FOREWORD

I was surprised at how well my first Borderlands 2 fanfic, Hooked on a Feeling, turned out. What started as a near-self-insert fic became enjoyed by more than I thought. In fact, by the point I got these reviews, I decided to change the ending.

The original ending I had in mind for Hooked on a Feeling had Snyder kill Jack during the confrontation in the Angel Bunker, save Angel, and take over Hyperion, all to live happily ever after. Real life doesn't work like that, and frankly, it was better to end it a different way. After some thoughts, I was hit by inspiration. I had wanted Snyder to travel to the locations of various DLCs, and I actually thought, given that Snyder tells Jack that he's eloping with Angel, why not to Oasis? Oasis is not unlike a smaller scale Las Vegas on Pandora, maybe they have been famed, like Vegas, for quick and easy weddings and honeymoons. And that's how Snyder gets caught up in the events of Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty. Or at least that was how it began. The story of Hooked on a Feeling showed otherwise...

Doctor Richard Snyder grew as a character in Hooked on a Feeling, becoming less cowardly, and perhaps less judgemental of others, or at least of most. I think now is the time for him and Angel to grow together as characters. Free from her prison, Angel is going to spread her wings in more ways than one.

That being said, it won't just be about Snyder and Angel. Gaige and Krieg come along for the ride, as does Tiny Tina and Tim Lawrence. And other characters from the Borderlands series will still make an appearance, including a surprise appearance by a most unwelcome guest…

The title comes from the Beatles song. The reason why I chose it is because A), it suits Snyder and Angel's status as fugitives from Jack's wrath, and B), it was covered by a band called Oasis. And considering that this story is set partially in a town called Oasis, well…

Now for the disclaimers. Firstly, as is usual for my fanfics, there will be annotations. Don't like, don't read.

Secondly, the M-rating is there for a reason, people. There'll be violence, swearing, and even some sex if you're lucky.

Thirdly, remember that this is, to a degree, a self-insert fic. If you don't like it, you may go now.

Fourthly, I haven't played the original game or the Pre-Sequel, or the Tales from the Borderlands games. I will endeavour to include elements from those, but please forgive any screw-ups.

Fifthly, there will be character splashes. I will endeavour to make them as awesome as they are in the game.

Finally, the following is a fan-written work. The Borderlands series is the property of 2K Games, Gearbox, and whoever else I have failed to mention. The song lyrics and quotes are the property of their respective owners. Please, support the official release.

"HEYOOOO!"

Yes, Steve, I know you bought copies of the games. You're better than Claptrap in that regard…

Previously on The Ballad of Ricky and Angel…

When he was six, Richard Snyder was virtually friendless. He was considered a freak by many, because he had a condition, the Super Cognitive Interpretation Zone (or Sci-Zone for short), a condition that, when triggered, sent him into what can only be described as 'mad scientist mode'. His first real friend, outside his family, was a girl by the name of Angel. He became fascinated by her, not least because she was a Siren, one of a rare group of female humans with special powers. However, when he was eight, Angel disappeared, and her father, a man by the name of John, refused to say what happened.

Richard Snyder grew up, and eventually trained to become a biologist, gaining a doctorate. His unofficial specialty, his obsession, even, was with Sirens. But he was ever haunted by his curse. He began to work for John, now going by the name of Jack, and later, Handsome Jack, the head of the Hyperion Corporation. But Richard never forgot Angel, a lost friend. And she never forgot him.

Angel sent a message to Richard to let him know she was still alive, but Handsome Jack caught wind of it. By coincidence, he was coaxing Vault Hunters to work for him as part of a plot to get them to do his dirty work, as well as thin out those opposing him. Paranoid that Richard would find out the truth about Angel, he tricked Richard into becoming his liaison with one group of Vault Hunters, using one of them, the Siren Maya, as an incentive.

However, Snyder and the Vault Hunters survive the trap Jack set for them. Wary of him, the Vault Hunters decide to let Snyder tag along, despite his cowardice. He proves his mettle, however, in a fight to the death against some tenacious bandits, when the Sci-Zone is unleashed.

