A/N: It has been far too long since this story has gotten attention. And with that in mind, it's time to bring it back from the edge and into the limelight once again. And with what I got planned, along with a shitload of lore to work with, I intend on taking this story to new places that will see the Borderland-verse and the Doom-verse merging into one hell of a ride!
X
The following morning, the couple managed to wake up before Tina did. Quickly taking showers and getting dressed, they headed out into the living room where the little girl was just barely getting up.
Deciding to have breakfast at Moxxi's, the trio left the apartment and made their way to the bar.
Along the way, Tina noticed that Lilith was limping a little. "Are you okay, Lilith? You're limping." she pointed out to the older woman.
The siren paused, almost stumbled had Mason not caught her, and tried to hide her blush. "My legs are still asleep after sitting on the floor so long yesterday Tina. Don't worry, I'm okay." She managed to lie smoothly. The little girl gave a nod and continued to skip along beside them, and Lilith breathed a sigh of relief at the young girl's naivety. The last thing she needed to know about was what she and her pseudo-dad had been up to the night before.
Entering Moxxi's, Mason and Tina went to get a table while Lilith went to the bar to place their orders. "Mornin', Lils. The usual for the three of you?" asked Moxxi when she had seen them walk in.
"Yeah, thanks Mox." replied the siren. The barmaid gave her a critical look for a moment before a wide grin appeared on her painted face.
"Well, well. Looks like you and the big guy had some fun." Moxxi said bluntly. Lilith went to deny it, but she was cut off before she could. "You came in limping, and you're practically glowing. Not to mention the obvious 'I just got laid' look in your eyes. So, sugah. You gonna give me details?"
Knowing that there would be no point in lying at this point, Lilith sighed before smirking at the other woman. "You could say we had a bit of fun." she admitted.
Moxxi leaned on the bar, all her attention on the siren. "Sooo…"
"I'm pretty sure he ruined me for other guys." said the red-head, causing the other woman's eyes to widen.
"He ruined...Sugah you better be giving me a lot more than that!" the barmaid all but demanded, wanting to know every juicy detail.
"It was a spur of the moment thing. And we couldn't be too loud since Tina was asleep in the living room down the hall, but damn, there was no comparing him to anyone else." the siren recounted, blushing a little as she recalled every second she and Mason shared the night before.
Moxxi's grin widened, "Sounds like he really stoked your flames, sugah. Is he packing more than just in his arsenal?"
Lilith smirked knowingly, "Lets just say that big cannon of his is no longer called the Big Fucking Gun."
The barmaid put a hand over her mouth, "How big are we talking?" the siren leaned over the counter and whispered in her ear. Moxxi blinked and unconsciously rubbed her legs together at the mere thought of what she had been told. "Sounds like you hit the jackpot, Lils. Any chance you're willing to share?"
"Not a chance, Mox. The big guy is all mine." said the red-head.
"We talking about him, or his BFG?" Moxxi asked coyly.
"Both."
X
A couple hours later saw Mason, Lilith and Tina meeting with the others at the Raiders' HQ. Gathered around the holo-table in the war room as the slayer and Mordecai gave a debrief on their mission.
"Surprised you guys didn't toss Claptrap off a cliff." said Lilith once they were finished.
"The thought crossed my mind. All Mordecai had to say was PULL." said Mason, Tina giggling from her spot on the table beside him.
The hunter paused mid-drink, "Wait...that was an option?!" he asked incredulously.
Roland sighed, "As annoying as Claptrap can be, we need him if we are to have any hope of getting into that bunker. Where is he now?"
"Little bastard claimed the small junkyard near Zed's place. I think at least two people have already taken pot shots at him." said Mordecai. "What's our next plan?"
VEGA's symbol appeared above the table, "I believe I can answer that. Even though the CL4P-TP unit is in our possession, he does not possess the necessary updated programs currently running in most Hyperion encrypted units. Without them, he will not be able to pass through the barrier. We will need to acquire the upgrades needed to ensure his safe passage."
"Any idea where we can find the upgrades, VEGA?" asked Roland.
A holographic image of a facility appeared before them with a red marker on the map of Pandora. "I have located a factory out in the Dust used to mass produce Loader Bots for Hyperion's army. It is through here that they are programmed with the necessary updates to their systems to work with the company's security measures. It is where we can get the CL4P-TP unit the upgrades." explained the AI.
"The place will be heavily guarded if it's where loader bots are being mass produced," said Mason as they all looked over the map.
