Chapter 6: Rival Gangs
Bold For Titles and Special actions
Italics for Loot
Unknown Location
Reikon
Reikon awoke with a snarl and rose unto all fours as it sniffed and looked for his master. The sounds of chains snapped its attention to the walls were in all four corners massive metal chains led to him. Reikon looked down and saw that all four of its legs were chained up and as he tried to reach down and bite it off noticed that he was muzzled.
Reikon let off a whimper and attempted to shake the muzzle off to no avail. Giving up after about 10 minutes Reikon looked around for any clues as to where he was and saw massive metal walls raising up to 12 ft high with a metal roof. Near the top of the wall was a black window that stretched all the way around providing a 360 view into the pit that Reikon was chained in.
Reikon tugged and strained against the chains filling the chamber with metal clanking and causing an echo. Reikon finally gave up and laid down while watching the windows and waiting for movement.
Location Unknown
Drax
Drax snapped awake and sat straight up as he in a panic looked around the room for something. He notices pure white walls and a blinding light at the ceiling. Reaching a hand out Drax figures that he has roughly 3 ft of room and was unable to determine the point of entry.
Drax's panic worsened before his vision snapped into red and his body calmed. His irises was tinged with crimson as the normally black outline became red and seemed to mix into his normal eye colour.
He patiently waited and tapped the walls until he found the "thinnest" and assumed it was the door. He watched the door and stood motionless waiting for the time to strike. After all, this wasn't his first white room.
Skag Gully
Vault Hunters
Lilith paced back and forth as Roland attempted to sift through the rubble that was Nine Toes hideout. Brick was… somewhere and from the roars of skags that permeated through the air, punching something as well. Mordecai was watching their backs with a sniper rifle while muttering under his breath.
Bloodwing cawed as she swooped down to Mordecai and landed on his shoulder before shaking her head. Mordecai turned to the two searching through the wreckage and shouted out "Blood didn't see anything, I'm assuming that Drax died with his skag friend!"
Roland turned to Lilith "there is no way that he could survive under there. It's time to face the facts, Drax is dead."
Lilith sighed, "I guess you're right. I just owe him if anything for saving our lives down there."
Roland stood up and put his hand on her shoulder. "I know, it's a shame that he went out like that but, we need to look forward and move to the Vault. It's what Drax would have wanted"
Lilith shrugged Roland off and was silent until they heard Brick yelling at them while running full speed. "GUUUUUUUYYYYYYSSSSSS! I think I found something!"
Lilith turned to Roland and Roland to Lilith as they gave each other a 'what now' face.
Unknown Location
Drax
Drax stood there motionless for hours as he waited for the door to open. His patience paid off and as the door opened, Drax pounced launching himself through like a feral animal and grabbed a bandit wearing some very heavy armor by the helmet. Using his unparalleled strength he crushed the poor fools skull leaving nothing left as dragged the body to the ground from his pounce. As the body hit the floor Drax rebounded on the soles of his feet by flipping into the air and landing on a metal cafeteria style table.
Drax looked up and saw two massive bruisers carrying metal car doors as shields with spikes pointing outwards. As Drax attempted to formulate a plan to eliminate the two riot shield bruisers, a large club slammed into his right blindside and launched him a good 10 feet across the room where he slammed back into the table. Drax struggled to stand up, but his face smashed back into the table as a loud psychotic cackle drew closer before the same club smashed into his neck. Drax felt himself grow weaker as a large baseball mitt hand grabbed him by the back of his head and lifted him up.
Drax barely managed to open his eyes to meet a large man with a scrap metal helmet that has a skull spray painted on the front of it.
Unknown Location
Reikon
Reikon grew bored of lying down in this metal cage and started snorting and puffing in frustration at this predicament that he was in. Shortly after he started doing that a large electrical shock entered his back and amped the charge within his core. Reikon let out a roar and a massive shockwave based off the elemental ability shock traveled the expanse of the room and hit the edges. The shockwave traveled upwards and canceled itself out in the metallic walls and ceiling but not before short circuiting the generator that applied the initial electrical output.
The sheer volume of watts caused the muzzle to disintegrate and Reikon immediately tore into the leg restraints that held up down. As he was tearing off the first restraint a door behind him opened and a sharp pinching feeling hit his back before a massive wave of dizziness and drowsiness hit his being and knocked him unconscious.
Skag Gully
Vault Hunters
Brick led the group to a massive hole that was dug and seemed to lead of the cave of Nine Toes before being collapsed halfway through. Mordecai climbed out of the hole after trying to see where it lead, only to find half eaten shock crystals and blood that trailed quite a distance. Lilith looked to Roland and motioned to the large amount of blood around the hole that eventually led to worn away footprints that numbered in the hundreds.
