Hey guys, welcome to chapter 2.
This chapter is Eddy getting Jimmy back to Sanctuary and then we are starting a multi-chapter flashback detailing how the Eds started their journey on Pandora all the way up to Eddy finding Jimmy.
You'll also be getting to see some of the Eds' skill/classes.
I don't have an exact idea of the order that the other cul-de-sac residents will appear, but I got plenty of time to decide.
Next, when I am talking about Edd, I will put "Double-D" since while the characters are saying that when I put "Edd" before, it didn't read that way.
You're also going to see the names of a couple of characters I added into this both to help the Eds and because there aren't a ton of characters at times. Now, I'm debating between having them be normals or the Eridians got them off their world after the Destroyer… well… destroyed it. Not sure which I'll do, but I got a little while before the first one will appear so I got time to hear from y'all.
Lastly, you may see some planets mentioned in this for when the Eds are giving the quick run over of where they've been and everything, but make no mistake that I just used the planets names, I am not using all, or even any, of the individuals that are connected to that planet. I may bring in some females from there, but not the males, reason not the males is because I know at least one planet will be easily recognizable to you all.
That should be it, let's get to the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Ed, Edd, and Eddy, Borderlands, or anything else I add in for fun or filler between main areas.
"Speech"
"Thoughts"
[Speech over a radio/communicator]
{Telepathic Thoughts}
"Robot/Eridian/Zer0's Speech"
"Robot/Eridian/Zer0's Thoughts"
{Robot/Eridian/Zer0's Telepathic thoughts}
Chapter 2: Welcome to Pandora
With Eddy: Couple Hours after Chapter 1
Eddy drove his runner through the frozen wastes around Sanctuary. It had taken a LOT of convincing to get their allies to go with having their base here, but since Hyperion went chap on parts the tundra around them kept them from getting too bold about attacking them. Then it was just a matter of hard work and elbow grease to get through the hard phase of getting everything set up. Then came the scavenging and looting to build up their defenses and armory.
Eddy broke from his thoughts as his radio flared, [Cargo Runner 002, please transmit your entrance code or you will be fired upon]. A voice on the radio came and Eddy smirked.
"This is 002, really Roland? You thought I'd let someone steal my baby?" Eddy asked as he sent the entrance code to the security center.
[Better safe than sorry, buddy]. The now named Roland stated while giving a chuckle and Eddy snorted as he drove his runner towards the city.
"Just have a medical team waiting for me, I got a passenger who's been subjected to bandit hospitality. " Eddy stated getting a confirmation over the radio as he drove up to the gate of the city before entering as the gates and shield covered the entrance. Pulling into the garage, Eddy jumped out and headed for the back as a medic team and another small crew of Crimson Lance soldiers came. "He's been starved, beaten, and dehydrated, he's gonna be skittish and paranoid. I want status reports every half hour sent to Double-D, Mercy, Tsunade, and Patricia." Eddy stated making the medical team nod before Eddy turned to the Crimson Lance crew, "Take the crate straight to Ed in the armory, be careful though. Last thing I want is for one of you to bump or drop this and cause an explosion." Eddy ordered making them nod since they knew the ordinance wasn't to be messed with.
The two crews then grabbed their cargo and walked off while Eddy sighed before looking to a rather fat man wearing typical mechanic clothing, "Scooter, left thruster got clogged up on the way when I left desert territory and entered the artic. I think the hot to cold overloaded it with the sand inside not helping." Eddy stated making Scooter frown.
"Well shoot. I reckoned I had that plumb figured out. I'll get right on that boss." Scooter stated while scratching his head and Eddy nodded before heading towards the main building.
As Eddy walked, he saw the various people nodding or saluting him as he passed. He never would have expected to become a military commander, and he was sure Double-D and Ed didn't think so either, but here they were "leading the free people of Pandora" as people called it. They weren't trying to be the leaders, they just offered expertise and people fell in behind them ready to take orders from them, regardless of how much they tried to not take on the responsibility.
As he walked, he saw Marcus Kincaid, the local weapons dealer, telling the kids stories, "So you want to hear a story huh? A story about treasure hunters? About Pandora? Well all right, Pandora is our home and it's a nasty piece of shit, but it's our piece of shit and most aren't delusional to find something of value here, but there is one thing. The Vault: The thing that everyone and their mother know. But a group of adventurers found it and this is their story." Marcus stated dramatically as the kids looked on in awe and Eddy chuckled as he kept walking.
Walking into the Op center, he idly saw Patricia Tannis muttering to herself as she examined a chart of some kind, though part of the mutterings were on how she needed her lover to insert his dick into her vagina again soon since the itch was getting unbearable. Shrugging to himself, as that had become pretty common for Tannis and one got used to it eventually, he went straight to his room before removing his gear and putting it on a refresher. As he removed it, anyone in the room could see the scars littering his back, torso, and limbs with his facial scar going up into his hairline. His hair was also pitch black and slicked back once he took his hat off. The other thing of note was that he had blood red tribal designs on his body.
Groaning as he popped his joints, Eddy idly looked at his right arm and flexed it a bit seeing the thick vein-like scars all over it and sighed slightly before he made a fist and punched the stone wall causing a deep crater in it. Eddy then retracted his arm and saw his hand had some skin peeled away showing the mechanical parts of his hand that connected to the rest of his cybernetic arm. Eddy frowned seeing it as it was not a pleasant memory of how he lost it.
He then hummed slightly in appreciation as arms wrapped around his torso and a pair of obviously naked tits pressed against his back while a pair of lips kissed along his neck, " Double-D said you struck out on your search. So I guess the problem is bad memories?" The woman behind him asked and Eddy could tell she was fully naked from the feel of her skin on his.
"Yeah, but no less important." Eddy stated before he turned and kissed the woman making her moan as he held her close. Said woman had pushy red hair down to the middle of her back, a tight jiggly ass that begged to be spanked, hourglass figure, a fit form showing she regularly exercised, legs that went all the way up, and firm DD cup tits. This was Lee Kanker, Eddy's second lover.
Eddy then pulled back, letting Lee gasp for breath as she held him, "Where's Lilith?" Eddy asked and Lee smiled.
"She's training some new recruits, something about some wannabes thinking they could be Sirens." Lee stated making Eddy snort.
"Poor bastards." Eddy stated making Lee nod before she pulled him to the bed and pushed him down before she laid beside him and put her head on his chest. "Lee-" Eddy started but Lee shook her head.
"You're tired and I want to cuddle." Lee stated hugging him tight and squishing her tits against him.
Eddy merely sighed knowing he'd not win this fight, so he laid back and decided to sleep.
As he drifted away to the dreamworld, his mind wandered back to that day when he, Double-D, and Ed first arrived on this pain in the ass planet.
The day that started their lives as Vault Hunters.
5 AND A HALF YEARS AGO
Pandora, for all the faults and chaos that ensued on it, did have at least one space port that brought new gullible adventurers looking for fame and glory, wannabe mercenaries and cops looking to clean up the criminals and take charge, naïve settlers that thought they'd be safe on a far off plot of cheap land with nothing to bother them, and moronic businessmen that thought they'd make their fortune finding a vault and then selling it to a big name company. All of whom usually ended up eaten by the local flora, fauna, and psychopathic criminals that used to be the slave labor of the planet.
