A/N: Hello faithful readers! I'm here with another collaboration piece with Dr. Archangel and cmech54! New Pandora's sequel… New Elpis!
Chapter 1: Getting Set
Angel's alarm started blaring, the young Siren extremely excited for her day today. Angel shot up out of bed and turned her alarm off, immediately grabbing her clothes for the day. Today was the day she was going off to Elpis to start her work for the Crimson Raiders. It was originally spun to them as a punishment for getting involved in the Crimson Raiders' war with Maliwan. In the end, it was actually her and her friends, the kids, who were key in bringing the war to an end.
Let's start from the beginning, Angel is the child of Maya and Zer0, two of the Vault Hunters that stopped Handsome Jack. She was trained as an assassin by her father, and tutored by her mother when her powers came to fruition. Her two best friends are Patrick, the son of Krieg and Patricia Tannis, and Justin, son of Gaige and Axton. One day, the three of them went into the Fridge and found a group of four men that could harness the elements of Pandora. The four men were actually an experiment by Maliwan, and they were meant to be kept secret, so Angel and her friends had to disappear.
Luckily, a new friend showed up to save them, Nickoli Vladof, the cyborg super soldier and son of the Vladof founder. With his help, as well as the help of Zver, Nickoli's pet badass stalker and best friend, all of them were able to escape. That is, until Maliwan attacked Crimson City and abducted the kids, taking them to a space station over Pandora. There, Angel met her fearsome foe, Dr. Harloc, who only had one job: create an artificial Siren. Nickoli, Patrick and Justin escaped the clutches of Maliwan, finding two unlikely allies.
The first, a girl by the name of Lynn, who was able to harness all four of the Pandoran elements, and Z-12, a fully functioning clone of Zer0 the assassin. With their combined abilities, the group was able to rescue Angel and return to Crimson City, while at the same time blowing up the Maliwan space station. From there, Maliwan openly declared war against the Crimson Raiders. It wasn't until Angel and Z-12 were abducted by an old adversary of Zer0 that turned everything into an actual war. N1ne, brother of E1ght, had returned and was part of Maliwan, being the founder of Project Assassin, the project that created clones of Zer0.
While captured, Angel and Z-12 learned that Z-12 had escaped only to join the assassins in their assault against Crimson City. After their escape, Maliwan started the war by sending an army to Crimson City made up of soldiers, drones and of course; assassin clones. While the war raged, the kids initiated their own plan to assassinate the Maliwan leaders. This plan, of course, failed since it was all a trap set up by the people they planned to assassinate. During the trap, Z-12 was seriously injured and Angel on the verge of losing herself to her Siren charged emotions.
Thanks to Lynn, Nickoli and Zver, they were able to rescue the two assassin children before any more damage. Upon return, Z-12 was admitted to a hospital and was saved, but his injuries severed his spinal cord and inhibited his ability to walk. Thankfully, Zer0's old ally, Wade Wilson, was able to give Z-12 a fraction of his healing ability, returning his ability to walk. After that, Dr. Harloc hacked into the ECHO frequency, showing a feed of her shooting Lady Maliwan and delivering a code that activated the chips in the clones' heads, turning them against anything that moved, even Maliwan. Lilith attempted to execute Z-12 to prevent him from turning on them, but Angel stopped her since Z-12 wasn't turning on them. Once the situation was resolved, Z-12 stole his father's helmet and Wade's personal teleporter and went to the battlefield to deal with his clone brothers.
Angel went after brother, only to find him amongst the bodies of the clones with two bricks of C4 strapped to him with detonator in hand. She was able to stop him and return him to his family, where he was reminded about his family and those who care about him. Once the situation was resolved, Zer0 presented an idea to Commander Lilith, a final assault against Maliwan. Once there, Angel, Lilith, Maya and Lynn went after Dr. Harloc while Zer0 and Z-12 went after N1ne. Zer0 and Z-12 faced their rival and threw everything they had at him, stopping him in the end.
Before his demise, N1ne hinted at there being more clones, but Zer0 killed him before he could say anymore. In the end, Dr. Harloc was successful in creating a Synthetic Siren, and she was the result. The Sirens and Lynn threw everything they had, but it wasn't until Angel unlocked her true potential as a Siren that they were able to defeat and kill Harloc. Everyone returned to the city and celebrated their victory, and the kids were given their punishment for interfering with military affairs: They were to be sent to Elpis to initiate a Crimson Raider outpost there. Which is where, out story begins.
