"So, Vault Hunters, you spoke with my sister and lived to tell the tale?" Zane heard Hammerlock ask as the group of them sauntered into the lodge once again. It had been a long ride over, but thankfully they had little interference nor resistance en route. Seemed the COV were still shit at tactics.
"Well, yes, but actually no," Zane shook his head. "Hologram. And I wasn' the one who went in."
"Really?" The old hunter raised a brow. "Who did, then?"
"I did," FL4K spoke up, still looking over their newly acquired Maliwan sniper rifle. "And it was all a ruse to try and have Troy catch us all alive?"
"Troy Calypso? My word…" Hammerlock breathed. "I wasn't even sure the twins themselves would come for you four. Always figured them to be elusive predators…or idiotic cowards."
"Cowards is right," Wainwright grunted. "But, nevermind the rat bastard and his harpy friend. The record—may I see it, Vault Hunter?" At Zane's nod, Amara handed Wainwright the record. The aged man looked over it, scowling firmly all the while he did.
"Somethin' wrong with it?" Zane asked.
"No…just," He sighed. "still can't believe the Calypsos murdered my father, just to get a hold of his company. It's still eatin' away at me, losin' one of the few family I have left." He shook his head. "But, gotta be strong. I need to get my record player working, but you know Aurelia's gonna send all those damn zealots to find us. If we're gonna last long enough to open that Vault, we'll need an army of our own; a good ol' Jakob's resistance."
"More boots on the ground's always a good thing." Moze agreed. "But, no offense, doesn't look like anyone in here's ready to go to war with these freaks. Least not without a crash course on gun safety and a week or two in boot camp."
"Maybe so, but we can at least get the most important part of a resistance; firearms. And I know just the town we can start with. Reliance. If we're gonna take this planet back from these psychos, we'll start there. I hired a gunslinger named Clay to lend us a hand. He'll be waitin' for you outside the town."
"Good; we can finally mess these cultists up as good as we did on Promethea." Amara cracked her knuckles and turned to walk. FL4K's beasts followed with her, the Operative lingering for a moment as the group filed back outside.
"FL4K, ya got a sec?"
"Of course," The robot turned around and focused their weird eye on Zane. "What is it?"
"Moze said ya planned all this out, right?"
"The vast majority, yes; there were many variables left unaccounted for, but for the most part things are playing out as I had hoped."
"And that hope is?"
"To kill the Children of the Vault, restore Lilith and Maya, and add the twins' heads to my mantle. What else?"
Zane sighed. "Good; usually when someone tells me they 'got everythin' planned out' it's code for 'ya ain' livin' to see the plan through' or some shite like that. Had one too many fuckers pull that on me."
"Your paranoia is understandable, but ease yourself," FL4K motioned to the others who, currently, were trying to get Mr. Chew to stop chewing on the wheel of the technical. "They are my pack; only a fool turns on his pack, for when everything is at an end they're the one thing you can truly depend on."
"I…guess that's a nice way to put it."
"Besides, as said before, I've already analyzed all of you when we first met and deemed none of you favorable to kill." They said that so nonchalantly. "Not because you are unworthy prey, but because you all would help my pets and I survive and thrive."
"That's a weirder way to put it, but I'm glad ya ain' tryin' to stab me in the arse."
"No. However, I will admit I swiped a magazine from your room; one titled Lonely Space Vixens."
Zane's eyebrow twitched. "Why th' fuck'd ya do that? That's a collector's issue!"
"Curiosity." Zane didn't want them to clarify. His ire faded as the older man took his spot in the driver's seat of the technical. FL4K was weird as fuck but, in a sense, they were right. The four of them? They were a family, and they already made it clear they ain't splitting up like the other group of Vault Hunters did.
Zane got attached to his weird little group. Even if Moze still gave death threats when he poked fun at her. Even as he turned the key, the Operative was thinking up some jokes for her…might take a classic approach and make some short jokes.
"Last time I ride in the fucking back with the animals…" Moze groaned as she wiped slobber off her rifle. The ride to the town started off fine, but, like all things, something went wrong. Wrong, in this case, was FL4K's damned skag getting bored and chewing on her gun while she wasn't looking.