"Tearing down another one of Jack's playgrounds? Count me in!" exclaimed Brick. "I say we go in, get what we need and blow the place up!"
Roland paced along the holo-table, "No matter how we play this, we need to get Claptrap those upgrades. And dealing a blow to Jack's bot production would help in the long run too. We're going to need to come up with a plan to-
He was cut off when a disheveled Tannis stumbled into the room. Clothes and hair a mess with dark circles under her eyes and a smell wafting off her telling everyone she hadn't bathed in a while.
"Tannis? Christ, hadn't seen you in a couple weeks. You okay?" asked Mordecai.
The scientist grinned with a crazed, even for her, look in her eyes. "Okay? Okay?! I'm more than okay you drunk simpleton! I've made my biggest discovery to date!" She shot her gaze to Mason, "And it's all thanks to you!"
The slayer blinked and glanced at Lilith, "Uh...okay?"
Tannis scurried up to the table, everyone taking a step or two back either from her smell or the fact she looked more unstable than normal it was hard to tell, as she laid several echos out on the surface. "Ever since our demon-killing friend's arrival, I've been pouring over all of the notes I've collected. And several I acquired from dead colleagues. And I think I've discovered a connection between the Eridian's and the Slayer."
She began to bring up dozens of files and displayed them over the table. Each one of them showing translations from Eridian texts and various murals that looked ancient. "After combing over the translation algorithms I've compiled over the years spent on this psychotic rock, I've managed to decipher a legend similar to the one Mason had revealed to us when he first arrived in Sanctuary."
The others looked to one another before going back to the scientist. "What did you find?" asked Roland.
"Many of the texts discovered pertaining to this were damaged, either by time or blood-soaked imbeciles. But I was able to compile enough to get a rough draft." Tannis began to explain. "Eons ago, Pandora had come under attack by savage beasts beyond any world ever touched by the Eridians. They spread quickly, consuming everything. Not even the Eridian's and their mystical abilities could stop them"
"When all seemed lost, a warrior of untold power appeared. Who showed brutality greater than the beasts themselves, slaughtering everything that crossed his path. Staining the planet red with their blood as he tore them apart with bare hands and an iron will."
"Once it was over, the Eridians were left in awe of the warrior. Grateful for his strength, but fearful of his seemingly endless rage for the monsters he had slain. And as quickly as he had come, he had vanished. Leaving behind a tale that had been told for the many cycles to follow."
When she was finished, she looked at everyone with an aura of smugness. "How can you be sure this is connected to Mason?" asked Lilith.
Tannis picked up a different echo and displayed an image for them to see. One of a stone tablet that showed a lone man in damaged armor standing on a pile of bodies with a familiar sword clenched in his hand. Behind him six figures could be seen hovering in the air, clearly women with angel-like wings and an Eridian vault symbol imprinted at the top with the sigil for the Night Sentinels below it.
Mason's red eyes were firmly locked onto the image. Recognizing not only the Crucible for what it was, but a couple of the dead bodies the one the tablet showed was standing on. All of them being demons that he had killed before.
A sharp pain in the side of his head, had him wincing. Reaching up and holding his temple as images began to flash through his mind;
A blood soaked battlefield stretched out before him. An Imp's head and attached spinal cord in one hand with his sword in the other. Throwing the severed head into a Cacodemon's mouth before cleaving it in half down the middle.
With a warcry, he charged into the horde. Hacking and slashing everything in his way. A scream drew his attention to a woman with ethereal light covering her body and wings being pinned down by a Hellknight that prepared to crush her with its fists.
In an instant he was behind the demon and slashed upward, slicing the beast in half from behind and saving the woman who looked up at him in awe-
"MASON!"
The slayer snapped back to reality to see everyone looking at him, "Sorry...I think I had another flashback." he said, causing Lilith and Tina to look concerned.
"Another?" Roland repeated, "How often has this happened?"
"Honestly...since I woke up from the damn sarcophagus. It happens every so often, but they've gotten more frequent as of late." Mason rubbed the side of his head, "More painful too."
Tannis clapped her hands, "Our slayer-friend's debilitating head pains aside. There is more." she motioned to the tablet, "The women depicted in this image are clearly sirens given their appearance, but the carbon date of the tablet is in the rough estimate of tens of thousands of years ago. Which places its creation within the first few generations of sirens, perhaps even the first sirens ever to appear."
"You sayin' Mason was here when the first siren's appeared?" asked Mordecai.
