He reached the far side of the tower.
And she caught him again.

What remained was a torso and scraps of metal.
His blood had evaporated mid-flight.

Finally, she stopped.
Her expression softened, only slightly.

She descended gracefully to the roof, holding half of a man and a broken suit still sizzling green.
She dropped the corpse at Shikimori's feet.

The CEO collapsed.
"What… what happened…"

The E-Units watched their captain in awe and fear, but mostly pride.
Then the building shook.

The middle part of the giant behemoth mech rose through the smoke on the rooftop.
The pilot refused to surrender.

02 didn't even turn.

"05," she said. "Land the bomb."
05 dove from the sky like a hunting falcon, screaming.

"BRACE FOR IMPACT!"

BOOOM!

The mech erupted into fire and shrapnel.
The unstable core finally exploded.

But 05 walked out of the blaze untouched, shield glowing.
"That's why we have shields, Captain."

02 crossed her arms.
"Says the one glued to the screen."

"Hey! I wanted to watch the fight too! Haha!"

Eight little girls stood under the rain, wind blowing their majestic long hair in the air, shining like a gem in a world of rocks. They successfully finished this task, after retrying and retrying as Shikimori described. Maybe he was wiser than everyone thought.



High-Security Transport Convoy. Sector 4. 11:45 PM.

The interior of the armored truck smelled of sterilized steel and silence.

Shikimori sat in the back, handcuffed to the bench. His expensive suit was torn, his hair messy, but his eyes were still sharp. He wasn't looking at the floor. He was looking at his captors.

Opposite him sat 02 and 07.
02 sat perfectly still, her blue eyes scanning him like a radar. 07 was leaning back, arms behind her head, looking bored out of her mind.
The truck rumbled over a pothole.

THUMP.

Shikimori broke the silence. His voice was low, raspy.
"You're making a big mistake."

02 didn't blink. She answered cold and fast.
"A man whose entire life is a calculation error has no right to lecture me."

Shikimori chuckled darkly. "He will not leave you alone."

07 rolled her eyes, groaning loudly.
"Did you finally lose it, grandpa?"

02 narrowed her eyes. "Who are you talking about?"

Shikimori leaned forward as far as the chains allowed. A twisted smile spread across his face.
"Don't worry. He will show himself soon. You... and those other cartoon sisters of yours... will experience the hell I have been put through."

He paused for effect.
"Laws don't apply to him."

07 slammed her hand on the bench.
"Stop making it like a puzzle! Speak straight or shut up!"

02 placed a hand on 07's shoulder to calm her, but her gaze never left Shikimori.
"Let's see if your 'guy' is immune to metal fists moving at Mach 1."

Shikimori smirked. It was the smile of a man who knew a secret that could burn the world.
"You will need to reach him first. I will enjoy watching your downfall."

07 scoffed.
"On the small prison TV screen? Or as a ghost haunting us?"

02 stood up as the truck began to slow down for the prison gates.
"We will see, Shikimori."




Three days later. Metromania Police Department. 08:31 AM.

Shikimori tasted prison for the first time in his life. The judge went soft on him; the man could barely stand on his feet. Wallmore, on the other hand, vanished from everyone's sight, suggesting he fled the country right after the fight.

Mikael stepped into the E-UNIT charging bay. Morning light slipped through the windows. Three days had passed since the victory, but the celebration still hadn't stopped.
The automatic door opened. Every android froze.

03 was dancing on top of a charging pod. 06 and 07 were laughing at internet videos. The rest were in Dr. Nick's office. Music was so loud you could barely hear your own thoughts.

"…Sorry. Wrong room." Mikael backed out slowly.

"What was THAT…" he muttered as he walked away. He shook his head and knocked on Dr. Nick's office door.

02 opened it. "Welcome, Police General Director."
Her cold tone was back, not that it ever left.

He walked in. New E-UNITS stood inside: 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14.

"Expanding the workforce, I see."

Nick smiled. "Any news about the suspects?"

Mikael sighed and sat down. "Sadly, the news is unpleasant. The previous mayor, Fredric Mil, was found dead. A clean shot to the forehead. Judging by the scene, he tried to run. The crime happened inside his own mansion."

He scrolled his phone. "And about the precedent police chief—"

02 frowned. "Precedent?"

"Yes. He was found shot three times in the back inside his apartment. Clearly, a third party is wiping the trail clean. We're putting Shikimori and the branch manager under maximum surveillance while we extract every bit of information."

Nick crossed his arms. "Then why did you say precedent?"
Mikael smirked and looked directly at 02.

Her eyes widened. "NO. WAY."
He burst laughing. "Yes way! Your promotion announcement is tonight at the National Metro Park. I hope you wrote a speech!"

02 cleared her nonexistent throat. "That… won't be a problem, sir."


Promotion Ceremony. 10:00 PM.
The weather was freezing. November forced everyone to grip their coats tightly.
The Park hosted the official promotion of E-UNIT 02 to Police Chief. Smiles were exchanged everywhere, relief spread through the crowd. The corruption finally had a new enemy.

02 stood at a glass lectern. Now she didn't need boxes to look tall.

"Good evening. I hope you're enjoying this reunion after clearing a huge obstacle from our path to a better future."

Every gaze locked on her.
Mikael Wilson, William Redwood, Jacob Marine, Sebastian Tamer, Henry Vegas, all E-UNITS from 01 to 14, Dr. Nickolas Rivera, the father, and several high-profile citizens, including the new mayor.

"We cleared a wall that stopped us so many times from fulfilling the reason we exist, achieving justice. Bringing hope back to a population that lost it long ago, trapped in a system designed to keep them broken."

Faces tightened. Everyone remembered their own piece of rot.

"Our father created us to fight for you. For everyone who suffered under the trio. Three people, and those under them, who made this city a living hell. For one thing: money."

She smiled slightly.

"But we are here now. This is a message of hope… and a warning. To anyone who stands in our way, we know who you are. We know where you are. And we decide whether you end up in jail, in a hospital… or straight to hell."

Her eyes glowed red.

"Enjoy the evening. And please be gentle with the new E-UNITS. They have zero experience in life."

Everyone clapped, clapping like they finally ended a war against a common enemy. But the real war has yet to begin.

Mikael's assistant quietly stopped playing with 11's hair.