Author's Note: I completely forgot to put this up in the first chapter. The first chapter of Broken Moons was done in three sittings, and I did a number on my sleep the last time, although I don't regret it; however, in doing so I completely forgot to give the information I'm about to give, as well as a disclaimer.
For the longest time (about 1 or 2 years ago I got to play Borderlands 2, and oh, boy, did I love it) I wanted to make a story featuring the Borderlands universe, however, I was afraid that I wouldn't cut it when it came to the incredible humor and characterization of the series, which was one of the reasons I stayed away from consolidating this story. Even today I know for certain that I won't do an astounding job, but now I've decided to just do my best so I don't regret going through with this instead of lamenting never doing so.
Originally this fic was inspired by Hieda no Akyuu's various Kancolle fics... which I've grown a bit appalled to as time has passed, but I do admit some concepts of his resounded with me, not so much the actual execution, but some ideas.
The original basis for this fic I've had for a while now, as well as the basic storyline and outlines for the characters, being that this fic was originally thought of as a solely Borderlands one with completely original characters, however once I added KanColle to the formula, I expanded upon my idea, and now I'm here.
Better late than never, I suppose.
Anyways, with that said and done, let's move onward.
DISCLAIMER: The Borderlands franchise is property of Gearbox Software and 2K Games, and Kantai Collection is the property of Kensuke Tanaka and Kadokawa Games. I own none of the intellectual properties comprising this fictional story. This story is made by fans for fans, and doesn't intend to make any form of profit or income, being that it is only intended to entertain.
Broken Moons
Chapter 2: Encounter
When it comes to girls, Grey has to admit that he has no idea of how to deal with them. Granted, he has a sister, one he seriously adores and nurtures, he also loves his mother. Then… there's Danny too… although he refuses to acknowledge the techno-nut as a woman.
There is a difference between his sister and those females, though, they are… them, as idiotic as that sounds. Grey's known them for his whole life, but he's had pretty much zero interaction with the opposite sex in all his life. He could justify so in the basis that he's been working his lone ass off ever since he left his home, and the fact that his life has pretty much consisted of shooting, not talking, and even less forming relationships.
Yeah, he's never had a girlfriend ever. How he feels about it is a matter of just asking. It wasn't that he swung the other way, neither, even if in Chariot there were all kinds of sexualities. Grey once encountered a bandit who had a severe (read: bizarre) case of loving his boat to the point of creepiness. Grey doesn't like to judge, though.
This pretty much sums up why he has no idea of what to do with the girl in his arms. It's been minutes ever since he closed his ECHO and focused his attention on the sleeping cutie in his arms.
Yeah, he has to admit that this girl is pretty cute. Actually, cuter than anyone else he has ever seen… although most of his interactions have been with either women who've wanted to kill him, disfigured and mutated through slag addiction… or both. But back onto this girl, there was something strange about her, though. He couldn't quite place the reason, since no matter how he looked at her she was just a normal girl, albeit one wearing clothes he was very unfamiliar with, and the fact that she had come out of a freaking box, which was buried on an island in the middle of nowhere from all places were good reasons for her to qualify as extraordinary. How long had she been in that box, he didn't know, why she was there in the first place was unknown as well, so he could only guess the answers to both questions.
Although, that why was seriously bugged him in all the wrong ways. She was connected to the Empty Braver, and that was definitive. Grey had been led to this girl by it, after all.
Grey calls for his Visor to check on the clock. 5:01 a.m.
Dawn's usually never good for business. Everything's easier to see under the sun, and pirates, as mad as they were, knew this. Thankfully, he had been careful to not let anyone know he was here, and also, the fact that this was an island in the middle of nowhere helped. Of course he couldn't rule out that there could be Pirates lurking nearby, however, he considered the situation at hand more pressing. The sky is already getting a clearer shade of blue, and although the sun hasn't come out yet, the lack of trees in the vicinity is letting enough light to see without problems.
Grey hesitates upon what to do next. He's accepted the girl, but what is he supposed to do now? Bring her back with him as dead weight to a medic? She doesn't seem ill, has no fever or erratic heart rate, and she seems to be breathing normally. The only thing that worries him is that she's not waking-
"Hnnn…"
Oh…
Grey leaves his thoughts aside.
"…Hey, time to wake up" He says.
The girl in return mumbles a few more times before shifting in his arms. She's finding herself comfortable, it seems…
"Wake up" He calls softly, feeling somewhat awkward. He was treating this girl like his sister.
"Mo… five… minutes…" She responds to him.
Feeling a bit irritated, Grey shoves her a little more forcefully.
"Hey, we need to get out of here soon" He says sternly.
The girl opens up her eyes slowly.
"Huh…?" She mumbles.
"You awake yet?" Grey sighs.
Grey finds himself staring into this girl's eyes. They're brown, which matches her hair, they're round and big, befitting her young face. The girl also finds herself staring at the young man, with her expression dreamy.
But the dreamy expression lives shortly. She doesn't identify immediately the person before her as a human, for this stranger has no human features on his face.
Her eyes shrink in terror.
"HAWAWAWA!" Comes her squeal.
"AGH!" He grunts in response to the following hit.
