Random Trivia: Dark Sympathy was originally going to be Onyx's signature weapon.
Onyx follows Ozpin into the elevator to his office. Once inside, Ozpin sits at his desk and Onyx looks around for anything valuable. Ozpin takes a sip from his coffee and places it on his desk.
"I know you are there." Ozpin states.
Onyx freezes up and then remembers he's in the Shadow Zone, so Ozpin can't see him. Ozpin stares in Onxy's direction as if he could see him.
"Onyx, I won't hurt you, just come out." Ozpin says.
How does he know my name?
How does he know where I am?
I'm in the Shadow Zone.
Does he know me?
Onyx opens a portal and walks out the Shadow Zone.
"You've grown since I've last seen you, Onyx." Ozpin says.
"And when was that?" Onyx asks.
"Four years ago, on this very day." Ozpin answers.
-Present Day-
Carmine, Ruby, Light, and Ozpin sit in Ozpin's office watching the footage of Carmine's confrontation with the Rider.
"Light, whoever wore that Rider costume, he knew my moves before I did." Carmine says.
"What are you trying to say, Rider?" Light says, "That the Rider fought Carmine Noir? You and I both know that is impossible."
Light compares the footage of the confrontation to that of Umbra's training footage.
"Onyx look at this." Light calls, "That block, tape ten-O, His kick is three-I, and the throw is twelve-O."
"He's mixing styles on the fly." Carmine states, "That's how he predicted my moves, he knew them."
"Yes, but to do that would require a mastery of each discipline, which there are hundreds through the database." Ozpin says.
"Thousands, actually." Carmine corrects.
"It appears who we are dealing with is someone who is as skilled as..." Ozpin begins.
"The Rider." Carmine finishes.
Ozpin leaves the room while Carmine rewinds the footage back to the beginning.
"Taupe. That's where I've seen that gun." Carmine says, "Taupe used one just like it, it's currently in the Armory on the airship."
"I'll get the serial number and check the manufacturer." Light states.
"Found the owner of the van." Ruby says, "Gunmetal Industries, they reported it stolen four days ago."
"Same day Ozpin sent out the announcements for Onyx Rider's funeral." Carmine says.
Carmine fast forwards to the aftermath of the explosion.
"What are you doing?" Ruby asks.
"I'm mapping a thermal overlay over the footage of the explosion." Carmine explains, "The flames are blocking the view of the scene, but if I can invert the heat signature..."
The screen switches to that of a thermal overlay and the Rider can be clearly seen crawling out of the fire. He begins a sprint before Carmine pauses the footage.
"There." Carmine says.
"Hello 'Rider'." Ruby says.
Ruby looks closer at the footage.
"Is that...?" She begins.
"A footprint." Carmine says.
Carmine zooms in on the footprint and scans it. The results pop up on screen.
"Those calculations suggest our imposter is roughly six foot four, two hundred and fifty pounds." Carmine reads.
Carmine continues to stare at the screen.
"What? Recognize something?" Ruby asks.
Carmine remains silent.
"I found our gun." Light says, "Serial numbers match and according to our airship's database, it never left the Armory."
Light enters the airship through a portal.
"Clear." Light states.
"I still think you could use some help." Ruby says.
"No, this one I have to do on my own." Carmine says as he walks out the portal.
Light enter the security room and watch Carmine through the cameras. It was Light's shift for monitor duty, which gave Carmine one less problem with security. Carmine runs down a hallway as is almost immediately spotted by the patrolling Atlesian Knights. They aim their rifles at Carmine and begin to approach him. Onyx drops a smoke bomb and in the confusion dispatches the guards. More Knights arrived, but all they found were their destroyed alies. Carmine enters the Armory.
"Light, I'm in the northwest corner of the Armory. I need an exit." Carmine says.
Carmine sees Brass and Volt leading an squadron of Atlesian Knights pass through a nearby hall.
"He went this way. Come on!" Volt says.
Carmine begins to sprint in the opposing direction. Some of the Knights spot Carmine and begin to pursue and fire upon him. Carmine quickly sets a timed explosive on the wall and runs as the rubble separates himself from the Knights. Carmine turns away from to rubble and watches as a man approaches him in the shadows. Once the man enters the light, he is revealed to be Flame, and he has his sniper aimed right at Carmine's head. Flame lowers his gun.
"Come on, I know a way out of here." Flame says.
Flame turns and starts walking, Carmine follows shortly after. Flame unlocks the door to the restricted section of the Armory.
"Why are you doing this?" Carmine asks.
"Onyx was my brother. The Rider didn't kill him. I want help you find out who did." Flame answers.
Flame enters the Armory and Carmine follows shortly after.
"You never answered my question, why are you doing this?" Carmine asks.
"I told you, Onyx was a friend." Flame states.
"Then why did you kill him?" Carmine asks as he stops walking.
Flame stops shortly after and draws his sniper, aiming it at Carmine.
"When did you know?" Flame asks.
Carmine stays silent.
"I have to hand it to you, Noir. What gave me away?" Flame asks.
"As Onyx's second in command, you were the only other person with access to the Armory. The Rider imposter left behind prints that put him at six foot four, two hundred and fifty pounds." Carmine explains.
"Two hundred and fifty five, actually." Flame corrects.
"I assumed you would find a way to get me alone, that way you could kill me with no one seeing and come out a hero." Carmine states.
"Yeah, that was the plan." Flame says.
"What I don't understand is why." Carmine put heavy emphasis on the is why.
"Does it really matter now?" Flame asks.