The Vault Hunters and Snyder eventually make it to Sanctuary, taunted by Jack along the way, and guided by Angel. Only Snyder knows that Angel is not an artificial intelligence, but a Siren hooked up to Pandora's computer networks. She warns him to keep the information secret, as Jack will redouble his efforts to murder Snyder, as well as anyone else who knows.

At Sanctuary, Snyder is treated with suspicion for being a former Hyperion employee. And when they try to follow a lead to track down Roland, former Vault Hunter and leader of the Crimson Raiders, the resistance against Jack, it nearly gets Snyder killed. They find the Firehawk, a bounty hunter and vigilante who turns out to be former Vault Hunter and Siren Lilith, who turns on Snyder. However, they join forces to beat off an attack by bandits, and while the Vault Hunters go to rescue Roland, Lilith sends Snyder to babysit Tiny Tina, as a test of character, one that Snyder manages to pass.

Back at Sanctuary, Roland, Lilith and Snyder get into an argument regarding Angel (who had unwillingly betrayed the former Vault Hunters before) and a vague warning from her about a plot against Sanctuary. Snyder storms out, only for Lilith to intercept him, and begin asking him about Angel and his past. He unintentionally lets slip enough clues that Lilith guesses the truth. Lilith, Roland, and Snyder share this information, with the former two beginning to understand that Handsome Jack's depravity knows no limits. And their opinion of a woman they thought betrayed them begins to change.

Learning that the Vault Key might be transported by train, the Vault Hunters, accompanied by Snyder, assault the train, only to be ambushed by Wilhelm, a powerful cyborg that the first Vault Hunters and Snyder have encountered before. Snyder is about to be murdered by Wilhelm when Wilhelm is dispatched by Zer0, one of the latest Vault Hunters. A special power core is found nearby, and is taken back to Sanctuary. However, Snyder, along with some of the Vault Hunters, are perturbed at how easy Wilhelm fell, and how oddly he acted during the fight. Snyder discovers too late that Wilhelm was drugged during the fight. Jack's trap is sprung: the power core was a booby-trap, designed to allow Angel to hack Sanctuary's shield systems.

As Jack tries to turn Sanctuary into rubble, Lilith and Roland implement a desperate plan: to turn Sanctuary into a floating city, as well as to use Lilith's abilities, boosted by Eridium, to get it out of the line of fire. The plan succeeds, but in the aftermath, Snyder is attacked by angry citizens of Sanctuary. Unconscious, he speaks to Angel once more via a special link that she set up. She is being used by Jack to charge the Vault Key, in order to open a new Vault, containing a gigantic alien warrior known as the Destroyer. She is determined to die, and is certain that nothing can save her. In trying to dissuade her, though, Snyder alienates her.

Later, once Snyder is conscious again, he ends up with Lilith as Angel contacts them in Sanctuary, giving them intelligence on how to reach her Control Core where she is kept, and to kill her. Inspired by a turn of phrase Angel uses, however, Snyder formulates a plan that might just keep her alive, using a device of Dr Tannis', and Maya and Lilith's Siren abilities.

After a series of adventures, Vault Hunters old and new assault the Control Core Angel complex. After many battles, they make it to Control Core Angel proper. Fighting off Jack's defences, the group of fighters finally win, with Snyder managing to get Angel back to Sanctuary, and into a life-support tank. The other Vault Hunters manage to escape with the Vault Key, and with Handsome Jack swearing vengeance.

Angel, thinking she has been confined to the life-support tank forever, berates Snyder for caging her again instead of letting her die as she wanted. Snyder, however, reveals that he thought of that: with the help of Dr Zed, Angel only needs a portable Eridium injector to survive. Angel is elated.

The cost of liberating Angel was high. And the war hasn't been won. Jack, deciding that he doesn't need either Angel or any of the other Sirens, begins attacking Sanctuary once more. As Lilith prepares to use her Phasewalk again to shift the city, Snyder and Angel, along with Vault Hunters Krieg and Gaige, Tiny Tina, and a former body-double of Jack called Timothy Lawrence, end up falling out of the city. But what was supposed to be a long fall to their deaths turns into a teleportation when they are caught by the backlash of Lilith's Phasewalk. They end up sprawled on the ground, just outside a town called Oasis, which is suffering from a crisis of its own…