Author's Note: Hey! Thanks for the awesome feedback so far. Glad you guys like it! Can't wait to see your reactions to this next chapter and those that follow! I don't own Borderlands.
The six Vault Hunters arrived in the dark town of Flamerock Refuge. In the distance they could make out the silhouettes of the town's scouting blimps, always on alert in case of an attack. "Let's talk to some townsfolk." Gaige suggested. The others were in agreement, and they walked over to the first person they saw. "AHHHHHH!" She screamed. She ran away shouting hysterically about "they only come out at night!". The others looked at each other and shrugged, and went over to the next person they saw. Thankfully, this one was a lot saner. "The queen hath gone missing!" She exclaimed. "Maybe her bodyguard, Eleanor, knows where she went." She started to cry.
"If the queen doesn't return, we shall never see the sun again!" Another townsfolk said.
"Sounds like we should go see this Eleanor." Said Maya. The Vault Hunters walked over to a woman clad in armor. Not saying she was fat, but mannn was she big!
"Wait a minute." Said Axton. "Is this supposed to be Elie?"
"Welllll…" Tina shrugged.
"Tina," said Maya, "that's not nice."
"Pfft, whatevs, she's not here and she won't know 'bout it! Kay?" Tina retorted.
"Look can we just skip past this and get back to the game?" Salvador asked.
"Fine," Maya relented, "but don't be so mean, Tina." Tina just nodded blankly, her full attention focused on the game.
"If Elie's in this game," Gaige whispered to Axton, "I wonder who else is."
"Well, not including Elie," he whispered back, "we know one other person."
"Greetings fair maiden/ We heard the queen went missing/ Care to let us help?" Zer0 said to Eleanor.
"The queen went into the forest to bring the light back into the world! She said something about using the Tree of Life to undo the curse. That must be where she's going." And so the Vault Hunters purpose became clear, to go to the forest and help the queen. They headed towards the gate out of town into the forest. But the muscular gatekeeper guarding the way didn't seem to keen on letting go so easily.
"Mr. Torgue is the gatekeeper?" Asked Maya.
"Yeah, I had someone else before, but I like this better." Said Tina.
"I, MR. TORGUE, AM THE GATEKEEPER TO THESE HAUNTED WOODS OF AWESOMENESSSSS! YEAH! I'LL TAKE YOU ALL THROUGH TO HELP FIND THE QUEEN, BUT FIRST, YOU'VE GOT TO PROVE YOU'RE BADASSITUDE TO GO THROUGH! FIRST TASK; BLOW UP THE VILLAGE'S SCOUT BLIMPS IN A FIERY EXPLOSION!"
"What?!" Gaige asked, dumbfounded. "Why do you want us to destroy the village's only means of defense?"
"BECAUSE," Mr. Torgue answered, "…REASONS!"
The Vault Hunters stared at Mr. Torgue for a few moments before Krieg broke the silence. "EXPLOSION OF FLAMES!" He screamed, running off to find the first blimp.
"Salvador and I/ Should probably go with him/ Lest he hurts someone." Zer0 announced.
"Yeah," Salvador agreed, "like himself, for starters. Idiota loco." The two of them started after Krieg. The remaining three shrugged, and went to find the other blimp.
"This is, like, totally stupid." Gaige complained. "Why are we purposely making this town defenseless?"
"So we can get through to the forest." Axton answered, taking aim at fire barrels positioned next to the blimp's tether. "Hopefully, by the time we get through this, Flamerock Refuge won't need defenses." He fired. The fire barrels exploded into a grewt big ball of… well fire. The flames crept up the threads of the tether towards the blimp. The blimp then erupted in flames as it went crashing down in the distance. "Oh the humanity." He mused.
"I've got a better question for you, Gaige." Maya said as they walked back to the gate. "Why do they have fire barrels positioned conveniently next to the blimps?"
"Good point." Gaige agreed.
They reached the gate to see Krieg, Zer0, and Salvador covered in ash. Salvador seemed to be pretty pissed off, and Zer0… well you can't really tell much with the mask on. Krieg on the other hand seemed pretty pleased. "What happened to you guys?" Gaige asked.
"Not… another… word… chica." Salvador grunted. They turned to Mr. Torgue.
"YEAH FANTASSSYYY! NEXT TASK GO TO THE TAVERN!" He shouted.
"What that's it?" Maya asked, confused. "We go from blowing up blimps to getting a drink?"
"Don't argue with the man," Axton said, obviously pleased, "this could be a dangerous task. I'll do the drinking, just to be safe."
"I'll help!" Salvador volunteered. Maya shook her head, and they went off to the tavern. They came in to see two drunken idiots bothering the buxom serving wench wearing short and tight cloth clothing.
"Okay, I'm only going to say this once." Said Gaige. "EEEWWWW!"
"Tina that's really inappropriate." Said Maya.
"Come on, girl, gotta let me have something." Tina complained. "Can't let me talk about Elie, can't let me talk about Moxxi, what can't I do next?"
"Yeah, let her have this one." Said Axton. "I don't mind."
"Same here!" Said Salvador.
"And what about you Zer0?" Asked Maya.
"I have no complaint/ This is Tiny Tina's game/ Let her continue." He replied.
"Men." Maya rolled her eyes. She turned to Krieg. "At least you've got manners."
"BLUNT THE KNIVES! CRACK THE PLATES!" He screamed.
"Sort of." Said Gaige.
"Hey, adventurers," said Moxxi, "these two drunken idiots won't take a hint. Care to give me a hand? Oh, and don't be afraid to get rough."
"YEAH! HELP MOXXI AND BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF THESE GUYS!" Mr. Torgue yelled through their ECHO devices. "HIT THEM SO HARD THEY EXPLODE!"
"What? These guys?" One of the drunks exclaimed. They couldn't handle pixies let alone us! Watch!" The drunk took a swing at Zer0. His fist went straight through him. "What the-?" Zer0 flickered for a moment before disappearing. A blade then appeared under the drunk's chin, poised to slice his neck open. He turned to see Salvador had punched his companion out cold. "Okay, I'm sorry!" He cried. 'I swear I won't say anything douchey ever again!" Zer0 removed his blade and stepped back. The drunk stepped carefully to the door way. Once he was out of reach, he shouted back "Bitch!" and took off running. He didn't get far. Krieg went go retrieve his buzzaxe from the back of the drunk's head. As soon as he took a few steps away, the body suddenly exploded.
"WELL DONE! YOU ARE NOW BADASS ENOUGH TO SURVIVE THE FOREST!" Mr. Torgue screamed through their ECHOs.
"Wait, why did that guy explode? That makes no sense." Said Gaige, as they headed back to the gate.
"Eh, it's Torgue." Said Salvador. "Everything that involves that incendiario explodes." They reached Mr. Torgue, who opened the gate for them. "EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE BADASS ENOUGH TO ENTER THE FOREST, YOU GUYS STILL NEED A GUIDE! PLUS I'M BORED HERE, SO I'M GONNA COME WITH YOU ANYWAY! LET'S GO!" And off they went into the dangers of the forest to look for the queen and to save the day.
Author's Note: So I know Mr. Torgue isn't the actual gatekeeper who goes with them and it could completely change the entire story, but don't worry I've thought that out. If you didn't catch the meaning of the Spanish words I put, here's their translation: Idiota loco - crazy idiot; incediario - pyromaniac. I'll try to update ASAP, keep the feedback coming!