Flame converts his sniper into it's melee form and swings at Carmine. Carmine catches the pole in between the blades on Dark Vengeance. Carmine pulls his arms apart, using the blades to snap Phoenix Wrath in two. Flame pulls out Redemption's Edge and begins to fire at Carmine. Carmine dashes to cover as Flame makes a break for it, running towards the center of the Armory. Carmine follows sees Flame standing in the center, wearing the copy of the Rider's outfit.
"You like the outfit?" Flame says, "It's modeled after Onyx's. Wouldn't be a fair fight unless we were evenly matched."
Flame draws Redemption's Edge and fires at Carmine. Carmine runs and uses the surrounding shelves as cover. Flame hits and explosive, filling the room with smoke. Carmine takes the time to look at Flame, who tosses a grenade behind Carmine's cover. Carmine throws a nearby kunai and intercepts the grenade, causing it to explode in the air. Flame drops Redemption's Edge and tosses another grenade at Carmine. In the smoke he grabs a nearby rifle and fires at Carmine, who is still circling Flame, using the shelves as cover. Carmine jumps on top of the shelves, jumps off, grabs a chain hanging from the ceiling, and swings towards Flame. Carmine jumps off the chain and dropkicks Flame, landing flawlessly on all fours. Flame grabs one pistol of Redemption's Edge and charges at Carmine, trying to use the bayonet to stab him. Carmine ducks and grabs Flame's arm, slamming it onto his shoulder twice before punching Flame in the face. Flame charges at Carmine, who blocks and knocks Flame off guard. Flame goes for a left hook, but Carmine ducks, hitting Flame with a left jab. Flame goes for a right jab, but Carmine catches his fist and uppercuts Flame with his free arm. Carmine then hits Flame with three more uppercuts from the same arm. Carmine finishes with a left hook that knocks Flame into the chain that Carmine used earlier. Flame gets tangled in the chain as Carmine slams him onto a nearby table. With his aura depleted, the disguised dissolved and warrior thought to be Flame is revealed to be Rubine. Carmine doesn't flinch at the sight, he had some suspicions.
"Why did you attack Ironwood? Why are you framing Onyx!?" Carmine asks.
"It doesn't matter now. He's won, and I've lost everything." Rubine says.
"Who's won? Who are you talking about!?" Carmine asks.
"Haven't you figured that out?" Rubine says, "Night."
Onyx's eyes widen at the mention of his dead foe. Carmine pulls on the chain, setting it so that Rubine is hanging in the air.
"Talk!" Carmine demands.
"When Night failed to kill Onyx in their last fight, he realized taking him on wouldn't be as easy as thought, so he devised a new plan." Rubine explains.
"Kill Ironwood, frame Onyx." Carmine says.
"But, he needed a patzy in case things went wrong again." Rubine says, "Someone as skilled as the Rider. He knew I had the training. He also knew I'd never do it."
"So why did you!?" Carmine asks.
"Because he took my son!" Rubine answers.
"Flame, are you in there!?" Volt yells from the doorway, "Can you hear me!?"
"Volt help me! Noir is gonna kill me!" Rubine yells in Flame's voice
"Get this door open, now!" Volt orders.
"I'm not gonna let Cerise die." Rubine states.
Rubine kicks Carmine and frees himself. Rubine then slings a bandolier of grenades over his shoulder. Rubine pulls all the pins and forces Carmine into a wall. Rubine holds him there.
"What are you doing?" Carmine asks.
"Night doesn't care if I die, as long as you go with me." Rubine states.
Carmine kicks Flame off of him into a nearby shelf. Brass then busts down the door. The other Ghosts, minus Light and Camo, rush inside.
"Freeze, Carmine!" Volt yells.
"Where's Flame!?" Brass yells.
"Ghosts, get back!" Carmine yells.
Before anyone can do anything the grenades explode, taking with it all of the other explosives on the ship. The Ghosts quickly opened portals to escape as the airship went down. Carmine does the same, but is hit by the explosion just as he is about to go through. The airship falls into the ocean on the edge of the city as Carmine watches on Beacon's courtyard. Ruby runs next to Carmine and checks on him.
"Rubine." Carmine groans.
"Don't talk, you're safe now." Ruby says, "I'll get you inside."
Ruby helps Carmine up and lets him lean on her shoulder as they walk inside.
"Once again, repeating our top story. Fires still rage all around the city of Vale after last night's deadly attack by the Rider. It has been confirmed that the attacked did claim the life of former Atlesian Specialist Rubine Solis, whose body was recovered this morning. Atlesian General James Ironwood was also seriously wounded in the attack, but is expected to recover. A city-wide manhunt is currently underway for the Rider. A million lien bounty has been placed on his head. The highest ever offered for a terrorist." Lisa Lavender reports.
Ozpin turns off the scroll projecting the new.
"I believe that's enough of that." Ozpin states.
Ozpin, the Ghosts (minus Silicon and Camo), and Ruby are in Ozpin's office, discussing the event.
"Onyx Rider is dead, the Rider a terrorist, and Night alive." The Rider says.
"Or Rubine was lying and he acted alone." Ruby says, "It's possible."
"I vetted Rubine myself. Beacon Academy, Atlesian Military, he came up clean. None of this makes any sense." Light says.
Volt's scroll begins ringing.
"It's Silicon. He's been running down anything he can find on Rubine and his son like you asked." Volt says.
"Answer it, and put it on speaker so we can all hear." The Rider orders.
"Volt, are you there?" Silicon asks.
"We're here Silicon. Were you able to find out if Rubine's son is all right?" Volts asks.
"Far as I can tell, Rubine doesn't have a son." Silicon answers.
"What did you find?" The Rider asks.
"The truth. Whoever was in that outfit, it wasn't Rubine, because Rubine doesn't exist." Silicon states.