Angel grabbed her clothes for the day, her assassin suit and Disharm0ny helmet, and quickly changed. She grabbed her bag as well as her assassin blade given to her by her father, and ran into the living room to see her brother, Zach (formerly Z-12) sitting at the table eating breakfast in his red and black suit. Angel had customized hers as well, taking a black and blue look to add to her long black hair with a blue streak. Her mother cooked Angel her breakfast, but Angel could see the tear streaks on her face. It was hard for her, seeing her baby girl growing up and leaving the house, as well as her son she had only known for a short time.
Their father was happy that the two were moving out, seeing them grow up and live their lives, but he was just as sad even though he didn't show it. Zer0 sat at the end of the table, reading his paper and drinking his coffee as Angel sat down, Maya bringing her breakfast. Maya gave her daughter her food and then kissed the side of her head, the first of many that were to come. Maya then took her seat next to her daughter, not very hungry since it was a sad day for her. Zer0 could sense this and reached out to her, taking her hand to let her know that it was going to be okay.
Maya did her best to smile, but it was in vain since her next thought was about her babies leaving home. Angel ate her breakfast in a hurry while Zach finished his up, Zer0 taking note of Angel's eagerness.
"Slow down before you choke. Don't be in such a rush to leave home." Zer0 stated as he set his paper down for a sip of his coffee. Angel swallowed the mouthful of food she had, remembering this was a tough time for her parents.
"Sorry, I'm just… really excited to be getting out." Angel replied as she slowed down her eating. Angel took her mother's other hand, assuring Maya like her husband was doing. Maya couldn't help but smile more, happy that her kids were growing up. The breakfast was finished quickly and the family headed out, ready to say goodbye to each other. The family went to the fast travel station and headed for the Dust, the only place where a ship could fly without causing any damage to civilized life. The track was at least a mile or two long and ran on two large rails.
The rocket itself was large, at least as large as a cruise ship, and kinda looked like one too, the only difference being there was no large cabin section or deck, just a nearly flat top. The family approached, seeing that the only other ones there were Lilith, Lynn, Nickoli and Zver. Nickoli was the first to spot the family and waved, causing Angel to wave back while her helmet displayed a heart emoji. Angel sped up her walk until she ran into Nickoli's arms, her cyborg boyfriend wrapping her in a hug. The hug was short lived, since Zer0 cleared his throat and he didn't care for Nickoli, but it was natural since Nickoli was dating his daughter.
"Nice to see all of you could make it." Lilith chuckled as she patted Angel's shoulder.
"Sorry, I was holding them up. It's just…" Maya explained as she started to tear up. She threw her arms around her kids, burying their helmet faceplates in her shoulders. Zer0 patted Maya's shoulder to try and calm her down while Lilith sighed and shook her head with a smile. She was kinda going through the same thing, since she'd been watching over Lynn and Nickoli for a while, she felt like… like a mother figure. Lynn rolled her eyes and looked around, seeing the rest of the families heading over to them, Gaige looking teary eyed while Tannis looked relatively calm.
"Needed a moment to gather yourself? Well, join the club of falling apart all over again." Lilith chuckled as the large family gathering occurred. Gaige put her arm around Justin, doing her best to hold herself together, but then falling apart just like Lilith said. Nickoli noted that Tannis closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she put a hand on Patrick's shoulder, the mute bruiser putting a silent hand on his mother's. Lilith stepped to the side of the steps that were on the rocket and made her speech.
"You kids, have done great things for your young age. You helped stop a war that would have ruined peace on Pandora. Granted, it was partially your faults-." Lilith began. All of the kids made joke booing sounds while the parents simply laughed.
"But most of the fault went to Maliwan. Now, as for your punishment, you will be establishing a Crimson Raider outpost on Elpis. Gaige has already sent out scout bots and found an old Dahl communications station that was previously run by a bandit duo known as Red Belly. It's been long since abandoned thanks to a band of mercenaries employed by Jack that cleared the place out. An associate will meet you at Concordia to take you there." Lilith finished after chuckling from her hecklers. Maya and Gaige started to tear up again while Tannis maintained her usual composure.