And all of that was in the travel brochure and advertisements.
However, that didn't deter anyone from coming and around 50% died in the first week, another 10% within next week, another 20% managed to get back off world, and the last 20% managed to survive and get some form of shelter, though it was scattered on whether they found it with good people or were taken and enslaved by the bandits. The 60% was a bit hard to fully confirm because usually the local fauna and the bandits consumed whatever would have usually been left to identify, but nonetheless it was obvious that for all the people that came to Pandora, those still living on it were far too small to be the amount that had come.
However, the one guaranteed "safe zone" was the space port. Bandits wouldn't go near it because hitting it would mean less people and supplies coming to the planet. Especially since if the bandits took the port, there was nothing stopping one of the big name companies from just nuking the place and then building a new port somewhere else. So they kept their distance and just raided the supplies and people leaving the port. The animals kept back because the natural instinct for many was to avoid such places with lots of other predators there and the noise from the shuttles didn't help.
Anyway, an older Eddy, compared to when he met the Eridian, stepped off a transport wearing a black muscle shirt, blue jeans, black combat boots, red elbow and knee guards, black fingerless glove on his left hand and a full leather glove on his right, a small red cuirass style chest plate that had a black lance on it, black belt with several pouches on it, his cowboy style black hat, and his robotic eye looking all over. He had a Jakobs revolver on his right thigh and a combat knife on his lower back while his other gun was in his Hyperion loadout CPU.
Eddy was looking around trying to see if he could spot either of his friends or maybe even one of the others from the neighborhood if he was that lucky. He was about to sigh in annoyance at not seeing anyone when his robotic eye caught sight of someone muttering to themselves and took in his physical appearance before smiling. "HEY SOCKHEAD!" Eddy yelled making the man turn and look at him.
Said man was around 6'3" wearing long sleeved burnt orange shirt, midnight blue jeans, red padded vest with multiple pockets, fingerless brown leather gloves, midnight blue boots, a brown leather pauldron on his right shoulder, red lensed goggled around his neck, and a leather cap over his head that let you see his jet black hair peeking out. His build was lean but not skinny, slightly tanned skin, and green eyes. He had an Atlas SMG hanging on his front and a pair of blades on the small of his back.
"Eddy?" The man asked and Eddy smiled as he walked to his friend.
"Been a while Double-D." Eddy stated making the man smile before he hugged Eddy laughing before he stepped back.
"What happened there?" Double-D asked pointing to Eddy's eye and said man shrugged.
"Eh, fight that went bad, what can you do?" Eddy said shrugging while Double-D raised an eyebrow at him.
"True. But that doesn't seem like the whole story." Double-D stated and Eddy sighed
"I'll tell you later, I don't really need a public audience for it." Eddy stated and Double-D nodded.
"Fair enough. Have you seen Ed or anyone else yet?" Double-D asked and Eddy shook his head.
"Nope, I just landed here myself." Eddy stated making Double-D nod before they heard a commotion and went to check it out.
Arriving, they saw a large man wrapping a steel girder around three people that had clearly been beaten the shit out of while a woman and her daughter were watching in awe. Once the man twisted the girder to ensure it was nice and tight, he dusted his hands off, "That should do for now." The man stated before turning to the mother and daughter and walked towards them making them shake in fear before the man handed them a small stack of money, "Get off Pandora, it's no place for people like you." The man stated making the woman look at the money in surprise before she took it and nodded before she and her daughter headed straight for the departure shuttle.
The man then sighed before he paused as a voice echoed out behind him, "Yup, if that ain't the big lug then I don't know who is." Eddy stated making the man turn to look at them and they got a full view of their friend.
He had filled out as he was 6'8" and a solid wall of muscle that made him look like a body builder with a buzz cut of black hair, ember eyes, slightly tanned skin, and a long neck. He wore a blue tank top with 4 black belt straps around his biceps, tape wrapped up palms and forearms with some forearm protectors over the tape, black cargo pants with several pockets, red boots, and another three red belts around each of his legs. He also had a sawed-off shotgun on his lower back and a blue bandana around his neck.
"Eddy? Double-D?" The man asked and the two smirked.
"You were expecting the great Swammy?" Eddy asked making Ed laugh before he scooped them up in his arms hugging them making them grunt a bit as Ed was still excitable.
"It's great to see you guys." Ed stated making them nod as they walked over to the luggage area.
"You guys see or find any of the others?" Eddy asked and the two shook their heads.
"No, though it's not surprising given the fact that the Eridian stated we wouldn't find them till after we came here." Double-D stated quietly knowing that mentioning an Eridian wouldn't do well for them since everyone and anyone wanted information on them.
"I know, but couldn't hurt to be optimistic." Eddy stated as they walked and told Ed the same story about his eye that he told Double-D.
Arriving at the luggage area, they each grabbed a backpack, but Double-D also grabbed a birdcage from a worker and glared at him before walking off with the other two looking at him in curiosity. "Please, tell me you don't have a bird." Eddy stated since he hated birds and Double-D chuckled.
"Nope." Double-D stated making Eddy sigh in relief, "I got a Bloodwing." Double-D finished making the two widen their eyes before Double-D opened the cage and a blur launched out to the sky with a hawk like cry following before the blur dove down and landed on Double-D's padded shoulder.
Ed and Eddy got a better look at the bird in question seeing it was a mix of hawk, eagle, and vulture birds of Earth with piercing red eyes, a golden beak and talons, and dark deep purple feathers. "Guys, this is Midnight. Midnight, these are my friends, they are NOT your food." Double-D stated making the bird nod as it looked at them intently.
Eddy sighed, "Well whatever, might as well have a bird causing problems for the assholes that will be trying to kill us." Eddy stated making Double-D nod as he pet Midnight.
"Either of you have anything else to get?" Ed asked and Theo ther two shook their heads.
"No, but I do have a friend with me." Double-D stated making them raise their eyebrows.
"Oh? Girlfriend?" Eddy asked with a teasing smirk and Double-D snorted.
"She's a friend and a girl, yes, but no, we are not in a relationship besides having partnered up a few times." Double-D stated before seeing a woman, "Ah, there she is. Lilith! Over here!" Double-D called getting the attention of a woman.
Said woman was red haired that was swooshed to her right, gold eyes, pale skin, full pink lips, and she had blue tribal markings showing on different parts of her skin. She had DD breasts, tight ass, lean and fit body, long fit legs, and wide hips. Her attire consisted of tight fitting brown leather pants, black knee high boots, red halter tank top that showed off her tits, a yellow zip up vest that she stopped just under her tits, and then a tan and black half jacket with short sleeves and at her back was a Dahl repeater pistol.
All in all, all three had to admit she was hot and badass looking.
"You're friends with a Siren?" Eddy asked knowing those markings on her were signs of a person having strong psionic power that fueled them and a lot of abilities.
"Yeah, you know them?" Double-D asked as Lilith walked up to them.
Eddy nodded before he pulled his shirt down past his left shoulder showing the blood red tribal marking there, "I'm one of them." Eddy stated looking at Lilith while she stared at him and his friends looked at him in shock.
"Hmm, I thought I sensed another nearby, Though, I've never met or heard of a second male Siren before." Lilith stated with a smirk making Eddy raise an eyebrow.
