"Good luck today, félagi fighter. Fight ríkir."
-----------------------
Eve woke up early after tossing and turning anxiously all night, unable to get comfortable. Even though she was not hungry, she forced herself to swallow as much of her bowl of oatmeal as she could. Once she had washed up, she braided her hair tightly and secured it with bobby pins to ensure it stayed in place during the battle. She pulled on black compression leggings with a purple and blue galaxy pattern swirling around the legs. After throwing a black half-zipped jacket on top, she completed the outfit by donning black gloves.
Eve equipped her gear, mentally running through a checklist of all the items she needed. She laced and re-laced her boots three times. Breathing in and out deeply, she looked at herself in the mirror. She was ready. Anything else she might need, she would have to loot on the battlefield. When her transport arrived, she stepped on and sat next to Bloodhound.
"Hi," she said, letting out a big breath as she sat. "Today's the day."
"Hello," Bloodhound replied. "Did you eat breakfast?"
"I did." She smiled, a little more at ease at their concern.
"Very good." They patted her knee with their gloved hand, letting it rest there.
"I've been looking forward to this for weeks, but I feel so nervous today," Eve admitted.
"It is normal to feel that way. You must face each fight with bravery - there is honor in the challenge, even if you are not victorious."
Eve placed her hand over the soft, worn leather of their glove. "I hope we get placed on the same team, even though you'd just be carrying me to victory."
"I think you will do well today," Bloodhound said. "But I would not mind paving the way for the vinna for you."
The duo arrived at the hangar that housed the dropship. An enormous screen hung from the ceiling in the bay, showing the pre-match show where commentators introduced the newcomers and speculated on who was projected to win the day's match. The other Legends were staring at the screen expectantly, waiting for the teams to be announced. Every fighter was given basic shield packs, two health syringes, two shield cells, and low-profile earpieces to communicate with their teammates. The screen flickered, switching to a screen with empty brackets.
"Good morning, Apex Legends! We will begin boarding the dropship. Please note the following teams for today's game." Eve swallowed hard, waiting.
"Mirage, Lifeline, and Pyro!" The trio high-fived and went into the ship as their names appeared on the screen.
"Loba, Caustic, and Bloodhound!" Eve frowned at the announcement, looking at Bloodhound to her left, unable to hide her disappointment.
"Good luck today, félagi fighter. Fight ríkir." They patted her shoulder as they passed her then entered the ship with their teammates.
"Fuse, Gunner, and Bangalore!"
"Wattson, Pathfinder, and Wraith!"
"Revenant, Eve, and Octane!"
Eve cursed silently as she stepped forward with the two. Revenant grumbled his displeasure loudly, pushing ahead of the other two brusquely to find a seat.
"I would be placed with this weakling," he complained, looking at Eve. He fixed his gaze on Octane. "Octavio, you're not my first choice either. Don't fuck this up for me, got it?"
"Ignore him," Octavio whispered to her. "He's pretty much a dick to everyone. You'll do okay, amiga. Just try to stick with me."
Eve nodded. "I'll do my best."
While they flew to Kings Canyon, Eve eyed the others. The experienced Legends chatted amicably among themselves, but the other two newcomers were fidgeting with their gear, likely as nervous as Eve felt. Revenant sat motionless as a statue while Octavio jiggled one of his prosthetic legs up and down, creating a repetitive tapping sound as metal hit metal.
"I'm jumpmaster," Revenant said, allowing for no argument.
"Sounds good," Eve said.
"Works for me!" Octavio replied. "Woohoo, I am so ready for a good fight."
"10 seconds until dropzone," a female voice announced. "Please unfasten your seatbelts."
"Hey," Eve whispered urgently to Octavio, hoping for some advice as she fumbled with her buckles and slipped on her goggles for the drop. "I've never dropped in like this before."
"Ah, don't worry, chica, this is the easy part. You'll fall so fast, it will be over before you know it!"
Instead of encouraging Eve, his words had the opposite effect as the floor opened up beneath them. The wind rushed inside, whipping her braid around from side to side. Her feet dangled over the open air. The land looked extremely far away, the buildings minuscule specks against the tan and green expanse of the landscape below. She closed her eyes as her stomach churned painfully.
"Wake up, skin bags," Revenant warned over the mic as the three linked their jetpacks together. "We're dropping in a hot zone."
"5...4...3...2...1...begin drop," the overhead voice finished.
"Now!" Revenant called, diving headfirst into the open air below.
