In the weeks following his arrival on Pandora, Mason wasted little time in making his presence known to the bandits, raiders and psychopaths of the planet.
After explaining what he could on Pandora to VEGA, being sure make it sound like he had visited the place long ago before awakening on Mars, he managed to help the AI hack into the Echonet and collect every scrap of relevant data they would need. And thanks to the Praetor suit's massive data storage, a large codex had been compiled in only a couple of days.
The Doomslayer had also mentioned the Eridians and their Vaults which prompted VEGA to also seek out data on the ancient alien race as well.
From the information compiled, Mason had learned that it had been over a year since the Vault had been opened and Hyperion had set roots on Pandora. Handsome Jack starting his campaign to wipe out everyone while searching for the Vault of the Warrior. Something he wasn't intending on letting happen.
The first couple of days were disorienting, given that a single day on Pandora was 90 hours. But once things finally settled for the Doomslayer he started making plans.
He had already established that the ammunition provided fit his current firearms, aside from his pistol given that the ammo was unlimited. But his energy weapons were another matter entirely. VEGA was in the process of finding a way to convert the limitless energy of the Crucible to replenish the guns, but it was a delicate process since the raw argent energy could damage or destroy the weapons if done incorrectly.
Regardless, his ballistic guns were more than enough to handle the dregs of Pandora for the time being.
It wasn't hard to gather resources such as food and medical supplies. Killing the local bandit groups bore a decent amount, and if it wasn't enough there were plenty of settlements that offered bounties for various jobs that needed to be done. And seeing a large man in power armor with an arsenal of powerful guns was a wanted commodity given the current state of things.
Compared to fighting demons, this was pretty much a vacation for him.
He was currently on one such bounties. A small town was having trouble with a bandit clan passing through the area and had asked for help. Needing the funds and willing to deal with the murdering psychopaths at the same time, Mason took it without question.
"Crush your skull on my tum tum!" A Goliath bellowed, firing a pair of assault rifles at his target before a stray round knocked off the bucket off his head. Bellowing in fury and tossing the weapons aside, the large bandit's skull and spinal column burst out of the hole where its neck was like a snake while his skin turned red and bulked up.
"So ANGRY!" The Goliath charged like a raging bull, swinging a large fist that was caught in and armored one. Even his abominable strength following his transformation, couldn't stand up to Mason's supernatural prowess.
The Doomslayer planted his right foot hard into the Goliath's large stomach before grabbing his extended spine with his free hand. A sharp pull had both column and skull ripping from the raging bandit had him toppling over like a puppet with cut strings, his life ending almost instantly.
Dropping the severed spine, Mason charged across the encampment and clothes lined a Marauder that was struggling to reload. Grabbing his leg on the way down and breaking it like a stick before twisting it around and crushing his head with his own foot.
A psycho jumped down from a rusted out shack, but his deranged screaming caught the Doomslayer's attention as he spun around and caught him by the throat in midair. In the next moment the psycho was brought down hard across Mason's armored knee with a sickening crunch, his body almost bent completely in half from the force.
Summoning his combat shotgun to his hands, Mason fired an explosive round through the open doorway of another shack. The explosion that followed sent blood and body parts flying out the windows when those inside had nowhere to go to escape in time.
Popping the modded barrel off and switching it with another, he charged the weapon fired a three-shot burst into a Brute that came out of cover. His body exploding in a shower of shredded meat and gore that painted the wall behind him and the ground below him.
With that final kill, nothing remained. The dismembered, shredded and crushed remains of over three dozen bandits laid scattered all over the derelict mining outpost. Doing one final sweep, the Doomslayer lowered his shotgun before beginning the task of looting the bodies for anything of value in them.
"Another successful bounty, Doomslayer." said VEGA.
"And these bastards won't be raiding the town anymore." Mason replied as he stuffed a wade of cash into one of the pouches on his belt and digitizing a couple of guns that would fetch a good price.
In one of the shacks he found a large chest in the corner. Trying the keypad he found it locked, but that did little to stop the Doomslayer as he slammed his fist into it before grabbing the edge and ripping the lid off.
Inside he found more guns, money and a few baubles that the bandits more than likely valued. Mason grabbed the money and a few of the guns when he found something else buried at the bottom of the chest. A large revolver with a long barrel that was colored dark grey with red and yellow forming a flame pattern at the back above the grip around the hammer. The word 'Explosive' written in yellow and cursive along the barrel.
A Torgue magnum, and judging from the weight in his hand it was a powerful one.
Finding it fully loaded, Mason stepped out of the shack and too aim at a cluster of barrels on the other side of the encampment. The trigger pulled smoothly, his strength handling the kickback when the weapon bucked in his hand, the round flying straight toward its intended target.
The bullet impacted a barrel, a small explosion blowing a hole through it and sending it flipping backwards from the force.
Lowering the magnum, Mason gave it another once over before grinning beneath his helmet. "I think I just got myself a new sidearm." he said before sending his new gun to the Praetor suit's storage. As much as his energy pistol had saved him back on Mars, extra firepower was always welcome.
