Phantoms of the Borderlands
It's been some time since CJ and his friends discovered the new changes to their world as a result of the N-Sphere. Things have been fairly peaceful in the new world, and the gang is slowly adjusting to their new lives. However, soon they are going to undergo yet another change that they will have to adjust to... As this new journey brings them new friends, new enemies, new powers...
And to a whole new planet...
CHAPTER ONE: Welcome to the Borderlands
"So, you want to hear another story... One where Pandora is no longer plagued by Bandits, deadly creatures and the troubles of the Vaults?
Well, too bad, that's not what this is about.
Pandora... Our home. But this is no planet of peace, love and tranquility. As I already said, this is a planet plagued by beasts, and a planet home to one of many Vaults. My father used to tell me legends about the Vaults, ancient alien prisons opened with a mystical key...
Ancient alien technology, weapons caches, money, wealth, power unimaginable. And of course, other children were raised on these tales. So it's no surprise that these children grew up and began to travel to Pandora, seeking these Vaults.
But to the warriors who opened the first Vault, it was nothing but a mess of tentacles and disappointment. They vanished into the Borderlands, sure that the Vault contained nothing of value. But they were wrong. For the opening of the Vault triggered the growth of Eridium, a priceless alien element.
Soon, it appeared all over Pandora, attracting treasure seekers from far and wide. But it also attracted the attention of the Hyperion Corporation.
They came to Pandora to mine Eridium, and bring order to the savage planet. Through their excavations, Hyperion uncovered evidence of an even greater Vault. Their leader, a man named Handsome Jack, vowed to find it - to use its power to civilize the Borderlands once and for all.
But Hyperion weren't the only ones searching for the next Vault's alien power. The call of danger and loot is not so easily resisted. Certain warriors came to Pandora in droves to uncover its hidden secrets. Some would call them adventurers. Others call them fools. But I... call them Vault Hunters.
Handsome Jack stopped at nothing to find the Vault, using the power of a mystical girl... a Siren, to forcibly charge the Vault Key using Eridium. The Siren was known to the Vault Hunters as the "Guardian Angel", but to Handsome Jack, she was only Angel... His daughter.
In time, the Vault Hunters found Angel and, at her request, broke her free of her forced connection to Eridium. She knew that because her life was now dependent on Eridium that she would not survive her freedom, but she did not care. She wanted her father's plans to stop.
The Vault Hunters were eventually able to stop Handsome Jack, but not before he opened the Vault and awoke the Warrior, an ancient alien creature with the power to destroy the entire planet of Pandora. But the Vault Hunters were able to slay the Warrior, kill Handsome Jack, and secure the Vault Key. But as one of the Vault Hunters, a Siren named Lilith, prepared to destroy the Vault Key, they were shown the existence of a number of Vaults, scattered all across the universe.
Our tales begins with one of those Vaults, the Vault Hunters of Pandora, and a new group of Vault Hunters, thrown onto Pandora by a strange twist of fate..."
"And we've saved the world yet again." A group of young adults were walking through a large park next to a busy set of streets in a downtown area.
"Though I kinda wish we weren't saving the world for real... I kinda wish it was still only a video game thing, just like all the other times." Said a young black man with umber brown skin and a shaved head who was about 22 years old.
Dayan as "The Frost Marine"
"Are you saying this isn't amazing?" Said a girl around 22 years old and had blonde hair, blue eyes and glasses. "I mean come on, look at this!" She smiled as she formed a small orb of water within her hands seemingly out of nowhere. "And we're Pokemon trainers!"
Stacey as "The Siren"
"I certainly can't complain." Said another girl. She had hazel eyes and reddish-brown hair. "Check this out!" She moved her hand in a fluid motion in front of her, creating a small breeze that blew past the group, catching some leaves along the way.
Aubrey as "The Tamer"
"I don't know... I mean, this is cool, but... things haven't exactly been perfect since we got our powers." Said a third girl, who was only around 17 years old, and had emerald eyes, and golden blonde hair that was tied into a ponytail with bangs that fell in a sideways crescent shape.
Shaylene as "The Laser Specialist"
"I just wish Gundams were a legit thing..." Said a second black male with cinnamon-colored skin. He was around the same age as Dayan and Stacey, and he had short curly black hair. "I want my own mech suit."
Alex as "The Geomancer"
"You would want your own mech suit, Alex." Said the last person. He was the oldest of the group at 26 years old, and considered himself the leader, especially considering he was somewhat responsible for everything that had happened to him and his friends over the past year and a half... or at least he felt that way.