"So kids, it's time for you to head out on your next adventure." Lilith sighed as she gestured to the stairs. The kids shouldered their bags as their parents said their final goodbyes, no one taking the departure very well. Maya wrapped her arms around her kids, burying their faceplates into her shoulder once again as she started to cry.
"Now remember kids, *sniff* call me when you get set and let me know *sniff* how you're doing. And call me whenever you can." Maya reminded them, as she cried slowly falling apart, again. Zach and Angel wrapped their arms around their mother, doing their best to console her and get her to stop crying. Maya finally regained control of herself, but Zer0 knew the second the kids left she would begin crying again. Gaige was in the same position, holding onto Justin for dear life so he wouldn't have to go. Justin was only 15, so letting him out of the nest early was painful for her.
"Come on Gaige, you gotta let him go sometime." Axton sighed as he patted Gaige's shoulder. She slowly let Justin out of her grasp, Justin gasping for air since his mother had such a tight grip on him. She took a few deep breaths before she was finally able to speak.
"Okay, you know the rules. Be on your best behavior, eat healthy and get your exercise." Gaige exclaimed as she started listing things off on her fingers.
"Wear proper eye protection during experiments. Wear the proper gloves when working with live wires." Justin started listing too. Gaige bopped him in the back of the head, causing him to laugh a bit. Axton walked over to Justin and put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a small squeeze.
"Remember kiddo, keep yourself and your weapons clean." Axton reminded.
"Thanks Dad."
"And one more thing, keep an eye on Angel. Her parents still don't 100% trust Nickoli, so I want you to help Zach and keep an eye on the two of them."
"You got it, Dad. And I'll keep working on my Battle Borak."
"That's my boy."
Axton and Justin shook hands, both of them chuckling until Gaige broke down again, wrapping her arms around the both of them. Tannis was busy reading off her notes on Patrick's childhood, something about the proper way to raise a child. Krieg simply walked over and put his hand on Tannis' shoulder, stopping her in the middle of her sentence so she could reword her talk.
"Patrick, my son, what I'm trying to say is… I love you, and you're a very good son. You've done nothing but make your father and I very proud, and we both love you very much." Tannis reworded, making Krieg smile and hooked his arm around her waist. Patrick smiled and wrapped his arms around his parents.
"I love you too, Mom and Dad." Patrick quietly proclaimed. Tannis showed a bit of her own humanity and maternal instincts as she wrapped her arms around her child, resting her chin on his shoulder. Tannis pulled out of the hug as she felt her eyes start to tear up, allowing Krieg to have a moment with his son. He simply patted Patrick's back, the two of them already knowing that everything that needed to be said was already said. Lilith walked over to Lynn and Nickoli, who were having a small conversation between each other.
"Hey, ass pains, I got something for the two of you." Lilith called, gaining the duo's attention.
"Look, I know… things have been rough since you two showed up… but I have to tell you… I wouldn't have changed a thing. The two of you have… I don't know… made the home life that much better." Lilith tried to explain. She was terrible with words and hoped that Nickoli and Lynn understood what she was trying to say. The two shook their heads and hugged Lilith, catching her off guard and surprising her, but she slowly warmed into it. Lilith rested her cheeks on the top of their heads, honestly, not wanting to let them leave. She had grown accustom to their presence in her home and enjoyed having them around.
"We'll miss you, Lil." Lynn sighed. Lynn really liked Lilith, kinda like the older sister that she didn't know she needed. Hell, when Lynn first met Lilith she was arrested and tossed into a cell. But now, now they were so close that it was difficult to leave.
"You're the best." Nickoli added. The first time Nickoli met Lilith, he was honestly intimidated meeting one of the most powerful Sirens in the universe. Then he ended up living with her in order to protect Angel and her friends, but in the end it had become a home to him.
"I love you, kids." Lilith sighed, just wanting the two to know exactly how she felt about them.
"We love you too, Lil." Lynn responded as she pulled away. Nickoli pulled away too, his eyes tearing up just a little bit as he did.
"Now get out of here. You've got the next step of your lives in front of you."
Nickoli and Lynn shouldered their bags and headed to the rocket with Zver on their tails as Patrick and Justin did the same. Zach and Angel were a little more held up as their father wanted to speak with them before they left.
