So I'm like the worst author ever, leaving you all on a cliffhanger for like two months... Ha. This isn't the first time I've done this. Anyway, real talk. I have not played Apex in over three months, and yet here I am writing a story on the game I have not played. Why?
Because I wanna finish my story. However, I am losing the drive to do so, but I want to at least get to a satisfying ending to where my ship happens, and right now, that isn't happening. Is this me ending the story? HELL NO. I just need time and motivation to do so. Does this mean I'm taking more time in between chapters? Yes, because I don't want to put out less than 2,500 words. Why do I set myself to a bar like that? I want the chapter to be at least a five to ten-minute read, or it takes a couple of scrolls to get to the bottom of it if you're on mobile.
This must feel kind of underwhelming, but I want this story done as much as the rest of you.
Now I must mention this, because I don't want this to be banned, so here is your CHAPTER WARNING:
Lots of swearing, I said the fuck word a lot.
Mention of R*pe, NOT DESCRIBED IN THIS CHAPTER (Nor will it be in significant detail).
As a result, I will be upping the Rating from T to M. So the filters will hide this from most of the results, which imo is hella stupid.
Now that your CHAPTER WARNING is over, you can now enjoy the two-month rustiness of my work. Also, the chapter title is a reference to a certain rocket launcher to a certain franchise which got me into writing.
...
While the fall didn't feel like it happened, it did, judging by the stiff movements Leadflare was doing. His mind was blurry, he remembers jumping off the jump tower to go save… Wattson! His body twitched and he heard a voice, but most of the words were inaudible, his ears were ringing, "... gods... ucking idiot. How... think that... great idea?!"
Leadflare swore that he heard Wraith's voice but he still wasn't coming out of it. Someone or something put a hand on his chest and injected something into his heart prompting his multi-colored eyes to open and gasp.
"Oh, so now you're awake," the voice he heard was Wraith, staring down at him in a mixture of anger and relief. Leadflare brought a hand to his face and felt his mask was still there, which brought him some relief
"Where's Wattson?" Leadflare asked, attempting to sit up, but a flaring pain welled up in his abdomen. It forced him to go back to laying down, and his back rested against what felt like a wall.
"She's alright, actually, considering the circumstances," Wraith muttered, pointing over her shoulder to see the electric defender actually up and about.
"Leadflare? Mon ami, est-ce que tu vas bien?" Wattson asked.
"I should be asking you that, Watts," Leadflare said before falling into a daze. Both of his squadmates were at his side in an instant, concern written on both of their faces.
"Ezra!" They said in unison. Leadflare felt two hands on his shoulders, uprighting his slumped posture. When they stared into his eyes, they were dazed, far off, and in space. "Wattson, his adrenaline!" Wraith said.
"Won't it be harmful to him in this state?" Wattson hissed in response.
"It's either that, or we lose him, and right now, with only a few squads left it will be difficult to even survive to the next ring," Wraith reasoned.
Wattson held conflict in her baby blue irises and Wraith held determination and resolve in hers, but her girlfriend saw a twinge of concern. So at least that was something they had in common. With a sigh, Wattson quickly delved her fingers into his pockets, being careful not to… agitate him. She quickly found one of his syringes that miraculously survived this whole time and rolled up his sleeve to reveal his arm and a prominent vein. With a small internal debate with herself, she plunged the syringe into his body and allowed its effect to run wild.
Leadflare felt the prick of the needle but was too distracted by the two very lovely ladies in front of him. "You two look pretty," he said deliriously.
He didn't notice the blushes on their faces, or maybe it was the heat of the room, "so what happened?" Wattson asked, one eye on their third teammate.
"You both came flying in and thankfully, the emergency protocols in our jump kits activated, saving you from receiving a fatal crash. Luckily, no other squads were in the area at that time, so I managed to carry you both back here."
"Then why did I feel so cold after waking up, hmm?" Wattson asked with an all-knowing air. "Far as I know, and I would know, the ring does not make us feel cold.. It feels like pins and needles amplified by fifty, so please explain how we survived.
