This fanfiction includes SPOILERS for all of Tales from the Borderlands.

The first thing she saw as she entered the room was him in a simple shirt hunched over a desk. His fingers, metal and organic alike, were tinkering with a rifle of sorts. Inky stains dotted the dress shirt and his long slicked-back hair had little wispy tendrils. She leaned on one leg and folded her arms. He was so focused on his efforts that he didn't register her presence whatsoever.

"So, this is where the magic happens, Company Man." The smirk was implied in her teasing tone, it played across her full lips. He jumped. This caused him to drop his tools, emitting a loud clang. A string of curses blazed from his throat. It's funny watching him try to play it off cool when he faced her, and both his natural eye and ECHO implant widened at sight of her. A sunny grin lit up his face.

He must have been genuinely pleased to see her. She still kept her stylish leather coat with red highlights and her knee-high boots on. As well as the hat. Who could forget the hat?

"Hey, Fiona," he laughed awkwardly. "So, how's my favourite Vault Hunter doing? You, uh, here for a job? Cause I don't have any on offer at the moment."

She sauntered towards Rhys, noticing the tats which were on display thanks to the loose collar on his shirt. "Just came by to see how you were, Rhys. Your office looks great, by the way." She planted her fists against her hips and did a glance around the room for emphasis.

"Oh, is- is this you being sarcastic? 'Cause I sure can't tell."

"Duh. Is the warmongering just off to a slow start or did you give up already?" They were in the BioDome, specifically where they had met Cassius for the first time.

Rhys scratched the back of his neck, glancing away from Fiona. "It's not like there're applicants cramming up the doorways... Nobody even knows that Atlas is a thing again."

"So basically you have no one to boss around."

"Basically."

"Well, knowing you, I think you'll find a way to fix that problem. Oh, what about Cassius, though? You're his boss, technically."

"I'm his boss, period. He's been helping me out, actually. With the prototypes and whatnot. Guy's got access to sorts of old Atlas files that'll be handy for producing new guns and other kinds of tech."

Fiona checked the room for signs of the scientist. She raised an eyebrow and quirked her lips into a frown. Rhys understood the silent question. "Ah, he's out there somewhere," he waved with his chrome appendage to the rounded window that had a view of the fluroscent flora and fauna outside. "Getting something for me, for this." He held up the gun he'd been working on.

"One of your prototypes?" She brushed a lock of hair away from her gaze.

"Uh-huh."

"What's it do?"

He held up the gun he had been working on. "Lo and behold, the Zapper! An Atlas Assault Rifle that shoots electricity!"

Fiona looked unimpressed. "Meh. Some elemental weapons do that too."

"No, no, no. Elementals shoot bullets with a gimick. This shoots raw currents of electricity. And you don't even have to reload. So that's one problem taken care of."

"What do you mean?"

"The Zapper can harness power from other electrical appliances. So, robots, ECHOcomms, power stations, anything that runs on electricity. It drains energy from shields in one hit. Sick, am I right?"

She frowned. "I'm way more likely to find ammunition out on Pandora than a power supply..."

"You can change its settings, though. If you want to simply stun enemies you can lower the voltage, or if you've just reached that level of extra-murderous, Kzzzk! Vapourize your targets."

Fiona raised a brow. She sweeped a glance over the Zapper.

"Or, well, it'll do that soon. Mind you, it's currently in beta." Rhys shrugged.

A shake of the head. "Change the name, call it something like 'Electro-Cannon'," Fiona nodded, pleased with herself. Rhys's face fell.

"My design, I decide what it's called. (Although 'Electro-Cannon' does sound cooler...) I just need to test some mods on it, see how it goes... and BOOM! Atlas is back in business, baby. Maybe use it for target practice on some Psychos, I dunno." Rhys shrugged. The Zapper was set down on the bench behind the face of Atlas. It's easy to imagine Rhys fleeing from Psychos and ditching the gun in the snow mid-panic. The mental image made the Vault Hunter crack a smile.

"So business is a bit ehhh, but whatever. Won't stop me. You, on the other hand, Fiona," Rhys jabbed at her with a cybernetic finger, "what have you been up to? Find any new Vaults? Obliterate any bandit camps? Meet up with your VH pals? How's Sasha? Any news from Vaughn? Better make sure they keep worshipping the Great Liberator, heh heh."

"Quests. No. Totally. Yes. Doing fine. Nothing's changed. You're a jackass," she glared, arms across her chest.

"Ooh, is that jealousy I detect, Fiona? I was joking. Still freaks me out a bit, to be honest. Flattering and weird at the same time."

"So the ex-Hyperions have abandoned their ways for good, huh? Did you offer them your grand plan for Atlas?"

"I did put the word out. But nobody came forward. Those guys are just about done serving any corporation."

"Guess the Liberator isn't as adored by his subjects as he previously thought."

Rhys jerked to the side, almost as if he'd been slapped. He pressed his palm over where his heart was. "Ouch. You wound me, dear Fiona." His eyes glimmered with mock-hurt.

"There's more where that came from," snidely muttered Fiona. "So, Atlas is going nowhere, you've isolated yourself and- are you addicted to drakefruit now?"

"Nawwgh?" Denied Rhys poorly. His mouth was stuffed full since he took a great bite of the fruit cupped in his hands.

She grimaced and dodged the spittle from Rhys's lips. "Hang on, let me get changed."

The Quick-Change machine beeped and whirred as Rhys switched outfits for the sharp black suit he preferred. Rhys hummed, strolling away from the ominous-seeming refrigirator-sized device.

"Alright, Atlas. If you thought I didn't simply drop by to chat, you were right."

She needed to tell him about Sanctuary, and about how all the Vault Hunters were needed to prep for some war or something. Still iffy on the details on that part. Rhys was dead-set on rebuilding Atlas- would he even hear her out? She definitely considered herself a Vault Hunter, but Rhys. Rhys she wasn't so sure about.

[Give Rhys the offer]

Or

[Aggressively persuade Rhys]

AN: So Tales From the Borderlands is over D:

Rhys and Fiona's story isn't, though, because I just can't get enough of Rhys and Fiona and Vaughn and Sasha and...

*Needs Season 2 NOW!*

I guess this is my way of coping with the indefinite wait (Telltale probably won't release Season 2. Ever. *Sobs*)

And another thing: this follows on from my playthrough. So, yeah, don't be too surprised about the fates of certain characters...

Leave your vote in a review and I'll check in a few days and work on the next chapter. I do have a general story plan, don't worry. I just dunno what to do in the event of a tie. Maybe I'll toss a coin. *shrugs*

Remember, your choices will drive the story. If you have ideas or constructive critiscism, please, I'm all for it. Love me some of that feedback.

Thanks for reading!