(For Clap-Trap's full effect play this song now: Alice in Chains- Rooster)
The sun beat down on the buggies as they raced down the road, the dust trailing behind the first nearly made it look like a jet in the sky. They were heading straight for Lucky's Watering Hole.
"Woo!" Sheya screamed in joy as her head flung back to the head-rest of the seat due to the nitro. "Did you hear that?" Sheya shouted over the engine, swerving a little to the left. "Damn this thing's fast!" She looked at her ECHO device to make sure it was recording. "Is this thing even on?" She patted the screen without taking her eyes off the road. "Great.." She flipped the ECHO over and drove off road. "Now I have to wait an hour.." She got out of her buggy and walked toward the Race Track. "Come on Tucker, this way." She turned and waved to Tucker, who was now just arriving. They passed the building completely, not acknowledging it's existence.
"Hey you two kooks." She nodded to two men watching the race, one was crouching. "Sheya Maverick.." The man who was standing said, The one crouching, getting up as well. "Nitro. Nightmare." She shook their hands.
"Who's that you're with?" Nitro pointed toward Tucker. "Name's Tucker. Hired him back outside New Haven, he's alright." She patted Nitro on the shoulder. "Bodyguard?" Nightmare nodded. "You could say that.." She folded her arms.
"Lots of people been asking about you today." Nightmare said to Sheya, she walked in between them. "Nothing unusual there. Look how packed this place is." Sheya looked to the track, the buggy's were about to take the final jump and two had crashed into each other in mid-air, exploding upon impact. "Yeah, guess everyone wants that buggy of yours." Nitro nudged Tucker. "That's because they know it can dust any of these scrap heaps in a hot-minute." All but Tucker continued to watch the race, he watched the group.
"I tried recording my buggy in action on the way over, but, damn ECHO wouldn't turn on." She spit on the ground. "Sure.." The men looked at each other in doubt. "Tell them, it was fast right?" She looked at Tucker. "Yeah.. It was fast." One of the driver's of the exploded buggies broke free and rolled around the track. "What was that special piece of equipment you put in anyway?" Nitro looked at Sheya, but his bike helmet wouldn't let you see his gaze. "Like I'd tell you.." Sheya laughed a little and turned back toward the race. "Although I'd like to show you two how you're really supposed to race this track. Racing, isn't the reason I'm here.." The drivers made another jump, one had landed on the bandit rolling on the ground. "I'm looking for my sister. She here somewhere?"
The announcer was giving a pitch for Skag-on-a-stick in the background. "Nope." Nightmare didn't take his eyes off the race. "I seen her. She was with some guy at Lucky's" Nitro said. "Lucky's? How long ago?" Another explosion went off on the track. "It was.. Yesterday." He squinted at the sky. "Yesterday? Damn it.." Sheya said under her breath. "Since you're hiring people to help find her. I guess, I could come along." Nitro made a yawning gesture, then cracked his knuckles. "So I'd have to pay you later?" Sheya laughed and pushed his chest. "I don't think so.." "Hey, I can help you two.." He reached for his holster and dropped his pistol.
"See you guys." Sheya slipped money into his pocket as he picked up his gun and walked back to her buggy. "If I see her around, I'll tell her you're out looking!" He counted the cash. "Jack ass.." The other man pushed him, and the finishing horn went off.
"See ya Lucky." The bell jingled as she walked out and got into her buggy. "North, huh?" Sheya looked toward the cliffs. "Where we going?" Tucker said from his buggy. "The cliffs, then back here." Sheya put her goggles on. "Hopefully you're there.." Tucker watched Sheya as she sped off.
Sheya slid to a stop at the edge of the cliff and got out of her buggy. She stuck her head over its edge and walked down a rickety makeshift ramp. It creaked and wobbled with her every step. "Bleacher!" She yelled out as the ramp made her bounce. "Bleacher! You there?" Sheya heard cans falling and clanking against each other. "Huh?" A dry voice called out from inside the shack. "It's Sheya! Mind helping me out here?" She closed her eyes trying to balance herself. "Sheya?" Bleacher walked out with a Shotgun. "Oh! Sheya.. Yeah.." He escorted her down the ramp. "Why do you have to live out here?" She leaned against the shack.
"What do you want?" He rested his shotgun on his shoulder. "Not even a hello? How you doing?" Sheya dusted herself off. "How are you Sheya?" Bleacher smirked. "It's about my sister.." Sheya rested her head against the shack. "Figured.. I seen her.. She was walking with Hayden and a couple others toward Fyrestone." He flicked his tooth pick over the edge. "Fyrestone? What the hell could she be doing in Fyrestone?" Sheya sat down and Bleacher walked past her, gazing over the edge. "I don't know.. Thought she would've told you." Sheya stared toward the ground, trying to comprehend why her sister would be in Fyrestone. "How's your father? Still sick?" Bleacher continued staring over the edge. "Yeah." She sighed and stood up.