"Before the two of you leave, I just want you both to know that I am very proud of you. Now I want you two to go out there and enjoy yourselves and make your futures." Zer0 exclaimed as he put his hands on their shoulders. The two of them nodded, Zer0 patting their shoulders.
"Now go on. You've got a rocket to catch."
The two gave their father one last hug before boarding the rocket and the parents moving to a safe distance. The inside of the rocket was fairly large with four rows of seats five across, so there was plenty of room for everyone to sit. There was a control panel at the front, but it was all automated so it was there in case of emergencies. Lynn and Zach took the front row while Patrick and Justin sat in the middle while Nickoli and Angel sat in the back and Zver simply bouncing off the walls with excitement. Angel noticed that Zach and Justin would look back at her and Nickoli every once in a while, which was setting off a small red flag.
The lights on the console started to light up and beep as a female voice made an announcement over the internal intercom system.
"Attention passengers, we are about to depart. Ensure that all loose cargo is secured, as well your personal restraints." The female voice exclaimed. Everyone checked their gear and their restraints to ensure that they weren't going to fly out of their seats on take-off. The group felt the thrusters start to fire and the rocket started to move forward. The rocket ran along the track, slowly gaining speed until they reached the incline, the rocket then heading up and propelling itself into the air, the parents watching from a distance as their kids went on with their lives.
O00000O00000O
The rocket ride was relatively short, maybe an hour at the most, and mostly uneventful. The rocket autopilot took over and brought the group to Concordia, Elpis' busiest space port and the group's first stop before heading to the Crisis Scar. The rocket flew to a slow stop, the group going to the chest by the door and readied themselves to meet the associate that Lilith talked about. The door opened, the change in pressure causing a hissing sound as new oxygen rushed into the ship.
"Hellooooo Travelers!" Claptrap greeted as the group exited the ship. Almost all of them groaned, except for Nickoli, who was used to Claptrap's presence, and Patrick, who was almost always silent.
"I've been told that you are the group that is going to take up residence at the old Dahl comms facility in the Crisis Scar!" Claptrap exclaimed. Nickoli stepped forward since he was both a familiar face and someone who could bare Claptrap's presence.
"That's us. We've got some supplies and other things for the new base." Nickoli exclaimed.
"Fantastic! Just get the things out of the cargo hold and we'll be on our way! Oh! And take these!"
Claptrap pulled out several grey triangle shaped boxes from his inventory, each of the kids taking one.
"These are O2 Kits or Oz Kits! They generate a bubble of oxygen around your head so you can breathe when you are in a vacuum environment. No gather your things! We're off to the Crisis Scar!" Claptrap explained as he turned and started rolling. The group was lucky to get a cargo runner to transport the three large shipping containers that were stored in the rocket. Lucky for them, the drive from Concordia to the Crisis Scar was very quick, arriving at the gate almost immediately. Claptrap started working on the control panel to the station, the door eventually opening after a few minutes. The group pressed on, passing through the gate to see the large station that was going to be their home.
There was a large land bridge that had a small garage in front of a large, almost fortress-like, wall with a sign that read "RED BELLY'S GANG". Nickoli jumped off the cargo runner and activated the Oz field generator, enveloping the land bridge with a large oxygen bubble that deactivated the group's Oz Kits. Nickoli and Lynn headed to the station first since they were going to have to practically rewire the entire station for it to be operational once more. The front gate was relatively easy, Patrick, Justin and Zach working together to move the canisters since the cargo runner was too large to fit through the gate. Thanks to zero gravity, the canister movement was pretty simple.
The station was very open at the center with a large wall that went around the station, which seemed kinda pointless in retrospect since it was in a low gravity area. There were two compounds on the ground level, one directly to the right of the entrance and another along the left wall. The group continued on, activating another oxygen generator that covered the open area of the base. Towards the back was an entrance to the rest of the station that also acted as a garage. Just above it were two open rooms that had decrepit bunks and broken down lockers.
The room opened into a walkway that had several more small building structures on it until they made it to the main satellite structure. It was a large dome structure that a massive transmitter on the top of the building. Inside the structure was a large holo-pad that was currently busted since there were several cracks and bullet holes in it. Several computers were placed around the structure, although most of them were busted in the same fashion as the holo-pad.
