Right, this is something of a teaser for my second brainchild for FsN xovers and the one I want to write most. I do not own Borderlands, Fate Stay Night, or Bioshock. I do not make any profit from this story.
"Welcome to Pandora Kiddo's!" Talking
'What? This is a terrible idea!' Thinking
It wasn't every day a major bounty walked into town with nothing but the coat on their back for protection. Life was decidedly short for those foolish enough to try and pull that off too often on Pandora. Individuals with small bounties were fairly safe, but when Arthur Pendragon aka 'Dragonborn' with a four-billion bounty on his blonde head walks into town everyone notices regardless of their state of dress.
The fact that Arthur's loyal dog's red coat was trying to swallow the much smaller individual didn't do anything to hide their identity. Bare legs and small feet flashed from time to time through the opening of the coat that dragged several inches of its length in the dirt as Arthur marched decisively towards one of the dilapidated buildings along the main street.
Three-eye silently followed the blonde-haired, green-eyed individual buried in a red coat with his gaze until they reached the 'Liquor Vault' and its flickering sign. As Arthur nodded to himself and slipped into the building Three-eyes grabbed a walky-talky off the table next to him on the roof.
"Three-eyes here. We got a payday." He rasped after depressing a large button on the side.
"What did you dig up?" the mike crackled back shortly after.
"Dragonborn. No sign of that dog Archer either."
"Well aint that just a shame for poor Arthur. All alone out here without his big bad puppy to protect 'im. I'll get the rest of the boys, make sure he don't leave the bar."
"Will do boss." Dry lips peeled back to showcase teeth filed to points as Three-eyes rose to his feet.
"Wake up slugs!" Three-eye hissed, the Walky-talky making a short arc through the air before impacting on the chest of the first of his four charges.
"Uh? Me no sleep Three." The hulking brute muttered, scratching grimy fingers against the metal helmet that covered his head.
"Shut up Eeak! Grab your ladies boys, we got a date with the collectors today!"
Besides the eight and a half foot tall Eeak the rest of the squad were fairly normal individuals as far as normality on Pandora went. Each dressed in whatever fatigues or cast-offs they could find, all of it filthy or even rotting apart at the seams. The only articles of clothing they wore that were in decent shape were the belt after belt of munitions that wrapped over their ragged clothing.
The guns in their hands showed none of the neglect that the rest of their person's did. Well oiled and gleaming in the afternoon sun the weapons could have passed as purchases made earlier in the day.
"Ok, here's the plan. Eeak?"
"Eh?"
"Your gonna wait outside, if we light the place up I want you to come in right through the wall. You got that?"
"Sure boss. If guns go off go through the wall. I won' forget." The dull grey metal helmet bobbed comically on top the steroid-abusers massive shoulders while under Three-eye's hard glare.
"That's right you won't, or I'll take the helmet off." Three-eye threatened.
"N-no need boss! I won' forget, guns means go through the wall. See?" the Goliath sagged in relief as Three-eye released him from the death-stare.
"The rest of us are gonna go have a quick drink. Sound good boys?" a ragged cheer from the last three men brought another sharp-toothed grin from their leader.
Turning back to the Liquor Vault Three-eye dropped from the roof onto an awning, the weak construct giving beneath his weight and only marginally slowing his descent to the street. The rest were quick to follow, the dull thump of Eeak hitting the ground after the rest and tripping up another of the squad for a second the only delay.
Kicking in the swinging door Three-eye let his eyes wander over the few customers seated at the establishment, spotting his quarry near a half-destroyed phone-booth against the far wall, before swaggering further inside. His squad, minus Eeak, spreading out like a foul odor through the establishment behind him.
"Yes I still have your coat. How it survived when my echo device didn't is still a mystery…" Arthur's quiet voice carried through the still air, receiver jammed against the side of his head.
"No, I still have yet to get it fully under control…" A hand ran through dirty, shoulder-length blonde hair.
"I'm incline to believe you are the exception to the rule and not the average…" Arthur sighed in an exasperated manner.
"Shirou… I need you to hurry, I have company. Liquor Vault, you have five minutes and I'm already counting." The receiver dropped back onto its stand with a click as Arthur made his way to the bar.
Shaking himself from his moment of curiosity Three-eye followed, dropping into the seat next to Arthur.
