Yes. It's finally here. Is anyone still reading? (Lol.) With schools cancelled, that means I have a ton of free time. For whatever reason, I just come up with another idea for a story and forget about this one. Well, no longer. I bought and played Borderlands 3, and needless to say, I did not enjoy it.

However, I won't be ranting. I'm writing a separate non-canon one-shot about it, where Matt and Gaige take the piss out of the game for its major flaws.

The story continues with Karabraxis, where Rhys and Matt are training. However, this training is unorthodox.

Enjoy!

9: SUB-LEVEL FIFTEEN

Various combat exercises droned on uninterrupted for the two, including military drills, strategy calisthenics, gym work, endurance testing, and the lot. Athena even had them play games of chess and risk, just to improve their strategic thinking and field awareness.

At one point, they had to run around the entire border of Karabraxis, which was about ten miles long. To add insult to injury, Athena ran with them, and if she outran either of them, both of them would have to do a second lap to compensate.

Matt was forced to help Rhys outrun their (relatively slow-moving) trainer, although the Corporate was reluctant to accept the Anomaly's help. Luckily, though, they succeeded despite their shortcomings, and didn't have to repeat the lap.

By the end of it, both of them were exhausted, as they sat down on a nearby bench, although Rhys was noticeably more fatigued than Matt.

'Tired?' Athena taunted them. 'Because you're not done yet.'

'We need a break,' Rhys complained, panting loudly.

'You don't get a break in a war,' the Gladiator disdained scathingly, folding her arms once again.

'We also can't fight if we're exhausted,' Matt pointed out, rubbing away the perspiration on his forehead. Athena sighed loudly.

'But what if we do it under the express proviso that we both work twice as hard once our break is over?' The Corporate negotiated.

'Fine, you can have a break,' she sanctioned unenthusiastically. Rhys began to celebrate and got up from the bench, but the Gladiator stopped him.

'You have thirty minutes and access to a bar, the Purple Skag, at the centre of town. Don't drink too much or you'll end up vomiting.'

'Oh, I have a fast metabolism,' Matt claimed coolly, looking towards the Corporate for his deliberation.

'Er, we'll be fine,' the Vault Hunter ultimately accepted, sighing internally.

Both of them made their way towards the bar Athena pointed to, hoping that the alcohol available wouldn't be too strong. No vodka or whiskey, certainly. Maybe a little bit of beer.

The room was sizeable but mostly empty. It seemed to have just been opened and it seemed to be slightly privatised. The bartender was cleaning a glass when they entered, her head moved up slightly to see them in her peripheral vision.

'You two must be the Vault Hunters Athena warned me was comin'!' The woman exclaimed, before looking up to address them. She frowned. 'Rhys?'

'Janey?' He recognised, a smile creeping across his face as they both approached the counter.

Janey Springs

Part-time bartender; part-time trader; part-time mechanic…part-time everything.

'Athena didn't tell me you were here.'

'Nor did she tell me about you,' the Corporate responded. 'What are you doing here? Bartending isn't really your thing.'

'Ah, it's just something I do in my spare time,' she informed him. 'I still have the Springs New & Slightly Scavenged Goods – a few around Pandora and Elpis. It's a whole network chain!'

'Cool!' Rhys exclaimed. Janey's eyes eventually drifted to the taller, darker figure beside him.

'And who's your friend? Are you gonna introduce us?' She prompted excitedly.

'Right, um, this is Janey Springs, Athena's wife,' the Corporate introduced, causing Matt's eyes to light up.

'Ah, yes, it's nice to meet you!' He greeted, holding out a hand which Janey shook with equal enthusiasm. 'Athena mentioned you. Briefly.'

'And you are…?'

'Oh, right. I'm Matt. Matt Rye.'

'The Matt Rye?' Janey repeated sceptically. 'Matt Rye as in the Matt Rye with a statue in the centre of Sanctuary? Matt Rye who saved the entire universe? That Matt Rye?'

'Yes!' The Anomaly ensured her. Janey looked for Rhys for confirmation, and he reluctantly nodded.