"Well, this is our home now." Angel sighed as she ran a finger along a computer, collecting a large amount of dust. She couldn't help but think that the place was a wreck, might as well of scraped the place for spare parts.
"This place sucks. It's a junkyard." Justin commented as he poked at something that looked like a red trashcan.
"It just needs some love is all. Once we get to work on it, this place will look good as new." Nickoli commented as he inspected the holo-pad. Nickoli had to agree, the place had some miles on it, but it was far from lost. With a lot of hard work, this station could easily be a good outpost for the Crimson Raiders, as well as their home.
"Well, our first job should be to clean up. So we'd better get to work since it's going to take some time with just the six of us." Lynn groaned as she leaned against a busted computer console. Almost on cue, Claptrap rolled into the soon to be command center with news.
"Children! Have you not opened the canisters yet?" Claptrap questioned.
"No, we haven't. Is it going to help?"
"Boy will it! Follow me!"
The group begrudgingly followed Claptrap to the courtyard where the canisters were currently being stored. Claptrap rolled to the canister with a large white 3 on the side and opened it up, revealing everyone's worst nightmare; more Claptrap units. There were 10 of them in varying colors, and all of them activated at the same time… it was the galaxy's greatest annoyance in stereo. All of the new Claptrap units rolled out in two rows, stopping in front of the group as a red one took the lead.
"Greetings traveler! We were recommissioned, thanks to Creator Gaige, to help you return this station into working order!" The new unit exclaimed.
"I don't know if this is a blessing or a curse. At least we have more hands to clean the base up with." Nickoli grumbled. The group and Claptraps scattered and started to clean the base in their own way. Angel and Zach were on wall detail, removing the graffiti that the bandits before left while Lynn and Nickoli focused on the electronics. Patrick worked mostly on the heavy lifting while Justin found a vehicle in the garage. Zver wasn't much help since he seemed more preoccupied with marking his new territory and taking on the local kraggons. It took several hours and a lot of work, but the base was at least clean and didn't look like a Pandoran scrapyard.
Angel scaled the wall with her brother, the two jumping over the end and onto the boardwalk that lined the top of the walls. The two were still trying to figure out how and why the previous occupants would put so much graffiti on the outside of the walls. Angel wiped the sweat from her brow as she looked around, seeing the Claptrap units rolling around and cleaning up the last of the trash when she noticed Nickoli working on one of the control panels. He must've been working hard since he wasn't wearing his jacket or a shirt. Angel leaned on the railing and watched Nickoli work with a smile, taking in the sight of her sweaty boyfriend.
Zach noticed Angel staring at Nickoli and he was starting to feel uncomfortable, so he flicked her ear to get her to stop. Angel snapped out of her day dream and returned to reality, her face turning a deep red since she knew that Zach caught her staring. Zach was about to say something when his stomach growled, practically creating an echo that roused the neighboring kraggons. Angel was about to start laughing at her brother when her own stomach started to growl, getting some roaring responses from the same kraggons.
"I guess we should get something to eat from Concordia." Zach chuckled as he started making his way down.
"Yeah, I'll get some orders from everyone and we'll head out." Angel exclaimed as she followed him.
"Alright, but make sure you actually get something out of Nickoli rather than just staring at him."
"Can't really make any promises."
Angel went over to Nickoli as he pulled out his ECHO and started talking into it.
"Alright, I'm connecting the wires. Stay clear or it's gonna suck." Nickoli warned as he grabbed two wires and brought them together. Angel noticed that the lights around the wall started to flicker before finally coming on.
"So far so good. How are the power levels looking? Can't afford to go over what we can do." Nickoli exclaimed as he closed the panel.
"We're in the green. Now we got lights and running water. Now all we need is cable and we're golden." Lynn responded over the ECHO. Nickoli chuckled and shook his head, turning to head off to his next job but ran into Angel instead. Nickoli nearly jumped three feet out of his skin when he saw Angel just standing behind him.
"Sorry! Force of habit!" Angel immediately apologized. Nickoli leaned against a wall and took several deep breaths to readjust his heart rate.
"What's up Angel?" Nickoli questioned as his heart rate finally returned to a normal rate.
"Zach and I are heading to Concordia to get food. What are you feeling like?"
