Chapter 4: Destruction and Offers
As Moze and J were making their way back to Wainwright, they stumbled upon Smoke who waited outside with his hands in his coat pocket and a blunt between his lips. He looked lost in thought at first glance before the inventor caught sight of his two friends. Pushing himself off the wall, he [pulled his left hand out of his jacket and waved at them with a smile.
"Took you guys so long? Talking about stuff?" Smoke teased while slipping his hand back into his pocket while snickering.
"We took a detour," J spoke up catching Smoke's attention who raised a brow. "Practice,"
"...oh yeah that's right! Your new limbs. You'll get there eventually buddy. No doubts about that," Smoke said laughing loudly before looking at Moze. "What do you think of J's new upgrades? Pretty cool ha?"
"They make him a lot more efficient in killing that's for sure...but doesn't it worry you that he doesn't know what his new limbs can do? It takes one mistake during a series fight for a life to be lost," Moze argued making Smoke blink his eyes.
"Not really. When it comes to learning, no one learns faster than my man J right here! He may not look it, but he has shown you what he is capable of when he finds something new, right?" Smoke asked with a raised brow while leaning forward with a smirk.
"...unless you count that time when he fought the Calypso's by himself?" Moze countered while narrowing her eyes.
This caused Smoke to narrow his eyes and grit his teeth in annoyance.
"That time didn't count! That wasn't even my build! I mean sure I made the blueprints but that little shit Katagawa Jr. ruined it by using insufficient pieces. For example! Why the hell would you make someone grow in size and make them easier to hit when you could keep them at their current size to make them deadlier?! A noob that's who!" Smoke snapped back before J himself walked by Moze's side to bring his hand to the inventor's shoulder calming him down.
"Calm?" J asked with a raised brow.
"Yeah I'm good bro," Smoke said facing away from Moze while closing his eyes.
"He means well," J said looking at Moze now who hung her head down while scratching the side of her head.
"Whatever. Come on let's head in. Wainwright would want to get his dad's clue," Smoke spoke before entering the building with J and Moze outside still.
"He regrets it," J said looking at the house now which Moze slowly looked up to follow his gaze. "What I am...he regrets it heavily,"
"Why? Isn't he the one that thought up the blueprints for what you are now?" Moze asked looking up at J now.
"He is...but it was not by his hand that I was changed. Although he regrets it...I am happy none the less," J answered with a faint smile. "If not for his plans...I would have been dead on a street somewhere,"
With that said, J made his way to the house with Moze following behind him with her head hung down again. As the two entered the house, they were meet by Wainwright as well as Sir Hammerlock. Smoke was talking to both of them and sharing laughs about what he has been working on before handing Wainwright a custom Jakob shotgun he finished.
"When did you make that?" Moze questioned as she had raised her head seeing the shotgun in Smoke's hand.
"Before you both got here. Come on should you be surprised? I upgraded your Iron Bear in an hour and did a full remodeling of J's entire limbs in a few hours. I can make a single gun in less than five minutes," Smoke said with a smirk.
"Clue," J spoke in which Wainwright nodded his head as he took the new shotgun and placed it on his back before facing Moze who handed him his father's record.
"Still can't believe the Calypsos murdered my father. I need to get my record player working, but you know Aurelia's gonna send all those damn zealots to find us. If we're going to last long enough to open the Vault, we'll need an army of our own. I'm talkin' a Jakob's resistance. It's time to take back Eden-6," Wainwright started before Smoke raised his hand.
"If you're talking about an army...J here can take on an entire army by himself and with the soldier and me by his side, we are pretty much unstoppable," Smoke added with a smile.
"Is that a promise?" Wainwright asked with a raised brow. "Can you handle the Calypsos all by your lonesome?"
"If you wanna talk tactical I got a plan. It'll be a combination of your plan as well as mine. Your hired gun Clay will take town after town to build up the forces while we deal with Aurelia," Smoke answered.
"Clay can't take the towns by himself. He'll need help," Wainwright argued in which Smoke raised his hands in surrender.
"Think of it this way. While we attack Aurelia, their main focus will be on us. If this Baroness is as important as I think she is...they would have to put a lot of their focus on helping her," Smoke explained with a nervous laugh.
"Vault Hunters. Clay needs your help in bringing up Jakob's resistance. He cannot do it on his own," Hammerlock added in which Smoke sighed and rubbed the back of his head.
"Boss said we gotta help them out as best as we can Smoke," Moze added.
"And we will. I just have a faster way of doing it!" Smoke argued as he turned around to look at Moze.
"And that plan involves attacking Aurelia?" Moze questioned with a raised brow.
"Yes, it does. That is the main thing," Smoke said while smiling brightly.
"...it's because she took your weed isn't it?" Moze asked with a raised brow earning a few seconds of dead silence in which Smoke laughed nervously again only to close his eyes and hang his head down.
"...yeah..." Smoke admitted in which J slowly shook his head and looked at Wainwright with a calm expression.
"How long?" J asked making Wainwright blink his eyes.
"What?" Wainwright replied confused on his question.
"How long will it take...for you to get your record player working?" J asked.
