Apex : Predators
Part 1 : Arrival
Another season of the Apex Games had come to an end and the Legends would now find themselves with a couple of months of down time. They would be able to spend the days as they saw fit, pursuing whatever activities they found most indulging. In the past, many of the Legends had spent some time together socially. Mirage throwing countless parties, and Octane, Lifeline and Gibraltar also inviting many of the others along for the occasional social event or celebration to mark a season's end.
Bloodhound however, had never joined in on any of the gatherings, speaking very rarely to the other Legends outside of the battlefield. So it came to the others as a bit of a shock when they found themselves invited along for what the tracker referred to as a "Great Hunt", a trip that would span the course of a week on a large game preserve, all expenses paid for by the mysterious Legend. They had all felt a slight sense of honor upon receiving their invitations, realizing that the hunter must certainly respect them as skilled fighters, possibly even friends.
Of course, not every Legend had been asked to partake in the hunt. Caustic was among the first of the un-invited. Bloodhound had fought alongside the man in several matches before, but felt he possessed a seemingly sinister mindset, and was not a trustworthy person. Despite him being a skilled killer, Bloodhound did not think that Caustic had a shred of honor in his body, and had no intentions of bringing him along for the hunt.
Pathfinder would also find themselves among those that weren't invited. The soul-less machine found no favor with Blood, despite being a rather successful partner in several matches of the Apex Games. To Bloodhound, the robot was nothing more than a weapon - no life residing within the empty husk that was Pathfinder's metallic chassis.
Revenant would be the final Legend to find themselves lacking an invitation. The being had just joined the games this past season and Bloodhound had only fought alongside them in one match. But in that short time, Bloodhound had learned that they wanted nothing to do with Revenant, whatever it was. A machine-like being, Bloodhound still sensed a soul within it - a dark soul at that. Perhaps it was something even more evil. A demon? Regardless, the hunter had no intention of spending anymore time with the thing than they were forced to.
Of course, not every Legend that was invited would be attending the hunt, either. Lifeline and Gibraltar, while both being asked along, had declined Bloodhound's invitation. In truth, Lifeline had no interest in partaking in the hunting of local wildlife. And while Gibraltar would have happily gone along, he and Ajay had already made plans to volunteer at a local hospital on Solace during their spare time.
Wattson was the only other Legend who had been invited and would not be attending, claiming that she was far too busy working on a number of new inventions to attend, but sincerely thanking the hunter for her invitation with a hand-written letter.
That would leave Wraith, Mirage, Octane, Crypto and Bangalore - all of them agreeing to join Bloodhound on the trip. Bloodhound had stressed in their invitation that every kill must be respectful, and that all of the creatures they slaughtered would be offerings to the Allfather. While the other Legends agreed with little care about the terms, Octane had become a bit upset over the conditions, hoping to stream the hunt for his fans and being disappointed when Bloodhound forbade the request. While none of the others shared Bloodhound's beliefs and therefore weren't taking the hunt too seriously, they did respect Bloodhound as a fighter and ally in the games. They also assumed that the trip would be an interesting, if not fun, experience.
Mirage was the first to arrive at Bloodhound's cabin. It was a medium sized wooden structure, built in the snowy hills of Talos and not too far away from the World's Edge arena. The car had followed a long stone road branching off of a major highway, weaving for what felt like several miles throughout the countryside until coming upon the isolated lodge. The surrounding area consisted of small patches of grass that poked through the thin layers of snow, dotted with pine trees and boulders, providing plenty of privacy for the hunter's home.
"Here we are, sir", the driver announced as the car came to a stop. Mirage nodded and opened the door, pausing briefly as the driver cleared his throat as if to indicate that the two of them had unfinished business to resolve.
"Oh, uh, I thought it was all paid for?" Mirage asked, confused by what else would be expected of him.
"Yes sir," the driver said, seemingly a bit annoyed.
"Oh, right. Uh.." Mirage mumbled as he ran his open hands over the pockets of his new camouflage suit, looking for some spare cash and finding nothing. He could see a flash of anger sweeping across the driver's face, the man's bald head turning red as his eyes narrowed in the rearview mirror.
"Always tip your barber!" Mirage said quickly, then slammed the door shut and marched away from the vehicle, whistling loudly as he did. The tires spun in the loose stone as the car peeled out, the driver sticking his arm out of the window and throwing up his middle finger as he departed.
Mirage walked up the steps of the cabin, looking around the area to see nothing but vast wilderness. He was alone and a little nervous, pausing as he brought his hand up to knock on the door. "Nah," he said, shaking his head and walking back down the stairs. Eventually another Legend would show up.
Within five minutes Wraith would arrive, tipping her driver handsomely and walking out into the stone lot to find Mirage standing before her with a big smile on his face.
"So, I guess the rumors about Bloodhound being fabulously wealthy were true - covering all of our expenses for this thing. What do you think the odds are that this whole trip is just a set up so that Bloodhound can hunt us down for fun? I mean, do you even trust the guy..er gal? Actually, yeah.. I really hope he's a she.." Mirage smiled as his head tilted to the side, daydreaming about an attractive woman's body hidden beneath the hunter's attire.
A look of confusing disgust spread across Wraith's face as she stared at Mirage for a few seconds, the man apparently becoming lost in his own imagination. Her head shook as she rolled her eyes. "I can't believe they invited you along for this."
"Why? I'm a great guy! Bloodhound knows true talent when she, he.. they see it. Man, I hope the part-bat rumor isn't true too."
Wraith continued to shake her head as another vehicle pulled up behind them. "Just try not to be too you on this trip," she warned.
"Hey, I'm taking this seriously," Mirage insisted. "You can tell by my atti.. att, ah-at.. my clothes."
Bangalore was the next to arrive, followed shortly by Octane and finally Crypto. They all stood together outside of the cabin, exchanging few words and waiting for the hunter to greet them.
"It's kinda cold out here, isn't it?" Mirage asked, growing impatient. "What's taking so long?"
"Who arrived first?" Bangalore asked.
Wraith pointed at Mirage, causing Crypto's eyes to land upon him. "You knocked, didn't you?" he said, mocking the older man.
Mirage's eyes darted up as he thought for a second, realizing that he never actually had. "Uh.. of course I did, kid. What do you think I am, an idiot? Actually, don't answer that."
"We should just go in," Octane suggested, causing a look of concern to appear upon a few of the other Legend's faces.
"Oh yeah, just waltz right in," Mirage snarked, "then get our heads blown off by a Mastiff."
"Maybe you should send in a decoy," Octane joked.
"Ahaha, yeah, reeaal funny..."
"FNG's always go first," Bangalore said, roughly slapping Crypto upon the shoulder.
The young man huffed, "cowards," before walking up the stairs with no hesitation and opening the door. The others followed behind him quickly as they entered the cabin.
The interior of the home was decorated in a variety of objects. The walls, floors and furniture were all covered in a variety of bones, skulls, antlers, furs and ancient weaponry, mostly consisting of swords and axes. Large bookshelves of old tomes were dispersed throughout the lodge, soft candle light making the room just bright enough to see clearly. A small fire pit sat between the Legends and the back of the room, where Bloodhound could be seen kneeling before a large wooden statue of a one-eyed man. Artur, Bloodhound's raven companion, sat perched upon the shoulder of the statue, cawing loudly at the arrival of the tracker's guests as they walked towards their host.
"Bloodhound," Crypto said, interrupting the hunter's prayers and causing the mysterious figure to rise and face the other Legends.
