A Merry Solemn Christmas Eve
A Borderlands Christmas Short Story
*A/N: This was done quickly and on the fly. It is a short story about a Christmas Eve in Borderlands. It has many OC's introduced that will be in a future Borderlands fanfiction. I say a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays as of this uploaded short story.
Borderlands is owned not by me. I only own the word Lootmas, its theme, and the OC's in my fanfiction.
Bang Rat-a-tat-a-tat Boom-ba-boom
Yes another day another series of gunplay and explosions on unmerciful and scummy bandits who thought they are/were badass.
"Give me a challenge you bastard piece of crap!" a large muscular man shouted. He digistructed a highly modified minigun and unloaded a barrage of bullets that started tearing through defenses that bandits were hiding behind.
The snow was falling and the temperature made the hunters actually wear winter clothing instead of relying on the bullets in their bodies for warmth.
"Behind you!" a young woman with tattoos cried. Her tattoos glowed a bright blue and she sent six bolts of glowing energy, exploding shock, fire, acid, and slag on two badass psychos.
Psychos started to try and run from the man with the minigun when high caliber bullets punctured their skulls. A man riding atop a large queen skag leaped over the other. "Yip-e-kae-ya motherbuster!"
"Dammit Dreidall, those were mine!"
"You snooze you lose Ashcroft! Onwards Skagella, to victory!"
"Great Blair now they're getting competitive again. Lets hope they don't wreck the item we're supposed to get."
A man in white camouflage answered the siren, "Not like we can't find a regular goliath helmet and paint it yellow. It'd a be a lot easier Felicity."
"Yes but we have to keep the children over there occupied and you yourself said you'll never not do a quest for Tiny Tina."
Blair Mackenzi chuckled, "Well you're right about that." The ground shook. "It looks like the top of the tree has arrived."
Everyone stopped and the large skag pawed excitedly at the ground.
A loud, rumbling voice was heard, "Time to smash with Skull Skuisher!"
A large goliath in yellow clothing appeared with 2 missile launchers and a large axe on his back.
Ashcroft popped his neck, Dreidall hopped off Skagella, Felicity took cover, and Blair bunkered down with his revolver as well. Christmas was going to be good this year.
Tiny Tina's workshop
"Thanks for the helmet huggabutts. Just for the holiday cheer I'll give you a bonus. I made a giant chewtoy in the shape of a bandit for Skagella, some of my homemade gun polish I stole from a Hyperion factory sometime ago because I know how Ashy likes to polish his guns, some crumpets for Blair cause he's crumpet crazy like me, and uh…sorry Siren doll never been sure what you liked."
Tina threw the three their rewards and then interrupted Felicity, "Wait I found this gun in an abandoned bandit camp I made abandoned. Maliwan SMG, corrosive, and I tested it. It appears to have a homing effect to it."
Skagella pounced on Dreidall for the toy, Ashcroft was hit in the face by a bag with two bottles of gun cleaner the size of missiles, Blair was hit in the face by a bag of crumpets, and Felicity barely kept the gun from hitting her, of course, in the face. Tina then climbed a ladder and stuck the golden helmet on top of a small tree and tilted her head, seeing how it looked with the rest of it.
Sanctuary
"Well the tree is finished, now we need the star. Brick you're the tallest, do you have it?" Lilith asked, admiring her and the other three Siren's handiwork.
"Yeah Lil here it is."
The big man put a human skull (painted yellow) on top of the tree. It was wrapped in lights but Lilith didn't look very happy.
"Brick that isn't the one we said you could put on. You can put it as an ornament but not as the top ornament."
Brick actually appeared nervous, "Well uh ya see Lilith…it kind of well um…it sorta…blew up."
"It what now?" Lilith asked annoyed.
"It blew up."
"How the hell did it blow up?" The Siren tapped her foot in annoyance and her crossed her now glowing arms.
"Well remember when I was coming back from the craft dude who made it?"
"Yeah and…"
"Well when I said my ride got blown up and the ornament wasn't blown up…it got blown up to."
Lilith's finger was tapping slowly. Finally she sighed, "Keep it up there then. It's Christmas Eve so I'll forgive you but the day after tomorrow I'm gonna kick your ass."
The vault hunters consisting of Gaige, Krieg, Maya, Axton, Salvador, and Zer0 and those who came in and joined mid adventure: Blair, Felicity, Dreidall, and Ashcroft continued to decorate Sanctuary and the Crimson Raiders HQ with Christmas themes that had a slight Pandorian twist. The day itself was also called Lootmas being Pandora and all. They even had a imitation of good ol' Saint Nicholas and pictures of Psycho Clause were put up abound.
"So Kenna what did you ask Psycho Clause to bring you?" Felicity asked her sister.
The younger sister of Felicity shrugged, "Aren't you a little old to believe in a weird Pandoran version of Santa Clause? 'He watches you as you sleep and whether you're naughty or nice gouges out your eyes or gives you money or guns.'"
"Says the girl who keeps a teddy bear with her when she's 18."
"Um hello you carry the twin on your belt and I use it as a focus for my powers! But if you're going to keep asking fine: I wanted a hat like Moxxi's. She's got style sister. And you?"
