Once again, Crypto found himself thinking about how much he preferred the feel of solid concrete or manufactured flooring beneath his feet.
Camping, hiking, quality time with nature- those things weren't for him. He'd been content to stay in his apartment most of the time, using his computer as a connection to the outside world. When he did need to go outside, he was used to seeing tall buildings and busy streets.
That life had been taken away too soon. Now, he walked across a field of sand and rocks that felt endless. The sand shifted around his feet as he moved, which threw off his balance and made his legs feel tired quickly. He'd thought that the arena would be easier to cross once they passed through the woods- wishful thinking, it seemed.
The heaviness of his limbs as they moved was matched by the thoughts that weighed on his mind. Studying replay footage of the Games failed to capture the detail of how it really felt to participate in them- how loud gunfire really was, the simultaneously slippery and sticky sensation of blood coating his skin, or the fact that intestines squirmed when a living person's abdominal wall was torn open. They didn't simply... flop out, as he'd imagined- they squirmed.
And they smelled awful. He didn't think he'd get the sight or smell out of his head any time soon, unless someone decided to kill him so that his memory would be restored from backup.
Violent nature of the Games aside, he found himself replaying what Bloodhound and Revenant had said about the impact that the corporation had had on them. He'd figured that Bloodhound entered the Games out of some primitive sense of honor and duty, and the simulacrum simply enjoyed killing.
Well- whatever history Revenant had with the corporation, he did get a kick out of senseless murder. He wasn't about to get any sympathy from the hacker. It had never occurred to Crypto, though, that his fellow competitors might have been targeted by the corporation in some way, as he was.
"This way," said Bloodhound, bringing his attention back to the present moment.
The two of them made their way up the ramp of a steel framework, worn and rusted in appearance. Beneath the surface damage, the structure was sturdy. It was just inside the safe zone, offered a large piece of sheet metal welded across steel beams for cover, and provided a convenient vantage point. They would be secure holding this position for the time being.
Crypto pulled out his mini-computer and checked Revenant's position. According to the map, the assassin was right next to them. The programmer's shoulders tensed as he looked around in confusion, and saw no sign of the mechanical being.
Bloodhound tapped him once on the shoulder, and briefly pointed upward. Sure enough, Revenant was standing at the very top of a vertical steel beam which also housed a long-forgotten and partially destroyed antenna array. He was sorting ammunition, loading bullets into spare magazines that he could swap out quickly in combat.
Crypto moved away, so as not to be directly below the simulacrum. He backed into a corner next to some industrial shipping crates and activated the neural link to his drone. As the device's data stream fed information into his brain, he found himself thinking about how it would feel to have his own human thoughts interrupted and manipulated by some sort of computer virus.
It wasn't something he'd been afraid of for some time now. The programmer was confident in his skills, and certain that he'd made it impossible for another user to upload anything undesirable to his drone.
Maybe this time, he'd learn how to access whatever facility was beneath the arena. Hopefully there'd be computers there, linked to the corporation's network, which he could use to find the whereabouts of Mila. That's what Crypto was wishing for as he piloted the drone outside the Ring, back the way they'd come to see the aftermath of the fight they'd won.
The technicians, protected from the Ring by the wire-mesh suits that they wore, were removing the body of the prospect whose chance at becoming a Legend had come to a sudden and violent end. Crypto hoped that his death had at least been over with quickly, though the hacker doubted that Revenant would grant even such a small kindness.
The drone had reached the limit of its signal range. At that distance, it took an immense amount of concentration to maintain steady control of its movements. The feed of visual and auditory data was disrupted by static- bouncing around in Crypto's brain, interrupting his own thoughts.
He signalled the drone to return to his position and disengaged from the neural link. Revenant's words were on his mind: "...someone else's memories invading your consciousness, cutting through your own thoughts with razor-edged static…"
If the corporation found him - if they had their way - would that be in Crypto's future, too?
Bloodhound had been tracking Crypto's drone through the scope of their sniper rifle, curious what the hacker was so interested in beyond the Ring. The distance over which they could see using a scope wasn't nearly as great as what the drone covered, but they were just able to discern the silvery figure of the technician in the distance.
