The heist begins.
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-
Onyx 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.
Onyx quickly checks his scroll to see the full list of Umbra's projects. As Onyx walks through the laboratory he hears a growl. Onyx draws his pistols and focuses on the source of the noise. A black wolf rushes out of the shadows and tackles Onyx. The wolf then begins to lick Onyx's cheek.
"Down girl." The Rider orders.
The wolf sits beside Onyx as he pets her head.
I remember now.
My genetic code was combined with that of animals.
Almost like that of a Faunus.
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 Onyx'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 Shadow 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.
Onyx 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.
"About the nature of the Shadow Zone." Shadow says.
"The Shadow Zone is a physical embodiment of the souls of all the test subjects." Night states.
"The one with the strongest aura is the one who the Shadow Zone takes after." Windsor states.
"That is why it was once purple and now it is crimson." Shadow explains.
"If you open your mind to the bigger picture you will be able to locate the test subjects from anywhere in the Shadow 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.
Onyx looks at Ebony, who is clawing at the ground. Onyx walks up to her. Onyx sticks his sword in between the panels on the ground and pries the panel that Ebony is stratching at off. Below the panel is a briefcase. Onyx opens the case, inside is a tablet. Onyx 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. Onyx tapped on Rider and the tablet showed his current location.
"Bigger picture, huh?" The Rider says to himself.
Ebony sits next to Onyx.
"Good find." The Rider says.
Onyx checks Volt's location, then opens a portal to it.
"Come on girl, time to see an old friend." The Rider says.