"Forgive me," Bloodhound said, "I did not hear your knock upon the door."
"No worries," Mirage said nervously.
"Have you all prepared?" Bloodhound asked before being met only with a few nods from the others.
Bloodhound nodded as well, waving their hand through the air, causing Artur to swoop down from Odin's statue and land upon the hunter's arm. They led the others back out of the front door and around to the back of the cabin.
"My ship is docked just a short hike from here," Bloodhound said, walking in a brisk pace as the others followed without question. They raised their arm and Artur flew off ahead.
"So Bloodhound," Mirage began, breaking the silence once more, "since we're all buddy-buddy now, are you gonna take off the helmet and show us who you actually are?"
Although Mirage's tone was playful, he actually wondered if Bloodhound would finally reveal themselves to the group. He wasn't the only one of them that was curious, but he was the only one ill-mannered enough to ask.
Bloodhound stopped in their tracks, turning to face Mirage and the others who had stopped walking as well. Their hands slowly lifted up to each side of their helmet, fingers being placed upon the detachment straps which held the headgear in place. The anticipation grew upon the group as a collective whole, each of them realizing that they would finally see the face behind the mask. Bloodhound's hands then quickly moved toward the back of the straps, grabbing a hold of each one and pulling them tighter, securing the helmet even more.
"No," Bloodhound replied harshly, immediately turning and resuming their quick jaunt towards the ship.
The others followed behind the tracker, Mirage standing still for a few seconds, his eyes wide in confusion and mouth slightly agape. "Hey, wait a second - did you just bamboozle me?!"
"Huh, I didn't know Bloodhound had a sense of humor," Bangalore laughed, causing the others to snicker as Mirage ran to catch up to the group.
Part 2 : First Blood
The ship was docked in a section of cleared away woods, resting upon a small landing pad just big enough for the lone ship. The vessel itself was considerably smaller than the drop ship used for the Apex Games, but it would still be large enough for the six of them with room to spare. Artur cawed again from on top of the aircraft, swooping back down onto the tracker's arm as Bloodhound opened the cargo bay hatch, inviting the others to board.
They clambered up the ramp and around the storage boxes sitting within, finding themselves in a decently sized cargo bay that had a strange smell about it. There were traces of what appeared to old blood stains that refused to be removed after a quick cleansing. Presumably, this is where they would be storing their kills after a successful hunt.
Bloodhound led the others up a small ladder which opened up into the upper deck. It consisted of a small room with better lighting, and five cots which were sat out sporadically in the chamber.
"You may rest here until we arrive." Bloodhound then banged their hand against a small metal door at the side of the wall. "Washroom's here, if needed. I'll be in the cockpit just ahead," they said, pointing towards the front of the narrow room as Artur went flying in through the open door. Bloodhound closed it behind them as each Legend made their way to a cot, sitting upon it heavily and grabbing hold as the ship thrust up off of the ground.
It was only then that Mirage noticed that Bangalore had been carrying a large duffle bag, letting it fall to the floor beside her cot.
"Ah man, we were supposed to bring stuff?" He glanced around the room, noticing that nobody else had brought additional supplies with them.
"A soldier always comes prepared," Bangalore smirked.
"So, how long's the flight?" Wraith asked, staring towards Bangalore.
"Half a day I'd guess, at least. Might as well get comfortable."
Several hours passed and the Legends spent the time either by laying in their cot or breaking off into pairs and passing the minutes with small talk. Eventually, Crypto, Bangalore and Wraith made their way back down into the cargo hold, inspecting the curious area but finding little more than locked cabinets and boxes of rations that Bloodhound had offered to them if they found themselves hungry.
"Not the nicest place. And it smells terrible," Crypto said, but doing so only because Bloodhound was nowhere to be found. He did not want to be rude, but he'd seen cleaner ships in scrapyards.
Bangalore opened another crate on the floor, its contents being an assortment of tools, most of which had the appearance of extensive use and wear. She pulled a few out, studying them quickly before setting them back into the box and shutting the lid.
"Bloodhound still hasn't come out of the cockpit?" Wraith questioned, knowing that even an older ship like this would certainly be equipped with an autopilot system and wondering why the tracker would invite them along for the trip, only to ignore them so much.
"Does that shock you?" Crypto asked her.
Bangalore opened a ration kit and jumped up on top of a stack of crates, throwing an energy bar at Crypto as she opened her own. She tore at the hard object fiercely, taking a large chunk out of it with her teeth.
"I'm gonna go see what they're doing," Wraith said, and ascended the ladder to the upper deck.
As she made her way towards the cockpit her steps slowed a bit, and she could overhear Octane and Mirage talking. The two of them were sitting on their cots, completely unaware of her presence.
"Yeah, that Natalie's a cute one, alright. Good for you, man", Mirage said to Octane, who was fidgeting with his butterfly knife while both legs were pumping up and down upon the floor, as if he were pretending to sprint in a seated position.
"So, you think you've got a shot with Wraith, huh?" Octane replied, his legs stopping for the moment as he continued to watch the blade flicker wildly around his fingertips.
"Hey, two good looking people like me and her, you can't keep us apart. It's magne.. mag.. tis..mags.. we go together. I mean, sure, okay, so she's got a potato face. But I learned a long time ago that I'm always going to be the looker in any relationship that I get into."
Wraith cleared her throat as her eyes narrowed, the pale-blue spheres looking even more annoyed than usual while in Mirage's presence.
Mirage nearly jumped up off of his cot as he realized that she had overheard him. "Oh, hey.. I mean.. okay so you're a potato. But, but you're a hot potato!"
Octane chuckled through his mask, his head shaking from side to side. "Holy crap amigo," he said, extending his hand out towards Mirage, offering his knife to the jokester. "Just end it already."
Mirage shot him a nasty look before his head snapped back towards Wraith as she interrupted.
"Blood's still in the cockpit?" she asked, focusing solely on Octane and completely ignoring Mirage.
"Pretty sure they're still in there, yeah," Octane replied, his hand gesturing towards the front of the ship while the knife resumed its dance within his grasp.
Wraith brushed past the two men and knocked on the cockpit door before entering, closing it behind her. Bloodhound sat in the lone cockpit chair, sharpening their hunting knife as Artur stared at Wraith from a metal grab bar on the side of the control console.
"Still not talking to us?" she asked, causing Bloodhound to put the whetstone stone down on the console, then sheathing their knife.
"I apologize. Is there something you need?"
Wraith shrugged her shoulder a bit and lightly shook her head, folding her arms acrossed her chest as her back rested against the closed door.
"Not really. Just curious why you haven't come out of here yet. These things practically fly themselves."
"I don't trust it. I prefer to keep watch," Bloodhound replied, turning their head away from her to look back out into space. The planet that was their destination could be seen in full view just ahead.
"I've never heard of this place before," Wraith mentioned, staring at the tiny planet. It looked rather green from space, misty clouds swirling about it with blotches of blue - presumably water, dotting the surface.
"It is a wild planet, teeming with prey and predators. Good hunting."
"And it's dangerous?" Wraith asked while smiling a bit, knowing that Bloodhound would never for a second think that she might be intimidated by the local wildlife.
"To the untrained, very," the tracker answered before pushing a few buttons on the console. "We will land shortly."
Wraith puffed a bit of air out of the side of her mouth. "Okay. I'll go wait with the others then."
Of all of the Legends, the combination of Bloodhound and Wraith had been the most successful in the Apex Games. In Bloodhound's opinion, Wraith was the most dangerous Legend on the battlefield, after themselves of course. They had won countless matches when placed on her team, and respected her combat abilities more so than any of the others. She possessed a fury that allowed her to fight without fear or hesitation, and Bloodhound was genuinely glad that she had agreed to join them on this hunt.
