Author's note: Looking back to all of Broken Moons' previous chapters, I've spotted a lot of errors across them… mainly grammatical, but also a few orthographical ones. I need to revise everything and be more careful from now on. I usually check each chapter once or twice before uploading, but it seems a lot of things keep escaping me. I also sneak in a few corrections after uploading, too. Er… My inexperience shows… but I guess it's to be expected.
Hmm… I wonder how the whole beta reader thing works… I think I'm in need one.
But even with all these shortcomings, I must be doing something right. I'm happy for getting 21 followers. Thanks a lot!
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 14: Zip
There are a handful of things that make Grey Arkham happy, and they aren't particularly hard to list. He's a simple guy who likes his coffee black like his soul in the morning, cash in his pockets for the day, nice loots for the evenings (With variable amounts of violence to obtain it, he's not too stingy in this matter), and a good drink (not necessarily alcohol, as he doesn't particularly like it for various reasons) every now and then to ease his nights.
He didn't have any real expectations about his assault on these unknown bandits (which remained nameless because he didn't bother to ask for identification), but when he sees their cache of weapons, he can't hide the shit-eating grin that forms in his face.
Cash, bullets and weapons galore!
As soon as they enter the bandit's vault, Grey doesn't miss a beat and starts opening the metallic containers one after the other with evident delight. And lo and behold, while most of the guns offered in metal plates are common and not really remarkable, being that they're better off disassembled or sold, he does find a few uncommon and even some rare ones. Alongside the guns, he finds various pieces of miscellaneous stuff, including quite a big sum of cash, assorted magazines and boxes of ammunition for all kinds of weapons, shields, grenade mods, and even some eridian relics. However, as he doesn't have his ECHO to store and organize them, he can't really fathom to give a conclusive verdict outside of what he can tell with his naked eye; that and the fact that he doesn't really want to spend more time than necessary in the hideout, so he simply takes everything with him. After going through the 6th box, he stops in his tracks to turn around to the girls.
"Girls" he says gleefully. "We hit jackpot"
Neither of the Kanmusu really understand his rejoice, but decide to not interrupt their Commander, who's basically acting like a child on the loose… in a candy store… and a ticket for a free buffet… no parents to hold him… and an empty stomach… and an unhealthy craving for sugar…
Well, maybe he's not that bad, as the point is that the Vault Hunter has finally gotten himself some actual loot after two weeks (more or less, considering he was unconscious for the bigger part of this said interval) of disaster (He didn't consider the car rental incident a successful happening, more because he's too much of an ass rather than looking into the bright side of things).
Minutes later, Grey's crew has a whole new set of guns, a brand new vehicle, enough cash to spare for the coming days, and resulting from it, an improved mood.
An irony about the situation makes Grey scoff, because he's gotten himself a Model 6 Mammoth-T in superb conditions, full with A/C, electronic windows, retroactive shields for trips to the bad neighborhoods, and tacos to share in the glove box. Holy Tacos!
The Vault Hunter is a bit diverted about it. He's not the type to speak about or really believe in things such as karmic retribution or spiritual jumbo of the like, but he does believe that there is a thing known as Lady Luck, and she can be both the greatest ally and the biggest pain in the ass.
Eh… he'll take it nonetheless, it's a lot better that what he had expected, so he's not going to complain on that account. If he hadn't found anything in the bandit's hideout, then perhaps some awful things might have occurred (to the poor bandit that gave him everything he demanded), but considering that he had acquired pretty much everything he needed to return safely to Rho, he spared the bandit, who had proven himself useful.
The Mammoth has enough space for Grey and both girls, the Hydro-bike in the trunk, which Grey disassembled to make space for the numerous guns he loaded into some bags. It takes Grey a few minutes to load the vehicle; thankfully, the trunk has a digistructing matrix within it, so he makes the best of it and loads most of the ammunition and weapons there, making the effort to place and organize the weapons as best as he can with their rarity and potential usefulness in mind. After closing the interface, Grey finally puts the Hydro-bike's parts inside. He wouldn't be able to rebuild it until he found himself a vehicular station, but he decided that because he was travelling with both girls, it was better to use only the bigger vehicle.
