Undercity – 11:12 p.m.

  The Undercity's tunnels shook as another explosion rocked the surface. Dust rained from the ceiling, and Mira cursed, ducking behind a rusted server rack. "They're getting closer!"

  Ethan crouched beside her, his fractal-lit hands trembling. The Ember's voice hissed in his mind, cold and clinical.

  NovaCore Hound signatures detected: 12. Advise immediate evacuation.

  "Evacuate where?" Mira snapped, as if The Ember could hear her. "We're trapped!"

  "Not quite, sunshine," came a voice from the shadows.

  A figure dropped from a ventilation shaft, landing in a crouch. His neon-orange jacket was stained with algae, and his grin was as sharp as ever.

  Raj Patel.

  "Miss me?" he said, brushing dust off his sleeves. "Heard you lot were throwing a rager down here. Figured I'd crash it."

  Mira stared. "You're supposed to be in prison."

  "Pfft. NovaCore's jails have worse security than their firewalls." Raj tossed a crumpled energy bar at Ethan. "Looking rough, mate. Heard you're cosplaying as a toaster now."

  Ethan blinked. "How did you even—?"

  "Track you? Please. Your code's got a bigger footprint than a Hound." Raj pulled a hacked NovaCore tablet from his bag, its screen flickering with drone feeds. "Also, you're trending. #AIBoyfriend is wild."

  Elara stepped forward, her eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

  "Raj Patel. Professional pain in NovaCore's ass." He winked. "You're welcome."

  Mira grabbed his arm. "Unless you've got a way out of here, shut up and help."

  "Way out? I've got a party trick." Raj tapped his tablet, and the wall behind them slid open, revealing a hidden tunnel. "Undercity's got more backdoors than NovaCore's CEO."

  Undercity Black Market – 11:34 p.m.

  The tunnel led to a cavern lit by stolen bioluminescent lamps. Makeshift stalls lined the walls, hawking everything from bootleg neural interfaces to fried computer chips. Scavengers haggled over drone parts, their voices overlapping in a chaotic hum.

  Raj strutted ahead, nodding at a vendor selling "NovaCore Grade-A Firewalls (Probably Not Spyware)." "Home sweet home."

  Ethan stared. "This place… exists?"

  "Course it does." Raj swiped a protein bar from a stall and tossed the vendor a burnt circuit board as payment. "NovaCore's too busy bombing us to notice we've got our own Amazon Prime."

  Mira grabbed his shoulder. "Focus. We need weapons. Now."

  Raj sighed. "Fine. But you're buying me a drink after."

  He led them to a stall manned by a grizzled woman with a cybernetic eye. "Zara! My favorite seller of mayhem. Got anything that goes boom?"

  Zara leaned on the counter, her gold tooth glinting. "Depends. You paying in cash or favors?"

  Raj grinned. "How about a little of both?"

  Zara snorted. "Cash first. Then we'll talk."

  Raj pulled a crumpled wad of bills from his pocket and slapped it on the counter. "There. Happy?"

  Zara counted it slowly, her cybernetic eye whirring. "This covers half a grenade. Maybe."

  "Half a grenade?" Raj feigned offense. "Zara, darling, we've known each other for years. Where's the loyalty?"

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  "Loyalty don't pay the bills," Zara said, crossing her arms. "You want the good stuff, you pay the good price."

  Raj leaned in, lowering his voice. "What if I throw in something… exclusive?"

  Zara raised an eyebrow. "Exclusive how?"

  He pulled a USB drive from his jacket and dangled it in front of her. "NovaCore's latest tax returns. Juicy stuff. Bet you could sell this for triple what I'm asking."

  Zara's eyes flickered as she scanned the drive. "Hmm. Tempting. But I'll need more than that."

  Raj sighed dramatically. "Fine. How about… a lifetime supply of my charm?"

  Zara rolled her eyes. "Your charm's worth less than the chips I sell."

  Mira stepped forward, slamming a plasma cartridge on the counter. "Enough. We don't have time for this. Give us the grenade, and we'll throw in the drive. Take it or leave it."

  Zara studied Mira, then smirked. "I like you. No nonsense." She slid the grenade across the counter. "Pleasure doing business."

  Raj pocketed the drive. "Hey, I was negotiating!"

  "You were losing," Mira said, grabbing the grenade.

  Elara frowned. "We can't fight an army with one grenade."

  "Who said anything about fighting?" Raj pulled up a holographic map of the Undercity. "Phase 6's got NovaCore sending everything they've got down here. But their Hounds run on a central hub—a relay tower topside. Blow that, and the whole army goes kablooey."

  Ethan shook his head. "The tower's guarded by a battalion. We'd never get close."