'Shouldn't you be dead?' Springs recalled.

'I wasn't dead, I was in another dimension,' he informed her, causing her to frown in confusion. 'Long story. Anyway, I'm here. And I'd like a beer.'

'Uh, me too,' Rhys added.

'Yeah, yeah, of course!' She accepted, moving to find the beer tap.

Once they received their beers, the two Vault Hunters gave their thanks and collapsed onto the adjacent chairs, resting their feet on a nearby coffee table comfortably.

'If you don't mind me asking, how did you become a Vault Hunter, Rhys?' The Anomaly asked, taking a deep mouthful of the beer. Rhys merely laughed.

'Long story.'

'Long break.'

Rhys supposed it couldn't hurt to share details, especially since Matt had been transparent about his past when they first met. Not to mention Fiona would probably tell him anyway, since the Anomaly was practically her idol.

Slowly, he began to divulge how he got from Helios to the Vault of the Traveller, and then to Sanctuary. He spoke about how he and his best friend Vaughn descended down from Helios to Pandora to buy an alleged Vault Key from willing traders – Fiona and Sasha. Rhys went on to describe the Handsome Jack AI created by Nakayama, which was implanted in his ECHOeye and stuck there, as well as the Gortys core, and their journey to Helios again to bring it crashing down to Pandora.

Matt only spoke at one moment.

'Scooter…died?' He realised all too late.

'He died so we would make it to Helios,' the Corporate disclosed guiltily.

'Oh, I…I didn't know,' the Anomaly told him. 'You know what's funny? I went to him to build a rocket too, once.'

'Really? When?'

'Back when Gaige was kidnapped by Gemini. Around four years ago.'

It didn't take too long before Rhys got to the part with the Traveller. With Gortys being forced to land the Vault on Pandora, Rhys and his friends had to fight the Traveller. For once, Matt looked genuinely impressed with him, when he spoke about the giant mech that Gortys turned into, and how Rhys used his wit to defeat the Traveller.

'What about you?' He asked the Anomaly, before raising his voice to address Matt's immediate confusion. 'You said how you became half-Siren, and the Vault of the Dreamer, but you never really outlined how you got from A to B.'

'You want my entire life story?' Matt guessed comically, raising an eyebrow.

'Anything that seems relevant,' he abridged with a gulp of beer.

Matt nodded, and began to divulge the details of his life – or at least, the main parts. He mused over the details of his childhood, although only a few things – like the story of how he and Amelia found a small forest out in the far stretches of Krolantia. Briefly, the Anomaly covered his time with the KMO, although there wasn't much to talk about to begin with anyway. Rhys was surprised by the haplessness of the KMO, desperately scrambling to gain some sort of reputation. In reality, it was comprised of legion of fools and untrained idiots running a battalion of heavily-trained soldiers who weren't allowed to have an opinion. And of course, the detonation of the first anti-matter bomb could not go amiss either. The Anomaly had witnessed that moment near the end of the Third Darosian Civil War, when the Krolantian Military Order had mobilised on the Consolidation Dominion and wiped them out in one fell swoop.

It was hard to get to the part with Amelia's murder. He had already met Gemini at that point, and had begun working for them, but he still lived in Acropolis. But his parents didn't want him anywhere near them after that Hyperion assassin sent by Hyperion, in compliance with Commander Sharp, murdered her.

Of course, meeting Aurora definitely improved his attitude on life, since he was very depressed at the time. His sister was dead, and the only family he'd ever known had banished him. Luckily, that woman always managed to make him feel better. No wonder they were best friends. He could always count on her – both as a friend and during missions.

Leaving Gemini had been a difficult decision for Matt. Gemini had offered him solace and purpose at the lowest point in his life, when he thought no one else could. More importantly, though, it meant he would be leaving Aurora, which made it one of the hardest decisions of his life.

Aurora had been so angry with him for leaving. He remembered the way she looked at him: like he had become some kind of monster.