"Water, with salt, please." The blonde requested, voice calm.
"I'm running a bar here kid, not a freaking bubbler." The bar-tender gripped casually, eyes flickering from the two patrons seated before him to the three bandits circling through his bar and back.
"I am currently without means to transfer funds good sir. When my colleague arrives shortly I will be more than happy to take several glasses off your top shelf in gratitude." Small hands folded over each other on the bar top as green eyes pinned the owner, daring him to refute the claim.
"Better give him one now Bar-keep." Three-eye interrupted. "I'll even let you finish it before we haul you out of here Pendragon."
"If you want to see tomorrow you'll forget you saw me at all, much less try to take me somewhere. Bandit." Arthur replied coldly, frosty green orbs switching targets to Three-eyes. The bar-tender was quick to place a half-full glass of dirty water in front of the blonde, then dump half a salt-shaker into it, before slipping below the bar-top and out of the line of fire.
"Awww it aint like that Arthur, can I call you Arthur?" the bandit chuckled, "See your daddy is paying big money to get you home, and what kind of man would I be if I didn't help get a poor lost lamb back to the safety of its pen?"
"I suspect you'll find me much less a lamb then you expect." Arthur sneered, one hand waving as if to dismiss the notion entirely.
"Ho-ho, little bite to this one boys." Three-eye snickered, before pulling a heavy revolver from it's holster on his hip and leveling the barrel at Arthur's temple. "No guns, no gear, and worst of all no Archer. I think you're overestimating yourself kid."
"I suppose you wouldn't be willing to lend me a firearm in the name of sportsmanship?" the blonde mused. Grabbing the glass Arthur downed the contents before twisting to face Three-eye, the later keeping the pistol aimed center-mass on the blondes head.
"Well I suppose that makes this a fair fight then." Delicate features split into a fierce grin as Arthur shoved his head forward, causing the barrel of the pistol to slip up over the top of his head before Three-eye could pull the trigger.
The boom of the revolver split the air and masked Three-eyes exhale as a tiny fist slammed into his diaphragm with far more force than he ever expected from the five-foot pixie before him. The second hand latching onto the base of his grip on the pistol and keeping the dangerous end of the weapon pointed into the air.
"Shoot *cough* shoot this punk!" The captured bandit leader snarled to his subordinates, right before Arthur pulled him up as a human shield.
One of the men, quicker on the trigger then the other two, managed to get a pair of rounds off from his submachine gun before his brain caught back up and stopped him from putting more rounds into a cursing Three-eye.
Caught off-guard by the sudden impact of two bullets on his shield Three-eye loosened his grip on his pistol and Arthur was quick to relieve him of it. Weapon secured the blonde kicked Three-eye into a table and dove the left, several gunshots trailing his progress from the three bandits still standing. A quick kick knocked a table over and gave Arthur a degree of cover from the bandits suppressive fire.
"ME SMASH!" Eeak roared as his massive bulk exploded through a wall, twin Assault rifles already chattering as they came up to bear on the occupants of the invaded building.
One of the bandits cursed as finger-thick splinters slammed against his shield and friendly-fire forced him to roll into the open. As he came to his feet Arthur pulled the trigger on his hijacked pistol three times. The first round ripped apart the bandits weakened shield, the second and third knocking the man onto his back as they ripped through his chest.
"He's only got two more shots, get him!" Three-eye shouted, waving his men forward.
"SMASHING!" the rogue titan yelled back, tree-trunk arms swatting tables and chairs out of the way of his charge towards the hiding blonde.
Three-eyes smirked when he saw Arthur's eyes widen dramatically as Eeak rumbled forwards. The smirk disappeared when the pistol in Arthur's grip swept up and sounded off again, the high-pitched ping of the bullets knocking Eeaks Helmet off echoing clearly through the room.
Revealed from underneath the helmet Eeaks head, a third the size of a normal humans, exploded forwards like a snake. Red blood splattering the area around him as the miniature head with its extra-long spinal column gently swung back and forth. For a moment everyone in the bar froze, staring in equal parts shock and horror.
"Gotta… kill…" the goliath muttered.
"Gotta Kill…" Three-eye quickly dove behind the bar as the rest of his troops raced for cover.
"GOTTA KILL!" Like a rocket Eeak launched himself at the closest moving target, a titanic fist lashing out and pulping the entire upper body of a scrambling bar-goer.
