A/N: Laziness plus more stories to work on equals less updates.
Rhys shook his legs out a bit to try and wake them up from sitting on that buzzard. Then he turned to Fiona and Loader Bot.
"Now or never I guess," he told them. Fiona nodded.
"That seems accurate," Loader Bot said. Everyone followed Rhys as he walked back inside the Atlas base to get to the briefing room. But Fiona walked next to Rhys the entire time so she could hold a conversation with him.
"You think I made the right choice? Bringing who I chose?" she asked him.
"Little late for that, don't you think?" Rhys said with a playful smirk. She shoved him on his arm, but he barely moved.
"Be serious Rhys," she said in a serious tone. The smirk was wiped from his face and he faced Fiona with a serious expression.
"Zer0 and Athena are two people that are the reason for us still being alive. Having them on their side is more than helpful. As for Janey, well, she is dating Athena. I don't think she would be in this lifestyle if she couldn't handle herself. I think your choices were solid," Rhys explained with honesty. Fiona smiled.
"Thanks," Fiona said.
"No problem. Now, I've been thinking about this for a bit, and I think August should go with you onto the Traveler," Rhys said. Fiona raised an eyebrow.
"Enlighten me," she said.
"None of have no idea what's gonna be in that giant monster, and August is a decent gun hand to have. I honestly think he should go with you," Rhys said.
"We can handle ourselves," Fiona said.
"And you think I don't know that? But we haven't done anything like this, and I don't want to take any chances with either of you. Just take him with you," Rhys said.
"Ugh. I'll think about it. But I don't know how Sasha will react about this," Fiona said.
"She'll be against it. But she'll on board if you tell her it's alright. Why do you think I came to you first?" Rhys said with a smirk. Fiona had to admire the Hyperion's nerve. But she had to hate it too.
"You slick bastard," Fiona said with a smirk. Rhys had a cocky, self-centered smirk on his face that proves he was once a Hyperion. It was also a smirk that Fiona hated once before. Now, she didn't mind as much.
"So you'll take him?" Rhys asked.
"No," Fiona said quickly.
"I had a feeling that was going to be your answer. Fine. It's your choice," Rhys said.
"It's mostly cause I don't want him to have a stake in the loot," Fiona said, making Rhys bark out a laugh.
"And you used to say I'm greedy," he said, still laughing. Fiona eventually joined in with his laughter.
From the back, Athena was listening to Fiona and Rhys talking and it sounded strangely closer. More friendly. Even intimate if you looked at it a certain way.
"Those two a thing now?" Athena asked Loader Bot.
"No. He and Sasha. I would assume Fiona is trying her best to get along with him for the sake of her sister," Loader Bot responded. Athena frowned slightly.
She remembered what Rhys looked like the first time she met him. She remembered his eye used to be a bright blue blue and his arm a Hyperion yellow. But now his eye was a dark yellow and his arm a platinum silver. It was a darker, more sinister look for the man. One that unnerved her slightly.
"Something on your mind?" Janey asked her girlfriend. She turned to face Janey before pointing at Rhys.
"The Hyperion... he seems... different. I don't like it," Athena said with a frown. Janey looked at where Athena was pointing.
"Replaced tech, more confident walk, less awkward tone? I'd say he definitely changed. I'd say for himself really. It's nothing sweetie," Janey assured her. Athena nodded somewhat automatically, but she was not very reassured. She would keep her eye on Rhys.
She trusted the Hyperion even less than she did before. And the way he dealt with that bandit next to her back in that desert? He sliced him in half without even blinking after. That definitely showed that he learned how to fight and kill without any remorse. That she definitely didn't like.
"I wouldn't say it's nothing. I didn't tell you about what happened when he came to get me," Athena said.
"Alright, enlighten me. What happened?" Janey said.
"We're here. You can stop talking about me now," Rhys said without even facing them. Athena looked up at the Hyperion and her frown got even deeper, but she didn't comment.
Rhys lead them where the planning was taking place and they were all taking positions in front of monitors.
"I heard you were looking for the Gortys core yourself," Vaughn said to Zer0.
"Well... that was before / I've abandoned that mission / My queue was too full," Zer0 said.
"I've been there. They really start to pile up," Athena said.
"But those days are behind you now," Janey said.