Seeds of distrust had sprouted in the Anomaly's mind about Gemini ever since the Genisys Project. Their abject refusal to pay the supposed ransom for Matt's return was one of the things he thought of. Mainly though, he had begun to suspect that Gemini had ill-intentions with the Vault they were looking for.

That's how he ended up on Pandora, looking for a Vault that no one else could apparently find.

Then he met Gaige.

Matt knew she was beautiful from the second he saw her – bloody, injured and limping. When he cleaned up her injury, and the Mechromancer washed herself, she only ended up looking prettier.

However, it was her personality that enticed the Anomaly, more so than her looks. Aurora was objectively beautiful too, yet he never fell in love with her. Claiming Gaige was quirky would be an understatement. She was simply fun to be around, and made Matt laugh and crack jokes way more often than he perhaps should. Not to mention her intelligence. Gaige was incredibly intelligent, so Matt knew he could rely on her to get them out of sticky situations. Her tech smarts were a major help in Lima Base One, and she helped lead Sanctuary when Matt was thought dead – the first time.

He remembered when he helped her out with Deathtrap. Gaige had been so happy when her gyro-jets were replaced with superior Gemini-based aero-jets. Happy times. It made him wish he didn't have to leave. If he had stayed behind, their relationship wouldn't seem as distant now.

Gaige being kidnapped was a turning point for Matt.

He gained this bloodlust that he'd never experienced before – a drive to murder in the most painful way possible. Desperately, the Anomaly needed something to kill, so it was convenient when hundreds of faceless Gemini soldiers attempted to stop him.

However, bloodlust wasn't something particular to Matt, although killing was never difficult for him. Violent murder felt different though, like torture – which was something Matt honestly couldn't bring himself to ever really do.

'What was the Vault like for you?' Rhys asked him with slight drunkenness.

'Fighting the Dreamer was an experience like no other,' the Anomaly described. 'I remember the moment it dropped into the arena – it was darkness incarnate. I couldn't even distinguish its features: it was just a black moss with eyes. Somewhat, it was like all the shadows in the world had combined into one singular form. It sucked out all the light and left endless darkness – like the dark spots on ancient video footage. Those gold eyes were haunting, especially now that Amelia laid behind them. There was something so chilling about being stared at like that.

'And being inside that gigantic arena…it made me feel so small. I was more than just myself, I was part of something greater: the Infinite.' He shook his head to escape his reverie. 'Oh, I dunno. Maybe you had to be there. It's less thrilling when it's inactive.'

'Perhaps,' Rhys shrugged. 'It's a crazy world, we live in.'

'Truest thing I've heard all day,' Matt admitted. 'Nowadays, it's a struggle for some peace and serenity, and with a war on the horizon, I doubt that's ever going to change.'

'It's always busy for us. Not a dull moment, though.'

Matt laughed.

'It's a far cry from the bore of the Acropolis leisure hive. No wonder Amelia was always so anxious to leave. She always never knew what to do with herself, to be honest. Maybe she'll figure that out here.'

'People struggle to find purpose here. Not everyone wants to be a soldier, and while the Raiders offer lots of jobs, no one really knows what to do. Not even me.'

'Have you found purpose now?' He catechised interestedly.

'As a Vault Hunter, yeah,' Rhys answered. 'I may not be the most physical able, but it's more my words that I rely on. I like to be the negotiator.'

'Well, you negotiated this break we're having,' Matt concurred happily. 'I'm not overly physically able, either. Nor do I rely on my Chronokinesis to get myself out of sticky situations. Sometimes, simply speaking is best. Words are superior to guns; the pen is mightier than the sword.'

'Aren't you supposed to be the guy who can do anything?' Rhys asked him derogatorily. 'Like, perfect in every way?'

'No. To both questions,' he told him firmly, with another sip of his beer. 'Even if I could do anything, a jack of all trades is a master of none. And as for perfect – well, don't make me laugh. Gaige was kidnapped because of me, and also, I led the Vault Hunters into a trap to save her, I let them get captured and I left Sanctuary vulnerable to attack. There's also not forget it was my fault Amelia was shot in the head and killed. Perfect laughs in my face.'