"Hyuuuh!" She winces after the impact.
The girl rockets upwards into Grey, with both smashing their faces against each other… well, face to mask is more correct. The girl darts upwards quickly without caution, smashing her nose into Grey's visor.
"Owww…" The girl winces, reaching for her nose with her fingers.
Meanwhile, Grey is laying widespread on the ground, with the girl on his lap. He feels like he was hit by a truck. There was no real damage, only that he lost his balance completely at this girl's sudden movement. He still couldn't avoid the light dizziness, though.
"Agh, hey what's the deal!?" Grey growls while he reaches for his own head, still on the ground.
"EEK!" Comes her immediate response as she stumbles backwards and rolls away strenuously from Grey. She hits her nape against the metallic crate with her reflexive scare, and it goes worse because her reverse somersault dropped her down further into the hole.
"Ow!" Comes her response
This was getting nowhere.
Grey stands up slowly, feeling his stomach veer everywhere and nowhere at once. He turns to the girl who just rolled down into the crater, and is sitting on her face as a result, her legs are on top.
"Uwaaaah…" She whimpers, clearly not better than he is.
Grey takes a moment to let the image of a girl sitting on her face sink in.
"…White" He mumbles at the glorious discovery before giving himself a mental slap. "Wait, this isn't the time!"
He rushes to the self-beaten girl and helps her to sit correctly again.
"Hey, are you okay? Do you understand me?" He says.
The girl takes a moment to gain semblance. Once she registers that there's an unknown person near her again, she freezes.
"Hey, what's the matter? You hurting somewhere?" Grey asks, but there is no response. If he had taken a moment to be if even just a bit more observant, he'd realize that the girl was absolutely terrified of him.
"P-please…" Came her tiny voice, but Grey didn't understand what she said.
"Huh? What did you say?" He responds hoarsely.
"P-please don't EAT ME!" She exclaims in a nervous wreck.
…
…
…
…
"Not into that stuff, thank you. I'm good with animal meat, though" Grey responds honestly.
No more words.
"Hey, I'm serious" He elaborates sincerely. "I know that cannibalism's become a lot commoner recently, but I'm not into that, word".
"Great job, Arkham, as if anyone'd take your word for granted on Chariot" He gives himself another mental slap.
"…"
"…"
"…I-Is that t-true, nanodesu?" She answers eventually.
Grey's eyes became plates behind his mask.
"U-U… yes?" He follows, confused.
…
…
…
…
"O-okay then, I'm very sorry, K-Kamen-san" She meekly says.
Grey takes a second to process what she just said.
"Sorry, Ka-what?"
The girl skips once again in place. Was she that scared of him?
"Uh… uh…." She stammers a bit, and then motions with her hands to her face.
It takes three seconds for the light bulb to turn on.
"Oh, is it…? S-sorry" He replies mildly disconcerted. "Visor and mask: Off"
Once the glass and plastic retract, there's a very human face there.
"Sorry, it's a bad habit. Since I wear it all the time I often forget I have it on, sorry about that".
Of course, being greeted by a strange masked man would make any reasonable young girl flee immediately. Also, there was the fact that this man's attire wasn't exactly forthcoming (Not something that Grey understood, though).
The retired mask revealed a long, angular face with a defined jaw. Grey's face was covered in various scratches, scars and sweat, mainly from using the mask for so long. His eyes were a dark shade of brown, much deeper than those of the girl, and there are dark circles underneath them, the result of a nonstop two day trip, his right eye also remains closed thanks to the needle from earlier, and there's a little blood on his eyelid. On the right side of his head, near what would be the (hidden) ear, was a noticeable burn mark which almost reached his cheek, showing ugly skin in the process of healing. His hair was sleeked backwards, showing his whole forehead. The only thing the girl couldn't see were his hidden ears under the metallic pads, but was immediately able to pick upon him. His nose was long, fitting of his face. Finally, his mouth also had a noticeable scar on the lower lip. His face would normally show a hardened youth, not particularly handsome by his own standards, but right now, he looked unkempt and unpresentable.
"HAWAWAWA!" The girl exclaims after scrutinizing the Vault Hunter, she then proceeds to stand up immediately like a spring that had been compressed, bowing her head before wildly flailing her arms around in an apologetic manner. "C-Commander!"
"I'm very sorry that I didn't recognize you, Commander! Gomenasai! Gomenasai! I-I didn't realize it was you under the mask!"
Grey's eyebrows furrowed.
"Hyuuu! I can't believe I hit the Commander, nanodesu!" She cried.
"Hey, calm down!" Grey calls worriedly. "What's done is done, don't worry about it!"
But his words fall on deaf ears.
"Gomenasai" Gomenasai!" She continues.
The Hunter takes a deep breath. It seems like this won't go anywhere.
"I said calm down" Grey raises his voice, his tone with harsh inflection.
"Eek!" The girl cries, but does as told and stops any further sounds.
"Hey, relax, I'm not going to eat you and I'm not angry" Grey elaborates.
However, she still doesn't seem convinced, turning her gaze down to the ground. Shame fills her.
Grey scratches his head.
"I said…" He's about to say something, but realizes he has no idea of what words to use, nor which what to say in the first place.
