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Crypto gripped Caustic by the collar of his shirt and pushed him against the wall. He pressed his gun under Caustic's chin and cocked it.
"Now what would the others think of you if you were to kill me right now?" Caustic asked calmly with a smirk. Crypto growled and pushed him harder against the wall.
"Your mind games won't work on me you sick bastard."
"I could care less about that right now, boy. All that matters is that everyone believes that you are the culprit. I admit, it is only a matter of time before everyone finds out the truth, but for now, I'll have my fun," Caustic stated casually, his tone lowering at the end of his statement.
Another pair of feet could be heard treading into the room. Caustic looked up and his eyes widened. Crypto noticed the look on his face and turned around. Standing before them was Natalie. Her face and eyes were red from crying and her hair was a mess. All in all, she looked very disheveled. She sniffles as she held up a pistol, pointing at the two in front of her.
"Ms. Paquette-" was all Caustic could get out before Natalie started yelling.
"I don't want to hear anything from you!" Pure rage could be heard in her words. "My papa taught me a lot of things, but he never told be about betrayal. I never knew what it felt like to have someone turn their back on me; not until now. I try to be positive and cheerful, see the good in everyone."
Crypto spoke calmly, "Natalie, please, put the gun down."
"Not unless you do," she responded.
Crypto let go of Caustic, backed away from him, and put the gun on the ground. He backed away even further with his hands in the air. "See? Nothing in my hands."
Natalie however, didn't put down hers. In fact, she aimed it at Crypto's chest. The hacker went pale with fear.
"Ms. Paquette, please, no one needs to get hurt," Caustic said. She then aimed the gun at him.
"Tell me, which one of you actually did it. Who told Revenant about everything?"
Crypto opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Caustic butted in saying, "The conclusion was already decided. Crypto was the one siphoning the information to him."
"Natalie, that's not true, please don't believe-" Crypto was cut off as the sound of a gunshot rang through the room. Natalie meant for it to be a warning shot to go through the wall behind them, but things had just turned for the worse. Crypto's eyes widened as he looked down at himself. Blood poured from his side, soaking a good amount of his shirt. He placed a hand over his wound and looked up at Natalie with pleading eyes before dropping to the floor.
Caustic looked at Crypto wide eyed and pale, wondering if he would suffer the same fate. He looked over at the blonde girl in front of him, now on her knees hyperventilating. The older man slowly approached Natalie, but before he could get a chance to comfort her, Ajay and Anita burst in. Both legends scanned the room quickly.
"The hell happened here?" Anita demanded as Ajay rushed past her to tend to Crypto.
Natalie started sobbing uncontrollably, repeating the phrase 'I'm sorry' about a dozen times. Anita sat and hugged the younger woman, slightly rocking her to get her to calm down.
"We'll talk later, get out of here," she said in an almost threatening tone. The older man said nothing back; he nodded and left quickly although he wanted to console Natalie badly.
—
Natalie sat next to Crypto's bed in the infirmary, holding his hand as she sobbed. There was a soft knock on the doorframe was Renee walked in. Natalie quickly dried her tears and stood up to face the void walker. Renee smiled softly at the blonde and looked over at Crypto. "How's he doing?"
"He'll survive. Ajay said he was lucky the bullet didn't hit any major artery."
Renee nodded, "That's good. How are you doing?"
Natalie's smile instantly left as tears welled in her eyes. The void walker pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back. Renee couldn't help but feel tears prick at the corners of her eyes as well although they didn't spill. Once Natalie calmed down enough, she pulled back and wiped her eyes. Renee decided to not push the question since she didn't get an initial worded response to it.
"I know you're probably worried about how he'd feel about you after this, but don't think about it too much. Just wait until he wakes up and you can get your answer then. I'm pretty sure he won't be too mad at you if you explain yourself," Renee tried to reassure the blonde. Natalie only nodded as she sat down in the chair again and observed Crypto. Renee walked out of the room, deciding to give her some space.
I'm so sorry..." Natalie said once more.
—
As soon as Crypto woke up, he was met with blinding lights and the soft beep of the heart monitor next to his bed. He turned his head to see Natalie sitting next to him, head on the bed and she slept soundly. He could see the dried tear streaks on her cheeks, making his heart drop. He wondered how long she'd been here, if she went to the bathroom, ate, showered. He wondered if she was ok more than he worried about himself right now. He wished he could be mad at the girl in front of him, but couldn't help but think that maybe he deserved what happened to him, even if he didn't die. He was being punished for something in his life.
Crypto looked up at the door as he heard footsteps approaching. At the door stood Renee, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed.
"How you feeling?"
"Could be better," Crypto tried to sit up, but when he tried to move an inch, he was met with excruciating pain. He closed his eyes tight and grunted at the pain.
"I wouldn't try to move yet, your wound is still fresh."
"Could've said something earlier," Crypto hissed.
"You know, she hasn't left your side since she's came here."
Crypto looked at the blonde next to him. He moved his hand to run his fingers through her hair. Once he touched her, she stirred and raised her head. He wanted to chuckle at how cute she looked at the moment, but knew he'd feel nothing but pain.
"I'll give you two some space," the void walker stated before leaving the room.
Natalie moved her hair from her face and smiled at Crypto. The hacker blushed hard and looked away.
"What's wrong, do you have a fever?"
"N-no," was all Crypto could manage to say.
The smile on the blondes face faded slowly before she looked down and began to play with her hands. "I'm sorry about what I did. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I didn't mean to hurt you..."
Crypto's heart sunk. He wanted so badly to hug Natalie, but that was impossible in his current state. "You don't believe what the old man said, do you?"
"No, I don't. You have your reason for joining the games, as does everyone else, but I don't believe you'd do anything to hurt us. I can tell you're not that type of person," Natalie looked up at the hacker, blue eyes shimmering as they met dark brown eyes.
Crypto couldn't help but let a few tears escape from his eyes, "Thank you for believing me."
Natalie smiled softly as she leaned her head towards his. She closed her eyes as soft lips met chapped ones. Crypto was taken back a bit, but he closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss as best he could. He put his hand against the blonde's cheek, thumbing it slowly. He melted into the kiss, practically losing himself in the moment.
Natalie was the one to break the kiss. Blue eyes meet brown ones momentarily before Crypto put their foreheads together.
"I'm okay, you're okay. We're okay..."