I don't own any of these characters. I just love them. =)

Bunker

Just one other squad left.

Lifeline lay prone, a Triple Take comfortably held in her hands. She watched the entrance to Bunker, waiting for any sign of movement.

Her squad mates, Mirage and Pathfinder, also stood watch over their respective areas.

Pathfinder had perched himself onto a rock formation in the mountainside. In his hands, a fully-kitted Longbow was trained at the area behind them. Despite her efforts to trade her Triple Take with him, as it seemed to fit his style more, the robot had declined her offer. He claimed to enjoy the recoil and 'archaic feel' the Longbow offered.

And Mirage kept an eye out at the waters below. He didn't have a rifle of sorts, but instead two Mozambiques he insisted on keeping.

"You know, we never talk." A voice beside Lifeline spoke. She jumped, nearly smacking her eye into the scope of her rifle. Sighing, she regarded Mirage, who now lay next to her on his side.

"Shouldn't you be watchin' the river?" Lifeline's expression betrayed her annoyance.

"I got my best guy on it." Mirage pointed finger-guns over to one of his decoys, who was now standing watch. The decoy flashed a grin and winked before looking back down at the river below.

"You know, between the three of us, they only gave us two rooms." Mirage raised an eyebrow, holding up two fingers. Lifeline groaned.

"I was thinking that the robot could really use his own room, you know? We could bunk together and-" Mirage was silenced by a gloved hand suddenly in his face. Lifeline had properly shushed him.

"I don't t'ink so." she frowned, irritated with his presence. "If you want Pathfinder to have 'is own room, maybe you could sleep outside tonight, hm?" without waiting for a response, she went back to staring down her scope.

"I do not require a room." Pathfinder's voice crackled into the communication line.

Mirage stood up, "Oh come ON. I bet that guy's never even slept in a bed! He has no idea-"

"Hostile spotted." Pathfinder interrupted. The crack of a Longbow shot echoed through the air, followed by another shot. The second shot was not from their squad however, and it connected with Mirage's knee. He crumpled instantly, his decoy dissipated. Lifeline immediately got to work, calling out her own personal robot assistant to provide a shield as she readied her syringes for Mirage.

A bullet ricocheted off of the rock behind Pathfinder, and sparks flew as another made contact with his chassis. The grip on his rifle stayed steady however, as he fired off another shot, downing one of the opposing team's squad members.

Smoke clouded his vision as he looked down at himself. The bullet that had struck him earlier had punched a hole in his armor. The screen from which his emotions displayed was malfunctioning, smoke wafting up from the side.

His attention turned back to the fight as the sound of aircraft from overhead drowned out all other sounds. Someone had called in an air strike. Quickly he glanced over at his teammates, assessing the situation. They were not safe.

He immediately hopped down from his perch, landing deftly and bounding away from the strike zone. In one quick motion, he whipped around, launching a zipline to his squad mates.

Lifeline was too slow. She was still patching up Mirage's leg when the zipline reached her. Her DOC assistant whirred and beeped at her in urgency. "Just a second." Sweat beaded on her forehead as she applied the adrenaline shot to Mirage's chest rather forcefully.

Mirage hopped up onto his feet, "Whew. Man I saw the light. It's a good thing I-"

"Quit yer mouthin' and let's get out of here!" Lifeline interrupted, shoving him toward the zip.

Pathfinder's attention was toward the enemy squad. He was already outside the air strike area, and had finished off the person he knocked earlier. Normally he would offer a chipper quip in their passing, but being this close to a round victory meant his focus was entirely on winning.

Another enemy squad member poked their head up just for a split second, and went down just as quickly when a bullet connected. Pathfinder's reaction time was one of the best, and he had no problem proving it to the world that was watching him now. "I'm sorry, but it's important I win today." his voice was low in an attempt to whisper.

He heard his two teammates take his zipline. They would be near him soon, which was good. Mirage arrived first just as the bombardment from above fell. He skittered behind the robot to observe the spectacle. Dust and dirt exploded upward, scorching the earth and marring their vision of the field. The zipline went slack.

Lifeline didn't make it.

When the air strike stopped and the smoke cleared, her body lay just a few meters away. She was still breathing, as Pathfinder observed. Just knocked down.

"I'm so sick of that cocky Gibraltar guy. Let's go!" Mirage unholstered his weapons and slid down the slope. He sent out a decoy to the side. Apparently the Hawaiian was waiting just around the corner, and instantly gunned down Mirage, ending him quickly.

Pathfinder palmed a syringe and leapt toward Lifeline. She rolled onto her side and offered a glare, which made him stop in his tracks.