"Shouldn't take too long but...I need all the help I can to get these damn bandits off Eden-6," Wainwright spoke in which J nodded his head.
"We will help," J replied with Moze walking up by his side.
"Plus I need to see what Iron Bear can do after she's been upgraded," Moze said with a smile while J softly patted the inventor's shoulder.
"Yeah. I'll help too," Smoke said raising his head a little.
"Good. Then meet Clay at Reliance," Wainwright said with a nod. "I should be able to finish preparing my record player by the time you finish,"
J only nodded before patting Smoke's shoulder as the Vault Hunters exit the house and make their way to the Town of Reliance.
"We'll meet up with the hired gun and tell him what we plan on doing after we help him take the town," Smoke said standing up straight again sighing.
"Help where we can and do as higher-ups tell ya to do," Moze chimed in making J snicker softly.
"And we will," Smoke said groaning softly but shrugged his shoulders. "Guess we get to see what Iron Bear can do,"
"Forgive me if I am on edge about using Iron bear," Moze spoke with a raised brow.
"Come on. You saw what J can do. Just image what Iron Bear can do with her new upgrades!" Smoke spoke with excitement. "And I can't wait to see her in action,"
-Town: Reliance-
The Vault Hunters easily dealt with any CoV that tried to stop them from reaching their destination before finally reaching a wall. Smoke looked at the map on his wrist seeing that their destination was right behind the wall before them. As they looked around, they heard the sound of gunfire and followed it to see a lone male standing over two dead bandits. J narrowed his eyes at the gunman before Smoke smiled and waved his hand toward the man.
"Sup man. You must be the hired gun that Wainwright was telling us about...so tell me...how are we taking this town back man?" Smoke asked looking at Clay.
"Well before I answer you that I would like to know who I'm working with?" Clay asked looking at the three Vault Hunters.
"Names Smoke. That shirtless man is J, my brother in arms. And the last there is soldier Moze," Smoke introduced every earning a glare from the woman.
Clay nodded his head and looked to the wall in front of them.
"Well, we ain't getting through the front gate. Guess we gotta find another way in," Clay spoke before J walked past him and gripped his hands into fists.
"Move," J spoke glancing at Clay who chuckled and walked back to stand by Smoke and Moze now.
"Whatever you say, man," Clay replied as he tilted his head. "Is he always like this?" He whispered.
"Impatient and hard-headed? Oh yeah," Smoke answered with a laugh of his own.
Moze stood there silently watching J as his shoulders started to glow pitch black.
"Code zero-two," J whispered causing his arms to change color; his left turning cold white while his right shifting to a sickly yellow.
"What in the..." Clay spoke watching as J rolled his shoulders back before driving his fists into the door.
The right of the wall started to corrode while the opposite was freezing over. With a shout of rage, J tore the door open allowing entry with his arms shifting back to normal. Clay watched amazed and eyes widened, even though it was hidden behind his goggles.
"So we take the town...what's after that?" Smoke asked looking at Clay who snapped out of his shock and chuckled.
"We need two things to start a resistance. Hope and guns...mostly guns," Clay spoke looking at J as he walked past him. "We have to get Jakob guns back in Jakob's hands,"
"I agree," Smoke added.
"Got plenty of bandits down there. I saw what you can do to a door...now show me what you can do something that can fight back," Clay said in which J nodded his head.
"Give us a few minutes. It shouldn't take us long," Smoke said with a smile as he looked at Moze. "Since we're expecting company, why not call in our own?"
Moze nodded her head understanding what he meant before running forward and hopping up into the air causing her Iron Bear to spawn around her. Iron Bears main body stayed the same but revealed all the weapons as Smoke detailed before the modification. On Iron Bears right shoulder was its rail gun along with the mechs missile pod on the opposite side. Under Iron bears left arm hung its grenade launcher followed by the newly created weapon flame revolver attached to the bottom of the right arm.
"How does it feel soldier?" Smoke asked with a smile as he watched Iron Bear move about slightly faster as well as an energy field that appeared around its body.
"Better than I expected," Moze answered while looking at all the added controls.
At first, Moze was very skeptical about her modified Iron Bear mech but after looking around inside the mech she found that not only was it easier to control but also a lot more efficient to work with. Suddenly Moze spotted a red button in the center of the controls where she tilted her head in confusion.
"Smoke, what the hell is this red button?" Moze asked turning Iron bear to face the inventor.
"Ah my gift to you and J here...later I am sure you both will find out but for now. Best to use it when we need it," Smoke answered while earning a nod from Moze before the sound of screaming could be heard revealing the wave of bandits exiting out of the houses and shooting at them. "What are you waiting for? Let 'em have it, girl,"
Moze only smirked before facing the horde of bandits running toward them and started to open fire with her array of weapons. J was unable to do anything to the bandits as he stood by Moze's Iron Bear watching the bandit horde being shredded by the mechs weaponry. Smoke merely watched while lightning himself a new blunt and savoring the slaughter.
"Alright, so Moze can handle the bandits...what's next?" Smoke asked looking at Clay who nodded his head.
"We gotta free the townspeople," Clay answered.
