For the record I started this chapter straight after I posted the last one.

Guardian of all that exists: WHY YOU MAD, BRO?

Sunshine Muncher: I know what you mean but wouldn't you like to read about Gen's reaction to Captain Flynt or Wilhelm? You have a good point though.

Prophet21: I'm still not sure about starting from scratch. Nice to see you think Chapter 13 was worth the wait. School, exams, lack of motivation and lack of ideas are what kept Chapter 13 under wraps for so long.

Walruslord1: That seems to be the general consensus.

Don Socrates: Glad to hear it! Hope you like this chapter just as much, if not more. I miss your version of The Fall of Pandora. Don't get me wrong, Plague99's good but it's just not the same…Ah well…

trickster3696: Krieg will come in time, be patient. To be honest, I was thinking of not scrapping this and starting over anyway. There would be two separate stories following Gen. But then I realised how confusing that would be.

Well folks, here it is. That little titbit of angsty character backstory. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: There will be tears.

Chapter 14: The Lost Son

"Jonathan!" A previously unseen woman with platinum blonde hair and bright blue eyes appeared beside the man. She stared at Gen in wonder. "Is it really you?" she asked, reaching out a hand to touch his cheek.

Gen jerked back and snarled at her. "Don't. Fucking. Touch me!" he yelled.

"Gen?!" Gaige came around the corner, followed by Axton and Salvador. The trio spotted the Splicer glaring at the couple and their eyes narrowed. They moved around to stand next to him, glaring at the strangers.

"Jonathan, it's me. It's your-"

"I know damn well who you are! You're the bitch that left me to starve in my own bedroom because she was too fucking ashamed to even look at me!" The venom in Gen's voice, combined with the words themselves, caused even his teammates to stare at him in shock. Gaige was the first to figure it out, followed closely by Axton.

"You're his mom and dad, aren't you?" Gaige asked her voice completely neutral.

The woman gave her a tear-filled glance before nodding. Salvador looked confused. "Hold on. If they're his padre and madre why are we so angry?"

"Because they all but threw him out for his interest in genetics." Axton informed him calmly. The Gunzerker nodded in understanding and resumed glaring at Gen's parents.

"Please, Jonathan, you have to understand! We were-" his father began.

"You were what? Scared?! ASHAMED?!" The Splicer's voice rose in volume as he spoke.

"Yes."

The Splicer seemed taken aback at the simple reply. "What?"

"Yes, we were scared and ashamed. We thought that you had finally gotten over that silly obsession with genetics. How were we supposed to react when we found out that you weren't just lying to us but your little 'hobby' blew up in your face, just like we said it would?"

"Don't you dare try to pin the blame on me for what you did!" Gen's anger had returned once more.

His mother seemed on the verge of tears as she said, "Please, Jonathan, let's just go somewhere and talk. Let us explain."

"…Jonathan Peter Tannis is dead. He died in that room you left him in." Gen's voice was unnaturally calm considering how angry he had been just moments before, "It's Gen now, Gen the Splicer, and you need to get the fuck out of this town, get the fuck off of Pandora and get the fuck out of my life."

"Please, Jonathan!" His mother took a step towards him; arms outstretched and froze as she found herself staring down the barrel of Gen's revolver. Her disbelieving gaze slowly moved to meet his and she physically flinched at what she saw. There was absolutely nothing in Gen's eyes. No hate, no love, nothing. Total apathy.

"I would do as he says." Gaige said. Mr and Mrs Tannis stared at her, shocked. The Mechromancer shrugged. "What? You expecting pity? After what he told us?"

Mr Tannis glared at Gen. "You told them?!" he practically hissed.

The Splicer shrugged. "So what if I did?"

The man stalked towards him. "How dare you air a private family matter in public?!"

Gen smirked. The mirth never reached his eyes. "You're the one causing a scene."

Mr Tannis' eyes widened and he looked around. Half of Sanctuary was watching the argument that had unfolded. Gen coughed to get his attention and then said, "Now I'm only going to say this once, so listen up. I'm going to give you one week to get off of Pandora. If you are not off planet by the end of that time then the natural hazards of this place and the bandits will be the least of your problems. The reason is because I'll be hunting you and I will not rest until you are either far away or dead, whichever comes first."

"Y-you would kill us in cold blood? Your own parents?" Mrs Tannis asked fearfully.