The Gunner grimaced when she felt her fingers trail over the wet, toothmarks in the gun. Damned thing had a stronger bite now that it was a…huh. "FL4K, the fuck kinda skag is this?"
"Horned." The Beastmaster walked along the side of the technical. "Mr. Chew got larger and will soon evolve and grow to become an Eridian Skag; his final and greatest form."
"…doesn't…that mean he's at the end of his lifespan? I think…never really took Biology…"
FL4K shook their head. "Skags mature quickly but can live for many years. The oldest skag I've hunted was around ninety years old." Moze was…perplexed at that, though her perplexity became fear when the robot's damned Spiderant crawled out the back, the Gunner just now noticing the creature was fucking huge now. "And Broodless here has already molted into a Countess. In time, she may even mature and become a queen."
"…how have I not noticed that thing getting so big…?"
"To be fair, she's quite easy to miss. It's why she's so effective in the hunt."
"Oi, less chit-chat, we're movin' in." Zane called. Moze casually flipped him off and hopped out the technical, rifle shouldered and gaze darting about.
"Now, I don't really trust Clay," Moze heard Wainwright speak in her earpiece. "Slick bastard and all…and also a smuggler. Only reason I'm considerin' him to begin with is 'cause he's worked for my father, and he just might be our best shot at drivin' them zealots back into the mud from whence they came…that, and he's probably a good shot at arming our people with firearms."
"Rodger, keeping a hand on the trigger, then." Moze grunted, pressing forward with the others.
"So, ya met the newest member of our glowing, growing family!" And THERE was Tyreen. Of fucking course. "Yeah, that bitch's something else; tried to kill her own brother! Heh, glad Troy and I have…a better relationship than that." She trailed off, now sounding less confident and more unsure of herself. It was rare, almost enthralling, even. She went quiet a moment later and the group reached the gates, where two dead COV goons rested, with…a pool of cash nearby.
"Over here, Vault Hunters," Moze's eyes were on the speaker; a tall, strange looking man with an insidious set of goggles and a western hat atop his head. "And sorry 'bout the mess. Had I known Wainwright sent some company my way, I'd have tidied up."
"What even happened to those two?" Amara asked.
"Well," The man shrugged. "They learned I'm a people person. Name's Clay, and I suppose the five've us are here to start a Jakob's resistance. Do I have the pleasure of knowin' who I'm workin' with?"
"I am FL4K," The Beastmaster introduced themselves first. "And that is all you need to know about me. The rest are Zane, Amara, and Moze," They gestured to each of them as they spoke. "And the same rule applies." Least FL4K was trying to be tactful about things.
"Hmm," Clay looked up at the gate, shaking his head. "I'll touch on that later, but for now, we ain' gettin' in the front gate, but I might know another way. Follow me." The man was already moving, the group following as they crawled and maneuvered over some crates to climb up to some scaffolding. "Now, a resistance typically needs two things, from what Mr. Jakobs' told me; hope and guns…mostly the latter. So, we're liberatin' this town, crackin' open the weapon's cache, and puttin' Jakobs guns back into Jakobs' hands. Easy, right?"
"Seems easy." Amara commented. It didn't take too long to reach a strange, secret entrance settled in an old building; one Clay easily opened and gestured for them to proceed.
"Few bandits down there, Vault Hunters," Moze looked over to see Clay pointing down at some bandits on patrol. "Show me how ya kill, if you'd be so kind—" An explosion made Clay fall silent as FL4K's jabber was already hurling fiery barrels it somehow found, open firing with its shotgun as well while screeching dementedly. Of course, everyone collectively turned towards FL4K for an explanation.
"In my defense," The Beastmaster readied their sniper. "He saw that in a movie."
Amara Phaseslammed another psycho, crushing the fucker and breathing a sigh of relief. The liberation of the town was a good work-out; wasn't as high-paced as the things from earlier, but it served as a good distraction from the things she witnessed in the manor…the things that were still weighing heavy on her.
"Yo, Mara, ya good?"
The Siren looked over to Zane. "I am, yeah. Just thinking and working off some stress."
"Good, jus' makin' sure. Also," The old man pointed to a literal pile of bodies. "Ya did THAT on yer own…sorta thought you were ventin'."
"I…sort of am."
Zane furrowed his brow. "Yer still worried 'bout that Anointed thing? Like I said, we'll be fine. Just gotta keep at it."
