The trip back took around 13 hours. By the time they returned, it was around 10AM, so they quickly split up to prepare for their departure.
Making his way back to the mechanic shop, Jamie saw a peculiar sight, that being Armin's sleeping face and arm hanging off the edge of the roof. A bit of drool fell out of his mouth that Jamie sidestepped with a look of disgust, seeing it hit a puddle on the ground.
"Guess he wasn't lying about sleeping on the roof. I'll wake him up last."
Stepping into the garage, he found Amanda eating a bowl of noodles. She put down the noodles upon seeing him and went over to him.
"How'd it go?"
"Really well. I'm going to wake up everybody else. Pack your bags and get ready to leave, we're getting out of here."
Giving her a quick hug, he left for the living room as she became shocked. As what Jamie said set in, she smiled and followed after him, heading for her room to begin packing.
"I should have that old suitcase in my room…"
Meanwhile, Jamie found Aiden snoozing on the sofa, with Yeti on his chest in a similar state. As if sensing his arrival, Yeti woke up with a yawn and barked at him, causing Aiden to stir as well.
"Huh?"
"Get ready to leave, lil bro." Jamie shook his shoulder as Aiden frowned. "It's time to leave this place behind."
Repeating the process with Amy upstairs, and again with Jamie having to climb the roof to wake up Armin, after an hour they were all standing outside the shop carrying their bags filled with clothes, valuables, and other belongings.
"Are we really leaving the shop behind?" Aiden asked, his eyes containing a trace of sorrow as he looked at the shop.
"Yeah, but it's for the better, buddy. This way we'll get out of these slums and never have to come back." Jamie wrapped his arm around his little brother's shoulders, comforting him.
He was also carrying his bag for him, since Aiden still had one arm in a cast and a foot full of holes. Fortunately, he had a huge stock of medicine ever since Beck and Jamie officially started working together. The bag constantly rattled from the amount of toys stuffed inside.
Aiden sniffled and nodded, petting the white puppy he was carrying in his good arm.
"Can we do a sendoff for the shop at least? It's been with us through all these years." Amy suggested, with Amanda nodding along.
"Yeah, I'm gonna miss this place. Learned everything I know about mechanics here."
"Sure, but before doing so, everyone has their things with them? No last second item grab?" Upon seeing them shake their heads, Jamie breathed out. "Okay then. Fire Blast!"
Prime, who was standing behind Jamie, quickly stuck both arms out, releasing large flames that ignited the mechanic shop. Within seconds, the rusty shop was a flaming mess. The heat radiated, making the family step back. They all looked at their first home for one last time. It was bittersweet.
"Ah shit, I left all my clothes in there." Armin realized as he grabbed his head and widened his eyes.
"Damn it, Armin!" Jamie sighed. "We'll get you new ones."
He looked back at the burning shop. He was really going to miss that place.
"Goodbye, shitty mechanic shop."
"Bye, living room."
"Goodbye, home."
"Goodbye childhood."
"Bye bye, roof bed."
Saying their goodbyes to the mechanic shop, they turned around and began to walk towards the destination of the meeting point, the port.
******
After a long walk, they reached the port. On their way they noticed how it was now Beck's people patrolling the streets and keeping public order. It was weird to see Dynamos absent from the slum, but everyone welcomed the change.
Taking the lead, Jamie saw a long train parked by the edge, resting on top of the rails that trailed off into the distance. He saw Beck standing next to the train. The mob boss' eyes lit up upon seeing Jamie and approached him.
"You're right on time!" He greeted Jamie and glanced at his family. "You all set to go?"
"We're ready."
"Good, let's hop on. We're gonna be using the average speed of the hovertrain, so it'll be a 3 day trip. The train already has food, water and toilets, so don't worry."
Calling over the rest of the family, Beck stepped onto the train, Jamie and the rest following his lead. Prime on the other hand flew to the top of the train and sat there, since he was too big to fit in the train. To keep him hidden, Jamie activated Cloak Projector, and planned to keep it active until they reach the middle class sector.