"Right," Athena said hesitantly. Like she didn't want it to be true.
"Thank you for coming," Loader Bot told them.
"Sure... I'm mostly here for the loot," Athena said.
"Loot is always a good motivator. Doesn't take much convincing with that promise," Rhys said with his arms crossed and his expression relaxed. Athena didn't even acknowledge Rhys as she continued.
"Weddings are expensive," Athena said.
"So I've heard," Loader Bot said. Sasha gave Rhys a subtle look and he raised an eyebrow.
"I told you we can keep it modest," Janey said.
"The napkin holders you picked up are more than modest," Athena said.
"Well, those I have to have," Janey said.
"Sorry to interrupt, but we have a Vault to open," Rhys said, his tone bordering on impatience. Athena gave Rhys a somewhat pissed look, and instead of looking away like Rhys would tend to do, he eyed her down with a look just as severe. The Hyperion had a lot more nerve than before, and it surprised her more than it irritated her.
"This is all really exciting. I don't usually get invited to missions like this," Janey interjected.
"Why don't you join your girlfriend when she goes on her jobs? Seems like you would both have more fun that way," Fiona suggested. Janey turned her head slightly toward Athena before looking back at Fiona.
"I'll think about that," she said. Athena looked back at Rhys again. Athena smiled. She was glad that Fiona had her back. Even through the worst of situations. That's exactly why she thought Fiona would make it in this business.
"Alright, in order to access the mysterious treasures of the Vault..." Vaughn started.
"Ahem," Loader Bot interrupted. Rhys, Sasha, and Fiona knew that the Vault wasn't Loader Bot's main priority.
"AND ensure the safety of Gortys, we gotta destroy the monster that protects it," Vaughn finished.
"This is the Traveler," Loader Bot said, showing the image on the monitor in front of them.
"It's quite impressive / That's the largest Vault monster / I have ever seen," Zer0 said.
"And you've seen how many, exactly? They aren't exactly common," Rhys questioned.
"I've only seen one / But regardless of that / My point is proven," Zer0 said.
"Oh, yeah. It's big. It's nasty. It's gotta go," Vaughn said. "To make matters more fun and complicated, it teleports. Yay. Hence the whole Traveler thing."
"So what's everyone's job?" Fiona questioned.
"Good question. The B team... that's you guys... you're saddled with the unenviable task of drawing the monster over to this area," Vaughn said, gesturing back to the monitor. "When the Traveler teleports, there's a swirl of energy at the point where it's going to jump to. You get the monster towards the vicinity of this ledge. It tries to jump into range. The caravan flies into the energy swirly thing before it jumps."
"The caravan?" Fiona questioned.
"Yeah, that's... that's what I said. It flies now remember? You just gotta time it so you're inside the energy thing when the monster shows up," Vaughn clarified. "What little information we were able to gather seems to point to a gland, tucked inside it's giant tummy there as the source for its teleportation abilities. Once your in, you wire up the gland... weird to keep calling it that... with explosives. Trigger the remote detonator and get the heck out of there."
"Lemme see the detonator," Rhys asked, holding his hand out.
"Relax, Rhys. It's perfectly fine," Vaughn said.
"I didn't say it wasn't. Lemme see the detonator Vaughn," Rhys asked with more insistence. Vaughn walked out of the room for a minute before Sasha questioned him.
"What are you doing?" she asked him.
"Making a check," Rhys said, his expression dead serious.
Vaughn eventually came back with the detonator and removed the back of it before looking around at the parts. His frown became even deeper.
"Is there a problem?" Vaughn asked.
"You're holding everything up," Athena said.
"Give me a minute," Rhys said as he digistructed a chip from his ECHO and started removing wires before inserting the chip inside the detonator and replaced the back before handing it back to Vaughn. "There you go."
"Uh, was there any point to that?" Fiona asked.
"If you count on the detonator not working once you two were out of range of the blast, then yes. There was very much a point," Rhys said with his arms crossed again. Fiona and Sasha's eyes widened.
"Wait, are you saying that the detonator wouldn't have worked once we reached a certain range?" Fiona questioned.
"That is correct. It's likely you'd run into too much interference inside the Vault monster, so you need a more powerful frequency. That is why I checked. Now it's triggered by my ECHO arm. Give me the thumbs up when you're out of range, and I'll detonate it. There are just some things you have to double check," Rhys said, making Sasha kiss him on the cheek.
