"Where have you heard that name?- Spit it out ...siren" Mordecai demanded with an intimidating tone, the point of the blade was slightly touching the heavy breathing siren's neck side, who gulped hard before responding with a trembling voice, still shocked from his 'greeting'.
" I ..I can explain..." Evelyn raised a hand moving the blade away so she could turn her face to meet his gaze again. "He was my master, the very person who kept and saved me from becoming insane on this forsaken planet".
"So, you were trained by Yujinny huh?, that explains the stilettos and precision with the sniper rifle". The surprised yet annoyed hunter sheathed the sword and moved back a few paces to allow the siren enough space to freely get up, however, Evelyn just sat up crossing her legs with eyelids shut, and let out a sigh from her twitched lips. Mordecai simply shrugged at her action and kept moving backwards until his back hit the wall to rest on it as he too sighed and shook his head, with eyes never leaving the newly met siren who contributed to 'save' Bloodwing, controlling her every movement. "as you have figured out I'm not him but I can tell you that we were close like brothers" he continued while relaxing his shoulders and tilting the head back enough to touch the hard rock on where his back rested. "Do you know what has happened to him a few years back?"
" Yes...Master was killed brutally and then digested by a ferocious skag named Scar, that was when I was left alone and soon after captured by Hyperion" Evelyn answered while playing with her hair nervously, the memory of Yujinny's death and the slag experimentations made her feel uncomfortable, not to mention Mordecai's cold stares with no emotions to it.
" yeah and did you also know that Scar has been killed by one of the first Vault Hunters who defeated the Destroyer?"
"Well, I know that the skag was brought down but the part about a Vault Hunter hunting it down no. I only found out that a skilled sniper finished the job my Master started"
" That's right, it was me who did it... I killed that fucking skag for good and claimed the reward" saying that the hunter smirked widely at the sight of Evelyn's surprised face, she had stopped fiddling with her long brown wavy hair and made to say a word but was quickly interrupted by Mordecai who kept going. " what, you surprised chica? Seems like you don't really know who you are talking to; back when I was seventeen I participated in the sniping contest that was held every four years, people used to say that it was a real challenge but guess what? I won anyway, with just a revolver pistol and my eyes that despite being very accurate they see no colour other than different shades of grey. I'm colourblind..." The siren's jaw was practically touching the ground, she couldn't believe that she just reunited with one of her brother's old buddies, the same person her younger self used to argue a lot with but looked each others backs without a second thought. She grew to respect him later despite his cockiness and her stubbornness.
She shifted sitting position by bring her long legs back into a kneeling position and then rested her lower back on her calves, straightening her curved figure. Evelyn picked up the empty tediore pistol that laid on the floor, stashing it between the belt and the hem of her dirt coloured pants, placing her hands on her lap. "
" How is that supposed to make you end up on a place like Pandora?" Evelyn could and wanted to ask more and mention her brother but instead she held it in with force, deciding that this wasn't the right time to reveal her true identity.
" The bastards thought I cheated and when they tried to take me away I might have reacted exaggerating, by that I mean pulling the trigger at a cop and hitting him right between the eyes. I could not accept humility; after that it kind of turned into a frenzy while I was trying to escape witnesses and the guards. I always had lived a shit life from the start anyway"
"That still doesn't explain how you became a Vault hunter and now part of the resistance"
" What makes you have the right to invade my life and why are you here instead of following the group back to Sanctuary!?" Mordecai soon grew irritated of the siren sticking her nose into his business, she just apologized and told him that she felt guilty about his beloved companion's death and explained about her wanting to check if he was alright or if he needed help with anything else, skipping the part about Bloodwing's telepathic chat, keeping it for later.
" I don't want or need any pity from you siren. She's gone for ever, there is nothing we can do about it! Not even the damn New-U stations can help!" He bitterly cut her off again and walked to her with a screwed up face, looking down at Evelyn's now tensed up body while clutching his fist tightly in anger over the fact that nothing could have turned out differently.
"Look I know that you want no pity and compassion but I tell you that I know exactly how you are feeling... I experienced something similar at least three times before, this one being the fourth because of guilt". Evelyn had lost people she truly loved in her pass such as her mother who died from over stress, fatigue and the divorce that hit her hard, then her brother who she lost contact with after she was turned into a living weapon, and finally there was Yujinny's death which left her broken hearted, he was like a father she never had.
They both stood there for a while until Mordecai calmed down and held his arm in front for Evelyn to grab, she hesitated at first thinking that he might pull her closer and strangle her or worse slit her throat, she shook those thoughts away and took hold of his hand keeping her other hovering above her boot where she kept the stiletto, just in case. The hunter gently pulled her up on her feet and soon left her hand sliding his own in the pockets of his pants, not even waiting for Evelyn to get ready, he brushed past her to the path that led down from his small refuge. She took one last look around, especially at hand drawn map of the wild life facility on the rock wall the hunter had rested on a few minutes ago, and the bird's of prey feathers that were scattered all over the hard ground, before starting to follow Mordecai's trail and catching up to him who only kept staring ahead, without acknowledging her presence.