'OK, but then why does Lilith drone on about how amazing you are?'

'Because she doesn't want everyone to forget me, maybe? Perhaps she adulated me so much because, in the end, everyone gets forgotten. Lilith is my Siren sister; it's all about family to her.'

'While they're idolising you, no one ever notices me!' Rhys suddenly yelled, making Springs jump. Matt opened his mouth to speak, but the Corporate stopped him. 'Lemme make this completely clear: I don't like you. I only tolerate you. I don't like you because I don't see what everyone else see in you – this amazing light, like you're the world's saviour.

'What's so anomalous about the Anomaly? You seem fairly ordinary in personality to me, yet everyone venerates you and looks up to you. You even got Fiona idolising you. Fiona! She doesn't idolise anyone! Yet she looks up to you as her ideal Vault Hunter. Maybe that's what's so strange about you – your ability to make everyone adore you! Well, it won't work on me!'

'Is everythin' alright over 'ere?' Janey inquired to them concernedly, worry forming in her eyes.

'Everything's fine, Janey,' Matt insured her with a smile, taking one last gulp of his beer. 'Rhys is just a bit…overactive from the beer. Thanks for asking, though.'

'Alright, if you say so. Just no fights, OK?' Springs necessitated politely.

'You got it,' he replied with another smile. Janey went back to cleaning the top of her bar desk. Eventually, Matt turned back to Rhys.

'What?' The Corporate derided. 'You gonna tell me to revere you like everyone else?'

'I don't ask people to do any of that,' he argued. 'It's not my fault if they do. And to be honest, I don't want to be idolised. All that does is set up some ridiculous reputation of me that I can't possibly uphold. And if…when I don't live up to that reputation? People get pissed. They're already pissed at me for "leaving", you think me not being as good as they've been told is going to help? I don't expect people to like me, either. Nor will I demand that you do. You have your opinion and that's fine. But if you're going to angry at me for what other people have done in my absence, then you're incredibly misguided.'

'You're telling me they didn't do it for a reason?' Rhys argued.

'Of course they did it for a reason. But that reason is not my fault. You don't blame the king for the faults of the court jester, now do you?'

'So, I'm a court jester, now?'

'No!' Matt exclaimed, sighing in pure frustration.

It was at that moment, Athena stepped into the Purple Skag, unbeknownst to her two trainees. She saw them talking, evidently in a heated discussion, going by their facial expressions. Briefly, Athena considered intervening, before deciding not to, since that would probably make the whole situation worse. She walked over to greet her wife, with a smile uncharacteristic to her personality, and leant against the bar top.

'How you doing? The training going alright?' Springs asked her thoughtfully.

'It's…an experience,' she supposed, shrugging slightly. 'They're great on their own merits, but they can't seem to work together.'

'I can see that,' Janey retorted. 'They've been at it for a while. First it was just small talk, then boom: it was a series of arguments and insults.'

'It's not my problem,' Athena claimed dubiously, folding her arms at them.

'They're your trainees – it is your problem!' Springs pointed out, folding her arms with equal intensity.

'I'm not here to hold their hands through whatever issues they might have,' the Gladiator countered.

'You said you wanted them to work together,' she disputed. Athena opened her mouth to argue, but sighed when she realised she had no counterargument.

'Fine,' she grumbled, straightening her posture off the desk and walking over to the two (still arguing) Vault Hunters. 'Alright rookies, break's over.'

'But it's only been fifteen minutes!' Rhys protested avidly. 'You said half an hour!'

'I lied,' Athena scathed disparagingly. 'Now get up. We need to sort out whatever problems you two have with each other.'

'That would be lovely,' Matt replied, shooting exasperated looks towards his fellow trainee. 'What are you having us doing?'

'I need you to work together,' the Gladiator ordered them dogmatically.

'Me? Work with him? No chance. I don't want to infringe on his reputation,' the Corporate objected immediately.

'For the last time: I don't want a "reputation"!' The Anomaly groaned.

