You get to see the start of the season, which I am hijacking the name Boosted. Getting that out of the way, I will say that I will try to incorporate some combat scenes but they might take me a bit to format. Hope you enjoy.
Also, there is a realization here. You're welcome.
...
Another night, another set of nightmares. He keeps seeing them, he keeps seeing those images that haunt his stone-cold demeanor to the very core. Renee's words came back to him, 'The longer you hide it, it will combust on you and it will hurt those you consider close. Take it from someone who knows.' Yeah, easier said than done.
Maybe he should combust, it would probably ease the burden on his chest. It's only gotten bigger and he's tried to ignore it but to no avail. He had to really focus on ignoring it for today. Today was a day, unlike any other day.
Today was the start of Season 6 of the Apex Games. Today was the day that he was going to have to be around both of his squadmates, who he may or may not have crushes on. The jury was still out on that one. Today was a day he actually was somewhat looking forward to. To prove himself, to show the world that he was more than just the 'newest Legend' on the block.
Still, that meant he had to get up and get ready. At this point, he had to get up. It was super early, but he knew that going back to sleep was not an option. Ezra had to actually get ready for the day.
Not much was changed or done once he got up. He decided to wait and shower after his workout and cutting his hair. The process was simple. He took an electric razor, set the blade to the desired length, and just chopped it off. Now, his hair was smooth with the faintest hints of curls at the top of his head. He was seriously going out of his mind. If he even has to look at single Ti- "Oh, you're up."
Ezra looked to his door, thankfully he remembered that his covering was on. It was Anita. "Surprised?"
"Not really, shooter. Today's the day that it happens to everyone. No one sleeps in on the first day of the season," the soldier said. "New hairdo though?"
Ezra shrugged, "Wanted something new, and I was thinking about it for a while, decided today was the best day for it. Plus, any loose strands will fly out when we dive."
Anita chuckled, "As long as you don't go splat. That would be pretty embarrassing."
"Maybe I will, just for comedic effect," Ezra quipped. He enjoyed getting Anita to laugh because it sounded like she didn't do it often." Both of them left the room and were chatting on the way to the common room. The match was in a few hours, so there was not a lot to do.
"You better not, otherwise, we can take it to the sparring room and I can kick your ass all over again," a voice chided from behind Ezra.
Ezra whipped around to see Renee, holding a mug, with a smug smirk on her face. "Oh?"
She casually took a sip of her drink before giving a confirmational hum, "Like the hair, by the way."
Ezra had a witty retort, but the complement blindsided him and he fought tooth and nail to keep a blush off his face. He partially succeeded. "I- uh…"
"Shit, Wraith, you stunned him speechless. Can you teach me?" Anita chortled.
Ezra's eye locked with Renee's and her smug expression got even move smug if that's even a thing. He was glaring at the Voidwalker and she took it in stride. Ezra broke contact before grumbling, "I'll show you one day."
"Heard that, Flare," Renee quipped.
"You were meant to, Ghosty," Ezra playfully retorted.
Anita was chuckling as the two squadmates bickered. Then she had a question, "Are you two always like this? It's been almost a week. Normally, you wouldn't even bother with them."
"It's fun to tease him," Renee said smoothly.
Ezra was smiling as he left the room, not bothering to retort. However, his heart was begging for a reprieve. He was almost bursting at the seams. Maybe the game will take the edge off.
Okay, he was wrong. The Games only made him have the jitters. Ezra was currently walking into dropship and they were told to go to their assigned squads. Ezra slid on his glasses and activated the contraption that resided on his left arm. This device is what filters his adrenaline and stores it. Right now, one of the syringes was being filled from the current rush he was feeling. Natalie was walking right next to him.
Correction, she was basically dragging him onto the airship. Renee was trailing behind them both, giving them a fond expression they couldn't see. Renee wonders how she fell for one of them and was questioning if it was even possible. They certainly had their moments. Even for the short time that the Voidwalker has known the Marksman, she could see the subtle ticks of his character. Whether he was happy or not. Whether he was sad or not. The other Legends were uncharacteristically quiet.
