Hyperion
Chapter 1
The last thing that Jack could remember was the utter pain that Lilith brought to him. Those damn Vault Hunters killed his Warrior, his daughter and him. A numb sensation ran throughout his body as the last vestiges of life left him. As Jack fell towards the ground, he made one last desperate attempt to spite Lilith. Raising his Wrist Gauntlets, Jack shot out an accelerated bullet with the intent of hitting Lilith's forehead. But he was just inches away from either killing her or annoying her, and the bullet struck a Volcanic Rakk. Jack could've sworn that he heard a voice whisper to him, but darkness consumed him before he could determine what it was.
"Frisk dear, could you please come down?" A soft, melodic voice called to her child. (Alright, I forget to remove the 'LINE BREAK OF LINE BREAK-INESS' before, but I have now. Enjoy)
Footsteps could be heard bounding down the hallway, and soon two teenagers could be seen. Frisk, the Saviour of the Underground and Ambassador of Monsters and Asriel, former God of Hyperdeath and Prince of the Monsters. (Ah, Flash Mob Jazz, what a band. Also, I just checked out line breaks, so that's all good now.)
"What'd you need Mum?" Frisk asked Toriel, delighted to see Toriel's face light up at the reference of 'Mum'.
"Could you two water the plants for me?" Toriel asked them, while preparing a Butterscotch and Cinnamon Pie.
"Sure, we'll get right on that!" Asriel replied, while pushing past Frisk to get to the front door.
Frisk muttered something quietly, their eyes flashing red unbeknownst to anybody in the room, before following Asriel shortly after.
Meanwhile . . .
"Ohhhhh, fuck me," began Jack, who had somehow found himself in an alleyway, "Where the hell am I?" He asked no one in particular, slowly leaning up against the wall to support himself.
2 seconds ago, he was about to be killed by Lilith, and now, he was here. Looking around, Jack noticed the early morning Sun rise in the distance. And, he also noted, that there was a sufficient lack of a large 'H' floating in the sky. It was at around this time of confusion that feelings became known to Jack, and he let out a rather loud curse when he saw the pool of blood surrounding his feet, slowly growing in density due to the multiple holes that littered his body. Reaching into his jacket, Jack tried to find his Insta-Heals, but only found lint and a few miscellaneous tools. Coughing up amounts of blood, Jack slowly made his way down the alleyway, stammering as he went. Agony coursed through his body and he was seeing splotches of black race through his vision. Several odd, strange looking creatures walked across the pathway up ahead, none of them noticing him. There was a large frog-esque creature, a bipedal bear with an orange jacket, a short, stocky monster with one eye, Jack could go on.
"Then again," Jack thought absently, "That could just be imminent death having its way with me" Jack concluded, doubting his mental stability for the first time in his life.
Losing all control of his legs just a few inches from salvation, Jack resorted to crawling along the floor with his arms, swearing as he went. He reached out to grab onto anything that may help him, and he was met with a white, furry leg. Said leg immediately kicked him in the face, out of pure reflex.
"Argh! Son of a bitch! Who the fuck would do that!?" Jack screamed out, having to pause himself at times to spit out blood.
"Oh golly! I'm so sorry! Frisk, quick, get over here!" Asriel, the one who kicked Handsome-fucking-Jack in the face called out, on the brink of tears.
"What is it Asri- Oh!" Frisk began, before noticing the body on the ground that was close to death, "Alright, we have to get him to Toriel." Frisk commanded, leaning one arm of Jacks against his and the other around Asriel's.
And so, Asriel and Frisk half dragged, half carried Jack to Toriel's house, with the intent of healing him. Along the way, several Monsters offered to help, but one could see the intensity of the damage that Jack had received, and Toriel was known to be the best Healer in town.
"I'll - I'll kill 'em all. You - you'll see. Those damn Vault Hunters and their frickin' families! I'll rip out their eyeballs and shove 'em down their god damn throats!" Jack screamed, slowly getting louder as he yelled to no one in particular.
Asriel just looked towards Frisk with a squeamish face, hesitating just for a moment before continuing on. They finally reached Toriel's abode, a white, humble house, large enough to fit Toriel, Frisk, Asriel, and the Skeleton Brothers.
"Mum! We need help, quick it's an emergency!" Frisk shouted out, propping Jack against Papyrus's car.
"What is it my chi -!?" Toriel was cut off when she saw the bleeding body laying against the car.
"It's a -" Jack took in shallow breathes, "fuckin' nightmare, eh? I've failed them all. I - I could've done more. I could've saved her." Jack muttered, reminiscing.
"It's okay. You're delirious, just take deep breathes. You'll be okay." Toriel told Jack as she cast a spell.
Jack soon succumbed to sleep, as Toriel's spell came into effect. Toriel's hands radiated with a green glow, before she released it into Jack. Already, one could see Jack's wounds start to mend, and could see bullets leaving his body, due to the power of the spell.