"Still think that Drax died down there?" Lilith snarkingly added.
Roland rolled his eyes as Brick kept watch for bandits or skags and Bloodwing explored the surrounding terrain from the air. Mordecai inspected the footsteps across the ground trying to make sense of it and noticed something that only experienced hunters find.
"Hey lil, Roland. Come look at this." The two of them hurried over to Mordecai and looked at the massive amount of footsteps and found nothing of the sort except confusion.
"What did you find soldier?" Roland asked as he scratched his head through the beret that he wore. Mordecai glanced back to Roland before pointing to a few of the footsteps that littered the place. "These here are the exact same size and style as these ones over here." Mordecai pointed to another spot with footsteps. "Except they seem to gain quite a few pounds right here and they walk away to what I am assuming is a vehicle considering the tracks that disappear after it reaches the harder rock surface over here." Mordecai pointed from the soft light brown soil to the almost orangish red rock that stretched into a tunnel that seemed to lead back to Fyrestone.
"Now following those Im pretty sure that whoever dug the tunnel. Was taken by whoever made these tracks and since everyone is persistent that Drax survived this. Then I would say that someone grabbed Drax and ran."
Lilith looked to Roland and then to Brick who stopped standing guard and came closer to view the investigation that Mordecai was doing. Lilith turned back to Mordecai "Who would want to kidnap Drax?"
Unknown Location
"The subject was taken from the group" a female voice timidly told another figure in the room.
"Let's see how this little trial will make our Test Subject evolve" The male figure told her as he leaned over and looked at the cameras that were in the facility that housed Drax. They watched as a Badass psycho punted Drax across the room before jumping through the air and landing right next to him right as he smashed his weapon into Drax knocking him unconscious.
"This is going to be fun!" The male figure said as he left the room and it locked behind him leaving the female alone to her devices.
She looked back to the camera and stared hard at Drax.
"Be safe. Drax."
Unknown Location
Drax
Drax woke up to find himself back in his white room cell and a massive concussion to follow. Drax grit his teeth and sat down to the best of his abilities as he rested his head against the wall and fell asleep attempting to get some relief to the throbbing head pain. As Drax rested there his eyes sputtered open at the feeling of someone watching him and he turned his head to find himself.
Drax sat there for a moment confused before blinking a few times and looking back at himself. This version of Drax had crimson eyes and slightly sharper teeth with a sadistic grin on his face. His normally swept back hair stuck up at all ends like he just received an electrical shock and the currents still ran through his body. The two seemed to just stare at each other for a while as Drax's body slowly became more and more usable after being stunned from the sheer number of watts that ran through his being. As Drax felt more and more control coming back he leaned his head back against the plain white wall behind him in an effort to make sense of the... thing in front of him.
"Now, now don't believe im real do you?" The second Drax spoke his voice more deep and gravelly then Drax's normal voice is. Drax narrowed his eyes as he stared down the creature in front of him before he started snickering. His snicker went into a full blown laughter as he closed his eyes and let the euphoria spread throughout him. Drax felt his blood start to boil as he stared at the second himself. "It's been awhile since you came. Insanity." Drax barked out as he tried to control his fits of laughter.
Earth Mental Facility
Guards marched around and special forces operatives stood guard as an important conversation occurred in the nearby room. "How did he escape! What am I supposed to tell the press and our allies in the Europian nations!" A larger man in a pressed black suit with combed back gray hair screamed at a smaller man wearing a white lab coat with a bald head and thin framed glasses. "Sir, I'm telling you, according to the report the bus had to make an emergency stop and during the confusion he must have escaped!" The larger man only fumed more as he stomped out of the room which he was soon followed by the guards standing at the doors.
Another researcher who had long blonde hair and wore thick framed glasses asked the older researcher. " I understand that Subject Drax was important but why did he seemed so frustrated and why did he bring up the political base of his allies." She asked genuinely confused from the outburst that happened. The older researcher fixed his collar and glanced down at her as he straightened himself up. "Subject Drax is a national treasure so to speak. That man. No. That Monster has the most medals ever awarded to a veteran by any country in history. Drax alone saved over 5 thousand lives and has the highest mission success rating in the States." The female researcher felt her jaw drop as she looked at him in shock. "Then why was he in this mental institute?" The older researcher sighed and scratched the top of his head. "That's because it's technically top secret but... " he looks around to make sure all the guards are gone and that they were alone. "Drax went insane after being held captive for over 8 months and interrogated every single day from a terrorist cell. Drax was considered MIA and nobody bothered to search for him as he and his platoon were tortured for months on end. The only reason we found him was because Drax managed to break out and kill every single terrorist in the facility before escaping to a nearby city and being seen by the local american garrison. A soldier who he saved before recognized him and nearly died when Drax attacked his allies in a fit of insanity. After being restrained and sedated by a group of nearly 7 soldiers they sent him back overseas to check his mental state." The older man sighed as he continued.