The smile on Gen's face could only be described as disturbing. "Oh no, of course not." The couple visibly relaxed. "But then, you're not my parents. You're the parents of Jonathan Peter Tannis and Susan Maria Tannis, of which I am neither."

They stared at him in shock. The Splicer rolled his eyes and said, "Your time to get off this rock starts now."

Mr Tannis grabbed his wife's arm and began to walk away but stopped when Gen called out, "Oh and one more thing."

He turned and jerked away when he found Gen less than a foot away from him. The Splicer grabbed his collar and pulled so that their faces were less than an inch apart before hissing, "If you ever come near me or my friends again, if you ever try to contact me, them or Aunt Patricia, if you ever come looking for me again I'll make good on my promise to hunt you down. Understand?"

Mr Tannis glared at him. Gen shook him. "Do you understand?"

"Yes. I understand perfectly."

Gen released his collar, smiling and patting Mr Tannis' shoulder. "Then I don't see us having a problem."

"We just thought we could make this family whole again." Mrs Tannis whispered.

"No you didn't. You didn't come here because you cared about me. You came here to use me. All you ever cared about was your own reputations and now suddenly here I am, a big-shot Vault Hunter, imagine that. You wanted to cash in on it." Gen shook his head and turned away, "Just go. Our family can never be whole again."

His father glared at Gen's back and said, "Maybe you're right and we know whose fault it is that our family will never be whole."

The other Vault Hunters saw the rage and hate that appeared in Gen's eyes and it scared all of them. Without turning around the Splicer said, "What did you say?"

"It's all your fault that your sister will never-"

Gen grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. "HOW DARE YOU?!"

The man kicked and struggled against the Splicer's grip but it had no effect. "HOW DARE YOU BLAME ME FOR HER DEATH?!" There were tears in Gen's eyes and running down his cheeks.

"You led them right back to our home." Mrs Tannis said angrily.

"I had no idea that they followed me. I had no idea that they would knock on the front door. I had no idea they would shoot the first person to open the door." Gen's voice had grown quieter and quieter until he was whispering the last statement. He slowly lowered his father to the ground as he spoke. "Maybe it was my fault. But I'll be damned if I let you believe that everyone else is innocent. You're as much to blame as me."

"Wha-How dare you?" His father blustered.

"Get out of Sanctuary, Patrick. There's nothing for you or Margaret here but pain and death." Gen turned his back on them again and walked away. He paused just in front of the other Vault Hunters, looking over his shoulder and calling, "Patrick! Your family might never be whole again but I found a new one and I will guard them until my last breath. Remember that."

The green-skinned teen continued on to Moxxi's and sat down on one of the bar stools there. Moxxi walked over and raised an eyebrow. "What you after, sugar?"

"Something big and strong and keep 'em coming. I got a lot of shit I need to forget for a while."

The buxom proprietor shot a look at the other three Vault Hunters as she placed a bottle of Rakk Ale in front of Gen. They shrugged at her and made their way over to their teammate, who seemed set on tossing back drinks like there was no tomorrow. The Splicer glanced at them as they sat down before resuming his binge-in-the-making. Al of them sat there in silence, one not wanting to talk and the other three not knowing what to say. Surprisingly it was Salvador who broke the silence, "Amigo? What was he blaming you for?"

Gen froze, a fresh bottle of Rakk Ale halfway to his lips. He stayed like that for a few seconds before sighing and putting the bottle down. To the surprise of his teammates his voice held not even a hint of slurring despite the three empty bottles in front of him, "He's blaming me for the murder of my sister."

Gaige and Axton stared at him, aghast. They had heard the tenderness in Gen's voice when he spoke about his sister and couldn't grasp how anybody could think he would hurt her. "Why would they say that?" Gaige asked quietly.

Gen avoided eye contact with them, instead focusing on the bottle in front of him. "It's a long story."

"We ain't exactly going anywhere." Axton retorted.

The Splicer sighed, closing his eyes. After a long pause he said, "Okay. I guess you deserve to know but I'm only going to tell this story once so we might as well gather everyone."

They nodded and all four of them started walk out, heading for Raiders HQ. Gen paused and stuffed a thick wad of bills in Moxxi's tip jar. "Thanks for not asking, Moxxi."

"Anytime, Sugar, anytime."

It's short, but I like it. What did you guys think? Next up is what happened to Gen to make him into what he is today. Excited? Because I am!

As always, Read and Review.

Until next time

Elemental Hybrid