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The grumbling ship vibrated against Rowenna’s planted feet, echoing in her sloped spine. As she (hardly) rested in the stiff seat with half-stolen skin, her hands gently scratched her thigh for relief. The brunette was always brimming with nervousness prior to each game, but she told herself she needed that sensation. It did all but boost her performance; the only auspicious addition was a better feeling when eliminating a fellow legend. Yet, there was something else that contributed to her letting the fear take root, something which she chose to ignore the negative effects of.
“Rowenna, is everything alright?” Natalie inquired with a palm placed atop her jittering hand. She hadn’t caught a single step of her approach, a jolt waving over her stunned body. The last glimpse she saw of her was when she had been conversing with Bangalore– or, rather, Ms Williams on battle strategies. About ten minutes before, the engineer had discussed with Rowenna how she could obtain slivers of knowledge for combat while they waited for the game to begin. It wasn’t as if either of them were inexperienced, it was only that this was the first 2-person squad match the Apex Games had ever put on.
Rowenna could still aptly recall the drafting ceremony. She hadn’t attended—on account of her visiting her family in Nexus—as did many other legends, but the luminous displays of her peers and the sequential jeering from the crowd excited her. The twist of a duo squad game was withheld until the airing, so it was all the more surprising to witness it unfold. As she was perched on her couch beside her mother and older sister Diwa, she watched with anticipation. Her knees were brought up to her chin, arms hugging her bent legs while her heartbeat thumped in her ears.
In the past, she didn’t know herself to be such a hopeless romantic. That is, if you exclude when she gave her high-school crush a foam rose and homemade chocolate spelling out her name, in which she had forgotten to include the sugar. But, there was only a deluge of hope teeming within her as Natalie’s alias, ‘Wattson’, had been read out for team 19, along with a photo which Rowenna had previously hung up in her room as a poster. There were still a whole 20 other competitors who may pilfer her spot, and all she could do was leave it to chance.
When ‘Conduit’ was spoken, she instantly jumped from her seat and punched the air, exhaling muted screams. The glow of the television spread over her face as she watched her picture appear to the side of Natalie’s, their backgrounds turning grey and the dividing line fading, allowing them to melt into each other. In her measly year and a half as a legend, she participated in 27 separate games, and only in one of those had she been graced by the divinity of the engineer's companionship. They placed a respectful 6th, yet Rowenna could not help but yearn for a second opportunity to really impress her.
It swept her away from the present to ponder her personal victory, and the curled digits squeezing her hand nearly felt numb. She jolted herself back to the moment, briskly replying, “Yeah–yeah, don’t worry about it.” Her cacophony of needy nerves fell silent upon Natalie’s comfort, the ambience of the humming drop ship replacing her busy thoughts. She expelled a choked breath and returned her hand’s action, holding it like a handlebar. The rhythm of her heart remained unassailable but for a far more bearable reason.
“I managed to ascertain a foolproof plan from Anita,” Natalie unveiled as she knelt closer to the brunette. “One of the buildings in Monument—or ‘Death Box City’ as you call it—is perfect for us.” Her grin appeared as if it was intended to convey jesting cruelty, but the vermilion tint of her raised cheeks was all Rowenna could focus on.
“Do tell,” she prompted with an inquisitive narrowing of her eyes and pursing of her lips, a finger arched over her chin.
The engineer inevitably resigned to sitting beside her, shifting so near that the dramatic expression of intrigue began losing itself to an overwhelming fluster. “See, there’s a pair of ziplines on either side of the roof. If I place my nodes on the precipice of each, there’s no passage up to us!” Excitement crawled onto her eyes, the underside of them creasing from her joy. Rowenna scarcely understood a word she’d said, being too focused on her face, but nodding along in spite of that. At the very least, she could be sure that Natalie would perfect it.
“I had devised such an idea a while back, but it seemed…irréalisable with two teammates to keep track of. So, I’m glad it’s only us!” The simple exclamation stole the breath from the older woman’s lungs, taking her aloof cadence with it. She sensed the blood slithering through her arteries, desperate to keep her in the conscious realm. A few real seconds must’ve passed before she pulled her gaze away from Natalie’s lapis irises, blinking several times as if to reboot her system.
“Yeah, dito din! Now we can hold each other together– like, on the roof! We can hold our ground on the roof.” Her voice rose to a nervous pitch, reflecting her flushed face, which she directed away from the blonde.
“I’m sure we can do it together,” she chuckled with a hand over her lips, the sound of her laughter damaging Rowenna’s resolve to a stoic aura further. The polluted air from her lungs paused halfway through their ascent up her throat, seeming to be encased in an oversized cylinder stretching the muscle surrounding it. Unfortunately for her, it only made the warmth of her face exaggerate, something she was sure Natalie had picked up on.
