Apex : Predators

Part 1 : Arrival

     Another season of the Apex Games had come to an end and the Legends would now find themselves with a couple of months of down time. They would be able to spend the days as they saw fit, pursuing whatever activities they found most indulging. In the past, many of the Legends had spent some time together socially. Mirage throwing countless parties, and Octane, Lifeline and Gibraltar also inviting many of the others along for the occasional social event or celebration to mark a season's end.

     Bloodhound however, had never joined in on any of the gatherings, speaking very rarely to the other Legends outside of the battlefield. So it came to the others as a bit of a shock when they found themselves invited along for what the tracker referred to as a "Great Hunt", a trip that would span the course of a week on a large game preserve, all expenses paid for by the mysterious Legend. They had all felt a slight sense of honor upon receiving their invitations, realizing that the hunter must certainly respect them as skilled fighters, possibly even friends.

     Not every Legend had been asked to partake in the hunt. Caustic was among the first of the un-invited. Bloodhound had fought alongside the man in several matches before, but felt he possessed a seemingly sinister mindset, and was not a trustworthy person. Despite him being a skilled killer, Bloodhound did not think that Caustic had a shred of honor in his body, and had no intentions of bringing him along for the hunt.

     Pathfinder would also find themselves among those that weren't invited. The soul-less machine found no favor with Blood, despite being a rather successful partner in several matches of the Apex Games. To Bloodhound, the robot was nothing more than a weapon - no life residing within the empty husk that was Pathfinder's metallic chassis.

     Revenant would be the final Legend to find themselves lacking an invitation. The being had just joined the games this past season and Bloodhound had only fought alongside them in one match. But in that short time, Bloodhound had learned that they wanted nothing to do with Revenant, whatever it was. A machine-like being, Bloodhound still sensed a soul within it - a dark soul at that. Perhaps it was something even more evil. A demon? Regardless, the hunter had no intention of spending anymore time with the thing than they were forced to.

     Of course, not every Legend that was invited would be attending the hunt, either. Lifeline and Gibraltar, while both being asked along, had declined Bloodhound's invitation. In truth, Lifeline had no interest in partaking in the hunting of local wildlife. And while Gibraltar would have happily gone along, he and Ajay had already made plans to volunteer at a local hospital on Solace during their spare time.

     Wattson was the only other Legend who had been invited and would not be attending, claiming that she was far too busy working on a number of new inventions to attend, but sincerely thanking the hunter for her invitation with a hand-written letter.

     That would leave Wraith, Mirage, Octane, Crypto and Bangalore - all of them agreeing to join Bloodhound on the trip. Bloodhound had stressed in their invitation that every kill must be respectful, and that all of the creatures they slaughtered would be offerings to the Allfather. While the other Legends agreed with little care about the terms, Octane had become a bit upset over the conditions, hoping to stream the hunt for his fans and being disappointed when Bloodhound forbade the request. While none of the others shared Bloodhound's beliefs and therefore weren't taking the hunt too seriously, they did respect Bloodhound as a fighter and ally in the games. They also assumed that the trip would be an interesting, if not fun, experience.

     

     Mirage was the first to arrive at Bloodhound's cabin. It was a medium sized wooden structure, built in the snowy hills of Talos and not too far away from the World's Edge arena. The car had followed a long stone road branching off of a major highway, weaving for what felt like several miles throughout the countryside until coming upon the isolated lodge. The surrounding area consisted of small patches of grass that poked through the thin layers of snow, dotted with pine trees and boulders, providing plenty of privacy for the hunter's home.