So I haven't updated in a while, and sorry about that. Nothing's really come up, I just haven't updated.
I'm taking a break from Decruited to power through the rest of this story, so sorry for the break if you're a fan of that.
Here's the first bit, which I think is ready for publishing.
The climax of the story. The final battle. At this point, most people would be preparing a secret weapon or a special move. Others would make amends with their loved ones, those who would be on the battlefield and those who would wait at home.
Claptrap, however…
"IMPORTANT HAIRCUT!"
"Is it really that big of a deal?" Axton asked, examining the barrel of his rifle.
The Vault Hunters were being taken to the Arid Badlands on an airship that belonged to the VCE. As it turned out, there were a few perks to being on the same side as a galactic organization.
"Of course it's a big deal!" Claptrap exclaimed, running his hand through his freshly cut mohawk.
"It's the same haircut you had before." Axton commented.
"Yeah, but that was before all the Siren crap!" Claptrap replied. "I got so caught up in all that self-pity crap that I forgot to keep up my awesome hairstyle! I looked like a wimpy pretty-boy for the past few weeks! I want to be awesome! Claptrap style!"
"...It's just hair." Axton said. "I suppose if it matters to you, it's pretty cool. And, yeah, you did look like a bit of a pretty-boy. It was attractive, I'll admit that, but not really you."
I thought it was pretty cool. Clyde commented.
"Well, that's cause it's the hairstyle you have in our head." Claptrap replied. "Why are you so dressed up in our mind, anyway? In that 'sexy, pretty-boy' way, according to Axton."
"I didn't say that." Axton commented. "I mean, I agree with it, but I didn't say it." He smirked before walking to another part of the airship.
I based my style off of my style from when I was alive. Clyde replied.
'When you were alive.' Claptrap repeated, moving to conversation to his mind. 'As in when you were seven.'
...Yes? Clyde responded, although it was pretty obvious he was lying.
Before Claptrap could question him about it, however, Misty, Hyzin, and Ted joined him.
"Claptrap!" Hyzin exclaimed. "Guess who got lucky last night! I'll give you a hint: She's right next to me!"
"H-Hyzin!" Misty exclaimed angrily, her face red. "Why are you telling everyone about this?!"
"Because its big news!" Hyzin replied. "You and Sarah! It's a pretty big deal! It's also probably against the rules of your army thing, but that just makes it even better!"
Misty sighed. "You know what? Forget it. Yeah, I did sleep with the commander. Most of you saw it coming, so it really shouldn't be a surprise."
"Congrats!" Claptrap exclaimed. "Is this like a dating thing or a one-time thing?"
"I-I'll figure that out after the war." Misty stammered. "It literally happened the other day, so we're both pretty busy. Not a lot of talking time."
"Still, seems like you and Claptrap are in whatever's considered to be the mile high club on Pandora!" Hyzin exclaimed. "Seems like me and Ted here are the only ones who haven't gotten lucky since we got here." He put an arm around Ted's shoulder.
"Actually, I've been getting quickies from Karima the last few weeks." Ted said.
"Really?" Hyzin asked. Ted nodded. "No shit? Are you saying that, out of all of us, I'm the only one who hasn't gotten laid?"
"That's a bit revealing, isn't it?" Misty commented, smirking at the Cook.
"And ironic, considering how much you bragged about how you were going to sleep with Gaige." Claptrap added.
"Yeah, but I assumed I would be getting some action!" Hyzin exclaimed. "I mean, I could tell Misty was going to have a thing with the commander, but how was I supposed to know that Claptrap already had a girlfriend here? That's not fair!"
"Well, I did kinda burn my bridges with all of the Raiders beforehand, so I wasn't really expecting any sexy times." Claptrap commented.
"I reckon you kinda limited your options, being so gung-ho about the lass and whatnot." Ted added.
"Are you suggesting that it would have been easier for me to try to and hook up with one of the sirens?" Hyzin asked.
"I think what he's trying to say is that nobody here really seems like an easy lay." Misty commented. "Nobody's going to step on the planet and be instantly presented with...well, you know…"
"Sexual opportunities!" Claptrap exclaimed.