It didn't surprise them- each time the competitors arrived at an arena, it appeared as though it had never been used. There were no bullet holes, no bloodstains, no shards of wood or metal from damaged buildings. Someone had to be keeping up with that demanding maintenance.
They did wonder, however, why Crypto was so interested in the… for lack of a better term, custodial staff.
"There's something I don't understand," the hacker said abruptly.
"Why would you need cybernetics? They can create new tissue, organs- a whole new body…"
"The corporation rebuilds my fallen body this way to ensure that I can never turn against them," Bloodhound answered. "I need access to replacement parts, should mine fail or become obsolete. That keeps me dependent on them."
They were interrupted by the terrified shrieking of an animal above them. Revenant had gotten his metal claws on one of the lizards that populated the arena. In the absence of anything more useful to do, the assassin was digging his pointed fingers into its belly just a little too hard, twisting one of its forelegs bit by bit.
"Let it go," Bloodhound commanded. "It is a life, and as such, it deserves to be treated with respect."
Ah, humans and their asinine belief that organic life - any life, for that matter - was sacred. Revenant had thought that a group of humans who'd been returned from death to newly printed bodies might know better. It appeared that he'd overestimated them.
"Heh. I'll humor you, skinbag."
He tossed the lizard at Crypto.
It dug its claws into the back of the hacker's neck before he could react and slap the animal to the ground.
"Aah! Byeongsin saekki!" Crypto glared up at Revenant, hands clenched into fists. "What is wrong with you?!"
Bloodhound picked up the lizard as it scampered away and looked it over. It didn't appear that the simulacrum had caused any lasting damage. They set the reptile gently on the ground and watched it take off into the distance.
"Thank you for showing compassion to this creature."
Revenant responded with a dismissive grunt. "You're pathetic."
"What was that about?" asked Crypto. He rubbed the back of his neck where the lizard had scratched him. "You're not an idiot. You must know that he doesn't deserve your respect."
"The Allfather saw fit to bless a machine with free will," Bloodhound answered. "I do not understand the wisdom of such- but it is not for me to question. Revenant may use that free will to act without honor, and with my own, I choose not to retaliate in kind."
Revenant dropped down from the antenna array and landed silently on the platform below. Though Crypto had seen it plenty of times, it never ceased to unsettle him how a large, heavy robot could move without making a sound- particularly when said robot was designed and programmed for the taking of human life.
"I'm done waiting around with you, skin-suits," the assassin grumbled. "I'm gonna go find something to kill."
He brushed past Crypto without acknowledging the hacker's presence. Once clear of the metal structure, he took off at a run, moving through the open with an overt disregard for caution.
"Do you think we should follow him?"
Bloodhound turned slightly toward the programmer, shaking their head in answer.
"Negative. We will move with the Ring as it closes. This will give us a tactical advantage in our next fight."
Come in with the Ring, ensure that no flanker could take up a position behind you. Made sense to Crypto. He nodded once, firmly.
The pair waited in silence. The light breeze rattled some loosened bolts around the metal frame. A large, buzzing insect flew by, and a lizard scampered after it. Somewhere in the distance, a flyer screeched. Both competitors hoped that it would keep its distance from them.
Once in a while, there was a rustle of fabric as one of them or the other pulled out their mini-computer to check the Ring countdown, or Revenant's ever-distant position.
Eventually, Crypto spoke.
"You've been… dealing with the corporation for some time. Do you know where they would keep a hostage?"
Bloodhound tilted their head, regarding Crypto with curiosity. "Why do you ask? Is that what you were searching for outside of the Ring- a hostage?"
"Hmmm."
Crypto made a sound in his throat that was not a definitive answer.
"Have you ever thought about…?"
Have you ever thought about taking control of your life back from the corporation?
How would you do it? Where would you start?
The words caught before he could say them out loud. He realized that the situation was not as simple for Bloodhound as it was for himself. He would find Mila, and have enough money saved from his endeavors in the Apex Games for the two of them to get on a transport to another galaxy. They would have a life far from the control of the IMC, the influence of the Syndicate, or the destruction brought about by Hammond Robotics and their experiments.