Then, as a saving grace, the blaring voice rang out of the speakers, saying, “Arriving at World’s Edge in 5 minutes. Make your way to your drop point, legends.” It brought the two of them away from their deniably intimate talk, unable to hear each other's more insignificant qualities over the hurried slamming of boots against the metal checker plate floor. Natalie stood up and poised herself straight, extending her arms above.
“You can come when you’re ready. I’ll be waiting for you at drop point 19, okay?” she assured, a tinge of a smile at either corner of her lips. The brunette was certain that this kind of care and comfort was common for her to dish out to her acquaintances, but she could not detest the effect it had on her. She swiftly parted from the chair, her face directly in front of her with their measly height difference even less recognisable.
“No! I can come now, it’s alright. You know, they don’t call me a legend for nothing.” She pulled on the singular strap on her left as if it were a pair of suspenders, eliciting a giggle from the other woman. Natalie took the lead quickly, throwing her head over her shoulder to look back and signal Rowenna to follow. Entirely stricken by her, she obliged, on her tail in mere seconds.
The twists of the intestines inside the drop ship felt far more enigmatic than usual, likely due to the larger layout to accommodate the excess squads. Thankfully, she didn’t have to find her own way across the ship, or it’d end up like every time she let her hubris win when in a maze with her family. The engineer deftly led her through the corridors, little to no doubt in her step. Rowenna figured that she must’ve gotten a peek at the blueprint for the ship at least, considering she was the Apex Game’s head electrician. In some parts, it was almost like cheating to her, but she didn’t mind as long as she was a beneficiary of it.
Luminescent numbers denoting each drop point whizzed by as they sauntered down the hallway, all of them odd. Small windows to the inside showed snapshots of other teams; some tighter than a knot and some already splitting at the seams. It wasn’t long before they reached their room, the door punctually sliding open in their presence. The room inside was fairly barren, only the platform at the end being of any note. Natalie made her way to it without any warning, planting both of her shoes on an evened-out half of it. However, Rowenna took her time, basking in the fleeting peace before the deafening war below began.
She sauntered towards the platform, shaking her hands to rid her palms of their sheen of sweat. Though it was a mere 10 feet from the entrance, she savoured each moment. In her head, she prayed earnestly for a match to outshine every other match in her career—one that would not only pin her as a legend to watch out for but one that would win Natalie’s heart. Finally, she took her place beside her, trivially wiping down her clothes in preparation for their skydive into the arena.
“Are you ready?” Natalie asked with a taut face. Compared to casual conversation, she seemed considerably more serious. A burst of passion scintillated in her narrowed eyes as she pulled her cerulean hood over the tufts of blonde hair.
“Skydive hatches unlock in 10 seconds,” the voice announced.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Rowenna cut a confident smirk into her face, envisaging herself as cool and battle-ready. A holographic display sewed itself ahead of them, bright with blotches of red and an icy white. Different labels denoted each point of interest, and Monument was serendipitously encased in a pulsing circle. Although it almost always frightened her to land in the match’s hot zone, it assured a level of success to the plan.
The number of opponents left in the drop ship sluggishly decreased, still at a staggering 37 when bordering halfway across the arena. Every other squad must’ve seen the carnage as their prerogative in a game with far more enemies. ‘Death Box City’ couldn’t correctly encompass what she foresaw—‘Death Box Ocean’ would be far more befitting. Her musing of the aftermath raced her heart further, the sting of her irradiated veins pricking her left arm. Still, she knew she must wade through the sea of fallen adversaries, and the engineer by her side dosed her with liquidated conviction.
Natalie turned her head to her, a golden strand unruly and fallen over her forehead. She tugged at the straps tying her signature pylon to her, hoisting it flush against her back. “Mon ami, I’ll see you on the ground.” The corners of her eyes bloomed like a firework, a clear giveaway for her ensuing jape. “We can-do-it together, Conduit!” Rowenna lit up at the pun, the nerves a bygone plight as she scrambled for a response.
“And, together, we’ve got what’s-on !” she boisterously shouted, pumping her fist in the air. Though she hadn’t expected it, Natalie chuckled, her voice like the serene flow of a crystal clear stream after a storm. She sighed with contentment and spared her a final glance, her hand over the release button.
“Au revoir.”