Before she could turn and open the door, Bloodhound's voice stopped her exit.
"The voices you hear in your head."
"Yeah?"
"The Gods speak to all of us in their own way."
Wraith's thoughts flashed through her mind. How could she ever explain to anyone else what she had experienced. She didn't believe in Bloodhound's gods, and didn't really want to get into a discussion about how she had been rescued in that laboratory by a version of her own self. She had explained it before to the press, very briefly and vaguely, about how she had seen herself in other dimensions, under different circumstances. Most people assumed it was all for show, just part of her character. She doubted anyone actually believed her. But she knew that the voices were her own, in a way.
"I don't think that gods are talking to me," she said, grabbing a hold of the door handle to open it, and then releasing it instead, deciding to turn back and face the tracker. "You know, all the times we've fought together.. and I don't think we've ever had an actual conversation."
Bloodhound stared at her from behind their goggles, their arms resting upon the console chair. "We have spoken many times, through our actions on the field. We know each other better than you think. Don't doubt the Gods. They can be difficult to understand at times, but I have seen that they do favor you."
A tiny smile formed in the corner of Wraith's mouth as she reached for the door handle once more.
The ship touched down on the planet and the Legends made their way down into the cargo bay. Bloodhound walked across the room towards the lockers on the far side, Artur perched upon their shoulder as they opened each container, revealing a massive weapon supply that had been hidden away on the ship. Every weapon conceivable could be found inside, with plenty of ammunition for each. The other Legends gawked in awe at the collection before them.
"Weapons, if you choose," Bloodhound spoke. They stood and watched as the others walked up, eyeing their choices and taking their pick. After each had selected their weapons and grabbed a sufficient amount of ammunition, they made their way towards the opening bay door.
Only Bangalore had stayed behind, having not selected anything from Bloodhound's collection and instead lowering her duffle to the floor. She unzipped the bag and removed a P2020 and G7 Scout rifle from within.
"I have optics for that," Bloodhound said, walking up behind her.
The soldier grinned. "No thanks, I want to go old-school today."
"As you choose," Bloodhound nodded. The others had already made their way off the ship and were waiting on the ground below. Artur flew off of the hunter's shoulder, making his way out into the cloudy skies above.
"To be honest, I don't care much about bagging a beast. It'll be nice just to get my boots dirty again, knowing that it's truly life and death out here."
The Apex Games could be described as intense, but that would be an understatement. They were blood-soaked events, often ripe with mass confusion, deafening sounds and plenty of pain. It was war without the consequences -or at least, with lesser consequences. Death was all a part of it, but it wasn't the end. It wasn't true death. Bangalore had been killed in the games several times before. A few times at the hands of Bloodhound, even. But in the games, you would be revived. Either by your surviving teammates, or at the end of the match. After all, the names of the Legends carried weight, and losing them would mean the loss of a lot of money funneling into the hands of Kuben Blisk. There were many other combatants in the games, but only the most successful earned the title of Legend. Bangalore was proud to be among the few of those who held that title, but even with her success, she still wasn't among the most accomplished like Bloodhound, Wraith and Gibraltar.
Her fame had still not brought with it enough money for her to return home to her family. Her ultimate goal had still not been achieved, and if this trip had not been paid for, she would never have considered spending a dime on it. But at the end of the day it was free, and it was an escape back into a reality where she could feel more like a soldier and less like a rock star.
"I understand," Bloodhound nodded, closing up the attachment locker and following Bangalore down the ramp to regroup with the others outside the ship.
"Woah, really?" Mirage asked, noticing that Bloodhound had a Mastiff on their back but was carrying a modern bow as their primary weapon. "Blood, I know you're a great hunter and all but.. bow and arrows? You're definitely not getting kill leader on this trip," he continued, throwing a Longbow DMR over his shoulder.
Bloodhound said nothing, instead listening to Artur's caw off in the distance ahead. "This way," the tracker said, leading the group into the woods before them.
The planet was hot and humid, perhaps more so than Bloodhound had ever known it to be before. It was a marshy planet, full of swamps, old dead trees and fog patches everywhere you looked. Tall blades of grass grew in clumps where the land wasn't covered in shallow pools of water and mud. Farther inland, the terrain became more rugged with large, jagged cliffsides and deep ravines.
They marched through the swampy wilderness for nearly an hour, having yet to find any game large enough to shoot. Octane's trigger finger was twitching, and every small creature that scurried among the trees before him had him wanting to fire off the Kraber that he had chosen from the ship's locker. But he restrained himself as best he could, trying to keep the sound of his mechanical steps to a minimum as to not to scare off the prey.
It had begun to rain lightly, making the humidity and fog even worse. Another caw from Artur caused Bloodhound and the party to stop, and the tracker inspected the ground at their feet, pointing their finger to the mud below.
"Look," the hunter said, staring at a set of footprints and signaling to the others. "We are close."
They all crept slowly now, being very quiet and keeping their eyes open. The rules were that the first person to spot the prey would wave their hand slightly as a signal, giving them rights to take the shot and try to down their quarry. It wasn't but a few moments before Bloodhound waved their hand through the air.
Crypto and Wraith were both very close to Bloodhound, the others a little farther back yet. Crypto looked down the sights of his Sentinel and Wraith did the same with her Triple-Take, neither of them seeing anything at all in the tall grass before them.
"Blood, there's nothing out there," Crypto whispered, wondering what it was that the tracker actually saw.
Yet Bloodhound removed an arrow from their quiver and loaded it onto the bowstring, drawing the arrow back as they raised the glow-sights up to their goggles. They held the arrow for just a second before releasing it, the metal object flying through the misty air and making contact with an object that lurked in the tall grass ahead.
The cry of a Prowler rang out through the swamp as the beast arched its back, leaping up into the air where the arrow could be seen sticking into its ribcage. It darted out of the grass and ran several yards before collapsing into the mud.
"First blood, the Gods favor my aim this day," Bloodhound spoke aloud. They followed the bloody trail through the grasses, attempting to recover their kill. Wraith followed closely behind them, and Crypto behind her. The others would then make their way over, curious to see the kill up close.
Bloodhound was just feet away from the fallen creature now, with Wraith right behind them. That's when she heard an all-too-familiar voice.
You're being aimed at!
"Move!" she yelled, pulling at Bloodhound's shoulder and dragging the hunter down into the mud as an energy bolt ripped through the air above them, nearly missing the two of them and hitting the ground just in front of Crypto.
The Legends were under attack. Little did they know that they were about to become the hunted.
Part 3 : The Burial
The other Legends reacted immediately. They looked to where the bolt had been fired from, noticing what appeared to be a large man up in the trees with some sort of cloaking ability. The man's eyes flashed yellow for a second and the Legends opened fire, sending round after round towards the cloaked figure.
"Seriously, cloaking?" Mirage yelled through the gunfire. "That's my thing buddy, find your own!"
Crypto helped Wraith and Bloodhound back to their feet as the other members of the hunting party closed the distance, ceasing their fire as the mysterious figure had seemingly vanished in retreat.
"What was that?" Octane asked the group, his eyes still peering through his goggles up at the trees above.
"No idea." Bangalore said, her head turning to look at Bloodhound, assuming the tracker would be the most likely have some knowledge of what was happening.
Bloodhound was crouched down by the base of the tree where the figure had been perched. Their hand grabbed at the grass below.
