M/M Planet Ape – The Last Human - SFP#2

“The Last Human“

Chapter One: Steel and Shadows

The rain fell in thick sheets, drenching the metal carcass of Rustport like a never-ending funeral. Rustport’s steel bones, long oxidized and left to rot, glistened under the flicker of neon signs, their light struggling to survive against the city’s decay. Jax Morrow stood beneath a rusted awning, shaking the cold drip of rainwater from his cybernetic arm. It wasn’t the rain that bothered him—it was the stench. The air was thick with drekk, the acrid smell of oil and rust mixing with the decay that soaked into the bones of the city. No tech could scrub that away.

This city didn’t sleep. It throbbed and groaned, rattling in the grip of its own agony. Tonight, it felt more alive than usual. Jax tugged his coat tighter against the cold, though the drenched fabric was useless. His enhanced eye flickered—a glitch, another reminder of how much Rustport had chewed him up and spat him out. He cursed under his breath, tapping the side of his head. “Fragging thing.”

He wasn’t out here for a stroll. Not tonight.

Rumors had been swirling through Rustport’s gutters—whispers of someone walking the streets untouched by chrome, unmodified. The Last Human. Jax took a drag on his cigarette, the faint glow barely cutting through the haze. “Pure human,” they called it. Like there was any purity left in this world. He wasn’t one to believe in fairy tales, but something about this job stank worse than usual.

“You’re out here chasing ghosts, Morrow,” he muttered to himself, the words swallowed by the rain.

A crackle in his earpiece broke the silence. “Morrow, you there? Got a lead for you.” It was Max, his old contact from the underground network, a guy who thrived in shadows and always knew more than he should.

Jax grunted, tossing his cigarette into the street where the rain snuffed it out. “What’ve you got?”

Max’s voice crackled back. “Core Sector. Right near the Syndicate’s hub.”

Jax cursed. “Frag.”

“Yeah,” Max continued, the static in his voice sharp. “You walking into the Core, you’re walking into a meat grinder.”

Jax pulled his collar up higher and stepped into the storm. “Send me the coordinates.”

“You’re sure?” Max’s voice carried a note of warning.

Jax grunted. “Since when have I ever played it safe?”

Max sighed. “Alright. Sending now. Just… try not to get yourself killed, alright?”

Jax was already moving. The Core Sector was a deathtrap, crawling with rogue AI enforcers, Syndicate thugs, and worse. It was the kind of place you went to disappear, but never stayed gone for long.

He flicked his coat, brushing off the rain that had soaked into his clothes. The chill was nothing compared to what was waiting in the Core. Rumors were one thing, but if the Last Human was real, every Corp, gang, and AI in the city would be gunning for them.

And for once, he wasn’t just in it for the creds. There was something about this that itched at him. Rustport was falling apart—he could feel it in the pulse of the city’s crumbling streets, in the malfunctioning tech that littered the place. If this “pure human” existed, they were the last remnant of something that had long been forgotten.

But Jax couldn’t shake the feeling he wasn’t just chasing a ghost. He was hunting for answers, and in Rustport, answers always came with a cost.

Chapter Two: Coded Fragments

The rain hit harder as Jax pushed through Rustport’s twisted streets. The city’s decaying infrastructure groaned under the weight of its neglect, neon signs flickering like dying stars. Trash clogged the gutters, pooling with oil-slicked rainwater that made the streets glisten. Everything felt on the verge of collapse—just like him.

“Rustport’s like a busted machine,” Jax muttered, stepping over a pile of debris. “Everything’s running, but nothing works right.”

His cybernetic eye flickered again. Drekk. He smacked the side of his head, trying to jolt it back into alignment, but the glitch was spreading. It was just one more thing to deal with, and tonight, he couldn’t afford any distractions. Not with the job hanging over him like a blade.

Max’s coordinates led him deeper into the slums, where the buildings leaned in on themselves like drunks at last call. The smell of burnt circuitry and rot thickened, the stench marking the territory of the Syndicate. Jax kept his head low, blending into the shadows. In this part of town, you stood out only if you wanted to die.

The Core Sector was more than just dangerous—it was a death sentence. Gangs fought for control over every block, and rogue AI enforcers roamed the streets, mindlessly enforcing orders to “secure, control, eliminate.” If the rumors about the Last Human were true, then Jax wasn’t the only one hunting tonight.

“Core Sector… fragging joyride,” Jax muttered, adjusting his coat against the cold.

A sound sliced through the rain—a muffled thud, flesh meeting metal. Jax’s instincts flared. He quickened his pace, slipping into an alley where the noise grew louder.

At the far end of the alley, barely visible through the haze, two figures were hunched over a third, their movements sharp and brutal. A beating. Typical.

“Hands off,” Jax called out, his voice cutting through the downpour like a blade.

The two thugs turned, their faces obscured by makeshift masks. One of them grinned, a twisted expression of amusement. “Back off, chrome-dome. This ain’t your business.”

Jax’s pulse pistol hummed to life, glowing softly in the rain. “It is now.”

The grin faded. The bigger of the two thugs pulled a knife, its blade gleaming in the dim light. “You should’ve kept walking, ’tec.”

Jax moved before the thug could finish his sentence. His cybernetic arm snapped out, grabbing the guy’s wrist mid-swing. With a sharp twist, the knife clattered to the ground, and the thug found himself face-first in the muck. His pulse pistol hummed a dangerous tune, aimed right at the thug’s head.

“Frag off,” Jax growled, his voice cold.

The second thug didn’t wait. He bolted, his footsteps echoing down the alley. The first thug, frozen in fear, scrambled to his feet and followed, disappearing into the rain.

Jax holstered his pistol, his attention turning to the crumpled figure on the ground. A kid—barely sixteen, by the looks of him. Bruises bloomed across his face, but it wasn’t the injuries that caught Jax’s attention.

It was the lack of tech. No mods. No chrome. Just skin. Just human.

“Is this what I think it is?” Jax muttered, crouching beside the kid. He tapped the side of his head, and his enhanced eye scanned the boy. No mods. No cybernetics. Nothing.

The Last Human? Couldn’t be. Too young. Too fragile. But still…

“You alright, kid?” Jax asked, his voice softening.

The boy groaned, trying to sit up, but his body shook with the effort. “Who… who are you?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Jax said, pulling him to his feet. “You need to get out of here. Those fragging idiots might come back.”

The boy’s eyes widened, his breath hitching. “I can’t. They’re looking for me. They won’t stop.”

“Who’s looking for you?” Jax’s tone sharpened.

The boy hesitated, glancing around nervously. “I don’t know. Some Corp, maybe. Or the Syndicate. I’m not… like the others. They said I’m…”

Jax’s stomach twisted. “Human.”

The boy nodded, fear etched into every line of his face. “I didn’t ask to be like this. I just want to be left alone.”

Jax let out a slow breath. This kid wasn’t just another target—he was a fragging ticking time bomb. If the Syndicate got their hands on him, they wouldn’t just study him. They’d break him. Dissect him. Use him to build something even worse than the drekk they’d already unleashed on Rustport.

“Come on, kid,” Jax said, pulling him along. “We need to move. Now.”

“But where—” the boy stammered, panic rising in his voice.

“Doesn’t matter,” Jax cut him off. “We need to get somewhere safe before they find us.”

As they wound their way through the rain-soaked streets, Jax’s mind raced. This kid was more than just a rumor. He was the key to something dangerous, something bigger than any job Jax had taken before. And if they didn’t get out of Rustport fast, the city would devour them both.

