The silent hallway was a graveyard of abandoned, unheard screams. Each apartment had people living inside but no one dared to come out. Doors shut sealed and lights flickering. His eyes sharp and alert. He looked around while slowly taking his steps forward. "Something's wrong here. Something is here." Tio whispered with each step. He looked serious and calm. His kunais resting in his hip and he holds both guns in his hands. Gripping them hard he whispered, "For some reason my arms and legs feel heavier than usual. My legs feel as if they gained weight all of a sudden." He walked towards the stairs and started making his way to the level above him.
"I can't connect with Mr. Cade. Not that I am worried. He can take down anyone. I just need to finish my task and make myself worthy."
Suddenly he felt something. Tio froze up instantly. His eyes wide opened and he looked stunned. His legs froze up and for a split second his back felt a cold sensation while walking up the stairs.
He panicked and quickly turns around. He aims his guns. His fingers twitching around the trigger, seconds away from firing. His breathing heavy. Right in front of him there was no one, but he could've sworn he felt something. No, he didn't feel it, he was sure something was behind him that gave him the cold shivers that chilled him down to his spine.
"What was that? I swear I felt it, I felt it. What was it." A single sweat dropped from his forehead. He doesn't move. He slightly lowers his guns and turns around. He looked straight ahead towards the stretched out hallway from the stairs. The lights were dull and some of them were flickering. He looked around again but didn't locate a single soul. He grips his guns harder and whispers, "Something beyond our strength is roaming here."
As Tio was going through it all, something completely else was happening on the lower level. Kaito kept roaming around and tried to connect with Yamako. He kept calling him, but every time he tries to connect it says: Connection Failed. Poor signal strength.
"Damn it." He walked aggressively. His body motion felt overwhelming. His fist closed and he looked furious. "What was it? Ghost. Ghost. Ghost. Ghost. He said ghost. The ghost is dead. The ghost is gone."
His silent whispers were his only instrument of power for now. Each step he takes forward he looked around. He looked at each apartment door. BH-55, BH-56. Each door sign, every cracked wall he noticed it all. He made his way to the stairs and made his way to the upper level.
Suddenly his comm implant received a transmission. Kaito quick tapped and received it without any second thoughts. He didn't stop walking. He kept his pace and made his way to the upper level hallway.
You have a new message.
Sender - Yamako Bff
"K-kaito. K-kaito, listen. Forget Vi-X. You n-need to get out of t-there. It's a t-trap."
Kaito suddenly stopped after hearing it. Right in the center of the hallway, under the flickering light.
"A-An EMP has been f-fir..."
Even before Yamako could've finished his words the message cuts off. The glitchy transmissions ended. His eyes looked sharp and he looked outside of the window he was standing next to. Kaito noticed something. The city lights are gone. Not a single light source was out there. The largest billboards went dark. The neon lights were dead. "No. Not this again."
Kaito gets instant goosebumps. His eyes reflected the darkness of the city. He takes a quick glance above him; the flickering lights were slowly fading. "No. No. No. No," he whispered.
Each and every light was fading out slowly; the only thing left for visibility was the moonlight. The hallway windows around her were reflecting the moonlight everywhere. As she looked outside while walking, the whole city looked dead and dark. "What's happening? It's been five years since the city lights went out."
Vi was looking focused but was scared. She glanced at an apartment door beside her and sees it's half opened. As she walked towards it she noticed a man sitting on a chair. The room was dark. She doesn't enter but peaks.
The man looks at her. His organic eye, brown. His cybernetic eye slowly fading the glow. He looks at her and says, "Are you afraid of the dark, girl?"
Vi gets goosebumps. She stared at the man and says, "You're afraid as well, aren't you?" She doesn't budge.
The man gives a long sigh and says, "A man is not scared of the dark, girl. A man is scared of what comes with the darkness. Farewell."
Just after finishing his words the apartment door shuts down. Vi quickly stepped back as soon as the door shuts down. She gets surprised. She looked above and sees the last light fading away.
Just right after the lights went out, Vi looks ahead and she froze for a second. Her eyes squint and she tries to spot something in the dark. Her heartbeat gets faster. She can see a shadowy figure.
A human figure. From the end of the hallway, footsteps started coming. With each second the footsteps grew louder. Vi sees the shadowy figure approaching her.