Grey breathes audibly, causing the girl to look at her Commander from the corner of her eye, although she doesn't dare to gaze directly.
Seconds of awkward silence fill the air, seconds in which neither of the two know what to say. Grey knows that he doesn't know how to talk to girls, and that this situation all by itself is going on a very weird direction, and he has no idea of how to proceed.
It was about ten seconds of silence in that a growl filled the air. Grey's eyebrows quirked: it hadn't been him. Turning at the tiny girl, Grey found out that her face had turned to a vibrant shade of red, and was sweating bullets. Grey laughed to his insides.
"Hungry?" He says casually while reaching for one of the pockets in his pants, and pulls a small packaged energy bar from it, said package is roughly the size of his hand, and has a vibrant red envelope of what seems to be aluminum. He offers it to the girl, who only stares at him with a confused expression.
"Take it" He says. The girl profusely refuses by shaking her head. Grey keeps his hand extended. "Aren't you hungry?"
"N-No, I'm perfectly f-"
She is interrupted by the growl of her stomach. The red of her face escalates several shades deeper.
"Aren't you hungry?" Grey asks with an unamused visage.
No response.
"Aren't you hungry?" Grey repeats, more emphatically this time.
She remains frozen in place for an instant, but nods bashfully in the end.
"Then here" He takes her right hand and gives it to her, placing it on her open palm. "It'll help for a couple hours, until we get back to Rho".
The girl examines the envelope curiously before opening it up. She finds that inside the package is a curious and bulky lump of yellow matter, which smells like sugar.
"Itadakimasu" Grey hears her say. She takes a small bite from the synthetic food, and her tongue is greeted with an overly sweet flavor that permeates her whole mouth. She isn't quite sure of exactly what she's tasting, but its candy-like texture is pleasant, albeit a bit chewy. She immediately gulps down the rest of the bar with big bites, and gives a satisfied moan after swallowing the chunks of godsend ambrosia.
"Better?" Grey asks.
She takes a moment before responding. In all honesty, Grey's getting slightly irked at her distant demeanor.
"Y-Yes… it was delicious, nanodesu…" She says in a tiny voice.
For a moment, Grey saw that she had a fierce expression.
"T-thank you" She articulates somewhat forcefully, as if she had trouble speaking.
"No problem" Grey answers calmly. Now that she had eaten, her mood had visibly improved.
However, Grey still had questions.
"Let's try this again" The young man says. "My name is Grey, Grey Arkham, occupation: Freelancer, currently hunting the Vault of Chariot"
"Ah!? I mean, right!" The girl flinches awkwardly, not really understanding what he means "It's nice to meet you, Commander! Please forgive me for my rude behavior before! I am…"
She stops dead in her tracks, her mouth agape.
"H-Huh?" She hesitates.
"Goddamn, this girl is a wreck" Grey thinks and gives a deep sigh. The short girl then takes both her hands to her head, with her expression clearly becoming distressed.
"I-I am…" She stutters. "…Who?"
"Who am I?"
…
…
…
"Wait WHAT?" Grey shrieks, his voice rising several decibels. "What do you mean by that!?"
"C-Commander! I-I can't remember who I a-am!" The girl utters, with worry quickly filling her tone.
"Wait just a moment!" Grey retorts, also confused. "You call me Commander while you don't even know who you are!? How does that work!?"
The girl is at loss for words. She begins shaking her head involuntarily, even though she's trying to hold herself up. Her legs begin trembling without warning, and she soon begins to quiver completely.
There is something clogging up her memories. No matter how much she tries to recall and remember something, she can't for the life of her get anything out of her memories. She starts feeling dizzy the more she forces herself.
There's something incredibly wrong, and she feels it in every fiber of her body. She doesn't know what is wrong, but knows for certain that there is something amiss. The dizziness turns into full-fledged nausea. Her legs give in, and she falls to the ground, whimpering and almost about to fall into hysteria. She can't recall anything, but why can't she!? She feels her stomach convulse. The harder she tries, the worse she feels.
On reaction, Grey quickly grabs her by the shoulders.
"H-Hey! Calm down!" He says desperately.
The girl responds by giving him the most complicated of faces. Anger, fear, confusion, distress, longing, a lot of emotions are showing on her expression, as tears form in her big, brown eyes, and start streaming down her cheeks.
Grey feels obliged to do something uncharacteristic of him. He hesitates at first, but eventually brings her closer to him and gives the crying girl a hug. She seems surprised at first, but eventually relaxes and burrows on his shirt. He isn't the type to be overly affectionate, he thinks, but seeing this girl like this reminded him of his little sister, and he couldn't stand seeing his sister like this.
And he was finding that he also didn't like to see this girl cry. Was it his big brother instinct? Or was it just plain awkwardness? Grey casted all thoughts aside and decided to go with the flow. Hopefully, she won't hate him.
"C-Commander?" She calls.
He doesn't respond.
…
"Even with the dirt, she smells nice. Reminds me of that greenhouse full of flowers of that time…"
…
…
…
"She's so small"
…
…
…
The minutes pass by, and eventually, the girl slowly pulls herself away from him. Both her and Grey end looking at each other, although she has to tilt her head upwards, while he has to look down.