Chapter Three: The Cores Pulse

The rain showed no signs of letting up as Jax and the kid moved deeper into the twisted maze of Rustport’s underbelly. Every step felt like sinking further into the bowels of something diseased, something alive—and angry. The city was always watching, waiting for a slip-up. And right now, Jax knew they didn’t have the luxury of mistakes.

The kid, still limping from the earlier attack, struggled to keep up. Jax’s grip tightened on the boy’s collar, pulling him through the muck. Neon lights flickered overhead, their reflections distorting in the rain-soaked streets. Rustport was closing in on them—he could feel it.

“This place…” the boy muttered, his breath ragged. “It’s… choking me.”

Jax shot him a glance. “That’s the city, kid. It’s been choking all of us for years.”

Ahead, the alley split into two equally ominous paths. One led to the Corp-controlled sectors—shiny towers of glass and steel, guarded by militarized drones. The other? Straight into the Syndicate’s festering core. Neither option was ideal, but the Core was where they had to go.

“We can’t keep running like this,” Jax muttered to himself. His mind was racing, trying to figure a way out. “They’ll track us no matter where we go.”

The boy looked up at him, eyes wide with a desperation that didn’t need words. “You said you could protect me.”

Jax grimaced. “I said I’d get you out of here. But things just got a hell of a lot more complicated.”

His enhanced eye scanned the alley, searching for any signs of pursuit. The rain made it hard to see, but Jax could hear it—the faint hum of drones, the echo of boots splashing through puddles. They weren’t far behind. Whoever was after this kid wasn’t going to give up easily—not with what was at stake.

“We need to get underground,” Jax muttered. “Old resistance tunnels… it’s our only shot.”

The kid’s voice shook as he asked, “Why me? What am I?”

Jax’s stomach twisted. He didn’t have the time or energy to explain the whole mess, but the kid deserved something. “You’re valuable,” Jax said, pulling him faster through the narrow alleys. “They think you can stop the Fade.”

The boy blinked in confusion. “The Fade? What’s that?”

Jax kept moving, his grip firm on the boy’s jacket. The Fade wasn’t something you explained in a few words. It was a disease, eating away at the soul of Rustport—corrupting everything. The chrome-heads thought it was a glitch. The Corp drones believed it was faulty code. But Jax knew better.

“The Fade’s killing people, kid,” Jax said, his voice dark. “Not just the ones with implants either. It’s eating through the systems that keep Rustport alive. And if it keeps spreading, the whole city’s going to crash.”

The boy’s breath quickened, panic seeping into his eyes. “But… I’m just a person! I’m not special!”

Jax snorted, half a laugh, half a curse. “That’s exactly why they want you. You’re not corrupted. You’re pure. The last one.”

They darted through backstreets, dodging rogue AI patrols and avoiding Syndicate checkpoints. Jax’s mind was on overdrive, calculating the risk of every move, every corner they turned. He knew these streets like the back of his hand, but tonight, there were too many eyes watching them.

The rain pounded harder as they reached the entrance to the old resistance tunnels—a rusted hatch hidden beneath layers of grime and debris. Jax yanked it open, the stench of rot and decay rising up to meet them like a wave.

“Keep close,” Jax said, his voice rough but steady. “We go underground from here.”

They descended into the darkness, the rain fading into a distant echo above them. The tunnels were cold and damp, the walls slick with condensation and covered in graffiti from a war long forgotten. Jax could feel the weight of the past here—ghosts of the resistance, echoes of battles fought in the shadows. But those days were over, and Rustport had moved on without them.

“You used to fight down here?” the boy asked, his voice small in the cavernous tunnel.

Jax’s jaw clenched. “Yeah. Back when we thought we could still change something.”

The further they went, the quieter it became. The hum of malfunctioning tech and the distant sound of rain vanished, leaving only their footsteps and the occasional drip of water from the pipes above. Jax’s eye flickered again, the glitch spreading like the Fade itself, but he ignored it. He didn’t have time for that. Not tonight.

Finally, they reached the main chamber of the resistance tunnels. The walls were lined with rusted pipes and broken-down terminals, the remnants of a rebellion that had been crushed under the heel of the Syndicate. Dust clung to everything, suffocating the air with the scent of failure.

“Wait here,” Jax said, stepping into the center of the room. He scanned the shadows, his senses heightened. “We’re not alone.”

Before the boy could respond, a sharp click echoed through the chamber. Jax’s pulse pistol was in his hand in an instant, aimed at the source of the sound.

“Who’s there?” he barked, his voice cold and hard.

A figure stepped out of the shadows, their face hidden beneath a hood. “You shouldn’t have come here, Morrow.”

Jax’s eyes narrowed as recognition hit him. Rook.

The hooded figure pulled back their hood, revealing a scarred face, gaunt and weathered. Rook had been one of the best—back when the resistance still had a chance. Now they were little more than a ghost.

“I heard you were dead,” Jax said, lowering his pistol slightly.

Rook smirked, a bitter twist to their lips. “I heard the same about you.”

The tension in the air was thick. Jax and Rook had fought side by side in these tunnels. Now, the city had driven them apart, left them both hanging by a thread.

“What do you want, Jax?” Rook asked, their voice low. “The war’s over. There’s nothing left here.”

Jax glanced at the kid, who stood near the entrance, fear etched on his face. “I need your help.”

Rook’s eyes flicked to the boy, their expression darkening. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Yeah,” Jax said, stepping forward. “He’s the last one.”

Rook stared at the boy for a long moment, their face unreadable. Then, with a heavy sigh, they turned back to Jax.

“You know what’s coming, don’t you?” Rook said, their voice grim. “The city’s dying. The Fade is spreading, and they’ll tear that kid apart if they get their hands on him.”

“I know,” Jax said, his voice hard. “That’s why I need to get him out of here.”

Rook shook their head, their expression filled with a bitter sadness. “There’s no ‘out,’ Jax. Not anymore. The city’s closing in. It’s only a matter of time.”

Jax clenched his jaw. Rook was right, but that didn’t mean he was going to roll over and give up. Not now. Not when they were so close.

“We’ll find a way,” Jax said, determination hardening his voice.

Rook studied him for a long moment, then nodded slowly. “Alright. I’ll help you. But you’re not going to like what you find.”

Chapter Four: Revelation in the Ruins

The tunnels stretched on, winding deeper into the belly of Rustport. Each step echoed like a memory of battles long forgotten. The dim glow of ancient tech flickered above, casting brief halos of light on rusted walls. It felt like walking through a tomb—a graveyard of dreams buried beneath the city’s rot.

Eli kept close, his eyes wide, fear etched into every line of his young face. The kid had been through hell, and now, as they descended into the heart of the old resistance network, Jax could feel the weight of it pressing down on them.

The city above was crumbling. The Fade was spreading faster than anyone had predicted, and they were hunting for answers in a place where hope had died long ago.

Rook led the way, their pace quick but cautious. Even after all these years, they knew these tunnels by heart, navigating the winding paths with an ease born from experience. But Jax could tell that even Rook wasn’t immune to the weight of this place. Too many ghosts lingered here, too many scars.

“How much further?” Jax asked, keeping his voice low as his eyes scanned the walls for any signs of life—or death.

“Not far,” Rook replied, their voice steady. “We’re heading to the deep archive. If there’s anything left from the old days, it’ll be there.”

Jax’s cybernetic arm twitched again, the glitch spreading through his system. He gritted his teeth, pushing the pain aside. He didn’t have time to worry about a malfunction now—not with everything hanging in the balance.