As the unknown figure steps closer, a human body gets revealed. A woman. Her boots were making the loudest steps. Her hair waving around. The most noticeable part was she was carrying a giant battle axe on her shoulder. Her clothing was simple. A traditional tank top and jeans. A large scarf around her neck and tattoos on her hand.
Vi gets goosebumps as she sees her. She looked shocked. The woman's appearance was giving chills to her spine. The woman stopped at a distance and looked at Vi.
She puts down the battle axe from her shoulder. The sound echoed and cracked the floor as soon as the axe made contact with the floor. She looked at Vi and says, "Are you a Wingman?"
Vi looks at her, surprised, frozen. "Hey. Are you a Wingman?" She asked her again. Vi stepped back and says, "N-No."
"Huh! Crap. I thought you were Kaito Yashima or Vi-X. My bad. Anyway, get going; I don't kill anything except my targets."
Vi's eyes get wide opened. Her feet frozen and she couldn't speak. "She's after me. She wants me."
The woman grabbed her axe and puts it back on her shoulders. "Huh! What's wrong? I said you can leave. Chop chop."
Vi stepped back slightly. She stepped back while looking straight at her. The woman doesn't pay attention; she looks outside the window. Vi kept stepping back and suddenly the woman looked at her and says, "Stop."
Vi flinched. Her whole body shook. "By any chance, do you know where Vi-X lives in this residence?" The woman smiles while asking it. "Hey, come on, I said I won't kill you, neither will I touch a single hair of yours. I only hurt my prey."
The woman walked towards her and stood right in front of her and smiles. She holds the axe with one hand and with the other grabbed and pulled Vi towards her. She wrapped her arm around Vi and says, "Oh, I know my appearance makes everyone scared, but don't worry; I am very good at making friends. Let's go. After I finish my hunt we can introduce ourselves properly."
Vi was unable to say anything. She grabbed her and started walking. Vi had no choice but to walk along with her. As the woman was holding her and walking together she says, "By the way, my name is Rio Yashimori. What's yours?"
Vi looks at her and says, "M-my name is Vinny." Rio hugs her and smiles. "Nice to meet you, Vinny." They both kept walking and Rio kept smiling while walking with her. Vi knew her situation, but she didn't have the guts to make a move.
The sound of footsteps didn't stop. Both Rio and Vi walked together. Rio was smiling and giggling while walking, enjoying the blackout and the dark. On the other hand, Vi was afraid.
"What am I doing? I need to get away from her. But this strange feeling, I can't resist it. It's like if I try to escape or tell her, she might cut me down." Vi's eyes widened and she suddenly stopped midway while drowning in her thoughts.
"What's wrong, friend? Are you getting PTSD again?" Rio turned back and asked her while bending a bit towards her. Her battle axe resting on her shoulders. She grips it harder and walked towards Vi. Upon standing in front of her, Rio looked her in the eyes and says, "Look, Vinny, I have said it before, right? I won't hurt you, I promise. The reason why I tagged you in is because I like you. I want you to be my friend. So don't worry; after we finish here I will take you somewhere, to my other friends."
Vi looks at her right in the eyes and says, "I-I don't think you will prefer me as a friend after knowing about me." Rio touched Vi's face and gently wrapped her fingers around her face, "Don't be silly, I don't betray my friends. I don't care how my friends turned up to be. I will always look after them." Vi feels an unimaginable wave of chills down her spine. Her whole body gets goosebumps. Suddenly Rio's eyes get wide opened. She sensed something. Rio grips her axe harder and quickly grabbed Vi's arm. She turned around and looked ahead. "Someone's coming." She muttered.
As Vi and Rio both looked ahead, they started hearing footsteps. From the end of the hallway they noticed a man closing in on them. Rio grabbed her axe with both hands and quickly gets in position. The man gets closer and closer and Vi takes her steps back. "Don't get lost. Even if you do get lost, don't worry; I will find you. Just be safe." Rio says it while looking ahead.
From the shadows, his footsteps get louder and louder. He stepped in front of the shining moonlight. His arm modifications gave a silver glow and his eyes reflected the moonlight. Kaito Yashima, aka Ken Arikawa. He stopped at a distance and spotted both Rio and Vi. "So, which one of you is Vi-X?" He muttered. His eyes looked serious and his tone deep. The hunters are about to collide.