Arriving at their destination, Rio and Vector ditch their car and begin walking into Mount Konte.The Facility that they were looking for was stationed at the base of the largest of the mountains, with the only entrance being located at the mountain's peak.Rio and Vector take a moment to catch their breath and survey the area before moving forward.Looking around at his surroundings Rio notices that Mount Konte seemed to be devoid of all plant life.As he continues to walk he is surprised by how different the land was compared to his memory. He remembers seeing green trees and plants everywhere he looked and now he was surrounded by nothing but bare rock.He stops and looks at the ground and is shocked to see a trail leading further into the mountain range."That's odd, Why would there be a trail all the way out here?" Rio ponders why that would be but decides to ignore it for now. There seemed to have been quite a time gap between now and when he was last here. He figured he might a

[???]"Master, I have received a report from our forces at Mount Konte. They have located a strange trio scaling the mountain towards that old abandoned base.They were too strong for our scouts to handle. Soon they will reach the summit. Will you permit me to go and take care of them?""No need. I require your services here. I will send someone else to handle our curious intruders. Now hurry back.""Understood master."***[mountain peak]Rio arrives at the peak of the mountain top where he finds a series of small carvings along the wall. Each carving is accompanied by an indent in the wall.These carvings were created for the purpose of allowing the Orders operatives a pathway into the facility.Rio instructs Zack on how to open the path.Walking up to the wall, Zack places his palm into each indent in an almost rhythmic pattern.Once he had removed his hand from the final indent, rumbling could be felt within the earth beneath them.The ground shook as the dust began clearing from

Zeran continued to shout at Rio, who was unable to form a response.Ignoring the tongue lashing that he was receiving, Rio fired a blast towards Zeran's remaining arm.This only caused him to scream louder as he dodged the blast.Zeran's face was twisted as he began charging towards Rio with incredible speed."So much for that," Rio mutters as he begins backing away."You're in for a world of pain," Zeran said as he raised his palm.The black energy from his hand formed into a large beam that shot towards Rio.Rio dodged out of the way but was instantly grabbed by Zeran, who slammed him into the ground.Rio could see a large crater forming on the floor where he landed.Rio quickly summoned a shield around his body and was able to deflect an incoming ray of black energy.Zeran began pelting the ground beneath him with blast after blast in the hopes of turning Rio into a bed of ashes.The blasts were becoming more frequent as Rio tried his best to maintain his shield.As the blast becam

He was at a loss for words as he began to fly around the area from above.Rio couldn't believe what he was seeing.The world seemed to move around him normally but no matter where he went, the town was always directly below him.He didn't understand how something like this was possible but it was beginning to get on his nerves. He had been traveling from place to place with danger lurking at every turn. During his time at the Order, there were never this many abnormalities out in the world so closely knitted together."What are those Order bastards doing!" Rio shouted as he tried and tried to escape the boundaries of the town.Rio's rage began to get the better of him and he could feel his heart beating rapidly.Returning to the ground Rio formed Panoply into a cannon, firing haphazardly at his surroundings.The cannon blasts were powerful, and were able to destroy the houses with ease.The blast caused the ground to shake as he began to run around aimlessly trying to find a way out.

The swarm was gaining on Rio as he continued to evade their grasp. Cutting down the few that had reached him while maintaining his speed.His heart was racing as he continued his flight as the number of creatures had reached the point where it was almost impossible for him to continue avoiding them all.He wasn't sure where he was headed anymore as he Began flying through tunnels at random. There was no time to think. All he knew was that he needed to get away from these things no matter what.As the Strings caught up Rio removed his hind talons and replaced them with cannons as he filled the tunnel with the echoes of his destruction.He rained down fire down the tunnels behind him blasted through the swarm of strings reaching for him. This would have been amazing for him if not for the fact that they would just come back stronger.There was no more space in the tunnel for more strings to become visible to Rio, but he could hear the sounds of rumbling behind him as they raged.Rio too