"Alright, Bleacher. It was nice seeing you, as always." She said on all fours, making her way up the ramp slowly, but surely. "You too Sheya. You too.." He chuckled to himself, watching her crawl up the ramp. "Fix this damn ramp sometime will ya?" She walked back to her buggy and Tucker was just pulling up. "You're just getting here? What took you so long?" "I didn't think you actually meant the cliffs." Tucker's engine rumbled. "Yeah. He's a strange one, alright." Sheya looked back towards Bleacher's shack. "Let's go back to Lucky's." She patted her buggy. "Why are we going back to Lucky's again?" Sheya jumped in and buckled her seat belt. "I told you, I need to scan this ECHO before we leave." She turned her engine on and revved it. "Right.." Tucker nodded his head four times. Sheya sped off, leaving a cloud of dust behind her. "..Right." Tucker waited a few seconds to watch Sheya, before departing.
Sheya flew over the dunes and hills, laughing while doing so. "Alright!" She furrowed her brow while hovering her thumb over the nitrous button. "Time to fl-" There was a sudden sound of metal creaking under pressure before she began flipping through the air countless times, her front-end bent completely in half, ECHO device and wheels flying in all directions. Finally landing upside down, a black cloud plumed from the wreckage.
A stranger pulled up in a scratched, dented and rusted grey buggy. He stepped out to reveal he was very large in stature, and his shadow hung over the twisted buggy. He flipped it over and observed Sheya's body, her head was hanging forward so he held it up. Her mouth was slightly ajar and her fore-head was bleeding, but the blood clumped together from the dust and dirt. She clenched her teeth and tried to open her eyes, he let go of her head and she squinted at the figure in front of her.
"Wha- What happened?" Sheya looked at the figure dazed, her eyes wandering. "Spiderants.. They flipped you." She rubbed the side of her bruised face, and felt the cut on her forehead. "Spiderants? Where did they go?" The large man lowered his rifle. "Must've scared them off.." Sheya looked around to see nothing. "Well, thanks." The man bent a piece of metal that was preventing Sheya from getting out of her seat. "Mind helping me out?" She reached out and he grabbed her by the forearm, lifting her from out of the broken buggy. "Frank!" Tucker called from beyond one of the hills. "Fra- Whoa!" He nearly slipped down the steep hill, holding his machine gun in one hand. "Tucker? You two know each other?" Sheya fixed her hair and dusted herself off. "Uh. Yeah.." He put his hand back on the grip. "I told him to catch up later.."
Sheya cocked her pistol to make sure it wasn't broken. "Frank right? Name's Sheya." Sheya held her hand out, Frank didn't shake it. "See where that ECHO went?" Sheya searched the ground, turning her back. Tucker looked to Frank and stepped on the device, cracking it beneath his boot. "Oh, is this it?" He picked it up. "Yeah.. No worries. I'll just get another." She looked at the scrap pile that was once her buggy. "Wow.. If those Spiderants would've gotten to me, I would've been a dead woman for sure.." Sheya patted the buggy and ran her hand along it. "..Goodbye my old friend."
She looked at Frank. "Mind loading that engine into your buggy?" Frank started to dismantle the buggy and ripped out the engine. Sheya looked at her broken ECHO and pressed what she thought was the record button, and recorded an ECHO log. "Ready to go?" Tucker asked her, and they left for Fyrestone.
"I forgot about this guy.." Sheya groaned as the Claptrap unit was standing guard. "Hey there stranger." The Claptrap greeted Frank. "Hang on, I'll take care of this.." Tucker got out of his buggy, pistol in hand. "No!" Sheya belted out, the Claptrap putting it's arms up in a nervous manner. "I will.." Sheya lowered Tucker's pistol. "You, claptrap unit." She pointed to the Claptrap. "Have you seen my sister walk past here recently? Her name is Tabitha Maverick." She held a picture of her up.
"Why, yes, I did.. How could a robot forget a magnificently beautiful face, such as hers?" It extended one arm toward the picture, and put the other on it's chest. "Who was she with?" Sheya said unimpressed, putting the picture back in her pocket. "She was walking with three armed men, they didn't seem too friendly.. Or clean. She gave them all clearance to enter the Arid Badlands." Claptrap pointed to the large door. "Was she hurt?" Sheya put her hand on her revolver.
"Oh, she was fine.. Better than fine." It put one of it's hand clamps beside his speaker box, as if it were telling a secret. "Looked better than you.." Claptrap pointed to Sheya, who noticed her wound starting to bleed. "I mean, not only did she look better than you.. She had this whole, sort of free-spirit thing going on. While you on the other hand.. Meh.." It's clamp faced up then faced down, twice. "Okay, I get it!" Sheya snapped at the claptrap, Tucker laughed through his nose, looking away so he wouldn't get caught. "Just open the gate will you?" Sheya jumped into Frank's buggy.
"Certainly. If you could all just tell me your names and let me scan your ECH-" "There with me. As mercenaries. I give them clearance." She signaled the vehicles to move forward, but Claptrap didn't budge. It instead stood there for a few seconds staring blankly in front of itself. "It'll take a few hours for me to process this.." Sheya got out of the buggy and stood directly in front of the robot, who was staring in the exact same position, which happened to be her belly button. "Gate. Open. Now." Sheya pointed to the gate.
The Claptrap scooted back slowly, putting it's clamps up. "..Yes M'am." It pushed the buttons as fast as it could. Sheya and the others sped off before the gate could finish opening "At least her sister kissed me.." Claptrap said to himself, closing the gate.