Mammoths are mass-produced military vehicles outfitted for different purposes according to their variant. The T variant sacrifices a bit of armor and speed to give a better space and ease of loading and getting off the vehicle, being that the T stands for Transport. T-variant Mammoths have enough space for about 10 or so people (Although the comfort is questionable. Hey. It's a military vehicle, not a family van). There exists other variants such as the Assault, Medical and Castle variants, each better suited for different purposes, as one may guess from their names. The models themselves that range from 1 to 8, differ in two things mainly: their age and price. According to the people, such a wide range of models was what came to the downfall of their manufacturers, Meteor Rex (Often referred to Meteorex for shot), a company that can barely hold its own weight nowadays, being that it insisted on producing equipment for war when they were both very young, and there was practically no one to buy them. With big names like Dahl and Hyperion producing their own high-end equipment for themselves, it was always questionable why a small fry like Meteorex insisted on trying to emulate them. The first models that range from 1 to 4 are… subpar, to not use a more insulting word, although, for the record, it was after the 5th generation that Meteorex really stepped up their game, as often models 5 and 6 are preferred by the consumers. Sadly, by the time these good models came out, the damage was done, and when the models 7 and 8 had come around, they weren't able to survive said damage any longer. That was about 20 or 30 years ago, when Hyperion was still thriving and there were far more troubles in the galaxy. A small competitor that was ruined by none other than itself, it was… poetic to the eyes of some, because nowadays, anyone could find Meteorex's vehicles for cheap, and being that it's not too complicated to repair them, it's not unheard of for anyone who doesn't work on the civil spectrum of jobs to have use for them. They were absorbed by Acceleration Rogue (A-Rogue for short) and barely did anything noticeable, because the legal jumbo was impossible to make sense of. While Meteorex still existed "technically", they weren't able to produce anything that A-Rogue didn't approve of, so it was hard for them to really remediate their situation.
Back on the point of their vehicles, for some bizarre reason, models 1 and 2 are very rare nowadays, especially a discontinued line known as Breaker and their subsequent variants, if only for the fact that most of them broke down by themselves after little use. A few would pay a big sum for something as ridiculous as a crappy vehicle. Breakers can rack you up to millions of dollars provided you know where to sell them.
After finishing the loadout, Grey and the girls now focus on finding something to ease their growling stomachs. They hadn't really eaten anything this morning outside of what little remained of Homero, which wasn't much to begin with. So when the Vault Hunter finishes his business with his newly-acquired equipment, he and the girls search for anything edible. It takes some time to do so, more because Grey practically destroyed everything that came his way in his advance to the depths of the factory, and said raid didn't spare the kitchen.
Which is why the three of them are now sitting on a small square chair next to the Mammoth with whatever leftovers the scrawny bandit has been able to procure them on top of the crates Grey had emptied…
Amber isn't really sure what to feel about the strange yellow goo sitting in front of her.
"Hey you!" Grey calls between energetic bites.
"Y-Yes!?" The bandit shrieks nervously, immediately drawing near the Vault Hunter.
Grey takes a bit too long gulping down whatever kind of meat he was eating.
And then, he drinks from the oozy black beverage. No matter what she were told, Amber wouldn't dare to bring such weird-smelling liquid near her lips. Ever.
"What have you heard about the Empty Braver?" the Vault Hunter doesn't beat around the bush.
The bandit flinches a bit.
"T-The E-Empty Braver, s-sir?"
"No, the motherfuckin' president of Hyperion" Grey scoffs, giving another lengthy sip before filling his mug again. "Yes. The Empty Braver"
"R-Right" The bandit gulps awkwardly. Why hadn't Grey dropped his Rocket Launcher and insisted with keeping it on him was beyond the bandit's capabilities. He was eating with the damned thing on his lap, for Norway's sake! (Not really, it was lodged on the box, Grey just had the thing quite near him)
"Er…"
"Anything" Grey relaxes, cleaning his mouth with his sleeve. "Rumors, truths, lies. Anything that you've heard, I wanna hear it. Anything from two weeks 'til now, preferably"
Without the Vault Hunter noticing, Alex glances in his direction. She eyes her Commander with a slightly inquiring look.
And it takes a moment a little bit too long before anyone speaks.
"I still got rockets, y'know?" Grey says nonchalantly as he stuffs his mouth with the meat of unknown precedence, leaving behind only a thin bone after he expulses it from his mouth.
"S-sorry, sorry! I was just thinking!" The bandit panics. "Well… er… to be perfectly honest, there have been pretty weird rumors coming around ever since a week ago… and you aren't the first to be askin' about that fella…"
"Who are we talking about?" The Vault Hunter eyes the bandit suspiciously.
