Artificial

The Maze: Phase 3

Operator Apex

The door into our sector unseals, signaling the Recruits' entrance. I look over at Riot.
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah. Remember—non-lethal only."
The Recruits turn the corner and freeze.
Riot steps forward.
"C'mon, Recruits! It's a really simple challenge. Take us down, the door opens, you can leave. But, we're not going down without a fight."
A few desperate Recruits charge forward, and Riot bashes them aside with his shield. They fly into the wall and slump on top of each other in a tangled heap. More move in, trying to overwhelm us. One jumps on Riot's back, but I quickly remove him, throw him onto the floor, and incapacitate him with a palm strike to the face. A few Recruits turn their attention to me.
"Go, Apex!"
I look up to see Velox sitting atop the wall, cheering me on.
"If I hadn't met Evo first, it would've been you!"
What's she going on about?
Receiving chatter from Boost. Vel was looking for encouraging things to say, and, since she sees herself as alpha female, she thought the best compliment she could give you would be that she would've pursued you had she not met Evo first. It also seems she's trying to make Evo jealous.
Hmm. Let's run with this. They're looking for a show. Let's not disappoint, Ronin.
Understood.
Engage Hunter mode.
Hunter mode engaged.
I engage my cloak, disappearing into thin air. I shift behind two Recruits and slam their helmets together, and they drop like stones. My cloak deactivates, and I waste no time switching targets. I take the last Recruit off balance with a well-placed kick and finish him off by spinning around and driving my heel into the back of his helmet, perfectly emulating Velox's signature finishing move. He goes down and doesn't get up. I stand and point to Velox.
"That was for you, Vel!"
She responds with an outrageously exaggerated swoon, actually falling over. Luckily, Casey swoops in and catches her, much to Evo's chagrin.
All of a sudden everyone's flirting with Vel, and there's nothing he can do about it.
This is hilarious.
I spin around and kick another Recruit in the face. There is no more time for theatrics. The horde is massing. Riot and I fight our hardest, taking out dozens of Recruits, but we can't keep track of all of them. A bell rings behind us. One of the Recruits managed to scale the closed door and ring the finishing bell. I turn to Riot.
"Fall back! Seal the door!"
He nods, and sends a wave of Recruits flying with a flick of his shield. I alone am left to fight off the Recruits.
There's fifty-one left. Halfway there.
Yeah, but I don't think I can take them all solo.
I'll help however I can. Increasing motion tracker resolution.
Thanks, Ronin.
The Recruits begin their mad, desperate rush, but stop short when boots thud onto the floor behind them.
Vel has jumped down from the wall. She cracks her neck and her knuckles, stretches her shoulders and back, then jumps up and down a few times.
"Alright, Apex. I've got your back."

She charges forward into the crowd, and I follow her example, delivering blows as fluidly as possible as I advance. We meet in the center, and I drop low for a sweep kick as Vel flies over my head and kicks the Recruit behind me in the chest. We return to our feet back to back, and stay that way, switching positions only to protect each other. Soon, it seems less like hand-to-hand combat and more like dancing.
I've got an idea. Ronin, tell Boost I'm gonna dip Vel at the end of this fight. It'll drive Evo crazy.
Understood. Relaying now.
The crowd continues thinning, and the moment grows closer. Finally, two Recruits remain. They look at each other, shrug, then charge forward, yelling. I sprint ahead, taking one off balance and taking the other to the floor. I slam my target's head into the floor, knocking him unconscious. I look back and watch Vel deliver her signature spinning kick, leaping into the air and driving her heel into the back of her target's helmet. She lands with her back to me and begins to lean backward, eventually falling. I rise to my feet and catch her in my arms, finishing the exercise like a dramatic dance routine. Suddenly, I feel Vel's hands wrap around the back of my neck. She pulls herself up and ever so lightly taps her facemask against mine.
Oh.
That was...unexpected. I think that might've been too far.
"I've had enough!"
Evo jumps down from the wall, landing with a heavy thud in his exoskeleton.
Yeah... definitely too far.
"Velox, you jealous bitch! Will you fucking stop and grow the hell up?"
"I don't know, will you stop flexing for any little flirt who asks nicely?"
"Oh my fucking god, Vel! For the last time, Eight-Seven was interested in the SynthFibr, not the man using it! She's a nerd!"
"Well, maybe Apex is just interested in my armor, and I thought the best way for him to learn was to let him feel it for himself."
Don't.
What?
I'm in your brain, I know what you're about to do. Don't. Don't say or do anything. You've already gotten much more involved than you should have.
You're probably right. But somebody needs to intervene.