//------------------------------// // Chapter I: Bamboozle Me This // Story: Mirage and the Quest for the Bamboozle Gem // by MegaCartmanX //------------------------------// It was another great evening on the planet Talos. The sun was beginning to settle down over the horizon and with it bringing the fall of night. Everyone was going through the Apex Games base, settling down after the recent events that had just taken place. The Legends had just finished a brutal, high action ranked match in World's Edge and were now taking the rest of the day to relax and ready up for their next match. Located in the cafeteria, some of the Legends were filling themselves with the necessary nourishments. Mirage was sitting at a small table eating a delicious, freshly smoked pork chop, enjoying a taste that had always reminded him of his childhood. Mirage was a master with all things bamboozles. He could make decoys and turn himself invisible with the help of his special suit. Sitting with him around said table was Lifeline the combat medic, Pathfinder the exploration robot, and Gibraltar, the one they called the "shielded fortress." Each of them were eating something different to fill their appetite - except for Pathfinder, of course, because he is a robot. "Awe man, I do love me some pork chops." Mirage said, taking another bite of the tender meat, careless of where the barbeque sauce was ending up on his face. The others turned to him and laughed. "I swe-ah, ya always say dat whenev-ah ya eat a pork chop." Lifeline said, shaking her head as she stared at the man with a raised brow. "I knew ya liked fool'n others. I didn't know ya were play'n da fool." "Hey, come on! Don't be hating on my tastes!" Mirage shouted on defense for his succulent dish. "Ok, maybe I talk more than I chew. But I mean what I say, these things are perfe- perf- perga-... they're good." Mirage shook his head in defeat, resting his head against his arm and letting out a sigh. "It's okay, friend. I'm sure that if I had taste buds, I'd find pork chops just as enjoyable to eat as you do." Pathfinder said with his always joyous tone. "Thanks, robot. Means a lot." Mirage looked over at Gibraltar, who couldn't have been any less aware of the conversation going around the table as he dug into his burrito. "You have any say in this, Gibby?" Gibraltar held his finger up to Mirage as he finished his bite before speaking. "Bruddah, I think you are allowed to eat whatever ya like. But Lifeline's right, ya sometimes repeat yourself like a broken record." "Ok, I'll tone it back next time." Mirage said, giving the others a simple nod. From that point until they were finished the small group of legends were in silence, keeping to themselves as they cleaned their plates. Just before Mirage could finish his last bite, Rampart snuck up from behind Mirage's back and shook him intensely, scaring the bamboozler and forcing out a sudden yell. Everyone nearby laughed at Mirage's reaction. Rampart was in hysterics. She expected something like the reaction she got out of Mirage, but never could she have seen it coming with this amount of energy. "Haha! Mirage, you are such a baby." Rampart was the Outland's top weapons expert, and always loved a good laugh… even if it wasn't the most appropriate time to do so. "Baby? Me? No, you got it all wrong, you are the baby." Mirage said in defense while trying to catch his breath. "What do you want from me?" "I want you to meet me in my shop in about half an hour. I got a special… job for you. If you're looking to gain some extra dough, I'm sure I can make it worth your time." said Rampart. "A special job?" Mirage inquired. "Uh… sure, why not? I mean, you should be honored to ask the likes of me for help." Rampart raised her brow and scowled at the bearded man. "B-B-But yeah, I'll swing by your place in thirty minutes." "Heh, dope. Don't be late, Witt." Rampart said before leaving the cafeteria. Once Rampart left, Mirage laid back in his chair and wondered what exactly got her in such an eager mood. He pondered on the subject, thinking back on any of their past discussions and hoping that in doing so he would at least get some hints, but nothing seemed to click. Realizing that the time spent thinking over the subject was pointless, Mirage finished the last of his pork chop before getting up, throwing away his plate and making his way down to Rampart's shop. On his way there, Mirage accidentally bumped into Wraith, who was in the middle of reading a book. When they collided, the book flew out of Wraith's hands and towards the ground. But before it could hit the ground, Mirage flicked his hand over and grabbed the book with speed so fast that it surprised both him and Wraith. With a small chuckle, Mirage stood up and handed the book back to Wraith. "I bet you didn't see that one coming." He said with a snarky tone. "No, not this time." Wraith replied admittedly. "Nice moves." She took the nook from Mirage and quickly checked for any scratches, to which she found none. "I didn't know you were an avid reader." said Mirage, pointing at the book. "Oh, yeah." Wraith said, tossing the book around between her hands. "I don't enjoy reading. This one is about phase technology. I hope that by reading this I could find out more about my past." "Ah, that makes sense." Mirage shook his head in understanding. "I don't get it, though. Those voices tell you everything you don't know… except anything regarding your past." Mirage looked at Wraith with a look of genuine concern. "Why do you think that is?" "I… I do not know." said Wraith. "Maybe I am also trying to find answers in most other universes. Maybe… maybe I'll never truly know." "Well, don't give up. Doesn't do anyone any good stopping yourself from pursuing something you've worked so hard for." said Mirage. "I know. I haven't given up. Not this time." Wraith replied, placing the book under her arm. "Anyway, where are you off to?" "Rampart said that she had some sort of… job or something for me to do." answered Mirage. "Job? What kind?" Wraith inquired. "I don't know. The only thing she's told me so far is that she would pay me a lot of money if I can go through with it." said Mirage. "She seemed almost happy to tell me." "Really? Well, I hope things work out