As they passed through the multiple train cabins, Jamie was surprised at how clean and luxurious it looked. They passed through dining rooms, rows of seats that were filled by Beck's people, a bar… it was interesting to see.
Beck stopped in a cabin near the front of the train, where they found Lowe and a purple haired woman sitting on the left side. He joined them, sitting next to Lowe. Jamie and his family chose to sit on the right side of seats across the walkway in the middle.
"So this is Phase 3?" Jamie asked as he set down Aiden's bag on an empty seat. "Enjoying the ride?"
"Pretty much. Really, it's more of a formality. The plan's already succeeded." Lowe explained as he sipped from a glass of water before continuing.
"As for worrying about clearance, questions, or getting arrested when we make it there, you leave those worries to us.
Take these credits, though. You'll need to start living normally. Buy a home, grocery shopping, education, all that stuff."
Lowe gestured to the woman in front of him, and she stood up to approach Jamie, silently handing him 5 black cards before returning to her seat. Turning the cards around to check their balance, Jamie's eyes widened as each credit card projected the number 20000.
"There's one for each of you." Lowe seemed to be amused at Jamie's reaction, who handed the cards out after recovering.
"How'd you guys get this many credits? We were in a slum." Jamie questioned Lowe, who simply looked at Beck.
"Heh, I've been in this business for over 30 years, kid. If I didn't know how to get money, I wouldn't have made it this far." The mob boss bragged.
Jamie shrugged with a small smile. "Fair enough."
Ending the conversation, the long train ride began, the hovertrain making noise before it started to move. Looking out the window, the port and the rest of the slum slowly turned into a speck in the distance before disappearing completely. After that, it was nothing but water and the sky.
The family chatted for the first few hours, made easier by the seats being arranged in 3 per row, with every two rows facing each other. The first row contained Armin, Aiden, Yeti, and Amy, while the row facing them was where Jamie and Amanda sat.
Currently, everyone was asleep except Amanda and Jamie, who were talking.
"So, what do you wanna do in the middle class sector?" He asked her.
"Hmm… honestly? I wanna open up another mechanic shop." Amanda put a hand under her chin. "People in a sector like that would need repairs often, wouldn't they?"
"We could just buy a new shop and turn it into a home, you know. Just like in the slum." He suggested.
"That could work." She looked at the kids and the Ghost Wizard next to them. "I guess they can't stay at the shop all the time anymore, can they?"
"Armin can stay. Aiden and Amy have to go to school. Aiden's gonna hate it." Jamie chuckled.
"Amy will love it."
"She definitely will."
"You're amazing, Jamie." She suddenly said, taking him by surprise.
"Huh?"
"You did it." She smiled warmly at him. "You got us out of the slums. You've sacrificed so much for us…"
She paused, looking deeply at Jamie's left hand, which was purple and transparent. "You even lost your arm. I feel like we're not doing enough for you-!"
Now it was Amanda's turn to be surprised as Jamie hugged her.
"Don't say that, Amanda." He consoled her. "Without you, who would take care of the kids? Who would teach them stuff, feed them, spend time with them?"
He pulled away and looked into her green eyes. Through the window behind her, the sun was setting, the orange glow making her red hair even prettier. Jamie smiled at her.
"I'm just the guy who does the dirty work. You take care of us just as much as I do."
"Thanks, Jamie." She said and smiled back at him, but she knew that it was just Jamie being Jamie. She didn't agree with him. "I want you to know I'll always support you, no matter what. I don't care if you kill, or steal, or what. You're family."
"Sometimes I worry about that. What if I… start to enjoy it? Killing, I mean." Jamie sighed and looked away.
"That's fine. Just don't let it change you into something bad. Don't lose yourself, and don't let it harm our family." She patted his head.
"Alright. I suppose I can do that." Jamie breathed out.
"Besides, if you suddenly stop killing people, I feel like this gift I got for you is useless now."
Jamie's eyes widened. "Gift?"