'Both of you: shut it!' Athena roared at them, silencing them instantly. 'Follow me. I'm taking you somewhere you might learn to cooperate.'

Reluctantly, both of them stood up as Athena began to walk towards the door. Matt gave Springs a nod and a thanks for the drinks before leaving. Rhys stuck his hands in his pockets and sighed to himself while Athena led them out of the Purple Skag.

The city was quieter at night, both of them suddenly discerned.

They had spent hours training, and once they finished, they were both too exhausted to notice. Crickets chirped in the background from no discernible source, and shadows enveloped the brunt of the buildings into sinister colours.

Looking up, Matt could see the stars in the night sky sparkly brightly, not tainted by light pollution but almost completely swallowed up by an dense overgrowth of infinitely germinating abyss.

'Where are we going, Athena?' Rhys moaned.

'The Citadel,' she responded, causing him to stumble over his own feet.

'The Citadel?!' He exclaimed in disbelief. 'How come you're taking us there? Most of time we're not even allowed to go there!'

'What's the Citadel?' The Anomaly inquired bemusedly, shaking his head in confusion.

'The Citadel is the central tower in Karabraxis,' Athena told him. 'Generally, it's used by the Braxiatel Council to manage city operations.'

'Yeah, and it's built on top of an intact ancient burial ground, so it's also a religious centre,' the Corporate added quickly.

'Exactly,' the Gladiator responded with a smile.

'Wait, you mean that's where we're going?' Matt figured out instantly. 'To an ancient burial ground? How's that supposed to help with our teamwork?'

'You'll see.' Her smirk stretched from ear to ear.

Amelia stared at the Artefact as it sat on the scanner table, following the lines of Infinite energy coursing through it. It was staring right back at her, taunting her to reach closer to interact with it. Every so often, the energy would momentarily brighten, as if it were winking at her.

Matt wouldn't want her touch it. And Amelia was required to serve under the Anomaly. He didn't exercise that right often, but it was still a crutch.

But Matt never specified. So Amelia had free will about this. Probably. Maybe. It was so unclear to decide; unfortunately, it could just boil down to a technicality – and Eridians loved technicalities.

Being tied to someone else's soul wasn't comfortable or inviting.

However, Amelia knew the Artefact could have its uses, despite the risks. The potential result nulled the jeopardies anyway.

Which is why, when the Artefact stared at her, Amelia stared back.

Maybe I can use it to –

'You alright?' Someone asked her. Instinctively, the woman spun around to see Gaige standing by the doorway.

'Yeah, yeah, I'm…I'm peachy,' she stuttered wearily.

'Me too,' Gaige responded with equal cynicism. 'Me too.' She folded her arms and sat down on the chair beside her with a loud, exasperated sigh.

'What is it?' Amelia asked her concernedly.

'Nothing. It's…nothing.'

'It's about Matt, isn't it?' She surmised with a furrowed brow. Gaige looked up at her in surprise and, upon a squinting, oddly misplaced shame.

'How'd you know?' The Mechromancer inquired shamefully.

'You and me both,' Amelia admitted. 'Going through a rough patch, huh?' Gaige didn't respond, but instantly nodded slightly with a hung head. After a few seconds, the Vault Hunter finally opened her mouth to reply.

'I was so happy when he came back, and I still am,' she insisted, although whether that was to herself or to her, Amelia didn't know. 'But I can't hide the way I feel. I love him, but I'm not sure if I do as much as I used to. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but I can't help but feel cut off from him – like we're not as connected as we used to be. He doesn't make me feel so…excited like he used to. Maybe that's just me.'

'Ironic,' Amelia somewhat sniggered.

'How do you mean?'

'While you want to feel connected with Matt again, I can't get free of him,' she replied, before holding up her hand to stop Gaige from asking what she meant. 'I have a connection with Matt that I can't break. When he gave me a body, out of his own DNA, he had to use some complex Infinite science to do it. Long story short, I'm bound to him in an unbreakable covenant. As long as he lives, I live. So I have to do what he says. I've avoided telling him what the Enlightener did in the Vault, but as soon as he gets back, he's going to want to know. And there's nothing I can do about it.'

