Splatoon Manga - Canon Lightroad

Rider VS Hex

⭐Chapter 20: Rider VS Hex

(This happened at the same time Goggles went after Lobelia)

Rider had gone after the Nuclear Crystal. He didn't actually know where it was, unlike the other crystals. He assumed a nuclear power plant, and that was where he was walking now. He'd gotten a map from a newsstand and made his way over. It took about 15 minutes, but he found himself there soon enough.

It was a large, light gray building that had been easily stained with dirt and muck from the past. It was decorated with lime green stripes and rings around its towers and buildings, which was kind of ironic considering the fact that Rider was purple at the moment. Despite its pretty looks however, Rider knew he had to focus on his task. He entered in through the main door, and quickly found a map of the facility on a brochure that had been dropped on the floor. How convenient. Pocketing the other map, he looked for the Nuclear Crystal exhibit.

It was in the center of the whole place, so Rider followed the hallways and doors he needed to get there. As he neared the center, he soon foun the door leading into the room. So this was it, huh? He jostled the door handle to see if it was unlocked, and was surprised to find that, indeed it was.

Well, this is it.

Slowly, he opened the door...to an empty...

THE NUCLEAR CRYSTAL!

IT WAS ALREADY GONE!

Rider frantically searched the area for any signs of Hex or relocation if the crystal. To his dismay, he found nothing. He walked up to the pedestal the crystal had been on to get a better look, but found himself skidding to a halt as something underneath him caused him to almost slip. Looking down, Rider saw some sort of fluid under his boots. It was some kind of dark liquid, and upon looking a little closer, Rider could see something faint against the power plant's floor.

There was a trail of large footprints.

No doubt that that was Hex, especially because there was a line dragging in between the tracks that must've been his tail. Rider began following the tracks without further hesitation, ready to fight. He walked through a hole in the wall, he walked through hallways. He walked for at least 5 minutes straight before coming to a halt at a hole made from...digging? Well, it was a hole in the ground, and there was dirt.

Rider went into the hole, and quickly equipped his visor to help him see in the dark. His visor showed that the trail still continued faintly through the hole, so he kept going. As he reached the exit, he climbed out of the hole and had a look around. It was a back area of Nexus Laser, but it was still close to the main city. It was a group of buildings that looked like they made up a storage unit, only connected to the city via a skinny asphalt road.

Nonetheless, Rider made his way over, deactivating his visor. He walked down the grassy hill he was on and onto more flat ground as he got closer. Soon enough, he'd reached the buildings. In the back, there was a single rectangular metal building that was decorated with thin neon light bars. It indeed seemed like some kind of abandoned storage house, but it blended in well with the rest of these other buildings nearby.

Each had their own colored design on it, but this back one was larger than the rest. Together, they formed their own set of alleyways. As Rider approached the neon light one, he peeped through a window on a door. He could just barely make out Maraiah walking by with some kind of device in her hands.