…
…
"And cute too" Grey admits. She's unlike any girl he's seen in Chariot.
…
…
…
"…My eye kinda itches, if that's what you're thinking. I got poked in the eye for you, you know? I'm no pirate, at least yet… And sorry if I'm all muddy, I had to dig you up with explosives, after all" Grey declares gracelessly.
"…Huh?" She reacts.
There comes a small window of silence.
"Pft! Ha… Hahahahahahaha!" The girl suddenly laughs. Her voice melodious yet sorrowful. Her hands reach for her mouth as she tries to suppress the rest of her cute fit.
"That's all it took to make you laugh!?" Grey cries somewhat vexed. Not that he's not relieved to hear her laughing, as he finds that he prefers it infinitely over her previous crying. "Come on! There are far better jokes than that! That was just lame!"
The girl clears her face with her sleeve, and gives a teary smile to the Hunter.
"E-even then, thank you" She beams radiantly. "Thank you for cheering me up, or at least try to, nanodesu"
Grey scratches the nape of his neck awkwardly. Both girl and boy give a deep breath each.
"Better now?" Grey asks his fellow auburn.
"Yes… much better, thank you" She responds warmly.
Grey stands up from his kneeling position beside the girl, while also offering his hand to her, which she takes. After both stand up, they take a moment to beat what little dirt they've got in their clothes and skin, result from the various gymnastics Grey had been pulling all the night in his case in his case, and in hers, the rollout after she woke up. They had only needed that much to become covered in mud almost from head to toe. The girl took a moment to run her hands through her hair, taking out a few specks and grains of dirt out, but she was certain that she'd need a bath. Meanwhile, Grey took off his poncho and also shook it in the air, as he did get mud on his clothes even with it on.
Taking this chance to talk, Grey spoke.
"I found you inside there, but maybe there's something you can recall from it?"
The girl stops dusting off her blouse for a second at his question, then turns to the nearby metal crate. Hesitant, she closes in to the box.
She feels a knot in her throat with each step she takes, as if something told her to stay away from that box, but she couldn't let the opportunity pass. Biting her lip, she moved her gaze inside the hollow box. She feels a bit of nausea at the sight of the inside, but suppresses it in favor of going through. Standing still with reluctance, she's soon joined by Grey.
The inside of the box holds a cushion with an outline made to resemble a human figure, outline which both supposed was meant for her to fit in. There are cables and needles around the box. As soon as she sees the needles, she shudders and instinctively reaches for her wrists. This doesn't pass unnoticed by Grey.
There's also that particular symbol once again: 電, said symbol is marked distinctively on the center of the cushion, the same symbol Grey had been told to follow all this time. The symbol is marked in a round emblem, which seems to be made of some form of glass. Grey recalls seeing that symbol all around the box… and on his ECHO as well just a few minutes ago.
He quickly calls for it, and moves to that tab which had prompted him to "accept" the girl. Not surprisingly, the symbol is still there, and what's more: There are various new options next to the symbol. Of course, he doesn't understand what any of these mean yet, but for now there are three buttons on the right side of the screen: One with the symbol 格, and another with the symbols装置in the same space; the third button piques his curiosity, as it has clearly the word "SKILL" written in it with letters he can understand. He clicks the button with SKILL written on it, but finds that it does nothing at all.
"What a piece of junk…" Grey thinks dryly.
Dismissing the unresponsive button, He moves onto the first one with the symbol, which produces a new window upon click, the new screen has a header consisting of the symbol電 and a mugshot of the girl beside him, with something akin to a subtext next to her photo: 暁型駆逐艦.
"Nope, don't understanding any of this" Grey thinks, irritated.
Below those foreign letters were a set of icons accompanied by numbers, icons which included a heart, a square of sorts… an eye, a… cake? He didn't understand anything of that, and dismissed them. Before closing the screen, Grey noted that there was a corrupted text below all the icons. Unlike the other corrupted texts in his glitched ECHO until now, he can barely understand this text:
"SALVAGE" reads the corrupted message. Clicking on it does nothing.
"Not digging this. Not digging any of this…" Grey thinks.
Returning back to the previous screen, Grey presses the button with the symbols 装置 this time.
His irritation increases when he sees just one big word in red font on the new window: OFFLINE.
Nothing of interest was gained. Sighing in defeat, Grey closes his ECHO. However, after seeing the screen with the image of the girl, he gets a gut feeling.
"Hey" He calls, focusing his attention back to his companion. "Does that symbol mean anything to you?"
He's about to point at the symbol in the box, but it's then that he realizes that she is already looking at it with a vacant expression.
"Hey, you still with me?"
Cautiously, Grey places his arm on her shoulder.
"…division… commander…" She says lowly, like if she were in a trance, Grey is unable to understand what she's saying.
"…You recalled something?" He asks in a serious tone.
There is a pause before she responds.
"I… I'm not sure" She says. "I mean… I… There are fragments… but… at the same time…"
The girl climbs onto the box and reaches inside it, touching the crystal emblem with her palm. She doesn't really understand how or why she's being pushed to do so, though. She knew that she wouldn't remember anything through such a pointless action, but felt obliged to do it nonetheless.
