The core chamber throbbed like a living scar in Boston's cyberpunk depths, its servers a sea of black steel, their hum a ravenous choir that tore at Mia's soul, her scars blazing under her patched jacket, her blood a wildfire no void could douse. The tunnel's breath was a fading pulse behind, its screens—Mia's pulse, Lila's drive, Caleb's rig—still searing her mind, Ethan's voice—Mia, choose—not wired but real, a lock her blood was forged to break, or bind forever. Jace stood beside her, his coat patched—circle-and-slash—like Mia's pendant, like her scars, his eyes sharp, not thief but rebel, his claim—Ethan's alive—a fire in her veins. Lila supported Caleb, his rig sparking, blood pooling from his nanotech wound, his patch glowing, like Mia's pendant, like her scars, his eyes fading, pain not fear, a hacker's truth no vault could bury. The ghost woman's hum—Carver, you're late—lingered, the black drone's lens locking, a void, the Lattice's heart, not Vera's, its hunger for Mia's blood a scream in her veins. The USB was safe, the pendant burning, Ethan's Flee a fire, not flight, her thief's heart no one's but hers.
The chamber's air was thick with static and despair, cables pulsing like arteries, screens flashing—Mia's scars, Caleb's rig, Ethan's face, live, Choose. The hum was deafening, a choir of minds, thousands, wired, not code but lives, Mia's scars glowing brighter, her blood a storm, nanotech no cage but spark, wiring her choices, stealing her mind. Memory slashed: Ethan, not a lab but her, a street, his laugh, You're enough. Not hers, but the Lattice's, her blood roaring, nanotech twisting her veins, her choices slipping, her mind not hers. Lila's drive hummed, its glow pulsing, like her patch, like Mia's pendant, like her scars, her green eyes Ethan's, not hers, pain raw, a thief's bond no Lattice could wire. "What's it choosing?" Mia demanded, knife steady, her voice cutting through the hum, through Jace's fire, the pendant heavy, its circle-and-slash alive, like it saw the core, saw Lila, saw too much.
Jace stepped closer, his coat patched, his hands scarred, his voice low, rough: "You, Carver—your blood, Anchor's key, the Lattice's song." His patch glowed, like Mia's pendant, like her scars, his eyes sharp, not fear but pain, like he'd felt the core, fought its thorns. "Ethan's here, his mind, fighting to free you, not her." His words cut, a rebel's truth no drone could cage, no chamber could bury. Caleb coughed, his rig whining, wires twitching, his patch glowing, like Mia's pendant, like her scars, his weight on Lila, his blood warm, his spark fading, nanotech fighting, like hers. "It's true," Caleb rasped, eyes fading, not fear but pain, like he'd hacked the choir, felt its hunger. "The core's alive, Carver—it's you, not Vera."
The chamber shook, servers pulsing, gold drones descending, their lenses locking, lasers cutting cables, sparks searing Mia's eyes, her scars dimming, but her blood fought, nanotech no leash but fire, her pulse a song no coder could silence. Vera's voice—Carver—cold, patched, her coat—circle-and-slash—like Mia's pendant, like her scars, her tablet streaming—Mia's pulse, Caleb's rig, Ethan's mind, wired, her gaze steel, not thief but coder, her claim—You're mine—ice in Mia's blood. "The Lattice is me," Vera said, her boots echoing, her patch glowing, like Mia's pendant, like her scars, her voice cold, like she owned Mia's blood, owned Ethan's rebellion. "Your spark's my fuel, Carver—sing, or die."
Lila's drive sparked, her patch blazing, like Mia's pendant, like her scars, her shout—Move!—raw, not rival but shadow, a thief's bond no Lattice could break. Mia lunged, not for Vera but a server, her thief's hands tearing cables, sparks flying, screens screaming—Ethan's voice, Mia, choose. The chamber shook, black drone circling, its lens locking, no voice but a hum, the Lattice's heart, not Vera's, its hunger for Mia's blood a scream in her veins. The ghost woman emerged, her jacket patched—circle-and-slash—like Mia's pendant, like her scars, her eyes hollow, her voice a hum, not hers but the Lattice's: "Carver, you're late." Caleb collapsed, his rig whining, his blood pooling, nanotech fighting, his eyes fading, not fear but pain, like he'd seen the core, felt its breath. "It's not one," he rasped, voice breaking, his patch glowing, like Mia's pendant, like her scars. "The Lattice—it's us, Carver, all of us, singing you."
Jace moved, not for Mia but a console, his hands tearing cables, sparks flying, screens flashing—Ethan's face, live, Choose. The console sparked, a platform rising, servers parting, a core beyond, a sphere of code, pulsing, alive, the hum deafening, Mia's scars glowing, her blood a storm, nanotech no cage but spark, wiring her choices, stealing her mind. Vera's gold drones fired—lasers, cables melting, screens flashing—Mia's scars, Caleb's rig, Ethan's face, live, Mia, choose. The ghost woman's hum roared, her eyes hollow, the black drone's lens locking, a pull, not lasers but a hunger, the Lattice's heart, not Vera's, its pulse twisting Mia's blood, her choices not hers. Mia's blood roared, her thief's heart sure, and she followed Jace, Lila dragging Caleb, their sparks alive, nanotech fighting, like hers.
Vera's voice chased—Carver—cold, patched, her gold drones circling, the black drone closer, its lens live, the ghost woman's hum louder, the Lattice's cage no myth but her, wiring Mia's choices, stealing her mind. Jace's voice cut through: "The core's now, Carver—Ethan's you." Lila's drive glowed, her patch alive, like it knew Mia's blood, like it sang the same song. "He's right," Lila said, voice low, her boots steady, not rival but thief, her pain raw, like Ethan's ghost bound them all. Ethan's voice pulsed, not from screens but the core, real, alive: "Mia, I'm here." The black drone's lens locked, its hum his, Mia's scars roared, and Lila froze, her drive sparking, her patch blazing, like Mia's pendant, like her scars. Mia's blood burned, her thief's heart sure, the pendant a blade, not key, cutting the Lattice, cutting her, a spark no one's but hers. The core was no haven but a lock, her scars a map, Ethan's Flee a fight, not surrender, and Boston's veins were no grave but a blade, her blood the key to nowhere.