4:29 AM — Helix Vault Exit Tunnel, South Corridor
Tires screamed.
The transport convoy—three armored vehicles and a lead drone unit—roared through the collapsing tunnel. Concrete dust filled the air like fog. Lights strobed through the gloom.
Inside the second vehicle, suspended in a stasis pod of humming blue, Helix-0 didn't move. His eyes were open. Flickering.
Remembering.
4:30 AM
Behind them, a black motorcycle tore out of the side access tunnel—lights off, silent.
Ryoji leaned forward, one hand gripping the throttle, the other on a custom-etched sidearm. Aiko sat behind him, arms wrapped tight around his waist, wind tearing through her hair. Her eyes burned.
"They're not getting away," she said.
Ryoji nodded. "They won't."
He pulled a switch—hidden panels on the bike's sides flipped open, revealing twin mini-pulse cannons.
He fired.
The rearmost vehicle jolted as an explosion rocked its back wheels. It swerved, crashed against the wall, sparks flying. The drone escort looped around like hornets, scanning for the threat.
Aiko stood on the bike.
Ryoji didn't flinch.
She raised one hand, palm open.
A flicker of light pulsed from her fingers—barely visible, like a heartbeat made of glass.
The drones wavered.
Then one dropped, fried from the inside out.
Aiko gasped and dropped to one knee.
"What was that?" she whispered.
"Later," Ryoji said, voice sharp but steady. "Hold on."
He launched them forward, closing the distance fast.
4:32 AM — Inside the Lead Convoy Vehicle
The Director sat calmly, legs crossed.
"They're pursuing," one agent said.
"Let them," the Director replied, without looking. "Let him see what he cannot save."
Behind him, monitors flickered. Helix-0's vitals were unstable.
"He's resisting the stasis," another agent warned. "The suppression field is degrading."
"Good," said the Director, finally turning. "I want him to watch her break."
4:34 AM — Highway Access Tunnel
The convoy burst out into a cold, open city underpass. Empty streets. Sirens in the distance.
Ryoji launched off a side ramp, the bike twisting mid-air—he landed on the second vehicle's roof.
Gunfire erupted.
Ryoji pulled Aiko behind the armor plating and kicked open a hatch.
"Go," he said. "I'll draw fire."
She hesitated. He locked eyes with her.
"I said go."
She nodded—then dropped into the transport.
Inside: chaos.
Three soldiers. One turn of her hand.
The new spark surged again—this time brighter.
The nearest soldier staggered back, choking, his gear shorting out.
She didn't understand it yet. But it listened to her.
4:36 AM — Lead Vehicle
The Director stood now.
He could feel it—the tether reawakening.
"Abort the route," he ordered. "Prepare aerial extraction."
From above, a sleek black hovercraft descended.
Ryoji landed beside it moments later, bloodied but unbroken, sprinting across a rooftop.
Aiko burst from the second vehicle, just as the hovercraft's ramp lowered.
The Director walked backward into the craft, looking down at them like a disappointed god.
Helix-0, still unconscious, was dragged aboard.
Then—
"Aiko."
It was him.
Barely.
But the voice was real.
She reached out.
Too late.
The ramp sealed.
The craft vanished into the dawn.
4:37 AM
Silence.
Ryoji stood beside her now, breathing hard. The sun was just beginning to rise over the fractured skyline.
Aiko didn't cry.
She simply whispered: "He called my name."
Ryoji looked at her.
Then, very quietly, he said: "Then we follow the name."
They turned together, the hunt burning fresh in their veins.
To be continued in Chapter 38…...