The night had fully settled over the slums, turning every ruined building into a jagged shadow. Red lights blinked in the distance, and the wind carried the faint metallic scent of smoke and burnt asphalt.
And around one particular abandoned building— mercenaries were closing in.
A voice crackled through their comms:
"We have only two minutes. Finish them all quickly."
The mercenaries nodded as one, adjusting their rifles, their armored boots crunching over broken concrete.
One of the men hesitated.
"But sir, our informer is still inside— "
"It's alright. Just kill them all."
The mercenary swallowed and gave no further argument.
Inside their armored personnel carrier (APC), they quickly mounted a cannon-like weapon on the top hatch. The heavy barrel rotated into place with a mechanical whine.
"Ready the charge," the operator said.
A man aimed at the abandoned building where the explosion earlier had taken place.
"FIRE."
BOOM!
The cannon erupted with a thunderous blast.
A plume of fire engulfed the building. Walls collapsed inward. Debris shot into the street like shrapnel.
Three hover bikes shot out of a side collapse, blasting into the air.
"Targets escaping in hover bikes toward the Wasteland!" a scout shouted.
"Cyber-Rides model. Two heading east— one heading west!"
"We have one minute and thirty seconds remaining. Split up and chase both groups. Kill them."
The mercs mobilized instantly.
---
The three girls on Jake's hover bike squeezed their eyes shut, terrified of what they might see behind them. Rem clung to Tessia. Anya held onto her sleeves, refusing to look back at the burning building where Vince had been.
The bikes were fast— faster than most slum vehicles— but the mercs weren't relying on speed alone.
Drones peeled off from their APC, cutting through the air like hornets.
Jake grabbed his gun. The temporary lock Yash had set earlier had already been released, likely because the maintenance cycle reset during the explosion.
"Hold tight," he told the girls.
He aimed upward.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Drones exploded in flashes of white fire.
Tosh did the same on his bike, firing sharply and cleanly.
Nick and Levi weren't fighting— they were holding Lucy upright, keeping her from falling off with every dip and tilt of the bike.
"Where is Brother?" Nick finally asked, voice shaking.
"Your brother is taking a different route," Tosh said quickly. "Just don't worry."
Levi looked around, but no matter how hard he strained his neck, he couldn't see Leo anywhere.
Only sky, dust, drones.
---
Meanwhile, Leo clung to the handles of the third hover bike— the one set to autopilot. It flew low, weaving between skyscraper skeletons and half-collapsed towers as it headed toward the coordinates Jake had programmed.
Below him, the mercs gave chase in an armored APC.
Tracks rattled, engines roared, and spotlights sliced through the dust.
Inside the APC, the commander barked:
"Target is alone. Lock on and launch guiding warheads."
The gunner climbed up through the hatch with a portable RPG launcher. Beside him, a projection screen flickered to life, showing the targeting feed.
"Locking onto target— "
The screen suddenly glitched.
Lines of 0s and 1s raced across it, distorting the targeting reticle.
"What the— ? The system froze!"
The driver yelled from inside the APC,
"Then fire manually!"
"Got it!"
The gunner took aim.
FWOOOOSH!
The first warhead launched— but Leo's bike dipped slightly, and the missile arced past him.
"Hey, the vehicle is shaking too much!" the gunner complained.
"Keep shooting!"
FWOOOOSH. FWOOOOSH. FWOOOOSH.
Three more missiles launched in succession.
Two spiraled off course.
But the center one flew straight at Leo.
Leo braced himself—
Then the hover bike's interface glitched too.
0s and 1s rippled across its display.
Suddenly—
The bike jerked sharply to the right.
The missile missed by inches and detonated against a collapsed tower.
Leo gasped.
"Was that… autopilot?"
He didn't know.
And there wasn't time to think about it.
He glanced ahead.
He was already close to the marked location.
Then—
A transmission blared through the mercs' radios:
"All units retreat and scatter! Penta Corps forces inbound! Abort mission!"
But the APC commander ignored it.
"Fire again!"
The gunner launched three more missiles immediately, all aligned perfectly at the fleeing hover bike.
Leo didn't wait.
He jumped.
He pushed off the bike with both legs, diving toward the rubble below.
KA-BOOOOM!
The hover bike exploded in midair.
Smoke and fire swallowed it whole.
"Target destroyed!" the gunner shouted.
"But the rider jumped… condition unknown."
"It doesn't matter. Blast wave should've killed him," the driver said.
"Retreat. Penta Corps is almost here."
The APC turned and roared into the wilderness.
---
Jake and Tosh weren't unscathed either.
They had their own share of guided missiles and drones. But they were elite mercenaries— far more experienced.
They dodged through alleyways, used collapsed buildings as shields, and deployed decoy flares to distract tracker units.
Finally, the mercs received the same retreat order.
The battlefield fell silent.
Jake, Tosh, and the kids broke free of the slums and arrived at the extraction point— a hovering sky-carrier waiting like a silent angel above the wasteland edge.
It wasn't big— no larger than a small floating house— but it was sleek. Its silver hull gleamed under the moonlight. Two short wings extended from the sides, each fitted with compact but powerful stabilizer propellers. Neon lines glowed gently along the hull.
Tosh carried Lucy inside, placing her gently into an awaiting medical pod.
The pod sealed around her and sank into the wall, a red '+' symbol lighting up.
The kids didn't spare the ship a single glance.
They gathered around Jake, eyes wide and desperate.
"Where is Brother Leo?"
Anya's voice cracked.
Rem and Tessia stared at Jake as though their lives depended on his answer.
Jake opened his mouth— but nothing came out.
He couldn't tell them the truth.
Then Tosh rushed over with a floating transparent tablet.
"Jake. Look at this."
It showed the hover bike's final seconds. Leo's leap. The moment the explosion swallowed the hovering frame— Only for Leo's silhouette to vanish.
He Actually vanished. Didn't fall nor hit the ground.
He just Disappear.
"What…?" Jake whispered, stunned.
Tosh scrubbed the footage back.
Again, Leo leapt— and was simply gone.
"No way…" Tosh muttered, voice low.
Levi limped closer, wearing Vince's old tech glasses even though they didn't work. His leg shook.
"Did… did big bro survive?"
Jake looked at them— the limping Levi, Nick with a broken arm, the girls covered in blood and bruises.
Children robbed of their childhood.
He placed a heavy hand on Levi's head.
"You all need treatment first. Get into the pods. Don't worry about your brother. He told me to send him to that exact location. He definitely planned something."
Their eyes lit with fragile hope.
"Can you bring him back?" Anya whispered.
"No," Jake said, "The Pentas are already here. We're leaving immediately."
He hesitated— then added:
"Leo left a message for you all. He said… 'Goodbye. But this goodbye isn't forever.'"
Tears welled up instantly.
It finally sank in.
This was farewell.
A painful one.
"Don't cry," Jake said gently, resting his massive hands on their heads.
"Leo is the smartest kid I've ever seen. I am pretty sure, He'll come to Echo Haven. He'll find you all."
The kids nodded, tears falling silently.
Outside, the sky-carrier rose into the clouds, its neon lines glowing against the night.
And in seconds—
It vanished.