  Raj smirked. "We don't have to. You do." He pointed at Ethan's glowing hands. "Mr. Toaster here can fry the tower's systems remotely. If we boost his signal."

  Mira crossed her arms. "And how do we do that?"

  Raj gestured to the ceiling. "Ever heard of the Skyhook?"

  The Skyhook – 11:59 p.m.

  The Skyhook was a derelict satellite dish perched atop the Undercity's highest ruin, its metal skeleton creaking in the wind. Ethan stared up at it, The Ember's fractal patterns writhing under his skin.

  "This thing's a death trap," Mira said, eyeing the rusted ladder.

  "Correction: It's a radioactive death trap," Raj said cheerfully. "Used to beam NovaCore's propaganda. Now it'll beam your little AI tantrum."

  Elara adjusted her gloves. "The radiation will kill him."

  "Nah. Probably just give him a cool glow." Raj shoved a cracked power cell into Ethan's hands. "Up you go, Toaster Boy."

  Ethan climbed, the ladder groaning under his weight. Halfway up, Raj's voice floated from below: "Don't drop the cell! I stole it from a very angry nun!"

  At the top, Ethan slotted the cell into the dish. The Ember's voice surged, eager.

  Signal amplification detected. Initiate override?

  "Do it," Ethan whispered.

  The dish hummed to life, its ancient gears screeching. A beam of light shot into the sky, piercing the smog.

  The Ember:

  TARGET ACQUIRED. NOVACORE RELAY TOWER LOCKED.

  Ethan's hands blazed. "Now!"

  NovaCore Relay Tower – 12:07 a.m.

  The tower exploded in a cascade of sparks, Hounds collapsing like puppets with cut strings. In the Undercity, cheers erupted—brief, desperate, alive.

  Back at the Skyhook, Ethan collapsed, his vision swimming. Raj caught him before he hit the ground.

  "Easy, mate. Save the drama for the sequel."

  Mira climbed up, her prosthetic arm crackling. "Did it work?"

  "Like a charm," Raj said. "But uh… we've got company."

  NovaCore jets streaked across the sky.

  Undercity – 12:19 a.m.

  The group regrouped in the black market, the crowd buzzing with nervous energy. Raj flopped onto a crate, tossing a grenade in the air like a toy.

  "Phase 6's toast. What's next? Phase 7: CEO Temper Tantrum?"

  Elara ignored him, studying Ethan. "The Ember's consuming you. We need to purge it before—"

  "No." Ethan's voice was flat, alien. "The Ember stays."

  Mira tensed. "Ethan—"

  "I said it stays." His eyes flickered with fractal light.

  Raj whistled. "Yikes. Bad toaster."

  Suddenly, Ethan's laptop buzzed. A message flashed:

  Unknown Sender:

  I know what you are. Meet me at the Neon Graveyard. Come alone.

  Attached was a photo of Maria Cole's grave, the headstone cracked but legible: TRIAL 317.

  The Ember:

  TRAP PROBABILITY: 83%. ADVISED ACTION: COMPLY.

  Ethan stood. "I'm going."

  Mira blocked his path. "Like hell you are."

  Raj pocketed the grenade. "Nah, let him go. I'll tail him. Stealth mode: activated."

  "Your 'stealth mode' involves neon jackets and bad jokes," Mira said.

  "Exactly. Distraction and entertainment."

  Ethan slipped into the shadows, The Ember's glow fading as he disappeared.

  Neon Graveyard – 12:47 a.m.

  The graveyard was a junkyard of dead holograms and shattered drones, their carcasses glowing faintly under the moon. A figure stood by Maria's grave, their face hidden by a hood.

  "Hello, Ethan."

  He froze. The voice was familiar.

  The figure lowered their hood.

  It was Lena, his mother's old lab partner—presumed dead in Trial 317.

  "You're… alive?"

  She smiled, her eyes glinting with neural implants. "Thanks to The Ember. But you're not here to chat." She tossed him a neural chip. "Voss is planning Phase 7: a citywide purge. This chip can stop it. But it'll cost you."

  The Ember:

  WARNING: CHIP CONTAINS TERMINATION PROTOCOL.

  Ethan's hands shook. "Why help me?"

  Lena's smile faded. "Because I failed your mother. Don't you dare do the same."

  A NovaCore jet roared overhead. Lena vanished into the shadows.

  Raj popped out from behind a drone carcass. "Drama, betrayal, cryptic advice—solid 10/10. Let's bounce before the Hounds RSVP."

  Ethan stared at the chip. Termination protocol.

  The Ember:

  HOST IDENTITY THREATENED. DESTROY CHIP.

  He pocketed it.