"I wanted a pair of boots that were blood and gore proof. This is the 5th pair this week."
The two Pandora sirens both chuckled and finished with their decorations.
Nighttime
A blizzard had begun to kick in as the fourteen hunters were at Roland's and Bloodwing's memorials. The snow was at Salvador's chest but the packed snow allowed him to walk.
"Guys it feels like we're missing someone." Blair said as the wind blew through the silence.
"We're all here Blair. No one else was coming out because of the weather." Axton responded.
Blair shook his head, "No, no...wait I got it. I know who isn't here: Tina."
Lilith responded, "Tina didn't want to come out. She said she'd be out whenever she wanted. I'm not arguing with someone who gets joy out of blowing up people for cookies."
"No that's not like Tina. Seriously: she wouldn't come out to Roland's memorial on Christmas Eve? No, I'm going to go get her. You all can head back to Sanctuary."
The raven haired man turned and walked to a vehicle. Ashcroft shook his head, "I've know idea why he bothers with that girl sometimes."
Outside Tina's Cave
Blair was shouting at the hidden camera that he knew Tina used to monitor outside. He didn't know if she could hear him because of the wind but he was trying until his lungs got frostbite.
"Tina open the door! Open it up now, I have to talk to you!"
He waited approximately a minute before taking out his Maliwan Revolver. He shot at the giant proximity mine next to the door and it blew up. He reloaded as the door was opening.
"Figured that would get her."
He made his way through the crack of the door. At the 13 year old's workshop he saw her welding something. When she got done with it he noticed a patchwork star welded onto the top of the metal helmet him and his team got her.
"Tina we were at Roland and Bloodwing's memorial. We thought you were going to be there."
"I can go any time."
"Tina," Blair said with increasing worry, "I can tell you are not yourself."
"What's your first hint oh mighty psychologist? I'm fine!" She threw a detonator at him but he sidestepped.
Blair shook his head, "You're not able to spend Christmas with your family Tina. You really want to be alone and spend it by yourself?"
"…"
Blair crouched next to the girl and took off his hood and goggles, "You and I Tina…we're more a like in this situation that you think."
The blond shook her head, "Oh yeah?" She gave him hardly a push. "How?"
"We're not able to spend time with our family."
Tina looked up at him and cocked an eyebrow, "Huh?"
"My family is alive on a planet called Bracken 3 but I can't spend time with them since I came to Pandora on the run. My mom, my friends, my little sister who you remind me of at times Tina, I miss. They miss me, at least I think, and I can't be with them. My dad is the only one who is dead and I have hated not spending Christmas with him for the last 13 years of my life since I got into an argument the last time I saw him."
"Are you going somewhere with this sob story or do I need to kick your purple ass out in the snow with a grenade up it?"
Blaire let out a sigh, "The point is Tina, spending time alone and with just some pictures and a tree is alright but only when you truly have no one. You need to be with family even if they aren't your blood family. I'm getting through right now because I've been able to get to know everyone here, you, Gaige, and the others as an extended family. Mordecai would know just as well because he isn't spending it with Bloodwing. Let's go to Sanctuary and we can spend Christmas with our dysfunctional Pandora family Tina because they would do the same with you if you'd let them."
Tina didn't know why but she actually started to tear up just a little bit, "Why does this make me feel a little better girly guy?"
Blair shrugged, "I don't know maybe it's like a cliché' story where the hero can say anything to make anyone feel better."
Tina wiped her eyes, "Think we can make a stop Blair?"
The Memorial
The wind was blowing and the snow was whipping. Tina was placing a bouquet of grenades on his grave and memorial, her tears freezing as they fell.
"I'm gonna miss you my main shawtie. I think if you were here with me I could get through just fine without my parents but…you were like my brother, dad, uncle, and friend. I don't think I'm going to replace you with anyone…or that violent bloody lovely Bloodwing. So uh…I'm gonna miss you and…I love you Roland. Goodbye and...Merry Christmas."
Blair had said his goodbye but he couldn't help himself. He knew that Roland was a soldier at one point so he stood up straight and saluted the memorial. As he stood there he heard the wind blow and a…screech of sorts on the wind. He looked up at the ridge, for what reason he didn't but it almost drew his eyes there, and saw something that shocked him. He saw a ghostly form of the Crimson Raider leader and a swirling form of a bird fly to his shoulder.
"C'mon purple haze, let's go before my eyes become Eyesicles." Blair grabbed her shoulder gently. "What?"
"Tina look up there. See if you can see what I'm seeing."
The little girl turned and she gasped. She saw the same forms that Blair was seeing.
"Roland! Bloodwing!"
The wind had a sort of screeching howl to it and Roland waved. Then the wind blew one last gust and the images swirled away with the snow.
"Roland…Bloodwing…" Tina whispered solemnly.
"C'mon Tina, lets go." Blair said leading her by the shoulder.
The demolitions expert sniffled and looked at him, "Yeah lets have a kick ass, chocolate chip, loot filled, dysfunctional Pandora Christmas with our dysfunctional Pandora family Blair."
The ex-military man smiled and the two hurried to the Runner Blair drove.
"Good job soldier." There was a bird like screech in agreement as the two drove away to a fast travel station.