"I don't know, just something that won't kill me if I look at it."
"Seems simple enough. So have you claimed a room yet?"
Nickoli looked around, trying to figure out who was already living where since he really didn't have a room yet. Zach was living in the room just off the entrance while Lynn was in the compound on the left wall, Patrick and Justin were rooming together in the area above the garage.
"Not yet. What about you?" Nickoli questioned. Nickoli noticed that Angel turned a little pink and started looking at her feet as she answered him.
"Well, I was kinda hoping that, um, we could room… together?" Angel questioned, hoping that Nickoli wouldn't think they were moving too fast. Nickoli turned a little red as he started scratching the back of his head. Sure, the thought of sleeping with Angel in the same bed every night was a very appealing thought, but he was simply nervous.
"Room… together? Uh, sure… sounds great. I know there's a small compound on the walkway. We could probably set up there, if you want." Nickoli answered, putting a wide smile on Angel's face. She threw her arms around him and planted a kiss on his lips, Nickoli wrapping his arms around her waist. They were stuck in that position for some time, at least until Zach found them. The Zer0 clone rolled his eyes and tossed a small rock at them, hitting Nickoli in the back of the head. The two finally broke as Zach walked over to them, slowly shaking his head.
"Good thing I went to everyone else when I saw you head over to Nick. Figured you two would rather eat each other than anything else." Zach grumbled as he leaned against a wall. Nickoli and Angel were both red as they separated, both of them extremely embarrassed from getting caught, for the millionth time.
"I figured out what Nickoli wanted to eat." Angel exclaimed, trying to get some heat off her back.
"I swear if he says you-."
"No! Let's just get the food. Nickoli, can you move my stuff to my room?" Angel questioned as she tried to hide her deep red face. Nickoli gave a thumbs up, also trying to hide his face as Zach moved from the wall. Angel and Zach were about to head out when Justin came running out of the garage covered in oil and other garage liquids.
"Guys! I've got a new vehicle for you! A Stingray!" Justin exclaimed as he handed Zach an ECHO file.
"What the hell is a Stingray?" Zach questioned as he looked at the file.
"It's kinda like a motorcycle, but it has a jump boost rather than a speed boost. The bandits had a busted one in the garage. Just a few tweaks and a digi-scan and you now have a new vehicle."
"Nice work, Big Guy. We're gonna get moving."
Zach and Angel headed out the front gate, Zach plugging in the file and started downloading the new vehicle.
"You know, you should probably talk to Nickoli last when you are gathering information. If not then we don't get any actual information other than what Nick's tongue feels like." Zach joked as they waited. Angel rolled her eyes before she actually responded.
"Very funny. You'd be the same if you had a girlfriend."
"That would require a girl to actually like me."
"I'm sure there is a girl out there for you. What about Lynn? She's nice."
"I don't think I'm what she's looking for."
"What's she looking for?"
Zach looked over at Angel, who had her head cocked to the side the same way a small dog would with a new sound. It took a minute, but it finally clicked in Zach's head on why Angel wasn't getting.
"Um, Angel… Lynn is gay." Zach explained.
"Really? She's gay? Oh… OH… so much makes sense now."
"You really didn't know?"
"No, I just thought she was really friendly with me. A feminine connection."
Zach laughed as the Stingray file finished downloading and the two spawned their Stingrays. The two quickly rode to Concordia and headed to the only place that sold food, the Up Over Bar. It was set up on the second floor of the building, even though the entrance was on the first floor. The place was cut in half with tables on the left half of the building and a dance floor with a DJ duo. The back wall held the bar complete with bar stools and drunks.
Angel and Zach took a spot at the bar and observed the local populous, seeing that it mainly consisted of space ship drivers. Zach spotted three men in black and red military uniforms with a white V and a red star at the center. Angel noticed there was a girl sitting at the end of the bar near the dance floor wearing a black jacket with the hood pulled up so her face was shadowed. A woman finally showed up and got them some drinks while taking their orders. The two were enjoying their drinks and the music when a couple of men walked in, and they didn't look like the friendliest of men.
There were five of them and all of them were wearing space suits with gas masks on, and they were also armed. They almost immediately honed in on Angel, the Siren Assassin already mentally preparing herself for a fight. The lead scav leaned against the bar while the rest positioned themselves around the bar.