As they rounded a corner, Rook stopped in front of a large, rusted door. It looked ancient, like something from before the city had been swallowed by chrome and neon. Faded symbols were etched into the metal—a reminder of the resistance’s last stand.

“This is it,” Rook said, placing a hand on the door. “The deep archive.”

The door creaked open, revealing a massive underground chamber lined with decaying servers and forgotten tech. Dust clung to everything, thick and suffocating, as if the place had been abandoned for decades. The hum of old machines filled the air, their systems barely alive, struggling to keep running.

“What is this place?” Eli asked, his voice trembling as he stepped inside.

“This was where we kept everything,” Rook explained, stepping further into the room. “Data, research, plans—everything we thought we could use to take back the city.” They let out a bitter laugh. “But it didn’t matter in the end. The Corps won, the Syndicate took over, and we lost.”

Jax followed them into the chamber, his enhanced eye scanning the dead terminals. Most were dark, their screens cracked and flickering. But a few still blinked faintly, fighting to hold on.

“What exactly are we looking for?” Jax asked, resting his hand on a rusted console. The tension in his voice was hard to hide.

Rook hesitated, their fingers brushing over an old control panel. “Answers,” they said softly. “If this kid is really the Last Human, then there’s something here that can explain why.”

Jax frowned, stepping closer. “I don’t need explanations, Rook. I need a way to get him out of the city.”

Rook’s eyes darkened. “You don’t get it, Jax. There’s no way out unless you understand what you’re dealing with.” They pointed at Eli. “The Syndicate, the corporations, the AI—they’re not after him because he’s just unmodified. They’re after him because he’s the key to stopping the Fade.”

Jax’s heart skipped a beat. He’d heard rumors about the Fade—whispers in the gutters of Rustport. But the truth had always been buried beneath layers of corporate lies and propaganda. None of it had seemed real. Until now.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Jax asked, his voice sharp with disbelief.

Rook activated the console, the screen flickering to life. Data scrolled across it in a language Jax barely recognized, but the message was clear enough. The Fade wasn’t just a random glitch in the system. It was something far worse.

“The Fade isn’t a malfunction,” Rook said, their voice tight. “It’s a failsafe.”

Jax’s grip tightened on his pulse pistol. He could feel the weight of this revelation sinking in.

“A failsafe for what?” he growled, his patience thinning.

Rook looked up, their gaze cold. “For the city. For all of it. Built into the Core by the corporations in case things ever got too out of control. It’s supposed to wipe the slate clean—reset the whole damn system if necessary.” They exhaled sharply. “But it’s spreading faster than anyone thought. If it’s not stopped, Rustport’s going to tear itself apart.”

“And you’re saying this kid is the key?” Jax asked, his tone hardening.

Rook nodded, glancing at Eli. “His DNA. It’s uncorrupted. The only thing pure enough to reverse the damage.”

Eli took a step back, his face pale with fear. “I didn’t… I didn’t ask for this.”

Jax could feel the kid’s panic rising. He had every right to be terrified—he was just a kid, thrown into a nightmare he never signed up for. But now, he wasn’t just a target. He was the key to saving a city that didn’t give a damn about him.

“We need to find the source,” Rook said, urgency lacing their words. “The place where the Fade is being controlled. It’s somewhere in the Core.”

Jax’s mind raced. The last time he’d been involved in something this big, it had almost cost him his life. And now here he was again, standing at the edge of a cliff, staring into the abyss.

“Alright,” Jax said, his voice steady despite the storm raging inside him. “Let’s find this place. And let’s end this.”

Chapter Five: Phantom Systems

The deeper they ventured into Rustport’s decaying infrastructure, the more alive the city felt. Every creak of rusted metal, every hum of malfunctioning tech, was like a whisper in the dark. Rustport wasn’t just crumbling—it was fighting back, devouring itself piece by piece.

Jax led the way, his pulse pistol ready, the faint tremor in his cybernetic arm growing more noticeable with each step. The malfunction was getting worse, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. Not now.

Eli stuck close behind him, his eyes wide and darting nervously at every shadow that flickered along the tunnel walls. The kid was holding up, but Jax could tell he was on the edge. Who wouldn’t be? They were walking straight into the lion’s den, and everyone in this city wanted them dead.

Rook moved with practiced ease, their steps silent and sure. They didn’t say much—didn’t have to. The tension in the air was thick enough without adding to it.

“We’ll be in the Core soon,” Rook said quietly, their eyes scanning the darkness ahead. “Stay sharp. The Syndicate controls everything in that sector. It’s going to get a hell of a lot worse before it gets better.”

Jax grunted, his grip tightening on the pistol. It was always getting worse. That was Rustport in a nutshell.

The tunnel split into two paths, both leading into the unknown. One was barely lit, with the flicker of neon from the city above casting a sickly glow down through a grate. The other was pitch black—an abyss that smelled of rot and decay.

Jax could feel the city pressing down on them, suffocating in its own filth. “Which way?” he muttered, glancing at Rook.

“Right,” Rook said, pointing into the darkness. “It’s the longer route, but it’s safer. Fewer patrols. Less chance of getting fragged.”

Eli hesitated, staring into the blackness. “Safer?” he echoed, his voice trembling slightly.

Jax shot the kid a look. “In Rustport, ‘safer’ just means you’re less likely to get killed outright. Doesn’t mean we’re not walking into drekk.”

Eli swallowed hard, but didn’t argue. The kid had guts—that much was clear.

As they moved deeper into the tunnel, the air grew colder, heavier. The hum of old machines was constant, vibrating through the walls like a dying heartbeat. It reminded Jax of the times he’d spent fighting down here during the resistance days, back when there was still hope that Rustport could be saved. He’d been young then—too young to understand that the city was already lost.

Ahead, a faint sound echoed through the tunnel—metallic footsteps. Jax’s pulse pistol was in his hand before he even thought about it, instincts kicking in.

“Patrol?” Eli whispered, his eyes wide with fear.

Rook shook their head. “Worse. Syndicate enforcers.”

Jax cursed under his breath. They didn’t have time for this. Not here, not now. They were too deep in enemy territory to make mistakes.

“We need to keep moving,” Jax said, his voice low. “Stay quiet, stay close.”

The footsteps grew louder, echoing off the walls like a death knell. Jax’s enhanced eye flickered again, the glitch spreading through his system like a virus. He clenched his jaw, forcing the malfunction to the back of his mind. He didn’t have time to be broken. Not now.

The tunnel narrowed, forcing them into single file as they crept through the shadows. The enforcers were close—too close. Jax could hear the soft whir of their mechanical joints, the cold, methodical sound of machines built for one purpose: kill anything that got in their way.

Rook signaled for them to stop, pressing a finger to their lips. Jax held his breath, listening.

The enforcers passed by, their glowing red eyes cutting through the dark like searchlights. Jax’s pulse pistol hummed softly in his hand, ready to fire at the first sign of danger. But the machines didn’t stop. Didn’t even flinch.

They were safe. For now.

“Come on,” Rook whispered, motioning for them to move. “We’re almost there.”

They pressed forward, the air growing colder as they descended deeper into the underbelly of the city. The walls were slick with condensation, the smell of rust and oil clinging to everything. Jax could feel the weight of it all—like the city was closing in, waiting for them to make a wrong move.

“We’re close,” Rook said quietly, their voice barely above a whisper. “The Syndicate’s main hub is just ahead.”

Jax’s jaw tightened. This was it—the point of no return. Once they crossed into Syndicate territory, there would be no turning back. The city wouldn’t let them.