Looking at Double-D, he and Ed saw their friend nod but he did a pinching motion to indicate he was only a minor one, "Well. I don't know about Double-D, but I prefer being called a Triton since I'm a guy." Eddy stated since he recalled some Greek myths stating that there were male Sirens but they took the name Tritons.
"Triton? Hmm, I like that." Lilith stated with a smirk as she looked at Eddy and Eddy just looked at her before his left eye flashed and she gasped and stumbled back.
"Don't try to channel my power. I don't know or trust you enough to let you do that." Eddy stated since Lilith had tried to use her power to get a feel for his and make a connection letting them draw on the other when it was needed.
Lilith turned from shock to amused as she looked at him, "Interesting." She stated with a flirtatious smile and Eddy snorted before he started heading for the transport bus.
"Let's go, we got a lot of work and ground to cover." Eddy stated making his friends follow him while Lilith quickly fell in behind them.
Getting into the rusty red bus, they sat down as the owner and operator, one Marcus Kincaid, closed the doors and drove off with the Eds sitting near each other and Lilith sitting close by.
Eddy then drew his knife and looked it over showing it was recurved bowie with a flared guard to ensure no chance of hand slipping up to the blade, skull cracker pommel, and fitted handle that looked like it came from a rifle. Opening a pouch, Eddy took a stone and began sharpening his blade to ensure he had max cutting and stabbing power.
Ed then pulled an assault rifle from his CPU and checked the barrel, clip, sights, extractor, and the ammunition in it. Eddy and Double-D noted it wasn't a modern one, but hey if it worked for him then why not use it?
Double-D merely pulled off his SMG and checked it over and Eddy saw it was a semi-newer model that had less recoil and a bigger standard magazine. Not top of the line, but not old either.
Lilith, seeing that she was getting left out a bit, decided to pull her repeater pistol and started to do a maintenance check. Like Double-D and Ed had to start doing with the guns they had out, she had some sand and dirt to get out of it, which was from the dirt and sand getting kicked from the shuttles landing and taking off.
"So, what have you two been up to these past four years?" Eddy asked as he sheathed his blade and took out his revolver to check it over.
Double-D and Ed blinked before Ed gave a shrug to Double-D, who gave a nod before he started. "Well, I ended up on Elupis 5 and started learning from the scholars and the police force there making sure I researched everything and anything even remotely related to Pandora. Then I learned sciences, maths, languages, and just about everything I could want or need to learn to the amazement of the scholars. When there was nothing left to learn there, I left and went on a few safaris learning from a gentleman named Turok, he taught me to hunt, track, and where to aim to kill different alien fauna whether it was the swampland of Dagobah, the plains of Sera, the forests and tundras of E.D.N 3, or wherever. It's how I met Midnight." Double-D stated stroking Midnight's feathers making him caw appreciatively while the three were surprised at the number of places he had hunted. "I found him as a hatchling and raised and trained him to hunt and kill before I started my own expeditions to different hunting and wild worlds becoming more proficient at it. I met Lilith on Elgos while I was researching the markings that were on my body one day. We talked and then we started going on some jobs together splitting loot between us while she helped me learn to use the powers I had." Double-D continued making them nod.
Eddy then turned to Ed, who started his story. "I wound up on Maximal Prime." Ed stated making widen their eyes.
"The gladiatorial planet?!" Lilith asked in shock and Ed nodded.
"Yeah, I did some grunt work for a while before I started competing in gauntlet and gladiator matches winning a few through brute strength and endurance before I caught a couple of ex-fighters' attention and they took me under their wing and trained me in both physical and ranged combat, which required a lot of physical training. They were named Maximus Meridius, Achilles, and Spartacus." Ed stated making Eddy and Double-D look at him, "I'm serious." Ed stated making them shrug, "Anyway, after about a year or two of prize fighting, I left and ended up on a planet called Furya where the people there trained me to fight even more as well, toughening me up even more then I went on to other fighting locations like Romulus, Joba, the Maxtar Nebula, and a few others making my name known for winning so many. Then I ended up in a crew tasked with some mercenary work cleaning out a few places that were overrun by animals or bandits while getting any kind of resource or payment I could. I studied a lot about the different bandit clans on Pandora as well as any key figures in friendlier areas along with vehicles and locations worth knowing. Then, I studied weapons and engineering, lots and lots of weapons. Then a week ago I came here and have been on the lookout for you guys or anyone else from home." Ed stated making them nod before they turned to Eddy, who sighed.
"I wound up at Helios." Eddy stated making them widen their eyes.
"Y-you WHAT?!" Double-D shouted in shock since Helios was a homeworld of several assassin, thief, spy, and espionage guilds.
"Yeah, got taken in by one clan, learned to sneak, steal, kill, gather information, infiltrate, and disappear. Then they sent me to a new clan and the guilds and learned from them. Even made a friend named Zer0, weird guy though, he only speaks in Haiku." Eddy commented with a shrug, "Anyway, after I finished training under them, I headed out and started doing some work for different corporations like Dahl, Atlas, and Hyperion, Atlas is where I got the chest plate from." Eddy stated tapping the cuirass and the black lance design. "Doing the work got me information on all the corporations, their go to soldiers, their high ranking employees, their tech, their security, the number of their forces, security codes, plans and designs for weapons and vehicles, and quite a few of their future business plans. Basically-" Eddy stated before pulling a canteen from one of his pouches and drank form it as the others stared at him incredulously before he swallowed with a sigh. "I got them by the balls and they don't even know it." Eddy stated with a smirk before he offered the canteen to Ed, who laughed and drank it before he coughed.
"Black Tar Ale? Where the hell did you find it?" Ed asked as he passed it to Double-D, who looked at it before shrugging and took a swig.
"Some rich bozo on Naboo, I relieved him of an artifact so I figured I'd get something for me too." Eddy stated as Double-D coughed a few times before passing it to Lilith, who shrugged and took a swig before she started coughing violently and Eddy took the canteen before she could drop it.
Eddy smirked as Lilith got her coughing under control as they began to sit and relax since it's a long drive to Fyrestone.
Hours Later
Eddy jolted awake from his nap as the bus hit a bump and he heard the squelch of something dying, "All right, back there. Time to wake up! It's a beautiful day, full of opportunity!" Marcus Kincaid stated, a man with brownish hair with some white coming in, brown goatee, and was overweight. "Next stop Fyrestone depot. So gather all your belongings or they will end up in my shop. So, who's getting off?" Marcus asked as everyone stretched and popped their joints. "You lot sure you want to get off here? I mean you got a young lady that may be able to bake us a cake, a beef stick in the back that smells like blood, a thin man that looks like a combination of some hunter and a dominatrix man, and then a calm looking soldier boy that has a logo from the Crimson Lance on his chest." Marcus stated making them all narrow their eyes at him. "One thing you should know, if you need weapons, then I'm the best game in town! Sure, you could scavenge but when the going gets tough, just find one of my vendors." Marcus stated making Eddy roll his eyes.
Suddenly the four froze as a woman contacted them, [Stay calm, I'm a friend. Don't let the driver know I'm talking to you. You have no reason to trust me, but I am here to help. The Vault is real and I want to help you to get it, when you get off the bus you'll meet a funny little robot, just do what he says till you get situated. I'll contact you again, soon.] The woman stated through their communicators making the Eds look at each other a minute.
