Mordecai watched as the young vault hunter ran from between the double doors and into the Observatory Wing. Previously, Mordecai had walked into a trap and had been overrun with Hyperion troops and his bird, Bloodwing, had fended them off, allowing Mordecai to escape. They had captured his bird though and taken her to the holding cells of the Hyperion compound, the "Wildlife Preservation". All the data Mordecai had was on a chip in his beloved bird's collar, including the software for a Claptrap upgrade which the vault hunter needed to continue their fight against the man known as Handsome Jack, owner of Hyperion. Handsome Jack had had them running through the facility for his own amusement, trying to find where he had kept Bloodwing. Mordecai hadn't been too worried so far. He knew Bloodwing could take care of herself.
But now as the vault hunter stepped out into the Observatory Wing, and the door closed silently behind them, he started to feel anxious. Would she be okay? What had Jack done to her? He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the dark thoughts that had started to creep into his mind. Of course she is okay, he thought to himself, we've been through a lot, she can handle herself.
Handsome Jack began speaking over the ECHO net to the waiting vault hunter, and Mordecai snapped back to reality and listened intently to his arrogant voice. God, Mordecai hated that voice, that over-confident, cocky tone he used when he knew he was one step ahead of the Crimson Raiders' resistance against his leadership on Pandora. It made him want to shut his ECHO device off, but he had to know that Bloodwing was alright. If Jack had hurt her…
"Want Bloodwing back, huh?" Handsome Jack smirked over the ECHO net. Too coward to show up, Mordecai thought to himself. "Shame… I've been doing some really interesting Eridium experiments with her."
The double trap doors at the far end of the Observatory Wing began to slide open and purple Eridium smoke swirled out around whatever was on the rising platform.
"Hate to see her go," Handsome Jack continued. "but heck with it…"
A massive bird with long, bat-like wings curled over its face, was hunched over on the platform. This was Bloodwing, Mordecai's precious bird, dripping with Eridium, purple smoke swirling around her, about five times her normal size. As soon as the platform had come to a halt, she raised herself up and stretched out her incredible wings, giving a hostile shriek at the vault hunter standing before her.
"…she's all yours."
Bloodwing folded her wings and launched herself into the sky, but she wasn't going anywhere. No, there was easy prey here.
Mordecai's hands trembled as he peered into the semitransparent screen of the ECHO net before him. He was close to the facility, but had to watch from his ECHO device, as his sniper rifle's scope did not zoom that far. Anxiety and anger created a storm in the pit of his stomach. He could not take his eyes off of the scene before him. His bird, his Bloodwing, she was so similar, yet so different from the bird he knew. The one he had found as a chick, trained, and loved more than anything or anyone else. She wouldn't recognise him or the vault hunter down below. Hell, she wouldn't even recognise his voice. Everything they had gone through, finding the first vault, taking down bandits, helping the current vault hunter, raiding blood-shot camps, then celebrating until after midnight, gone. Taken away, years of memories ripped from her mind in less than minutes. Handsome Jack had pumped her with too much Eridium.
"Oh…oh my God…" was all that Mordecai could choke out. Anxiety ripped through his body, making him sick to his stomach. His heart slammed against his ribcage with each beat, and adrenaline rushed through him, making his whole body shake. Bloodwing circled the Observatory Wing, purple Eridium smoke still surrounding her.
"Just give it up, kiddo," Handsome Jack smugly told the vault hunter who was aiming their pistol at the gigantic bird. "Bloodwing's got ALL the elements at her disposal. Fire! Electricity! Corrosion! Slag! And, uh… damn, I forgot the last one. What the hell was that again?"
The vault hunter fired at Bloodwing, and she shrieked down at them. Meanwhile, Mordecai's mind was racing.
"Goddammit! Just… just weaken her and I'll hit her with a tranq!" he screamed at the vault hunter, his voice trembling. He attempted to load the tranquilizer dart into his sniper, but his hands were shaking so much that he couldn't slip the dart into the chamber.
"Good god…" Mordecai heard Roland, leader of the Crimson Raiders, speak over the ECHO net to the vault hunter. "I'm sorry, soldier, but you gotta beat Bloodwing down." Mordecai flinched. "Do what you can to save her, but if you can't… she's got what we need to get into Control Core Angel and grab the Vault Key. That's what matters here." Mordecai knew Roland was right, but couldn't help feeling resentment towards him.
"Fire!" announced Handsome Jack as Bloodwing spiralled in mid-flight. The Eridium smoke was gone, instead, orange flames wrapped around her.
As he continued to watch the screen in front of him, Mordecai saw Bloodwing turn quickly and dive towards the vault hunter, talons first, flames streaking behind her. "She's bringin' out her claws – watch out!" he warned the vault hunter, turning his back to the screen and concentrating on loading the dart into the sniper rifle. Down below, the vault hunter rolled out of the way of her deadly claws and fired a few more shots into the bird. Bloodwing screamed at the vault hunter and took off, flying behind the wall surrounding the Observatory Wing. The vault hunter took this time to quickly reload their pistol and brace themselves for the next attack. A few seconds later, Bloodwing reappeared, shooting straight up and over the wall.