Eve's breakfast rose into her throat as they began to fall. Revenant pushed his jetpack forward to make them go even faster. Her vision grow dark as the wind violently buffeted her. Air forced its way into her mouth and nose, overfilling her lungs so she was unable to draw another breath. Barely able to stay conscious against the onslaught of the wind, Eve was grateful that she was linked to the others. Trying to focus to stay awake, she looked to the side, observing multiple colored dive trails behind the other teams heading to the same area they were.
As quickly as the fall had started, they began their landing. Their jetpacks flipped to soften their descent as they hurtled towards the top of a building. The trio landed hard, the shock causing Eve's knees to buckle immediately. Octavio and Revenant disconnected, running for the nearby supply bins. Eve tried to stand but fell forward onto her hands and knees. She started retching, her stomach clenching, and threw up her entire breakfast. Globs of half-digested oatmeal splattered on the ground before her. Closing her eyes, she teetered on the brink of passing out, her arms and legs beginning to go numb. Octavio rushed over to Eve, crouching by her and throwing her arm over his shoulder.
"Get it together, girly," he hissed, supporting her weight to bring her behind the cover of the open supply bin.
Eve began to slump against him, the edges of her vision darkening. Octavio slapped her face and shook her shoulders. Her head wobbled back and forth, as the movement brought her back to reality.
"There are four other squads nearby. We are toast if we don't move and gear up."
"If you two don't get moving, I will kill you myself so you don't hold me back," Revenant yelled in her ear.
"Got it, I'm good," she assured them, clearing her throat. Wiping her mouth off with the back of her sleeve, Eve looked at what was left in the supply bins. Revenant and Octavio had grabbed most of the guns and gear already, but there was still a small backpack, a health syringe, and a Mozambique with a few shotgun shells. It was better than nothing. She moved to Revenant's location, carefully watching behind her.
"Hostile, three o'clock," he warned, aiming his gun at Wraith who was looting a bin in the street below. She looked around suddenly, sensing his sight on her. He took a few shots quickly, breaking her shield.
"She's cracked," Revenant called. He threw one of his silencing orbs down by her, hitting Pathfinder with it and downing the robot with another round of bullets. "Go finish them, I'll cover you." He shoved a new magazine into his weapon.
Octavio stabbed his leg with a stim shot, injecting himself with the green liquid. "Let's go!" He raced down the two flights of stairs into the street, a faint green glow trailing behind him.
Eve sprinted after him, grateful for the stamina she had built up from her daily runs. She saw Octavio zoom around the bin to where Wraith was crouched, repairing her shield with a battery pack. He emptied the remaining clip of his R-99 into her, her body disappearing to be replaced by her loot box just as Eve approached.
Eve frowned at Pathfinder who was bleeding out a thick black fluid at her feet. With a shaky hand, she aimed her gun at the robot's head, pulling the trigger. One shot finished him off, and his mechanical body went limp as the lights on his display went dark. She rummaged through his loot box, picking up his upgraded shield and helmet along with a Havoc rifle and energy ammo.
"Where's Wattson?" Eve asked, whipping her head around to look.
Octavio pointed to the nearby doorway. "I bet she's in there. Here, catch," he said, tossing her a grenade. "I'll kick the door open, then chuck this baby in."
She caught the thermite grenade, waiting. He kicked in the door with a yell, activating the telltale beams of Wattson's electric fence across the entrance. Eve pulled the pin on the grenade, threw it inside, and dove out of the way of the fiery blast. They heard Wattson's startled cry and the telltale crack of her shield as the grenade exploded inside. Revenant had climbed down the building, joining them as they went in after her.
They shot the base nodes of the remaining fencing as they entered, destroying the barriers. Wattson had ducked behind a counter in the building, trying to heal herself with a syringe. She stopped mid-heal when she looked up and saw the trio. She pulled out her Volt, getting a few shots off at Revenant, whose blue shield absorbed the hits. He kicked her hard in the chest, the cracking of her ribs sounding out loudly in the room, followed by the loud thumping of her injured body slamming against the wall. Revenant shot point-blank with his 301, directly at Wattson's face.
Eve was frozen in place as she watched, feeling sick again. The televised games were gory, but the camera angles were chosen wisely to hide the most gruesome parts. She'd never seen anything like this before. Flecks of blood and brain matter flew from Wattson's ruined face, and the smell of burnt flesh from where the grenade singed her limbs overwhelmed Eve's senses. The bitter taste of bile filled her mouth as she began dry heaving.
Wattson's lifeless body disappeared as her death box popped up in its place. After grabbing the highest-tier loot in the box, Revenant turned to Eve, pointing his gun at her. "That shit is getting old. You haven't even seen the worst of it yet. Should I put you out of your misery now?" He sneered and began walking away.