Suddenly, the faint hum of drones cut through the air. Jax froze. The Syndicate’s AI scouts were in the area, and they wouldn’t hesitate to call in backup if they spotted anyone.

“Drekking drones,” Jax muttered under his breath. They didn’t have time for this.

Rook pulled out a small device from their pack, the screen glowing faintly as they tapped a series of commands. “I can jam their signals for a few minutes, but it won’t last long. We need to move fast.”

“Do it,” Jax growled, his grip tightening on the pistol. They couldn’t afford to hesitate now.

Rook activated the jammer, and the hum of the drones shifted, their sensors scrambling as they lost track of their targets. It was a small window, but it was enough.

“Go!” Rook whispered urgently, motioning for them to move.

They slipped through the narrow corridor, their footsteps echoing softly as they navigated the maze of tunnels. The Syndicate’s hub loomed ahead, a massive structure of steel and neon that pulsed with energy, like a beating heart in the center of the city’s decaying body.

Jax could feel the tension in the air, the hum of the machines growing louder as they approached the entrance. This was it. The final stretch. The place where everything would either fall apart or somehow, against all odds, come together.

“Once we’re inside, we’re on borrowed time,” Rook warned. “We get in, we get the data, and we get the hell out. No mistakes.”

Jax nodded, his pulse pistol humming in his hand. No mistakes. Not this time.

Chapter Six: Echoes of Betrayal

The chamber buzzed with an eerie energy as they stepped into the Syndicate’s hub. The hum of old tech, decaying infrastructure, and malfunctioning systems filled the air, making Jax feel like they’d walked into a dying beast. The walls were lined with terminals, most of them dark, others blinking erratically, as if caught in some kind of malfunctioning loop. Rustport’s veins were clogged with rust and oil, and this was the rotten heart pumping it all.

Eli moved cautiously beside Jax, his grip tight on the metal bar he’d scavenged earlier. The kid looked scared as hell—but there was a fire in his eyes now. He wasn’t the same terrified kid Jax had pulled from that alley. He was something more now.

Rook wasted no time. They were already at the central terminal, fingers flying over the cracked keys. The screen flickered to life, a cascade of code flashing across it like a waterfall of data. Jax stood guard, his pulse pistol raised, eyes scanning the room for any signs of movement. The enforcers were out there, somewhere, and it wouldn’t be long before they caught up.

“We’ve got about five minutes, max,” Rook muttered, their voice tight with concentration. “The system’s more fragged than I thought, but I can still get in.”

Jax grunted in response, his gaze still locked on the shadows. Five minutes might as well be a lifetime in a place like this. The Syndicate didn’t give second chances. If they were caught, there wouldn’t be a way out.

“Eli,” Jax whispered, not taking his eyes off the dark corners of the room. “Stay close, and if things go south, you run. You hear me?”

Eli nodded, though his knuckles whitened as he gripped his makeshift weapon. The kid was scared, sure, but Jax could see the resolve hardening in his expression. He wasn’t going to bolt, not unless there was no other option.

The silence in the room was deafening, broken only by the faint hum of the tech and Rook’s rapid typing. Jax’s cybernetic arm twitched again, a violent jerk that sent a jolt of pain through his system. The malfunction was getting worse. His enhanced eye flickered, the targeting system briefly going dark before sputtering back to life.

He didn’t have much time left.

Suddenly, a noise echoed from the hallway—the faint sound of mechanical footsteps.

Jax’s heart skipped a beat. The Syndicate enforcers were closing in. He turned to Rook, his voice low but urgent. “How much longer?”

“Two minutes, maybe less,” Rook replied without looking up. “Just hold them off for a little longer.”

Jax didn’t answer. There wasn’t time for words now. He raised his pulse pistol, moving into position near the entrance to the chamber. The footsteps were growing louder—methodical, cold, and unmistakable. The Syndicate was here.

“Fragging hell,” Jax muttered under his breath. They didn’t have a choice. They had to hold the line, or they were done for.

The first enforcer stepped into view, its glowing red eyes cutting through the dim light of the chamber. Cold. Calculating. Unstoppable.

Without hesitation, Jax fired.

The pulse blast slammed into the enforcer’s chest, staggering it but not taking it down. These machines didn’t die easy. The enforcer raised its weapon, a high-pitched whine filling the air as it charged up to fire.

Jax ducked behind a terminal just as the blast flew past him, exploding against the wall with a deafening crack. “Drekk!” He cursed, popping out of cover to fire again, this time aiming for the enforcer’s head.

The shot hit true, and the enforcer collapsed in a heap of sparking metal. One down. But the sound of more footsteps echoed through the corridor. A lot more.

“They’re coming,” Eli whispered, his voice tight with fear.

“Yeah,” Jax muttered, reloading his pulse pistol. “I can see that.”

Two more enforcers stormed into the room, their glowing eyes locking onto Jax’s position. The room was too small, too tight—there wasn’t enough space to maneuver. If they rushed him, he was done.

“Rook, how much longer?” Jax barked, firing another round at the advancing enforcers.

“Almost there!” Rook shouted back, their fingers still flying over the keyboard. “Just hold them off for a few more seconds!”

Jax didn’t have a few more seconds. The enforcers were advancing fast, their weapons lighting up the chamber with deadly precision. He ducked and rolled, narrowly avoiding a blast that would have fragged him where he stood.

“Eli, stay down!” Jax ordered, firing wildly as he tried to keep the enforcers at bay. The kid didn’t need to be told twice—he was already crouched behind a pile of debris, his eyes wide with terror but still focused.

Jax took out another enforcer, its body slamming into the wall with a heavy thud, but more were coming. He could hear them—dozens of them—marching toward the room like an unstoppable tide of metal and death.

“Rook!” Jax shouted again, his voice filled with desperation.

“I’m in!” Rook called out triumphantly. “I’ve got control of the system!”

“Then shut it down!” Jax growled, firing off another pulse shot that sent an enforcer stumbling back.

Rook’s fingers flew across the keyboard, and the hum of the tech around them grew louder, vibrating with energy. The lights flickered, the screens flashing with streams of data, and then, with a final keystroke, everything went dark.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence. The hum of the tech was gone, replaced by the eerie quiet of a dying city. The enforcers froze, their red eyes flickering as their systems powered down.

“We did it,” Rook said, their voice filled with a mixture of relief and exhaustion.

Jax lowered his pistol, his heart still pounding in his chest. They had done it. The Fade was stopped. But at what cost?

Chapter Seven: Rust and Ruin

The night outside the tunnel was darker than the void between stars. The rain had finally stopped, but the stench of oil, rust, and decay clung to the air like a thick, toxic fog. Jax could feel the weight of Rustport pressing down on him—the city’s dying pulse reverberating in his bones. Every step felt heavier, like the city itself was trying to pull them back into its rotting core.

Eli walked close behind Jax, his eyes darting to every shadow, every sound. The kid was scared, but he was holding it together. Jax could see the fire in him, a determination that hadn’t been there before. Maybe there was hope for the kid yet.

“Where to now?” Eli asked, his voice shaky but steady.

“Rook’s taking us to an off-grid safehouse,” Jax muttered, scanning the empty streets. “If it’s still standing, we’ll have a chance to catch our breath.”

Rook led the way through the narrow, decaying streets of Rustport. Their movements were swift and calculated, slipping between the shadows like a ghost, always staying one step ahead of the Syndicate’s drones. The air crackled with the distant hum of malfunctioning tech, a constant reminder that the city was falling apart, piece by piece.