The girl takes a moment to examine more closely the rest of the box, and now that she's inside, she spots something on the lower part of the box. She moves to it and finds a lever. Curious, she grabs it and pulls it out.
What follows are a new set of pneumatic sounds, similar to the ones when Grey opened the box for the first time.
"Huh!? What did you do!?" Grey shouts, drawing the Repeater in below his shoulder.
"I'm not sure, nanodesu!" She responds, taking a step back.
The sounds are similar to vapor valves that have been released, and after four sets of individual bursts of air, the box stops making more noises for a moment. After a few seconds, the lower part of the box makes a loud click and opens.
Both of them stare intently at the changes in the box. Through closer observation, they realize that something is sticking out. Without warning, the girl takes a step forward.
"Hey, what are you…" Grey is unable to finish his sentence.
The girl pulls out a smaller metal box from the slot that opened in the bigger container. The box she produced has a black, polished metallic casing. Grey spots that the box has an ergonomic design and straps on one of the larger faces, while its size suggested that this was some sort of backpack. The box has some form of antennae sticking out from its top side, and yet again the symbol電 was engraved on the metal's surface.
Grey and the girl stare intently at the shiny metal case.
"…What's that?" Grey finally asks the millionaire question.
She places the box over her shoulders.
"Huh!?" Both shriek at that moment.
There is a loud beep produced from the box followed by a series of lower ones. After that sequence is complete the girl goes limp.
"Hey! What's happening!?" Grey screams as he rushes at the girl. She didn't collapse, but became completely rigid when the beeping from the box stopped. After a few seconds, something within the box shifts.
"HOLY CRAP!"
The box which had been somewhat quadrate before changed its shape entirely. Where there had previously been squared corners had shifted into round shapes, and metal extended and retracted in a way Grey had never before thought would be possible without the help of digistructing technology, but there was clearly nothing of it here. Metal changed and twisted, before streamlining itself. The box had turned into a strange long slim pillar with a series of slots placed on the left side, while the right one had something akin to a turret, with two large cannons on the muzzle, however, that turret that was too damn big for a girl of her size, and she was still standing like if it was nothing. Two strange pieces of metal, which Grey identified as something akin to boots, detached from the box as well; the girl graciously placed her feet inside them, and they locked immediately. Without warning, she reached for the giant turret and it detached from its slot, finding itself relocated in her tiny hands.
A petite girl, who couldn't be much older than 15, is wielding a gun which could probably blow out a whole town without any trouble was standing in front of Grey. He felt his heart drop down to the ground.
Grey's pulled his aim down by now, but hasn't let go of his handgun.
"…Is this for real?" Grey wonders aloud, gripping the gun with sweaty palms. "Just what are you?"
The girl blinks a few times before looking at herself.
"This is… mine" She speaks slowly "This is… my equipment…"
"Equipment?" Grey asks, clenching his fingers, his finger can reach for the trigger in an instant. "Explain yourself"
"Yes…" She responds. "I'm not sure why, but something tells me that, nanodesu"
Grey takes a critical moment to analyze the situation. He's outmatched, in every single way possible. He feels his heartbeat buzz in his ears, his mouth is dry and tastes like metal, surely blood, his throat is clogged, his legs are trembling, and his shoulders' muscles are finally kicking in due to the stress.
"God, am I really this intimidated by a girl who doesn't reach my chest?" His mind says cynically. "Must be the turret"
Grey's no stranger to dread, and liked to think that he was no coward, but also, not stupid. Only idiots lack the capacity to feel fear, he says often. It wasn't that he hadn't fled before; of course he knew that sometimes escaping was the only option, after all, all what mattered in the end was whether you were alive or not. What allowed him to keep himself together was the fact that he's learned to fight the flight instinct and not ginger up every time danger arose.
Not that being able to confront the voice that told him to run away meant that he could always act immediately, though.
He feels incredibly weighed, as if several sacks of rocks had been tied to his body and were trying to pin him down to the ground. He knows fully well that he won't be able to escape even if he tries; he's too exhausted from the trip, the accompanying lack of sleep, and the strain on his body due to the Overclocked digging session. Death isn't included in his to-do list, however.
His voice comes out hoarse when the girl talks to him.
"Commander? Are you alright?" She asks with honest concern. "You don't look too good, nanodesu"
A part of Grey's mind can't believe he's considering hurting and killing the girl before him should worse come to worst.
"What exactly is that thing on your hand?" Grey asks icily.
"This…?" She looks at the curious lump of metal in her hand. "This is… a 12.7 Model B Twin Gun Mount, nanodesu"
"What kind of weapon is that?" Grey continues. "That seems… powerful".
She has a complicated expression on her face.
"…Yes, that much is obvious" She responds.
Grey's breathing erratically at this point, but does his best to hide it all under false courage.
"C-Commander…" She calls docilely.
"…What?" He responds, his tone icier than before.
He feels under his skin that everything's going to blow up at this instant.
"I don't know who I am" She says simply with a sad smile."
And contrary to anything he was expecting, the girl simply lets her arms fall to the sides, as if she was a puppet that had its strings cut. She looks at Grey with a hopeless expression.
"All of this nonsense is really making me angry" Grey thinks.