"W-well, there've been some guys offerin' cash to anyone who gives info about the guy. They are pretty far in between now, but with you, it's now 3 guys, I think"
"Hmm… Other potential Admirals?" The Vault Hunter thinks for his insides.
"And what about the rumors?" Grey elaborates, picking his teeth with a wooden toothpick.
"N-Now, don't quote me on this, since I only heard it from some guys the other day when we were celebrating at Flask. There are people claimin' that there've been some weird things popping around the south and the east"
"What kind of 'things'? And how far are we speaking? Sigma? Theta?"
"W-well, I don't really know, to be honest, but things have been getting pretty weird around here at least. We've spotted foreigners movin' around these parts, like Rocky Reed, Gretel and Flask, like I said… don't really know about anywhere farther really, it's not like we are some big name anyways…"
Grey takes a moment before speaking, as he digests everything that the bandit just told him.
"What kind of guys?"
"Suits and mercs mostly, and I don't mean half-baked mercs like us, I mean like real-real mercs"
"Vault Hunters?" Grey's expression becomes stern.
"I dunno really, it's not like we stayed around to find out… those guys looked like they meant trouble…" The bandit slumps his shoulders. "We didn't have a death wish…"
Alex bites her leftovers with a stoic face.
"Figures…"
"What's the people saying, then? If there are suits moving, something must be going on" Grey sighs.
"W-well…" the bandit hesitates.
Grey only has to move his hand towards the Rocket Launcher ever so slightly…
"I-I mean, there are a lot of things to talk about nowadays. I mean, there's the matter with the disappearances and all that, places like Omega and Phi suddenly becoming radioactive wastelands… we also have the thing with the marine routes goin' crazy… and then all these people suddenly having a lot of interest in the Vault and all this shit… this weirdo Braver calling people all around to hunt for it, I don't know, man, it's fuckin' creepy. We got enough to deal with, I mean, Hyperion still's hunting all of us, Exodus ain't making it easier too, and the pirates-"
"What do you mean by the sudden interest in the Vault?" Grey interrupts.
"Well… I dunno if it's true, but apparently, there have been appearing a few guys all around Chariot claimin' they be… what was it again? Eh…" The bandit goes into thought, as he tries to remember something. "Eh… I can't recall right now, but word says that there've been a few nasty fights around the east. Don't quote me on this, this is just what I've heard, but apparently, there've been some monsters goin' around wrecking cities and towns"
"…Monsters?" Amber parrots uneasily.
"Say what?" Grey jabs skeptically.
"Giant killer robots or somethin' like that, I dunno. I've heard that they've been wasting everything in their path and no one's been able to stop 'em. Like, the motherfuckers were totally rekt"
"What the hell are you babblin' about?" Grey groans in irritation. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Eh… I dunno, really…" The bandit shrugs unsurely. Grey threatens by putting a hand on the Rocket Launcher, which wordlessly prompts him to keep speaking. "R-Really, man! Everyone keeps saying different things! That when these guys come in's when the monsters appear shit gets nasty, others that the guys and monsters are the same thing, or that they appear when you don't eat your vegetables, I don't know, man! It's just what I've heard!"
Alex observes her beverage with a vacant expression before gulping it down in one go, and Grey notices her stare into space out of the corner of his eye, then moves his attention to the other girl momentarily, who hasn't even touched her leftovers yet. Amber is clearly uncomfortable, she had been uncomfortable even before entering here. She had followed through with Grey's assault because she didn't want to stay behind, although she had made her position quite clear since the beginning, she didn't want to engage, much less injure and not even say kill anyone in the least. Alex for her part didn't say much, but she seemed to share Amber's reluctance to act, although hers was more due to simply not being able to care rather than pity or anything of the like, much to the auburn's chagrin.
Grey for his part was wandering in the limbo between torpor and calm. The food was certainly welcome, as had been the weapons and capital, and though he certainly wasn't exhausted, the momentary serenity that had come after storming this place wanted to settle within him. However, he doesn't let it take over him, and instead decides to take action before this tranquility grows into either laziness or full-blown comfort. He doesn't need any of these right now, not when he's not in a truly safe zone, so he instead tries to focus his efforts into getting as much information from this guy as possible.
"How have things been going around here, outside of what you've already told us?" The Vault Hunter asks.
"W-well, just the other day we finally recruited some new guys-"
"That I care about" Grey interrupts mercilessly.