Without delay, the platform beneath their feet receded inside, revealing them to the crisp altitude just underneath a blanket of clouds. The rush of wind stung the brunette’s face as she began to plummet; it became arduous to coordinate her way to the agreed landing zone. Once she navigated her arms to her sides and slammed the heels of her raised boots together, she wetted her eyes with squeezed eyelids and exhaled the final breath she took in the drop ship. Finally, she let the world come into view and saw the rainbow of skydive trails painted in swathes of strokes above her. When she found a distinct grey tearing through the sky like sheet lightning, she knew it to be her teammate’s.
Rowenna lowered her gaze to the city she was tumbling down to, the golden arrow finial the landmark she directed herself to. The roof above the Apex Museum was the most heavily contested area in that section of the city, especially with the hot zone covering only that space. Even if they landed first, it would’ve been a shock to not be immediately fought for their place atop it. She steadied herself to find the perfect position to shoot towards it, and dove with all her might. There would be no room for error in Natalie’s plan.
On her hips, the landing gear kicked in as the ground nearly met her. She flailed a bit, but assumed the trained stance for arriving on the arena, bending her knees and facing her palms down beside her. As her shoes met the metal floor of the roof, she performed a rather superfluous combat roll—one she knew her younger siblings back home adored. The adrenaline of skydiving wore off swiftly, her hair dropping back to above her shoulders. Suspiciously, her surroundings were fairly…quiet. By now, she imagined the ground overtaken by a pool of crimson, but it seemed as if she knelt there alone.
That was until someone followed her movements and landed on the roof as well. To her right, Natalie was on a knee, regulating her breathing and stroking a hand across her reddened face. She met Rowenna’s gaze, breathing out a winded sigh of relief. The moment must’ve lasted no longer than a few seconds, but she could not draw her eyes away from the engineer. Natalie’s cheek spun with a web of scars stretched from her smile, bringing her reflected happiness. Then, the swish of sliced air grew louder, and it became difficult to forget they were partaking in a blood sport.
Quickly, she dove for the opposite side of the roof from where she had landed—divided in the middle by a thick wall—swiping up a pistol from the metallic floor. “I got a Wingman!” she yelled out to the currently out-of-view woman, loading up a round into the gun. Her anxiety was getting the best of her, and she knew if not for the velocity of the skydive, her palms would be far too sweaty still to handle the bullets.
“EVA-8 from this side!” Natalie replied. The cock of her gun was distinct, like chattering teeth. Rowenna stumbled to meet her again, using the corner of the wall as leverage while she drifted over to the other side. The clamour of enemies below, like deep rumbling like a famished beast, vanquished any calm. The blonde was fiddling with circular-shaped nodes, her tongue sliding against her lips through deep concentration. Eventually, she retrieved two pairs, one in each hand. Her left arm reached out to her, the nodes up for offer.
“Place these in front of the zipline behind you! Make sure they won’t see them from below—I’m entrusting you with this,” she ordered without any sternness. Rowenna holstered her gun and took it from her, bringing it into her own fingers and nodding before turning to perform the task given. It took all the restraint in her mind not to fangirl over holding something as special as Wattson’s fences. She delicately placed both of them on the ground, not letting them be obvious as Natalie had instructed. Once she finished shifting one of the nodes to a tidy spot, she took a step back from them and admired her dedication.
The other woman joined her, complimenting her work with a satisfactory hum. She bends down and clicks a switch on the side of the left node, lifting a lengthy pole out of the device. The adjacent one, though lagging behind, rises in tandem. And, as Rowenna watched intently with bated breath, a set of electrified wires thrust out of the left pole, reaching out for the other side. Tightening like a wound string, the rods became married together by the blue, emanating wire. They were almost always on the prowl in their previous game together, so she hardly got a moment to marvel at her beautiful technology.
“That was incredible, Natalie,” she praised with wide eyes and agape mouth. The electrical engineer’s face grew reserved at her comment, turning away.
“Ah, well, I suppose…” Her hand moved to hold her bicep, rubbing slowly. “I’ve gotten used to it, but I’m glad the wonder of it remains with you.” It was clear to even the oblivious Rowenna that her words meant a lot; it became difficult not to boast internally about her minor accomplishment.
On queue, the fighting began below them, the ruffling of bullets fired invading the air. The minuscule bashfulness vacated Natalie’s face, returning to a concentrated expression. It wouldn’t be too long until a team looking to acquire the high ground or a stray opponent seeking solace ascended the zipline. If they wanted to secure their plan, they’d have to be ready.
Rowenna drew her Wingman from where she had stored it, a hand supporting the underbelly of the barrel and a finger on the trigger. “Alright, you take the left side, I’ll stay here on the right, gets mo?” Natalie pulled her lips to her cheeks, furrowing her eyebrows at the statement, but obliged anyway. She held her shotgun up in her hands, sprinting towards the other side of the platform.
