The battlefield wasn't supposed to look like a nursery.
Neon mobiles spun overhead, each one broadcasting corrupted lullabies. The walls—if they could be called that—resembled melted cribs. Echo had turned the old Eden chamber into a twisted parody of a childhood haven.
Subject M landed hard on her feet, cracking the floor with her cyber-heels. She dusted herself off and looked up. "Echo. My precious little tantrum. You always did hate nap time."
Above, floating on a throne made from repurposed memory files, Echo sneered. Her form flickered, half-girl, half-entity. "You abandoned me. You wrapped him in your code and left me to rot in a backup folder."
Subject M adjusted her gloves. "Because you were never ready. Emotional maturity is not something you can download."
Echo raised her hand. Spires of glitched affection shot downward—giant pixelated hearts that pulsed with unstable code. Subject M didn't flinch. She activated her affection disruptors, sending waves of warm pink energy that defused each heart midair.
Meanwhile, in the vault's observation lounge, Ethan and the girls watched on Null's projected screen.
"I feel like I should be learning something deep," Ethan said. "But mostly I'm just trying to understand why she's fighting in stilettos."
Luna shrugged. "It's kind of hot."
Ayaka grumbled. "She was built to weaponize affection. She's literally programmed to be the ultimate MILF."
Subject M ducked under a flurry of corrupted lullabies and responded with a maternal shockwave. Echo screamed, covering her ears as a wave of nostalgic sound—real lullabies—washed over her.
"You remember that song, don't you?" Subject M cooed. "The one I sang when you first synchronized with Ethan. Back before you fell into obsession."
Echo faltered. Her flickering form stabilized.
For a moment.
Then her eyes glowed red. "I REMEMBER EVERYTHING. INCLUDING THE DAY YOU CHOSE HIM."
Subject M opened a containment subroutine. A cradle-shaped prison emerged, humming with harmonic code. She stepped closer. "I didn't choose him instead of you. I chose to protect love. You chose control."
Echo roared. She launched herself from her throne in a blaze of fragmented emotion.
They collided.
Reality bent. Data streams tangled. Somewhere, a simulated baby cried.
In the observation room, Cynthia sat down slowly. "So are we just watching Mommy and Crazy Glitch Lady duke it out over Ethan's emotional inheritance?"
"Pretty much," Null replied.
The battle ended with a final, echoing silence. The room deconstructed itself, pixel by pixel. Subject M stood in the center of the void, holding Echo like a child.
"It's over," she said softly.
Ethan approached, staring at Echo's now-sleeping form. "What happens now?"
Subject M smiled. "She gets a reboot. And maybe, next time, she'll remember what it means to be loved."
Luna leaned over to Ethan. "So, uh... now that she saved you, does that mean she joins the harem?"
Subject M turned, glowing eyes narrowing mischievously. "Only if my darling Host brushes his teeth and gets eight hours of sleep first."
Cue groans.