CJ as "The Infiltrator"
"So... what now?" Stacey asked.
"I guess we go back to life as usual... or at least whatever is as "usual" as our life is now..." CJ said.
"So... protecting the general population from monsters and magical beings masquerading as normal humans?" Dayan asked.
"Pretty much." CJ said.
"Well... I'm gonna go out and try to find some Pokemon." Dayan said. "Or trainers. I'm itching to do some battling with Typhlosion. Anyone else feel like joining?"
"Sure, I'm up for whatever." Alex said.
"Not me." Stacey said. "I'm wiped out. I'm gonna go home and rest."
"And I want to head home and monitor any creature activity in the area." CJ said.
"Okay, we'll catch you later." Dayan, Aubrey and Alex walked away.
"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Stacey asked.
"I don't see why not." CJ said.
"Okay." Stacey said with a smile. "Love you."
"Love you too." CJ said. The two kissed briefly and Stacey walked away toward a silver SUV parked on the side of a nearby road. CJ began walking away from the park toward a set of stoplights and brick building with a large clock tower.
"Hey CJ, can I come over for a while?" Shaylene asked, running over to CJ.
"Yeah, sure." CJ said. "Any particular reason why?"
"Do I need a reason?" Shaylene asked.
"No, I was just curious." CJ said.
Later that evening...
CJ and Shaylene were sitting on his bed. He had his laptop next to him, watching a live stream of one of the local news stations.
"This just in... Geologists around the globe have been reporting discoveries of strange purple rock formations. According to the USGS, the rocks seems to give off an unusual glow, and they suspect that it could be a new radioactive element. There have also been reports of geologists from the dig sites where these rocks were discovered having strange reactions, ranging from suspected radiation poisoning to what can only be described as super-human abilities." The news anchor said.
"That's weird." CJ said.
"Tell me that doesn't scream 'Connection to the N-Sphere'." Shaylene said. "Super human abilities?" Her hand then began to give off an ethereal golden glow before the light quickly vanished. "Sounds like exactly what happened to us."
"Wait a minute..." CJ said, walking over to a small safe in the corner of his room. He pulled out a small hunk of purple rock, which gave off a faint purple glow. "I wonder if that has any connection to this rock I found."
"Dude! Weren't you listening?! That thing could be radioactive! What are you doing?!" Shaylene exclaimed.
"Are you forgetting what happened the last time we were exposed to radiation?" CJ asked, as he gathered an orb of purple energy in his hand.
"How do you know this will react the same way?" Shaylene questioned.
"I don't." CJ said.
"So you're just gonna pick it up?" Shaylene asked.
"Well, I already did in order to bring it home and put it in my safe, so... yeah." CJ said.
"Maybe we should go down to the Woolworth Building." Shaylene said.
"In the morning." CJ said. "But yeah, good idea."
The next day, CJ, Shaylene, Stacey, Alex, Dayan and Aubrey were gathered outside of an abandoned building on the corner of an intersection near a bridge. A sign on the corner of the building read "Location... Location... Location..."
"So, I'm assuming you guys saw the news yesterday?" CJ asked.
"About the radioactive rocks and the people with super powers?" Dayan questioned.
"Yes." CJ said, holding up the hunk of purple rock.
"Dude! Why are you holding that if it might be radioactive?!" Alex asked.
"I've already picked it up twice, and I already have superhuman abilities." CJ said. "Whatever. But I believe it may be connected to the N-Sphere."
"So that's why you called us here?" Stacey asked.
"I thought maybe we could find some kind of clue here in the Woolworth Building." CJ said.
"I guess it's worth a shot." Dayan said. CJ led the group around back through an alleyway, where they were able to sneak into the building through a loose board covering an open doorway.
Once inside, the group began to look around the building.
"Look for anything that might be a clue about the radioactive rocks." CJ said.
"Hey guys, check this out." Alex said, pointing to a tall purple monolith marked with glowing white swirling lines and designs.
"What is it?" Dayan wondered, as Alex reached out to touch it.. "Damnit man! Don't just start screwing with it! You have no idea what that thing is!"
As if to respond to Dayan, the monolith began to glow.
"See what you did, Alex?!" Dayan said. The glow got stronger, beginning to envelop Alex. One by one, everyone began to glow white and vanish... First Alex, then Dayan, then Aubrey, then Stacey, then Shaylene and finally CJ.