'You want to be independent from him?' Gaige simplified.

'Yes. But I don't know how.' The Mechromancer looked sympathetic, but Amelia waved at her dismissively. 'I dunno. Maybe it's not so bad. But you – your problems with Matt are more plausibly amendable.'

'How?' The Vault Hunter inquired, intrigued. Amelia gave a nostalgic smile.

'Just ask him about the drawing.'

'What drawing?'

Amelia only responded with a snigger.

'Wait and see.'

The Citadel towered over Matt with immense magnificence, stretching up at least a mile and disappearing into the dark night sky.

Most of it was constructed from dark reflective metal, with series of glass sheeted windows on each side of the hexagonal building. Many of the metal panels were placed in layers, many of which were noticeable, since the top layers didn't completely cover the lower ones. It looked considerably less boring than it would if it were flat.

Furthermore, the scale of the building was accentuated by the various statues standing evenly on ledges of stone jutting out from the central building, all at various heights. Upon closer inspection, Matt could see they were evenly placed, and were designed to look like angels.

Athena approached the guard at the door, who prompted her to place her finger on the fingerprint sensor. It scanned her, before a brain scan was performed in under a microsecond. Eventually, a green light flashed on the system interface, and the old, maroon door slid open automatically.

As all three of them entered, they were greeted by a large room with a marble floor and old-fashioned tail flags hanging vertically with the Vault symbol emblazoned on them in gold.

'Athena, you know you're not allowed up to the Council Room, so please stop asking,' the man standing at the reception told her pointedly.

'I'm not here for that,' she told him. 'I have authorisation to access Sub-Level Fifteen.'

'But that's the burial ground excavation site!' he recognised. 'Why would you want to go to there?'

'For a…unique…method of training,' the Gladiator responded dubiously. He looked at her perplexedly, but Athena ignored the prompt for elaboration and instead showed him her security credentials. Reluctantly, the receptionist nodded and pressed a few buttons on the control panel below him.

There was a ding and the elevator to their right authorised them to use it. As they approached it, the doors slid open to reveal an ornate elevator compartment, with a marbled floor and a faux-wood frame. Athena hastily pressed a button that had "-15" imprinted on a glass button. It lit up white when she pressed it. The doors closed.

Matt watched patiently as the red digital text above the doors slowly decreased by one, until it finally reached Sub-Level Fifteen.

Athena stepped forward out of the elevator and put her hand on a handprint scanner on a metal wall in a small compartment that was obstructing their view of the burial ground. The door slid open to reveal Sub-Level Fifteen in its entirety.

All three of them stepped out into the excavation site. The walls and ceiling was comprised of stone, live a cave system, but was held up by Pobranium-Titanium Carbide scaffolding and supports. It was a small tunnel, which tapered inwards towards the burial site itself.

Forming a small path to follow, the main path was sparsely lit with small lamps. Eventually, they converged to illuminated a large bricked structure of old stone. The entranced looked like it was made by default, rather than intentionally. It was merely a gap between the large stone slabs.

'I don't understand, Athena,' Rhys complained, investigating every detail of the cave. 'Why are we–'

He was interrupted by the sound of metal slamming together and locking. Both of them spun around to see the door they had come through was shut tight, with Athena nowhere in sight. Matt went over to the door and banged on it to catch her attention.

'What the hell, Athena?!' He demanded. 'How are we supposed to get out?'

'There's another exit at another end of the tomb,' the Gladiator informed them, muffled through the metal.

'We don't know how big this tomb is!' Rhys argued. 'We could be here for hours trying to find a way out!'

'Exactly. You two need to learn how to work together,' she insisted.

'Don't you think this is a little extreme?!' The Anomaly protested.

'Yes,' the Vault Hunter answered bluntly. 'See you on the other side.'

'Athena!' Rhys yelled, only to be met with silence. He turned around, leant on the door, and sighed emphatically with crossed arms. Reluctantly, he turned to his fellow Vault Hunter. 'So what do we do now?'