"It is possible," said VEGA, reminding everyone that he was still there. "From the data compiled by the UAC, it was rumored that the slayer had the unique ability to pass through the divide between worlds. Hunting Hell's demonic hordes no matter where they appeared. Given this information, coupled with Dr. Tannis' own discoveries, it is highly likely that Mason had once been here on Pandora in his crusade against Hell."
Mason rubbed the side of his head again, feeling another ache coming on. "I don't...remember. It's all kind of a jumbled blur."
"You were locked away for an untold amount of time. Chances are that messed with your memory." offered Lilith. "Not to mention whatever those demon bastards did to the box they put you in."
"I agree with Lilith's assessment." the AI agreed. "Early scans of the sarcophagus revealed an unknown energy signature. Not Argent. But something far more dense that caused several malfunctions to the equipment."
That caused some concern. The slayer wondered if the weird energy was caused from him being brought over from his world. But that still didn't explain what was going on with his head.
"What else were you able to find out, Tannis?" asked Roland.
"I was waiting for you to ask." The scientist grinned, "As I had stated with the rough translation of the tale, I also found that the Eridian's had given several titles to the warrior that came to their aid. Referring to him as 'The Apex Predator' or 'The Vengeful One'. Because of what he had done for them, they decided to honor him by making a vault in his name."
This caused the slayer and the former vault hunters to stand straighter, "Wait a minute! You're telling me Mase over here has a vault here on Pandora?!" Brick exclaimed with a massive grin.
"Are you sure Tannis?" asked Roland in all seriousness.
"Very sure. I was even able to narrow down a possible location of where to find it." replied the scientist as she brought up the map of Pandora on the holotable. Typing in the coordinates she had discovered, a red blip to appear on the screen.
Everyone got a good look at the map, "Wait a minute...that location looks familiar." said Roland.
"That's because it is in the same area as the Vault where you and the others fought the Destroyer years ago." replied the scientist.
"Exactly 2.6 kilometers from that location." VEGA added. "If Dr. Tannis' discovery is correct, the Eridian's most likely hid the Slayer's Vault close to the Destroyer's as a failsafe in case the creature managed to get free from its prison."
Mason leaned on the table, eyes locked on the coordinates with his mind turning over this newest revelation. "I'm going." he said, causing everyone to look his way. "If there's something there tied to my past, then I need to find it."
"Not alone you're not." said Lilith with finality.
"Hell yeah," Brick threw in with a wide grin and slamming a fist into his palm. "If there's another vault out there, I say we do what we do best!"
Mordecai held up his drink, "Here, here."
Scratching his chin, Roland nodded. "If the Eridian's hid something about our friend here, it's better off with us than in Jack's hands.
The slayer felt a tapping on his shoulder and turned to Tina. "I wanna go too."
"It'll be dangerous. There's no telling what could be there waiting." Mason said seriously, not wanting to bring the child along and put her in harm's way.
Tina puffed her chest out, "I'll be brave! And I can blow things up!" she looked at him with wide, innocent eyes with traces of manic excitement lingering below the surface. "Please, can I go?"
Mason sighed, "Fine. But you stay close to me and the others. No wandering off, and if there's trouble you find cover and keep your head down. Understand?" The girl nodded with a bright smile.
"The kid's got him wrapped tight, huh?" Mordecai whispered to Roland. The Commander noticed Lilith giving Tina and Mason a warm look not too far away.
"Pretty sure she's got both of them wrapped around her finger."
X
After preparing their gear, and making Tannis take a much needed shower, the group took the fast travel station and appeared in an area that had one time been called the Crimson Fastness where years ago the Crimson Lance had set up a base to protect and research the first Vault.
Now only ruins remained, both Eridian and Human. Although the group could make out large pieces of Hyperion equipment stationed on the mountain where the Vault was located.
"VEGA?" asked Mason after they secured the area.
"No Hyperion IFFs are present. The corporation more than likely collected what they needed and left all nonessential equipment behind." replied the AI.
"Yeah…the Destroyer's eye," said Roland. "Jack used it to power his space station's primary weapon. The Lost Legion tried to use it to destroy Elpis."
The slayer scanned the surrounding landscape before looking down at Tina who was dressed in winter clothes and holding a small Torgue revolver that had rabbits painted on the side of the barrel. "Remember what we talked about. Stay close, okay?"
Tina nodded as the group went over to a Catch-A-Ride that was thankfully still running. Summoning a pair of technicals to hold everyone before setting off in the direction of the newly discovered vault. VEGA and Tannis cooperating together to guide them to their destination.
