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“Bandits have already been here. This place is complete with plenty of loot and death boxes.”
“Setting up shop,” Valkyrie heard over the coms. From her place in the sky, she could feel the shockwave from the thief’s market being set up. Taking one last survey of the surrounding area and seeing that none of the remaining eight squads seemed to be in the vicinity, the pilot dropped down and into the building where the holographic staff was standing.
“I hope you found something that suits you,” Loba’s alluring voice came from behind her.
“Thanks,” Valkyrie said over her shoulder after taking a few more arrows and the much needed backpack─ the pilot swore that there haven’t been many of those upon drop for the past few games and the one thing worse than not having enough space to carry enough ammo was having to spend nearly the entire game without enough space to carry enough ammo─ from the market. What left her mouth next was a little unintentional, but at the same time, expected due to her character. “Hope this is from your personal collection.”
“Lovely,” the thief mused lightly as the pilot started to walk away, “You appreciate treasure almost as much as me.”
On any other day, Valkyrie would’ve just brushed it off like normal and refocused back on the game. After all, there were quite a few squads remaining and they had to keep their guard up. But recently, she had found herself hanging onto every word Loba said, regardless of whether it was directed to her or not.
“Saw someone out there,” Bangalore said over the coms, “Stay focused.” That snapped Valkyrie back into attention and she swiftly left the building, flying to the roof to obtain high ground. Not surprisingly, Bangalore was already up there, aiming down the site with a flatline while taking partial cover behind an open supply bin. A few stray bullets whizzed past, prompting the pilot to drop from the sky to duck behind the wall nearby.
“They got their eyes on us,” Valkyrie sighed, readying her missile swarm, “I’ll blast them out of their cover. You two can handle the escapees.”
Exchanging a curt nod from Bangalore, the pilot swiftly took to the skies and let loose her missiles towards the rock where the opposing squad was taking shelter behind. Unfortunately, luck did not happen to be on her side because apparently, Wattson happened to be on theirs with her pylon. So even Bangalore’s air strike was out of the question. That pylon had to go.
But perhaps luck was on their side since the moment a member of that squad─ it happened to be Mirage─ poked their head out, they were downed immediately by one of Valkyrie’s arrows and a couple of well placed shots from the rest of her squad.
“About to make contact,” Valkyrie called down to Bangalore before diving down with her R-301 in hand. She had a few seconds to think of a course of action before she would have to face the opposing team. Who was the third member? There was Wattson and Mirage. Who had she seen with them on the dropship? It was either the MRVN or the skirmisher. Either or, it shouldn’t make this fight any different.
Both of her thoughts turned out to be wrong when a familiar gravity lift appeared in the sky, revealing Horizon as their third. Valkyrie furrowed her eyebrows in a mix of pity and confusion.
“Hold up there buddy,” she said, firing at the rising scientist, “You’re in my element now.” The pilot skillfully twisted in the air to avoid Horizon’s signature singularity before easily downing the scientist with a single clip. “Knocked another bogey over here.”
Wattson, who was occupied with Bangalore, was now in her sights (the soldier was faring unsurprisingly well against the static defender). At that moment, Valkyrie felt numerous bullets make contact with her back, effectively cracking her shields.
“Taking fire,” she scowled, dropping to the ground. It took her a second to realize that these shots were from behind her. “Alright now,” the pilot groaned, “Who invited a third party?” Taking cover behind the rock that originally covered Wattson’s group, Valkyrie immediately took out a shield battery, “Give me a second. Charging up my shields.”
It seemed that luck was not on their side because there wasn’t just a third party. Right over the hill, a fourth squad peeked over and shot right at her.
“Mayday, mayday!” the pilot called over the coms, “I’m down. There’s another squad in front of us!”