"You find something?" Wraith asked.
Bloodhound raised their finger, the red glove now covered in a glowing green liquid. "Whatever they are, they are injured. We should pursue."
"That's blood?" Crypto asked, concernedly. "Do the creatures out here usually bleed in that color?"
"No," Bloodhound answered. "Never."
With Bloodhound leading the way, they continued to follow the being through the swamplands. Track indicators covered the hunter's HUD, appearing upon the tree branches above and never venturing onto the ground for more than a few feet where a clearing would occur. The tracks would then resume into the tree tops, their attacker clearly preferring to keep high ground.
"No human could move like that," Octane stated as Bloodhound continued to point out the trail to their allies.
"Maybe it's some kind of machine. That would explain the color of the blood", Bangalore suggested as the group continued to jog through the swamps.
Bloodhound's hand waved, signaling for the group to stop. They were close now. A loud howl echoed out from the trees above but the Legend's could not pinpoint where it had originated from. Bloodhound knew that the prey was close and must be badly wounded.
"Allfather, give me sight!"
A wave of orange light illuminated up into the trees, the outline of the large being appearing only thirty or so feet away from them, perched up in the large crook of a rather massive tree. The Legends opened fire, round after round being sent towards the figure. Most made contact.
The figure fell from the tree, its cloak no longer active as the darkly colored body crashed down to the ground below. There was a loud thud as it hit the dirt, the body laying lifeless having taken multiple shots to the midsection.
They approached the downed being with their weapons still drawn on it, As they crept closer, they noticed a reptilian body covered in strange metal armor, as well as a good amount of the glowing green blood seeping from its wounds. The being was much larger than any of them and they stared at it in confusion, having never known anything like it to exist.
"Seriously.. what the hell is that thing?" Crypto whispered through a panting breath.
Bloodhound knelt down beside the creature, staring at the somewhat familiar looking helmet covering it's head.
"Andskoti.."
"What?" Wraith asked, walking over towards the tracker. "Blood, what is it?"
Bloodhound didn't answer as they continued their inspection of the creature.
Mirage glanced at Bloodhound then back at the creature, his eyes darting back and forth between the two of them as he noticed more similiarities than he was comfortable with. The helmet - the armor - the metal case they each had strapped to one of their wrists. Something odd was going on, and he was suddenly very uncomfortable.
"Bloodhound.. be honest with me," Mirage panted, trying to catch his breath. "You didn't lure us out here just so one of your crazy cousins could hunt us for trophies, right?"
The others looked at him with narrowed eyes, none of them wanting to hear his mouth right now.
"Seriously, I'm the only one thinking it?"
"I do not know what this creature is," Bloodhound said, their hands grabbing a hold of the being's helmet and pulling forcefully. "But it is a hunter." The helmet hissed as some sort of seal broke, and the tracker pulled the helmet off of the being's face.
Underneath the metal facial covering of the creature's large head, a monstrous face was revealed to the group. It had a massive forehead covered in bumps that ran up the skull where they would form spiky ridges. Small, almost human looking eyes were barely open, sitting deep within the face as though they were sunken in. Hair-like spines grew on the ridges above them on the brow ridge. The creature had no nose, instead a fanged mouth with four large mandibles - one on each side both above and below, which were connected with a webby flesh.
"Well, this just got interesting," Octane remarked.
"I, uh, think we should all be very afraid now," Mirage spoke, taking a few steps away from the creature's body.
"I'm not afraid of anything," Wraith said, kneeling down beside Bloodhound to study the creature up close. Bangalore joined her and Crypto followed suit.
The hacker pulled at the creature's arm, noticing the device on its gauntlet. There was a screen under the metal flap but it wasn't lit up, clearly lacking a power source. He was curious if he could get it working, and perhaps pull some form of data from it. But this tech, while being somewhat familiar, had a very strange and almost primal look to it.
"Someone will want to see this," he said, as he began to try to remove the gauntlet from the creature's arm.
A noise startled the group, causing them all to stop what they were doing and look back up into the trees. It sounded like a clicking, deep in pitch and very loud. The others looked over to Bloodhound who appeared to be just as unsure of the noise as they were.
"The all-seeing eye," Crypto said as he launched his drone up into the air.
Two enemies were revealed, both of them rapidly moving in on the Legend's position.
"There's more of them!", Octane shouted, firing his secondary weapon, an EVA-8, up into the trees above. "We've got to move!"
More energy bolts ripped down towards the Legends, explosions littering the ground in all directions around them. The drone had been hit within seconds, being completely obliterated by the blasts.
The hunters took off, running as quickly as they could as more energy blasts chased after them. Bangalore and Mirage were the farthest back, blast after blast landing right at their heels.
"Eating lead!"
"Actually, I'm pretty sure those are energy weapons!" Mirage shouted at her, trying to keep up with her pace.
"Double-time it!", she commanded. She was soon out in front of everyone in the group, save for Octane.
Mirage noticed Wraith begin her phase running as she disappeared in a blue flash of fading light that weaved throughout the tree trunks.
"Hey, wait up!", he shouted as another energy bolt hit at the back of his feet and threw him off balance, nearly knocking him to the ground.
Crypto had fallen back and caught him as he stumbled, helping him keep his footing. "Keep moving old man."
A large split in the landscape appeared before them as a dense patch of thicket blocked the area straight ahead, forcing a fork in their running lane. Bangalore split off to the left, followed by Mirage and Crypto. Octane lead Wraith and Bloodhound to the right and out of sight of the others.
The attacking creatures stayed to the left, following the slower group and continuing to fire shots of energy bolts as they moved through the trees above.
"Go bam, bamba, baz, bah.. fool 'em," Mirage commanded, sending a couple of decoys out to each side of him. The creatures took the bait, focusing on the cloned images and firing accurate shots upon them. It had bought the Legends just enough time.
"Here!", Bangalore instructed, vaulting up over a large downed tree laying on the ground before them. It would give them enough cover to return fire.
"We need to regroup with the others," Crypto said, aiming his Sentinel back towards the creatures.
"No time, poppin' smoke."
A cloud of thick gas surrounded the three of them, their guns raised as they scanned the area head. They could barely see as an energy bolt ripped into the tree bark right in front them, nearly striking Bangalore's head.
"Damn, they can still see us!", she shouted, knowing that the strike had been far too accurate to be luck. The smoke dissipated and their vision was no longer obstructed. Bangalore wrapped around the end of the tree's trunk, her rifle aimed up and ready to fire."We're clear, let's move."
As she turned, one of the creatures appeared right before her, a set of large metal blades protruding from the gauntlet on its wrist, ready to slice down towards her momentarily.
Mirage fired a round from his Wingman, striking the shoulder of the creature and causing it to stumble backwards. Crypto pulled the Prowler from his back, but Bangalore had already gotten a few shots of her Scout off, striking the creature in the abdomen. It fell to one knee, clutching at its wounds with a clawed hand.
She smirked as she walked up to it, rifle still raised and aiming at its head. "Did your weapon malfunction? Or did you?"
In an instant, her head arched back and her mouth opened as a scream of pain erupted from her throat, blood spilling down her chin as she dropped her rifle at her feet. Her body was slowly lifted up off of the ground, her legs dangling and kicking slowly as her head dropped down to look at the object now sticking through her stomach. Her hands grasped a spear that slowly revealed itself to her, the weapon being covered in her own blood. The second creature stood holding the spear, its strength so great that it had lifted Bangalore's entire body with ease.