They're watching you.
Danger.
The voices warned her and she turned on the offending Legends. Her fond expression now replaced with a menacing scowl. Her eyes were telling them to move along. They all did, chuckling all the meanwhile. Natalie has also taken a liking to Ezra, and for reasons that she doesn't even know.
The defender had a semblance of what was going on with her. It happened once before. The compliments, the need to spend time with them. It was fairly obvious to her, but maybe not to Renee or Ezra. Natalie was already crushing on him almost as fast as she did with Renee. Something about Renee's whole character, how it looked like she needed a friend, made the defender's heart lurch even more.
Naturally, Natalie is a very affectionate person, and she absolutely loves to give hugs. So when Renee and Natalie got together, she was way more open with her affections. A touch here, grabbing her hand, surprise kisses on the cheek, and surprise hugs. How she wanted to just outright say it, but there was the rational fear in her mind that he may not see her the same way or that he was monogamous.
Asking him outright would be detrimental because if he didn't see her that way, she would be heartbroken. Renee would care for her. They have been looking for something in their relationship for quite a while.
Natalie's mind takes her back to just a few days ago, when she went to Renee's room after finding out about the squad assignments.
Natalie was pacing around Renee's room. She let herself in, as Renee gave her the spare key, like how Natalie gave Renee her spare key. The defender was feeling all sorts of emotions, causing her to have sensory overload. While she doesn't want to burden Renee about it, even though she helped her the first time, she just needs time to calm down and rationalize the information.
She had to tell Renee. She would feel terrible that she was starting to catch feelings for someone else while she was in a relationship already! Honesty would be the best path, because the more she would deny it, the more she wants to pursue it.
Renee walked into her room to see Natalie sitting on the skirmisher's bed, clutching her hair tightly in between her fingers. Reacting quickly, she rushed over to her girlfriend and slowly pried her fingers away. "Nat, relax."
All she heard was muffled sobs and cries. The skirmisher strained her ears to hear the words, "I'm sorry."
"Nat, talk to me. What are you saying you're sorry for?" Renee murmured into her blonde hair.
"Désolée, Doudou. I just- I-"
"Take a deep breath first, let's cuddle, then you can say what's on your mind. I will not force you, but I am worried about you," Renee said, laying them down on the bed. Renee tucked her head under Natalie's chin since the skirmisher was two inches shorter than her. Natalie responded by wrapping her arms over Renee, tugging her impossibly closer.
Minutes later, after all the possible tears were shed, Renee asked, "What's on your mind, Nat?"
Her voice was hoarse as she said, "I believe I'm falling for him, chérie."
Much to her own surprise, Renee did not stiffen or get angry. Instead, she got curious. Who could she possibly have fallen for? To add context, Renee and Natalie have tried to incorporate a third into their relationship. Most of the time, people gravitate to one or the other, but not both. That would be a dealbreaker.
When Renee did not respond, Natalie squirmed Renee out of her hold, "Chérie?"
As soon as the defender let her grip slack on the skirmisher, Renee clutched Natalie. "Oh good," she breathed, "I thought I was the only one who had a crush as well."
"With who?" Natalie immediately asked, her blue eyes shining with hope.
Renee let out a small chuckle, "Let's reveal who it is on three, ok?"
"Oui, Je suis prêt," Natalie replied.
"One."
"Deux."
"Three!" "Trois!"
"Ezra!" they shouted in unison. Both of their eyes met before they squealed in joy, not that Renee will ever admit it aloud. They found out they both liked the same person. That meant it could work, right?
Fast forward to now, and the first match of the season was almost upon them. Everyone was in the dropship, awaiting clearance to drop. However, with the Dark Sparks pair having their poly-realization, and Ezra walking on eggshells around them as is; things were going to be tense.
Full of all kinds of tension, physical, emotional, and sexual tension. Ezra had to repeat Eliza's mantra in his head in order to keep his cool. What was concerning was the fact that Ezra's adrenaline syringe was filling up fast. They thought he was going to overload it, but what he did next surprised everyone. Well, except Revenant, because he's… Revenant.