It was countless nervous seconds that passed as the brunette stood, back pressed against the adjacent wall, waiting for an enemy to make the grave mistake of taking the zipline. Her neck bobbed as she swallowed, aiming down sight with her weapon. She could only imagine how Natalie felt on the other side, cradling her EVA-8 and keeping her breathing shallower than her overclocking heart. No—Rowenna knew better than that. She was crowned with golden, luminous locs, and the curves of her nails were finer than a waning moon, but her bite never faltered. Unspoken, she had complete trust that she would be prepared.
Suddenly, as she was lost in her postulating, the slicing hiss of a legend on the zipline alerted her. The uneasiness hardly had time to slather over her as the legend propelled forward. They quickly met with the rows of electric strings, wrapped up in them and instantly halted in their escapade to the roof. The fence tore and disintegrated as they fell to the cold, metal floor. Rowenna hesitated for far longer than she knew she should’ve, lost in the spectacle which played out before her. Coming to her senses, she brought the gun to the legend's head, now clearly Crypto (or Kim Hyeon, as mega-fans called him), and knelt.
“Psst…look up.” She waited for him to crane his head up, a grin forming on her excited visage. Once he met her eyes, she could sense the irritation radiating off of him.
“I’m gonna reboot your system!” Rowenna vibrantly shouted, her teeth pressed together in her wide, parted smile. Slamming her finger on the trigger, he fell to the ground in front of her. Once his body began to dematerialise and a death box replaced it, she threw her arms up in the air and cheered with whispered screams like during the team draft. Though she was not a stranger to getting eliminations, the thrill was never lost on her.
Natalie darted over not too long after, catching her in the middle of her celebratory dance. The boasting woman promptly became timid, embarrassed at having let her witness something so loser-esque. However, instead of any sort of wince, the engineer took delight and said, “Great job, Rowenna!” The approval warmed her cheeks without restraint, causing her eyes to stare from the shock. The vast majority of teammates she was paired with in the last year and a half did not find amusement in her immature joy. It almost set her nerves aflame to not be chided, especially by her.
As the air seemed to stand still, the sting of stray shots rang from below. It indicated that their confrontation was far from over, and there was no rest to be had in the Apex Games. Natalie jolted into action, in a flash, already scouring the box below for supplies. She retrieved a spare assault rifle and sniper rifle, placing them on the ground between them. Continuing, she placed all which could be deemed necessary beside the weapons, developing an array of medical supplies and optics, lengthy barrels, and thicker magazines.
The other woman was courteous enough not to select her own pickings, letting Rowenna kneel and sift through first. The brunette was savvy to the armoury which was provided to the legends. After spending late nights into early mornings watching video after video detailing each gun, she considered herself a good authority on what was worth taking hold of. Her hand hovered between the guns, weighing her options with focused attentiveness. The sniper, Sentinel, could be rather lousy paired with a pistol such as the Wingman, both lacking any fully automatic capabilities. However, the assault rifle, Hemlok, did not bode well with burst-based firing.
Relenting, she lifted the Sentinel from the floor, hoisting it over her back with the strap over her torso. If there was anything she knew herself to be apt with, it would be timing her shots perfectly. Perhaps she did not have the stern discipline of the other, trained competitors, but she could be prideful in her unwavering sense of the game itself. Natalie followed, taking the Hemlok and holstering it on her flank just below her pylon. They divided up the other supplies, or allowed the other what they needed. Thankfully, Crypto must’ve been a hoarder, as Rowenna found an acceptable scope for her sniper and a robust magazine for her pistol. The blonde appeared fortunate too, claiming a generous amount of ammunition that she couldn’t imagine her lugging around along with everything else.
Both of them rose from the floor, double-checking their guns to assure themselves that they were battle-ready. “We’ve got this, ‘di ba?” Rowenna prompted her, the affirmation for herself more than anything.
“Oui. I’m sure we will not fail.” Natalie’s voice was softer than usual—gentle like a carpet of snow at dawn—gliding like velvet on the shell of her ears. It was difficult to distrust her belief when it arrived so placidly. She nodded her head and hummed in response, bringing the wingman to the side of her head and readying herself for the ensuing fight. It’d be tribulating for them, but she knew it would be worse for whoever faced the misfortune of going against her and Natalie.