The bus then came to a stop and they stood before exiting, "Safe travels and remember if you got any money, then spend it on new weapons from me." Marcus stated with a laugh before turning serious, "Get off my bus." He continued making them get off and as he drove Eddy drew his revolver and aimed.
"Pleeeeease." Eddy asked having a nice clean shot.
"No, he's an idiot and asshole, but he keeps the vendors going and we may need guns or ammo from them." Double-D stated making Eddy sigh as he holstered his revolver and they saw a Claptrap.
"Ah shit. Not a Claptrap." Eddy stated as he hated these things as they were a major annoyance while the others just looked at him in confusion.
"See ya, next time! HA HA." The Claptrap stated waving at the bus before seeing the four of them looking at him and rolled over to them. "Welcome to Fyrestone! I am CL4P-TP, you may call me by my locally designated name, 'Claptrap'. Before continuing, please accept this ECHO communication device and heads-up display provided free of charge by the Dahl Corporation!" Claptrap stated handing them each one and they attached it letting it synch into their inventory CPUs.
They then watched as a vitality meter, their ammo count loaded and unloaded, a shield battery marker, compass, grenade counter, reputation/fame marker, and a skill recharge marker for them all appeared. Each item fulfilled a different function and awareness option.
Vitality Meter: How healthy they were and if they needed a booster shot to come back.
Ammo Count: Current ammo in their guns and the amount of ammo they had to reload with.
Shield Battery: Showed how much energy was left in their shields if they had any.
Compass: General direction they were facing and will pick up general direction of enemies based on the noise they make.
Grenade counter: Told them how many grenades they had and what kind of grenade mod they had equipped.
Reputation/Fame Marker: Shows how known they were throughout Pandora and it could be increased in a variety of ways whether through jobs or just killing a lot of hostiles.
Skill Recharge: How long before they could use one of their more impressive skills. For Sirens it was how much of their power they could use before they had to recharge, for soldiers it was often how long they had to wait before their turret was recharged to be launched again, and so on and so forth.
"Great! I detect that your ECHO device is fully functioning! This way, please." Claptrap stated breaking them from their thoughts before it started rolling away towards an antenna structure and they followed.
Or, at least, Eddy was going to follow but decided to go look at the nearby motel and a small shack behind it real quick causing the others to look after him. They then watched as Eddy opened the dumpster and toilet by the motel and grab something from both before pocketing the items and then went around the back of the build.
A minute or so later, he came back with a smirk and walked over to them before tossing Lilith another clip for her gun, Ed another box of shells, and Double-D a clip for his SMG. He then flicked out a wad of cash and thumbed through it before handing them each $137. "Always check containers, bandits and some of the other natives are stupid enough to put lots of worthwhile stuff in them." Eddy stated with a smirk as he pocketed his cash.
"Why are you giving me this?" Lilith asked as Double-D and Ed pocketed their money and Eddy raised an eyebrow.
"We're partners right? That means we split profits between us fairly." Eddy stated making Lilith widen her eyes slightly since many usually did it as finders keepers.
Smiling slightly, she pocketed the money, "Partners, right." Lilith stated smiling since maybe being with these three wouldn't be so bad. Sure she knew Double-D somewhat, but it wasn't like they were close friends that always had the other's back.
Eddy nodded with an unreadable expression, "Good, now c'mon, before that Claptrap makes me shoot it." Eddy stated as the Claptrap hadn't stopped shouting 'Over here!' 'I'm over here!' and it was really making Eddy want to shoot the rust bucket.
Claptrap led them over to what Eddy recognized as a New-U Station and Eddy raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Dahl actually got that thing to work?! Holy Shit!" Eddy thought in surprise since last he heard Dahl was still struggling with people coming back and being insane.
"Step right up! This is a New-U Station. When you use this device, your DNA profile is automatically identified and stored. Please activate the New-U Station now." Claptrap stated making Eddy frown.
{Guys, I'm talking to you through my Triton powers, so keep calm}. Eddy stated making them stiffen a moment, {Listen, be careful with this thing, Dahl was working out kinks last I saw it and it can make a person go insane from dying and coming back too much. It will save us in a pinch, but we shouldn't depend on it. Especially, since us putting our DNA profile in it means Dahl can track where we are on Pandora}. Eddy stated over their connection making them frown slightly.
{Then shouldn't we just skip using this thing?} Lilith asked and Eddy grunted.
{We can, but then we risk losing someone if we get into a bad situation. I'd rather Dahl be aware of us and maybe sending some troops our way while having a small security blanket than do without}. Eddy stated making the others nod as it made sense.
Eddy then sighed and stepped up to the station before activating it as a halo effect appeared around him and the machine processed the DNA signature before Eddy then let the others be scanned.
"Excellent! Now that your DNA is registered, you have the best in horrific death and dismemberment insurance! Should an unfortunate fatal incident occur, your 'new you' will appear at the nearest activated station!" Claptrap stated making them sweatdrop at it while they also noted the computer looking symbol on their compass. "Now we can head into the peaceful town of Fyrestone! I'll lead the way." Claptrap stated before rolling over to a gate by an outcropping of rock.
Eddy snorted, {Peaceful, yeah right. There is no peaceful place on this planet}. Eddy commented making them all nod before making to follow the Claptrap. Though, Eddy went over to a small shack space and looked around before smirked as he found another $88 and tossed the other three their shares before pocketing his.
Arriving at the gate, Claptrap began typing on the code panel before an engine revving was heard and Eddy sighed before he pulled his revolver while the others pulled their guns too. "Wait…is that?... Oh no, not again! RUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNN!" Claptrap stated before screaming as he rolled into a small hut next to the gate before five runners jumped the gate and started shooting wildly and driving through the area while Eddy merely marked them all with his eye counting how many of them there were.
"21 bandits." Eddy commented making them nod before Claptrap came out.
"Are they gone? Phew. Those bandits really have it out for us Claptraps, being used for target practice is NOT part of our programming." Claptrap complained as he got the gate open.
However, once he did, four bandits came walking back and Claptrap screamed making Eddy curse as they could have gotten the drop on them. Ed and Double-D started firing since they had the longer range weapons forcing the bandits to shout and take cover, "They have shield modules." Ed stated as he shot on in the head but the bullet hit an electrical wall.
Eddy then saw a blue marked barrel and shot it causing it to explode in a blast of electricity which zapped the shields from the bandits. Lilith, Ed, and Double-D quickly fired on them killing them. The whole time Claptrap kept muttering to himself.
Eddy shook his head with a sigh, "See what they got here before we move in again, that passage is a bottleneck so I'm not eager to rush in." Eddy stated as he pointed to the path that was a small ravine and the others nodded and began to look for anything useful or of value.
After a couple minutes of searching, they found some ammo and another $33 for each of them before heading to the ravine. They paused however as they heard a bandit banging on a door, "Hey you! Send your lady out! We need her to, uh, lend us a hand heheh." The bandit stated making the Eds narrow their eyes, "C'mon! You want me to come back with Nine-Toes! Open the door!" The bandit kept shouting as the Eds moved up.
Eddy held his revolver tight as he snarled at the bandits before he fired and put a round through all three heads. Eddy then went to the door and knocked, "Hey, the bandits are dead, but there's more further in. We'll come back to get you so you can move closer to the actual settlement, okay?" Eddy stated through the door as he ejected his spent cartridges and loaded four new ones.