Wraith looked slightly bashful as she mumbled, "I took you both through the Void, just to get you to safety."
Wattson then let go of her questioning aura and—in simple terms—turned back into the happy, cheerful scientist that she is known for, "Magnifique! What was it like carrying us both through the Void?"
"Can we save that for later, I think he's about to wake up," Wraith commented as Leadflare was indeed starting to come back to his senses and he groaned,
"Why does it feel like I have a hangover after doing a single shot?" Leadflare moaned, holding his head.
"Ah, so sleeping beauty finally is lucid," Wraith said, teasing him light-heartedly.
"So, we made it?" Leadflare asked, blinking a few times, and almost took off his mask, but realized at the very last second that he was still with company.
"Yes, we made it, mon ami," Wattson assured him.
Leadflare exclaimed, "Fuck yes, I had zero clue that it was going to work and I'm glad it worked out. Honestly, I thought we were going to crash as soon as I passed out from the pain. So, what's the situation?" His tone switched from playful to serious so fast that it gave the girlfriends pause.
After a moment of silence, Wraith spoke up, "Three squads left, and the ring is coming in a couple of minutes. You two don't have weapons, and the odds are stacked against us."
"Wouldn't be the first time," Leadflare replied bitterly, a memory of the past resurfacing. This specific memory was when he was trying to escape from them.
The Dark Sparks pair decided not to comment on that, for they feared that he would shut them out if they asked. Speaking of asking, they still planned to ask him out, but it would be better on a victory.
"As for where we are, I brought you two into a tunnel outside of Lava City, and Dome is just up the path here," Wraith pointed towards the path in front of them. "That will lead us to the quote-unquote, final showdown where the game will end."
"One problem," Wattson added, "No weapons for either of us."
Leadflare cracked his knuckles, "I don't know about you two, but…." his brass knuckles appeared over his hands, "I feel like I need to beat a bitch, and honestly I haven't used these like at all." Then, he stood up carefully and when he did so without trouble he rolled his shoulders, "Did you put my adrenaline into my bloodstream?"
"Ouais," Wattson said, eyeing him in a critical manner. "How are you feeling?"
"Energized," Leadflare said. "Thankfully that stuff works, otherwise, I'd be in that dazed state for a while. Did I say anything stupid?"
Both girls shook their heads casually, or at least, attempted to, but the blushes on their faces betrayed their meaning. Leadflare chose not to comment on that for now. He still felt like something was still off about them. "No, just babbled on about random musings."
Something told him that he should pursue, but a shot from the left took Leadflare by surprise, having knocked him clean off his feet. The two ladies immediately turned to see the last two teams entering the cave. Wraith took up cover against the wall, out of sight, with Wattson already preparing fences. The Voidwalker peeked around the corner and saw Caustic and his team pushing against the other team, leaving his gas traps in his wake, so even if they pushed past them, they would still hit the gas.
One of the opponents caught a DMR round to the chest, knocking them down, and killing them. Leadflare swiftly closed the gap, having recovered rather quickly, and surprised the elder scientist. He landed a right cross on the Doctor's mask, pushing him back into his own gas. The visor on Caustic's face did not crack, but it shifted. "Another insect to add to the pile. Leadflare, bring it on. I will observe your death with satisfaction," the trapper said.
Wraith and Wattson elected to dispatch the other two of Caustic's squad. The Voidwalker phased into the Void, past all of Caustic's traps, and emerged on the other side, weapon drawn. Much to their surprise, there was no one else, but who fired the DMR? Wattson checked a status window, available to all Legends, and saw that it was only the four of them alive. So, did Caustic fire a DMR then discard it?
Wattson stayed behind and put fences up, blocking them all in, which could be turned, but her squadmates could pass through the fences with ease. Quickly checking her surroundings, she reached over to a supply crate and found a P2020, which isn't ideal, but a weapon is better than nothing. Since their landing, they have not had their weapons, having to leave them behind, or at least, that's what Wattson remembers.