Two more squads. Why were there suddenly two more squads that literally popped up out of nowhere in a span of a minute? And why was there a squad behind them? The zone was at their backs which meant that they were probably caught up in the storm just moments before. Slowly, the pilot crawled around the rock to get out of the sights of the fourth squad that just came around, groaning at the bleeding pain that she wished to be put out of.
A burst of thick smoke suddenly pooled around Valkyrie. She held back the dire need to cough, settling to just covering her mouth and eyes to prevent them from stinging too much. Someone’s hands─ thankfully friendly ones─ pushed her onto the ground before a needle was practically forced into her chest. Through the thick smoke and her slightly hooded eyes, she could make out an intricate golden bracelet mere centimeters from her face.
“Let’s get you airborne again shall we?” Loba’s voice cleanly cut through the painful haze and loud shots buzzing around them.
“Phew,” Valkyrie sighed as the thief helped her back up, “Thanks for the pick-me-up.”
“Not at all.”
Her body felt strangely cold when Loba took a step backwards, something that the pilot found unsettling. Her heart was racing. Was it from the adrenaline of the Games or the injection just stabbed into her chest? Or was it the thief?
“Head in the sky, Valk,” the pilot shook her head, immediately using a shield battery thereafter. Just before the smoke dissipated, Valkyrie switched out her bow for a Mastiff that happened to be in the nearest death box just before another Legend unluckily slid into her crosshairs. In three seconds flat, that poor legend was replaced with a glowing purple box.
“Lock up your women and wine ‘cause I’m on a roll.”
. . .
Valkyrie let out a heavy breath as she sat on a bench of the dropship. Her head tilted to the side as she silently watched the screen showing a recap of the match. Her squad did end up being the champions and their win was a well fought out one. Didn't mean that there weren’t any funny moments sprinkled throughout the game─ the recap showed how Octane’s leg completely flew off after getting an arc stuck in it and he died to the ring. The pilot laughed to herself at that.
“Nice work, Valkyrie,” Bangalore said, laying a strong pat on her shoulder, “You were a beast out there.”
After Loba got her back into action, Valkyrie had demolished the other squads. Whatever was in that syringe just completely amped her focus and accuracy for those last chaotic moments of the Game. In the span of a few minutes, she eliminated nearly three full squads on her own on top of helping out with weeding out the others.
“You could say that I was tired of being sandwiched between all the squads,” the pilot laughed, “And we’re not in the Games anymore, sarge. Valk or Kairi is just fine.”
“Then take a break, Valk,” the soldier said good-naturedly, “You deserve it.”
The pilot watched as the soldier walked to the other side of the dropship. Well, she wasn’t exactly watching Bangalore, rather the thief who was beside her. The racing feeling in her heart returned, only confirming her thoughts. Was Loba really the reason why Kairi felt this way?
Kairi was no stranger to relationships─ her fallout with Sheila was still fresh (and she has yet to convince Rampart to change the name of her damn minigun)─ and it had been quite a while since these feelings had been stirred within her.
But Kairi didn't want to believe it.
"Where are you going?" Kairi turned her head slightly to see Loba standing there.
"Back to my apartment," the pilot said, trying to stay nonchalant, "The dropship is way too slow and that place isn't about to clean itself."
"So you're leaving through the window?"
"Do I have any other option?" Kairi shrugged as she stepped up to the window, "I'll leave you two at it. Enjoy your evening ladies." She needed a drink.
Especially since the woman of her thoughts obviously had something for someone else.
. . . . .
It has been a few weeks since that fateful game. Kairi had been grouped with Loba on numerous occasions during this time, something about their interactions on the field making Syndicate big money. The pilot couldn’t tell if this was a good or bad thing.
Kairi laid back in her chair, her legs stretched out and resting on the window sill, albeit there was a metal plate that prevented her from actually seeing the world outside. It pissed off the pilot immensely every time that she couldn’t take off the stupid plate while the dropship was moving between planets because goddammit she just wanted to see the sky and not be locked up in a box for days on end. What was the point in having a window if half the time, you couldn’t even open it?