"Y-yes, thank you." A male voice stated causing Eddy to nod and leave the door as all four noticed their reputation meter fill up a bit.
Pushing on, they came to a closed gate and a red storage crate, "Oh! Seems someone left a storage box here, you should open it and make use of what's inside! Please open the box!" Claptrap stated motioning to the box as they scavenged from a few other containers getting some more money and ammo.
Of course the Eds felt like this was some video game tutorial with the hand holding walkthrough and the free stuff right off the bat.
Eddy then opened the box revealing a Torgue RF Repeater, a Hyperion BLR Swatter, a Jakobs GGN Old Sniper, and a Dhal RP SMG. Eddy frowned before tossing the SMG to Lilith, the Torgue to Ed, the Hyperion to Double-D, and he took the sniper. Checking the guns over, they all checked out and holstered them before looking to Claptrap standing next to the gate controls.
Claptrap then began typing away randomly, "These controls seem to be damaged. Have no fear, I'm sure I can do it!" Claptrap stated as he typed away for a few seconds…then he started banging on it. "Agh, this isn't working." Claptrap stated sounding frustrated before he quickly went to the right and opened a panel, "This way!" Claptrap shouted making them just watch him with a deadpanned expression.
"I'll fix the gate when we get settled into Fyrestone." Double-D stated while having a twitching eyebrow and now seeing why Eddy hated these things so much.
Eddy merely nodded before they followed the rust bucket through the opened panel. Finding an open area, they quickly scavenged it and then began following the Claptrap further in. However, they had to take cover as another bandit group started shooting at them and one came over a wall to their left. Eddy quickly shot the climber in the leg making him fall screaming as he held it before Eddy shot him again in the head.
Ed merely took his assault rifle and fired in two round bursts dropping the other three bandits before the group scavenged again and pushed in slowly. Double-D then whipped his gun to the left and shot a bandit that was sneaking up on Ed and the rest took cover as another 5 bandits came around the bend.
The ensuing firefight wasn't lengthy but it did cause some damage and reduce their ammo a bit. Eddy grunted as his left arm was bleeding from a graze on his arm but shrugged it off as they pushed into the actual town of Fyrestone. Seeing a few bandits, Double-D sent Midnight after them and he cawed loudly before he swooped down and tore one of the bandits' eyes out before biting into his jugular.
Ed ran up and punched another sending him crashing back into a wall before he slumped over dead.
Eddy then used his Triton powers to fling a bandit high in the air causing him to scream as he came crashing back down.
Lilith walked quietly as she phase walked behind the last bandit that was behind cover and shooting wildly before she grasped his head and snapped his neck.
[Excellent work! I knew you were the right choice, friends. But be careful, there's still more where they came from]. The woman stated again making them frown as they kept their guard up.
Moving to where Claptrap was, they saw him banging on a door, "Attention citizen of Fyrestone! There is no cause for alarm. This new visitor has resolved the problem!" Claptrap stated before their radio sprang to life.
[Well shoot, I thought I was a goner that time! Damn bandits won't leave us alone. Had to lock the place up tight. I'll let ya in… Come on! Damn it. Blasted circuits are on the fritz again. Give it a go from the switch out there, would ya?] A male voice that their ECHO device identified as Doctor Zed stated over their radio.
The four then sweat dropped as their ECHO came up with a notice, Accept job? Open Building 03 in Fyrestone and meet Dr. Zed.
Building 03 open: 0/1
Dr. Zed talked to: 0/1
"Wow, they really hold your hand with this ECHO device, don't they?" Lilith asked since there was even a transcript of Zed's message included.
"Guess so." Ed stated not sure what to make of this since it was feeling like a tutorial for a video game again.
Eddy merely sighed and hit accept before a waypoint over the switch came and they all sweat dropped again as Claptrap talked, "Now that you've selected a mission, you will notice a new icon has appeared on your Heads Up Display. That's a waypoint. The waypoint will tell you where you need to go depending on what mission is currently active in your mission log." Claptrap stated and the Eds just deadpanned.
"What the fuck is going on with this planet?!"The Eds thought incredulously while seeing Lilith was just as confused.
Eddy just sighed and shook his head before pressing the switch causing Building 03 to open. Inside they saw a doctor, or at least a man dressed as a doctor, taking a hacksaw to the corpse of someone on his table and flinched at the squelching noise.
Walking in, the doctor put the saw down and smiled behind his face-mask, "Thanks fer openin' her up again. Name's Zed. They don't let me cut on folks anymore since I lost my license, so now I keep the med vendors 'round here up and runnin'. From the vendors you can buy all the healin' you ever want from a real doc… thankfully without a "the-Vault-is -a-myth,-you'll-get-yourself-killed" lecture." Zed stated making them sweatdrop again.
"Uh, thanks." Eddy stated before turning the job in.
"Listen, outside of Fyrestone, just past the gate and across the road, you'll find several Skag dens. A Skag is a vicious four-legged creature, and they'll eat anything, including you. I wanna know if you can handle yourself in a fight against some of these beasts, so head on out there and kill some of 'em for me. If you're still in one piece, then c'mon back and I'll give you something for the trouble." Zed stated making them shrug before they took the job showing they had to kill at least 5 Skags. "Oh, and uh, feel free to take whatever you like from the containers all throughout town, poor fools that owned it left it all behind when they either left the planet, died, or went to a different settlement." Zed stated since it wasn't his and no one else was going to come back for it.
The group just shrugged before they quickly started looting the different containers around the town before heading to Claptrap, who was bouncing around and yelling about something, "Now that we're done with all that, please follow me, and I'll open the main gate for you." He stated before rolling off towards the gate while Eddy still kept his gun out and the others followed suit.
Eddy then frowned as Claptrap was crossing an open graveyard and looked around, "Double-D, you got a sniper rifle?" Eddy asked making him nod, "Why don't you get up on that building and cover us since we only have to go across the road to find the Skags?" Eddy stated and Double-D frowned before nodding since it made sense and he could watch out for anything.
Eddy then waited til Double-D was in position before walking forward only for them to freeze and get into cover as they heard engines again. They got into cover just in time for a runner to come by and blast Claptrap with a rocket causing him to fall over while bandits started climbing over the walls.
Three of them were dead before they could finish getting over as Double-D put a round through their heads and Midnight clawed them with his talons. Eddy and Lilith were next to each other with him using his revolver and Lilith using her repeater trying to kill the bandits and keep them from getting too close.
However, more bandits were coming over the wall causing them to duck down before more automatic fire came and the pain filled screams of the bandits followed. Peaking out, Eddy and Lilith were surprised to see a Scorpion Turret there firing at their enemies while Ed was behind its shield firing as well. The two quickly started firing to give him more support while Double-D picked off more targets until said bandits were dead.
Ed then recalled his turret letting him see he'd have to wait a few minutes before calling it out again. [Looks like you got under Nine-Toes' skin. Don't worry, he'll get what's comin' to him!] Zed stated over their radio.
[You did it! I knew you were the right choice. Oh…! That poor little robot is hurt. Would you kindly give him a hand and see if you can help?] The woman stated again and Eddy sighed before accepting the job and Double-D came down to look the Claptrap over.