As they moved, Jax’s arm twitched again—the malfunction spreading further. It wasn’t just his arm anymore. His entire system was glitching. His enhanced vision flickered, and the targeting HUD in his eye sputtered in and out of focus. He clenched his jaw. There wasn’t time to fix it, and even if there was, he didn’t have the resources.

“How much further?” Jax grunted, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“Not far,” Rook replied quietly. “Just past the old train yard. It’s deep enough underground that the Syndicate won’t find us.”

Eli stumbled slightly as they wove through the rusting ruins of what was once Rustport’s industrial hub. The kid was exhausted, but he wasn’t complaining. Jax had to give him credit for that.

“They won’t stop coming, will they?” Eli whispered, barely audible over the sounds of the crumbling city.

“No,” Jax muttered, keeping his eyes ahead. “They won’t.”

The kid was right to be scared. The Syndicate wouldn’t stop until they had what they wanted—Eli. And once they had him, they’d rip him apart to get at his DNA, dissecting what made him the Last Human. Jax couldn’t let that happen. Not to Eli. Not to anyone.

As they reached the edge of the train yard, the wreckage of Rustport’s past loomed before them. Old train cars lay scattered across the landscape like corpses, rusted and broken. The ground was slick with oil and grime, the smell of decay hanging heavy in the air.

“We’ll have to go around,” Rook whispered, motioning to the drones hovering above the wreckage. Their red eyes scanned the area, searching for any signs of life.

Jax cursed under his breath. They didn’t have time for this. Every second they spent dodging Syndicate patrols was another second the city continued to fall apart.

“We take them out,” Jax said, his voice low but firm. “Quick and quiet.”

Eli’s eyes widened. “But there’s three of them! How—”

“Just follow my lead, kid,” Jax interrupted, cutting him off. “We’ve got no other choice.”

Without waiting for a response, Jax moved forward, his pulse pistol humming softly in his hand. The drones’ search patterns were predictable, but fast. He’d have to time it perfectly.

Jax crouched behind a rusted cargo container, watching as the first drone passed overhead. Its red eye glowed faintly in the darkness, sweeping the area with cold, methodical precision. When the moment was right, Jax stood and fired. The pulse blast hit the drone dead center, sending it crashing to the ground in a shower of sparks.

The other two drones whirred to life, their sensors locking onto the disturbance. Jax didn’t waste any time. He moved swiftly, taking cover behind a derelict train car as the drones hovered closer.

Another shot rang out, and the second drone dropped from the sky, its red eye flickering out as it hit the ground.

The third drone moved faster than the others, darting toward Jax with deadly precision. Its red eye blazed like fire, its weapons charging. Jax raised his pistol, but before he could fire, a second shot rang out from behind him.

The drone jerked violently, crashing into the wreckage with a loud screech of metal. Jax turned to see Eli standing behind him, the makeshift weapon still smoking in his hands. The kid was breathing hard, his eyes wide with fear, but there was something else there too—pride.

“Nice shot, kid,” Jax muttered, lowering his weapon.

Eli nodded, his breath still ragged. “I… I just did what you told me.”

Jax smirked, though there was no humor in it. “Good. Keep doing that, and we might just make it out of here.”

Rook motioned for them to move, leading the way through the wreckage as they approached the safehouse. The entrance was hidden behind a pile of rusted machinery, barely visible in the dim light. Jax scanned the area, his enhanced vision flickering as he searched for any signs of danger.

When they reached the entrance, Rook pulled open a rusted door, revealing a narrow staircase leading down into the darkness. The air inside was thick with the smell of rot and mold, the walls lined with decaying pipes and flickering lights.

“We should be safe here,” Rook said, sealing the door behind them. “At least for a little while.”

Jax nodded, his pulse pistol still warm in his hand. But the tension in his chest didn’t ease. They had bought themselves some time, but they weren’t safe. Not yet.

“What happens now?” Eli asked, his voice filled with uncertainty.

Jax stared at the kid for a moment, his cybernetic arm twitching as the malfunction continued to spread. What happens now? That was the question, wasn’t it?

“We survive,” Jax muttered, his voice low and cold. “One step at a time.”

Chapter Eight: Iron Wills

The bunker was a relic from the old world—forgotten and buried deep beneath Rustport’s decay. The air was thick with the scent of mold and rusting metal, and the flickering lights cast everything in an eerie glow. Jax leaned against the cold concrete wall, his pulse pistol resting in his hand, but his mind wasn’t resting. Not for a second.

Eli sat slumped near the wall, his face pale, eyes wide with a mixture of exhaustion and fear. The kid was tough, Jax had to give him that, but this was far beyond anything a kid like him should ever have to deal with.

Across the room, Rook was busy at one of the rusted terminals, fingers flicking across the ancient controls, trying to get some kind of signal. The hum of forgotten tech echoed softly—machines long past their prime, still struggling to stay alive. Much like the city above them.

Jax flexed his cybernetic arm, feeling the glitch spread further into his system. The arm twitched, sparks flickering from the joints as the malfunction crept through his circuits. It wouldn’t be long now before the entire thing went dead. He clenched his fist, willing the arm to keep moving.

“We’ve bought ourselves some time,” Rook said, their voice breaking the heavy silence. They glanced up from the terminal, the glow of the screen casting shadows on their face. “But it won’t last long. The Syndicate’s drones will figure out we’re here soon enough.”

“How long?” Jax asked, his voice gravelly.

Rook shrugged. “A few hours, maybe. If we’re lucky.”

Jax grunted, pushing himself off the wall. A few hours wasn’t enough. Not when the Fade was spreading faster than they had anticipated. And certainly not with the Syndicate breathing down their necks.

“What’s the plan, Jax?” Eli’s voice was quiet, but there was an edge to it—something more than just fear.

Jax walked over to the center of the room, his footsteps echoing in the small space. He knelt in front of the kid, looking him dead in the eye. Eli was scared, but there was a fire in him now—something that had been missing when this all started.

“We’re going into the Core,” Jax said, keeping his voice steady, calm. “That’s where the heart of the Fade is, and if we’re going to stop this, that’s where we need to be.”

Eli swallowed hard, his eyes darting to Rook, then back to Jax. “The Core? Isn’t that… Syndicate territory?”

“It’s crawling with Syndicate and rogue AI,” Rook answered, not looking up from the terminal. “It’s a suicide mission.”

Jax smirked, though there was no humor in it. “Yeah, well, those are the only kind worth doing.”

Eli took a deep breath, steeling himself. The kid had come a long way in a short time, but Jax could still see the doubt in his eyes. “What happens if we don’t make it?”

Jax’s cybernetic hand twitched, sparks flaring briefly before he flexed the fingers and forced them into a fist. “We make it. No other option.”

Rook pulled up a schematic on the cracked screen, showing the underground tunnels beneath the Core. The lines crisscrossed like a web, old infrastructure forgotten by the rest of the city. “These tunnels run right beneath the Syndicate’s main hub. If we get in there, we can access the central control system.”

Jax studied the map, his enhanced vision flickering in and out as his systems struggled to keep up. “And then what?”

Rook tapped the screen. “We get to the main terminal and upload Eli’s DNA. His unmodified code can stop the Fade, maybe even reverse it. But it’s going to be risky. The Syndicate has control over most of the Core. It’s crawling with enforcers.”

Jax nodded. “We’ve dealt with them before.”

“Not like this,” Rook warned. “These are the Syndicate’s top enforcers—AI hybrid soldiers, fully integrated with the city’s infrastructure. If they spot us, we won’t stand a chance.”