"You're the best," she told him. He smirked.
"I know," he said, making just about everyone else roll their eyes.
"Ugh, can we move on?" Athena questioned. Rhys gave a mock bow.
"Be my guest," he said.
"Hmm. Smartass," she said. He smirked before addressing Vaughn with a serious look.
"Where do I fit into all of this?" Rhys questioned.
"You sir, are our motivational speaker!" Vaughn exclaimed, making Rhys give Vaughn a strange look.
"Enlighten me," he said.
"After the teleportation gland is offline, we need Gortys to wrestle the Traveler into place for the moonbeam. That's gonna require some convincing. And that's what you and Loader Bot are in charge of," Vaughn clarified.
"Hmm. Makes sense," Rhys said, but Fiona knew what was going on in his mind.
"You can have your opportunity to shoot someone another time, ok?" she told him.
"I know this. Doesn't mean I have to like it," Rhys said with a frown.
"Any more questions?" Vaughn questioned. Everyone shook their heads. No more was to be said as they walked out of the room to open the Vault.
They all parked around the very center of this canyon. Loader Bot set the remains of Gortys down with Rhys and Fiona right next to him.
"Alright guys. Moonbeam is fully charged. We're ready here when you are," Vaughn said. Rhys and Fiona both looked at Gortys before looking at each other with a sad look.
"She is ready. The only missing pieces are you two," Loader Bot said.
"I'm sorry... about Gortys," Rhys said in a regretful tone.
"Yeah," Fiona said.
"Unneeded. I now know it is not your fault," Loader Bot said. "I could not revive her myself. I require your help. You two are still imprinted on her core. It must be made whole again." He then handed them the two pieces of the Gortys core.
Fiona and Rhys walked a little ahead of everyone before putting the cores together in midair. The core had begun to float in the air before Rhys grabbed it and put it in Gortys.
"That's all it takes this time?" Rhys asked.
"I've made some modifications. You will want to stand back. This may not be pleasant," Loader Bot suggested. Then they waited. But nothing happened.
"Um..." Loader Bot trailed. "It is not working."
"Uh, did I put it in backwards?" Rhys questioned.
"Backwards?" Fiona questioned.
"I dunno, like batteries? I-" Before he could speak any more, Gortys floated in the air before a number of seconds before her giant robot form was revealed once again.
"Whoa! Hey guys! What are you doing here?" she questioned. But the beacon on her back flashed bright again before the Vault was opened and the Traveler climbing out of it.
"Oh no. Not again," Gortys said with fear.
"Get to your positions! We don't have a lot of time!" Fiona told everyone before taking off running. Everyone except Rhys got into a vehicle and sped off to get their particular objectives done.
"Rhys?" Gortys questioned. "What's going on? As glad as I am to see all of you... you know we're going to die, right?"
"It's gonna be alright Gortys," Rhys assured her.
"I don't know about that," Gortys said.
"Okay, so here's the plan: you're gonna force the Traveler into position so Fiona and Sasha can get inside it and destroy its teleportation gland. Then Vaughn will use Helios' beam to destroy it! Got it?" Rhys explained in a rush.
"Nope!" Gortys said almost instantly, wiping the smile off of Rhys' face just as quickly.
"Oh, really? Which part?" he asked.
"The one where we don't get our butts kicked like last time. I thought I was ready back then, but I didn't stand a chance!" Gortys exclaimed.
"Well yeah, but... that's the plan," Rhys said.
While Rhys held a conversation with Gortys, Sasha was stressing about the situation.
"I can't believe we're doing this," Sasha said in an anxious tone. "Do we go this? We got this, right?"
"Hell, I feel sorry for the monster," Fiona said in a cocky tone.
"All right, let's do this!" Sasha said with more confidence. Janey and Athena then pulled up next to the two sisters.
"Fiona, get to the top of the cliff. After we get the Traveler into position, you'll only have a few seconds to jump into it while it teleports," Athena reminded her.
"Just handle your part. We got this," Sasha assured her.
They drove up a hill so they could get into position for the jump with the caravan.
"I checked it out last night. She's solid for one last ride. The only good thing Felix ever gave us," Sasha said.