"Hello there, darling. What brings you around to our neck of the woods?" The scav flirted, Angel clearly not paying attention to it. She was about to respond when Zach stepped in to get him to back off.
"She's got a boyfriend, ass hat. So I'd back off." Zach warned as he took a sip of his drink. The scav clearly didn't enjoy Zach's interruption, so he stepped up to him with his hand on his pistol.
"You her boyfriend, chump?"
"No, he's much scarier than me. Dude's got laser cannons for arms."
Angel noticed that Zach's comments seemed to gain the attention of the uniformed men in the corner, all three standing up. Angel turned to Zach to warn him about the uniformed men when she saw the lead scav put his pistol to Zach's head. A shit eating grin slowly made its way across Zach's face as he sipped his drink once more.
"Hey DJ! Que the music, will ya?" Zach called out. The two DJs looked at each other and shrugged, then laid down a techno beat that was heavy with bass. Zach quickly pushed the barrel of the pistol away from his face and slammed his drink into the side of the scav's head. Angel quickly moved to the bar and swung her leg, slamming her heel where the bridge of his nose would be. One of the scavs pulled his pistol on Zach, but the assassin clone quickly grabbed his wrist and twisted, forcing him to drop the weapon.
As soon as the pistol hit the ground, Zach delivered a quick strike to the bandit's elbow, snapping his arm. A scav attempted to pull a gun on Angel, but she was just as fast as her brother. She caught the scav's hand before he could get the pistol on her, but she went for mans greatest weakness. She pulled her leg back and delivered a power kick straight to the man's groin, his squeal of pain now 3 octaves higher than what it normally would have been. The last scav clearly saw that the two kids were more than capable enough to handle him, so he decided to turn and run.
Unfortunately, he ran straight into the three uniformed men, the one he ran into reaching up and snapping his neck without blinking. Zach and Angel clearly saw that the three men meant business, and they definitely looked the part. Each of them wore a harness with a Vladof pistol in the holster, all three of them having blonde hair and dark eyes, making them look that much more menacing. All three of them drew their pistols as they approached the assassin duo, the two preparing themselves for a fight to the death.
Luckily, a glass flew and slammed into the left one's head, knocking him off balance. He would have regained his balance, if the next thing to hit him wasn't one of the bar stools that was ripped out of the ground. The man flew back and rolled down the stairs, his companions watching him roll before facing the one who threw the stool. As they turned, the woman Angel noticed did a flying jump kick, her black boots slamming into the middle man's chest and sending him flying. The third man was about to unload his pistol into the woman, but she kicked his legs out from beneath him, his pistol flying from his hand as he hit the ground.
The woman quickly wrapped her legs around the man's neck and started to choke him out. Zach slid over to Angel and watched with extreme fascination.
"Who is she?" Zach questioned.
"I don't know, but she's a badass." Angel questioned as the man finally passed out, the woman releasing him before she killed him.
"Whoever she is, I so pity the man that pressures her into prom sex."
The woman finally stood up, her hood falling down and revealing her face. She had short dark brown hair that was tied back into a short ponytail with green eyes. She had a very beautiful face, she had slightly pale skin with a small pointed chin, giving her face almost a tear drop shape. Angel approached her with Zach right behind her, both of them curious on who their ally was.
"Um, who are you?" Angel questioned, ready for anything.
"And do you have a boyfriend?" Zach questioned as he took his place next to Angel, who rolled her eyes at the question. The woman raised her eyebrow at the two, then shook her head and answered the questions.
"My name is Lydia, and I apologize, but I am not into men." She answered. Angel noticed that she had an accent similar to Nickoli's, only hers was a bit thicker.
"That's just my luck. Anyway, I'm Zach and this is my sister Angel. So what brings you to Elpis?" Zach sighed.
"I'm just… looking for my future. What about you?" Lydia answered.
"Setting up a Crimson Raider outpost in the Crisis Scar."
Angel tapped on Zach's side and motioned for him to step aside, Zach easily understanding what she wanted to do. Angel held up a finger to Lydia, who nodded as the two stepped away to talk in private.
"Whatcha thinking, Sis?" Zach questioned as they went to the opposite side of the bar.