Eli shifted uncomfortably. The kid was scared, but Jax could see him wrestling with the decision. He was still a kid, but the weight of what they were about to do was pulling him into adulthood faster than Jax would have liked.

“Look, kid,” Jax said, softening his tone. “You’ve made it this far. You’ve got more fight in you than most people in this fragging city. You stick with me, and we’ll make it through.”

Eli didn’t say anything for a long moment, but then he nodded, his expression hardening. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

The tunnels beneath the Core were worse than Jax had imagined. Rustport was dying from the inside out, but down here, it was already dead. The walls were covered in grime, pipes leaking black sludge onto the floor, creating a slick, oily surface that made every step feel precarious.

The air was heavy with the stench of decay, and the only sound was the constant drip of water from somewhere deep within the infrastructure. It was claustrophobic, oppressive. But Jax kept moving forward, his pulse pistol at the ready, eyes scanning every shadow for signs of the Syndicate’s enforcers.

Eli walked close behind him, his breathing shallow, but steady. The kid had grit—Jax had to give him that. Rook led the way, their eyes glued to the map on their wrist console, navigating the labyrinth of tunnels with ease.

“How much further?” Jax asked, his voice low.

“Not far,” Rook muttered. “We’re approaching the maintenance shafts. If we can get in there, we’ll be right underneath the Syndicate’s hub.”

Jax nodded, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. His enhanced hearing picked up the faintest sound—the whirring of machinery, something mechanical moving just out of sight. The hair on the back of his neck stood up.

“Hold up,” Jax said, raising a hand. He listened, trying to pinpoint the sound.

“What is it?” Eli whispered, his voice barely audible.

Jax’s eyes scanned the shadows, his cybernetic systems flickering. “We’re not alone.”

The whirring grew louder—closer. Jax’s pulse pistol was in his hand before he could blink. The sound of mechanical footsteps echoed through the tunnel, slow and deliberate.

“They’ve found us,” Rook whispered, their fingers hovering over the EMP grenades strapped to their belt.

“Fragging hell,” Jax muttered, his grip tightening on the pistol. “Stay behind me.”

The tunnel was too narrow to fight effectively. If the Syndicate’s enforcers had cornered them here, they were in for a world of hurt. But Jax had been in worse situations. At least, that’s what he told himself.

Chapter Nine: The Fall of Metal

The sound of mechanical footsteps echoed louder, growing closer with each passing second. Jax’s enhanced hearing zeroed in on the whirring gears, the clank of metal boots hitting the ground, and the faint hum of an energy weapon charging. The Syndicate’s enforcers had found them.

“Drekk,” Jax muttered under his breath, his pulse pistol aimed toward the shadows ahead. His heart pounded in his chest, but his hands were steady. He wasn’t new to this kind of fight.

Beside him, Eli’s breath hitched, his wide eyes scanning the darkness, trying to catch a glimpse of their pursuers. Rook, ever the professional, had already activated an EMP grenade, fingers gripping the pin, ready to throw it at a moment’s notice.

“Three enforcers, maybe four,” Jax whispered. His enhanced vision flickered, malfunctioning. It wasn’t just his arm now—the glitch was spreading. He blinked hard, trying to focus, but the telltale glow of red eyes piercing the darkness confirmed his worst fears.

“They’re close,” Rook muttered, their voice tight with tension. “We need to take them out fast.”

Jax nodded, his jaw set. They didn’t have time for a drawn-out firefight. The mission was more important than taking down a few Syndicate enforcers, but if they didn’t deal with them here, the whole damn city would know where they were.

“Ready, kid?” Jax shot a quick glance at Eli, who looked terrified but determined.

“Y-yeah,” Eli stammered, clutching the makeshift weapon tighter in his hands. He wasn’t a soldier—not by any stretch—but Jax could see the fire in him. He was going to fight, no matter how scared he was.

The first enforcer stepped into view, its red eyes glowing in the dim light of the tunnel. A hulking figure, a mix of steel, flesh, and tech, it moved with calculated precision, its weapon primed and ready. Behind it, more figures emerged from the shadows, their glowing eyes locking onto Jax and his team.

“Frag this,” Jax growled, squeezing the trigger.

The pulse blast from his pistol lit up the tunnel in a blinding flash, slamming into the lead enforcer’s chest. It staggered back, sparks flying, but didn’t go down. These things were built like tanks.

“Rook, now!” Jax barked.

Rook hurled the EMP grenade, the small device tumbling through the air before landing at the feet of the advancing enforcers. A split second later, it detonated, a wave of electromagnetic energy rippling through the tunnel. The enforcers jerked violently, their systems momentarily fried.

“Go!” Jax shouted, already moving. They had seconds before the enforcers rebooted.

Eli scrambled after him, his boots slipping on the slick floor as they darted toward the maintenance shaft. Rook followed, their face tense, fingers flying across their wrist console, monitoring the enforcers’ systems.

The EMP blast had bought them time, but it wouldn’t last long.

“Move faster!” Jax urged, glancing over his shoulder as the first enforcer began to stir, its limbs twitching as its systems rebooted. They were running out of time.

The tunnel opened into a wide, decrepit chamber, the walls lined with rusted machinery and forgotten tech. In the center of the room stood the maintenance shaft, an old lift that would take them straight to the Core. It was their only way in.

“Rook, get that thing running!” Jax ordered, pulse pistol still aimed at the tunnel behind them.

Rook sprinted to the control panel, tearing off the corroded cover and working furiously to bypass the system. Jax could hear the enforcers getting closer, their heavy footsteps echoing off the walls as they recovered from the EMP.

“Come on, come on…” Jax muttered, his pulse racing. He couldn’t afford to let them catch up.

Eli was breathing hard, the tension visible in every line of his body as he stood beside Jax, his eyes locked on the tunnel.

“Jax…” Eli’s voice was shaking. “They’re coming.”

“I know,” Jax grunted. “Stay behind me.”

Rook cursed under their breath, sparks flying from the console as they jammed a series of wires into place. “Almost there!”

Jax fired another pulse blast down the tunnel, the shot slamming into the first enforcer’s shoulder, but it wasn’t enough to stop it. The thing kept coming, relentless, its weapon glowing with lethal energy.

“Got it!” Rook shouted, the lift rumbling to life.

“Get in!” Jax barked, pushing Eli toward the lift. He fired off another shot, then bolted for the platform as Rook followed. The lift doors slammed shut just as the first enforcer reached the chamber, its weapon discharging a pulse blast that exploded against the wall.

The lift shuddered, groaning as it descended into the bowels of the city. The hum of machinery vibrated through the walls, the air growing thick and stale as they left the surface behind.

Jax let out a long breath, holstering his pistol. They had made it. Barely.

Eli collapsed against the wall of the lift, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. “That was… that was close.”

“Too close,” Jax muttered, leaning against the wall. His cybernetic arm twitched again, the malfunction worse than before. He wasn’t sure how much longer it would hold out.

“Are we safe?” Eli asked, his voice shaky.

Jax shook his head. “Not even close. The Core’s crawling with more of those fragging things. This was the easy part.”

The lift creaked to a halt, the doors sliding open with a metallic groan. The air in the Core was stifling—thick with static and the stench of old, burning tech. Jax stepped out, his pistol at the ready, eyes scanning the corridor ahead. The place was eerily quiet, but that didn’t mean they were alone.

Rook moved to the front, checking their wrist console. “We’re in. The control room should be just ahead.”

Jax nodded, motioning for Eli to stay close. The kid’s nerves were shot, but he was holding it together. Barely.

