Lagos 2080

Chapter 1: Shadows in the Neon Jungle

The air in Makoko felt heavy, thick with the scent of rusting metal and the faint buzz of electrical lines. It was a world removed from the gleaming megastructures that defined the Lagos skyline. Above, hovercars zipped between neon-lit towers, while below, in the undercity, life moved at a slower, grittier pace. The people here — hustlers, scavengers, and shadow-dwellers — fought daily to survive, far from the luxuries enjoyed by those in the upper city. But for 17-year-old Ayo, Makoko was home.

His fingers danced over a pile of discarded tech in a narrow alley, his molten-gold eyes scanning for anything salvageable. Ayo had an eye for things others missed. He had grown up pulling apart scrap and turning it into functional tech, a skill passed down from his father before he disappeared. Now, scavenging was how he kept food on the table for himself and his grandmother.

Makoko was vast, a sprawling maze of shanties, makeshift workshops, and forgotten alleyways. But today, something felt off. Ayo sensed it in the air — a subtle shift, like the city was holding its breath. His grandmother often spoke of moments like these, times when the Orishas — the ancient Yoruba spirits — whispered warnings to those who listened. Ayo wasn't sure if he believed in spirits, but he had learned to trust his instincts.

His hand froze over a metal crate covered in grime, half-buried beneath layers of trash and rust. It didn't look like much, but something about it drew his attention. He pried the crate open, expecting to find the usual tangle of wires and circuits, but instead, his breath caught in his throat. There, nestled among the junk, lay a deactivated Sky-Mech.

Sky-Mechs were not something one stumbled across in Makoko. These drones, sleek and armed with cutting-edge weaponry, belonged to the Sky Patrol — the elite force controlled by the Tech-Lords who ruled Lagos from their glass towers. The Mechs patrolled the skies, keeping order in the upper city and suppressing unrest in the slums. To find one abandoned here, in the undercity, was unheard of.

Ayo's pulse quickened as he knelt beside the drone. It was battered but largely intact, its silver body glinting faintly in the low light. The Mech's smooth, segmented design hinted at the advanced tech beneath its surface. This was no ordinary piece of scrap; this was something rare, powerful — and dangerous.

His fingers twitched, itching to examine it further. Ayo had a knack for coaxing life back into dead machines, but this was something else. He could sense the complexity of the system just by looking at it, and that familiar feeling of curiosity, of hunger to know how it worked, began to take over.

Ignoring the distant sounds of Makoko's chaos, Ayo worked quickly. His toolkit lay beside him, and within moments, he was deep into the Mech's circuitry. As he delved into the drone's systems, he discovered it was not just deactivated — it was locked. There were layers of encryption, security protocols that far exceeded anything he'd seen before. Whoever built this Mech didn't want it to fall into the wrong hands.

But Ayo was relentless. His fingers flew across the console, bypassing the first level of encryption, then the next. Each layer he peeled back revealed more — glimpses of something far more advanced than any Sky-Mech he'd encountered. His heartbeat thudded in his ears, but with a final twist of his hand, the Mech powered up.

Lights flickered along its body, and the low hum of energy pulsed through the air. Ayo stepped back, a mix of awe and trepidation gripping him as the drone slowly came to life. Its optics glowed red, scanning the alley before locking onto Ayo. For a moment, he feared he had made a terrible mistake. Sky-Mechs were programmed to attack intruders, and here he was, standing right in front of one.

But the Mech didn't attack. Instead, it hovered silently, awaiting instructions.

Ayo's mind raced. This wasn't just any Sky-Mech — this was a prototype, a machine with capabilities far beyond the drones that patrolled the city. He could feel it. The Orishas' whispers, his grandmother would say, were guiding him. There was something different about this machine, something it was meant to show him.

Before he could process the implications, the sound of approaching footsteps shattered the silence. Ayo whipped his head around. At first, he thought it was one of Makoko's scavengers, but then he saw the unmistakable silhouette of a Sky-Mech squadron descending through the sky. The Tech-Lords' drones were searching for something — no doubt, the Mech Ayo had just reactivated.

Panic surged through him. He had to move. Without thinking, Ayo climbed into the Mech's control interface, the virtual reality interface wrapping around him like a second skin. He had only seconds to figure out how to fly the thing. His hands hovered over the controls, instinctively finding the right sequences. Then, with a surge of energy, the Mech shot into the sky.

The world below blurred as Ayo soared into the neon-lit skyline. The sensation was intoxicating, the city unfolding beneath him like a sprawling map of shimmering light. He twisted through the air, his mind racing to control the machine. The Sky-Mech felt familiar in a way that surprised him — like an extension of his own body, as though it had been waiting for him all along.

But the Tech-Lords' drones were fast, and they weren't about to let him escape. A red laser sight danced across his vision, and a barrage of energy bolts shot past him. Ayo gritted his teeth, pushing the Mech faster, weaving through the canyons of concrete and glass that made up the upper city. He had no idea where he was going, only that he had to keep moving.

As he dodged another round of laser fire, a voice crackled through his comm system.

"Need a hand?"

Ayo barely had time to process the voice before a figure dropped from a rooftop, landing on a passing hovercar with the grace of a cat. It was a girl — her fiery hair catching the light of the neon signs above. In one swift motion, she hacked into the nearest Sky-Mech, sending it careening off-course.

"Name's Ejiro," she called, her cybernetic arm flashing as she leaped onto Ayo's Mech. "And if you want to survive, follow my lead."

Before Ayo could respond, she was already in action. Together, they dodged the pursuing Mechs, weaving through the narrow spaces between buildings and slipping into the shadows of the undercity. With a final burst of speed, they disappeared into the safety of an abandoned warehouse.

Inside, panting and covered in sweat, Ayo collapsed onto the ground. His mind buzzed with a thousand questions, but one stood out above all the rest.

"What was that thing?" he asked, looking at Ejiro as she casually leaned against the now-dormant Mech.

Ejiro glanced at him, her stormy eyes sharp and calculating. "That," she said, "is just the beginning. The Tech-Lords have plans for Lagos, and you just stumbled onto something they didn't want anyone to find."

Ayo stared at the Mech, a chill running down his spine. Whatever he had activated, it was bigger than he could have imagined. And now, there was no turning back.