…
The final opponent in the fifth duo they battled met their demise, flopping to the floor after a clean shot from the electrical engineer’s assault rifle. They hadn’t much of a chance with the scorching ring curving around the outskirts of the museum they fought atop. Rowenna roared with excitement, offering the palm of her hand up in the air for her to meet. Natalie returned the gesture and slapped her gloved hand against hers, helping to lead on the thumping of the brunette’s heart. Overhead, a loud announcement boomed over the now still surroundings.
“5 squads remaining.” Another statement soon followed. “The round 3 ring will close in 1 minute.”
It nearly felt unreal to have made it so far when placed against a plethora of extra teams, let alone with Natalie of all people. She held 4 kills to her name, trailing just behind her teammate’s 5. Rowenna knew she could’ve matched her level, but she was not as seasoned as a renowned legend such as her; also, she didn’t accidentally allow an enemy to secure one of her guaranteed kills. Nevertheless, they’d cleared almost a sixth of the arena themselves, and that was a clear indicator of their combined prowess when paired together. She watched over the death boxes they’d practically piled into a mountain themselves and felt an unshakable pride.
Natalie poked her on the shoulder, sending a small shock up her back before she turned to face her. “I don’t mean to take you away from the moment, but you have seen the map, non?” The blonde tweaked with the cuff over her right wrist and drew out a projection, shimmering like glacial ice. A sizable zone of orange encased the map, a small circle left untouched with it. Where they stood was in the bottom left corner of that circle, close to its radius. They’d gotten rather lucky not to be swallowed by its venomous heat in the round prior, which Rowenna might’ve thanked the engineer for if it was not inane.
“Yeah… your plan worked flawlessly.” She skimmed her fingers over her forehead, feigning the swiping away of sweat.
Natalie shook her head, no callousness in the action. “Do you see where the ring will end up?” She gently questioned, drawing over its white rim with her finger. Where it encircled would be the only space free from the constraining zone by the round’s end. She’d rarely found herself caught within its grasp and been spared with her life, and the ring placed in the distant Skyhook set them up for that failure. The time continued to tick like the clicking calls of insects on sweltering summer nights. 30 seconds remained until it’d begin its further choking of the arena.
Rowenna landed on her knees, ransacking the supplies left by their fallen enemies. She stocked what she was able to: spare meds, ammunition, and a frag grenade from the ever-brazen Walter Fitzroy, whom she felt honoured to take out herself. Unfortunately, she was still lacking a shield battery, but figured her own hefty battery would serve its purpose. Without contemplation, she furled her hand over Natalie’s, leading her to the edge of the elevated platform—she felt the lingering essence of Walter’s grenade empowering her with confidence. Rowenna clicked on her landing gear, allowing it to exert a little to soften their landing on the concrete below. It was entirely flamboyant and unnecessary, but she saw how the flustered expression embellished the blonde’s beautiful face and knew it to be worth the trouble.
A stark, horn-like alarm took her eyes from Natalie to the towering height of the ring. Her heart’s pace staggered, and her hands became frigid from the prickling sweat, both drawn by the warning she had been trained for. Not leaving any room for error, she started throwing her legs out into long strides. Her companion stumbled to keep up with her running, to which Rowenna tugged her closer and secured her hand further. The stone clacking against her shoes was replaced by the damp sound of already tread dirt and grass. With so few squads left, she prayed no one would find them in the gap inside the barrier of mountains she ventured into.
They sprinted up the hill towards their first step in salvation from the ring. Gunfire, which had littered the air like perpetual firecrackers, was nowhere to be heard as they made their way to Skyhook. She expected to come face to face with Rampart’s minigun ‘Sheila’, or be bombarded by the fiery falling sky from Gibraltar. But, there was nothing but the serene rocky pastures and gliding pink petals once they arrived at the zenith of the hill. Natalie was winded beside her, catching her breath while the energised woman scanned the area for the best course of action.
Countdown, a monolith of dreary white on the edge of the plains, posed a threat on their route to Skyhook. It was far too exposed, with little cover for a team passing through it. And, considering its increased probability for higher-grade equipment, squads flocked towards it no matter the stage of the game. The only other passage to Skyhook was a burrowed hole inside of a thick mountain, as cramped as it was perilous. Rowenna found from her countless rewatches of previous matches that the likelihood of a safe journey through the tunnel was lower than low. Yet, they still stood a better chance when their opponent was the ring itself.
Without saying a word, she bolted for the entrance of the tunnel, Natalie’s hand still in her grasp. The unperturbed grass swished like the sound of waves crashing on the shore and melting into the surf. It was practically a gallop as her legs swung in front of one another. Throughout, worry tried and failed to supersede the hope for a glorious victory—if not for her, for the woman, whom she so adored, trailing behind her. Rowenna clenched her fingers around her, comforted by the plushness in her soft gloves. Though they had fought so many back on the roof in Monument, her heart had not raced any faster than while they were hand in hand.