for both of you." Wraith said, nodding her head. "Yeah, thanks." Mirage tried to come up with a good way to end the conversation, but his mind went blank, forcing him to stand there and look like a fool. Wraith began to feel awkward, so she just waved goodbye before walking past him and towards her room. "Ugh, why can't I just be normal." Mirage said to himself, continuing towards Rampart's destination. Once Mirage made it to the shop, he knocked on the door before entering. "Rampart, you wanted to see me?" said Mirage. "Ah, Elliot. Just the man I wanted to talk to." Rampart came rolling out from under a construction table, covered in sweat and oil from her current task. She stood to her feet and cleaned herself off with a rag. She looked up at her clock and gave off a quick laugh. "You are quite early. I told you to come here thirty minutes after we last talked." "I know, but it's better to be here early than late. Or something like that…" Mirage said, rolling his eyes in self-disappointment. "It's 'better late than never,' but yours' works too." Rampart said, shaking her head. "But I'm not gonna make you wait. Let's talk business." Rampart sat down on a nearby stool and pointed to another one close by for Mirage to sit in before she discussed her job with him. Mirage nodded and sat down on the other stool, wondering what she had planned for him. "So, you chose me to do a… how did you put it? 'Special job,' was it?" said Mirage. "Witt, I need you to do something very important to me." Rampart said, smiling with a pleased grin. "Ok… I need a bit more information to go off of if you want me to help you." Mirage said, shrugging his shoulders as he spoke. "Hold your tongue, Witt. I'm getting there." Rampart cleared her throat before getting into the details of the job. "I have recently created what I would consider my best work yet. It is a new type of weapon hop-up that can create an infinite amount of decoy ammunition. With it equipped, you could fire standard rounds, or fake ones, the latter of which could be able to be seen and heard as live rounds, throwing off the enemy and possibly sending them into a spot they wouldn't normally want to be in." "Decoy ammunition hop-up?" Mirage said with peaked interest. "You know I like anything with the word decoy in it." "I knew you would, which is why I need you to help me." said Rampart. "What do you need from me?" Mirage asked. "These hop-ups, while cool in concept, are not easy for me to make. In order for me to create one, I need a small piece of a special material known as the Bamboozle Gem." Rampart lifted a piece of paper to Mirage's face which showed him the image of the gem in question. "Ah, you mean like the same material my suit is made out of! Ok, well where can I find this gem you're talking about?" Mirage inquired, intrigued by the natural shape and design of the material. "Considering the fact that you use it to create more of you, which by the way is the most annoying and uncalled for thing in the world, I'd imagine that you of all people would know that answer." Rampart said with a laugh. "Yeah, I know. Unfortunately I only get them from the Syndicate when I send in a report regarding necessary repairs. Where they get them is beyond me." Mirage suddenly had a strange thought appear in his head. " Now that you mention it, they haven't sent me any of those materials to me in quite some time." "Well, we used to have pretty easy access to it a couple of years ago through the planet Cronus, which was abundant with Bamboozle Gems scattered all around the mines. But recently the syndicate has banned any and all foreign trade with Cronus and it's people, which includes the Bamboozle Gems." "Dang, that's not a very wise thing for the syndicate to do. How am I supposed to fix my suit now? Think of all the money they are missing out on!" Mirage said, shaking his head. "However, I think you are giving me this job because you have another way to retrieve the gems." "Right you are, Witt." said Rampart. "There is one other location that holds the gems I need in order to make these new hop ups, and luckily you know just where it is." "Ok, where is this place?" asked Mirage. "Dimension X45-D9A." Rampart said. "Oh, yeah I remember that place…" Mirage smiled and nodded, for a moment or two before realizing he had no clue what those coordinates entailed. "Uh, where is that exactly?" "Equestria, dummy." Mirage's face went pale very quickly. "You remember that much, don't you?" asked Rampart. "Ugh, yeah I know that. It's just…" Mirage went silent. "But what?" Rampart wondered why Mirage was being so weird about the situation. "It's just that I don't exactly know how to get there by myself. Wraith and Wattson did that last time. I don't mess around with computers and coding and what not. Heck, that's what got us in that mess in the first place." Mirage said, waving his hands around as he spoke. "Not to mention the fact that I am not exactly liked there. They probably forgot about me." "Please. Forgetting you is like forgetting you're hungry everyday." Rampart said, laughing to herself. "But hey, if you insist on not going then I guess the job can go to someone else." "Wait, hey!" Mirage stood to his feet. "I am not giving up just yet. I can do this. I just have to, you know… improvise." "And how do you expect to do that?" Rampart asked. "I… I don't know. But I do know that things shouldn't be that hard. I can figure something out, promise." Mirage said with a bit of a pleading tone. "Ok, Witt. The job will stay up for grabs until you come back to me. If you bring me that gem, you will be paid. If not, the job is going to someone else. Got it?" Rampart held out her hand to Mirage. "Deal." The two legends shook hands and the deal was set. With that, Rampart walked Mirage to the exit and shut the door behind him. "Alright. Just got to get to Equestria and retrieve the Bamboozle Gem. Shouldn't be that hard, right?" Mirage rolled his eyes and laughed to himself, but as he thought harder and more thoroughly on the situation, he realized that things would in fact prove to be more difficult than it needed to be for him to complete his job. It was by this point he understood the true difficulty of the task at hand. "I am in so much trouble."