Once finished, the Doomslayer left the encampment where his technical was waiting. The same one he had gotten on his first day here, which had since gotten a few upgrades which included heavier armor plating along the frame and a spiked ramming bar on the front bumper.
Climbing into the driverseat, he drove the handful of miles back to the settlement. His arrival drawing the attention of those who lived there. When he first arrived a day ago the place was in the middle of being raided and he wasted little time in wiping out the bandits attacking. After that the people were terrified of him, not surprising since a large being in power armor killed a dozen armed thugs like he was ordering a pizza and was painted in their blood.
After a fair bit of awkwardness and hesitation, Mason had managed to speak with the towns leader where he had been asked if he would help them with their bandit problem. Which the Doomslayer agreed to without hesitation.
Several people gave him waves and nods while others gave him space as he walked by toward where the town leader was set up. Pounding on the wall beside the door, a middle aged man in dirty overalls and a white shirt appeared in the doorway, blinking in surprise when he looked up at the Doomslayer.
"Y-Your back already?" he asked in surprise.
Mason nodded, "The raiders are all dead. You shouldn't be having any trouble from here on out." he immediately saw several people perk up when they heard of the bandit camp being dealt with.
A wide smile stretched across the leader's haggard face. "Thank you! Thank you so much! You have no idea how much you've helped us."
"It's no problem. I'm used to this kind of thing." Mason replied.
The man disappeared into his home and came back out with a rusted lockbox. Opening it to reveal a decent sized wad of money inside. "It's not much, the raiders took a lot from us. But everyone pitched in to offer something." he said while holding out the reward.
Looking at the money for a moment, the Doomslayer reached out...
And closed the lid. Confusing everyone who was watching. "This one's on the house. Use that to get your people back on their feet." he said before turning around and heading back toward his vehicle.
"W-Wait!" he paused and looked back over his shoulder to see the leader, the people of the small town gathered near him. "Who are you? We never got your name."
Mason smirked behind his visor. "Doomslayer." he said deeply before getting back in his vehicle and driving off toward the horizon. Leaving the people of the settlement looking after him in wonder and awe.
X
Some time later, the sun had started to dip low in the sky and Pandora's moon, Elpis, was making its rise in its place.
Mason had parked the technical at the mouth of a small cave and was inside in front of a fire he had made with the leg of a skag he had killed minutes prior cooking over the flames.
If he was honest, the meat didn't taste that bad. A bit tough and lean, but it was pretty good and hit the spot on an empty stomach.
Removing his helmet and setting it beside him, Mason ran a hand over his head. A light dusting of stubble on his scalp as he picked up an Echo device he had gotten a while back. His red eyes focused on the screen as he went through the various settings until he settled on a radio channel that played in the background, filling the silence.
He followed the same ritual almost every night. Listening to the radio waves and broadcast signals going on throughout Pandora. VEGA using his influence to boost the signals so things came in more clearly. Picking up still functioning music stations, but also transmissions coming from Hyperion forces.
So far, the Doomslayer had kept as off the radar as possible. Even though he could take out anything Handsome Jack could throw at him, he didn't want to be on the madman's radar unless it couldn't be helped. Though part of him would have loved nothing more than to walk into every single Hyperion outpost across the planet and kill everyone inside.
At the moment, Mason had a several huge advantages. He knew where the Vault of the Warrior was. He knew Handsome Jack's endgame. And he knew who Angel was and where she was being kept.
But the biggest advantage he had, aside from his strength, armor and weaponry, was time. There was still a couple of years before the events of the second game's storyline, and he had the chance to do some serious damage to Hyperion and their operations. But he needed to plan things very carefully.
The Doomslayer pulled his now fully cooked skag leg off the fire and took a bite out of it when the music suddenly stopped and another Hyperion broadcast began playing.
"Hey everybody out there on the big suck that is Pandora, Handsome Jack here. Just letting you all know that another day has past and another day of killing all the bloodthirsty savages out there. But more importantly, another day of you all wishing you were me right now."
"For those that haven't been found yet, don't worry. I'll kill ya all soon enough. And to the Crimson Raiders, good luck with your so called 'Resistance'. Because soon enough, none of that is going to matter when you're all burning in a mass grave in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere."
"So keep that in mind, and keep tuning in as Hyperion lays waste to your homes and families. Till next time kiddos!"
Mason shook his head as he tossed the cleaned skag bone aside. "Asshole must really get off hearing himself talk." he muttered out loud as he took out a canteen and took a drink of water.
Just as he was reaching for another helping, his vision suddenly became overshadowed by a white fog. Tensing in alarm, he saw a face appear. Slightly distorted like static.
"Hel...lo? Can y...ou he...r me?" a young woman's voice came through broken up before everything went back into focus. Several seconds passing as Mason tried to understand what had just happened.
"Doomslayer!" VEGA spoke through the speakers of his helmet. "Something just attempted to access the Praetor suit from an outside source! I managed to repel it, but it seemed like whatever it was was attempting to leave a message."