"Right, thanks." She still found it weird Zane was being the voice of guidance, considering his mentality, but Amara found it comforting nonetheless. "Also, did we ever free—"
"Yeah the rebels are freed. Sorta forgot 'bout 'em amid the commotion, but thankfully FL4K and Mozzy Moze didn'." Zane shook his head. "However, Clay's been mentionin' someone named Dalton bein' unaccounted for. Apparently, he's important."
"Important how?"
"He's a master gunsmith," Amara nearly jumped when FL4K uncloaked next to her. "One who can craft intricate and powerful firearms for those with the right funds. We need to recover him and—"
An explosion cut them off. Amara looked over to see Clay standing over with Moze, with a smoldering hole in the side of one of the buildings. "…we're not doing so good awareness-wise today, apparently."
"To be fair, it's been a while since we've gotten some rest," Zane commented with a shrug. "let's see if Lil'll let us have some after this." The group walked over to Moze just as Clay started to walk off.
"No word on Dalton, yet." Moze shook her head. "Clay's gonna go see if he can track him down. Though that sorta shit should be handled by—"
"A master huntsperson," FL4K finished. "but, I will Clay to it. I need to make sure Meat-Thief hasn't eaten any bones. They're poor for his diet." The robot walked off, leaving Amara to peek her head inside the blown-open building. For the most part, it was a run-down piece of shit, but there were some weapons crates scattered about. She could probably get something new.
"AUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!" She sighed when she heard maddened yelling. Seemed another wave of COV lunatics were charging the town. Honestly, Amara was surprised they hadn't learned by now. Or, at the very least, saw what happened to the last lot of COV fuckers.
"Hey, Vault Hunters, got a lock on Dalton," Clay said into Amara's earpiece. "but, unfortunately, it looks like we're gonna have to secure the town…again. Hope you're ready to fight, because they ready to die." Amara needed to remember that one-liner for later.
For the time, the Siren busied herself with gunning down any approaching cultists, peppering them in the heads and chests with her shotgun and providing covering fire for the others. The new mob of cultists were tedious, yes, but tedious rarely meant dangerous for them when it came to the cultists themselves.
"Oh, so THIS is the frequency the twins use," That cold, smarmy voice of Aurelia buzzed in her earpiece. "Odd. Moving on, Vault Hunters, I've hired some people to get the Key Fragment for me, so it'd be wonderful if you could simply lay down and let them kill you. Sure, it cost a small fortune, which I'll earn by simply taking a nap, but, really, I'd rather not spend more time than I must entertaining whores like you."
"Do I need to start with you?" FL4K spoke up.
"Mhm, I'm bored enough to hear what a machine like you can process for me. Give me your best shot, so I can casually discard it."
FL4K actually took a breath. Amara wasn't even remotely sure how they did that.
"Your money will never truly make you happy, and because of that you seek to make everyone and anyone in your company as unhappy as you while you keep a façade of being this astute baroness. You loathe your brother because, even with dismal funding, he's always been happy and even found love, whereas you will forever have a pit in your stomach. A pit that not even the Vault's riches can fill. And, let's not forget, your antics always leave you more paranoid than an overfed skag. But, do please discard my insult here. We both know that's all you're good at; merely discarding your dignity."
"…well fuck." Moze said after a brief delay.
"…well, I'll admit, that struck a nerve. I'll be sure to take your motherboard as a souvenir, robot. I'd go for your brain in jar, but you've just demonstrated you don't have one considering you mouthed off at me."
"I welcome the challenge." The call ended and Amara just, sighed.
"Leave it to FL4K to, once again, incite our foes into rage." The Siren put another round into the nearest bandit, dropping the fucker as, gradually, they thinned the herd and cleared the COV out.
"Hmm, dear business partners, are you sure your…family, and I use the term loosely, is up to the task?" For a moment, Amara thought Aurelia was trying to be intimidating again. She deduced a second later the bitch probably forgot to change her ECHO frequency. "I don't want to use the words 'blistering incompetence' but…"
"Then don't." Troy snapped. Seemed they were at each other's throats.
Good; the more they tore each other apart, the less they focused on their followers being slaughtered. Amara could live with that.