The surprise and shock had cost her two companions valuable time, and when they finally returned fire they weren't able to hit the creature. It dropped the spear and retreated with its wounded partner back into the woods.
The two men ran to her side, both of them staring in horror not knowing what to do. They weren't medics, they had no supplies.
"Hold her still," Crypto instructed, thinking it best to remove the spear from her abdomen. He gave it a strong tug and the object came loose, tossing it angrily aside into the mud.
A familiar sound of mechanical whirring was heard as Octane and the others came running up to join their downed ally.
"Oh God," Mirage muttered, looking back towards the regrouping Legends. "What do we do?"
Bloodhound looked back out into the woods, seeing nothing before fixating on the blood-covered spear a few feet away. "We must move immediately," they commanded.
"We can't move her," Wraith said, nearly shouting in frustration. "She won't make it."
"We are being hunted félagi fighters," Bloodhound insisted. "They will be back soon to claim their kill. We have no choice."
"She's not dead," Wraith argued, trying to hold back her growing temper.
"I agree with Bloodhound," Octane said, "We can't stay here."
She didn't last long. After a few minutes of dragging her through the woods, Bangalore had already succumbed to her wounds. The next hour was spent carrying her lifeless body to safety, or at least to an area where they had some decent cover. The day had grown late and the rain had stopped. It would be night soon, and they had no chance of making it back to the ship. For now, they would have to hole up in a small cavern, hoping that the creatures were not able to follow their tracks.
"We should bury her," Crypto insisted, looking around for something to use as a shovel. The others just looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
"Here," Bloodhound finally muttered, standing up and motioning for Crypto who was still continuing his search for a digging tool with ill success. "Grab her feet."
The two of them carried her body a short ways over to small crevice near a creek, and lowered her into the hole. The others had followed, standing around their former ally's lifeless body now laying in the cold ground.
"Should we, you know, say something?" Octane asked, looking around at the others.
"We should keep it short," Wraith said coldly, her pale blue eyes seeming even less colorful than usual. "It's what she would have wanted."
"You were a true warrior," Bloodhound said, kneeling down and placing Bangalore's rifle on her chest, then folding her limp arm over it before saluting. "May the Gods bless you."
The others just nodded and began to cover her body with large stones and tree branches. It wasn't much, but it was more than nothing and all they could afford to do for her now. They headed back to the cavern as the sky grew dark, hoping to last through the night.
Part 4 : Further Loss
The night had come and gone and the Legends had gotten no sleep. The entire night was spent in the cavern, all of them attentive and on watch as they kept their eyes peeled for the slightest signs of the mysterious hostiles. At first light, Bloodhound suggested that they try to move back towards the ship. The others agreed without debate, wanting to leave the planet immediately.
They spent a few hours backtracking the area they had fled from, moving slower than usual with their weapons always at the ready. Bloodhound was overly zealous about watching for tracks, not knowing this new enemy well enough to feel comfortable about what exactly they should be looking for.
There were still at least two of those creatures out there. The one had been wounded, but it had escaped, and it was entirely possible that it was now healthy enough to continue hunting them.
Large flying insects bombarded Mirage's face as the sweat poured down his forehead, the swamp's heat and humidity becoming even worse than the previous day's. The fog was increasing too, making it difficult to see in far off distances.
"I just really want to thank you for the trip Blood, top notch stuff," Mirage huffed, more than a bit angry over the situation. He was starting to lose what little cool he had left. Bloodhound didn't respond, instead keeping their attention on the wilderness around them.
"Take it easy, amigo," Octane advised, walking closer to Mirage's position, his mechanical legs whirring ever so slightly as he took each step more carefully than the last. "We're gonna get out of this."
"Yeah, well, Anita didn't," Mirage snarked as he wiped another wave of sweat off of his forehead.
"Stop talking." Wraith commanded with an angry but hushed tone, "Seriously Elliott, can't you ever just shut the hell up?"
The group continued on in silence for another hour, believing that they were now about half the distance back to the ship. Bloodhound had found no signs of the deadly beings so far, but knew all-too-well that they would not have given up so easily.
"A short break," Bloodhound suggested, knowing that the environment was taking a heavy toll on the group's weary bodies. There was no argument from the others, who found various logs and rocks to rest upon, opening their canteens to consume what little water they had left.
A stream of water ran just a few meters away, definitely not clean enough for drinking, but most of them found it refreshing to wash some of the sweat and mud away from their faces. Crypto knelt down, his pant legs being heavily caked in dried mud, and began to try to wash away some of the debris. As he did so, he noticed three dots of red light appear on his chest.
"What?" he questioned as he looked up to see a blast of energy speeding towards him. He was able to fall to his side just before the bolt struck.
"They're here!" Wraith shouted to warn the group, firing a few rounds from her Triple-Take towards the general area from where the shot had been fired.
The others were looking for any signs of the creatures, scopes fixated in the same direction, ready to give at least suppressing fire but only if they could tell where to aim.
Another bolt ripped through the air just passed Octane's head, striking the ground in front of him as his eyes grew wide with surprise. "Crap, behind us comprades!"
They were being pinched now, the two creatures on each side of them, raining bolts of energy rounds down onto their position.
"Fall back!" Crypto shouted again, unnecessarily so, as most of the others had already started running. There was little cover in the deep swamp, large trees or rocks making up the most of it, and it kept the Legends needing to relocate almost constantly as they tried to return fire.
"This is bad, really bad," Mirage muttered, his Longbow scanning the treetops overhead. He knew they needed to fall back even farther if they wanted to survive the attack, but they didn't have the time or cover to make a run for it.
"Downed one!" Crypto yelled out, racking the bolt of his Sentinel rifle. The creature was on the ground, but it was still moving. Eliminating it now was their best chance of making it out of this situation and they all knew it. The problem was, blasts were still being fired at them by the other creature which they had yet to pinpoint, and they still needed more time to get out of this hot zone.
"I'll hold them off, you guys make a run for it," Octane said, putting the Kraber on his back and grabbing the EVA-8.
"We're not leaving you, it's suicide!" Wraith said, concerned for her ally.
"I've got this, I'm the only one fast enough to do it." He grabbed a stim from his belt and injected it into his body. "Go amigos, run!"
He shot off towards the wounded enemy, a green trail of light flashing behind his body as he zipped through the brush of the swamp. The others took the opportunity to fall back, none of them wanting to leave Octane alone but knowing they couldn't catch up to him if they wanted to. He had made his choice.
He was alone, and knew that his speed would be more crucial to him now than at any other point in his life. He had to keep moving - he had to outrun the blasts.
"Faster, faster, faster!" he yelled, jumping over a downed tree and forcing another stim into his body. He could feel his heart racing now, thump-thump, thump-thump, as he sprinted across the muddy terrain.
The wounded enemy was just before him, struggling to stand as it took aim at Octane's speeding body with a laser fixed to the side of its helmet. A small, mechanized cannon mounted to a piece of its shoulder armor turned and focused on the Legend, who threw his jump pad out onto the ground at his feet. It ejected him high up into the air and over the cannon's blast.
He landed just a few feet on the other side of the creature, having turned mid air and landing on his mechanical shins, sliding backwards along the ground as he aimed his shotgun at the being's torso. Firing round after round, the pellets ripped through the creature until its body was nearly torn in half.
It fell to the ground slowly, green blood spattered all around it. Octane grinned, but knew he had to keep moving. He stood and turned as he prepared to inject another stim, when suddenly a heavy weight forced him to the ground and sent his weapon flying out of his hands.