'Only one option,' the Anomaly replied, giving him a knowing look. Rhys immediately knew what he meant.

'No. Definitely not. We are not going through there! It's old, and winding, and full of cobwebs and spiders –'

'Got any other ideas?' Matt cut him off tauntingly. Rhys failed to provide a response. He walked towards the entrance, and prudently stepped onto the smooth stone. After impatiently fidgeting, the Corporate gave in and followed after him.

'Have you got a flashlight?' He inquired, trying to see through the darkness. The chasm was only lit by the odd torch here and there. Matt paused and fumbled through his pockets, before finding one and activating it, revealing the path. 'Of course you do.'

'So…it's nice that Athena switched sides,' Matt addressed awkwardly.

'Uh, yeah, well it wasn't easy,' he replied reluctantly. 'Lilith was incredibly disliking of her since she used to be part of the Crimson Lance, however once she proved herself, she accepted her. They even became friends.'

'Yeah, I heard that she funded her wedding,' Matt commented absentmindedly.

'Athena didn't want her to, but Lilith insisted.'

An awkward silence ensued between once again, filling the void of the dark tomb they were wandering through. Matt stared at the walls, trying to figure out exactly where they were going.

'So how'd you end up in Sanctuary?' The Anomaly asked curiously.

'Long story, but Fiona and I entered a Vault – the Vault of the Traveller. We touched this chest thing and we were teleported to another Vault. It was like an arena or something, surrounded by a void of Infinite energy.'

Matt nearly choked on the air.

'You mean the Vault of the Dreamer?!'

'I think so, yeah. What of it?' Rhys wondered bemusedly.

'The Vault of the Dreamer disappeared completely into the Infinite after all the Vault Hunters left. It only reappeared because I came back. It shouldn't have come back any sooner.'

'I guess the Vault of the Traveller must've brought it back. I mean, it disappeared once we left.'

A great deal of relief washed over Matt once he heard that.

'Good.'

'Why's it so important?'

'Prolonged exposure to foreign matter causes Infinite energy to dissipate into the dimension it comes from. There's a chance it will react with the Dark energy that permeates said dimension. And Infinite energy and Dark energy do not mix.'

'Shouldn't you have thought about that before you brought the Vault back into this dimension?' The Corporate criticised.

'I did,' Matt ensured him. 'Amelia and I would absorb the Infinite energy instantly upon entering, and the rest would be non-volatile energy sealed inside the Vault. Now, most of my efforts were pointless.'

'It's not my fault!' He argued rightfully.

'I know,' Matt sighed. 'Sometimes I wish I hadn't gone into the Infinite. Then other times, I'm glad I did.'

'Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?' The Corporate derided him coldly.

'No,' he admitted. 'Do you ever feel like everything you've done up to this point is worthless?' Rhys sighed depressively.

'Yes,' the Vault Hunter confessed. 'I've spent four years trying to build up a better reputation for myself. Many can't see past the fact that I'm ex-Hyperion. I get a lot of shit for it. Even after I've saved Raiders' lives several times, aided them on missions, helped take down Hyperion and stopped several of their schemes, most of them still don't trust me.'

'That's some bullshit.'

'Tell me about it!' He paused. Was he actually having a friendly conversation with Matt?! 'It's not like you would know about bad reputation, anyway.'

'Actually I do,' the Anomaly contradicted. 'My parents disowned me after my sister died, so you can figure out their opinion of me. But more pressingly, most of the governments on Darios took a distrustful disliking towards Gemini. They, accurately, claimed they were "scheming corporate thieves" – not that I listened to them at the time. So when they found out I joined the corporation, pretty much everyone began to hate me. I proved I hadn't changed, but Darosians are very stubborn…' He frowned. '…Were.'

'I still can't believe they disowned you.'

'Grief can drive people to do the worst of things. That includes banishing your son who had to watch his sister be murdered right in front of him and was ridden with PTSD.'

'But when you put it that way…'

'Well, of course I'm still mad at my mother, but Gaige was right. I don't forgive her actions, I just accept her place with the Raiders.'