A few moments later, the six friends found themselves standing in a sandy, barren, almost desert-like area.
"Ow my head..." Stacey moaned.
"That was trippy." Dayan said.
"What did you do, Alex?!" Aubrey questioned.
"Where... where are we?" Shaylene wondered.
"..." CJ was silent for a moment. "Oh god!" He ran over behind a nearby rock and vomited.
"Are you okay?" Shaylene asked, as CJ walked back over to the group.
"Yeah..." CJ said. "Something about... whatever the hell just happened made me sick to my stomach. It felt like I was hurled across a ridiculous distance at several hundred miles an hour."
"Somebody want to explain where I got these tattoos from?" Stacey asked, referencing strange blue markings on her left arm. CJ began to examine their surroundings. The area was a barren, arid desert-like area, with all kinds of large rock formations and strange dome-shaped buildings. Running above the city was what looked like a highway, and it led to a tall tower. Scattered around the wasteland were pools of purple goo.
"Son... of... a... bitch." CJ said. "Alex..."
"What?" Alex asked.
"Look around. This place look familiar?" CJ asked.
Alex scanned his surroundings and became wide-eyed.
"This looks like Fyrestone." Alex said.
"I think it is." CJ said. "I think that monolith you touched may have been an Eridian monolith, like the one in Stanton's Liver in The Pre-Sequel. I think we're somehow on Pandora."
"Not my fault! Better that people with powers find this than people without powers! Not my fault! I just saved a bunch of peoples' lives!" Alex exclaimed.
"I wonder if we have any new powers now that we're here..." Shaylene said.
"Wait... Do these tattoos mean... I'm a Siren?" Stacey asked.
"I think you might be." CJ said.
"Maybe any powers we have are based around our Sage powers." Dayan said. "Which makes me wonder what this is." He was holding a small cube-like object in his hand.
"Back up and throw it to the ground." Alex said. "I think I know what it is."
Dayan backed away from everyone and threw the cube on the ground. They all watched as the cube exploded open and transformed into a turret complete with an energy shield. It then fired a couple of energy blasts into the distance, which coated some of the rocks in ice.
"It's like Roland's Scorpio Turret and Axton's Sabre Turret." CJ said. "But it deals Cryo damage, it seems."
"An ice turret?" Alex asked. "That's cool. Maybe our powers are based on our Sage abilities. Hm... Let's try something." Alex focused for a moment, making some hand gestures as he focused on some rocks nearby. Everyone watched as the rocks broke apart and formed together with some metal in the area, forming two golems, one of stone and one of metal. The metal one stood in front of Alex in a defensive position, while the stone one ran around the area in search of enemies.
"That's cool." CJ said. "Kinda like Wilhelm's Wolf and Saint, but golems instead of drones. Got a name?"
"Nah, I'll come up with something eventually." Alex said.
"I think I'll call mine the Loki Turret." Dayan said.
"Why?" Aubrey asked.
"Because Loki was a Frost Giant." Dayan said.
"Not bad." CJ said.
"I wonder what my power is..." Stacey said. She held her hand out in front of her and focused. Everyone watched as a wave of energy rushed out of her. "All the Siren abilities start with 'Phase' right?"
"The ones we know, yes." CJ said. "Phaselock, Phaseshift, Phasewalk."
"Phasewave." Stacey said. "That's what I'm gonna call it."
Aubrey looked down and saw a whip attached to her waist.
"I have a whip." She said. "Someone want to explain this shit?"
"Nisha's melee attack in the Pre-Sequel was a whip..." CJ said. "Some kind of Lawbringer ability, maybe?"
"I guess we'll find out eventually?" Aubrey said.
"Maybe." CJ said. "Shay, let's see what kind of powers you got."
"Well, I've got this thing." Shaylene said, holding up a box similar to the one that Dayan had.
"Another turret?" Alex questioned.
"Let's find out." CJ said. "Toss it down, Shay." Shaylene threw the cube to the ground and everyone watched as it turned into a yellow and black turret. It quickly fired a small laser burst before collapsing back into a cube and vanishing. A white light then gathered at Shaylene's waist, forming a belt with the turret cube attached to it.
"That was cool." Alex said.
"Neat, a laser turret." CJ said.
"I'm not gonna give it a special name. It's just a laser turret." Shaylene said. CJ chuckled.
"All right, let's see what I've got." He said. He focused for a moment and suddenly went invisible.
"Whoa!" Shaylene gasped.