Caustic at this point, had abandoned his weapons and grappling towards Leadflare to put him in a chokehold and then gas him. Some of the other Legends had been subjected to this fate and Caustic had to make sure he gathered everyone's reactions. The trapper then surprised the newcomer with a swift feint that made Leadflare overextend by just a mere margin.
The taller man then landed a strong punch straight to Leadflare's gut, knocking the wind out of him. Leadflare felt like someone just made him cough up a lung and keel over. Caustic leaned down with a sneer, his face concealed by the mask, "You are by far one of the more… interesting subjects that I've come across. This will be a pleasant result." The trapper reached for the gas grenade on his chest before slowly unsealing the top, allowing the first few streams of misty gas to escape the canister.
Caustic gripped Leadflare's throat and hoisted him up. Leadflare's eyes bulged at the lack of air now entering his body. On a positive note, he wasn't struggling in his grasp, almost as if he accepted his fate. The moment that the two females tried to double back and push forward, Caustic pressed a trigger, and more of his gas traps exploded, almost covering the area, save for the area that he himself and Leadflare were in. Somehow, his own mask was still in place. Caustic could rip it off in mere seconds, but chooses not to.
"A-Are y-you really g-going to," Caustic's hand squeezed tighter around Leadflare's throat, making spots start to appear at the edge of his vision, "d-drag this out?" he wheezed.
"Oh, I most certainly will, just to watch you suffer," Caustic sneered, "and as an added bonus, your squadmates, who are so hopelessly in love you with get to watch." Something in Leadflare—Ezra's— heart jumped at an outside admittance, despite his current situation. "Truthfully, it is beyond me how Ms. Paquette has fallen for you, and as for the disgraced scientist, that's just the scum of the earth coming together to manifest something that will shun humanity."
During Caustic's monologue, Leadflare's free hand went to a syringe of his adrenaline, and to an older gentleman—no, to this piece of shit—it will fuck with his vitals. In one swift motion, he jammed the syringe in the exposed flesh of Caustic's neck, pressing down on the plunger. Caustic dropped Leadflare in surprise and ripped the syringe out of his neck. "Can't wait to see the after-effects."
Wraith and Wattson were forced to watch this interaction from the other side of the gas cloud, and they heard his words, proclaiming their love to him, in the middle of a live Apex Game. That was going to add fuel to the fire that was already burning underneath the two of them already. Through the smoke, they saw him drop and Wraith was about to charge in, "Attendez, mon amie," Wattson said as Caustic started to spasm before falling to the ground.
They heard Leadflare from the other side, "My adrenaline can be lethal if injected in the wrong place. Lethal in the sense of raising blood pressure and making one unconscious, but not to actually killing someone." His voice was grave, courtesy of the man on the floor, struggling to breathe. "But holy shit man, news flash, I'm not worthy of love. Not after them, no one wants sloppy seconds," Leadflare self-deprecated.
The two girls shared a look before Wraith turned on instinct and punched the next person who was coming at them. This was some cannon fodder who immediately was cut down and thrown into a Void portal, leaving a death box behind.
They heard the sound of four shots and a ping of a death box, and then a PA announcement. Leadflare fell to his knees and just took a deep breath. He didn't react when he killed Caustic, he didn't react when he felt his squadmates' hands on his shoulders, basically dragging him to the ship. He didn't react when they arrived back at the compound on Talos.
Right now, Leadflare was a husk. Wraith and Wattson couldn't help but worry for him. The blonde defender wanted to speak up, but the raven-haired Voidwalker stopped her. This was going to have to be a job for the elder sibling.
Ezra entered the compound and was being a better robot than Pathfinder, who congratulated him on the victory but Ezra didn't respond. Most of the Legends congratulated the trio altogether. It was even worse when the interviews came. Ezra threw on his sunglasses again and managed to get his hands on a jacket that covered most of his head and torso. Right now, he'd rather not be here. He wanted to be away from here. Not from the Apex Games, he was actually enjoying being apart of them.
He couldn't even get to Eliza, as she wasn't allowed to be in the room with him. So, anytime he would be asked a question, he would simply stare right at them until they moved on. Natalie and Renee, however, answered questions in monotone, a stark contrast for the blonde, but not for the Skirmisher. No one bothered to look Ezra's way as he solidified what he thought of it.