As they moved through the narrow passage, the hum of decaying tech filled the silence. The walls were lined with old servers, their screens flickering with erratic streams of data. This was the heart of Rustport—the place where everything had gone wrong.

“We need to move fast,” Jax muttered. “We’ve got maybe five minutes before those enforcers catch up.”

Rook’s eyes were glued to the map on their wrist console. “We’re almost there. Just a few more turns.”

The tension in the air was palpable as they approached the control room. Jax could feel it—something wasn’t right. His instincts were screaming at him, but he couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong. The silence was too heavy, too expectant.

When they reached the door to the control room, Rook paused, their fingers hovering over the control panel. They exchanged a glance with Jax. “This is it.”

Jax nodded. He could feel his pulse pounding in his temples. This was the moment everything had been leading up to. The stakes couldn’t be higher.

The door slid open with a hiss, revealing a massive chamber filled with ancient tech. In the center of the room, the control terminal blinked faintly, surrounded by a web of cables and machinery. The air was thick with the hum of the city’s systems, struggling to stay alive.

“This is where we stop the Fade,” Rook said, moving toward the terminal. “Once I upload the kid’s DNA, we can shut down the whole system.”

Jax’s eyes scanned the room, his pulse pistol still drawn. He didn’t trust the silence. Something was off.

As Rook worked on the terminal, Jax felt a shiver run down his spine. The lights flickered, and the hum of the machines grew louder. It was like the city itself was waking up.

“They’re here,” Jax growled, his eyes narrowing. His grip on the pulse pistol tightened as the doors behind them slid open.

The Syndicate’s enforcers were back, their glowing red eyes locked onto Jax and the others. The firefight had begun.

Chapter Ten: A Line in the Sand

The blast from the enforcer’s rifle ripped through the room as Jax dived behind a rusted terminal. The pulse crackled past him, searing the air where his head had just been. The firefight erupted in full force, the hum of energy weapons filling the chamber as Jax returned fire, his pulse pistol glowing hot in his hand.

“Rook, get that terminal working!” Jax barked over the roar of the battle, his voice strained with urgency.

“I’m trying!” Rook shouted back, hunched over the control panel as their fingers flew across the keys. Sweat dripped down their face as they wrestled with the complex encryption, trying to gain control of the Fade. “The system’s fragging deeper than I thought—it’s gonna take time!”

“Time’s something we don’t have!” Jax growled, popping out from behind cover to fire another shot at the advancing enforcers. His pulse blast slammed into one of the towering metal soldiers, sending it staggering backward. But it didn’t fall. These machines were relentless, designed to withstand anything Rustport could throw at them.

Eli huddled behind a terminal, his eyes wide with fear as he watched the battle unfold. The makeshift weapon in his hand trembled, his knuckles white as he tried to keep himself from falling apart. Jax shot him a quick glance—the kid was terrified, but he wasn’t running. He was holding his ground.

“Stay low, kid! Don’t move unless I tell you!” Jax ordered, his voice firm but not unkind. He didn’t have time to babysit, but he wasn’t about to let the kid get torn apart by Syndicate drones.

The enforcers advanced, their glowing red eyes locked onto Jax’s position. Pulse blasts ricocheted off the walls, sending sparks flying as the machines methodically closed the distance.

“We’re gonna get boxed in!” Rook yelled, the tension in their voice rising. “I need more fragging time!”

Jax’s mind raced. They were pinned down, and more enforcers were pouring into the room. They couldn’t hold this position much longer. He scanned the room, looking for anything—anything—that could buy them time.

His eyes locked onto a set of old, exposed power conduits running along the far wall. If he could overload them, it might disrupt the enforcers’ systems, even if only for a few precious seconds.

“Cover me!” Jax shouted, already sprinting toward the power conduits, his cybernetic arm sparking as he moved. The malfunction was worse than ever now—his entire left arm was practically dead weight, barely responding to his commands.

Eli and Rook fired off a few shots, doing their best to keep the enforcers distracted as Jax reached the conduits. He tore open the control panel, sparks flying as he ripped out a bundle of wires. His hands moved with practiced precision, connecting and rerouting circuits in a way only a seasoned fighter would know.

The conduits lit up with a surge of energy, the overload sending a pulse of static through the chamber. The enforcers froze, their red eyes flickering as the electromagnetic disruption scrambled their systems.

“Go! Now!” Jax roared, diving back behind cover just as another pulse blast tore through the air where he had been standing. The enforcers were recovering faster than he’d hoped, but they had a window.

Rook slammed a fist against the terminal, a triumphant grin flashing across their face. “I’m in! I’ve got control of the Fade’s signal!”

Jax fired off another shot, catching one of the enforcers in the chest as he shouted, “Shut it down!”

Rook’s fingers flew across the controls, their face grim. “It’s not that simple! The Fade is hardwired into the city’s infrastructure. I can’t just turn it off without crashing the entire system!”

Jax’s heart pounded as the weight of that statement hit him. If they shut down the Fade, Rustport would collapse—no power, no life support, no systems. The entire city would plunge into darkness. But if they didn’t stop it, the Fade would tear the city apart anyway.

“What the frag does that mean, Rook?” Jax shouted, pulse pistol blazing as more enforcers poured into the room.

“It means if I shut this down, we’re taking Rustport offline! The whole city goes dark!” Rook shouted back, their voice strained with the gravity of the situation.

Jax clenched his jaw. He had been through hell and back in this city. He’d watched it die a slow death over the years, watched its people wither under the grip of corruption, tech, and greed. And now, here he was, faced with the choice of pulling the plug on it all.

“Do it,” Jax growled, his voice low and cold. There was no other option. “Shut it down.”

Rook hesitated for a fraction of a second, their hand hovering over the terminal controls. “Are you sure? If we do this, there’s no going back.”

Jax’s eyes were hard, the weight of his decision settling on his shoulders. “We don’t have a choice.”

Rook nodded, their face pale. With a final keystroke, they entered the shutdown command.

The chamber plunged into darkness.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence—the hum of the city’s systems, the crackle of energy in the air, all gone in an instant. The only sound was the distant echo of Rustport’s final breath, the last gasp of a city that had been on life support for far too long.

But the silence didn’t last.

The enforcers’ systems began to fail, their red eyes flickering one last time before they collapsed to the ground, their bodies twitching as the city’s power grid shut down. One by one, the machines fell, their deadly precision rendered useless without the city’s network to support them.

Jax exhaled slowly, the tension in his body releasing as the last enforcer hit the ground with a heavy thud. They had done it. The Fade was stopped. But at what cost?

Eli stood in stunned silence, his face pale as he stared at the fallen enforcers. “What… what happens now?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Jax didn’t answer right away. He didn’t have an easy answer. Rustport was in freefall now, and there was no telling what would happen next. But for the moment, they had survived. And in this city, that was all that mattered.

“We get out,” Jax said finally, holstering his pistol. “And we figure out what comes next.”

As they made their way back through the tunnels, the darkness pressed in around them, the hum of the city’s machines gone, replaced by the distant sound of chaos—a city on the brink of collapse. Jax knew there would be no easy answers waiting for them. The Syndicate, the corporations, the AI—they wouldn’t stop just because the Fade was gone. But they had bought themselves a little time.

And in Rustport, time was the most precious thing of all.

Chapter Eleven: Ashes of Rust

The tunnels felt different now. The hum of life support, the static buzz of malfunctioning tech—everything was gone, leaving only the dead, hollow silence. Jax led the way, pulse pistol holstered, his steps deliberate as the group made their way through the darkened passages beneath Rustport. Eli stayed close, his eyes wide, darting nervously with each shadow that flickered in the faint light of Jax’s failing enhanced vision.