Everyone was silent on the journey, each of them wondering what they would find when they reached the vault. But none were more invested than Mason was.
With the strange memories and flashbacks becoming more and more frequent, he was steadily starting to lose the ones he had of his original world. Like another person was beginning to overwrite who he had been before. The thought alone scared him more than anything else he had encountered on this odyssey he had been on.
A hand on his shoulder brought him back to the present and looked over to Lilith who had been riding shotgun with Tina in her lap. "You okay?" she asked, concern present in her amber eyes.
Mason looked down and saw that he had been gripping the steering wheel to the point the metal had warped to an odd shape. "I'm fine." he said, relaxing his grip and focusing back on the path ahead.
Neither the Siren or the girl sitting with her believed him. The slayer had been oddly quiet and a little distant since Tannis told them about the vault the Eridians had made for him. There had to be a lot on his mind, even more so with the strange visions he'd been having lately.
Lilith only hoped that whatever they found would give him the answers he was looking for.
After a few hours of driving had the group leaving the rocky terrain and entering a sector none of them had been in before. One that didn't look like some kind of wasteland.
Instead there was a wide expanse of grassy plains with hills dotting the landscape. A ring of mountains could be seen in the distance with snow caps giving it a very serene and captivating view. But what caught the group the most was the lack of hostility.
There weren't any bandits, raiders, or even dangerous wildlife. It felt like they weren't even on Pandora anymore.
"Where the hell are we?" asked Mordecai, Bloodwing took off from his shoulder and flew above the small convoy.
"This place looks completely untouched, like the rest of the planet's craziness hasn't reached here," said Roland. "Almost like something's protecting it."
Tannis looked up from her echo, "This could be the Eridian's doing. Perhaps they wished for this place to be hidden until the slayer returned."
"We there yet?" asked Brick, although he enjoyed the peace around them.
"We are exactly 540 meters from our objective. Maintain current course." said VEGA.
After a few more minutes, they could make out something in the distance. As they drew closer, they saw that it was a series of ruins that stood out against the rest of the landscape. A series of stone pillars lining a walkway that led into a hillside.
"Gonna go out on a limb here and say that's the place." said Lilith. The small convoy pulled up to the ruins. Everyone stepped out of their vehicles and surveyed the ruins. Aside from a few cracks and vines growing along the stone, despite the obvious age everything was surprisingly intact.
"Where to now?" asked Roland after drawing his assault rifle.
"There should be an entrance nearby, we just need to find it along with a way to get inside." Tannis reported. "Of course, without a key we might…" She went into more detail, but to Mason it was nothing but white noise. His eyes were locked on the hill at the end of the walkway, a strange pull had made itself known the second he stepped out of the technical, trying to draw him forward.
Shotgun in hand, he began walking toward the hill. The strange pull guiding him.
"Mason?" Lilith called, everyone taking notice as the slayer went on without them. Looking at one another, they all shrugged before following after him
Their footfalls echoed through the silent ruins, coming to a stop at the end of a walkway where a massive stone wall stood out on the side of the hill. Mason stared at the surface, finding glyphics from some alien language carved into it.
In the dead center, was the Night Sentinels sigil. Bigger and standing out more than the other markings. Reaching his hand out, the slayer placed his hand on the symbol.
Arches of red electricity sparked along his arm to his hand, transferring into the stone where the sigil began to glow a bright red. Energy began to branch off and spread along the surface like roots, filling the other symbols along their path.
The ground started to shake as the wall began to separate at the middle. Arches of red electricity crackling between the two halves as they pulled farther apart. Everyone stood into the entrance and found a flight of steps leading deep underground, the sides were lined by Eridian statues with their hands cupped in front of them, flames igniting from them lighting the way.
"That's…new." Mordecai commented, gripping his sniper rifle a bit tighter.
Mason looked down into the cavern before stepping inside, the others right behind him. The lights from the small fires held by the statues danced along the walls, making an ominous atmosphere as they went further beneath the surface.
Tina came up beside the slayer and took his hand with her smaller one. Despite the strange trans he was in, he was still aware enough to gently grip it in return to offer her comfort. Lilith came up to her other side, SMG tightly in hand and prepared for anything that might happen.
X
Unknown to the group, a presence watched them as they delved deeper into the ruins. Having been tracking them the moment the main entrance had been opened. Feeling the aura of the one they had been waiting for.
"After countless eons. HE has finally returned."