Octavio grabbed both of her shoulders, looking at her directly through his goggles. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Eve replied. "I've just never seen anything like this up close. I know she's not really dead but, it's-" She stopped talking and swallowed a few times, trying to rid her mouth of the sour taste lingering in the back of her throat. "I'm fine. Let's go."
He nodded, and the pair rummaged through Wattson's death box. Eve grabbed more energy ammo, following quickly to catch up with Revenant. They darted from rock to rock, crouching as they went to stay behind cover as they traveled away from the buildings into the cliffs.
Eve peeked around a rock, quickly ducking her head back into cover as a bullet whizzed by. "Someone's up on the hill. They know we're here."
She heard a muted 'thunk' as a small yellow canister landed behind them in the grass, bouncing a couple of times. Eve tensed, expecting the burst of a grenade. Instead, she heard a soft hiss as a green gas began to escape from it, swirling around them and obscuring their vision.
Her eyes widened. "Caustic's ultimate."
The group heard multiple sets of footsteps running towards them as they backed away out of the quickly expanding cloud of gas. Eve coughed as she inhaled it, the thick air burning her eyes, nose, and throat like acid.
"Give us some cover," Octavio told her, coughing. "Let's bail."
The ring was closing in behind them, but they had been spotted by another team. Bullets began to fly towards them from multiple directions. Eve fiddled with her ultimate, making small adjustments to the settings.
"Come on, come on, come on," he urged.
"I'm trying!" Eve pressed two more buttons on her belt, and the sphere of darkness engulfed them. Revenant and Octavio ran blindly out of her sphere. Eve jogged to catch up to them, her goggles allowing her a green-tinged view of the scene before her. The gas was still spreading, but it was thinning out as they approached the edge of its reach. Octavio shot a stim into his thigh and bolted ahead to the next set of rocks.
Before she had exited the darkness completely, Eve's shield shattered in one hit as she was shot in the back, the force causing her to stumble. Her shield had absorbed the damage, but now she had no further protection against another shot and no time to recharge it. She turned around to see Caustic towering over her, Mastiff shotgun in hand.
"Fuck," she said in her mic. There was no escaping a second shot. "Caustic has me."
"Shit, I'm too far to come back amiga."
Revenant cursed a string of profanity.
"Your pathetic ultimate cannot stop me," Caustic said as he stepped towards her. "I can see everyone in my gas. My vision is clear." Eve panicked, pulling the trigger of her Havoc. The energy bursts were useless against his body shield which shone purple against the impacts. He aimed his weapon then, close range right into her abdomen.
A guttural scream erupted from Eve as he pulled the trigger. She staggered, clutching her stomach and looking down at the blood pouring out from between her fingers. Excruciating pain set in, quickly consuming her. Her breath came in harsh gasps as she fell to the ground on her side. Her entire being was on fire, only made worse by the gas continuing to seep into her lungs. Tears stung her eyes, but she was unable to wipe away the acid clouding them. Through her blurred vision, she could see that Caustic was smiling. It was an eerie smile, making Eve shudder even through her pain.
"Wishing for death? I know that look." Tossing out a gas trap, he roughly kicked her onto her back. "Breathe it in and know your place - at the bottom of the food chain."
Caustic pressed his heavy boot onto her injured stomach, twisting his foot from side to side. The rubber treads dragged across her wounds, digging into the bullet holes. Eve shrieked, the sound gurgling out of her as her mouth filled with blood and pain seared through her middle, white-hot.
"I'm going to find the others first. I will be back for you." He removed his foot, leaving a trail of bloody footprints as he walked away out of the fading dark sphere.
Eve shivered on the ground in agony, every fiber of her body wishing for an end to the suffering. She tried to drag herself towards her team, but her limbs were too heavy and no longer responded to her commands. An orange light moved over the area, hardly registering in Eve's fading vision.
A gloved hand rested on her clammy forehead. Eve turned her head towards it with the last dregs of energy she could muster. It was Bloodhound, crouching beside her. She tried to speak but her blood-stained lips produced no words. Blood sputtered out at Bloodhound's feet, dotting their boots as she coughed, choking on the dark red liquid.
"Shh, I know," they whispered. "I am sorry for this." Bloodhound pulled out their hunting knife. "You fought bravely. The Allfather graces you," they murmured. With that, they swiftly and accurately stuck the blade into her neck, severing her carotid artery. It hurt for a brief, blinding second, but it did not even come close to what she had already endured. She was barely aware of the blood pooling under her limp body before she fell into the relief of pure nothingness.