"Just win." her voice was soft over the communication line.

Immediately the robot turned his attention toward where Gibraltar was allegedly hiding. With a running start, Pathfinder jumped upward and grappled onto the side of the rock, kicking off into the air above where Mirage died.

The unmistakable silhouette of Gibraltar was applying aid to his fallen teammate. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Pathfinder turned mid-air, aimed down his scope, and fired. Gibraltar fell, and a loud voice over the arena's intercom dubbed the team of Pathfinder, Lifeline, and Mirage the winners.

One step closer, hopefully, to meeting his creator. Pathfinder liked to think that his creator was watching him even now.

Once the game is done for the day, all participants are revived and brought back to base to rest, eat, relax, and talk with family or any interviewers. Pathfinder made his way through the crowd, happily receiving high-fives from some of the other legends. His chassis had been fixed, and he could properly emote now.

As usual, Mirage was surrounded by fans and media, trying to snap every picture of the man they could. "What I did today was selfless, yes, but all planned out by yours truly. Couldn't have done it without me. Distraction is my specialty, after all." he struck a pose, and the sound of cameras snapping pictures got even louder.

Ajay Che, or Lifeline on the field, was nowhere to be found. Pathfinder had wanted to congratulate her on their victory. Likely she was already in her designated room, of which each legend had one. Everyone but Pathfinder. Early on, when the games were just starting, construction within the base was limited. To prevent others from having to constantly move rooms to accommodate space, he had insisted he didn't require a room. As long as there was a roof over his head, he felt more than happy. So his designated 'spot' was outside his teammates' rooms in the hallway.

As night fell, the squads returned to their rooms, and the additional members of the media and otherwise, left. The base itself was a large modified supply ship. At night, the windows facing outward were left open, and Pathfinder often found himself staring down at the slow-moving world below. The leviathans that hunted in the waters didn't seem quite as large from up here.

He remembered many years ago spending time on another planet with a small family. Pathfinder had spent quite a long time traveling, and upon meeting a chef in an alien marketplace, he learned how to cook. For years, he was a student-of-sorts learning from her everything from food to lifestyle to gentle comfort. This chef had two children, of which Pathfinder adored. Little humans were so precious. They saw the universe most-similarly to how he did; full of opportunity and wonder.

But, not all experiences are forever. The family turned to refugees, and he was separated from them.

Pathfinder had many relationships in the time that he was awake. He had traveled to countless lands, but only one person had taught him to cook.

Turning away from the window, he made his way back to the hallway. The whole ship seemed to be silent save for his whirring footsteps. His regiment was to do push-ups, then rest and recharge his cells. He didn't have unlimited energy, and he wanted to make sure his levels got as low as possible before recharging. Pushing those limits made him feel stronger, and becoming stronger meant that he was just that much closer to catching the attention of his creator.

Ajay couldn't sleep. Maybe it was because of their win today. Maybe it was because she felt lonely. Or maybe it was because of the relatively bright light and clanking she heard from right outside her door.

Sighing, she padded to her door. Hesitant to open it, she pressed her ear to the metal. Yep, he was doing his push-ups again. Ajay's eyes fell onto her DOC, the small turtle-like robotic assistant she's had for years. It was her gleeful partner. It 'slumbered', hooked up to a charging port. It emitted small chirps and bwips every once in a while.

Ajay slowly opened the door to the hallway.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Pathfinder immediately asked. He was indeed doing his strength training, and didn't break his pace when she approached him.

"Yeah maybe." She stood in the doorway.

"I am almost done."

Ajay didn't respond, instead just looking down at him. His training looked ridiculous- one-handed push-ups with his legs not touching the ground. Something that any normal person would struggle with, but as a MRVN, seemed as doable as running.

A small beep interrupted her thoughts and Pathfinder stood up. For a second, she saw the number 350,000 flash on his chest before disappearing.

"Let's win again tomorrow!" his voice was chipper, but she could tell it was off. He was indeed 'tired'.

"Come on." Ajay started. Pathfinder looked over to her, "It's dumb that yer in the hallway. Come rest in my room."

The robot didn't respond right away. He looked down at himself before turning his head to face her. It was difficult to think on such low energy levels.

"Thank you." He followed her inside and the door hissed shut.

Ajay could tell he was nervous. His emoticon on his chest was still smiling, but his hands told another story. High and close to his chest, he fidgeted with his hands. Despite being quite tall, Pathfinder looked smaller - different than how she normally saw him on the field. He had removed the mobility boosters on his hips, and his grapple line was slack on his back. Ajay thought he looked quite... approachable. Lightly shaking her head, she dispelled these thoughts and stood by her bed.