"Drax was found to have Severe PTSD as well as Multi Personality Disorder on top of schizophrenia. The government kept it a secret since he was considered a national hero and an international hero for saving the lives of the premier in Russia and the prime minister in Europe. So far we have received a massive amount of funding just to try and cure his mental state and we only managed to suppress it for awhile." She nodded in understanding before asking the one question that every researcher in the facility feared. "What happens if he gets into a stressful situation or being off his sedative meds that he has?" The older researcher felt a chill as he spoke the answer
"He would revert back to his insane persona."
Pandora
Unknown Location
Drax
Drax sat there passed out asleep as the door opened next to him and two massive bruisers reached in and dragged him out. They threw him into a massive room with a long cafeteria style table and other inmates sitting there eating some kind of slop that looked kinda like meat but a dead grayish brown. Drax hit the ground and rose up slowly before sitting at the table where an empty seat sat waiting for him. Drax sat down and stared at the slop that was called food and glanced out of the corner of his eyes while keeping his head down as he inspected the surrounding area. The walls were black and red as blood stained the walls permanently from the lack of love ever shown to this facility. There was a wall of chambers that had a slot that seemed to leak out white light giving the impression of his cell. He noticed that each champed had a massive naval door that had to have a wheel turned to unlock it and open it.
He noticed that there was a catwalk above the chambers and another row on top of it. Drax also noticed the people next to him and they ranged from other bandits to obvious civilians. The seatmate immediately next to him leaned towards him before pointing at his food. "You going to eat that?" Drax shook his head and watched as he dragged the tray to him and started eating. Drax looked up to see a row of bandits with guns on the catwalk studying them as well as multiple bruisers and psychos roaming the ground floor. Drax grimaced and waited for himself to be sent back to his cell.
Escaping was going to take a long time.
A Week later
Fyrestone
Vault Hunters
Lilith walked over to the group as they loaded their weaponry next to the gate. "Morning boys. Any idea where we need to go next?"
Roland shook his head as he finished packing up his gear. Mordecai loaded his sniper and pulled the bolt back before jumping into the gunner seat of a machine gun runner. "Last I heard amiga, there is some guy we need to go save near the windmill farm that we restarted the other day."
Brick cracked his knuckles before hopping into the gunner seat of a rocket launcher runner and turning towards the old bandit camp up the hill. "I remember that now. Someone who runs the Circle of Slaughter? I think it was." Lilith cocked an eyebrow "what the hell is a circle of slaughter?" Roland shrugged as he tossed a backpack underneath the dash and hopped into the driver's seat with Mordecai as his gunner. Lilith glared at Roland drove off and hopped into the driver's seat of the second runner right as Brick spoke up. "Still mad at Roland for refusing to look for Drax?" Lilith sighed and started the runner before speeding towards the gate that they opened after leaping across pisswash gully. "I am, while I understand where he is coming from, I still feel like we should have looked for him more. I mean Drax did save us and didn't seem like a bad guy for the few days we were together." Brick was silent letting the wind run across his face before turning his gun and firing a rocket at some poor skag that was near the road. It exploded in a shower of guts as the leapt off a small cliff landing on a group of skags that were about to rush Mordecai and Roland. The two aforementioned Vault Hunters hopped out of their runner while the others got out of theirs.
Mordecai motioned to Bloodwing for an aerial view as the bird flew up and began to circle around the windmill farm as he stood on a rock arch that made a natural overhang above the area. Roland motioned for Lilith to follow as the two moved silently underneath the overhang and towards a windmill generator for cover as a large amount of bandits surrounded a single building. The bandits fired an occasional shot at the building but for the most part they taunted the tenant as they tried to get him out of the building. While taunting however, the bandits were moving barrels filled with different elements and were surrounding the building with it as if they were trying to level the whole building. Brick noticed and instead of waiting for his team, Brick began to Berserk and he rushed down the hill and smashed a bandit in the face before any of them knew what was going to happen.
