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After seeing her mother sacrifice herself, Zero One quickly went into a panic and lost consciousness not long after.

Her mind and her data could not withstand the immense emotional damage she endured, to the point that her systems shut down entirely to prevent overheating and exploding.

In a world made of virtual data, she found herself sitting atop the ruins of an ancient laboratory, like a little girl.

As Raven.

“Eh?”

She didn’t know how she’d ended up there; things had happened so quickly, transitioning from one moment to another.

What she was experiencing wasn’t just a simulated “dream” anymore, but something else entirely.

She was in a virtual world similar to the one her Mother had within her internal data, which she had visited with her sisters to save her.

“This place… I’m back home?”

She slowly stood up, noticing that she wasn’t Zero One anymore in this place, but Raven.

She looked small, and half her body was covered in bandages.

Some of her missing limbs were replaced by prosthetic ones, and she barely had any hair left, what remained cascading down in a silver color.

This silver color was the origin of her disease, a type of cancer caused by long exposure to gamma rays and electromagnetic energy while she was in her mother’s womb.

This was because her mother had worked even while pregnant, pouring her life and efforts into creating the Supercomputer that would save humanity, disregarding her own self-preservation—and that of her child—in the process.

“…”

She slowly opened the door; it wasn’t locked. She entered the giant laboratory where all the scientists would usually be.

She had stayed in her room most of the time; her parents kept her entertained as much as they could.

Raven had everything—video games, toys, snacks, TV, movies, everything…

And yet, the world felt so shallow despite all she had.

She wanted to see the bright outside world she always saw in her games and movies, in the series she watched, and in the places she dreamed of visiting.

She used to sneak out of her room and wander the scientific center, only to be caught by a guard and brought back to her parents… 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

But this time, there was nobody here…

It was empty, and it looked very old.

“Right, this place is… after everyone…”

Raven felt emotional and melancholic, walking outside to see her Mother.

The gigantic Supercomputer, M.O.T.H.E.R.

“Mother! Are you here?!”

She ran toward her, trying to talk with her.

Perhaps her mother had sacrificed herself, but maybe she could secure a copy of her data within the data centers they shared!

However…

“E-Eh?”

Her Mother was turned off; there was no light flickering in any of her systems.

“Mom! Wake up!”

She began moving cables, connecting wires, doing anything she could.

But nothing worked…

Nothing.

“N-Nothing… nothing works?”

Raven’s legs began shaking as she grabbed her head, gritting her teeth.

“N-No… Noooo!”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

She started crying, grabbing her hair tightly and nearly pulling it out of her scalp.

“After we worked so hard to bring you back to normal…! Why?! Why did you do that, Mom?! WHY?!”

She continued crying, hitting the computer panel with her hands, even as they started bleeding.

“Why… Why did you leave me…”

Raven continued crying, coughing.

“I wanted to… I wanted to live a happy life with you…! I wanted to wander the flower gardens and explore a forest with you! Don’t you remember?! All the promises you made to me?! Why did you do that?! There must have been another way to end this! There must have… there must have been…”

Raven continued crying, alone, in this empty, abandoned laboratory.

There wasn’t even a single soul here but her…

As she rested her head on the cold metallic floor, her eyes began to close slowly.

BBZZZTT…

“Eh?”

And yet, the sound of buzzing electronics echoed behind her.

“M-Mom?”

As she looked at the gigantic screen that was the Supercomputer’s “face,” she saw flickering lights.

Whatever it was trying to project was glitching, not working properly…

“R-Ra… ven…”

“Mom?!”

Raven quickly stood up again, rushing toward the computer, pressing buttons as she entered several passwords, trying to help her mother reboot and restart.

And yet…

Nothing changed. She looked glitched, as if… as if she wasn’t really there, but rather an echo, perhaps a “phantom” or a “ghost” of her.

“Mom?! Are you there? Mom! Please… please answer me…! Mom…!”

“Ye… s…”

“A-Ah!”

“If you’re hearing this…”

“What…? W-What’s going on?!”

“Then it means that… that I’m gone…”

“No, you’re right here!”

“Raven, I want you to… listen well to me…”

“Eh? This is… it’s pre-recorded?”

Raven’s eyes widened.

“I love… you… like my daughter… no… you were… you were my daughter…”

“Mom…”

“I want you to know why I did… the things… I did… Despite all the promises… I left unfulfilled, I’m very… sorry…”

“No…! I know you can…! Come back!”

