Splatoon Manga: CybeRun

Chapter 30: Rail Riding

⚙️Chapter 30: Rail Riding

"HUUUGE!"

Indeed, it was quite a large room. All throughout it were long ink rails, some activated, some not. They all made a light whirring sound as they worked, with no sounds of anything riding them. Rider could've sworn he had deja vu about this place, because he remembered something about riding a rail...but wasn't someone following him? He didn't remember. The Squidbeak stared at them in awe before being snapped out of their trances by him speaking.

"Isn't this a little...extra?" Rider asked. "Just to get to some rooms?"

"Well yes, but this is the path with the least amount of trouble. The other halls have more security, and hardly anyone tries attacking on these rails because they have too much to focus on," N35 explained.

"Oh...I guess it's this, then. We just have to find the path, right?" Emperor asked.

"Uh...technically-"

"Hey look, there's a path leading to the office over there! All we'd have to do is take that rail path and jump to some other rails a bit, and we'd be there!" Goggles exclaimed, pointing over to a room with large metal letters reading "OFFICE" over it.

"Sounds easy to me!" Flip chimed in.

"Sorry, but you're wrong," C5 interrupted.

"Huh?"

"L1-V3 made it so that you need to bust at least 10 of the 20 targets on your ride there to get to the office. Most robots would be able to auto-lock on and pass this test with ease, but...our systems aren't the same type as theirs, and Bobble's hack that made us resistant to L1-V3 also messed with our auto-lock systems. You all would have to do this yourselves," C5 explained.

"Oh, that'll be no problem at all!" Gloves exclaimed, "I'm ready for a good challenge!"

"It's just like the tests in the metro!" Goggles said, "This'll be fun!"

"Sorry guys, but...I don't think I'll be able to help you. The rails go by so fast, and the dynamo is too slow to bust targets zipping by like that. Besides, that path doesn't look like it's easily predictable. It'll be up to you all," Rider sighed.

"That's okay! You can count on us!" Prince smiled.

"What happens if we fail?" Hachi asked.

"We'll be launched straight into the closed doors, and fall down to the abyss if we don't get onto another rail system underneath us," C5 replied.

"Yikes...so let's not do that!" Flip said, now becoming increasingly more anxious.

"Alright then, let's go. If we fail, we'll have to find another rail to land on because I don't see one right now," Emperor stated.

"Let us get going!" Nana cheered.

The group got on in trait order. Prince went first, then Gloves, Hachi, Emperor, Nana, Goggles, Rider, and Flip. C5 was placed in between Prince and Gloves, while N35 was in between Goggles and Rider. They were all evenly spaced, and the challenge started almost immediately as balloons started to appear along the trail. Everyone readied their weapons as they approached them.

Technically, Prince was the most responsible, and the others were supposed to pop the balloons he missed. The first one whizzed by, and Prince popped it with ease. However, a second one went by the group almost unnoticed until Flip saw the blur and looked past her.