He had been caught in a net, the rope-like wire tightening instantaneously as it dug into his flesh, causing him to howl out in pain. The second creature walked towards him slowly as he tried to kick his legs free to no avail. A large blade protruded from the creature's gauntlet as it moved in for the kill.
Octane had given his life so that the others might live.
"Was that.. Octane?" Mirage asked, already knowing the answer. They heard the scream echo through the woods briefly.
Nobody else said a word, now finding themselves safe for the moment.
Bloodhound began to walk back towards the direction of the scream. The others followed, not knowing what else to do. Octane had bought the group enough time to escape, but they couldn't just keep running. They needed to go on the offensive. The tracker knew it was time for them to do the hunting for a change.
They came upon the dead creature's body, seeing its distorted torso that had taken so much damage from Octane's weapon. His shotgun was laying just a few yards from it, but he was nowhere to be found. Bloodhound inspected the mud, examining the strange markings for a few seconds.
"There was a struggle here," they said, noticing a lot of human blood within the markings. "This way."
They led the others as they followed the trail of blood which seemed to go on for forever, weaving through the woodlands as though Octane's body had been dragged upon the ground. The hunter stopped walking and looked up towards the trees, the trail coming to a halt as a large amount of blood could be found pooling at their feet.
Drops of crimson liquid trickled down through the air in front of them. Above, a human corpse was suspended upside down from a tree branch, with its flesh peeled away. The corpse had no shins or feet, and its arms dangled freely down towards the others.
Mirage nearly vomitted as Wraith's eyes grew teary. They all knew it was Octane, there was no questioning it.
"The Allfather has chosen to test us," Bloodhound said in a remorseful sounding tone as they looked upon the surrounding area. "We must avenge our fallen companions. We must slátra."
Artur had never returned since being released from the ship yesterday. It wasn't odd for the bird to disappear for great lengths at a time, but Bloodhound had hoped they would see him soon to guide the hunter along this dangerous path.
Hours of tracking had brought Bloodhound and the others upon the final creature. It was unaware of their presence as Bloodhound pointed out its location to the others. The being could be seen sitting perched atop a large rock overlooking a stream, cleaning what appeared to be a human skull. The Legends would not let it kill again.
Each of them took aim, but Mirage pushed passed them. This was personal. He brought the Longbow up to his shoulder, placing the reticle of his optics upon the back of the creature's head. Pulling the trigger, he sent a powerful and deadly round clean through the back of the being's skull.
The monster crashed into the stream below, a loud splash signaling its fall. They all ran to confirm its death, but there was little doubt. The headshot was true and the creature had died instantly, never aware of its killer's presence. A huge sigh of relief swept across the group as they realized they had finally defeated this mysterious enemy. Not without loss of course, but they had made it.
There was no time for celebration, and they instead moved back into the depths of the swamp to collect Octane's body for a proper burial. They had no sooner begun their march when they heard that ominous clicking sound once more.
"You've got to be kidding me," Mirage huffed as he waved his Wingman through the air. "How many of these things are there?"
Unknown to them, there was only one that remained. But this last remaining creature was a seasoned hunter, unlike the three novices that they had already defeated. While those were new hunters who had not yet killed until this season, the final adversary was an apex predator. It had been studying the group over the course of the two days, watching inconspicuously as it judged its disciples in their techniques, all the while learning the Legend's tactics.
It dropped down from the trees above them, uncloaking itself as it fired a cannon bolt at the group, the shock of the blast not meant to kill but to separate as it sent them running off in all directions.
The creature took to the chase, blasts firing at each individual as it tried to single them out. Bloodhound watched out of the corner of their goggles as a bolt struck the ground at Wraith's feet, shattering a large rock into pieces and sending her small body flying through the air and over the side of a deep ravine. She would have had to have plummeted down to the ground, and would almost surely dead from the fall. But the tracker could not go back for her now, still being pursued by the newest threat.
The remaining three Legends became separated before the blasts had stopped. Each of them now finding themselves alone as their sprints reduced into slow jogs and eventually a fatigued walk.
Crypto had found himself quite exposed, out in the clearing of a small field of grass that was surrounded on all sides by treelines. He heard the clicking noises near him and raised his Sentinel, only for it to be knocked away from his hands by a powerful arm. The creature then kicked at him, sending his body flying backwards and causing him to hit the ground hard. He rolled through the impact, though not unfazed by the blow, and struggled to pull the Prowler sub-machine gun from his back.
A large, metal disc was taken from the creature's belt and thrown through the air, spiraling towards Crypto and slicing the Prowler in half while still being held in his grasp. The disc flew back towards the creature which caught it and returned it to its belt.
This enemy looked noticeably different from the others. Its armor seemed much more extravagant and its body was decorated in considerably more bones and skulls of strange creatures that the young man had never seen before. The being extracted the twin blades from its gauntlet as it marched slowly towards Crypto, the young Legend now finding himself completely unarmed.
There was nothing else he could do. His mind raced as he tried to think of a plan, but he came up empty again and again. There was no way to fight it now, no way to escape. He stood tall and remained silent, staring bravely into the masked face of his executioner. What little noise he made upon his death could not heard by the remaining Legends.
Thirty minutes passed, though it had seemed like five hours to Mirage. He called out softly for his fellow hunters, unaware of what fate might have befallen them. He didn't want to be too loud, but that was never really his strong suit.
A creaking tree branch caused his focus to shift upwards, and the shimmering outline of a cloaked figure was seen standing several meters above him. The yellow eyes flashed just as another electrical blast was sent his way.
"Damnit, come on!" he yelled in frustration as he sprinted away, throwing the Wingman up behind him and firing suppressive shots. His legs were feeling it now, fatigue setting in as every step was a harsh struggle through the mucky terrain. Each heavy thud of his footfalls made him realize that he had to stand and fight if he wanted to survive this encounter.
"Jeez guys, I hope you made it out," he muttered, concerned for the others as he reloaded the Wingman from behind the cover of a large tree. Peeking back out for just a moment, he fired a few more rounds off in the general direction from where figure had been. Seeing no signs of movement, he decided to reload again.
"Here goes nothing."
A copy of Mirage took off sprinting from the tree, darting through the swamp without any sense of tiredness to it. The creature remained cloaked, still perched up in the trees above, watching patiently. Unlike the former three beings that the Legends had faced, this one was experienced enough not to react on impulse. Using its helmet's thermal vision, it scanned the decoy, noticing the vastly different heat signature between this target and the one it had just been chasing.
It slowly looked back down towards the large tree where the decoy had ran out from, and crept closer through the tree tops, noticing that the decoy was standing still and acting unnaturally.
Mirage breathed heavily, waiting for the sensor to alert him that the decoy had been eliminated. Once that happened, he would know his enemy's location. He slid his amber goggles down over his eyes, his Wingman gripped tightly in his right hand.
The sensor pinged.
"You got bamboozled, look at you!" he laughed as he swung around the trunk of the tree with his pistol aimed directly at the creature. It was now standing on the ground and staring at where the decoy had been, a spear clenched in both hands as it stood over the empty area where a body should have been.
What Mirage had failed to notice was the creature's shoulder cannon. Its barrel was already fixated on his location. The energy blast had arrived faster than he could pull the trigger of his gun, and it hurtled through the air, making direct contact with Mirage's side.
His body went limp and he hit the ground hard. Some small tree branches swiped at his face as he fell, catching his goggles and scratching his face as they caught the eyewear. Mirage had landed in a large puddle of mud, barely able to move and writhing in agony as the experienced killer moved closer towards him.