"I dunno. I'm pretty happy with my gun," Fiona said.
"You still got that gift Felix gave me?" Sasha questioned.
"Of course I-" Fiona was cut off by a loud charging sound. She looked back to see that the Helios beam had been fired toward the Traveler, but he teleported out of the way and dodged it.
"That... wasn't the plan," Sasha said.
"No," Fiona clarified.
"Okay, so... I might've screwed up. Please don't be mad at me," Vaughn said.
"Ugh... Vaughn..." Sasha said, face palming.
"Vaughn," Fiona said seriously.
"I know! I know! I just... saw him walk in front of the beam. I figured I could just end this all right now," Vaughn explained.
"Tell me we got another shot," Fiona said.
"Yes!... eventually," Vaughn said.
"Wh-What?!" Fiona exclaimed. "You were supposed to wait until we took out the teleportation gland!"
"Don't worry. I'll get it charged back up. We're fine. This is not a problem," Vaughn assured her.
"Guys, I've got a problem. Gortys does not want anything to do with this," Rhys said.
"What?!" Fiona exclaimed.
"Awesome! Yell at Rhys! I gotta go!" Vaughn exclaimed.
"She's scared okay! I can't get her into position," Rhys said.
"You're the expert at this stuff! Convince her!" Fiona exclaimed. Rhys rubbed his face out of the stress of the situation before addressing Gortys again.
"Look Gortys - you can do this! Okay? It'll be different this time. We're all here together!" Rhys exclaimed.
"Hey, Gortys! This isn't working! We need a new plan!" Athena said after nearly being squashed by the Traveler.
"Hold on! Just give me a minute!" Rhys told Athena before going back to Gortys.
"But if we fight, we'll lose! Oh, I wish you had all just give up on the Vault," Gortys said. "That's why I had Fiona destroy me. I didn't want to put you in danger!"
"Gortys, we're going to fight this thing together! All of us!" Rhys exclaimed.
"But last time..."
"Forget about last time! Your friends are all here! We can do this! Together!" Rhys told her.
"Well... if you say so. But you've got to drive!" Gortys said.
"Drive?" Rhys questioned as she lowered her hand down to grab him. "What're you - no, no, no-"
Rhys had his hands up, but he looked up to see that he was inside Gortys.
"I don't know how to fight, so you should be in it," she said.
"And a remote control is going to help me? It's not really gonna help me do what I know how to do! I learned martial arts. These controls are likely gonna help me do nothing close to that!" Rhys exclaimed.
"Like this?" Gortys questioned before she stood on her feet and put her legs on top of her shoulders in a grab that Rhys was familiar with. He smiled.
"Oh, yeah. That'll definitely work," Rhys said, starting to fiddle with the controls. The stick was to control the movement. And the buttons were... well, anything he wanted them to do. Which he liked.
"Hey asshole!" Rhys yelled, but the Traveler wasn't paying attention. "Gortys, can you get its attention?"
"Hey, you big freaky... glowy... Big handed... handy... thingy monster," Gortys said awkwardly. "How was that?"
"Ok, we definitely need to work on you trash talk. But you got it's attention, so mission accomplished," Rhys said before the monster started chuckling. Rhys smirked. "Oh, we'll give him something to laugh about."
"He's already laughing," Gortys said.
"Not what I meant, but lets do this," Rhys said, running in front of the monster having Gortys raise her fists. The monster then teleported in an attempt to get a punch off on Gortys, but Rhys raised Gortys' left leg to deflect the attack before he turned and used his other leg to kick the Traveler down to the ground.
"Whatever it is you're doing, keep it up!" Vaughn said. Rhys quickly got back to his feet and attempted to grab the Traveler, but it teleported right behind Rhys and picked Gortys up.
Rhys spun while in the monster's grip like he was a bottle cap and got out of its grip before grabbing its head and flipping it over on its back.
"Who's laughing now, you son of a bitch?" Rhys questioned with a smile. Rhys attempted to kick the monster while he was on the ground, but it teleported behind Rhys again. But Rhys had expected this.
Using both of Gortys' legs, he quickly turned around and dropkicked the monster directly in its chest. Rhys noticed that the monster was close to the cliff, so he charged directly into it and held it in place so that it would be tempted to teleport again.