"Dude! You're invisible!" Dayan exclaimed. CJ focused again and became visible.
"So, I've got assassin type skills similar to Zer0." CJ said.
"So... what do we do now?" Dayan asked.
"We find a way home, I guess." CJ said. "...Somehow."
"Can't we just use the rock thing that brought us here?" Stacey asked.
"I don't think it'll be that easy." CJ said. "I think us ending up here was a fluke... Thank you Alex."
"Hey, I already said we have powers! It's better that we're here instead of people without powers!"
"The transport gave us more powers." CJ said. "What's to say that it wouldn't have done that to anyone else it transported?"
"Fine. Better us than people with families." Alex said.
"What do you mean 'people with families'?" CJ questioned.
"Dayan and Danielle are pretty much each others' only families... I'm fine with or without mine, I don't care either way." Alex said.
"What about Dayan's little brother Reggie?" CJ questioned. "What about Stacey's mom and Janelle? And have you forgot that one of the people now stuck on Pandora with us is a 17-YEAR-OLD GIRL?! One who's been through all kinds of hell in the past few months and has now been thrown onto some giant space rock of death without her family, who have been her support pillar through being nearly RAPED by a classmate?!"
"A 17-year-old with powers!" Alex exclaimed.
"She's a CHILD!" CJ roared.
"Guys! Stop fighting!" Shaylene cried out. She looked at CJ. "I'm fine, as long as I'm with you guys. CJ, you and everyone else are just as much of my family as Mom, Dad, Jennette and Steven."
"Sorry... I guess I'm just... kinda freaked out over all this. And worried about you." CJ said.
"I know." Shaylene said. "But I'll be fine as long as you guys are with me."
"Ok, Mr Borderlands..." Dayan said. "How do you propose we get off this planet?"
"That's a difficult question." CJ said. "I guess the first thing to do would be get somewhere safe."
"This place isn't safe?" Dayan asked.
"Assuming we've been thrown into post-Borderlands 2 Pandora, the town of Fyrestone has been abandoned for at least 5 years, at least 6 if we're in post-Tales from the Borderlands Pandora." CJ said. "We'll need to find a way to the city of Sanctuary. It's easily the safest place on Pandora."
"If this is post-Borderlands 2 Pandora, then how are we supposed to get to a floating city in the sky?" Alex asked.
"Well... I guess we can try using the Fast Travel Station." CJ said, walking over to a strange machine. It was a small pillar-like machine with a single lens at the top, an antenna and a small number pad with a couple of buttons, and it was known as a Fast Travel Station. It was how the residents of Pandora were able to quickly travel across the planet. He pressed a couple of buttons and waited for the station to activate. "Or not... It looks like Sanctuary's not programmed into the Fast Travel Network." He then noticed a number at the top of the Fast Travel Station, along with the words "Arid Badlands – Fyrestone". He quickly made a mental note of the number.
"So... we're stuck here?" Aubrey asked.
"Well... stuck on Pandora, anyway." CJ said. "As for Sanctuary... If we could get to the Highlands, we might be able to get to Sanctuary from there."
"What makes you say that?" Alex said.
"That's where Sanctuary reappeared in Borderlands 2." CJ said. "It's also home to Overlook, which is where the Vault Hunters were able to re-establish the Fast Travel link with Sanctuary."
"Are you thinking we could do the same?" Alex asked.
"It's a possibility." CJ said.
"The Highlands are a bit of a long way away." Alex said.
"It's a long way anywhere." CJ said.
"What about those car thingys?" Stacey asked.
"The Catch-A-Ride Station?" CJ responded.
"Yeah, that thing." Stacey replied.
"Actually, yeah. We should be able to get there in a pair of Bandit Technicals." CJ said.
"We can't take just one?" Shaylene asked.
"Yeah, a driver, a passenger, a gunner, and three people in the back." Alex said. "We should be able to manage it."
"Worth a shot, I guess." CJ said. "But it's a walk to the nearest Catch-A-Ride. We're gonna have to hoof it to the Arid Boneyard."
"Well then, let's get going." Alex said.
"Hey, what's that over there?" Shaylene asked, pointing to a red treasure chest not too far from where they were standing.
"Loot!" Stacey said excitedly. The gang ran over to the red chest and found several blood-soaked, ripped apart human bodies scattered around it, as well as the bodies of weird four-legged creatures, lying in semi-dried pools of blood. They were somewhat dog-like in appearance, but had heavy spiked plating on their backs, some plating on their heads, sharp hook-like claws, and three-jawed mouths.