Part 5 : The True Test
Bloodhound heard the blasts. They raced towards the sound as fast as they could, still looking for tracks of the creature but finding nothing. The sounds had seemed quite distant from where Bloodhound had been when the noise first met their ears. The hunter was worried that they would not reach their destination in time to prevent the loss of another life.
That concern seemed to be well placed. Bloodhound walked slowly with their bow in hand, an arrow nocked but not drawn as they crept through the brush quietly. They could see signs of a disturbance, strange prints on the ground that looked like they had been made by a form of soft sandal. But what caught the hunter's eye soon after was the pair of amber goggles hanging from a low tree branch.
Bloodhound inspected the goggles for a few seconds, wiping them clean with the finger of their glove before hooking the eyewear onto the back of their belt. The plastic lenses might have been the only thing left of Mirage that could be recovered at this point.
A trail of smoothed mud was found leading away from the puddle, created from a body being slid across the surface of the land. Most likely caused by the creature dragging their latest victim off, no doubt to harvest a trophy from its fresh kill. The large footprints followed beside the trail, and Bloodhound decided to track the creature for as long as they were able.
Close to thirty minutes passed before the trail had become more dangerous. Bloodhound could tell the creature had slowed its pace, most likely arriving at its destination. The ground was dryer here, the mud turning to dirt which was littered with small stones and grassy patches. Trees grew around the area densely, save for a small clearing in front of a large cavern. It seemed that they had found the creatures camp.
Sneaking cautiously through the brush, Bloodhound came upon a sight they did not expect to see. The bodies of the three previously slain creatures, each having been collected and tied to their own tree. They had been stripped of their armor, an acid like substance eating away at their bones and flesh, slowly dissolving them into nothingness.
The tracker was confused. This had to have been the work of the final being, but why would it do something so dishonorable to its fallen allies? It was clear that this creature was not a being of respect - it was intelligent to be sure, but undoubtedly without compassion. What was even more troublesome was how quickly the creature must have been able to collect the others. It appeared that their ability to move through the terrain was even faster than Bloodhound had previously expected.
Bloodhound would show this beast no mercy. They continued to creep through the camp slowly, soon stumbling upon a pile of the strange armor which had also been exposed to some sort of acid, causing a gradual corroding of the metal. Farther in, the helmets of the three slaughtered creatures were found - each placed on a wooden stake with strange markings carved deeply into them, covered in a liquid that was most likely a sort of paint.
The hunter was beginning to understand. It seemed the first three beings had failed their "test", so to speak. Whatever culture these monsters had, it was apparently brutal and unforgiving.
Nearing the cavern opening, Bloodhound began to scan the area with their eyes, knowing that the creature could be lurking anywhere. They could find no tracks, but their gut told them the enemy was close.
That familiar clicking noise sounded to Blood's left side, and the tracker's bow immediately found its aim upon the shimmering silhouette of the cloaked body. As Bloodhound's arrow released, the creature's energy cannon fired. The energy bolt arrived first, hitting Bloodhound's left shoulder pauldron and creating an impact so heavy that it knocked the hunter backwards off of their feet. They landed on the flat of their back, hard against the rocky terrain.
The arrow had found its target as well, but the small projectile landed upon the armor covering the creature's left pectoral, striking with no effect and simply glancing off of the advanced metal. The creature clicked again as it jumped down from its perch, landing on the ground menacingly as it focused its lasers upon Bloodhound's body.
The hunter scrambled to their feet. The blast had not penetrated their pauldron armor, but it had burnt the fabric surrounding their shoulder. And, judging from the pain, Bloodhound guessed that it may have broken a bone or two.
It was clear that the bow would be useless in this fight. Bloodhound dropped it at their feet, quickly retrieving their secondary weapon - the Mastiff. This fight would have to be close-quarters.
The lasers fixated upon Bloodhound's chest as the tracker saw the cannon light up again. They dove foward, the blast just barely racing across the top of their helmet as they smashed into the ground headfirst. They immediately rolled to the side, avoiding the follow up shot from the creature and getting up on their feet. The hunter's body was now pumping with adrenaline as they made a mad dash towards their foe.
The being had so far been completely unimpressed with anything it had witnessed the Legend's do. Perhaps underestimating its opponent was the biggest mistake it could make. With no cause for concern, the creature calmly removed the throwing disc from its belt and heaved it towards its charging enemy.
But Bloodhound anticipated the attack, having had dodged their fair share of Arc Stars in the games. They slid under the projectile, shotgun aimed at the center of their target's chest. A squeeze of the trigger and the Mastiff unloaded a hard-hitting wallop on the creature's body, knocking the large beast off of its feet. It hit the ground hard, its helmet disconnecting from the force of the impact before bouncing away into the tall grass.
The sound of air rushing towards Bloodhound's backside caused the hunter to turn, the saucer-like blade flying back towards their position. They barely managed to cover their head with their forearm, stepping to the side just in time that the weapon didn't deliver a fatal blow. Instead it continued its path, slicing into Bloodhound's antibrachium as if it were a piece of paper and then continuing its path before landing in the weeds off in the distance.
The hunter clutched their arm, letting out a soft whimper but keeping their focus on the creature. It had slowly risen to its feet, its torso spilling the luminous liquid that was its blood down the being's stomach. The Mastiff shot had injured it badly and the creature clutched its chest as it began to retreat, surely needing to heal before it would feel confident enough to continue the fight.
That was an option Bloodhound couldn't afford their enemy to have. The prey was weakened and on the run. Letting it regain its health could prove to be a fatal mistake. The time to act was now.
Bloodhound rose to their feet, ignoring the gash in their arm as they cradled the Mastiff in their shoulder which allowed their free hand to activate the small device strapped to their left wrist.
"I am Blóðhundur!"
Wraith clung to the side of the cliff. A split-second decision to grab at a luckily placed tree root had undoubtedly saved her life after she had been propelled off the side of the cliff by the creature's blast. Using all of her strength, she slowly pulled herself up along the rocky cliffside until she had made it back to the top.
She didn't move much as she recovered her breath, lying face down in the muck as she struggled to regain her focus. Her Triple-Take had been lost in the fall, but the Peacekeeper on her back was still with her. She managed to stand, shakily clutching her ribs as she did so. A piece of debris had hit her pretty hard when the rock had exploded, knocking the wind out of her as she was tossed aside.
She began to move, dragging her left leg a bit as she limped hurriedly through the wooded landscape. What had happened to the others? She certainly didn't know, but wasn't confident that they would have escaped from that creature. She needed to find them as soon as possible - assuming there was anything left to find.
Being too experienced to reveal her position by calling out to them, yet lacking Bloodhound's advanced tracking skills, she knew that finding them in time was a long shot. Not even knowing where to begin looking, she moved aimlessly in the direction that her fellow Legend's had been fleeing towards.
An hour had passed. Maybe less. She had lost all sense of time, her head throbbing in pain and her eyes blurry with confusion. She stumbled upon a small clearing away from the trees and spotted something quite recognizable. Crypto's jacket. Only instead of its usual, impeccable self, it was now covered in what she could only assume was his blood. The white fabric was now a faded crimson, red blotches spattered all over the outerwear.
Upon closer inspection, she realized that the jacket wasn't alone. Crypto was in it - or at least part of Crypto was. She didn't want to look any closer, but his body had been ripped open, parts of his skeleton most likely removed. She hadn't made it to him in time.
