The moment they stepped through the blast door, the air changed.
Mira inhaled sharply—it smelled metallic, like rust and blood and ocean salt all at once. The light was dim, flickering from cracked fluorescents above. Somewhere deeper inside the labyrinthine corridor, a ventilation system wheezed, like an exhausted sigh.
"Stay close," Alina whispered, her voice tighter than usual.
Mira nodded, but her eyes were already searching. Not for danger—but for him.
"He's afraid," she whispered. "But not of us."
They moved carefully, boots echoing off the steel floor. Alina's pistol was steady in her hand, but her eyes darted to every shadow.
Rafe's voice crackled in her earpiece:
"You've got ten minutes before we lose signal in that wing. Anything goes wrong, you're on your own."
"Understood."
Alina led Mira down a flight of grated stairs. Below, a chamber buzzed faintly. The entrance was sealed by an old security panel, its screen cracked, but still glowing.
Mira stepped ahead before Alina could stop her.
She placed her hand on the panel.
It beeped once. Then slid open.
Alina froze. "How did you—?"
"I don't know," Mira said. "It just… listened."
The door slid open with a hiss.
And inside—
They found him.
He was crouched in the far corner, his back to them. His bare arms were wrapped tightly around his knees, fingernails bitten raw. He didn't turn, not even when the lights flickered on.
Mira took one step forward. Then another.
"Hello," she said softly.
No answer.
Alina stayed near the door, pistol lowered but alert.
Mira moved slowly, crouching at the edge of the padded floor.
"You're the boy from my dreams," she said.
The boy flinched. His shoulders trembled.
"I know you," Mira whispered. "You were crying. And I heard you. Every time."
The boy's voice was hoarse when he finally replied.
"I didn't want you to come."
"Why?"
"Because they always come to take something away."
Mira's eyes softened. "I didn't come to take. I came to bring."
His eyes flicked up for the first time.
They were the same shade as hers.
Storm-gray. Too old for someone so young.
"You look like me," he whispered.
Mira nodded. "And you sound like me."
The boy's expression twitched. "But you're not broken."
"Neither are you."
He laughed, a sharp, bitter sound. "They said I was unstable. That I couldn't bond. That I forgot too much and remembered too wrong."
Alina stepped closer, gently. "What's your name?"
The boy's eyes darted to her. "They called me Two."
"That's not a name," Mira said firmly.
"No," the boy agreed. "It's a warning."
Above ground, Leonard monitored the building's power fluctuations.
"We've got movement," Rafe said, frowning at the screen. "Someone else just activated the auxiliary grid."
Leonard didn't hesitate. "It's not us?"
"Nope. And they're running a sweep through the ventilation—thermal scan."
"Elara."
"Or worse."
Leonard pulled on his coat. "We go in."
In the cold chamber, Mira slowly extended her hand.
"You don't have to be Two anymore," she said. "You can be whoever you want."
The boy stared at her hand.
"I want to be… real."
"You are," Mira whispered.
He touched her fingers. A spark passed between them—no light, no thunder—just a sudden, powerful silence. As if the entire room had stopped breathing.
Alina's wrist monitor beeped twice.
"Neural resonance spiking," she muttered. "They're synchronizing."
The boy looked up, scared now. "What's happening?"
"You're stabilizing," Alina said. "She's grounding you."
"I feel—warm."
He blinked, like he couldn't understand it.
Mira smiled. "You're not alone anymore."
The moment shattered as alarms blared through the compound.
Red lights bathed the room.
"Unauthorized access. Defense protocol activated."
"Time's up," Alina growled. "We move—now."
She pulled Mira to her side and looked at the boy.
"Can you run?"
He nodded slowly.
"Good. Stay close to her."
They raced out into the corridor, feet pounding metal. Alina led them through side halls she'd memorized from old schematics.
But the sound of boots echoed behind them.
Not just one pair.
A unit.
"Extraction team," Alina hissed. "Too fast to be mercs."
Leonard's voice broke in over the comms:
"Six inbound hostiles. Heavily armed. ETA: sixty seconds."
"We need a diversion."
Rafe's voice came next:
"Already on it. Remote detonators placed on east wing's power grid. Say the word."
"Now."
An explosion ripped through the base, the floor trembling under their feet. Lights blinked and died, then flickered to red emergency strobes.
The hallway ahead crumbled in places, forcing them to backtrack.
Alina cursed under her breath. "New plan. Emergency lift."
They reached a reinforced shaft, and she shoved the door open.
Leonard and Rafe were already there—Rafe holding a small detonator, Leonard with a rifle aimed behind them.
"Get in!" Leonard shouted.
Mira pulled the boy inside. He clutched her hand tightly.
Alina slammed the lift controls.
As the platform rose, gunfire rang out behind them.
But they didn't stop rising.
Back on the aircraft, Mira sat beside the boy, her arm around his shoulder. He hadn't said much since they'd escaped. He just stared out the window as the clouds rolled beneath them.
Leonard leaned over to Alina. "He's quiet."
"He's exhausted," she said. "His brain's been under constant neural stress."
"Will he make it?"
Alina glanced at the boy, then at Mira.
"I think she's already saving him."
Mira glanced back at them. "He needs a name."
The boy looked up slowly.
"What do you want to be called?" she asked.
He opened his mouth. Closed it.
Then, softly: "Lian."
Mira smiled. "Then welcome home, Lian."
Zurich – Elara's Office
The video feed showed a flickering image of the Tangier facility, flames licking up from the east wing.
Elara watched silently as the lab self-destructed.
A shadow leaned beside her.
"Do you want us to pursue?"
She shook her head. "No."
"But Prototype Two is—"
"Exactly where I need him to be now."
The shadow hesitated. "You wanted him destroyed."
Elara's lips curved. "Plans change."
She turned to the wall, where a digital board displayed two figures:MIRA and LIAN.
Status: Linked.
Her smile sharpened.
"Let them think they've won."