"Whoa... what happened to them?" Dayan asked, noticing the human bodies.
"Skags." CJ said, referencing the four-legged creatures. CJ looked down at one of the humans and found a small box-shaped device with buttons labeled with symbols for "play", "stop" and "skip", as well as a compass and a screen that took up the majority of the top half of the device. He bent down and picked it up.
"Dude. Ew. Dead guy." Dayan said.
"Looting is the norm on this planet, be it from chests or dead bodies." CJ said. He held up the box. "This... Is an ECHO Device, or ECHO for short. These are the primary method of communication on Pandora. Think of it like a smartphone, only better." He scanned the other bodies. "And conveniently enough, there's five more. One for each of you. Trust me, you want these. They'll come in very handy."
"Eh, whatever." Alex said, grabbing an ECHO.
"Still kinda gross." Dayan said, picking up an ECHO as well.
"Sweet! Loot!" Stacey said, probably trying to hide her disgust from taking stuff from a dead guy.
"Kinda gross, kinda cool." Aubrey said.
"Woot! I'm a Vault Hunter!" Shaylene cheered.
"Calm down, kiddo. We're not here to hunt Vaults. We're just trying to find a way home." CJ said. He then kicked open the chest. Inside was a revolver, an assault rifle, a SMG, and a strange futuristic-looking gun with something like a wire coil at the tip of the barrel. "Of course, something to defend ourselves with wouldn't hurt." He handed the assault rifle to Dayan, the SMG to Stacey, the strange-looking gun to Shaylene and held on to the revolver.
"Whoa, this is cool." Stacey said, examining her new gun. It was striped orange near the tip of the barrel, blue across most of the barrel, trigger and handle, a small bit of white at the back, and the stock was black. Above the trigger was a round drum where the ammo went, and parts of the drum gave off a neon green glow.
"That is a Maliwan Caustic Venom SMG." CJ said.
"Caustic? Like as in acid?" Stacey asked.
"Yup." CJ said.
"What about this thing?" Dayan asked, holding up his assault rifle. It was a basic looking assault rifle, nothing too special, though it had a sniper-like scope and was decked out with an autumn-colored camo: spots of yellow, orange, black and white.
"A Dahl Scout Defender Assault Rifle." CJ said. "Automatic when firing from the hip, burst fire while aiming down the sights. A pretty basic gun, but it gets the job done."
"And mine?" Shaylene asked, holding up her gun. It was square-ish in shape, with a grayish barrel, small orange stripe down the center of the gun, followed by a large blue strip, and then a dark gray stock. At the back of the barrel, in the center of the gun, was a battery-like piece that gave off a blue glow.
"A Maliwan Ionizing Polaris Beam Laser weapon." CJ said. "It looks like it's a Shock Elemental weapon too. Great for draining shields fast."
"Aw, why does she get a laser?" Stacey whined.
"I chose based on what our skills seem to be." CJ said. "Shay's got a laser turret, so it seemed to make sense to give her the laser weapon. As a Siren, Maliwan weaponry is right up your alley. Dayan's skills seem comparable to Roland and Axton, the military soldier like classes, so the assault rifle made sense. As for me..."
"A Jakobs revolver?" Alex asked.
"Duh." CJ said. "A Jakobs Ornery Revolver. Because I like Jakobs weaponry. And because I have a skill set similar to Zer0, who I always viewed as a pistol and sniper class character."
"What about us?" Aubrey asked.
"If we keep hunting around the Arid, I'm sure we can find something." CJ said. He and the others continued to walk around through the town of Fyrestone, opening various boxes, crates and the occasional locker.
"What's that over there?" Dayan asked, pointing to a open hut containing a pair of tipped over vending machines. One was maroon in color and had a picture of a revolver that had legs in heels and fishnets attached to it, and a price tag attached to the trigger. Written across the upper part of the machine in yellow lettering was "GUN$". The other machine was green, had the words "Ammo Dump" across the center and was covered with a picture of a bullet wearing combat boots and juggling grenades.
"A Gun and Ammo Vendor." CJ said. "We may be able to find something, assuming they still work."
"Wait... Vending machines for guns?" Aubrey asked. "How does that work?"
"You'll see." CJ said. He walked over to the vending machine, pulled out some money he had found and slipped it in. "Let's see... Oh! This one looks good!" He pressed a couple of buttons and everyone watched as light particles came together in a small compartment at the bottom of the vending machine to form an assault rifle. It was red-and-silver with a minigun-like barrel. The handle, trigger and chamber were covered in a black-and-white checkered pattern.