"W-what do you care about, then!?" The bandit retorts. Grey finally grabs the Rocket Launcher by the barrel, and the bandit gets down on all four. "SORRY! SORRY! SORRY! IT WAS JUST A JOKE, BRO!"
"I'm not your freaking bro or anything of the sort" Grey deadpans. "Now speak, before I blow you up along with this joint"
"Y-Yes, sir…" The bandit whimpers.
Amber is beginning to feel real bad about this poor devil.
"I've heard that there've been many troubles with pirates on this side of Chariot. They say that there've been a lot of pirates causing trouble on the seas near Pollos"
"Pollos…that's on the direction Amber was sleeping" Grey furrows his eyebrows.
"I heard from a friend of mine that back on the south, Sigma's been pretty shaky too. The government's been putting some inspection points or something like that in the entrances. It seems that they're lookin' for somethin', but what is it, I dunno. The people of Sigma are getting restless, but it's a no brainer, considering what Exodus did to 'em a few months ago…"
This piques Grey's interest.
"What happened in Sigma?" He asks.
"Y-You didn't hear?" The bandit is honestly surprised. Grey shoots a dirty glare towards him. "W-well, about 3 months ago, some of Exodus' guys came into Sigma unannounced, like, you won't believe me, the motherflippin' president of Exodus came to visit! The guy came all armed and shit, with his elite force and all! He and Sigma's big shots apparently discussed some important, top-secret business or something like that for hours! The normal people couldn't even leave their houses during all that time! My friend told me that the guys used brute force on anyone who got near the meeting place, no questions asked! How crazy is that?"
"Why didn't you tell me before of this?" Grey says in alarm.
The bandit gives him a funny look. "B-Because you told me to tell you about stuff from two weeks till now?"
"Motherf-!" Grey begins.
"P-please, Commander!" Amber finally cries. "D-Don't be so unreasonable! He's been doing his best to help us, nanodesu! There's no need for more violence!"
Grey never had the intention to harm the bandit because of something like this, but he pulls back nonetheless.
"I didn't hear of this before" Grey speaks with a harsh expression. "What the hell did Exodus want anyway? Corps aren't supposed to come in contact with Districts like that"
"Except for Lambda" The bandit says meekly.
"…That's another matter" Grey sighs, letting a brief pause into the conversation.
In this interval, Grey serves himself some of the strange black beverage again, finally emptying the pitcher completely. He doesn't get a full glass, but gulps it down with gusto nonetheless.
The inside of the factory is spacious, but very disorganized, Amber notes. She's reminded of that building back in Capricho before the arena, because garbage lies in almost every corner imaginable. She can't imagine herself living in such conditions, and her preference for tidiness had showed itself back in Granberia, what with her religious cleaning of the clinic. The factory also gives her a nasty vibe, one quite similar to the arena-building, although if she were to be perfectly honest, she'd admit that for some reason, there was something that felt homely of all things within the decolored corridors of the abandoned facility. She didn't quite really understand why or how it was that a place like this could give such a feeling, but she eventually recalls that this is a base for the bandits living here, and even if she could never understand or justify their way of living, they must have some form of interaction within them. She never got to see it, and she would never know about the lives of the people living (or more like lived) here, so she can only imagine how these people led their lives when they weren't committing crimes.
It upsets her, because she can't understand them.
"…Why is all this so important, Commander?" Alex finally joins in the conversation.
"You've been hearing talk all about districts and the like, right?" He asks, and receives nods from both girls. "Yet, you've never been actually to one, so it figures."
The Vault Hunter closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. Without opening them immediately. He actually has to think what to say, and though he doesn't take too long, the pause he takes before continuing is significant enough for both girls to notice. When he speaks again, Amber notes the melancholy in his tone.
"If I had to say it outright, I'd say that the difference between districts and ugly country lies in the people living there"
Grey's eyes ward off into the nothingness.
"It may mostly be 'cause the people running the districts have some form of power and keep things like Hyperion's enforcers and the like out, and that you don't really find bandits or criminals in them. Even while some are nastier than others, I wouldn't say it's bad to live in a District outright. It's certainly safer and nicer in them"
Grey's eyes focus on Amber's again, and his voice becomes clear, lacking of his usual harsh and tense inflection, but still carrying a minuscule tint of unhappiness within his carefully chosen words. The auburn girl notes that Grey's body language loosens just a little bit, but it's not enough for the young man to stop looking like his usual, menacing self.