Taking a deep sigh, and also giving himself a third mental slap for considering shooting her, Grey musters his remaining energy to see this through.
"Listen" If they don't talk there will be no understanding "I truly don't know who you are, but if I understood the message that was given to me the moment I woke you up, then you are my responsibility"
She looks at him confused.
"Listen well and listen closely, okay?"
She nods.
"Let me start from the beginning.
My name is Grey Arkham, and a few months ago, I received a mission from this strange guy that calls himself the 'Empty Braver'. The mission was meh: Just retiring some of the pirate propaganda that had been scattered recently around the colony. That was no problem, I took out some pamphlets and sprayed over a few graffiti and that was that, just community service for a couple bucks; easy cash, I though. But as soon as I turned that mission in, I was given more missions, like immediately afterwards. Each mission was a cakewalk, there were no problems at all, and to make things better, each quest started giving me better rewards. Fast forward a couple dozen missions later, and the Braver sends me a message asking if I wanted to look for the Vault. Now, I know that those who search for the Vault are insane, and that to be perfectly honest, I also must be insane to be looking for it as well.
Well, I've got my reasons to search for the Vault, and those aren't important at the moment. What IS important is the fact that after I said that I'd hunt the Vault, the Empty Braver started issuing me stranger missions. I've gone out of my way to shoot at all manners of people, mainly military, corporates and pirates all around Chariot now, and multiple times. I continued doing quests for the Braver as he told me, until a few weeks ago when I received a very different type of mission; he gave me the symbol, the same one that is engraved onto that metal box over there as well as on your… er… weapon, and simply told me to follow through. While that wasn't fun, I started searching for anything related to it, and I didn't find anything at first. I continued looking for clues until I stumbled across a bunch of pirates who had just looted some cargo ship. After I cleaned out the ship, I found out a series of old papers and stuff containing symbols similar to the one I was looking for. I located the people who the pirates stole from, and once I tracked them and showed them the symbol, they gave me the coordinates to this place, to this very clearing. That was two… no, now it's three days ago. I never knew what I would find here, but I can bet my bacon it was you. Once I reached the island, I came here and found you. After I took you out of that metal container, I received a notification from the Braver. I was prompted to "accept" you, and when I did, I received another message which appointed me officially as a Vault Hunter as well as an 'Admiral', whatever that means.
That pretty much sums up everything that's compromised my life the last 4 or 5 months. And I want something to drink now."
Grey finishes his tale.
The girl takes a minute to process everything. There are many things she just doesn't get from his words. However, she feels afraid of asking. She bites her lips.
Grey catches wind of this.
"Are you… for real?" He asks. "You don't have any questions?"
"Y-yes! I mean- of course!" She immediately answers. "B-But I'm not sure you should be telling me all this…"
"What?" Grey's voice comes out loud and forceful, causing the girl to shriek.
She feels like if she's just fused a bomb.
"I found you in the middle of nowhere, guided by weirdos, you don't have any memory, and just when I told you all this, you don't have any questions? Are you kidding me!?" Grey shouts angrily.
"I-I'm very sorry, C-Commander!" She immediately responds by bowing multiple times.
Grey scratches his head with both hands with great exasperation.
"What's wrong with you!?" The young man growls.
"Hawawawa! I'm so sorry, nanodesu!" Tears start forming in her eyes.
Grey raises both his arms to the air, and begins growling and muttering undecipherable words. Showing his gritted teeth and furrowed brow, he performs one of his biggest facepalms as of yet. Rubbing his hand slowly from his face down to his chin, Grey takes a deep breath, and sighs yet again in frustration. God, this girl managed to push all the wrong buttons…
Watching the commander with teary eyes, the girl stands silently with downed shoulders. Grey opens his mouth once, but then freezes in place. He closes it and makes a gesture with no meaning, then opens his mouth again, only to close it. He gives a thoughtful look to her.
Finally, rising his index, he speaks.
"I don't understand any of this, like, at all. Not where you come from, not how you came here, what am I supposed to do with you, and I definitely don't understand you" He says rashly. "God, I met you just a few minutes ago, and we're already like this. Why is it that you don't want to voice your thoughts? I mean, we're pretty much on the same boat, and I'm sure there are things you want to know as well. How do I deal with you?"
She bites her lips.
"I'm sorry, Admiral. It wasn't my intention to make you angry" She says.
Grey's about to ramble again, but decides otherwise.
"Don't. Do not apologize" He tells. "Just talk to me. Tell me what you're thinking"
She seems honestly surprised at his words.
"…Can I?" She asks timidly. "Can I really ask you questions?"
"Duh, that's what I've been saying all along" He responds cynically. "I want to hear what you have to say"
"…Really?"
"Really"
Both stare at each other in silence. Licking her lips, the girl speaks, however, Grey notes that she's still tense.
"What do you mean when you say you were 'prompted to accept me'?"
Grey shrugs.
"After I took you out of that box, I received a message on my ECHO which asked me if I 'accepted'. It didn't explicitly say what I was accepting, but I'm sure that it referred to you"
She gives him a thoughtful look.
"So you don't really know who I am, nanodesu?"