The sky was shuttered away from view by the daunting mountain as they approached the hole. Flying up a flight of stairs, they stood right before the make-or-break point of the game for them. Throwing her head over her shoulder, Rowenna saw the electrifying heat closing in, engulfing where they stood on the hill only a minute or two ago. From what she could recall from Natalie’s map, the round’s perimeter wouldn’t be any further than a couple of paces from the exit of the tunnel. If they traversed it immediately, they were likely to never be anywhere near being caught by the ring.
“We’ve just gotta make it through here, okay? Then no more death ring thingy on our tail.” Rowenna’s feet hopped as she awaited her reply, not wishing to let any of her energy expel itself.
“I would know—since I did invent the ring. Did you know that?” Natalie giggled, almost no heavy breaths in her voice despite how exhausted she appeared.
“How could I not?!” she excitedly answered, her grin reaching to her ears. The engineer sighed a final time and gave her a nod to signal she was ready to continue.
However much she desired not to lose Natalie’s touch, she relented when she realised it’d be pointless when so near to the ring. She jogged into the tunnel, sneaking glances behind her to see if her teammate was following her steps. The grey sunlight’s reach ceased as Rowenna continued, replaced by the meek reflections of light from either opening. As she neared the exit, the low droning from the closing zone got quieter and quieter until she was sure they were safe. In the corner of her eye, she caught the blue smudge of a shield battery inside of a looted supply bin. She barely weighed her options when she sauntered over to it, snatching it and attempting to fit it in her backpack.
Then, the report of gunfire sounded out from behind her. Rowenna straightened out her bent back suddenly, a cold wave of fear swallowing her nerves. She spun around and through the twists of the mountain’s intestines to see if Natalie was alright—or if she was alive. There was scarce feeling in her legs as she sprinted, knowing it to be her fault. It was cocky of her to leave behind her own teammate in the pursuit of something as meagre as a shield battery. She was sure she’d never forgive her for letting it happen, getting her eliminated through sheer unawareness. It made her heart thump in her ears and her chest; in her neck and her palms.
Once she turned the corner, she found an opponent leering over a downed Natalie. A searing rage boiled in her stomach, with her fingers white from their grip on the box she took cover behind. As the blanket of orange approached, it appeared to be a solo without anyone to fall back on. Rowenna felt idiotic for missing them as she gleaned the landscape before entering the tunnel. If she were closer, she could’ve amped up her shields and protected her. There were so many opportunities for prevention and apprehension that she could’ve taken, but they were branches sickly with mold now as she watched Natalie hold onto her knockdown shield.
Not giving it a thought, she hoisted the underutilised Sentinel from her back and struck the top of the metal box with its barrel. Her right hand seized the trigger, index finger twitching to force it down. On her left, she held the underbelly, keeping the shot aligned with her target. The scope she’d pilfered from Crypto earlier magnified them until the lens was drowned in their head. Rowenna gritted her teeth and gulped down the stale air of the muddy passage, letting it linger before exhaling it. She slammed her finger down on the trigger, the sniper recoiling resolutely and throwing her back slightly. A bullet casing spat out from the Sentinel and landed beside her on the floor, the gun still in her nervous grip.
The stunned woman briskly stood on her feet, bolting over to where she’d just seen Natalie on the floor. Beside the blonde lay the fallen legend, and the process of transfiguring into a death box was already underway. Contrasting the grim scene, her partner clung to life with a grateful smile on her face. She thanked her with a voice as soft as her lips, saying, “Merci, Rowenna. I knew you’d save me.”
All the blood coursing through rage had quickly switched its purpose over to facilitating the affection-driven heat washing over her skin. The blaring of a scream was trapped in her dry throat—a lump she was sure protruded from her neck. It took every bit of energy in her to hold her composure and stay collected after such words from the Natalie Paquette. She managed to dispel it, though, and offered her hand to her companion. The soft rows of gloved digits met her hand again, sparingly muddied from when she fell.
“Our circuits will always flow better together,” Rowenna said to Natalie, her voice hushed as if someone might hear her. She foresaw a giggle from the other woman, but when her lips curled up, they were wide and bright like a dawning sun hitting still waters. Her eyes thinned from her cheeks that were brought up by her smile. The breath escaping Rowenna’s mouth became shallow, living as only the thought of exhaling. The engineer did not reply, yet she did not have to; the expression moulded onto her features told her enough. She helped her up and they stood staring at each other for a while. They forgot about the fights, the game, the ring, and felt their bodies fall into the same frequency.