Amber doesn't really find herself comfortable around Grey, if she has to be honest, or at least, she feels that way most of the time, because she cannot place her Commander even now. She respects him, but it ends just there, she follows him out of obligation, as she stands as her sword and shield, as his kanmusu. The auburn girl still cannot say for certain how far her trust goes, though. She's too ditzy in certain accounts, sure, she's not the brightest bulb in the box, and she knows that she's been giving the Vault Hunter a lot of troubles ever since she woke up, but she just can't bring herself to give it her all.
"…When you live in a district, you have to abide by their rules" Grey continues. "Not doing as the rules say, or messing with the big shots can get you kicked out, or even killed if that's how things roll in there, it's not unheard of"
"Districts are like a…" Grey stumbles. He then shakes his head, as if rejecting some idea from his mind. "…a community. You help people out without expecting to be helped out, or at least that's how things work where I live. You just keep your profile low and not cause trouble for others, and you can live a plentiful life, without even needing one bit of cash. Although, there are shortcomings, obviously, you just can't have it all… Especially when…"
Grey spaces out for a bit.
"…never mind"
Grey notes that Alex doesn't seem satisfied. Thankfully, the girl seems to take the hint when Grey keeps quiet, deciding not to press too much. Amber, however, feels intrigued at Grey's attempt to move the conversation in another direction.
"What is so different about Lambda?" Alex questions.
It is not Grey, but the bandit who speaks.
"You gals… you gals ain't from Chariot, right?" He speaks in honest surprise. "I mean, not knowing about Sigma is one thing, but to not know about Lambda…"
Grey, however, doesn't want to answer that question here.
"…I'll tell you when we reach our destination" He says dismissively. "It's not a good story to tell when we've just eaten"
Grey wants to think that Alex is unconvinced, even though he can't really tell anything from her poker face.
The lilac-haired girl is an enigma to the Vault Hunter. She always has a stiff expression on her face that borders between cold anger and nothingness. Grey cannot really understand her in two ways. The first is that because she's an amnesiac like Amber; because he's never found himself in a situation like hers, he cannot fathom to understand how it must be to deal with the crap she's had to put up with, even though he's also dealt with his own share of bull. The second and bigger reason is that she doesn't bother with letting anything show, hence not really understanding her in the first place. Her circumstances are special by themselves, so it's a no-brainer that she's come to be cold like she is. However, he has no need to bother her about it, he doesn't want to, and he knows he shouldn't pry.
"Anything else?" Grey sighs, not expecting much else.
"Well…" The bandit scratches the back of his head unsurely. "Nothin' really interesting happens 'round the Trihorn Route, to be honest…"
"Besides the fact that you losers like to assault random passers" Grey deadpans.
The bandit laughs nervously before speaking again.
"Well, maybe you'll be interested in this" The bandit speaks sheepishly. "Something interesting popped out in Regulus two days ago"
"Regulus? Where is that?"
"About 3 hours by car. If you go north in the Trihorn Route past the groves you'll find it" The bandit responds.
"Oh, right" Grey nods absent-mindedly, remembering what the guy's talking about. "But what do I find there?"
"Well, I heard that some incredible weapon or something was found there, and the Reds and Blues have been really riled up about getting it"
"Those idiots are still around…?" Grey sighs in what seems to be… disappointment. "But those freaks fight about the stupidest of shit all the time, what's so different now?"
"Well, for starters" The bandit grins. "That it came out of the fucking ground!"
"From… underground?" Grey questions somewhat aghast.
"Yup!" The bandit responds passionately. "As you may know, the locals from Regulus usually dig around the mountains for ores and crystals and shit 'cause the zone's pretty much covered in 'em. Some days ago they found some alien-looking thing, or something like that. The miners took it out of the mountain, but before they could make right from left…"
"The Reds and Blues started causing trouble…" Grey completes the bandit's sentence. "I assume they stole the thing?"
"Yep, the Reds were trying to get us to help 'em 'cause the Blues've been pretty mean lately with their latest loot. The guys gotten themselves some nice guns and even a mech!"
"A… mech?"
"Yup, some sort of combat-ready machine. I'm not too sure about the specs, but the thing does pack a punch! The only reason the Reds haven't lost is 'cause Mr. Blood is one smart bastard. The guy keeps hitting the Blues where it hurts 'em"
Grey stays quiet for some time, as he revises the information he just received
"Is this thing we're talking about…" Grey stumbles a bit. "Is it… by any chance, some sort of metallic box?"
