Finding Survivors
Red and Onyx suit up. Red holsters Redemption's Edge and grabs a rifle. Onyx only takes his weapon.
"I'm the pilot, so I'm not going into the bank." Onyx states.
"Keep dreaming." Red responds.
"Why am I going inside?" Onyx asks.
"You're the smallest and the most agile." Red states.
Onyx, Red, Taupe, and Ecru enter the bank in the Shadow Zone.
"Wait here. Onyx, you're with me." Red says.
Onyx and Red enter the lobby and approach a locked door. Red checks his watch.
"Shift change in two minutes." Red states.
After a moment of waiting the door opens and the guards switch shifts. Onyx and Red enter with the pair of new guards. They approach a second locked door and Red uses his scroll to call Ecru.
"Begin phase two." Red orders.
Taupe and Ecru enter the control room as Onyx opens a portal, allowing them to exit the Shadow Zone and knock out the guard. Taupe and Ecru then open the second locked door.
"Don't touch anything else." Red orders.
Onyx and Red enter the vault. Onyx opens a portal, allowing himself and Red to exit the Shadow Zone. Red begins loading the money into two duffle bags and throws one to Onyx.
"Get to the lobby. There is something I must do." Red says.
Onyx nods and enters the Shadow Zone. As he is on his way to lobby, the alarm sounds. Onyx runs to the lobby where Taupe and Ecru are waiting.
"What did you do!?" Onyx asks.
"Taupe tripped the alarm!" Ecru states.
"No I didn't!" Taupe shouts.
"Calling it now, Red is gonna say, 'You done fucked it up'!" Ecru states.
Present Day
The Rider stands at the door of the lab. It is blasted open with many of the security androids destroyed on the ground.
I was right.
Rubine was here.
The Rider quickly checks his scroll to see the full list of Umbra's projects. As the Rider walks through the laboratory, he hears a growl. The Rider draws his pistols and focuses on the source of the noise. A black wolf rushes out of the shadows and tackles the Rider. The wolf then begins to lick the Rider's cheek, dispite his helmet.
"Down girl." The Rider orders.
The wolf sits beside the Rider as he pets her head.
I remember now.
My hunting training was based on that of animals.
This wolf, Ebony, supplied the basis for my hunting instinct.
There is no way she could live this long, unless...
She was genetically modified with our near endless lifecycle.
That's how Umbra tested it with so little time,
They used animals with short lifespans before upgrading to longer ones.
"Hello again, old friend." The Rider says.
Ebony rubs her nose against the Rider's palm as he stands up. The pair continues to explore the laboratory until they reach the room with the test subjects bodies.
Two tanks are empty.
There's no way Windsor can be Aero.
Yet he knows the name, Rider.
He communicates with me the same way Night and Shadow do.
And had knowledge on how to create portals in the Chaos Zone.
A feat that only the ten test subjects possessed.
Onyx took a closer look at the bodies in the tanks.
They belonged to that of the scientists, not the test subjects.
Shadow, Night, Aero, and I are accounted for.
That leaves six at large.
I have to find them.
Convince them to help me end Umbra once and for all.
The Rider begins to hear the voices in his head.
"You've finally opened yourself to the bigger picture." Windsor states.
"It's about time." Night says.
"Had Rider done so sooner, he would have defeated Night sooner." Shadow states.
"It is time you learn the truth." Windsor states.
"What truth?" The Rider asks.
"If you open your mind to the bigger picture you will be able to locate the test subjects from anywhere in the Chaos Zone or out." Windsor states.
"And what is the bigger picture?" The Rider asks.
"That is a matter of perspective." Windsor states.
"And yours has changed." Night states.
The Rider looks at Ebony, who is clawing at the ground. The Rider then walks up to her. He sticks Dragblacker in between the panels on the ground and pries the panel that Ebony is stratching at off. Below the panel is a briefcase. The Rider opens the case, inside is a tablet. The Rider activates the tablet and sees it has the name of the ten test subjects as well as their aura levels. The deceased test subjects were at zero, while the rest were at one hundred percent. The Rider tapped on Rider and the tablet showed his current location.
"Bigger picture, huh?" The Rider says to himself.
Ebony sits next to the Rider.
"Good find." The Rider says.
The Rider checks Volt's location, then opens a portal to it.
"Come on girl, time to see an old friend." The Rider says.