Her thoughts were swept in a whirlwind of fleeting memories of the thief who always seemed to be running rampant in her mind. This was the reason why she hated not being in the sky─ or in this case, seeing the sky. Because if she wasn’t busy thinking about the sky or flying or staying airborne, she was stuck in this everlasting cycle of Loba . Hell, even downing bottles and bottles and bottles of sake couldn’t stop her from thinking about the thief. If anything, it just had her thinking even more about her and goddammit, she knew that from experience. She desperately needed to think of something else. And to her fortune, a new thought struck her.
Without another word, the pilot sat up and pressed the button to open the airtight seal keeping the metal panels locked over the window. To her satisfaction, the panels did recede to the side meaning that her thought was correct. They were just relocating to another location on Talos (for the new game mode apparently called the Arenas as they were informed earlier that day) and were not moving to a different planet. So the dropship system did not override the button Kairi used to open the window.
Kairi looked to the side where she could see Rampart look up from the jetpack─ Kairi somehow broke one of the emission jets just before getting on the dropship─ and through the window separating them. She knew that the modder was angry at the sudden burst of light by the glare that was thrown her way, but who was she to care? The pilot pulled up the glass and kneeled on the window seat, sticking her head out into the cold air. This wasn’t enough. She wanted to feel the air all around her. So she did just that and stepped up to the window, balancing carefully on the tiny ledge as she looked for a handhold to hoist herself up to the top of the dropship.
“Valkyrie,” Bangalore’s voice spoke from within the dropship, “What are you doing? Get back in here.”
“I said this before,” the pilot shrugged her shoulders, tilting her head slightly down to look at the soldier who was with a few other legends, “Kairi is just fine. And don’t think I can go another second locked up in a metal box when the sky is right there.”
“You can easily just slip and fall,” the soldier continued, “Just because you fly all the time doesn’t mean you can’t fall.”
“Careful there sarge,” Kairi smirked, “Sounds like you’re getting worried for me.”
Before Bangalore could get out another word, the pilot had already grabbed a handhold and carefully scaled her way up the side of the dropship. Kairi let out a relieved sigh once she reached the top. Despite her nonchalant attitude towards the prospect of falling, deep down, that was the one thing Kairi feared. No, she didn’t fear heights or flying. She wouldn’t have got Rampart to make her wings if that was the case. Falling was a completely different story. She feared for the day when something would go wrong and she would be snipped out of the sky, falling and never returning to it ever again.
Thankfully, flying was something that couldn’t go wrong. At least, not right now. If anything, it was something that wasn’t complicated in a way she couldn’t understand. A light blue sky with clouds moving past at surprisingly slow speeds. Guess Syndicate just enjoyed flying slow and low to publicize the games more─ as if they weren’t famous (Kairi wasn’t exactly complaining). And judging by the nonexistent breeze, they weren’t even moving. Just levitating above the ground. Kairi couldn’t help to scoff at that. Was this why it always took so long to get to the next destination? Hell, Kairi bet that even she could get to their destination by foot faster while wearing Loba’s heel─
The pilot let out a strong groan.
She was not a Legend─ well, she was a Legend. But she wasn't a Legend for the fans, the fame, or the money. She wasn't a Legend for the kicks and giggles. She wasn't a Legend looking to find her roots. She wasn't a Legend fighting for a noble purpose. Scratch that. She did have a purpose, one crafted from years of revenge and anger. And no matter if she was a Legend or not, she wasn't about forget about it by just spend all of her time thinking and watching─
A bright streak of light caught the pilot's eye and it was coming straight towards her. Kairi reached out her hand and easily caught the item: a bracelet, and a familiar one at that (definitely not because it belonged to a certain thief). Before she could even react, the cool metal was replaced by a warm hand and Kairi did not have the will to look up at the face to which the hand belonged.
"I believe you have something of mine," a sultry voice all but whispered in her ear, "Miss Imahara."