"No. I just followed the symbol, I never expected to find a girl buried underground"
"What else do you know about this… uh… Empty Braver person?"
"Nothing much. He only issues me missions. It's not like I can contact him freely"
She seems like she still wants to ask something.
"Ask" Grey orders.
"Why?"
"Oh, right. The Empty Braver has basically hacked all the communications around Chariot, and there's no real way to locate him. Not that I've tried before, so I wouldn't know"
She falls quiet again. Grey only has to glare at her to prompt the rest of the questions.
"What about the people who gave you the coordinates to this place?"
"That's… actually a good point. I can and should contact them in the future, considering the mess this is turning out to be"
Her expression brightens at this. She smiles with glee and clasps both hands together in relief, the stiffness disappearing somewhat from her rigid frame.
"Really!? That's great to hear, nanodesu!"
Grey finds her smile infectious, however, that smile is pretty short lived as she realizes that she's getting carried away and tenses once again.
"Damn, just when I thought there was a breakthrough" Grey thinks dryly.
It seems that she's satisfied for now, as reluctant as it may seem. Grey decides to move onto another pressing matter.
"Hey" He calls. "I think it's about time we settle on a name for you"
"Huh?" She responds by giving him a funny look.
"I can't go around with 'hey' all the time. Not my style" Grey responds. "How am I supposed to call you?"
She takes a moment to ponder, losing her gaze in the distance.
"I… I think…" She doesn't finish her sentence.
Grey waits, although his patience is running out.
"Would a-anything you like suffice, nanodesu?" She finally says.
"Why are you asking me?" Grey retorts. "This is about your name, not mine"
"W-Well I mean, yes, b-but - b-but, that just… that just wouldn't feel right!" She wails.
Grey raises his eyebrows in honest curiosity.
"Why?"
She freezes, pierced full and through by such a simple question.
She doesn't remember who she is. She doesn't know about the weird weapon she's now holding, she doesn't remember being buried, nor recall anything prior to her waking, she doesn't know anything but the fact that the man before her is her Commander… and why is that as well? It was like as soon as she woke up she recognized Grey as her superior and handler, unable to question it, but now, she found herself inquiring that as well.
"Just what is going on?"
Seeing the girl hesitate for so long, Grey takes another approach.
"If you don't want to be called that, just say so. Maybe you'd like it better if you named yourself?" He asks simply.
She finds herself staring with wide, surprised eyes.
"W-what do you mean by that, Commander?"
"Just what I said. Why don't you just give yourself a name you like? I mean, you're making this problem bigger than it really is" The young man shrugs and stretches his aching shoulders.
"I-I don't know…" She responds.
"Damn, girl. Is it that hard? It's just a name" Grey whines. "Or would you prefer that I gave you one?"
"Huh?" She shrieks at the suggestion.
"Darn it! Why must this girl be so hard to handle!?" Grey rolls his eyes, irritated. "She has no confidence whatsoever!"
Grey gives a guttural growl.
"Decide here and now" He declares. "Either you come up with a name or I give you one. I'll count to 3, and if you don't decide on a name, I'm giving you one whether you like it or not"
"Hawawawa! W-wait, C-Commander!" The girl panics, but Grey ignores her.
"One"
"C-Commander, please wait!"
"Two"
"Eeek! Okay, okay, I… er…"
"Three. Time's over"
Grey pinches the bridge of his nose with slight frustration.
"Then your name will be 'box', since I found you inside one after all"
"Hawawawa!" She cries cutely. "T-that's just mean, Commander! I-I just cannot-! I mean, what am I s-supposed to-? Eek!" She starts rambling, but is interrupted.
"C-Commander! W-why are you doing this!?"
"Because you're so damn indecisive!" Grey digs his knuckles on the sides of the shorter girl's head, not with the intent of hurting her whatsoever, but to make his irritation known and try to take his point across.
"Hawawawa! I get it, I get it, Commander!" She cries while flailing her arms to the sides. "So please, stop that!"
Grey immediately retires his knuckles from the girl's sides. She whines like a beaten animal and rubs her drilled head with her palms.
"It irritates me when people just don't take action, and even more when options are given to them" Grey declares. "If you got time to think, you've got time to act. So now, decide, I'm giving you the option right now: Either give yourself a name, or I will give you one"
"B-But n-names are very important!" She argues. "Y-You shouldn't just go around losing and giving them!"
It clicks inside Grey's mind, but he can't help but give an obnoxious laugh about it. It's guttural, it's sarcastic, it's cynical, and it irks the girl.
"That's what you think? That is why you're being so indecisive?" Grey laughs.
"C-Commander! P-Please don't make fun of me, nanodesu!" She cries.
Grey looks at the younger girl, who's pouting with red cheeks, which he supposes is out of combined embarrassment and indignation. Giving a deep breath, Grey recovers his calm demeanor.
"…Is it that important to you? A meaningful name or any of that jumbo?" He asks. "You don't even know who you are, and yet you're making all this fuss about just a word".
She takes a moment before responding, giving form with words to her feelings.
"T-that's precisely why, nanodesu" She argues. "It's precisely because I don't remember who I am that I don't want to become something that I'm not. I feel… I feel that names are… part of who we are… and - and if I go ahead and just settle for just anything, I feel… feel that I'm going to regret it, like… like if I would become something that isn't me…"
Grey listens without questioning.