"'Ave a good night." she smiled.

Pathfinder, who was observing her room, turned now to her. Ajay's hair was down, and she was wearing much lighter garb than her normal clothes. It made her look soft. He caught himself before his chest flashed pink, directing his attention elsewhere in the room.

"You as well." He nodded, sitting down on the floor opposite DOC, with his back against the wall. After a few moments, he slumped forward a bit, head lolling to the side. His normal whirring sounds got quieter, and his lights turned off.

Ajay bit her lip.

Had he slept in a bed before?

Pathfinder always put his teammates first. Despite having very set goals, he was actually rather selfless. Ajay couldn't even count the times where she noticed him taking a bullet for her.

She admittedly also... missed having someone else in her bed. It felt empty sometimes. Maybe more often than just sometimes.

War ruined relationships.

With a light huff, Ajay made her way over to Pathfinder's body. She reached out to touch his arm, but stopped. Kneeling down, she brought herself level with his optics lens. She laid her hand on his arm, it was cold.

"Ay."

No response.

"Path. Would y' like to.." she trailed off.

The sound of internal fans whirring to life caught her off guard. Although his lights were still dim, the MRVN straightened his head. His chest flickered a soft pink emoji as he looked directly at her.

"Hello." his voice was quiet.

The metal under her fingers grew warm. It felt like he was overheating. Maybe she shouldn't have woken him up.

"I was wonderin' if you'd like t' join me. In bed."

It took him a few seconds to respond. Perhaps it was because he was tired. Maybe he really had to let her words sink in.

Pathfinder felt dulled. Finally her words echoed through him and he straightened his posture, sitting upright. The small red LED lights glinted brightly for a second before flickering and dulling again.

"In bed?" his voice was louder, although still very clearly lacking his normal strength.

Ajay smiled awkwardly and stood up, walking back to her bed and climbing under the covers. She flipped over the sheets on the empty side next to her and patted the mattress, indicating that the space was his.

Ajay rest her head on the pillow. Pathfinder hadn't moved. Maybe she was too forward. Maybe he didn't like her. Maybe... she was too tired. She could talk with him in the morning. She closed her eyes and succumbed to sleep.

It must have been 4AM when Ajay woke up. The bed had shifted dramatically. She tried to stay as still as possible not to let him know that he woke her up.

But she also wanted to look.

Turning her head, she glanced over at him. There wasn't much light in the room, but she could still make out the outline of Pathfinder sitting on the opposite side of the bed. He was completely still, perhaps lost in thought. A faint whirring sound and he moved again. Slowly and as quietly as possible, he brought himself fully onto the bed, laying on his back.

Ajay smiled, happy to have him with her. She closed her eyes and returned to sleep.

Light filtered through her room's small window as morning came. Ajay rubbed her eyes, now awake.

"Good morning! Did you sleep well?" Pathfinder asked, his voice as chipper as usual. He hadn't moved, save for how he looked at her now.

"Was as good as it's gonna get." She returned. Ajay wasn't a morning person, but the games started early, and to win those would change many, many lives. Waking up early was a small price to pay.

Wait, had he waited for her to wake up?

She hopped out of bed and began readying her gear for the day. Pathfinder also left the bed, but immediately straightened the sheets, flattening and tucking them appropriately.

"This was fun. Thank you." he finished and straightened himself, setting his gaze across the room to her. Their eyes met and held for a brief moment.

"Was nice t' have some company. Thank you." Ajay offered a smile. Pathfinder's screen flashed a few different emoticons before settling on his default smile.

"I'm going to go warm up," He started, walking past her and opening the door. As Pathfinder made his way past her, Ajay could feel heat pouring off of him. He stepped outside and turned to face her, "Let's win again today!" he hopped slightly, his body animated and enthusiastic.

"Yah. Let's show 'em what we got." Ajay grinned with confidence. She closed the door as soon as he motioned to leave. Immediately she sat on the ground, hands on her cheeks. Her whole face felt hot. It was so nice having someone else in the room.

She sat there for a few moments before DOC chirped at her, now awake as well. Ajay stood back up, patting her robotic assistant on the head before she started packing and prepping for the game.

Outside, Pathfinder was excited. He realized that despite his best efforts to keep his emotions under control, that he felt hot. That was okay. He hopped again, his hands balling into fists and excitedly punching the air. The robot made his way down to the track that encircled the compound. A few hundred laps would clear him up and ready him for the game today.

He passed Mirage, who was also heading toward the track.

"I am having a fantastic day, friend!" Pathfinder blurted happily to him as he trotted by.

"Good for you, bud."

It was good!

He felt lucky!

He had a good friend now.