"NOW!" Rhys yelled at Fiona to go while he kept the monster in place for the attack. The monster kept punching Gortys' face in an attempt for Rhys to loosen his grip, but was unsuccessful.
Fiona and Sasha sped off the cliff as soon as the monster teleported in the position that Rhys had predicted he would teleport.
"This is just getting to easy," Rhys said with a confident smirk.
"Hey, in case you haven't noticed, we're still down here! So we would appreciate if don't end up crushing us!" Athena exclaimed.
"You're welcome for getting this robot of your back!" Rhys bit back at her impatiently.
"I'm gonna cut your vocal chords out if you don't shut up," Athena threatened.
"Try it. I dare you. I'll stick my stun baton so far up your ass, it'll come out through your fucking ear," Rhys growled back at her angrily. "You want to deal with the giant Vault monster, be my guess. But don't give me shit about how I try to deal with it."
"What the fuck did you just say to me?!" Athena growled.
"Guys! You're not helping the situation by who can do more disturbing things to the other! We have an objective. Let's get it done!" Vaughn exclaimed, trying to keep the peace between the other. Rhys' anger was on boiling point, and Athena's was far from behind.
"Come on you big ugly motherfucker!" Rhys growled before picking up the Traveler and throwing it into the rock. Rhys cocked his fist back with his right hand and kept repeatedly punching the Vault monster in the face without letting up or any type of mercy.
It ended up teleporting to the side of him, only to be met with Gortys' fist in its face again. He then kneed it the stomach before tripping it up and making it fall on the ground. Rhys kept stomping on its face over and over again until it was forced to teleport away again. But Rhys just kept coming like a relentless killer, his anger at Athena fueling the way he fought.
"Wow, Rhys. You are not letting up," Yvette said over the communicator, but Rhys did not respond. His goal was only focused on beating the absolute shit out of this monster.
Right now, the Traveler was on the defensive, which, judging by its cocky attitude earlier, was not expecting such a thing.
Rhys kept advancing on this monster, but it kept teleporting out of Rhys' range. He obviously did not want more punishment coming from Rhys, who was able to read its teleports pretty well.
"Stand... still... you fucker!" Rhys growled as he kept moving the controller around furiously, trying to beat the shit out of the Vault monster more.
Then at one point, the monster attempted to get a one up Rhys by putting all of its weight on Rhys, but he knew how to counter such a thing.
Rhys quickly ducked down and tripped up the monster before grabbing the monster and throwing him into the rock formation. The monster groaned, as if it was sighing that it was pointless trying to fight Rhys. So it stuck to staying away from Rhys by teleporting.
"Fiona, this thing is pissing me off! It keeps teleporting everywhere! How much longer till you pop that teleportation gland?!" Rhys yelled.
"Calm down, Company Man! The charges are on the gland. We just got to get out of here," Fiona said.
"Glad to hear it. I'm tired of this thing teleporting away from me," Rhys said. "Tell me when you're out of range so I can detonate the charges!"
"Gotcha!" Fiona yelled. It didn't take long for them to get out of range, and when Fiona gave the okay, Rhys pulled up the control panel on his mechanical arm and activated the detonate feature.
There was a loud explosion powerful enough to travel for miles. Fiona and Sasha got out of the caravan and ended up landing on top of a cliff. Rhys got a dark smirk on his face.
"No more teleporting for you asshole," he said before charging toward the Vault monster again. The monster roared before Rhys grabbed the monster with his feet and threw it closer to the moonbeam. Rhys stood it up before moving out of the moonbeam's range.
"Hit the button! Hit the button!" Vaughn exclaimed. Yvette hit the fire button and the moonbeam made a hole in the monster's armor. Then, the beacon on his back that summoned the Vault turned into a sword. He charged toward the monster with an expression that meant death.
"Time to die," Rhys growled before slicing the monster over and over and over again. He then put the sword directly in the middle of the monster's chest before raising it up. It took a few seconds, but Traveler eventually fell apart. It definitely wasn't doing anymore traveling any time soon.
Gortys then got Rhys out of her body and he flexed his shoulders as everyone approached him.
"You alright?" Sasha asked him.
"I should be asking you that. Did any weird Vault monsters probe you or anything?" Rhys asked. Sasha rolled her eyes.
"I'm fine you big dope. Glad you had fun," she said.