"Yes!" The bandit responds happily. "But how did you know?"
"Are you sure?" Grey becomes abrasive, his hand slowly reaching for the Rocket Launcher. "You're not bullshitting, right?"
"Y-yes!" The bandit squeals. "I'm not lying, I saw it with my own eyes! It was some big metallic box with weird symbols over it! Come on, man! I wouldn't lie to you!"
Grey gives a distrusting glare to the bandit and doesn't respond to the question, and instead directs his attention to Amber and Alex. Amber's eyes are shining like Christmas lights, as she knows what her Commander's thinking. Grey is a little awed at first, but his surprise fades quickly, for he grins confidently shortly after. Amber broods for a while in her chair as she processes what they've just been told, before finally curling her hands into tiny fists and focusing again on her Commander, and she is relieved to see him smiling so assuredly. Alex is also taken aback by the new information, but her disconcert quickly disappears. When Grey makes eye contact with her, he can see a faint glow of interest in her icy blue eyes.
The Vault Hunter stands up, followed suit by both girls. He stretches his arms up, and gives a relaxed sigh at the pleasant sensation of muscles stretching after minutes of rest. He cracks his neck and finally picks up the Rocket Launcher at his right.
The trio takes the liberty of outfitting themselves with new gear.
Grey is very pleased to get guards for his elbows and knees after all this time, being that he really liked them both for commodity and protection, and ever since he lost his previous ones at the incident some days ago, he'd been really craving some of them again. Grey discards his old clothes, having no need for them any longer because he finds a new set for himself in the form of a brand-new pair of Dahl cargo pants from the bandit's keep and a thin black bandit jacket from one of the dead/escapee members, from which he removes the yet-to-be-identified gang's emblem. He also takes another shirt from his bag of stolen clothes, this one being a plain light gray tank top. After finishing his wardrobe change, he also picks some pouches and belt bags from the same place he had gotten his pants, and secures them to his waist, filling them with ammunition and grenades. He finishes by placing a pair of black fingerless leather gloves on his hands.
Alex and Amber don't get much, though. Grey gives new shields to both girls, being that Alex's previous one wasn't exactly a nice one, and Amber's was thoroughly broken beyond reparation. Grey didn't know exactly when it had happened, but he was sure it must have happened when Amber fell out of the vehicle during the arena incident. It was pretty bizarre too. To thoroughly destroy a shield by merely using it was by no means an easy task, which is testament as to how terrible Amber's crash had been.
Alex gets herself a couple of new weapons after debating with Grey for 10 minutes, with Grey insisting that she should not fight until she recovered, and she refusing to stand down. In the end, Grey gives her a rare quality Anaconda, one of the better weapons found within the loot, with the thoughts of the ease of use due to its quality and low recoil being the primary factors of its choosing. Alex also picks an Earnest Leverage with a laser sight, much to Grey's dismay. While not as powerful as other bigger pistols, the Leverages are some of the more powerful Hyperion ones due to them having the Jakobs barrel. It will be a pain to use, Grey tells her, because of the reverse-recoil system part of the Hyperion brand and the gun's recoil itself coming from its superior firepower and weight. The argument doesn't last for too long, but as she insists on keeping it, Grey eventually caves in. He also gives her a belt bag with a small digistructing pocket, which she places around her waist and above her clothes. She doesn't get anything in the department of clothes.
After checking on Amber's ribs one more time and changing the bandages, Grey also gives her a small belt bag identical to Alex's. He holds her off from getting any guns, telling her that until he gets her to a doctor, she's not going to be fighting. She's both relieved and disappointed by this; relieved because she won't have to fight… and disappointed because she won't be able to fight.
Grey and the girls finish their preparations steadily. Grey can feel Amber's excitement in his skin. The three of them board the vehicle without missing a beat.
"You're not forgetting anything?" Grey asks calmly.
"W-we are ready, nanodesu!" Amber chirps.
"…No problems here" Alex responds with the faintest of smiles.
"Okay then…" Grey turns on the Mammoth-T. The motor produces a loud growl when the key ignites the insides of the vehicle, and Grey pushes down on the accelerator just to try out the vehicle once again. He had already tested it out earlier, now he was just fooling around in an effort to raise the girls' spirits.
It was time to hit the road again.