"you're really going to be working with these two?''
''shut up.''
''they are just going to slow you down, if you want to live and find out what you are, you need to ditch them.''
''I said SHUT UP!"
''woah wraith, you all good sister?" asks Mirage, he is one of my two partners in this tournament. He is a famous Apex fighter but he is all show, I don't know if I will be able to rely on him and the voice is certainly saying I shouldn't.
''I'm okay, just the voices.'' I say as I look down at my feet. I'm sitting in a dropship with Mirage and Pathfinder and we are about to drop into Kings Canyon, one of the most dangerous arenas for the Apex games. Kings Canyon is also home to several abandoned IMC research facilities, in those damn labs I might be able to find clues about what I am.
''Voices, how intriguing. Are they friendly?'' asks Pathfinder, the face on his chest turns into a question mark as he talks. I look up at him and smirk before talking.
''she's never lead me wrong before, but she is saying I should ditch you two.''
''what? Ditch me! I'm a legend in here.'' Says Mirage as he flexes.
''yes leaving us would be a poor tactical decision, it would hinder our chances by 33.33 percent.'' Says Pathfinder
''don't worry I don't always listen to her.''
''and when you don't you get hurt or others die.'' Says the voice
''so do you have a name?" asks Mirage in a poor attempt to change the subject.
''excuse me?"
''A name…..like your real name. Do you have one?"
''I…I don't know, I don't have any memory of my past. I just remember the scientists calling me wraith and I guess it stuck.''
''okay…..well I'm Elliot.'' Says Mirage as he holds out his hand, which I reluctantly shake. ''How about you tin can, you got a name other than Pathfinder?"
''I am a MRVN droid that has been modified. Some people have called me Marvin, but for here I would prefer Pathfinder.''
''same here friend, Marvin just isn't as intimidating.'' As Mirage speaks Pathfinder's chest turns into a frowny face.
''look here, I can be very intimidating.'' The frowny face starts to flash red which makes Mirage laugh. I chuckle as well, which feels nice. It has been a while since I've laughed.
''oh so she does have emotions!" shouts Mirage as he points at me. ''Pathfinder looks like you've done the impossible." I roll my eyes and as I do the cargo hold lights start to blink red.
''almost drop time sweetheart, you with us?" asks Mirage as he holds out his hand. I shake my head before chuckling.
''let's see how this goes.'' I say as I take his hand. He hoists me out of my seat and we walk over to the cargo door. The cargo doors slide open and the three of us look down at the vast landscape below. I immediately spot what looks like an abandoned IMC research labs in the far corner of the arena.
''Let's drop there.'' I say as I point at the labs.
''are you crazy? There isn't going to be any good loot in a lab!" says Mirage as he rolls his eyes before he points at another flying cargo ship. ''I vote we land there. It's close and bound to have loot.''
''statistically that is our best bet.'' Says Pathfinder with a thumbs up.
''fine….but we jump off that ship and head to the labs.''
''okay okay, now I will be the jumpmaster of course.'' Says Mirage, I roll my eyes as I step to his right. Pathfinder goes to his left and we jump out of the dropship. The wind is brisk as it whips past my face and I can't help but smile. Although I only fight and risk my life to learn about my past…..i do enjoy the drops. The other ship closes in on our position and I see another squad landing on the front. They are ahead of us and they land on the ship first.
''Mirage we need to land somewhere else! Those guys beat us there!" I shout as I point at the other squad. Mirage doesn't change our route and we land on the ship. My jetpack slows the fall but doesn't help when the other squad starts shooting at me. I look around for Mirage and Path but don't see them anywhere. To my left the other squad rounds a corner and starts shooting again.
''roll backwards." I do as the voice says and immediately roll backwards. Bullets hit the spot I was just at as I slide behind a crate.
''on your left.'' As she speaks I look left and see a RE-45 on the ground. I grab the pistol and listen closely as one of the attackers gets closer. I stand up and in a second my RE is empty and the attacker is on the ground. His two remaining squad mates open fire as I phase out of reality. I run through the two attackers and phase through a door to the inside of the ship. I phase back into reality and find Pathfinder and Mirage standing there.
''oh hey Wraith, glad to see you alive.'' Says Mirage, he doesn't have a weapon and his shoulder is bleeding. Pathfinder has a peacekeeper in his hands but it looks empty.
''the squad out there is a man down.'' I say as I eject a magazine and load another. ''no thanks to you two.''
''yes, I'm afraid I made a tactical error and did not grab any ammo for my weapon.'' Says Pathfinder as he holds up his empty shotgun. As he does the door to our left is knocked open and an opponent lunges in. Pathfinder shoots his grappling hook and snatches the gun out of the man's hands. Pathfinder aims his new weapon and shoots the man in the chest. The last guy jumps down from above but before he can do anything I shoot him square in the chest. His corpse hits the floor as Mirage picks up a weapon.
''that went well, let's loot this bad boy and get going.''
''we are going to those labs.'' I say as I grab several mags off the corpse. Mirage injects himself with a med stimulator and shrugs his shoulders. After a few minutes of looting we jump off the ship and land near the IMC lab. The doors are all shut and it looks like no one has been inside them for years.
''so…..are you going to tell us why you want to go in there?" asks Mirage as we reach the front door of the lab.
''there is…probably loot.''
''that is a lie.'' Says Pathfinder as his chest frowns ''what is the real reason?"
''I…..i'm trying to find out about my past. The only thing I remember was waking up In an IMC lab just like this one.'' I say with a frown. ''I'm just looking for answers.''
''hell why didn't you say that in the first place? If I had known that we would have landed here first!'' asks Mirage, I'm surprised by his statement. I thought they would have ditched me the second I explained my motives.
''you are just like me, I'm competing for fame to catch the eye of my creator.'' explains Pathfinder ''I figure that if he is still out there this is the best way to find him.''
''you guys are willing to help me? I thought you would just want to win.''
''sweetheart, you don't give us enough credit. Do I love the fame and fortune sure, but helping others is what it is all about.'' Says Mirage as he winks at me. I feel my face redden and I quickly look away.
''well, thank you. Both of you.''
''so what are we looking for?" asks Pathfinder as we walk into the abandoned lab. Everything is a cluttered mess and it looks like no one has been in here for years. I walk over to a table that has several computers on it, my attempts to boot up a computer are to no avail.
''Path, could you try to link into these old monitors? Could you scan them and search for the keyword Wraith.''
''of course.'' Says Pathfinder as he plugs his arm into one of the computers. "Scanning for code word Wraith…hmm I see a project Wraith here.''
''that's got to be it! is there any information?"
''everything is redacted except for one thing…..i think it is a name. The only thing I'm reading is Lilly Capernick.''
''well there is your name sweetheart.'' Says Mirage as he pats me on the back.
''Lilly…..is there anything else?'' I ask as Pathfinder disconnects his hand from the monitor.
''I'm afraid not, we can try and link into other computers?"
''sorry you two, I just looked outside. The zone is closing in quick and we have a bit of a walk.'' Says Mirage as he looks out the door. We walk over to him and in the distance is the large orange barrier that pushes us together. I've been on the receiving side of it's shocks and it isn't very fun.
''that's okay, thanks Path.'' I say as I upholster my pistol
''my pleasure, now let us get back to killing!" says Pathfinder as the three of us leave the lab behind. Lilly Capernick…..that is the best information I've found in years of searching.
''you don't even know if that name is yours.''
"Do you have to ruin everything?"
''I also save your life.''
''hmm, Can't argue with that.''
''come on Lilly quick chatting with the voices in your head! We've got places to be and people to kill!''
''Mirage…..don't call me that.''