'What about your dad?'

'I don't want to see him. At least Deborah had the decency to come looking for me to apologise. Nicholas is far too austere to do that.'

Rhys was about to respond, but he felt his foot descend into the ground and lock into place. He froze in fear. Matt spun around, having heard the sound of air escaping from locks.

'I think I just stepped on a pressure plate…' the Corporate recognised nervously, his eyes widened in fear. Matt inspected it carefully under the white light. He observed that the tiles around the pressure plate were loose. They shook when pressed in on them.

'Hmm…' He mumbled, tapping the plate.

'What is it?' Rhys asked nervously but coherently, trying to sound calm. He wasn't very good at it.

'When I knock it, it makes a different noise than the others.' He knocked on another nearby plate to show the difference.

'Well this place is old.'

'Yeah, except when you realise that it's also pressure plate, it's clearly for a major reason,' Matt surmised.

'Meaning…?'

'Don't panic, but I think that this tile is supposed to slide away when you lift off your foot, probably leading to a long fall.'

'A fall?!' The Corporate panicked.

'Try to breathe a bit. Don't worry, I can get you out of it.'

'Can't you use your powers?'

'I tried,' the Anomaly confessed, showing him his hand. He activated his Chronokinesis, except only black lightning crackled from it. 'I'm not producing red Infinite energy. That's the end of the Infinity Spectrum that allows me to control the timestream. This black energy is meant to give me a performance boost, except right now it's doing nothing since I'm not using it for anything.'

'How come you can't use your powers?' The Corporate enquired confusedly.

'Dunno, but I'd hazard a guess it's something to do with this burial ground,' he presumed. 'It's disrupting my connection to the Infinite.'

'So for now I'm relying on your technical expertise?' Rhys surmised.

'Well, I wouldn't call it "expertise", but yes.'

'That doesn't make me feel better.'

'Hmm…' the Vault Hunter thought aloud, 'the best thing I can do is delay the cog wheel so it sets a tenth of a second slower than usual. That should give you enough time, otherwise the panel would sense your shift in weight distribution before you can even jump.'

'Are you sure about this?'

'No.'

'Great.'

'Look, when I call, I need you to jump out of the way,' Matt ordered him. 'Alright?'

'Alright.'

The Anomaly charged his Chronokinesis, summoning his black lightning from his fingertips. He directed it carefully through the cogs and gears he had uncovered, it moved through and interacted with the cogs.

'N-' He began, but he was interrupted.

There was a rush of air escaping the cogs, and Matt saw the cogs absorb the energy. Abruptly, the panel slid away, before Rhys could move even a millimetre, and he fell.

The Anomaly, completely shocked, moved as quickly as he could, summoning as much power as possible. He grew more relieved as time slowed around him, albeit not by much. Immediately, he grabbed Rhys, a fraction of a second before he fell out of reach, and pulled him out and onto safer ground.

Both of them lay on the floor, breathing vociferous sighs of relief.

'What the hell?!' Rhys demanded irreverently. 'You said I'd have enough time to get out the way!'

'I know what I said,' Matt replied annoyedly, sighing to himself again more pointedly. 'I-I don't know what happened. It was like it…' Standing back up, his face fell to a much more serious expression.

'Like it what?' The Corporate prompted.

'It recognised Infinite energy,' the Anomaly realised. 'And there's only one known species that developed technology that could harness energy from the Infinite. Eridians.' Rhys's eyes widened.

You know, making Matt famous was… ahem, not the greatest idea. Sorry if it's a bit cringe when everyone meets him, but I'm trying to use this to show how everything has changed and Matt doesn't fit in so well.

For lack of a better word, he's an anomaly. Just in a different way.

Anyway, I'm trying to post more of these, once it catches up to my most recent chapter I wrote. Then, I'll try to get on from there. There's so many ideas I have for this story, I really don't wanna end up never writing them.

That non-canon one-shot will come sometime after the next chapter. It'll be a separate fic. Just a bit of fun.