A soft flutter caused her attention to shift quickly, and she spun around with her Peacekeeper drawn. Her sights were met with a lone raven, perched up in a dead tree several meters away from her. It stared at her with cold, black eyes before letting out a gruff caw.
"Artur?"
Follow the bird.
Perhaps Bloodhound had been right after all. Perhaps the Gods were talking to her.
Red light shined out from within Bloodhound's goggles. They carried their shotgun like one would hold a briefcase handle, their right hand forming a tight grip as the weapon bounced alongside them at waist-level, staying parallel to the ground. The hunter's breathing was heavy, almost as if they were choking on the air, panting heavily with a deep growl as their breath was rapidly forced in and out of their mask's respirator.
The tracker's vision had changed. The color had faded from the land, save for the glowing red of the creature's footprints that ran through the grey grass. They were close to their prey now. Bloodhound leapt across a downed tree gracefully, like a tiger moving through thick jungle at lightning speed. Their footing was sturdy, never becoming unstable upon slick vegetation or the unevenness of the rocky path. No force could stop them now. They would bathe in the blood of their enemy.
The creature, even badly wounded, had still possessed a surprising amount of speed. But it would not be enough to save it from its relentless pursuer, who had chased the wounded being for hundreds of yards through thick woodland and out onto an open plateau. The red-eyed hunter was faster and eventually caught the fleeing monster with another shotgun blast to its backside.
The creature fell on both knees, exhausted and mostly paralyzed by the second wave of pellets ripping through its body.
Bloodhound approached it, still breathing heavily as they holstered the Mastiff onto their back and drew their hunting knife out of its sheath. They walked towards their prey, grabbing a hold of the creature's shoulder and spinning it to face them. They could see the regretful look in its eyes as it knew that its end had come. Defeat had found the proud killer.
Bloodhound could only think of the other Legends that had been slaughtered as they shoved the knife into the creature's heart. Perhaps it was their fate, for the Gods had willed their deaths. Still though, their loss had angered the hunter as they pulled the blade out of the creature's sternum before quickly returning it once more.
The creature's head raised up as its mandibles opened wide, nothing more than a whisper of an exhale coming from its monstrous mouth. Its eyes stared into the glowing red goggles.
"I am the hunter the Gods have sent."
The tracker released their kill, letting it fall backwards into the soft grass. Bloodhound's breathing slowed, the color in their vision slowly returning as they wiped the knife's blade on the bottom of their field coat, cleaning the weapon of the glowing residue.
Artur cawed, flying through the air above. The hunter looked up to watch as the bird soared down towards them, not surprised at all by its sudden arrival. They lifted their uninjured arm into the air, allowing the raven to land safely and greeting the bird with a friendly stroking of its feathers.
A shiver ran down Bloodhound's spine as they heard the echo of an eerie beeping sound through the ear coverings of their helmet. Their gaze lowered to see that the prey was not yet, in fact, dead. The creature was fumbling with the small screen on its gauntlet, sliding tiny buttons across the bottom of the display until it was animated with a series of flashing red lights. The symbols were not familiar to the hunter, but as the shapes shifted and changed, the amount of symbols began to decrease. Coupled with the speed and intensity of the beeping noise increasing, there was no mistaking what that meant. It was a bomb.
The creature's head lifted off of the ground ever so slightly, its mandibles twitching from a cough as it spit the green blood out of its mouth.
"Bam-boo-zle.." it struggled to pronounce in a croaking, low-pitched voice that was just as grotesque as the creature's appearance. It then let out a few coarse laughs before choking as more blood filled its throat. Its head fell back against the ground as the last bit of its life faded away.
The device was a mystery to the hunter. They did not know how to disarm it, assuming it even could be disarmed. Bloodhound surveyed their surroundings. The drop from the cliff was far too high to risk, being an assured death. They would need to run back down the hill and into the cover of the valley below, although the distance was too great for them to be able to reach safety in time. The tracker was wounded and had just expended what remained of their energy by running down the injured creature. Bloodhound's body would not allow them to make an escape.
Thoughts flashed through Bloodhound's mind as they struggled to think of a way to survive. Perhaps the gauntlet could be removed from the monster and then thrown off the edge of the cliff? The beeps grew faster and the flashing lights had almost disappeared from the screen. There wouldn't be time to try to find a solution. They knew what needed to be done.
Bloodhound threw their arm into the air forcefully, thrusting their raven companion off with great force. The bird flapped its wings wildly, not expecting the sudden launch and trying to catch itself from falling. It gained speed quickly though, and cawed as it soared upwards away from the hunter.
"Go, Artur!" Bloodhound shouted after it, hoping their feathered-friend would make it to safety in time. They then turned back to look down upon the creature.
Bloodhound knelt down beside the deceased being, one hand rising up towards their helmet. They wished to see the world with an unburdened view as their life ended.
"So.. my time has finally come," the hunter spoke aloud, their words filled with complete certainty and determination as their eyes lifted towards the clouds above. "The Valkyries will carry me to Valhöll. I will join my uncle and our fallen félagi people. Allfather.. Odin.. I will see you soon."
As the first strap fell away from their combat helmet, a familiar sound caused the tracker's stare to shift to the left. They had heard the sound many times before in their life, and did not hesitate to understand its meaning.
The hard glow of a deep blue light covered the kneeling hunter as they rose to their feet, finding Wraith standing just outside of her newly opened portal. She extended an open hand out towards Bloodhound as they grabbed a hold of her.
"It's not your time," she said with a smile, pulling her ally into the Void.
The massive blast could be seen off in the distance on the plateau above. Bloodhound tightened the strap on their helmet as they joined Wraith in her march back towards the ship. The fight was finished, and they could finally return home.
Neither of them spoke a word as they walked through the swampy wilderness. There was truly nothing to be said. They were both saddened by the loss of their fellow Legends. Even Bloodhound, who thought that they should be feeling a great sense of accomplishment for completing their test, could think only of the others who had given their lives against the unrelenting adversaries.
A raven's caw caused the couple to stop moving, both of them looking off in the distance.
"Artur," Bloodhound spoke, their pace quickening knowing that the bird was calling to them.
Wraith followed, her tired legs trying to resist their master's demand of further movement.
The raven cawed again and again, flying from tree to tree as it guided the pair through the muck below. Eventually it landed on a large log laying in the mud.
A man was sitting up against it, struggling to breathe and holding his side. His hand couldn't completely cover the large, burning wound just below his ribs. He tried to smile as the two approached him, but his face quickly contorted into a more painful expression.
"Hey guys," he managed to mutter. "First hunting trip of my life.. and this is what I get for trying to kill some mindless animals. Karma.. you're a bitch," he chuckled.
"Elliott," Wraith said in a genuinely heartfelt tone, sprinting over to the downed man and propping him up a bit higher. He looked at her with concern.
"Where's the kid?"
She simply shook her head as her smile faded into a somber expression.
Bloodhound walked over to Mirage, removing the amber goggles from their belt and holding them out in front of them.
He grabbed the eyewear from the hunter's hand, slowly wrapping the band around his head with Wraith's help. "Thanks, Blood."
The two of them lifted the man up, his arms wrapping around each of them as they helped walk him back towards the ship. There was a reason Bloodhound respected the man. He had a resource that was rather useful on the field of battle - survivability.
Artur flew into the ship's bay as the three remaining Legends followed slowly behind. The sun was almost below the horizon as the sky grew dark, and a gust of strong winds blew across the harsh landscape. Several pairs of glowing eyes watched from within in the shadowy thicket as the ship's thrusters fired and the small craft slowly rose up out of the grass.
The hunt had finally come to an end.