Mordecai stole a glance behind him. "Back up! She's slamming the ground!" He saw Bloodwing fold in her wings and dive straight at the ground in front of the vault hunter. They tried to dodge the attack, but a belt of fire exploded from her body, searing through the vault hunter's shield. Bloodwing took to the skies once more while the vault hunter ducked behind some empty crates, letting their shield recharge. The vault hunter quickly holstered their pistol and swapped it for an assault rifle, taking aim at Bloodwing again. They opened fire rapidly and Bloodwing screeched in pain.
"Electricity!" came Handsome Jack's voice over the ECHO net again. Mordecai turned to watch his bird cover herself with her wings as four blue electric tendrils sparked up from the platform to Bloodwing, wrapping around her. She now glowed the same blue as the electricity, and let out a scream as she disappeared from the vault hunter's view again.
"Electricity… slag, fire, electricity, corrosion's coming up next…" Handsome Jack listed off the elements. "… what am I forgetting?"
Mordecai was still shaking, but from anger now. "You're gonna regret ever dragging Bloodwing into this Jack!" he spat into the ECHO device. "You're gonna watch her tear your throat out!"
"Heh," Handsome Jack smirked. "That's cute."
Mordecai had meant everything he had said. He was going to take pleasure watching his bird rip Handsome Jack into bloody pieces. He finally managed to calm down enough to slip the dart into the chamber of one of his sniper rifles. However, he could not use it on Bloodwing yet, she was still too strong, and the vault hunter hadn't weakened her enough. He placed the sniper rifle with the dart aside, and picked up his high-powered Jakobs' rifle.
Down below, sirens sounded in the Observatory Wing, and the many side doors opened. Handsome Jack had freed the skags, dog-like creatures with powerful jaws. Skags attack anything they can, and the vault hunter was the only enemy that they could reach. They bounded out of the doors and surrounded the vault hunter, snapping their jaws and scratching through the vault hunter's shield. Mordecai raised his rifle's scope to his eye and peered down the sight. Despite the movement of the sight from his anxious trembling, Mordecai was still a brilliant shot. He pulled the trigger and the bullet went straight through a skag's jaw. The creature slumped to the ground. Through the sight, Mordecai caught sight of Bloodwing flying up and over the wall, back into the Observatory Wing. She landed heavily onto the ground and stalked towards the vault hunter who was busy dealing with the remaining skags.
"She's got you in her sights, MOVE!" he yelled through the ECHO device.
The vault hunter swiftly turned and fired a volley of rounds into Bloodwing as she advanced. She responded by shrieking and the blue electricity fired from her body and pierced through the vault hunter's shield, fully breaking it. As the vault hunter fired more shots, they ducked once more behind the empty crates and reloaded their assault rifle as they waited for their shield to repair and recharge.
"Corrosion!"
Green acid exploded from the platform, covering Bloodwing in a new element. She rose up, green liquid staining her feathers.
"Corrosion… yeah I remember that one… come on, what's left?" Handsome Jack spoke aloud over the ECHO net.
Flapping her wings, Bloodwing soared over to the vault hunter, whose shield had only half recharged in that time. She reared back and let out an acidic breath, which ate into the vault hunter's shield and clouded their vision with pain. Grunting, the vault hunter stood up from behind the crates and continued firing bullets into the enormous bird dripping with corrosive acid. Bloodwing let out another scream and turned away from the vault hunter, retreating to the other side of the Observatory Wing in pain. Mordecai hated seeing her like this, in pain with no memory of who anybody was. He hated seeing the vault hunter putting bullets into his bird, but knew that it was impossible to tranquilize her when she was so strong.
The vault hunter took the time to reload and resumed pulling the trigger at Mordecai's bird. Bloodwing changed her direction of flight almost immediately and faced the vault hunter. Mordecai knew what she was going to do next, before she even did it.
"She's gonna dive! Get away!"
The vault hunter neatly rolled to the right, seconds before Bloodwing's claws tore through the air. The vault hunter fired their assault rifle into the bird's neck. Bloodwing flinched in pain and shrieked, closing her eyes. Mordecai had had enough; it was time to tranquilize Bloodwing. Time to temporarily rid her of the terrible pain the bullets and the experiments had given her. He picked up the sniper rifle and the chamber that he had laid down next to him.
"I'm loadin' the tranq dart!" Mordecai warned the vault hunter as he pressed the chamber back into the rifle. "Tranquila, Blood… this won't hurt! I promise!"
The vault hunter had taken the warning, stepping down from the fight and holstering their weapon, watching intently. A loud gun shot rang through the Observatory Wing. Bloodwing let out a weak cry and then slumped forward on the ground. All trace of the corrosion was gone and she was back to her normal black and white colours.
Mordecai had calmed down quite a bit, reassured that everything would be fine now that Bloodwing had been tranquilized. He could take her to Doctor Zed's to get patched up. Everything would be okay. He would be reunited with his beloved Bloodwing.