"I'm thinking she should come with us. She can clearly fight and we could always use more hands around the base. What do you think?"
Zach leaned to the side to check out Lydia, who was currently sitting at the bar waiting patiently. Angel was right, Lydia was definitely skilled and they really could use more help around the base.
"Sure, but we should probably run it by Lilith when we get there. After all, we aren't actually part of the Crimson Raiders." Zach reminded as he shrugged. Angel nodded and headed back over to Lydia, who was still waiting patiently.
"I have an offer for you, Lydia. How about you join us?" Angel questioned as she extended a hand of friendship. Lydia looked Angel up and down, then smiled and shook her hand.
"How could I say no? Not like I have anything more important going on." Lydia replied as she shook Angel's hand. Zach gave a small clap, then noticed that some of the bandits as well as the officers started to come back to.
"Um, we should probably get out of here. But let's grab the food first." Zach exclaimed as he grabbed the box that held their orders. The trio headed out, Lydia quickly snatching the Vladof pistol from the ground before they left Concordia. Angel spawned a Moon Zoomy from the vehicle station, which essentially looked like a moon rover with a missile pod on it, so Zach could sit in the turret with the food and Lydia could drive. Angel then got her Stingray and the group headed to the Crisis Scar to introduce their addition to the group. Once they approached the gate, Angel questioned the Claptrap that was placed in charge of the gate, this one a blue color.
"Hey Claptrap, do you know where everyone is?" Angel questioned.
"My current readings say that everyone is in the main command center!" The Claptrap responded with a salute.
"Excellent. Thanks Blue."
The trio headed into the base and were immediately intercepted by Zver, who was covered in ash and minor burns. Zver, even in his current condition, still panted and looked as happy as ever as he ran over to Angel and started to lick her face. Angel laughed and scratched Zver behind his spikes, making the large stalker kick his back leg in joy. Lydia looked to Zach, who seemed like the badass stalker was a normal occurrence.
"Um, why is there a badass stalker at your outpost?" Lydia questioned as she slowly loosened her grip on her pistol. Angel finally stopped scratching Zver and led him to the new addition to the group.
"Lydia, this is Zver, our resident cyborg badass stalker. Zver, this is our new friend, Lydia." Angel introduced, making Lydia a tad uncomfortable.
"Um, hello? Zver?" Lydia greeted as she held out her hand to the stalker. Initially, she thought that Zach and Angel were a pair of scavengers that were doing well for themselves, not two psychopaths that had a badass cyborg stalker for a pet. The stalker sniffed her hand and made a huffing sound before turning and heading deeper into the base.
"He warms up to you. Come on, meet the rest of the group." Zach exclaimed as he started leading Lydia into the base. Lydia's initial thoughts on the base; this place needed work. Granted, it did look better than most abandoned places on Elpis with corpses and graffiti everywhere, so at least the place was cleaned up. Claptraps rolled around and did miscellaneous jobs to help clean up the base. The trio entered the command center, almost everyone mobbing Zach for their food.
Once everyone had their food, Angel decided it was time to introduce everyone.
"Hey guys! We have a new friend. This is Lydia, she's a total badass." Angel introduced as she put her hands on her hips. Everyone waved at their new friend and took turns introducing themselves.
"Lynn."
"Justin."
"Patrick."
"Nickoli."
Lydia raised an eyebrow when Nickoli introduced himself, the young woman walking over to him with intent in her eyes.
"Nickoli? As in, Nickoli Vladof?" Lydia questioned as she approached him. Nickoli immediately took a defensive posture, readying himself for anything that was going to come his way. He also noted that Angel had stepped behind Lydia with her hand on her blade, ready to strike her down if need be.
"I am."
"I have been searching for you for quite some time… I didn't think I'd find you here."
"And why are you looking for me?"
Lydia looked at the ground and took a deep breath before answering his question.
"My full name… is Lydia Vladof… I am your sister." Lydia exclaimed. Everyone was in complete shock that something that big was just dropped before them.
"What!?" Almost everyone barked at the same time.
"What the hell?!" Zack blurted, being the last person to react.
A/N: Well, aren't we off to an explosive start? We've got a new base as well as a new sibling! Special thanks to Dr. Archangel and cmech54 for being the skeleton writers. PM or review for any thoughts comments or concerns. Until next time!
-Chief