"I-I know it may sound baseless and stupid, nanodesu, but I think I'd prefer to think through this. I'm sure… I'm sure I've had a name before, and… something within me tells me to not let go of it. T-that's why… would you… allow me to think of it calmly? I… I know that I'm overstepping my boundaries, but please, please let me have this."
Grey's expression shifts uncomfortably. Up until now, this girl's seemed so timid and reserved
"…Please, nanodesu?"
"…I understand what you're saying, but I think differently from you" Grey says. "But that is beside the point right now. So how about we make a deal?"
Her eyebrows raise in mild surprise.
"…A deal, Commander?"
"Yes" He responds. "I'll let you decide on your name for now, but how about a nickname for the time being?"
"Excuse me, C-Commander? What do you mean?"
"Until you wither remember your name or decide on one, how about we just call you something? You don't need to think of it as your real name, just as a way to identify you for now"
She takes her gaze down to the ground, and thinks deep for a moment.
…
…
…
"Okay" She complies. "B-But could I ask for two conditions?"
"Sure" Grey responds almost immediately. She is taken aback by his straightforwardness.
"F-first, you must give it to me!" She says.
"…Okay" Grey chides in, regretting jumping the bullet so quickly.
"S-Second, it won't be anything mean like b-b-box!"
"Fair enough" Grey concedes. "I also wouldn't like to be called something like that..."
Grey then gives himself a mental slap for letting his jerkass side get out of hand before. He's been called worse before, and he had promised in the past to not do the same to others. He gives himself a triple mental slap for breaking the promise, and vows to never break it again. He doesn't show any of this to her of course.
Grey then takes a moment to think, but nothing comes through. He thinks hard and through, but nothing comes to him outside of degrading names. He curses the fact that he's never really been well versed.
"B-Box!? NO! Er… Sky? That's lame in all ways! Er… Treetrunk? WHAT KIND OF NAME IS THAT!? Dawn? Hmm… that just doesn't feel right with her… Hmm… box?
GODDAMMIT ARKHAM!" Grey fights a fight that no one else can see.
He sighs, defeated, and is giving up.
"Metal! Wait, NO!
…Hyper- NO! Don't go on that train!
Leaf!
Sky!
Tree!
Branch!
Goddamnit, think of normal names at least!
Steve? Francis? Those aren't even girl's names!"
The minutes pass by, and Grey stands with eyes closed and a frown adorning his face. Some could have sworn that the way his brow was furrowing was downright impossible.
"C-Commander? You've been thinking for some time now…"
Grey opens his uninjured eye at the call.
The sun has already risen up, so it must be already around 6, since that's the time that the sun goes up around these parts. Light is already filling the clearing, revealing how both of them are muddy and dirty down to their socks, the soil is also digging to their shoes, and Grey's body hurts the more seconds that pass, and that doesn't help his thinking either.
However, once he makes eye contact with the girl, he's unable to keep his right eye closed, and this time, it does stay open.
"C-Commander? Is something wrong?" She asks.
But epiphany has just struck Grey Arkham.
"Amber…" he says.
"…Amber?" She repeats.
"Your eyes, they're like amber" He says.
Back when he first saw her eyes, he simply dismissed them, but now that he was looking at them in all the glory of the sun's daylight, he found himself fascinated by them. They're a vibrant, almost auric shade of light brown, which immediately makes Grey think of the organic amber that was sold around various markets. To be perfectly honest, he had an eye for jewelry; he really liked shiny things, and jewels had always been the brightest of the bunch. However, amber was different from most gems, being that it was formed from years and years of hardening resin, eventually becoming a beautiful, crystalline piece, and just like that, this girl had been buried. Amber was unappreciated these days, being that eridium and other materials were considered the most luxurious types of minerals, racking up to millions of bucks. Plain, ignored and forgotten, yet containing an unique beauty; Grey thought of all this the moment he stared clearly into her eyes.
She takes a moment to think of it.
"A-Are you sure?" And she also seems to like it.
"G-God! I broke myself thinking about it!" Grey yells, unaware that his face is becoming redder by the second. "That or nothing!"
"N-No! I – I like it very much!" She cries nervously in response.
She places her right hand under her chin, delicately holding it with her thumb and index.
"A-Amber" She says nervously. "Amber"
"C-Can we get this over with!?"
"C-Commander!"
"Y-Yes!?"
"C-Could you say it?"
"W-what!?"
"P-please! I… I want to hear it o-once more!"
Grey turns his face awkwardly away from her.
"W-We gotta get outta here, we've been here for too long…" He tries to change the subject.
"P-Please! Just this once!"
"Dammit! Why are you suddenly so pushy!?" Grey shrieks.
There is no response from the girl. Gulping, Grey turns back at the girl once again, who's bashfully looking at him.
"…P-please?"
Grey gives a drowned scream for himself. He gives his back again immediately.
"L-let's get going already… Amber" He hurriedly says as he gives his first step out of the jungle and back to the shore.
He doesn't see the girl's bright smile, perhaps the brightest she has given yet.