"Alright, bring him into the house. Just lay him on the couch, and I'll see the extent of the damage." Toriel told the brothers, using a tone that denied question.
Frisk and Asriel said nothing as they brought him in, setting his sleeping body on the red couch in the living room. There, they stood off to the side, allowing Toriel to closely inspect his wounds. She started with the head, but was startled when she found a mask covering his face. Gripping the mask, she was surprised with the amount of effort she had to use to pry it off. When she did, she came close to heaving. Asriel, however, wasn't as proficient when keeping his bile down his throat. Frisk just stared on, face blank and even.
Jack's face was disfigured and littered with cuts. A large, blue symbol, one that Toriel hadn't seen before, was branded onto his face. His left eye was pink and swollen, and it appeared that it wasn't functional. She poured more of her magic into his face, and some of the cuts started to disappear, leaving faint scars in their wake. However, his eye and the brand remained the same.
"How did you two come across him?" Toriel asked in a serious tone.
Asriel came back from the kitchen, wiping any remnants of vomit off of his face, "Frisk and I were going to the garden, when he," Asriel pointed to the unconscious Jack, "Grabbed my leg. I - well, I kicked him in the face. But only because he frightened me!" Asriel told Toriel, trying to justify his reasons, "Then I called Frisk and we both took him to you." Asriel finished, scuffing the floor with his foot.
"I see. Thank you, for helping him. You two were this man's last hopes. Frisk, could you grab Alphy's Soul Machine?" Toriel asked, hoping to gain knowledge of this Human's Soul power.
As Frisk left the house to go to Alphy's house, Toriel tended to Jack some more. Asriel grabbed her a wet cloth, and Toriel had begun to clean away at any dirt and such that was on his body.
"Ash?" Toriel thought aloud, finding his jacket to be covered in ash and other dirty substances, common to hot and dusty areas.
Investigating his chest, Toriel found several bullets scattered around, recently pulled from his body. The presence of these bullets made her quite sad, knowing that Humans would take such a brutal approach to whatever situation this Human was in before. There was more caked blood on his body, along with dirt. Multiple bruises ran along him, some that appeared to be very old, and some that appeared to be recent. Scars also weren't lacking, as several long and short ones covered him. Toriel flinched when the door opened, as Frisk had returned.
"Alright, it's just here. You still remember how to use it, right?" Frisk asked, offering her the monitor.
Toriel just nodded, before powering on the device with a simple flick of a switch. She aimed the monitor over Jack's chest and flicked several settings, before landing on the 'Soul Power-o-Matic', function. What she saw astounded her. From what she was able to gather, this Human had gathered thousands of Human Souls. His level didn't appear on the device, as it was only intended for double digits. Toriel dropped the Soul Scanning machine, and it cracked against the floor.
Frisk and Asriel both shared surprise when Toriel dropped the machine, letting out a small yell/bleat. This, however, woke up the man laying upon the couch. He sprung up, and immediately uttered a curse. And then there was silence.
"Where. In the Hell. Is my god damn mask!?" He shouted to the closet person, who happened to be Toriel.
She was silent for a few seconds, before indicating to the coffee table just in-front of him.
"You've made a good choice here. Now, can someone please tell me what the hell is going on!? One minute, I was a God, ruling over another God-like Entity, the next thing I know, I'm in an alleyway, getting kicked in the face by that little shit!" Jack yelled, throwing an accusing finger at Asriel.
"I will not tolerate you swearing at my child!" Toriel yelled in return, trying to assert her dominance over the subject, "From what he's told me, you were on the brink of death, and he saved you from it. And, he's the Prince of all Monsters, so I'd ask that you treat him with more respect." Toriel told Jack in a stern tone.
Jack took a few seconds to properly re-attach the mask to his face, making sure he got the latches in the right place.
"Either way, he kicked me in the face, nothing changes that." Jack said to Toriel, hoping to prove his point.
"But you scar -" Asriel was saying, before being cut off by Jack.
"I'd suggest you keep you sweet little mouth of yours shut, m'kay pumpkin? 'Cause I'm this close to wrapping my hands around that white, pretty lil' neck of yours and stranglin' the life out of you!" Jack demanded, clenching his hands in frustration to further emphasise his point.
Asriel immediately went quiet, tears threatening to spill.
"Cease this at once! Please," Toriel took on a softer tone, "Tell me why you're acting this way. How'd you get that mark on your face? Who are you?" Toriel finished, hoping to find out why Jack acted in such an erratic way.
"How the hell, do you not know who I am?" Jack asked, pausing himself to let his message sink in. (Guys! 'Stuck in the Sound – Let's Go' just came on! It's a good song, isn't it?)
Toriel exchanged an odd look, quirking her head, "Should we?" Toriel asked, confused.
