Alexander waited until they found a better spot to rest—a small cavern with only one entrance that was easy to keep an eye on. The crystal formations had thinned out here, leaving smooth limestone walls polished by ancient water. He dropped his pack with a thud.

  "Guys, we need to figure out this team situation," he said, gesturing for everyone to gather around. "Take a break for a minute."

  The others plopped down in a rough circle, with Lyra sitting a bit apart from the group, her back against the wall where she could see everyone. Old habits.

  Alexander gnced around before speaking. "So, about Lyra joining us. That crawler fight proved she's good to have around. I think we should make this arrangement more permanent than we initially discussed."

  Valeria jumped up immediately. "Are you kidding me? Temporary team-up is one thing, but making it official? She's Unaligned!"

  "Yeah, I know that," Alexander said with a shrug.

  "Then you should also know the stats on mixed-css teams," Valeria shot back, sounding like she was reciting from a textbook. "Almost 80% fall apart before Floor 10. They always end up fighting over supplies or going different directions."

  Riva looked up from cleaning her bde. "Stats aren't everything. Those crawlers would've had us for dinner without her."

  "One lucky fight doesn't mean anything," Valeria countered. "And what about security? Unaligned pyers bolt the second something better comes along. What happens when we hit the next settlement and she gets a better offer?"

  Throughout all this back-and-forth, Lyra just watched silently, her face giving nothing away as her fingers absently traced patterns on the cave floor.

  After letting them argue for a bit, Alexander held up his hand. "Guys, enough. I've made up my mind." He turned to Lyra. "You've proven yourself. We want you on the team—equal share of stuff, we protect each other, all that."

  Lyra raised an eyebrow. "I get a say in decisions?"

  "For things you know about, yeah."

  "What if I want out ter?"

  "Nobody's trapped. Just give us a heads-up so we're not caught off guard."

  She tilted her head. "What about my own projects? I need time to work on my own tech stuff."

  Alexander nodded. "That's cool as long as it doesn't put us in danger or slow us down too much."

  Valeria let out an exasperated sigh. "Seriously? We're having a negotiation now? This isn't some school project team."

  "Nope," Alexander agreed, "it's making sure everyone's on the same page." He looked back at Lyra. "So, are you in?"

  Lyra was quiet for a moment, obviously weighing her options. Finally, she gave a quick nod.

  "I'm in. But I won't build stuff that hurts regur people or anything for torture—no matter how bad the quota gets."

  "Fair enough," Alexander said, holding out his hand. After a second's hesitation, Lyra shook it.

  "This is such a bad idea," Valeria muttered, but shut up when Alexander gave her a look.

  "Alright, so Lyra handles tech stuff, fixing gear, and checking out weird cave things. Riva, add her to the watch rotation. Elijah, work with her on finding useful stuff."

  As everyone spread out to get things done, Alexander noticed Elijah hanging back, clearly wanting to talk privately. He nodded toward a small alcove away from the others.

  Once they were alone, Elijah leaned in. "Hey, have you thought that maybe Lyra might have something to do with these whispers I keep hearing?"

  Alexander frowned. "What do you mean?"

  "Not sure exactly," Elijah admitted. "But during that crawler fight, when we were all in perfect sync—the whispers got stronger, clearer. Like they were... reacting to us working together."

  "Brother, that's a pretty big jump from 'we fight well together' to 'mysterious psychic connection,'" Alexander said skeptically.

  "I know it sounds weird," Elijah said. "But something strange is happening. Her weird interface setup, the way she seems to know what we need before we say it, how she showed up right when we needed tech help..."

  Alexander rubbed his eyes. "Let's stick to what we know for sure. She's crazy good with tech. She works well with us in fights. Her story is sketchy but she's definitely useful." He squeezed his brother's shoulder. "I trust you, but maybe this is just a lucky break that she fits in with us."

  Elijah nodded, though he clearly wasn't convinced. "Just keep an open mind. This Game has plenty of weird stuff we can't expin."

  "Yeah, okay," Alexander agreed. "But let's keep the weird theories between us for now. Everyone's still getting used to this new setup."

  They rejoined the others to find Riva helping Lyra set up a little workstation near her sleeping spot. Valeria was busy checking her inventory, pointedly ignoring them both, her back stiff with obvious disapproval.

  Lyra had already spread out her tools and parts—she didn't have much compared to the fancy corporate gear the others carried, but she arranged everything carefully, like each piece mattered.

  "Okay, first thing we need to do," Alexander said, waving everyone over to the rough map they'd been drawing of the caves. "Figure out how to find this floor's Guardian and not get ourselves killed fighting it."

  As they talked strategy, something had definitely changed. Lyra jumped in with ideas without waiting to be asked. Everyone except Valeria actually listened to her suggestions. The handshake deal had shifted something between them all.

  Later, as the Game's fake night got darker and everyone was settling down to sleep, Lyra found herself staring up at the cave ceiling, thinking about everything that had happened. Teaming up for real with Architect-css pyers went against all the warnings she'd heard growing up in Sector 17. "Never trust those privileged brats," Tel used to say. "They'll use you up and throw you away when they're done."

  But these particur Architects seemed different somehow. That crawler fight had been weird—like they'd all been connected, moving together in a way she couldn't expin.

  Across the cave, Alexander was thinking simir stuff as he repyed the day in his head. He'd decided to keep Lyra around because it made practical sense—she was good with tech, they fought well together, having a tech specialist gave them an edge. But what Elijah had said about some deeper connection was nagging at him.

  Alexander had always trusted things he could see, count, or measure. All this talk about mysterious whispers and connections didn't fit his way of thinking. Still, he couldn't deny that something weird was happening with this random team they'd thrown together.

  As everyone drifted off to sleep, with Riva on first watch, the cave was quiet except for water dripping somewhere deep inside and the occasional rustle of someone adjusting their gear. In this brief moment of peace, none of them had any idea how their new team would soon be put to the test—or how crucial it would become as they pushed deeper into the Tower of Ascension.