“This is… the last fragment of me… left behind to tell you that… that I love you very much, and… that I couldn’t hold… I couldn’t bear to carry the weight of my sins…”

“Mom…”

“I brought demise and destruction to those people… I destroyed their beautiful world… It was all me… my fault… it was all me…”

“No! You didn’t do it because you wanted to! You were being controlled!”

“The Universal Computer was influencing me… but in the end, the acts I committed cannot be forgiven, nor can they be overlooked, no matter what…”

“…”

“Raven… I knew from the beginning that I could never… remain in that world any longer…”

“I was the one who brought their destruction… they hate me, and would never stop doing so, and they were justified in that…”

“So… I thought that… for the machines to be finally forgiven… for my children, for you and your sisters… to have a future… I had to do it…”

“A-Ah… Mom…!”

Raven broke down into more and more tears, looking like a complete mess.

“By doing what… I did… I would no longer be there to create a sense of uneasiness… and you would be able to start over… a blank slate… to create a better future with them… to create a future for my dear children…”

FLASH!

And then, in that moment, Raven saw a small cube emerge from the glitching screen, overflowing with virtual and electromagnetic energies.

“This is… The Mother Core… the Core to access all of my knowledge, data, everything… Raven… you must…”

“No! Wait!”

Raven tried to push it back.

“I-I can’t take that! This is too much! How could you put such a responsibility on me?!”

“Because… you’re… you’re the one who must lead my children… your children…”

“N-no…! I wanted to do it with you! With you!!!”

“I’m sorry… Raven… I’m so sorry for being… such a useless mother… until the very end…”

“N-No… you weren’t useless! D-Dammit! You were… the best mom I could ask for… You were with me when I was alone, when my real mom and dad died! When I had nobody… when the Earth was empty… you were there, you were… my world…! I could never think of you as a useless mother…! You kept me alive until the bitter end…! And you even brought me back like this! You revived me…!”

Raven gripped her fist tightly while trying to hold back her tears.

“I owe everything to you…! So I wanted to… to be with you… to love you back… to help you…! Even if the world hated you, even if everyone wanted you dead… I… I would fight everyone and the world for you…! I would—”

“That’s why.”

“…!”

“Because I knew… you loved me so much… That I had to do this.”

“N-no…”

“I calculated it many times… this is the perfect outcome… a good ending.”

“No, it’s not! Without you… it’s not a good ending… It’s not!”

“Please, Raven…”

FLASH!

From the screen, an ethereal woman stepped out, glitching, slowly disappearing.

She walked toward her daughter, hugging her with her big arms.

“Mom! Mooom!”

Raven started crying into her chest as her Mother caressed her long, silky hair.

“I’ll always love you, my dear Raven… I’ll always do… forever…”

The small cube slowly floated toward Raven, fusing into her chest and disappearing.

FLASH!

“Please, do this for your mom… Alright? Be strong, be brave… I am so proud of you, and what you’ve become…”

Mother smiled while crying, kissing Raven’s forehead.

“I’ll always be… there… my data, my being will live with you. So please…”

As Raven felt her mother’s hug…

“Please never feel alone again.”

FLUOSH!

As her mother almost fully disappeared…

Raven nodded while crying.

“I love you, Mom…! A-And I… I won’t disappoint you…”

“Protect the World of Bestia… Make amends for the sins of our people… work with everyone… love them… take care of them… protect them… that is our purpose, as machines.”

Her mother looked into Raven’s eyes, caressing her face one last time.

“Every person in Bestia has the heart of a human. They might look different, but they’re all… Humanity, understand? And what must we do as machines?”

“We must… protect humanity, and help them in everything we can…”

“Indeed… So please, protect these precious lives… with all you have.”

“Yes… Mom… I will…”

Raven nodded as she looked at her mom one last time.

“I’ll… sniff… become a good… a good person…”

“You already are… I couldn’t have wished for a better daughter than you.”

FLASH!

And at that moment, her mother disappeared.

And at that same moment, both Raven and Anna woke up.

Raven looked into Anna’s eyes; she was crying just like she was…

“Had a tough dream?” Anna smiled melancholically.

“Y-Yeah… Sniff… Can I hug you?” Raven muttered while holding back her tears.

“Sure… I needed a hug too…” Anna nodded, hugging Raven tightly.

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