"I'm Handsome Jack!" Blank stares, "CEO of Hyperion? Best weapons manufacturer in 6 galaxies? We have like, cyborgs and robots and cool things like that working for us. We invented guns that shoot pure energy, and grenades that create freakin' black holes! Hmmmm . . . We invented the Clap-Trap Unit, bane of the Universe?" Jack finished, using the Clap-Trap robots as a last resort.
"Are you feeling okay, Jack? You were on the verge of death, but I thought that my spell would remove any sort of concussion that you may have had . . ." Toriel asked Jack, doubting her ability to heal others.
"Oh for fu - alright, come outside, I'll give you a firsthand demonstration of the Singularity Grenade." Jack said, standing up and grabbing a grenade from his jacket.
"No wait! The spell has an effect that -" Toriel was warning Jack, before he fell over from said effect, "Makes the recipient unstable." Toriel finished, but was far too late with her warning.
Jack remained on the ground for 10 seconds, breathing heavily, before slowly dragging himself back up. He made sure to balance himself this time, holding onto the wall for extra support.
"Well . . ." Jack fell silent, adjusting his jacket and fixing his pocket watch, "Well, I'll just uh. I'll sit on this chair, and give you something else to see." Jack said, on the verge of being embarrassed. But Handsome Jack doesn't get embarrassed.
Slowly, Jack made his way back to the couch, ignoring the curious, concerned looks that he received. Bringing forth his hand, Jack digistructed a gun, more specifically, the 'Win-Win Vision', the same gun he used to kill Roland. (I checked a thread, and this seemed to be the closet match. Just search up 'Handsome Jack gun', or somethin'.) A white model first appeared in his hands, and then a techno-y sound occurred, and the model took colour, becoming a black pistol highlighted with a gold and red finishing.
"Boom!" Jack yelled, slamming in a new load of bullets, "Quality Hyperion material here. This baby can crack through a shield instantly, and can render anyone that's human dead, if aimed correctly. Here's another one," Jack said, digistructing forth an E-Tech weapon, "Take a look at this gun, eh? No bullets required for this, just hold down the trigger and bam! Lasers, frickin' lasers! It's cool, isn't it?" Jack asked, tapping Toriel on the shoulder lightly with the back of his hand.
"Wha - What are those!? They don't look like any other gun I've seen before, although, I haven't seen many . . ." Toriel asked, frightened.
"Where'd you get that!?" Asriel asked, perhaps more frightened than Toriel.
"Cool." Was Frisk's curt reply, generally being a chill person of few words.
"It appears to be evidence of my Badass-ery, eh? The boys in the R&D Division worked hard on this one. Madam Goat Lady, this is a Hyperion gun, top-of-the-line kinda thing. Kicker-er of faces, it's just a normal perk of being a CEO. Also, yeah, it is cool. Any other questions kiddos?" Jack answered all of their questions, not hiding his smug smile.
Toriel took a few seconds to compose herself, "Where - where is this Division of yours?" Toriel asked, eyes darting to and fro.
"Well, my personal R&D is up at Helios, this space station that I own, floating around Pandora. Seriously, have you guys not been listening to the Hyperion Truth Broadcasting? It's the best radio to listen to, trust me." Jack told them, putting his feet up on the coffee table as he talked.
Toriel, ignoring Jack's rude gesture, went on, "Jack, I would say that you're insane or delirious, but from what you've shown me, I don't think I can say that. I haven't heard of this 'Pandora', so please explain it to me. Also, how did you get here?" She asked, confused.
"Are you just shitting with me now?" Toriel flinched, "Pandora! The planet that every large company is gunning for right now!? It's overrun with bandits, rapists, prisoners, murderers, child murderers and fuckin' Vault Hunters! It ain't no Eden 6, that's for sure. It has a Vault on it! A friggin' Vault! The things that God-like beings created to store technology of theirs! I opened one before I - was killed - huh, that's strange. How did I get here?" Jack asked, incredulous.
While Toriel was silently workings things out in her head, Asriel spoke up, "Uh, Jack? Are you - are you ok?" He asked, fidgeting with his ears as he went.
Jack ignored Asriel, opting to use his ECHO to see if he could call someone. Someone who took too long to get his violin.
"Blake, you there?" Jack spoke into his Receiver, voice hopeful and steady.
Only static greeted him, encouraging Jack to try different channels. He went through his list of people who he trusted, and it wasn't a very long list, before he came to a conclusion. If he couldn't directly call Blake or some other Hyperion official, he could get someone else to do it. So Jack, swallowing his pride, punched in the numbers for the most hated, most annoying person he knew that existed.
Jack's finger hovered over the button, sweat pouring down his forehead. Toriel and Asriel watched on in confusion, while Frisk ran up to his room with no reason being supplied.