Before Mason could ask about it, a burst of static came from his Echo before the same voice he had heard came through the speakers much more clearly;
"Can you hear me? Please, answer."
Picking up the device, the Doomslayer was greeted with the sight of a young woman with long black hair with the right side of her head shaved. Her piercing blue eyes looking back at him.
"Thank god. I didn't think I would be able to reach you." said the woman.
"Who are you?" asked Mason, though he already knew the answer.
"I am Angel. I don't have much time to explain, but I have been watching you for some time now, enough to know that you're the only one that can help save the life of someone important to Pandora's survival." said Angel with desperation hinted in her tone.
The Doomslayer narrowed his eyes, "You have my attention."
"No doubt you've seen what Handsome Jack and Hyperion are doing to Pandora. The Crimson Raiders, the resistance made by former Vault hunters, is doing the best it can with what they have." Angel started explaining, "But one of their key members are in danger. Hyperion has discovered where she is and plan to overwhelm and capture her. Believe me, death would be preferable to what Jack has in store for her."
The news was anything but good. If one of the main members of the Crimson Raiders was in danger, then things would only go from bad to worst if something happened to them. "Where is this ambush taking place." he asked, already standing and gathering his equipment.
"There is a rundown old bar at the edge of the Dust called 'Lucky's Watering Hole'. That is where she is. You must hurry, there isn't much time." with that said, Angel vanished into the digital ethear.
"I have finished reviewing our map data and have marked the location on your HUD." VEGA reported as a nav point appeared on his visor when he snapped his helmet back on. "Though I suggest using caution, there is no telling what could be waiting for us upon arrival."
Mason jumped into the technical and started it up, "I'll worry about that when we get there." he floored the accelerator and gunned it across the desert in the direction of his new objective.
His earlier plan was now out the window. It's time for Hyperion to see what they were up against.
X
Lilith once again found herself cursing her situation.
Ever since the fall of New Haven over a year ago Jack had been gunning for her and the others. More so after her after what had happened on Elpis.
The battle at New Haven almost took them all out, when Jack's attack dog Wilhelm made an appearance things looked grim. It took the red-head Siren using a great deal of her power just to make it so that the they could all escape.
Since then they had been at war with Hyperion, Roland spearheading the resistance comprised of the former Crimson Lance and whatever bandit and raider groups willing to work with them to stop Handsome Jack.
Brick and Mordecai both split off, helping the war effort in their own way while reporting back to Roland at their HQ in Sanctuary. As for Lilith herself, Hyperion believed she was dead after New Haven and used that to her advantage.
But it seemed that whatever luck she had finally ran out as she was hunkered down in the old abandoned bar at the edge of the dust as a seemingly endless torrent of bullets that tore through the building just above her head. A hand pressed to her right side with blood seeping between her fingers, a stray bullet having caught her before her shields could recharge.
Wounded with no ammo, Anshin hypos or Eridium to help recharge her powers, and an untold number of Hyperion Combat Loaders surrounding her on all sides, things were far from good.
"Fuck it." Lilith hissed through clenched teeth. These mechanical bastards may have caught her by surprise, but she wasn't going out without a fight. Picking up her corrosive Maliwan SMG in her left hand, she waited for a pause in the lead storm around her before standing. Using the bar for support as she fired the glowing-green rounds out through the open window. The acid-laced bullets eating away at the yellow armor of the robots outside.
"Breach Perimeter." said a Badass-Loader as several EXP-loaders came charging out of their ranks toward the building.
The Siren cursed and dove to the other side of the bar as the kamikaze bots all detonated at once. Blowing a massive hole in the wall and creating an opening for the rest of the loaders to march through.
Laying under a pile of debris, Lilith groaned and tried to sit up as she was surrounded. "Initiate Capture Procedures." a loader said as two approached the wounded Siren with electricity sparking from their hands.
The red head raised her tattooed covered arm and flipped them the bird in response. "Fuck you scrap asses-"
Several loud explosions came from outside, causing all of the loaders to look back to the large hole in the wall they came through. More explosions, gunfire and screeching sound of metal tearing followed which continued for over a minute before silence reigned.
Red optics remained on the opening as a combat loader came crawling through using only one arm. Its other arm and its lower half missing with sparking wires dangling.
"E-E-Enemy C-Com-bata-" its choppy speech was silenced when a massive metal boot came down hard, crushing the rest of the machine like it was cheap aluminum. The boot being connected to a nearly seven-foot tall man in green power armor reloading a double barrel shotgun in his hands.
He looked at all the loaders through his visor in silent contemplation. Taking into account of the wounded woman on the floor who was looking back in surprise at his arrival.
"So...whose going to the scrap heap first?" he asked while snapping the weapon closed.
X
A/N: An Angel makes contact with the slayer of demons, and he answers the call of a Siren.
Short chapter, but with what's coming a small introduction to certain things will lead into badassery on another level. Keep reading and reviewing and I'll have the next update up before you know it.