Finally reaching the bottom of the hill the old Vault hunter took out a revolver Evelyn didn't seem to be familiarized with, the weapon looked quite high tech as it not only had intensive explosive power but could also fire other elements at random, leaving the stalking mimetic creatures no chance of survival with the combination of electricity and corrosive penetrating through their organic shields, making their exposed layer of skin vulnerable to combustion fire. Mordecai was ready to take aim again at one of the stinging bastards who was just about to shoot its darts but both were preceded by an invisible force which sped right past the hunter's shoulder and hit the creature, decapitating its head right on the spot. He turned his body around to look for the source of the unexpected and unwelcome force that had just took his kill, finding the younger huntress with her left arm stretched out forward and glowing, electric blue eyes who were staring right past him at the now dead stalker, before settling on his figure again with her lips forming a satisfied cocky smirk, something he does quite a lot and ironically finds it irritating when others did it.
"I'm sorry, you were aiming at that?- whatever, I can't just let you have all the fun 'amigo' !..." She placed that same hand on her hip and shifted most of the body weight on one side impatiently.
" huh- huh, come on let's get a move on," Mordecai just grumbled at her attitude and they continued to make their way towards the fast travel station that led to the city of Sanctuary, where the resistance's HQ was located.
As she was now standing in front of the travel station, Evelyn rested her right hand on the control panel of the machine for the scanning of registration. The bright digistructed particles of light hovered above her palm for a few seconds before displaying a red cross that blocked every traveling option, "error 101= unregistered DNA, locking down scan system".
"madre de dios, seriously you aren't registered?-What now? I need to drive your little ass all the way to Sanct- wait, dammit I forgot that the piece of junk flies now!" The frustrated sniper cursed loudly at the sky, moving and gesturing with his hands. The siren slid her hand down from the Hyperion tech, placing it back at her side in a defeated manner, "Jack must have blocked me from the system so that I cannot escape when intended to, like in this case. I don't understand the point of having wings if they can't even be used to lift my weight into the air, damn alien logic...".
" I might be able to help, let me get that for you". Mordecai's echo switched on grabbing their attention, an innocent teenage sounding voice spoke to them through the speakers, claiming that she could solve Evelyn's problem, quite enthusiastically. Both of the hunters recognized the voice and were not glad to hear from it, the siren was practically clutching her teeth with force that you could hear the sound of when they made contact.
" Who the fuck gave you permission to call after what y-" Mordecai started to talk back infuriated of her hacking business, but was interrupted by Evelyn yanking the device off him and started to yell at it non stop, " You! How the hell are you going to help me this time? By leading me to another fucking cage!?- You are the bitch who tricked me and led me to Jack who encaged and tortured me for nearly four years straight!- You said the same exact words three years ago, next thing I knew I was bound by chains and stripped of my items and freedom".
" ...(sigh)... Yes you are right and I'm sorry for what I have done but I had no choice, He controls me, whatever his orders are I need to satisfy him without questioning, or else..." The innocent sounding voice replied with a guilty tone to the siren who is boiling with anger, eyes flared up once more with destructive energy.
" Angel, you said you are an Hyperion AI, then how are you able to have your own free will and why would you help us? We are trying to get rid of the corporation once and for all, that includes you" Mordecai took hold of the device again before Evelyn would melt it, trying to make sense of the double sided artificial intelligence.
"Let just say that Handsome Jack cannot change his catalyst completely, he needs it the way it is. I am more important to him than what you think-Now, there isn't enough time left, quickly Evelyn I need a sample of your DNA. Now connecting to Tundra Express' traveling station".
The angry siren refused to trust Angel who already betrayed her once, she crossed her arms over her chest and made to walk off the opposite direction, flipping off at the echo communicator. The sniper realized what she was about to do and quickly took action, by gripping onto her left shoulder and spinning her around, Evelyn closed her hand into a fist to try punching him, however, he already predicted the move and ducked under, dodging the jab and grabbed her moving arm by the wrist, bringing it behind her back with the other. Mordecai dragged her forcefully towards the machine, holding onto her wrist while she started to call upon her siren powers, summoning a breeze at first which gradually grew in stronger wind, he kept moving despite the wind pushing back with full force. When they were close enough to the station the sniper lifted his captive's tattooed arm forcefully until it touched the control panel, she still tried to oppose by freeing herself with all of her strength, tugging at the arm and trying to get it loose. The annoyed hunter was now struggling to keep her captive therefore, he circled an arm around her waist and shoved her body closer to the machine, blocking her every movement.
" I understand that you dislike Angel, I don't trust her either but this is the only ticket you have in order to reach Sanctuary. We are not letting anyone get hold of such unstable and dangerous energy, so you either commit suicide right now or come with me to meet our leader and join the resistance, with two more sirens!".
Evelyn frowned in defeat again and finally gave up fighting, letting her energy change the direction, channeling it to the machine her cheek was pressed against, feeling its hard and cold material.
" Good, keep that up Evelyn-executing Phase Shift" Angel's innocent voice was soon proceeded by a technologic high pitched sound as the fast travel station's screen lit up, displaying the AI's face for a few seconds, she smiled before the screen went back to the original state, unlocked.
Mordecai let go of the siren's arm and waist, crossing his arms and waiting for Evelyn to start up the machine. The huntress looked at him, narrowing the eyebrows in a warning to never touch her again while rubbing her hurting wrist, she then scanned her DNA again which was finally accepted. Mordecai took over the machine and scrolled down the list of places until Sanctuary was displayed and pressed OK, the station scanned both of the hunters' bodies before teleporting them away from the very ground their feet were standing on.