"Fuck me." Three-eye groaned, before shouting towards the rapidly retreating head of blonde hair. "What the fuck you shoot his helmet for cunt!"
"Murdering you is gonna feel sooo RIGHT!" the towering goliath screamed, leaping across the room to flatten one of his former comrades. "More! More!"
"I'm not the one who brought a Goliath to a gun-fight!" Arthur screamed back at Three-eye. "So far it's just been leveling the playing field."
"You cheeky…" a tingle was all the warning Three-eye had, but he managed to roll away from a giant red fist that tore through the bar like paper, just a few stray splinters heavier for the experience. "Son'ova."
"Don't run… I'm just gonna eat you alive!" Eeak's tiny head crowed as he stomped after Three-eye.
"Ok, I got this… calmly… calmly." Three-eye, despite his panic, noted the sudden fear in Arthurs voice and glanced over only to stumble at what he saw.
Fire, Arthur was on fire!
"Deep breaths, stay calm… oh Fuck me!" the blonde whimpered before the flames racing across his body exploded.
Caught in the open Three-eye grunted as the flames slammed him back against the bar, his shield managing to cut most of the impact and save him from burning to death. Eeak wasn't so lucky.
"I can take it. I'LL TAKE IT ALL!" the crazed meat-tank cried, throwing his arms wide and stomping towards the center of the fiery cataclysm, paying no mind to the flesh that blackened and tore off in his wake.
"I'll… kill… you…!" The mountain of muscle eventually groaned, taking one more step before slumping to the ground in a boneless heap as the firestorm vanished.
The silence that followed was broken shortly by delicate coughing as Arthur staggered to his feet, weaving back and forth like a drunkard, the red coat looking no worse for wear after weathering the heart of the detonation. As Three-eye and his last squad mate made it to their feet Arthur hunched over and vomited a stream of purplish-grey fluid.
"Ouch…" the blonde whimpered, clutching his stomach.
Stumbling slightly around Eeaks body Three-eye ignored the smell of burnt flesh and ozone, the first from the goliath and the later informing him his shield was overloaded from Arthurs display of pyro-kinesis. Reaching the blonde the bandit captain grabbed the collar of the red coat and heaved the smaller man onto the counter of the bar, making sure the landing was as rough as possible.
"Alright you fucking prick, fun and games is over with." Slipping a combat knife from his boot Three-eye set it against Arthurs slender neck. "You gonna quiet down and come peacefully? Or do we deliver your corpse instead?"
"Fuck *cough* off, bastard." Arthur choked back.
"I think I'll relieve you of that coat. Never hurts to be fire-proof with a torch like you around." The bandit sneered in reply, fingers on his free hand freeing the laces that held the coat closed. "See how much you like walking around with you dick hanging… in the…"
"Are you fucking with me?" the bandit snarled a second later after confirming what his hand felt with his eyes. "Who the fuck are you? Cause Arthur sure as fuck aint a girls name."
"Sure you're not just blind and dumb?" his… her voice was quivering now, uncertain with a hint of terror.
"One way to be sure." And the coat was ripped free and tossed to the side, baring Arthurs body even as she cried out and reached for the concealing fabric.
"Cute too, aint that a bitch." The bandit chuckled to himself as he slammed the naked girl back against the bar-top by her throat. "Figures I get most of my men offed by some no-name chick. Now seriously, before I get pissed off and start… persuading you, who the fuck are you?"
"Arturia Pendragon, first born of Uthur Pendragon." A new voice whispered through the air like drawn steel.
Before Three-eyes could lift his eyes a pair of thick black boots landed on either side of the revealed Arturia's shoulders. One of the boots then took it upon itself to plant itself as far into Three-eyes face as possible, snapping his head back sharply and sending him flying backwards.
"Well that answers the next question." The bandit muttered in a daze as Shirou Emiya, the 'Unlimited Armory' or simply 'Archer' with a one-point-five-billion bounty himself, crouched protectively over the blonde.
Molded black armor covered the tanned man's chest, his arms left bare, and black pants were tucked into the tops of his heavy boots. Red hair with streaks of white crowned his head and amber eyes were focused completely on Three-eyes.