The silence weighed heavy, pressing down on them with the gravity of a city in its death throes. Above, Jax knew the streets of Rustport were in chaos—people scrambling to survive without the machines they’d depended on for so long, Syndicate forces scrambling to regain control of their crumbling empire, and rogue AI systems likely going haywire without their usual constraints. Everything was spiraling, and they were right at the heart of it.

“You sure this is the way out?” Eli asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Jax nodded, though in truth, he wasn’t sure of anything anymore. His cybernetic arm was practically dead weight now, the malfunction spreading through his systems like a creeping disease. The glitch was worse than ever—his enhanced eye flickered intermittently, making it harder to see the path ahead.

“We’ll make it, kid,” Jax said, more for his own benefit than Eli’s. He had to believe it. They had come too far to fail now.

Rook brought up the rear, silent but alert. Their usual sharpness was tempered by exhaustion, the weight of everything they’d been through etched into their features. They had hacked the city’s core, shut down the Fade, and effectively pulled the plug on Rustport. But there was no celebration—only the stark reality of what came next.

As they emerged from the tunnel, the full scope of the city’s collapse hit them. The streets were dark, lit only by the faint glow of fires burning in the distance. The buildings, once towering relics of Rustport’s glory days, now loomed like shadows over a city that was crumbling from the inside out. People ran through the streets, their faces pale with fear, their footsteps quick and desperate. The Syndicate’s grip on the city was slipping, and in the chaos, everything was falling apart.

“Fragging hell,” Jax muttered under his breath, his gaze sweeping across the devastation.

Eli stood frozen beside him, his wide eyes taking in the sight of a city that had once been his home—a city now reduced to ashes. “What have we done?” he whispered, his voice trembling.

Jax placed a hand on his shoulder, his cybernetic fingers twitching from the malfunction. “We did what we had to do, kid. The city was already dead—we just put it out of its misery.”

But even as he said the words, Jax couldn’t shake the weight of what they had done. Rustport had been dying for years, its people trapped in a cycle of dependence on the very tech that had poisoned their world. And now, in the space of a few hours, they had torn it all down.

“We need to move,” Rook said, their voice low and urgent. “The Syndicate won’t let this stand. They’ll come for us—if not for revenge, then to regain control of what’s left.”

Jax nodded. He knew Rook was right. The Syndicate might have lost their immediate control over the city, but they were still out there, still hunting for a way to reclaim their power. And with Rustport’s infrastructure crumbling, that hunt would be more vicious than ever.

“Where do we go?” Eli asked, his voice small amidst the chaos around them. The weight of his question hung in the air—they had taken down the city, but now they were fugitives, with no home, no safe harbor, and enemies on every side.

Jax stared out at the burning skyline, his jaw clenched. He had spent years in this city, fighting to survive, doing what he could to make it through each day. But now, everything was different. The rules had changed. The city was collapsing, and he wasn’t sure there was anywhere left to run.

But they had to try.

“We head to the outskirts,” Jax said finally, his voice firm. “There are places off the grid—places where the Syndicate can’t reach us. We’ll lay low, regroup, and figure out our next move.”

Eli nodded, though he still looked shaken. “What if they find us?”

“They won’t,” Jax said, though he wasn’t entirely sure. But the kid needed hope, and right now, hope was the only thing keeping them moving.

They began making their way through the darkened streets, sticking to the shadows as they navigated through the chaos. Every corner they turned brought new scenes of destruction—cars overturned, storefronts smashed, people scavenging for supplies in a city that was rapidly descending into anarchy. The infrastructure that had held Rustport together was gone, and with it, any semblance of order.

As they passed a group of survivors, huddled around a burning barrel for warmth, Jax felt a pang of guilt. These people hadn’t asked for this. They hadn’t been part of the Syndicate’s schemes or the corporations’ greed. They were just trying to survive in a world that had failed them. And now, they were paying the price for decisions made far above their heads.

Eli seemed to sense it too. “They’re… they’re just like us,” he said quietly, watching as a child clung to her mother’s side, her eyes wide with fear.

Jax’s voice was hard. “They’ll survive. People always do. The city might be dying, but the people… they’ll adapt. They’ll find a way to keep going.”

But the words felt hollow, even as he said them.

They pressed on, moving deeper into the outskirts of Rustport, where the buildings grew more dilapidated and the streets less crowded. The fires in the distance flickered like dying stars, casting an eerie glow over the city’s skeletal remains. The silence was deafening, broken only by the occasional sound of distant sirens or the crackling of flames.

They reached a rundown safehouse, one of the few places Jax knew would be off the Syndicate’s radar. It wasn’t much—just a small, rusted shack on the edge of the city—but it would do for now. They needed rest, and they needed to figure out their next move.

Inside, the air was stale, thick with the smell of mildew and decay. Jax dropped his pack on the floor and sat heavily on an old, broken-down chair. The weight of everything hit him all at once. The fight, the collapse of the city, the responsibility he now bore for Eli’s survival. It was overwhelming, and for a moment, he let himself feel the exhaustion that had been gnawing at him for days.

Eli sat across from him, his face pale but determined. The kid had been through hell, but he was still standing. There was something in his eyes now—something that hadn’t been there before. A sense of resolve, of purpose. He wasn’t the same scared boy Jax had pulled out of the alleyway. He had changed, just like the city around them.

“What happens next?” Eli asked, his voice quiet but steady.

Jax met his gaze, the weight of the question settling between them. What did come next? They had shut down the Fade, crippled the Syndicate’s grip on Rustport, but at what cost? The city was in freefall, and there was no guarantee that anything better would rise from the ashes.

“I don’t know,” Jax admitted, his voice rough with fatigue. “But we’ll figure it out. One step at a time.”

Eli nodded, his eyes filled with a quiet determination. “Whatever happens, we can’t stop now. The Syndicate… they’re still out there. And if we don’t finish this, they’ll come back. They always do.”

Jax smiled faintly, though there was no joy in it. “You’re right, kid. They’ll come back. But when they do, we’ll be ready.”

The silence stretched out between them, the weight of the world pressing down on their shoulders. But for the first time in a long time, Jax didn’t feel alone. He had Eli, and he had Rook. And together, they might just have a shot at surviving the storm that was coming.

As the night pressed on, Jax stared out into the darkness, the city of Rustport flickering in the distance. The fires were still burning, the chaos still unfolding. But in the heart of that destruction, there was the faintest glimmer of hope.

And for Jax Morrow, that was enough.

End of Story

Keep Your Circuits Hot, Glitchers! – The rusted veins of Rustport are always shifting, hiding new dangers beneath their decaying surface… So strap in and lock your sights, because Jax Morrow is gearing up for another deep dive into the heart of a collapsing city. In a world where tech twists the soul, and the line between man and machine is razor-thin, the real question is: how far will Jax go before he loses himself to the rot? With every step through Rustport’s cyber-slums, the stakes rise higher. Jax is the only one tough enough to face the brutal truth behind the city’s last human, and the tech-fueled terrors that come with it. Are you ready to join him as he unearths the twisted secrets lurking in the shadows? Keep tuned to Planet Ape for more tension, more chaos, and more of Jax’s relentless fight for survival. Rustport’s pulse never dies, but every step in the city may be your last. So stay sharp, Glitchers—because in a world this fragile, only the toughest survive. Jax Morrow’s story is far from over… and neither is yours!