"...Know what? This hardly seems to be the kind of place to have this kind of discussion." Hyzin commented. "Let's just get ready for war."
"Is everybody ready? We have a visual." Axton's voice rang through the ship.
"Oh, thank God!" Hyzin exclaimed. "This conversation was starting to become really awkward."
"...Didn't you start this?" Claptrap asked.
"Now, Claptrap, Hyzin's only annoyed because he's the one being teased." Misty commented. "And no, I'm not letting this go."
"I hate you." Hyzin mumbled.
There were two very noticeable things about the Arid Badlands that distinguished it from the previous times the Vault Hunters visited it.
The first thing was that it was absolutely swarming with robots. That's not to say that there weren't a lot of robots there when Hyperion previously occupied it. There were simply a crapton more.
The VCE army was also there, in full force. Whatever plan Sarah had involving them seemed to already be in effect. The human army was already clashing with the robot one. They seemed to be equally matched, despite the Commander's previous worries.
There was one area that wasn't swarming with robots or human, and that was the second unique thing about this visit to the Badlands.
"Is that…?" Maya asked.
"The Lost Vault." Zero replied.
There was a large, circular opening in the middle of the robot army. It appeared to be a flat gray stone clearing. There were strange, black markings on the surface of the clearing. It rippled, much like Lilith did when she was using her siren powers.
"How did we miss that when we were here before?" Mordecai commented.
"It didn't exist on this plane of existence." Zero responded.
"The other dimension." Lilith said. "The one connected to our powers."
"Did you really think the Eridians would hide something so important somewhere easy to locate?" Zero asked.
"Well, considering what you showed us about them…" Axton commented.
"This was my idea. Make no mistake about that." Zero added.
"How is Jack able to pull it out of that dimension?" Misty asked.
"It was already appearing on it's own." Zero responded. "Jack just simply sped up the process."
Wait, if it was in a different dimension, how did my dad get in there? Clyde asked. And how did I leave? Claptrap repeated to question to Zero.
"I investigated that." Zero responded. "The Vaults are old. Sometimes they crack open a bit. The things inside of the Vaults are much too large to escape, but people could still fall in. That's how I believe Trappington got in there. In order to properly access the Vault, you need the key, which we have, and the adaptor, a siren, which we also have. You're a siren. You could simply leave..."
...Or enter. Clyde added. Claptrap repeated this to the others.
...That was more of a side comment, Claptrap. Claptrap repeated this as well.
...You're an idiot. Claptrap did not repeat this out loud.
"Yes. We will want to drop a siren closer to the Vault then the others." Axton said.
"And by 'siren' you mean 'Claptrap.'" Maya said.
"Yup." Axton said. "You cool with that, kid?" He asked, putting an arm around Claptrap's shoulder and walking him across the observation room.
"Peachy!" Claptrap responded.
"Good. By the way, we're launching you into the battlefield goodluckhavefun!" Axton quickly said as a tube formed around Claptrap.
"Wha-?!" Claptrap exclaimed before, in hiss of air, he was quickly fired out of the ship.
"Is he gonna be alright?" Hyzin asked.
"Hopefully." Axton replied. "Anyway, we should probably jump ship soon. No one's flying this thing right now."
The side of the room opened up, revealing a drop down to the battlefield. Axton grinned as he dove out of the ship. Maya followed suit, with Lilith close behind her. Mordecai sighed and simply fell off the ship. Zero drew his sword and jumped out of the ship.
"Shouldn't we grab some parachutes or something?" Misty asked, as she and Ted stood on the edge.
"Pandorian gravity, girlie!" Ted exclaimed, before pushing the lieutenant off of the ship. He jumped off as well.
"You might want to go behind me." Gaige told Hyzin, as she pressed a few buttons on the mechanical arm.
"You don't have to tell me twice." He responded, as Gaige's arm began to spark.
Gaige jumped off the ship, forcing her mechanical hand above herself.
"Come on!" She said to herself, as she fell to the ground. "This will be so much easier if I summon it before I hit the ground!"
Around her (And above a large number of robots), something large began to digistruct midair.
"COME ON, MEGA-DEATHTRAP!"
If you know your Borderlands, you know what's happening next.
