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Mirage, Wraith, and Pathfinder crouched, huddled comically behind a rock as bullets ricocheted off the surface above them. There were only a few squads left, and the group that now peppered their protective partition not only contained the kill leader, but had gathered some very important information:
The squad at their mercy did not have a single weapon.
"Alright," Mirage yelled over the gunfire, "You're a robot," he jabbed Pathfinder sharply in the side, the bot shrank back at the touch, "Use your computer brain to come up with a plan to get us out of here."
"I am sorry but that's not my designation." Pathfinder chirped, "I can make us a zipline, but it is not advised."
Both Mirage and Pathfinder leaned forward to stare over at Wraith. She frowned and hunched up, glaring back at the two.
"This will be the fourth time this match ." Her eyes became white as she channeled energy.
"You know what they say- fourth time's the charm!" Mirage grinned stupidly as a portal opened up in front of them.
"I believe the phrase is actually 'third time's the ch-" Pathfinder was interrupted by Wraith immediately disappearing inside the portal, followed closely by Mirage. He stood there alone for just a moment, blinked his optic, and then scooted into the portal.
They must not be familiar with the saying.
Pathfinder stumbled on the sudden uneven surface, the portal closing directly behind him. He looked around- it was dark and musty, like a cave, but a few meters away stood what looked like an abandoned laboratory built into the rock. The name that had been written on the doors leading inside was wiped away with age.
Suddenly a bright light illuminated their surroundings as Mirage created a decoy. Both he and his illusion looked around in awe.
"Where are we?" he asked.
Wraith had walked forward toward the building, "I don't know. I aimed to get to Bunker. We might be underneath."
Pathfinder's optic clicked, "It appears to be an old IMC research facility."
Wraith stiffened.
"I'm going in." She barked, shoving aside the foggy glass doors.
Mirage and Pathfinder ran after, shouting for her to wait up.
"Wh-what about the game?" Mirage had run up to her side as she continued to march with purpose down the dark hallway. Parts of the ceiling dimly lit up as they passed, offering just enough light for them to not run into walls.
"Fuck the game." Wraith spat.
Pathfinder had lagged behind, more interested in the details of the facility itself. He tripped with a resounding clunk over something on the ground. Adjusting his optic, he reached down, running his hand down a familiar screen, dark and dusty. A MRVN lay crumpled on the ground, offline.
It was well known that the IMC utilized MRVNs in their facilities. The robotic workers did tasks anywhere from gathering research to washing windows. In the past thirty or so years, the MRVN design was updated to be sleeker, taller, but there was just something charming about the old models, like the one that lay before him.
This one had passed while doing its job. It had known its purpose. It had known its creator. Something clawed its way up through Pathfinder's processor and he released a mechanical sob. Startled by the sound, he flinched and looked over to his squadmates. They had no reaction- likely they didn't hear.
Despite his outwardly optimistic disposition, Pathfinder felt very, very alone.
Wraith was busy throwing open cabinet drawers, being met with emptiness. Mirage stood nearby and watched the spectacle with concern.
"Do you know what you're looking for?" He leaned on a broken doorframe.
"I'll know when I find it." Wraith grumbled, kicking closed a cabinet door and storming down the hallway to the next room. Mirage trotted behind her.
The next room was an open lecture hall. A few robotic bodies lay strewn along the sides and back. Mirage shivered at the sight.
It reminded him of the pictures he'd seen of the Frontier War when he was younger. The world on fire as Spectres and Simulacrums marched through the flames, mowing down everything in their path. Planets threatened and destroyed. While the pictures had scared him as a child, they served as inspiration to his brothers to join the fight. They didn't come back, and the images of war would forever be burned into his mind. As a result, Mirage was apprehensive about robots.
"These are the people that fucked with me, Elliot." Wraith walked along the side aisle toward a door in the back, "They left me to rot in my cell at the mercy of their research team." And at the mercy of the Voices.
Mirage gingerly stepped over some debris and continued to follow her into the next room. Aged books lined the walls of this smaller room, with large desks in the middle. Already, Wraith was dragging blueprints out of the desks, laying them out in a flurry onto the table.
She didn't know what the blueprints were for.
"They are weapon schematics." Pathfinder had entered quietly into the room and now stood a shoulder-length away from Wraith. "Specifically for the weapons available in the Apex Games."
Wraith's heart sunk. This was a weapons research facility. It makes sense it would be located under Bunker. She closed her eyes and exhaled. Why was she even in these games?
Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, Wraith looked up to meet Pathfinder's gaze, "That doesn't mean this was a waste of time." He said reassuringly. "There may be more of these facilities under King's Canyon."
Wraith took a deep breath to calm herself before answering. "You're right." she paused, "And we should get out of here."
"That would be great. I'm gettin' that spooky haunty feeling from this place." Mirage added.
After a bit of focus, Wraith's portal opened up in front of them.
"This one's actually going to Bunker." She stepped through, followed by her teammates.
Indeed, it was to Bunker. The Ring had closed to encircle it as well as Cascades.
"There is one additional squad remaining." Pathfinder started, "They must be very confused."
Mirage smiled, mouthing the word 'bamboozle' at Wraith, who blinked and turned away. She smirked for just a second, but wanted to make sure he didn't see it.
It was better that Mirage didn't know that he was actually funny from time to time. That would be disastrous.
The trio made their way out to the lower part of Cascades, exiting the Bunker and closing the massive doors behind them.
The sun was warm on their collective faces, and served as a brief relief after today's escapades.
The relief was interrupted by Mirage.
"Gang, we still don't have guns."
They lost.