"I would've had even more fun if that thing would've stood and fought me more. Would've made things more interesting," Rhys said, with his arms crossed.
"By the sound of things, you'd have almost anyone running for the hills from the way you were attacking," Fiona said with a smirk. Rhys gave her a genuine smile before turning toward the rest of the group.
"Thanks for the help. All of you," Rhys said gratefully.
"No problem," Janey said.
"I must say / I find myself impressed / By your fighting skill Rhys," Zer0 said. It took all the self control Rhys had not to jump up and down for joy, but he did give him a wide smile.
"Thanks. Still wouldn't want to fight you though," he said with a smile.
"Alright, enough of the warrior's admiration shit. How about we check out this Vault?" Sasha suggested. Rhys smiled.
"Gladly," he said.
"I quite enjoyed this / Perhaps we'll do it again," Zer0 said suddenly.
"On the narrow chance we find another Vault, but I'll be happy to take you up on that offer," Rhys said evenly. Athena then approached Fiona was a smile.
"You'll do fine out there," Athena said.
"Ya'll are coming to the wedding, right?" Janey asked.
"What happened to a little thing?" Athena hissed.
"Come on. Had Fiona not told me how you felt, we might not be getting married," Janey reminded her. Athena looked at the ground with a regretful look.
"I guess that's true," she said.
"Wouldn't miss it," Fiona said. But Rhys whispered to Sasha.
"Are you planning on being one of those women who rushes for the bouquet when the bride throws it?" he said with a smirk.
"Nah. I think Fiona needs the luck more than we do. Plus I don't think I'm ready to be tied down to your ass yet," Sasha said teasingly.
"I'm wounded Sasha," Rhys said with a mock hurt expression. Sasha had a playful smile on her face before wrapping her hands around Rhys' neck.
"How about this. We'll have our alone time together after we get back to the base. Maybe that'll take your mind off your wounds. How does that sound to you?" she said. He smiled and put his hands and her hips, slowly lowering down to her ass.
"That sounds... delightful," Rhys said with a sensual tone.
"Can you two keep your hands off each other for two seconds?!" Fiona exclaimed at the two.
"We did long enough to get the job done, didn't we?" Rhys reminded her.
"Let em go. There's more loot to go around for us then," Athena said.
Sasha instantly ran toward the loot pile.
"Dibs on the Desolator!" she yelled. Rhys shook his head, but smiled all the same.
"I got dibs on any shields cause I get shot a lot!" Vaughn exclaimed. Fiona stood next to Rhys as he looked at the group and observed them as they scrambled for the loot. Then Gortys approached the two.
"I just wanna say thanks for bringing me back and killing that scary thing and taking me on the adventure we went on a while ago and thanks for being cool about stuff like letting me drive caravan that time when you weren't looking and thanks for bringing everyone together and thanks for being my friend..." Gortys said in a rant. "You're the only ones I have and I appreciate you. And I hope we're friends for a really long time."
"That's what friends do... they help each other... it's all part of the deal," Fiona said with a smile.
"Well, then that's a pretty good deal," Gortys mentioned.
"I think most of the credit goes to Loader Bot though," Rhys said. Fiona raised an eyebrow at him. He had just said the exact same thing she was thinking. Honestly, it was getting a little weird.
"Rhys is right. None of us would be here if it weren't for him. He's the one who brought us together to save you," Fiona told Gortys.
"Oh, I see," Gortys said.
"So, as much as we appreciate your thanks, he probably deserves it even more," Fiona said.
Gortys then rolled over to Loader Bot and called out to him before hugging his leg.
"Hi," Loader Bot said.
"Aw, they are so cute together," Fiona cooed. Rhys smiled.
"I suppose they are," he said before turning back toward the group and laughing. "Look at em... so silly. Running like that... little rascals."
"No loot for you, Mr. Atlas?" Fiona asked, a playful smirk on her face. Rhys returned the smirk with one of his own.
"No thanks. I think I'd prefer to build this company's weapons on my own," he said, his arms crossed. "But there is something I want to do."
"What?" Fiona asked. Rhys smiled before he took off running toward the Vault gate. Fiona looked at him strangely before quickly following.
"We're going in together dammit! Like a family! Or no one goes in!" Fiona exclaimed. Rhys laughed playfully.
