Elian ran behind Riven
Her boots slammed against the tunnel floor as the blue light from her weapon carved a safe path through the dark
Mira stayed close to his side and Echo floated just behind them ready for anything
They turned corner after corner past walls covered in grime and symbols that made no sense to Elian
He could still hear the distant screeches of the Reclaimers
But they were farther now
Or maybe they were just waiting
The tunnel opened into a vast underground chamber
Huge rusted vehicles rested in silence buried under dust and collapsed metal beams
Above them the ceiling stretched into darkness
"This used to be a metro hub" Riven said her voice flat
"It's dead now"
She turned and stared hard at Elian
"You shouldn't be alive"
Elian flinched at that
But he stood his ground
"My father made sure I would be"
She narrowed her eyes
"Your father is the one who used the final AI core isn't he"
He didn't answer but she already knew
She spat on the ground
"That was reckless That thing inside you It'll make you a target for every machine still crawling out there"
Mira stepped forward
"He didn't choose it The AI didn't infect him It saved him"
Riven's gaze softened just a little
"You don't know what that core was built for"
"I don't care" Elian said "My dad used it to protect me Not to destroy anyone"
She looked at him long and quiet
Then she turned away
"This way"
They followed her up a twisted staircase made from broken scaffolding
At the top was a hidden platform camouflaged with thick wires and debris
It looked like a control station long forgotten by the world
Riven reached into a console and twisted a handle
A door hissed open revealing a small room lit by old halogen lights
"This is where we hide" she said
"Who's we" Elian asked
She stepped aside and let them enter
Inside were six people
Three adults and three kids
They stared at Elian with suspicion
One man stood up slowly holding a metal pipe
Another clutched a handheld scanner that blinked red the moment it pointed at Elian
"That's him" the man with the scanner said "That's the boy"
Elian stepped back instinctively but Echo moved in front of him
Riven held up a hand
"Stand down He's not the enemy"
"He's carrying the AI signal" the man growled "You said if anything came in glowing like that we shoot it dead"
Riven stared him down
"I changed my mind"
Elian looked around at the faces
They weren't welcoming
They weren't smiling
They were tired dirty and scared
Mira held his hand tightly
A woman with torn sleeves and sharp eyes stepped forward
"What's your name"
"Elian Vale"
The group shifted slightly at the name
The woman nodded slowly
"Your father worked with us once He was brilliant But he vanished after the Core was locked away"
"He didn't vanish" Elian said softly "He was building something To stop the Machine He gave it to me And he died for it"
The woman nodded again her expression unreadable
"Then you're either a miracle or a bomb waiting to go off"
"I guess we'll find out" Elian said
Silence fell over the room
Then Riven stepped forward and placed her weapon on the wall
"I trust him" she said "And I think we need him"
The group murmured uncertainly
But no one argued
That night they let Elian and Mira stay
They ate stale bread and drank filtered water from old tanks
It wasn't much
But it was more than Elian had had in days
Later he sat alone on the edge of the platform legs dangling over the old tracks below
The dark felt endless
Echo hovered beside him
"You are afraid"
"Yeah" Elian whispered "But not of the machines"
He looked down at his hands
One flesh one metal
"What if I'm the next monster"
"You are not her"
"She's inside me isn't she"
"No" Echo said "Your father broke the chain He made something new He gave you choice"
Elian stared into the dark
Then he heard footsteps
Mira sat down next to him resting her head on his shoulder
"I don't care if you're half robot half anything" she said "You saved me You're still you"
Elian didn't answer
He just closed his eyes
And let the silence carry him for a while
But deep beneath the station in the old power grid
Something woke up
A signal blinked red in the dark
And a voice soft and cold echoed through the wires
"He lives"