"Well done, beasts," FL4K gingerly carved some meat from a severed leg, tossing each juicy piece to their beasts who, naturally, snapped them up and wolfed them down. "You hunted wonderfully today, though we should work on your cooperation in the future." The Beastmaster looked over to see the others were speaking with Clay, probably getting things organized as the robot pat the severed, skinned head of the COV champion, one called 'Long Arm Smasher'…stupid name, but he made a good trophy. The town was theirs, though the gunsmith was still unaccounted for. Listening in, they heard he was being held in a COV lockup; Fort Sunshine. Ironic name, considering the madness those fools typically spouted.
Unfortunately, it meant they would not have time to rest. Another hunt was to commence. Hopefully no one in the town minded if they recharged their core using one of the buildings…
Still, for the moment, there was some downtime. Downtime FL4K could use to further move their plans along. Their finger pressed down onto their ECHO and, quickly, they changed the frequency away from their team's and, of course, to a secure channel with the fiery bitch Tyreen…it was time to poke the nest.
"Your attack could have went better." FL4K chided.
"Psh, we were just goin' easy on you. Don't wanna bruise up the superfans too much."
"You and I both know that's a lie, and that you should perhaps reevaluate who you work with. Your baroness is a liability."
"And how's THAT, Vault Thief?"
"Her brother spelled it out; if she had your 'charisma' she could easily run the COV. What makes you assume she won't lust after such a thing one day? Free, endless minions, who'll gladly die for their mistress? Minions she'll never need to spend a dollar on, for her very existence drives them to fight and serve? Your ally only cares about becoming richer and richer; naturally, she'll take every opportunity to get it. Even going so far as to coerce your brother."
"The FUCK's that supposed to mean?" FL4K mashed a button on their ECHO and, swiftly, sent over an ECHO log they happened to stumble across while leaving the manor with the others. A log that contained some choice sounds…and some special bedroom talk between Troy and Aurelia.
Honestly, they were meant for each other; they were both hideous, inside and out.
"She's already seduced your brother, Tyreen," FL4K spoke again. "And we both know he's already stronger than you. Vastly stronger. If she wanted to take over the COV and get him to aid her, imagine how easy it would be? Especially since you failed to do your homework on how dangerous your 'business partner' is, considering she worked alongside Handsome Jack." They ended the call and turned to walk back to the others. Little by little, they whittled at Tyreen's confidence. And, of course, little by little, she was growing less confident in who she could keep close; even her own sibling. It was only a matter of time before the fool snapped and turned on those close to her. And, when it came, FL4K planned to take good care of her head when it was all said and done.
They even picked a nice place for it; right next to where their pets defecated.
(Hope everyone's keeping safe amid this pandemic. It's sorta annoying, but if we stay smart, we'll be fine. I'll also see about churning out more stories and content for you all so there'll be more to keep you all entertained. It's the best I can do.
Now, to address some reviews.
Will I be adding in more 'wacky comedic' moments? Most likely. I sometimes sprinkle them in from time to time and, in the future, I may opt to incorporate more non-canon chapters to give the team time to breathe. Of course, these moments can easily allow for the very comedy Borderlands is known for.
For Brick and Mordecai being reduced to extras? I'm conflicted as to why that's a thing, yes. One "idea" could be they wanted to get away from the Vault Hunting thing, but considering the stuff they all went through, it's hard to imagine them just up and departing to simply become mercenaries. So, I'll try to address that and, even, work them back into a major point. And, yes, the reveal about Typhon DeLeon and his ties to the antagonists came a bit too late, but at the same time, the writers didn't leave many options as the lore said he lived on Nekrotafeyo, if I'm spelling that right, away from the universe to protect his kids. However, like with me keeping Maya alive, I can perhaps find a way to make things work better with him. I'll have to see.
As for the New-U stations? I've always assumed they were both…well canon and non-canon, hence why I brought them up in the earlier stages of this project and showed they were just defunct with Hyperion having pulled out of Pandora.
I'll address some more reviews in time. So, keep 'em coming; I always like to hear from my fans!
Also, there's a small chance I could be working on another Predator fanfiction in the future if this Predator novel thing I'm trying to do doesn't work out. Considering who currently owns the rights and I'm on the line with someone who can help…there's a small chance.)