It wasn't as simple, the hacker realized, for Bloodhound. The corporate network could fall tomorrow, releasing control of Talos back to its inhabitants. After their involvement with the technology used in the Apex Games, though, Bloodhound wouldn't be welcome. They would have nowhere to go.
Their tribe - their family - would be safe from the selfish and destructive will of the corporation, but would never accept them.
"Ten seconds until the Ring moves."
Bloodhound dropped from the platform to the sandy ground below. They darted from rock to rock, spending as little time in the open as possible. Where there were no rocks large enough to use for cover, they crouched low and used trees or ditches to make themself less noticeable.
Crypto did his best to follow the hunter's lead. Though he was in excellent shape, he wasn't nearly as graceful in his movements as he crossed the rugged terrain.
Bloodhound paused around the back of a small wooden structure. They pulled out their mini-computer and looked at the map, taking note of surrounding high grounds and vantage points from which an enemy team might catch them off guard.
"The corporation," Crypto said, behind the hunter. "They, uh…"
He let his words trail off. Bloodhound had proven to be a good teammate, an excellent leader- even an enemy of the corporation. Still, Crypto found it difficult to be certain that he could trust anyone. More than that, he found it hard to talk about what had happened. The words brought unpleasant thoughts and feelings to the foreground of his mind.
Bloodhound stowed their mini-computer and turned to face the hacker. They reached out, and let one hand rest gently on Crypto's shoulder.
"If there is something you wish to tell me, you'd best do it now. Once this match ends, we will not remember what occurred within the arena."
Oh… Ssi-bal. Crypto hadn't even thought of that- too many other things on his mind.
"We could win," he said.
"Yes, we may- and it wouldn't matter," answered Bloodhound. "The corporation would end us on the field of battle after our victory, so that they may bring us back by their vondur ways."
Crypto stared at them in startled silence.
"You have won in this arena once before," the hunter continued. "Do you remember it?"
He shook his head. After the weeks he'd spent in the Games, he really should feel more comfortable with death- and killing. He'd experienced both in the arena. Somehow, the idea of being killed by someone from the corporation - not a fellow competitor - felt detached from the norm that the hacker had come to expect of the Apex Games. The thought of sent chills up his spine.
The persistent hum and crackle of the Ring reminded them not to linger. Bloodhound kept pressing forward. Crypto fought his way across the uneven ground to keep up.
"They took my sister," the hacker said finally.
Bloodhound stopped and turned to look at him.
"I was a programmer for the corporation. I found- uh, something I shouldn't have… and, eum- they came to my apartment. Assassins, sent by the Syndicate. Kidnapped her, tried to kill me."
He inhaled slowly, and let out a shaky breath.
"I ran. Been hiding out in the Games since. They won't think to look for me here."
Bloodhound laid a hand on the hacker's shoulder once again; a brief, silent acknowledgment before the Ring forced them to keep moving.
Revenant's voice came over the commlink- a low tone, devoid of its usual harshness.
"I remember."
Bloodhound and Crypto exchanged glances. The assassin continued:
"Every match, every death- when they upload my mind to a new body, I remember all of the details."
Had either of the others known that, they might have been more hesitant to share their personal history. Crypto frowned. Had he been stupid and failed to realize-?
The more he thought about it, though, the more new questions it raised. Revenant was a machine, which naturally made his consciousness easier to upload and download than a human mind. That didn't make him immune, though, to processor damage. To remember what had happened after his syncording was taken, the simulacrum's memory would have to be uploaded somewhere else in real-time, stored off-site. If that were the case, why would he need to carry a syncording like the rest of them…?
Well. Revenant knew his history now, and there was nothing the hacker could do to take it back. At least I can be certain that he won't use it to help the corporation- he hates them as much as I do, if not more...
"You know the arena better than any of us, then. They have some kind of… facility beneath us, I'm certain of it- do you have any idea how I would access it?"
The commlink remained silent.
"Revenant?"
Static crackled for a moment.
"I'll have to get back to you on that, skinbag."
A gunshot sounded with an eerie echo as the noise carried both across the arena and over the commlink. It was followed by the sound of flesh tearing, and a piercing scream.