Radiant Ludus - A Cryptage Fanfiction

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NOW PLAYING...

INSIDE by MOTHER MOTHER

"You are the Apex champions."

Wraith's white eyes turned back to her normal blue as they laid on Mirage as he celebrated their team's victory with one of his corny dances that the other legends would tease him for. As a smile formed upon her lips, she was nudged by the other girl on the team, Natalie Paquette, codenamed Wattson. 

"We did it!" the blonde exclaimed, before engulfing her friend in a hug. "Which means..."

Wraith's face turned red as she brushed her black hair behind her ear. Even though she was smiling, she sighed. "Yes, I guess that means I have to confess to Mirage."

"A bet is a bet!" Wattson giggled. 

"Just... not right now. Maybe tonight."

She huffed. "Renee--"

"--But it will be done. Trust me."

Wattson paused for a moment. "Alright, I believe you... Bonne chance!" 

"Thanks..."

ψ

The ship was loud as the other legends returned from being disqualified in the games with their wounds patched up and being essentially brought back to life to compete tomorrow.

"Hey, well done, brother!" Gibraltar exclaimed, wrapping his arm playfully around Mirage. "It was a close one!"

"Yeah, you, Anita, and Ramya put up quite the fight," Mirage responded in a joking manner. "Oh, er, sorry for--y'know--shooting you in the head back there."

"No harm, no foul! This is our job! I'll get you next time though!" Gibraltar laughed, walking away from the Apex champion, revealing Crypto had been standing behind him the whole time. 

"What's up, Cryppy?" spoke Mirage, putting his arms behind his head. "Here to see the champion up close in person?"

Crypto shoved his hands in his pockets before looking around and approaching Mirage in great haste. In a low tone, he spoke: "It's best not to talk here with so many people listening. This way. Seoduleuda."

Mirage, though confused, followed his friend to a room just out of view of the others. "What is all of this about?"

"It's about Renee."

All this did was make Mirage more confused. "What about her?"

"Well it seems she's done with flirting and--"

If he had been drinking, Mirage would spit it out. "Renee has been flirting with me!?"

Crypto, left speechless, could only blink in response. At the sound of her name, Wraith turned the corner to see the two talking. She and Crypto locked eyes, then he nudged Mirage farther away. But Wraith didn't leave, so he was forced to speak in a low voice. 

"What else did you think she was doing?" Crypto spoke in a hush.

"I-I don't know! I just thought she was being nice...!" Mirage responded, matching Crypto's pitch. 

Crypto sighed, restraining himself from slamming his palm against his face. "Dangsin-eun babo... Listen, during the match, a little bit before you killed me, Revenant, and Caustic--"

"--Oh, yeah, that was fun! I mean, it was hard, especially with that stupid totem, but Wattson became Kill Leader after electrocuting you! That reminds me--she says 'sorry.'" Mirage let out a soft chuckle. 

"Please, let me finish speaking." Crypto rolled his eyes. "While I was in my drone, I heard Renee and Natalie speaking while they were looting in a different building than you were."

"What is she gonna do? Kill me cause I didn't realize she was flirting with me?" laughed Mirage.

"No, but she is going to ask you out. On a date."

Mirage stopped. "What? Wait, wait, wait--Why are you telling me this?"

Crypto shrugged. "Just thought you might want to know." He flipped up the collar on his jacket, then went back to join the other legends, walking past Wraith. 

Finally, Mirage was alone. 

Wraith took this as an opportunity. After all, she wasn't hearing any voices from the void. Typically, she would hear them if she was at risk of getting hurt, but not this time. Either everything was going to end happily, or things such as relationships were not worth the other dimension Wraiths' times. With a deep breath, she went in.

"Eliott, do you have a moment?" she inquired. "I know you were just speaking with Hyeon and it seemed important so if you need a minute or two to digest the conversation, I understand."

"Uh... Nope! No, I'm available! Totally!" Mirage awkwardly crossed his arms with a nervous smile on his face as he leaned against a nearby table.

Wraith smiled as she put her hand to her lips. "That's what I've always liked about you, Eliott. You have a heart of gold even if you are a bit klutzy."

"Er... Thank... you?"

"Look, I got to tell you something." Wraith looked down, scratching the back of her neck as her face began to burn up and turn red. "I... have feelings for you." She looked back up at him, this time her eyes white. She needed to see what the other outcomes would be. 

As she looked around, waiting for the flustered and nervous Mirage to stop tripping on his words and respond to her confessions, she saw multiple versions of herself. Somewhere she was happy as he confessed his own feelings to her, others where he rejected her feelings, and even somewhere she never got a response. She returned to her regular eyesight to finally hear his response.

Mirage cleared his throat. "Look, Renee, I--" He stopped, trying to find the right words. "You are a great friend to me and I appreciate that don't get me wrong, but I-I just don't feel the same."

The smile on Wraith's face fell. "... What...?"

"I mean, I didn't even know you had been flirting with me for so long until Hyeon pointed it out to me!"

Crypto... Wraith formed a fist, turning away from Mirage for just a moment. Was it that obvious that she was interested in him? Who else knew? 

She returned her gaze at Mirage, her frustrated expression softening. "Let me guess... You and Ramya are already a thing?"

Mirage put his hands up defensively, his cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. "N-No! She's like a sister to me!"

The old Renee Hope Blasey would have responded to this with anger as she was known to do, but Wraith was going to be different. Instead, she inhaled to calm down. "I... need to be alone." With that, she walked out of the room, and the ship altogether.

Suddenly, Mirage was left alone in the room, wondering what to do next. Something like this had never happened to him before. How was he supposed to act?

When Crypto entered the room once more, he stopped, stunned to see Mirage so crestfallen. "So, I'm assuming things didn't go well?"

Mirage looked up, looking as though a million words were tumbling through his mind every second; tired in just a matter of seconds.

-end of chapter one