He took the one he filled previously and the one just filled and tossed them to the Skirmisher. With a flash of her hand, she caught both of them and looked to her squadmate in confusion, waiting for an explanation of why he threw them.
"You might need a pick me up if you find yourself bleeding out and need to focus for just a little longer," Ezra whispered once he sat down next to her. "Also, don't use it all at once, if at all possible. I've tested this on close friends. They've told me that my adrenaline is potent. It made them hyper, but uncharacteristically focused."
"But-"
"There are no withdrawal effects that I've witnessed. Hell, I still ask them to warn me if anything happens to them, and this was three years ago. The only side effect was exhaustion. It puts your body through the wringer," he clarified, cutting Renee off.
"Then what-"
"One's for you, one's for Wattson. The adrenaline high I was just on is over, so I won't be able to produce more until the situation calls for it," Ezra said, slipping into his Legend persona.
Renee had to switch to her professional speech patterns since he just called Natalie by her alias. "Alright, Flare. Since it is your debut, you feel like taking Jumpmaster?" Wraith offered. That was a pseudo-custom that has been around since… always if Wraith had to hazard a guess. They allowed the newbie to take the first jump on their debut to bring the spotlight to them.
"Is this some sort of tradition?" Leadflare asked, shuffling nervously.
It was at this time that Wattson showed up on Leadflare's other side, humming a calm upbeat tune. "Are you ready, mes amis?"
Wraith smiled fondly at Wattson, while Leadflare shrugged. "Would you believe me if I said no?" Leadflare asked.
Wattson's baby blue eyes warped to concern, making the male Legend's heart lurch. "Est-ce que ça va aller?"
"Oui, j'irai bien, mon cher Wattson," Leadflare replied instinctively, attempting to be soothing so she doesn't have to worry about her pretty little heart. He immediately flinched as he realized what he just said. He looked straight ahead, not noticing the defender's fierce blush. Nor did he notice Wraith's eyebrows raise in surprise. Nevertheless, there was also a blush dusting the Voidwalker's cheeks.
Awkward silence reigned in the dropship as it flew to World's Edge. The Squad consisting of Leadflare, Wraith, and Wattson were all sitting shoulder to shoulder, but their hands were on their own legs. Even Leadflare had thought about getting up to relax, considering the fact his adrenaline was already a quarter full.
"Attention Legends. We are now arriving at World's Edge. Welcome to Season 6: Boosted!" the PA system said as the seats were lowered to hang outside the ship. Now was the time to wonder if he really belonged here.
Leadflare was the Jumpmaster and while he did win three of his matches, he barely did. His mind was recalling the fistfight he had on his final match. He barely won that, and he barely won his other matches, so now he had something to prove and this was no better place to do it. He still knew that he was here by the skin of his teeth if he was being honest. That and his internal walls were coming down because of these two. It drives him nuts but everything was in order.
He did a mental checklist of everything, his jumpkit? Check. His beau- squadmates? Check. Nerves? Check. Mask? Triple check. Glasses? Super Check.
The angle of the dropship started over Geyser and ended over Skyhook and Bloodhound's Trials. Thankfully, the one place he liked to loot was Survey Camp, and it was just out of the way from the main attraction, East and West Fragments. Ezra watched about half of the dropship jump at the beginning and another quarter jump at Fragment. Just as it was hovering over East Fragment, Leadflare pinged Survey Camp and held up three fingers. When his fist closed, he jumped.
No matter how many times he does this, the free fall gets his blood pumping. The cameras in the arena got a focus on his squad. That, and he saw one of the big screens. Wraith was doing flips and showing off. Wattson was spreading the cheer and even Leadflare cracked a smile before turning around and giving a wave. He flipped around and prepared to land. His jumpkit kicked in before he picked a building on the northern side. Wattson and Wraith took the lower buildings.
Landing, and stumbling, Leadflare went into a combat roll, playing it off. However, the uneven ground caused his ankle to catch and pull. He grimaced at the pain but shook it off. Thankfully, the syringe in his arm was a third full, it would be enough, but only for a short time.