"I do?" Kairi questioned, matching her tone as she met Loba's eyes. The pilot lifted the hand in her grasp up to place a gentle kiss upon it, and her other free hand to lightly tap the golden bracelet already on the thief's wrist. "I believe you already have it back," she said with a light smirk before her next words started tumbling out before she could stop them, "It’s you who has something of mine, Miss Andrade."
"And what's that?"
Oh, how the pilot wanted to answer that question truthfully. She wanted to confess how the thief took up all of her time regardless if she was even around. How just the mere act of seeing her walking past made Kairi want to turn around to follow. How the memory of her hands jabbing that syringe into her chest would make her spiral out of control during a match.
“You stole the place of the sky,” Kairi said instead. Perhaps Loba would understand what she meant by that. Probably not, but there was a chance.
“Oh?” Loba questioned, her eyebrows lifting in curiosity nailing home the fact that she did not fully grasp what the pilot was saying. For a split second, Kairi marveled at how nice red eye shadow looked on the woman before realizing that she should probably be answering.
“It’s dangerous to be up here when the dropship is still moving,” Kairi hurriedly continued, completely ignoring the blatant request of an explanation regardless of the fact that the dropship was not actually moving, “You’re lucky that I caught your bracelet or you would’ve been sent flying. Ram is fixing my jets so you would be falling without a jump kit.” It was a faint look, but with how close they were, Kairi could see how those enchanting eyes softened. And the pilot had actually expected that reaction. After all, jump kit reminders were more of a Bangalore thing.
“Lucky me,” the thief said with that all too familiar smirk, all traces of whatever longing emotion gone from her expression, “You really are my knight in shining armor.”
There it was and once again, Kairi was at a loss for words. Mind blank and lips slightly ajar. She didn’t remember being so potently affected when she had said this to her the other week after Kairi revived her on the field. What about this time made it so she couldn't even breathe? Was it hitting her so hard because of how close they were? Or was it the fact that they weren’t in the “life-threatening” situation called the Games? Whatever it was, it left Kairi completely vulnerable to the mercy of the thief. And boy, did Loba use that to her advantage.
All Kairi could do was just sit there as Loba leaned down to press a soft kiss on her lips. There was nothing she could do. Her fate was sealed just like that and the thief would forever be seared into her memory. There was no backing out now no matter how bad this was going to play out.
Kairi let out a soft sigh, “That’s the kiss of life I needed.”
“Well, aren’t you a treasure,” Loba cooed, running an elegant finger down her face.
“All in a day’s work,” the pilot shrugged her shoulders as she stood up, letting go of Loba's hand. She somehow managed to tear her eyes away from the captivating beauty in front of her towards the less captivating sky, "I better get you back down with the rest of them before anyone notices that you're gone."
"They knew as soon as I left," the thief said simply, "We got eyes on us, my knight. And they're not about to close." Kairi laughed softly at that, walking to the edge of the dropship, to hide the fact that she knew exactly who Loba was talking about.
“Well, I got to get you down safely,” Kairi said, looking down at the small ledge that could barely fit one person, never mind two. The pilot dropped back down without another word before looking up while stabilizing herself against the wall, “You coming? Oh─!” Kairi reacted quickly and held out her arms to catch Loba before she could plummet right into death’s waiting embrace thousands of meters below.
“Surprised?” Loba smirked. Another soft laugh came from the pilot─ Kairi noticed that she had been doing that a lot more around the thief.
“A little annoyed actually,” Kairi said, leaning forward to be ever so close to Loba, “I know I said this before but I wish I joined the Games sooner if beautiful women would keep falling from the sky.” In one swift movement, she carried Loba into the dropship before gently helping her back onto her feet. "The captain turned off the seatbelt sign,” she turned away from the thief to close the window, “You're free to move about the dropship.”