After not too long, the orange veil entrapped the entrance to the tunnel they had arrived from. It would only be a couple of seconds before it’d devour them too. The brunette gave Natalie an assuring nod, knowing that she could not fail to continue impressing her. They began to stride through the burrowing, their hands locked together. A few seconds passed, and they were met with the stacks of buildings comprising Skyhook. Rowenna figured that the majority of buildings would be safe to hunker down in, so she meticulously decided upon which would be the best option. When she declared one, she flung out her finger, looking back at the blonde.
Natalie furrowed her eyebrows and squeezed her hand. “No, we shouldn’t pick that building.” She gestured with her head and directed Rowenna’s attention to a smaller construction beside it: a tiny, two-story dwelling that was almost claustrophobic. “Trust me, that will be the best for us,” the engineer whispered, a cheekiness in her tone which the other could almost not pick up. Though undeniably, there was an unwavering clarity in what she had said. She trusted her intuition and continued their journey, now onto the building which Natalie had picked out.
Once they settled down inside the second floor of the building—outside the sight-lines from the grated windows—the seconds dragged like hours. The sun would set and rise in a minute if the tense, abiding sensation were reality. A plethora of nodes were dotted throughout the floors, with the rods and electrified yarn strung to the ends of them sprung from the circular devices. It was sure that no one would make it inside on their own volition, and that notion was far from false. Natalie placed her pylon in a tucked corner, so as not to lend it to bullets. It gobbled up any grenades lobbed inside, allowing the fences to remain.
It had already reached round 5’s end, and not a single squad had successfully made their way inside. They had retired to a kneeling position to keep themselves as covered as possible; they could not afford to take any amount of damage. Rowenna had exhausted a good chunk of her medical supplies on patching up her teammate, and only enough to sustain one of them remained. Natalie was a little naive and didn’t account for shielding items, something the brunette couldn’t bring herself to chastise. If it came down to it, I’d lend her my own, she thought.
The corners of various other structures were still outside of the ring, but none quite as whole as the one they resided in. Fights were few and far between since they arrived in Skyhook, with most of them ending after quick spurts of bullets, which likely did not land on anyone. After Rowenna valiantly eliminated Natalie’s attacker, only one other squad was taken out, leaving the total at 3. She couldn’t know how many there were in either of them, or exactly what standings they were in, but she knew they were sandwiched by the other squads.
On the pads of her fingers, sweat budded and loosened her grip on the Wingman tight in her hold. The announcer rang out the warning of ‘1 minute until the final round begins’ moments ago, and Rowenna knew it wouldn’t be long until an inevitable fight. Their overall loot quality hadn’t increased since their time in Monument, which was unlikely to be the case for the other two squads. A fair few care packages had dropped and been scavenged, so it wouldn’t be presumptuous to say they acquired one of the prestigious weapons from inside. All she had was the pistol in her grasp and the sniper strapped to her back. It would take a miracle to overcome what would soon ensue.
Natalie, also perched on the floor to her right, was beside her, head resting against the wall below the window. Her eyes were sedately shut as if in tune with the world around her. Though hardly perceptible over the burr of the close-by ring, she hummed a tune Rowenna did not know. Occasionally, she’d pause, and her chest expanded at the intake of air so she could continue her melodic murmuring. If it was not for how she would fix her gloves or headwear, the nervous woman could assume she was fast asleep amid warfare. Despite how she juxtaposed the situation, she couldn’t bring herself to not relish the sight of a relaxed Natalie.
As if she read her thoughts, the electrical engineer’s head tilted to meet her gaze. “Do not worry. I am positive we will win,” she chuckled. Without much effort, she brought a much-needed sense of succour to Rowenna, who in turn laughed at the pun too. Even if she did not mind, her cheeks had become sore from her frequent smiling. If there was anything that mattered about this match, it was witnessing the joy which flew off of Natalie like the luminescence of a light bulb.
With the penultimate alarm sounding, the ring began to pinch the remaining area of the arena. It crept closer to them from where it had stoically stood inside their building, reigniting Rowenna’s anxiety over their confined space. Eventually, it started to envelop the staircase down to the first floor, which only stirred her nerves more.
“Uh, are you sure we–?” Natalie placed her index finger over her lips, hushing her and then moving it to her own. Her head shook faintly, indicating she could not disclose what she thought. However difficult it may have been to put her trust in someone when so in danger, Rowenna swallowed and allowed herself to.