Walking over, Double-D looked him over and opened his paneling to get a look, "He's got a few fuses overloaded and he's leaking some oil. Nothing major, but I do need a repair kit to fix him." Double-D stated making them shrug as they started looking for a repair kit.
[That little robot is hurt. He isn't going to last very long without attention. Why don't you look around for something to fix him up?] The woman stated making them all roll their eyes as they were doing that already.
Luckily, they found one just sitting on a table by one of the buildings and Double-D started fixing Claptrap while noticing most of him was held together by duct tape. Claptrap then hopped up after Double-D closed him and shimmied a little, "Whew! Good as new! I think… Am I leaking?" Claptrap asked before Eddy just pointed at the gate, "Oh! Of course, I'll get it open right away." Claptrap stated before rolling over to the gate.
[He seems to be okay. Now is the time to get moving and play your part in the journey to come.] The woman stated again before clicking off.
"I'm starting to get annoyed at this woman just popping up randomly, saying she'll speak to us soon, and then five minutes later she's talking to us again just to say she'll speak to us soon." Eddy stated with a sigh of annoyance as Claptrap opened the gate and the others nodded since it was getting ridiculous.
"Thank you for visiting Fyrestone! Farewell traveler, and be sure to say 'hello' to all the friendly Claptraps that await you on Pandora. I shall continue my fascinating research on the wondrous properties of sand!" Claptrap stated in an "elegant" type tone before rolling off while the others sweat dropped again.
Double-D just shook his head and went back up to the roof to get a view of the Skag den area that Zed mentioned and the other three went towards said area.
Said area was a small rocky patch next to a Catch-A-Ride, "Catch-A-Ride is the transportation depot of Pandora. You can make a machine gun or rocket launcher runner appear or recall it if you got separated for some reason. Supposed to be run by a guy named Scooter." Ed supplied as he saw Eddy and Lilith looking at the station in confusion.
Eddy and Lilith just nodded before turning their attention to the Skags roaming about the area, "Well, let's do some exterminating." Eddy stated cocking his revolver while Ed switched to his shotgun and Lilith switched to her SMG.
[Shoot them in the mouths if you can, they have major arteries and blood vessels there. Plus the musculature of their mouths makes it so the right amount of stress to the area makes the head just pop like a balloon.] Double-D supplied over their communicator making them nod.
Double-D then started them off by shooting one in the eye making it howl in pain before a second round went into its mouth causing the head to explode. Of course, the howling only drew more and they started shooting them and Ed punched one that got close while Eddy side stepped one and stabbed it with his knife letting the force of its jump fillet it open.
Lilith ignited her left hand and swiped it sending an arc of fire that burned several of the Skags before Eddy and Ed shot them dead. [That oughta do it! I'll see you back here in a few.] Zed stated over their radio making them wonder how he knew they had killed at least five.
They then noticed their rep bar filled up and now had a 3 next to it. They also saw Challenge completed: Relentless. Challenge Completed: What's in there? On their Hud and looked confused before Eddy looked at his ECHO device and scrolled on some of the things. "Huh, looks like Dahl put in a sensor for our actions and it rewards us with more reputation the more we complete. Relentless was to kill 5 enemies with no more than 7 seconds between each kill. And What's in there? Was opening 50 containers. Looks like they got challenges for everything from how many kills with a certain gun type to killing with a certain booster type. They also have tiers." Eddy stated making them nod, though the Eds felt this was even more like a video game now, "We'll just have to keep mixing up what we do to get the most challenges completed." Eddy stated making them nod before Eddy saw a gun in the trash pile the Skags had collected.
It was just an AF Cheap Repeater by Tediore, but it was still another gun to use or something to sell for a few bucks.
The trio then headed back into Fyrestone and met up with Double-D before going to see Zed, who was still hacking up the corpse on his slab. "I guess those Skags didn't give you much trouble, eh? You clearly know how to handle a gun. That's good, real good. You're gonna need it, 'cause I've got somethin' else for you to help me with." Zed stated as he handed them some money and the Eds shrugged since they knew they needed local help to get info on the vault and get supplies and weapons to handle what was there, Lilith just wanted to get some pay and keep getting to know these three. "If you're gonna head out of town, you need a shield unit. A shield unit forms an invisible barrier around you that absorbs damage. Normally, you'd buy one from the med vendor right there, but this one took a bullet during the bandit raid. Fortunately, it just needs a new Power Coupling, and it so happens there's an old vendor we can use for parts. It's right outside of town, down the road to the left. Go grab the part, install it into the med vendor, and get yourself a shield at a discount for helping the town out." Zed stated making them nod since a shield unit would help them.
Zed then handed Eddy a syringe filled with a red liquid, "You want to close that wound up, son, things get infected real easy on this planet." Zed stated and Eddy shrugged before injecting the insta-medi-pack into his arm as the wound sealed up.
The group of four then headed back to the gate while Claptrap was dancing and trying to beatbox.
However, the group paused as they saw the dead Skags they left weren't there anymore, [I told you, Skags eat anything. The few that didn't come out of their little hovels when you were there probably grabbed the corpses to eat them after you left]. Zed stated over the communicator making them shrug before they went left down the road and found the old vendor along with more Skags. Midnight swooped down and killed one while Ed just blasted the other two away with his shotgun.
Double-D then began looking over the machine and ignoring the sound of Midnight eating the Skag he killed. "Hmm, this machine still has quite a few usable parts beyond just the Power Coupling." Double-D stated making Eddy nod.
"Then we'll take the whole thing." Eddy stated making Lilith look at him incredulously.
"Uh, hate to break it to you, but I don't think we could carry that with our powers and we could drop it if attacked." Lilith stated making the Eds laugh and she frowned in confusion.
"Ed, if you would." Eddy stated as Double-D stepped back and Ed walked over before grabbing the Vendor and lifting it on his shoulder like it weighed nothing causing Lilith to gawk at him. "Let me break it down for you, Lilith." Eddy stated with them standing in front of her, "Brains." Eddy stated pointing at Double-D, "Speed and Agility." Eddy stated point at himself. "And Brawn." Eddy stated pointing at Ed. "Try to keep up." Eddy stated with an amused grin as he and his two friends started walking back to town and Lilith quickly fell in behind them.
Coming back into Fyrestone, they went over to Zed's clinic before Ed set the vendor down with Zed looking on in shock before Double-D removed the Power Coupling and put it into the other one causing the vendor to boot up. Eddy then logged into the vendor and bought three Tediore TDR-OBS Standard Shields and then one slightly higher quality one, a TDR-OBS Balanced Restorative Shield. Basically, a restorative shield was a shield that healed you while you wore it. All four had a 50 unit shield capacity, but the healing one had a slightly longer recharge time.
He then gave Lilith and Double-D the standard one while Ed got the healer, "Ed, your unit heals you over time. I figured you'll be the one of us way out in the thick of the fighting, so you get the healer to keep you going." Eddy stated making the three nod as they put the shield on and watched as their counter went up.
"See? You don't need a PhD to do my job. I guess people just feel more comfortable with my honest face and bedside manner." Zed stated making them sweatdrop.
"What bedside manner?" They four thought before Zed spoke again.