He opened up a supply bin and out came a Treasure Pack. Raising an eyebrow, he leaned down and opened it, finding a level three extended energy mag. Looking back to the bin, he found a Volt SMG. Hmmm, odd, Leadflare thought to himself. Grabbing the Volt and ammo, he applied the magazine to the Energy gun. Along with the gun, Leadflare grabbed a level one body shield and two syringes. Moving on to the next crates, Leadflare found various healing supplies and a RE-45. Now, all he needs is one more, then he'll be okay, probably.
Wraith and Wattson each were kitted out before Leadflare found them. They each had level two body shields and an R-301 for each of them. He didn't see their secondaries but it didn't matter. Wattson pinged energy ammo for Leadflare, "Thank you, Wattson," he said in monotone. He cringed internally as he sounded so ungrateful. It didn't help that he involuntarily twitched at his own wording. "Apologies, that came out much more-"
Wattson beamed at him, "Not to worry, mon ami, the Games do tend to put people in another state of being entirely."
"Get down!" Wraith shouted as a sniper round whizzed by the three of them.
Leadflare, on instinct, tackled Wattson to the ground, one hand cradling her head, and one under her back. Once they were behind cover and on the ground, he reached for the RE that he dropped. Wraith had peaked over her cover and fired a stream of bullets and was satisfied that she heard armor crack.
Climbing off of Wattson, Leadflare pulled up his Volt and looked for the next unsuspecting foe. Another shot but it hit Wraith, shattering her shield. "Do either one of you have a grenade?"
"Oui, j'ai deux thermite," Wattson replied. Ducking down back into cover, Leadflare held a hand out.
"I'll replace it, promise," he said as one of the grenades was placed in his hand. Using his glasses, he activated an algorithm that would determine the perfect throw. His eyes were the point of interest and the targeting systems. He visualized the area and his glasses gave him the perfect angle and let it fly.
As soon as the grenade was thrown, his hand was shot, shattering his armor, and he couldn't feel his hand as a result. Biting down on his tongue, he was satisfied that he heard three armor cracks and a down. "Push up," he ordered.
Wraith phased, the cold enveloping her once more. The Void was familiar to her, but the resulting pinpricks on her skin made her grateful that she did not have to stay in the void forever. The Voidwalker that Renee met two years ago reminded her, 'Trust just your eyes and you'll lose.' She heard the voices push her forward.
All of them are weak.
Go left, around the rock, one's recharging their shields.
You should tell him how you feel.
Ignoring the last voice, she pushed up wrapping around the left side of their cover and let loose her 301, gunning down the remaining squadmates. Two kills were on Wraith, and one on Leadflare. Wattson and Leadflare made it up to Wraith's position to loot.
One of the death boxes was purple, which Wraith scooped up the purple body shield that lied within. Leadflare had to not move his hand while he searched for anything to stop his hand from pulsing. It was bad enough he couldn't feel it, but he wasn't about to let out his pain.
Wattson noticed Leadflare's hand was limp at his side, so she pulled out a syringe and walked over to her teammate. She touched his shoulder to announce her presence. He tensed before moving out of the way, hissing in pain. "Mon ami, let me help you."
Leadflare's eyes were wild under his glasses. The natural adrenaline from the fight was fading and now the pain was replacing it. "S-Sorry… just irrelevant memories coming up and this isn't helping," he gestured to his hand.
"Let her help you before the ring closes, LF," Wraith said, keeping watch.
Wattson approached the marksman before gently cradling his hand and putting the syringe right on his wrist. The regeneration feeling immediately eased the pain in his wrist. Looking down, he was surprised that the round did not dismember his hand. It honestly should have blown his hand off at that range.
Leadflare returned to the here and now as he subtly shook his head. He had not expected the gentleness that Wattson showed to his injury. As soon as she was done, she smiled at him, but her smile soon turned to a frown, "Leadfl-... Ezra? Are you crying?"
Shit.