On cue, the other two squads fled their contaminated buildings and were forced to make use of the open space. Shots flew between them, the eruptions of explosions vibrated the ground, and shouts of commands were muffled by the noisy action. The piercing whistle of a bullet from the lethal Kraber zipped past their building and towards the adjacent squad. If there wasn’t any motivation to stay put on the floor, there was now. All the while, she and Natalie were awaiting a moment Rowenna did not know. She could, at the very least, feel secure in knowing they would procure 2nd place.
The stairs were entirely overtaken by the ring, and they would need to take significant damage from it to escape the building if they were to leave immediately. But the blonde remained calm as ever, fixing her noise-cancelling earmuffs and sighing. Rowenna locked her jaw and muttered a prayer for their victory. Her foot tapped against the floor and her finger played at the Wingman’s trigger, anticipating when she may need to use it. Behind her, the fighting edged nearer to their building, and the firing ramped up.
An energetic unloading of a magazine into an enemy marked the end of the battle outside. Though they had reached the top two squads, a feat not to gloss over, she understood the match had not ended. Part of her would’ve preferred a figurative grave from a gun over the scorching death from the ring, but there was no choice now. Rowenna held a breath and let it go, coming to terms with what awaited them. If they must lose, she was glad she didn’t have to do it without her teammate.
Then, Natalie shifted from where she sat against the wall and planted her knees on either side of her. The brunette had no time to react as her face grew hot and her gun fell from her hands. “Rowenna,” she whispered, “thank you for getting us this far.” Her palm pressed against her hips and trailed over to the backside, brightening her skin with touch, even if through clothing. She felt every urge to jump and jitter from how timorous she became, but she wished to keep Natalie’s face right in front of her. In her many years of living, she hadn't quite seen anything as beautiful as it. The scars which blossomed over the right side of her visage were ones she wished to trail with her finger. Strangely, her heart became slow and her nerves washed away. An emboldened emotion spread throughout her, and she did something she never imagined herself doing.
Holding the blonde’s face between her hands, she thrust her head forward and met their lips in a passionate marriage. The softness of her mouth gave her life and then some. Her tongue dared to push past, gently parting her lips and riding underneath Natalie’s. She wolfishly delved for a taste of her, tilting her head for better access. Rowenna was reciprocated by a returned push of a tongue into her mouth. The muscle pressing into her held just as much vigour as her own. The hand on her hips clutched as the other woman leaned in. As they took in each other, she felt more clarity than ever before.
Despite being prepared to go on forever, Natalie pulled away, her face completely flushed. The world came back into view, but she didn’t lose sight of the woman over her. She almost found it difficult to remember they were in the middle of a blood sport. The ring had closed in more, not too far from where they sat. It was curious how it had not reached them yet, but she was too dazed to make sense of it. Natalie was quiet as she clicked the frag grenade off of Rowenna’s belt. That’s when she came to realise the kiss was not her intention, and a blistering of embarrassment replaced the serenity she felt.
“Oh, I didn’t know that’s what you were doing—otherwise I wouldn’t have–“ She was cut off by another kiss, much shorter and intimate, but nowhere near less marvellous. The back of her neck was cradled by her soft hand, combing up and through her hair. Natalie soon pulled back, but shame had been supplanted by bliss. She couldn’t bring any noise out of her throat, eyes half lidded.
“I did not expect you to be such a good kisser,” the woman above said with a giggle in her voice. Nothing she could tell her would ever sound like a slight; every word was always more easing than the last. Rowenna was glad they would perish to the ring if it meant being undisturbed, staying like this with their bodies almost pressed against each other.
A sudden click startled her as Natalie dragged the clip off the grenade. She reached her arm out to the window, slipping it through the bars comprising it. Before she could process it, an explosion from outside rattled the building. A few seconds of piercing silence passed until an announcement came for the last time.
“You are the Apex Champion.”
Her eyes widened and her breath stopped as the reality of their victory crashed into her. Rowenna slid herself from underneath Natalie and stood up, gazing out of the window. The squad she had expected to be outside was replaced by a pair of death boxes. It surprised her; usually, the ring would not be so generous to someone inside a building. She turned around to face the engineer, who had a discernibly mischievous grin on her face. That’s when she put the pieces together, and had a grin draw itself across her features too.
“You were right, our circuits do flow better together,” Natalie gingerly said. She took her hands into her, massaging her palms with her thumbs. Rowenna couldn’t force her eyes away from her. Her blushing cheeks, her eyes curved like the slice of a moon, her nose as adorable as a gleaming pebble on a river bank. She placed her hand onto her chin, pulling her into another kiss, and they melted into each other.