"Oh for fuck's sake," Jack whispered, before pressing the button, "Claptrap? Are you there?" He asked, hoping to hear no reply.
"You have some nerve calling me Jack! Especially since you're dead! I'll summon my minions and they'll find you and they'll -" Claptrap came, voice high and cheery, before being cut off by Jack.
"I'll be your best friend if you call someone from Hyperion for me." Jack responded, using the well-known tactic against Claptrap.
"OK!" Claptrap yelled, before going through his ECHO trying to find someone that could help Jack.
There was silence for several seconds before Claptrap talked, to the displeasure of Jack, "I found someone going by the alias 'Rhy5_is_awesome', and he's working for Hyperion! Would you like me to call him?" Claptrap asked.
"Well, that guy sounds like a douche, are there any other options?"
"Nope!"
"Of course . . . Alright, give me his number. And Claptrap?"
"Yes Jack, newest of friends?"
"Don't call back, ever" Jack finished, rubbing his forehead in an attempt to soothe his headache.
Before Claptrap could say anything, Jack hung up. Sighing deeply to himself, Jack dialled the number that Claptrap had given him.
"He - Hello? Who is this?" Came a voice, after several seconds of dialling.
"Yeah, this is Handsome Jack," before the person could respond, Jack cut him off, "Look, just, get me Blake would you?" Jack finished, paying no attention to the Monsters that watched on.
"Of course, sir - uh, Jack - Handsome Jack. My name's Rhys, you're the best." This person, now identified as Rhys, went on.
"Yeah yeah, you can fanboy all you want later, just do this for me, and we'll see where your life goes from there, m'kay?" Jack said, already getting annoyed.
"Uh, sure. I'll get back to you, Jack." Rhys replied, "Should I end the transmission or is ther -" Rhys was interrupted as Jack ended the call.
Jack muttered something under his breathe before turning to the 2 Monsters just in front of him, "What? You've never seen an ECHO before?" Jack asked mockingly.
"Everything that you've shown us is all . . . strange, to say. We've never seen anything like it. You've brought forth weapons through some strange way, you've used a device similar to a phone, but it's different in some form. And you have a Space Station orbiting a planet that we've never heard of, and are talking about things called 'Vaults' and such. I haven't heard of any of these, and Humans have only just started sending satellites into orbit around Earth." Toriel explained with disbelief.
"Wait, what? Earth? That planet's been destroyed for years. Everyone left once we discovered FTL (Faster than Light) technology, and those who remained became common bandits. And that was like, 900 or so years ago." Jack said, starting to grow paranoid. (I just made a rough guess with the date thing. According to this little Easter egg, Roland was in high school (or some other type of school) in 2854.)
"Jack, it's 2018. Are you sure you don't know how you've gotten here?" Toriel asked, concerned.
Jack stared on, a surprised look plastered upon his face, "No no no no, that doesn't make any sense. That - That isn't possible, hold on." Jack said, slowly standing up from the couch.
Jack began to walk towards the door, leaning against the wall on his wobbly legs, hoping to gain more knowledge about where he was. While he was fading in and out of death, he wasn't able to get such a good profile of the town. Or city, he didn't know. (I just finished Tales from the Borderlands again. I'm sorry, Jack. The game didn't let me become you.)
Asriel started to stand up, hoping to stop him, but Toriel just laid a hand on his arm. Although crude, Jack hadn't shown any overly aggressive attitude towards them. But his Soul spoke for itself. She didn't want to inflict his wrath upon Asriel, or anyone else for that matter.
Jack opened the door and walked out, bathing in the light of the early morning. Creatures were walking around the street, some giving looks of disdain, but Jack paid no attention to those who did. He spent his time looking at the houses lining the street. While houses on Pandora looked similar to the ones around him, albeit more dirty and blood-infested, Pandora wasn't the best choice to base things off. On some of the Eden-Planets, people were living in giant, cybernetic space whales that shot lasers through there frickin' nose! Cheap, old looking cars ran throughout the street, giving the impression of a normal-looking town. There were creatures walking around the place, some of which Jack hadn't seen before. And if Toriel's word was anything to go by, then he's on Earth. Thinking back to his History lessons that he had gone through on the ECHO-Net, his grandmother didn't let him go to school, then there shouldn't be creatures like this roaming about.
Suddenly, Jack's ECHO began to buzz, "Mr Jack, is that you?" came Blake's voice, suave and steady.
"Yeah Blake? I have a little situation 'ere." Jack said, staring around.
Authors Notes: Hey guys and/or gals! I took a break from the Mr House story to work on this. I'm not too sure about this story though, it felt a little bit iffy. Also, I went from the moment Handsome Jack died in Borderlands 2. It just seemed like an easier base to work off of than Tales from the Borderlands, you know? Anyway, I'll start working on the next chapter for Robert's Journey soon enough, have a good night everybody! Or day, whenever you're reading this!