"Okay, she's alive. Get the microchip from her collar, and we can get her back to Sanctuary." Mordecai instructed the vault hunter. He breathed a sigh of relief. THAT was close.
Mordecai watched through the ECHO device as the vault hunter cautiously approached the unconscious bird and pulled the microchip out of the collar around her neck. The vault hunter stepped away from the bird, slipping the microchip into their backpack, as Bloodwing stirred and slowly struggled to her feet. A faint slow beeping noise was coming from her collar.
"Oh, now I remember!" Handsome Jack said happily over the ECHO net. "EXPLOSIIIIIVE!"
The beeping instantly became rapid and Bloodwing let out one more pitiful cry before Handsome Jack detonated the explosives in her collar. Blood splattered across the ground and the vault hunter, and spilled out of the gaping hole in Bloodwing's body. Her corpse crashed to the ground, blood staining her white feathers and pooling around her fallen body.
"NO!" Mordecai screamed. Grief ripped through him and tore him apart as he stared at the headless bird, his best friend, lying on the ground on the ECHO device's screen in front of him, body mangled and bleeding.
Handsome Jack's voice lowered to a dark tone. "That is why you don't screw with me. You and your little friend Mordecai turn yourselves in, or that dumbass bird is just the beginning."
Rage surged through Mordecai, his breaths becoming short, and he gritted his teeth together. "Goddammit Jack! I'M GONNA KILL YOU! YOU HEAR ME?!" Jack was going to die, no matter the cost, no matter what it took. He was going to make sure of that. Tears began to leak from his eyes as it finally settled in that this was the last time he was ever going to see Bloodwing again. Never again would he be able to stroke her feathers, scratch her neck or kiss her beak. He would never be able to praise her or celebrate with her ever again. He had lost the only true friend he had ever known.
"I'm… sorry about Bloodwing, soldier," Roland's voice came through the ECHO net, addressing the vault hunter. "but we've gotta keep moving. Get that software upgrade to Claptrap, and we'll be able to get through the—"
Mordecai shut off the ECHO device, not wanting to listen to any more. He collapsed into the ground, too sick to move.
Mordecai leant against the wall of the Crimson Raiders' headquarters a few days after the incident at the Wildlife Preservation. He raised the bottle of Rakk Ale to his lips and took another large swig. He had sent the vault hunter out on a mission to blast some kegs off the back of a bandit truck. He planned on getting very drunk, enough to make him forget the events of the past few days. Grief had taken its toll on him. He had lost a lot of weight from his refusal to eat and had sunken in, empty eyes. Dark rings had slowly appeared under his eyes due to his lack of sleep. Nightmares usually plagued the occasional sleep he managed to get. He drank constantly, every day.
Lilith, a siren, and Roland were talking out on the balcony behind him. Lilith was another founding member of the Crimson Raiders, along with a large muscled man named Brick, who was absent at the time.
"Remember, ah…remember that time Mordecai got shot in the shoulder?" Lilith reminisced. Mordecai raised his head a tiny bit. What the hell were they talking about him for? "And he just hid behind cover and threw Bloodwing out to face those bandits on her own?"
Mordecai felt a pang of guilt in his stomach and frowned. What was she bringing this up for?
"Heh, yeah." Roland replied.
Lilith laughed and continued, "And Bloodwing just flew around and around in circles, not attacking anybody?"
Mordecai took another swig from the bottle in his hand. He remembered clearly and growled angrily to himself.
Lilith raised her voice cheerfully at the memory, motioning her hands as she retold the story to Roland. "And Mordecai was screamin' at her, 'what are you doing, you coward, get to killin', blah blah blah' and finally Mordecai stood up out of cover—"
"And Bloodwing went screaming down into the fray and killed all those bandits in a half-second." Roland interrupted, grinning. "She wanted Mordecai to see her do it. Wanted to make him proud."
Another swig. More guilt. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to calm down. He was trying to forget everything, so why did they have to bring up old memories of Bloodwing? Bloodwing, who he will never see again. Bloodwing, who had died a brutal death at the hands of Handsome Jack. And here they were, acting as if nothing had happened.
"And Mordecai was happy as a skag in slag, kissin' her beak, scratchin' her neck…" he heard Lilith continue the story.
"Yeah which woulda been cute, if Bloodwing hadn't been covered in entrails." Roland chuckled.
Mordecai had heard enough. He already felt sick to the stomach and guilty for Bloodwing's death without the other two Crimson Raiders adding to it. He discarded his empty Rakk Ale bottle to the side and pushed himself off the wall.
"Rrrghh… SHUT UP ALREADY!" he spat at them through gritted teeth. They immediately ceased talking and stared at the sniper. Mordecai turned his back on them and started to walk away, he needed to be alone.
Roland lowered his eyes to the ground in shame and sighed.
"Ugh, I'm a bad person…" Lilith said quietly, disgust lingering in her voice.
Silence filled the air as they watched a shattered man leave the room.