"Anyway, feel free to sell your items at the med vendor and buy some First Aid Kits for when things start getting painful." He stated making them nod, "Now, about other business." He continued seriously making them pay attention. "Nine-Toes placed a group of his boys at a small outpost just outside of town, you probably saw it on the hill to the right of the Catch-A-Ride. Those men report every move that anyone in this town makes, so our next move should be to make them dead." Zed stated making the four nod since they didn't need some bandit warlord knowing every move they made of every day. "Do this for me, and I'll set you up with some of our vacant houses for you to use at your discretion." Zed stated making them become interested in the job.
"Deal." Eddy stated before they started heading for the gate again.
However, as they did, the mystery woman spoke again, [People don't yet trust you. If you're going to ever find the Vault, you'll need the aid of the people. Helping Doctor Zed with his Nine-Toes problem is a good move]. The woman stated and Eddy snorted.
"Not sure we can help him get another toe." Eddy joked making his friends and Lilith chuckle in amusement as they headed for the outpost. Of course, they had to kill more Skags as more came out of the dens and there were more dens on the pathway to the outpost.
Arriving there, they were immediately shot at making them take cover against the walls of the entrance as they kept being shot at. Double-D let Midnight take to the air while Eddy peered around the corner and shot another blue barrel causing an electrical explosion that took out a group of them while Ed shot a green barrel causing an acidic explosion as the bandits screamed as they were melted into a puddle of ooze.
Ed then tossed his turret out having it start to fire on the enemies while Midnight dove and killed a bandit that was trying to get into a sniping position.
Eddy smirked and phased out of existence as a copy of him ran out with his knife drawn causing the bandits to fire on the copy with the bullets just phasing through it. A bandit then yelled as he was stabbed in the chest before Eddy appeared and quickly shot another three before taking his knife and throwing it into a fifth. He then pushed the meat shield forward while letting his shield take a few hits, before he fired at another two. Of course, while the others were focusing on Eddy, they forgot his companions and were quickly gunned down by the three and Ed's turret.
Eddy then went and retrieved his knife before they scavenged the place and made sure they killed all the bandits in the outpost. They found another weapon case, but the two guns inside were crap compared to their current ones, so they were going to sell them when they got back to Fyrestone.
However, along the way, Eddy had them detour back to the Skag area and killed two of them, "Ed, help me get these back to Fyrestone, I'm hungry." Eddy stated making them blink before nodding since it was getting late and they had slept the majority of the time on the bus.
With that in mind, Ed grabbed both Skags and carried them back to town before dropping them at a fire pit and Double-D got to work cleaning and skinning them to be cooked. "Ed, why don't you go back to those people and tell them to move to this side of the gate since I think there's at least two buildings open over here." Eddy stated making Ed nod as he headed back towards the bus depot.
"Guess that means we're turning in the job." Lilith stated with a smile as she leaned close to Eddy.
"Yeah." Eddy stated before he went to see Zed making Lilith pout at him ignoring her before she followed him.
"Well done, friend. Here's the bounty for those guys. By the time Nine-Toes realizes we've taken out his eyes, we'll already be making our next move." Zed stated with a smile before continuing. "There's a reward for the death of Nine-Toes, but he's elusive. We don't really know where his hideout is. Talk to T.K. Baha at his farm south of Fyrestone. He's blind as a bat, but no one knows the area better than he does. He should be able to help, especially since he wants Nine-Toes dead too." Zed stated making them nod, "When you get back, I'll show you to your new homes." Zed stated making them nod again before they left the office and saw Ed was back and was with Double-D.
"They aren't coming Eddy, they said they're going to hide out there and get on the first bus in the morning." Ed stated making Eddy sigh and nod.
"We're going to go talk to a friend of Zed's named T.K. Baha, y'all just want to hang here?" Eddy asked and the two shrugged.
"Sure, shouldn't take long and the meat should be done by the time you get back." Double-D stated and Ed nodded.
"Yeah, and I'll see about that junker right there and if anything else is salvageable." Ed stated making Eddy nod.
"So just us then." Lilith stated with a smile and Eddy nodded before the two walked off causing Double-D and Ed to smile at the other in amusement.
"This is gonna be good." Ed stated making Double-D laugh and nod knowing they'd have to push Eddy with Lilith more since it seemed to bug him so much.
With said Siren and Triton, the two finished killing more Skags that were in the way before arriving at a small farm only for an old man with an Elephant Gun to aim at them. "Hold it! One more step and it will be your last…. PFFT Hehehehe. You should have seen the look on your face." The man stated while laughing and they just deadpanned.
"Says the man who can't see them in the first place." The two thought before they walked up to him.
"What's up newcomer? Names T.K. Baha. Wait! I think I heard something." The now named T.K. stated before frowning and then groaning. "I did hear it! Damned Skags getting' into my food! Damn them all to hell! You! Whatever you are. I want you to go kill those rat-bastards! They just stole half my food stores! Go get my food back, then we'll talk after I ain't so pissed off!" T.K. stated making the two sigh before they went further west to find the Skags.
Sure enough, as they passed a little shack that T.K. had, there was half eaten food all over the floor and paw prints leading to more dens to the west.
Killing the first group of Skags was easy since they were just a bunch of pups and were quick to be dealt with by Lilith and Eddy's skills. Picking up the piece of meat, Eddy frowned, "It's just some Skag meat. With the way he was shouting, I thought it was going to be something better." Eddy stated before he and Lilith grabbed the meat and put it into their CPU inventory and kept tracking the Skags.
The next group though was a little hard as they had some older Skags as part of their pack. Meaning they were stronger, faster, and more durable and if it wasn't for their shields then Lilith and Eddy would've been hurt by them.
Grabbing the last of the meat, Eddy and Lilith went back to T.K. and hurried a bit since it was getting dark and neither of them felt like being out and about at night right now. Arriving at the farm, they saw T.K. looking all giddy. "Whoo! I enjoyed listening to that! Skag corpses hittin' the ground is like music to my ear. Brought my food back, did ya? Thank you, stranger." T.K. stated as he took his food and set it beside him. "So, you're lookin' for Nine-Toes' hideout? It's over in Skag Gully. Seein' as you helped me with my Skag problem, I'm happy to help you with your Nine-Toes problem!" T.K. stated while the two just shook their heads at the last bit of phrasing. "Good news for you lot is that I just heard Marcus reopened his weapon vendor in Fyrestone. Before you go after Nine-Toes, you gotta get yourself some grenades. I'm so happy you killed them Skags that I'd just give you some, but I don't have any left after my last fishin' trip. So, head over to Fyrestone and buy some grenades then come back in the morning and we'll talk about dealing with old Nine-Toes." T.K stated making them nod.
"All right, see you tomorrow T.K." Eddy stated and T.K. laughed.
"Yeah! See you tomorrow." T.K. stated laughing as the two just rolled their eyes and headed back to Fyrestone… after killing more Skags in the way.
"Seriously? How fast do these things breed?" Eddy asked incredulously and Lilith shrugged while wondering that herself.
[You've done well! I've decided to reopen my Fyrestone franchise, thanks to you! Head into town and buy some new gear!] Marcus' voice stated over their communicator making the two snort.
However, before they could enter Fyrestone, they had to kill another trio of bandits and a small pack of Skags. In doing so, they got another challenge Skag Slayer for killing 50 Skags and Draw! For killing 50 enemies with pistols.