When she plopped herself down to lean against the glass, her eyes widened slightly in surprise when she saw that Loba was still standing there. To her even greater surprise, the thief came closer to her and seated herself on the window seat right in front of the pilot. Kairi’s heart was pounding loudly in her chest and if Loba could hear it─ Kairi was near certain that she could─, she did not say anything about it.
"Problem?" Loba questioned teasingly.
"Are you not going to your space?" Kairi asked somewhat desperately, "Don't want anyone stealing your loot."
"I can't have my new treasure being stolen," the thief sighed, leaning back against Kairi's chest, "Wouldn't you agree?"
"Well─ uh." Kairi was at a loss for words.
"What's wrong Kairi?" Loba had a smirk on her face as she looked up at the silver haired pilot, "You had so much to say before. What do you want?"
She wanted to say something. Anything. But she knew she couldn't or she would risk revealing her enchantment for the thief. But that question prompted an answer, and a convincing one at that.
"What do you look like without your braids?" Kairi somehow managed to say without giving way to her deeper desires.
"Wouldn't you like to find out," Loba mused as Kairi deftly removed the ties keeping the braids intact. The older woman just laid back as the pilot ran her fingers through her hair, moving it to one side to expose a beautiful shoulder.
"Unsurprisingly," the pilot chuckled, "You look breathtaking. Especially from my view."
"So I met your expectations?"
Kairi froze. Did she really just ask that? The woman who has been running rampant in her thoughts for weeks? Loba didn't just meet her expectations, she flew by them and, as ironic and corny as it was, stole her heart and soul with no effort.
“Don’t be shy now, beautiful,” Loba laughed, reaching up to gently caress her lips, “I know there is so much more you want to say.”
“And should I tell you?” the pilot questioned teasingly to hide her uncertainty and re-establish her normal attitude, “There’s no point in me saying something that you already know.” Kairi took this returning confidence and wrapped her arms around Loba’s shoulders, silently reveling in the fact that her skin was just as soft as her hair. “I’m gonna take a page out of your book and keep my own treasure with me,” the pilot leaned down so her face was up close to the thief’s, “Hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Loba laughed.
Kairi could be smiling right then and there. Perhaps she was, taking this new turn of events in stride. After all, the woman who had been invading her every thought and action was right there in her arms, not forced and as far as she could tell, completely relaxed. Kairi was able to run her fingers through her soft tresses and hell, she even held ownership of a kiss from the thief.
But Kairi knew that this was all a ruse. She knew by the longing look Loba had sent to Bangalore just mere moments before. She knew that Loba wasn’t the kind of woman who would just give up on getting what she wanted and settle with some rebound. And Kairi knew from the quick glances Bangalore sent in their direction every few minutes that this was Loba’s plan all along. But for some reason, Kairi chose not to bring it up.
It was at that moment that Kairi knew she was living her biggest fear. Falling. Falling for a woman whose single word could become her command for life. Falling for a woman so out of her league that just being a temporary tool for her plan to incite the jealousy of another would have her fly to the moon and back just to bid her orders.
She had fallen for a woman who meant more to her the sky.
“Loba?” Kairi whispered. She received a soft hum in reply, prompting the pilot to hug her tightly. The pilot found herself bending down to rest her head on the thief’s crown. Judging by the slight tension that suddenly formed in the shoulders between her arms, Kairi knew that Loba realized there was something wrong. After all, this mere act was the most affectionate and the tightest hold that Kairi had yet to give the thief, to anyone really.
“What’s wrong, beautiful?” Loba mused, reaching up to entangle a hand in her silver hair.
Millions of thoughts raced through Kairi’s mind, none ever to be voiced. How she just wanted to tighten her hold on the alluring woman in her arms, begging her to never leave. How she wanted to erase her memories of the thief so she wouldn’t be stuck in this heavy pain weighing on her heart. How she wanted someone to point a Peacekeeper at her head and send her straight to hell.
“I want to fly again.”