Just as the interview was about to end, one reporter asked, "This one is for Leadflare, what did Caustic say to you, and what did you reply? The cameras were filled and blocked because of the gas."
Ezra tensed in his seat and glared maliciously through his glasses. Then, he cast a side glance at his squadmates. They were in love with him? Was Caustic just rattling his chain? There was no way, sure he was crushing on them, but the idea of dating still scared him. Sure, he thinks he's ready, but he won't know until he takes that leap. Psh, he has a Flyer's chance in a Titan's grip with them. He snarled, "No comment." Then, he stood up and stormed back inside, absolutely done with all of this.
Renee knew that feeling all too well, having done this exact same thing a while back. Natalie wanted to go after him, but in her right mind, stayed put. The post-show ended soon after.
"Did you really have to go and do that?" Eliza asked seriously.
"How about shut the fuck up and let me brood?" Ezra snarked back. Just because she was here doesn't mean he wanted her to talk. He wanted to be in the presence of his family.
Eliza sat next to him, "So what did the mad scientist say to you, and what did you say back?" Ezra opened his mouth to retort, but she continued, "Don't give me the same shit you did those reporters. Give it to me straight, what the hell did you say?"
So, he explained, not leaving a single detail out, having known she would find out anyway. "Then, he said that they love me, made fun of Nat saying how it was beyond her."
"Well, I could have him killed," Eliza contemplated.
Ezra scoffed, "Probably be a good thing, he just infuriates me."
Eliza had most of the context now, but she could just feel that something was still missing, "What did you reply with?" Ezra froze and Eliza internally smirked, he thought he could get one over me. This was going to end badly for the younger Steele sibling.
"I told him that I wasn't worthy of love and that no one wanted sloppy seconds," Ezra whispered before crossing the room out of fear of his sister's rage.
The look he received made him feel like he was a teenager again, getting scolded, except this look was far darker than before, "Repeat that again. You said what about yourself?"
Ezra stayed silent, which was a stupid thing to do when Eliza could be… testy when she's not getting an answer.
As a result, she flicked out her switchblade and charged her younger brother. In response, Ezra had his blade out and the two siblings engaged in a silent knife fight. They constantly threw things, glared, slashed, parried, and even got cuts on their arms, all while staying silent. No one heard this altercation, no one suspected anything.
That was until the entire compound heard, "You fucking said that?! How fucking dumb are you? How could you think of yourself like that?"
Back into the room, Eliza had Ezra pinned to the floor, a fresh cut still leaking on his cheek, and her knife to his throat. "Why would you say that about yourself?"
"Because it's true."
"Bullshit! You know it is and so do I!" Eliza screamed.
Ezra glared at his sibling, trying to convince her otherwise. When she glared right back, he knew he had to say it, "You don't even know the truth of what happened."
That gave Eliza pause, before tightening her grip on her knife, the blade just barely nicking his skin, a small line of crimson forming. "What does that mean?"
"I never wanted to tell you this, nor did I ever think it would ever come to this," Ezra said, implying the current situation they were in. "You know how I said how I broke up with them because we disagreed on some things, not to mention the argument we got in?"
Eliza remembers this story vividly, having pried it out of him the last time she saw him before he disappeared. "Yeah," she said slowly, "What does that have anything to do with it?"
"That wasn't the truth," Ezra admitted.
Eliza's eyes went wide, her mouth agape, "You lied to me about it? What happened?"
"The truth is… it wasn't an argument that made me leave them. It was their actions," Ezra looked so ashamed, feelings from two years ago now creeping up on him, threatening the dam in place.
"Tell me… please," Eliza said, frightened at what he was about to say. She has a hunch and she's praying to every deity under the suns that she's wrong.
Ezra swallowed, "Th-They raped me… consistently for weeks prior to me leaving them."
Not a single person was safe now as Eliza screeched, making Ezra flinch, "They fucking WHAT?!"