The common discrepancy between numerical bounties and level of individual threat was best showcased with the duo before him. Arthur Pendragon had the higher bounty, but that was more due to his… her father placing such an amount on her head. Shirou's had been built zero by zero as he cut a bloody path through Pandora at Arthur's… Arturia's side.
That was the catch with trying to pick up Arturia's bounty. Since she arrived on Pandora Shirou had never left her side, and as badass Arturia could be in a fight Shirou was better, and the two of them together were simply ridiculous. In eight months they had successfully fended off every attempt to claim either of their bounties. Numbers hadn't mattered, and equipment hadn't mattered either. They broke everything thrown at them like twigs.
"Still having problems with the plasmid?" Shirou's icy amber eyes never left Three-eye, one hand holding the black SMG on the bandit as his other simply pointed towards the discarded coat. A second later the red fabric lifted and draped itself around the panting blonde beneath him.
"Never messing with my DNA again. Never. I hate you so much for how easily you got the hang of it."
"Well you're getting better, shouldn't be too much longer now. Might have something to do with yours being elemental in nature?" With his coat protectively covering Arturia Shirou slipped down from the bar-top with feline grace.
"I want to switch. Never mind how cool lighting fires with a flick of my hand is." Wincing slightly Arturia slipped the coat back over her shoulders and tied it shut. "Fuck I just want to be able to wear non-fire-proof clothes again, ever since we surfaced I've felt like a damn flasher. Don't you dare laugh Shirou!" a small fist slapped loudly against the man's unarmored shoulder as he chuckled.
"Three-eye! What the fuck is going on in there?" if he wasn't staring down the barrel of an SMG with his shields already down Three-eye would have been ecstatic. The rest of the Bloodfangs had arrived!
"Archer showed up!" he managed to shout back in warning before the cha-cha-cha of the SMG before him filled his chest with lead.
Collapsing back against the bar Three-eye looked down at his bleeding, shredded torso curiously. He wanted to stop the blood, but his arms were heavy. So heavy. Head lolling he managed to see Shirou and Arturia take cover behind the shattered bar as bullets started pouring in.
"So what's your fancy this afternoon?" Shirou asked, tossing his SMG over the side and prompting an explosion as the remaining ammo went off in a semi-controlled explosion.
"Pistols, big ones." Arturia replied, sneaking peeks through the splintered edge.
"Alright, big pistols coming up." The man replied.
"I am the bone of my sword/"
As the words reverberated through the air Three-eye could only watch in silence as pistol after pistol appeared, digitally constructed by some arcane technomancy that only Archer understood. Tediore had a remotely similar system, but theirs could only deliver pre-made weapons to a specific echo devices location. Rumor was that the 'Unlimited Armory' could create any weapon he wanted. In the face of so many different weapons Three-eye was leaning towards that rumor being more then just hot air.
He was starting to feel cold, and the pain had given away to a numb ache in his chest. When his body slumped further down Three-eye couldn't do anything to halt its progress. His eye-lids were getting very heavy.
"Maybe… a… nap." He whispered, fixing his gaze on the multitude of floating weapons.
They flickered in the light of gunfire, winking at him in turns. He continued to watch as the world slowly grew small and dark. The sound of the guns seeming to come from across the planet instead of right in front of him.
"Tough… stard. Best put h… down"
What?
He wanted to ask, but before he could the world flashed white and he knew no more.
So there is a bit of a peek at what I want to do, I'll throw up some character sheets as well. Currently they are the base stats and may not accurately portray the characters from the preview above (notably I have not added the plasmids yet and probably won't until I actually write the story and reach that point.)
Arturia is not a Siren! Like I'd mess around with that can of worms... All the powers they have will come from tech/science thus the addition of Bioshock elements.
Alright I gotta ask... Who after getting Borderlands 2 and playing with Tediore weapons immediately thought of Shirou? Cause I sure as hell did. All their weapons are shipped to/created on the spot and all I could think of was Shirou creating this massive wall of guns behind him with a smirk on his face.
Let me hear your thoughts/comments! Also if you think of a particular character that would be fun to toss in the mix let me know, currently I'm considering and have character sheets for: Naruto (From... Well Naruto.), Kallen Stadfeldt (Code Geass), and Crono (Chrono Trigger) for starters. Obviously they will all have their own reasons for coming to Pandora and may or may not end up grouped with/against Arturia/Shiro.
~SimplyWaters~