The two merely shrugged and grabbed any loot before heading back into Fyrestone and found Ed and Double-D waiting for them in front of a building with a cloth overhang before the door came down and they saw a weapons vendor and an ammo vendor. Eddy merely tossed the two their cut of the money they found before entering and started looting the containers for anything else.
Ed merely walked up to the ammo vendor and bought four clusters of grenades before handing a bundle to his three partners and taking one himself.
Eddy then went over to the weapons vendor and bought a GGN Rusty Sniper by VLADOF and then sold his GGN Old Sniper for a few bucks.
Double-D and Lilith merely stocked up on some ammo before they all went to Zed's to see him cleaning off some blood. "Ah, you're back. Was T.K. able to help?" Zed asked and they nodded.
"Yeah, he said Nine-Toes is in Skag Gully and that he'd help us tomorrow since it was getting late." Eddy stated making Zed nod.
"Well, then I should show you to your new homes." Zed stated walking out before pointing to the one right in front of his office, "There's that one." Zed stated and then turned and pointed to the one directly next to his office, "And that one. Both are two person homes with bathroom, kitchen, and beds. Here are the keys." Zed stated tossing two sets of keys to Eddy, "Enjoy." Zed stated walking back into the office before closing up the door making them blink at the door.
"Okaaay, so who is rooming with-" Eddy started before Double-D grabbed the keys to one home and pushed Eddy towards Lilith.
"Night." Double-D stated as he and Ed grabbed their roasted Skag and went to check out their new residence making Eddy's eyebrow twitch while Lilith smiled.
"Looks like we're rooming together." Lilith stated with a smile and Eddy sighed before he grabbed the Skag and carried it to the house making Lilith frown before she caught up to him. "Did I do something to offend you?" Lilith finally asked as Eddy opened the door and put the skewered Skag against the kitchen counter.
"No." Eddy stated as he looked around the building.
"Then why are you so hostile towards me?" Lilith asked cutting him off from going anywhere else.
"It's not just you. I just don't like Sirens at all." Eddy stated as his right hand clenched reflexively.
"What did we do to you?" Lilith asked since there weren't many Sirens out in the universe to her knowledge.
"None of your business." Eddy stated while trying to keep his anger in check.
"No! You've got some kind of problem with my kind and I want to know what it is." Lilith stated and Eddy ignored her before he grabbed him, "Answer me." Lilith shouted before Eddy whipped around and punched the wall right next to her head causing a crater as his left eye glowed brightly from his power and his red eye glowed as well.
"Because they fucking did this to me!" Eddy shouted pointing to his eye and removing his glove and rolling his shirt up showing a mechanical arm up to his bicep. "Your people did this to me!" Eddy snarled at her with Lilith looking at his arm and eye in shock.
"W-what?! Why would they do that?!" Lilith asked in shock and Eddy just looked at her making her widen her eyes, "You're a male with Siren powers." Lilith stated since Double-D was the first one she had ever even heard of and he wasn't that impressive with the powers, but she could feel the power from Eddy. He had close to 100 times what Double-D did.
"Yeah, some coven on Malastare captured me while I was returning from a bad mission and then worked on 'studying' me. Took my eye and then started flaying the skin and muscle from my arm down to the bones before taking them. They thought maybe with enough study, they could use my body and pieces as focal points so they could gain more power. When that didn't work, they tried to get powerful offspring by raping me since a Siren combined with a male that has the same powers could give them children of even greater power." Eddy stated with a scowl as his hand was still clenched shut and Lilith merely looked at him in shock.
"Then, how did you-" Lilith asked shaken by what others of her kind had done to him.
"They didn't keep a close enough eye on me. I caught one while they were chaining me down and sucked the power from her before killing her and busting out. Then I drained the rest of the coven of all of their powers and killed them all before my friend Zer0 found me and took me to a friend of his that got me my new arm and eye. However, I didn't get them all as they were trying to get in contact with another coven to help them in exchange for using me as breeding stock to make more Sirens. As such, I spent years hunting them and didn't find them all and I will never forget or forgive those that did this to me." Eddy stated with a snarl as his eyes glowed brighter and Lilith shuddered as she could practically taste his power.
She couldn't blame him with what he experienced, he'll she'd probably would have filleted the bitches from head to toe. If she pushed Eddy, then she could be next on his chopping block.
However, Lilith swallowed her fear and offered her hand making Eddy look at it, "Take it, I wasn't one of them, I'm nothing like them. So connect to my power if you want proof." Lilith stated knowing this could cost her a lot, but she had to work with Eddy and wanted to show him she wasn't one of those Sirens.
Besides that, her power was resonating with him, she didn't know what that meant, but she felt drawn to him, so she had to earn his trust somehow.
Eddy frowned before he grabbed her hand and both of them gasped as their powers mingled and both were hit with memories and feelings connected to their powers. Eddy saw Lilith's memories of growing up and being an outcast due to her markings and then her growing up and fighting rapists and killers as well as the fear of nearly not fending some of them off before they were successful.
Lilith though, arguably, had it worse, she had the pain of his "operations" since the Sirens didn't numb the pain, the fact he actually was raped, them trying to siphon off his power, his operations to install his eye and arm, and all the wounds he took in his time training under assassins and doing missions. She had to take it all in entirely and it made tears fall from her eyes at the sorrow, helplessness, and agony he was feeling.
Lucky for her, Eddy broke the connection making the two stumble apart as they panted and felt their powers trying to settle as Lilith dropped to her knees. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Lilith stated as the tears kept falling and Eddy sighed before he stood her up.
"It's not your fault, but I can't help but react to Sirens that way." Eddy stated in a soft voice as Lilith nodded. "But, you're not them, so I'll try to warm up to you a bit." Eddy stated before he grabbed a leg off the Skag and started eating while getting his armor off and putting it by his bed, which was on the other side of a small divider to give some form of privacy.
Lilith merely watched him and felt a blush form since she could visualize every bit of his body thanks to the memories, including what was between his legs. She also heated up a bit since Eddy had had a few seduction missions and training so she knew he had skill and experience beyond what happened on Malastare. It didn't help that the connection sent pleasurable jolts through her body, both from his power and the pleasure he felt.
She could sense him too, he had felt the same fluctuation and connection, he just had more control of himself thanks to his teachers. The poor souls had to have the patience of Job because after the incident, Eddy was understandably on a hair trigger any time a Siren was near and the nightmares he experienced weren't helping.
Lilith though wanted to get closer since their connection was growing even at the very moment, their powers just…clicked together and she could feel their powers feeding on the other.
However, Eddy wanted no part of it right now. He was focused on protecting his two friends and finding some missing friends of theirs. She knew there was more to them than simply being after the Vault, but those memories and thoughts had incredible shields around them that Lilith made sure she avoided trying to pry into.
For now though, she'd have to rest and sleep. Tomorrow was a new chance to get to know her new partners and crack more of the enigma that was Eddy.
Done!
Here y'all go, the action has started. Next time will be more story missions and a little more boning between Eddy and Lilith.
Also, don't assume Eddy got the short end of the stick, Double-D and Ed both have their own memories and such that they want to forget they just didn't have anyone to push the buttons and bring up the memories… yet.
Anyway, leave comments and I'll se you all next time.