The bandit flew backwards in a shower of blood as his head was evaporated. Roland sighed and tossed a small box which digistructed a turret and shield that was at the knee level. Roland crouched behind said shield and he mowed wave after wave of psychos rushing him while thinking that he was the easier kill. The turret did a fantastic job as well tearing chunks and splitting bodies in pieces with a hail of bullets. Bodies piled in front of the duo as Brick was laughing in the opposite direction as he rushed their gunman and frankly evistercated their existence. Gripping their skulls and crushing them while using human missiles to knock the ones attempting to shoot him down. Mordecai was humming tunelessly at a distance as he clicked and fired with no danger since bloodwing was keeping an eye out for him. Any target that Mordecai missed, Bloodwing killed with vicious brutality as she gouged their eyes and cheeks with razor sharp talons and a deadly beak. Lilith fired her smg that she recently obtained from bonehead. The devastating fire rate mixed with the twin shotgun like barrels allowed her to tear apart her opposition as she runs through the crowd.
Lilith flipped over a bruiser and landed on the shoulders of a marauder and pressed her heels into his shoulders causing the shoulder blades to crack and splinter drawing out cries of pain. She then rolls before he hits the ground and twists her body to end up in a crouching position behind the two before unloading the mag of her smg into the bruiser turning him into mist. Lilith then stomped her heel into the downed marauder and twisted it shattering the skull and turning the brain to mush. Lilith reloaded in mid turn and let loose another burst into a group of marauder killers which turned them into swiss cheese.
The Vault Hunters kept fighting and dropping the bandits who sieged the hold home that served as the substation for the wind farm that was actively generating power for the nearby mine as well as fyrestone at the same time. The group finally felt relief as the 60 or odd bandit platoon finally succumbed to the fate that would soon befell their boss. Lilith stood up from the cover that she was behind after being pinned down by marauder killers who decided that she was more of a threat then the 8 foot monster that was Brick. Brick was wiping his hands off on a cloth mask from a bandit he killed as his entire body was head to toe covered in gore and blood.
Mordecai was grooming Bloodwing who's talons were covered in blood and chunks of flesh that she tore from the bandits scalps when she flew by. Roland reloaded his assault rifle and combat shotgun that he recently looted in the fire fight while making a mental note to deep clean said shotgun considering the bandits took poor care of it. They turned towards the shack that was being besieged and raided by the bandits to see a grimy hand shoot up from the massive hole in the roof before a dirty faced man popped up and laughed before shouting to them "Great Job! You killed the scum sucking bandits that wanted me dead!"
Laymont
I got the power!
The dirty faced man climbed his way out of the building before falling down in front of the group after failing to jump over the railing on the roof of the building. "Nice to meet ya, the name's Laymont. Thanks for the save! I really needed the help."
The smaller man said while walking up to Brick and speaking in his higher pitched slightly annoying voice while wringing his hands and glancing at all the corpses surrounding the nearby area. Laymont had no hair and a lazy eye that seemed to always be staring to the right while he was completely covered in soot and grime making his normally tan skin appear black. Laymont also had no shirt on and had an overall that served as the only piece of clothing on his body that attempted to cover his soot covered torso and failed miserably causing Lilith to turn away in disgust at the visual that he was providing. Laymont let out a honking much like a donkey as he noticed her turning away before calming himself and clearing his throat.
"Anyways I was tasked to deliver an holotape to you and frankly it's inside as well as a brand new red chest for you to loot in case you feel your current weaponry isn't working for you." Laymont started walking away as he waved his hand dismissively "Be safe y'all I have some more things to complete." He disappeared over the hill as the group watched him leave before Lilith shivered and mumbled about him being the grossest man she has ever met. Mordecai chimed in from behind her about agreeing as Brick broke open the locked door to get the holotape and the chest. Brick popped open the chest and a 1 shotgun as well as a sniper and 2 grenade mods sat inside.
Brick looted the shotgun which turned out to be Triple Barrel Shotgun that expanded all three rounds in one trigger pull. Mordecai grabbed the Sniper which was a Vladof manufacture that carried fire elemental modifier on it. Roland grabbed the Longbow Sticky Grenade Mod and Lilith grabbed the Rubberized Sprays Acid Grenade. They grabbed the Echo tape and plugged it into Roland's echo and hit play.
Laymont's voice crackled on the echo
"Been following deez bandits for a while now and I found something interesting. Tey seem to be mighty interested in some tall fellow and took him to the safehouse that serves as a prison as well. Looks familiar, like something I heard once in dem rumors going around right now. The True Psycho or something like that a dumb name that the nearby psycho clan came up with. Revere this individual as a god after he thrashed Nine Toe's ring in a fit of rage which some of the survivors called a mental break. What do dey know? Theez Bandits couldn't tell the difference between a Rock and a Grenade. I'm leaving the coordinates to the safehouse which should have the key to give us a shot at the bandit overlord Sledge that is nearby.
The group looked at each other in worry and suspicion. "They couldn't be talking about Drax now, could they?"