"You gotta beat me first!" he said. "My spindely legs were made for sprinting!" Rhys ended up reaching the gate first, but was breathing heavily. Fiona had her hands on her knees and was panting just as heavy as Rhys was.
"You only won... cause you had a head start," Fiona breathed out. Rhys still had enough energy to smirk at her.
"Keep... telling yourself that," he said. "Well, no turning back now. I guess we should just go ahead and-"
"Wait a second," Fiona said before raising an eyebrow at Rhys. "Just... what plans do you have with my sister?"
"You want to do this here?" Rhys questioned.
"Yes here. And I want your honest answer Rhys," Fiona said, her tone firm.
"Honestly, I want to make her happy. I want her to be mine and vice versa. I may not express that, but that's how I truly feel," Rhys answered in an honest tone. Fiona smiled.
"That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard. You're definitely a better choice for her than August. Just make sure not hurt her or I'll kill you," Fiona said pleasantly.
"Obviously," Rhys said before smiling at Fiona. "You know, I can't believe we've made it this far."
"Opening this Vault? No one would believe it really," Fiona said.
"No not that. I mean all of us. As a group. It's like it was yesterday you were trying to push me out of your moving caravan," Rhys said with a smile. Fiona turned slightly red and rubbed the back of her neck. But before Fiona could even say anything, Rhys beat her to it.
"Ah, don't beat yourself up over it. You didn't trust us. And we certainly wouldn't take any chances with a Pandoran if the roles were reversed," he assured her.
"Perhaps we acted too much like dicks when we first met," Fiona said.
"It's the human's nature to act like a dick at one point. You aren't an exception. No hard feelings Fi. None at all," he said with a good natured smile.
"You're a lot more charming than you make out to be. I'm impressed," Fiona said with a wide smile. "I wish you both nothing but the best."
"Thanks. Shall we go in?" Rhys asked, gesturing toward the Vault door. She grabbed his hand and raised it in front of their faces.
"Together. Or not at all," she told him.
"Alright, alright. If you insist," he said as they both walked in the Vault door together.
The sight they laid their eyes on was...
"Wow. This place is..."
"Beautiful," Fiona finished for Rhys. "All of that work to find a Vault... and here we are."
"It was well earned," Rhys said.
"Yes. It was," Fiona said as they walked on the walkway. "I never dreamed I'd ever see the inside of one of these things."
"So, what's next for the great Fiona? You gonna keep the Vault Hunter thing going, or..." Rhys asked.
"I dunno. To be honest, you're better at me than this stuff. Well, now you are," Fiona said.
"Cause I wanted to survive, which I've more than accomplished. I'm living now. Plus, once a company man, always a company man," Rhys said.
"I suppose so. This Vault Hunting thing is pretty dangerous..." Fiona trailed.
"Well, for once, how about you have control over where the danger is? And get paid for it?" Rhys questioned.
"You're certainly quite the diplomat. But I want a little of that Atlas training before I get too involved in this line of business," Fiona said.
"Anything for you Hat Lady," Rhys said with a smirk.
"Whatever you say Company Man," Fiona said with the same smirk.
They climbed on top of the center platform where the glowing box was.
"So this is it. Would... you like to do the honors?" Rhys questioned.
"It's the last one... it's only right that we both open it... it's the best part," Fiona said.
"Kinda hoping you would say that," Rhys said, making Fiona and laugh and shake her head.
"You're still a goof, aren't you?" she asked.
"That will never change. I can assure you," Rhys said.
"Well good. Cause that's the part I like the most about you. You acting just as cold as violent as Athena can be is quite... unsettling to think about at times," Fiona said.
"Just hope that side of me doesn't have to be revealed anymore. Hopefully I can just live a relaxed lifestyle as the leader of Atlas, but we all know that's too good to be true," Rhys said.
"Yeah, probably is. But hey. Here's to hoping," Fiona said, putting one hand on one side of the box. Rhys put his hand on the other side of the box before they both pushed. The box had begun to fall apart, then at the flash of a bright Eridium colored light, they were gone.
A/N: Now, this might be the end depending on you all. I might squeeze out more chapters on this story if you want me to. Granted, I can't guarantee they'll be the most interesting, but I can come up with some ideas to further the plot if you want me too.