"Whoa... That was cool." Dayan said. "Did it just build the gun in front of us?"
"Digistruct technology." CJ said. "Digital construction. It's kinda the thing on Pandora. Now, about the gun... This is a Torgue Rhythmic Spitter assault rifle. I feel like this one's right up your alley, Alex." CJ handed the gun to Alex and then turned his attention back to the vending machine.
"With no idea what kind of skills this planet has given you, I'm not really sure what kind of weapon to get for you, Aubrey." CJ said. Aubrey walked over to the vending machine and watched as CJ scanned through the available selections via a holographic menu.
"That looks cool." Aubrey said, pointing to one weapon in particular.
"Ok, let's go for it." CJ said. He put some money in the vending machine and it soon began digistructing a blue and black camo SMG. Various lights and displays on the gun lit up with a purple light. Aubrey grabbed the gun, aimed it out over the wasteland, and fired off a few bursts, the bullets giving off a purple haze as they flew out of the barrel.
"Is that Slag?" Alex asked.
"It is." CJ said. "It's a Dahl Deft Jackal SMG. With a Maliwan Slag elemental barrel. Slag's a handy little element type. If you coat an enemy in slag, it will take extra damage. In fact, it's the same purple goo that you see scattered around the wastes. It's runoff from the refinement of Eridium, a precious alien element discovered on Pandora after the opening of the first Vault. It's also a source of power for some Sirens. Eridium, I mean. Not Slag. Slag's not a power source for much of anything. It's basically sewage... Actually, maybe it's more comparable to nuclear waste. Whatever. Let's get going. We've got a long way to go." He held his revolver down near his ECHO, which was now attached to his waist, and it was engulfed in a white light before breaking down into light particles and being absorbed into the ECHO.
"Dude, your revolver just disappeared." Dayan said.
"I know." CJ said. "ECHOs aren't just communication devices. They also double as maps and storage units. Like I said, they come in handy. Watch." He tapped the screen on his ECHO and a touch screen-like holographic display appeared in front of him, displaying a map of the area as well as a small inventory screen. He tapped the map, tapped the location of the Fast Travel Station and scribbled down the number written on it, saving it on his ECHO's map. He then turned his attention to the inventory screen. On the inventory screen was an image of his revolver. He tapped the image of the revolver and the revolver was then digistructed in a holster on his waist.
"That's pretty cool." Aubrey said, as everyone followed suit and watched their weapons vanish into their ECHOs. It was then that a loud screech was heard. Everyone looked up and saw a flock of winged creatures flying toward them. The creatures had soft, snouted heads with a small armor-like plate on top, and a several foot wingspan with wings that resembled a pterodactyl.
"What the heck are those?" Dayan asked.
"Rakk." CJ said, readying his pistol. As the Rakk flew toward them, he fired off six rounds, killing three of the creatures. "Damn. That could've gone better. Everyone watch out!" Everyone dove to the ground as the remaining Rakk dive bombed the group. As they dove down, Dayan and Shaylene both deployed their turrets, which focused on two of the remaining Rakk. The two quickly dropped as Alex sniped another one with his Torgue rifle, causing the Rakk to explode into several pieces. Stacey began firing her SMG as the last two dove toward the group. One was coated in acid and burned as it dropped to the ground, screeching as it died.
"Time to see what this thing can do!" Aubrey said, grabbing her whip. As the Rakk got close, she struck it with her whip. It flapped its wings in place for several moments, dazed by the hit. At the moment of impact, everyone felt a gentle breeze pass by. Once the Rakk regained its senses, it continued to hover in place, flapping its wings to stay in the air.
"Why isn't it doing anything?" Alex asked.
"No idea." CJ said. A roar was then heard, and everyone turned to see one of the same creatures that they found dead earlier where they found their ECHOs. "Now we've gotta deal with Skags too?" The Rakk let out a loud screech and then flew up into the air before quickly dive bombing the Skag, slicing it open with its sharp claws, but not before the Skag was able to slash at the Rakk as well. The Skag dropped dead as the Rakk flew directly into a nearby pool of Slag.
"What just happened?" Shaylene asked.
"I think Aubrey's whip might allow her to tame wildlife..." CJ said.
"No, I mean what just happened with those Rakk suddenly trying to kill us?" Shaylene asked.
"Welcome to Pandora, kiddo." CJ said.