"Sounds easy enough. Where's the console?" Smoke asked looking around.
"What? You're hacker too?" Clay joked with a chuckle.
"Me? No. But I got someone who can do that for me," Smoke answered with a chuckle of his own.
"Right this way playa," Clay said leading Smoke to a console in the middle of town.
"Alright Corah, work your magic," Smoke whispered as he swayed his left hand over the console causing a holographic screen to appear over it.
"What're doin' there playa?" Clay asked looking over Smoke's shoulder.
"I'm doing nothing. Corah is doing everything," Smoke replied before the screen faded away. "All done. Alright, so all the Townspeople are free AND the weapon shed is also unlocked."
"That's some fast working skills your friend has there. Maybe you can introduce us in the future," Clay commented. "By any chance did your friend find anyone by the name of Dalton in any of those cages?"
Smoke blinked at this and looked at his wrist for a brief second before looking back at Clay and shaking his head.
"Nothing here...but she did find the coordinates for Dalton. Said he's locked up in a prison ways from here," Smoke answered as the sound of more screaming could be heard by more bandits.
"Vault Hunta. This is Baroness Aurelia. Just so you know, I've already hired some enterprising people to acquire the key fragments. Cost a small fortune, which I will earn back by taking a nap. Because I accumulate wealth in my sleep? That's what rich people do," Aurelia noted before cutting herself out earning a loud laugh from Smoke who shook his head.
"Main she is full of herself. Yeah...I'm going to enjoy killing her," Smoke commented with a smile as he wiped a fake tear from under his left eye. "So Clay, where to next?"
Although the bandits kept coming out of the woodwork, they were only met with a hail of bullets, missiles, and fire leaving none behind for the townspeople to deal with. One, in particular, being a badass Bruiser walking out only to get blasted by Moze's railgun blowing his head off in one shot before she continued to mow down the rest of the bandits.
"My business partners, are you sure your...family is up to the task? I don't want to use the words blistering incompetence..." Aurelia complained only to be cut off by Troy.
"Then don't," Troy argued back.
"I got this. My time to shine! Firehawk!" Tyreen shouted as bandits started appearing around the Vault Hunters and townspeople.
"Holy crap-right outta thin air? They can still bleed though! Let's show 'em how!" Clay shouted.
J nodded his head in agreement as he rolled his shoulders back and took a deep breath before joining the slaughter with Moze. One bandit was unlucky enough to appear right where J landed thus crushing him into a pile of bloody goop. While the berserker and soldier were dealing with the bandits Smoke and Clay started to lay down cover fire in any bandit smart enough not to charge in and fight from a distance.
"This must be easy for you guys if only two of them are dealing with the bandits," Clay commented while ducking into cover while reloading his revolver.
"Meh, nothing a good old fashion modification can't fix. If you want, I can modify your revolver?" Smoke offered looking at the hired guns pistol.
"Thanks for the offer but this girl here has been with me for a long time. Be a shame for her to change on me now," Clay answered as he finished reloading his revolver.
"I respect that," Smoke commented with a nod before bringing his focus back to the field of bodies.
Eventually, the bandits stopped teleporting in causing Moze to scan the landscape while J crushed the head of a badass under his right foot.
Looks like the last of them," Clay spoke as he was about to holster his revolver only to hear screaming from more bandits coming from the Echo-3 still. "Spoke too soon, hope you guys aren't tired yet cause we got more bandits incoming,"
"Let's see how you do against our Eridium-tier brothers and sisters," Tyreen shouted through the Echo.
"Don't let us down," Troy added with a laugh.
Moze and J looked up and saw two dropships flying toward them before they glanced at each other. With a grin, Moze fired her flame revolver at J and watched as his right arm started to glow red. With a wide grin, J stretched his right hand out and started to absorb the fire into his left arm powering up his incendiary element. After five seconds of absorbing, Iron Bear finally ran out of energy and faded away allowing Moze to land in her feet. J closed his eyes while closing his right hand while tucking it back gritting his teeth.
"Oh snap," Smoke whispered. "You might wanna take cover,"
"Why do you say that?" Clay asked looking at J.
Suddenly, J's eyes shot open as his feet locked himself down into the ground to anchor himself before he would thrust his right fist forward. As J's fist stopped, it shot a powerful beam of pure raging fire that nearly launched the berserker backward if it was not for the anchor. The beam of fire slammed into the first ship easily melting through it as well as any troops that were about to drop followed by the second. The sound of painful screams echoed before a single bandit fell to the ground painting heavily revealing it to be an Anointed.
"You're all gonna die!" He screamed before J snickered as he brought the beam down on the Anointed turning him into cinders before the stream finally died down.
"Neat combo you two made up," Smoke shouted as he peeked out of cover. "A little warning next time would be nice though!"
"Noted," Moze replied while glancing at Smoke before turning her gaze back to J. "Good job there," She commented earning a nod of approval from J.
"Alright so...the town is ours now," Clay said looking around at the bodies as well as the molten metal at the edge of the cliff. "Remind me not to get on your bad side...any of you,"
"No promises man," Smoke said with a smile. "So what next now?"
"Next we head to Daltons location and spring him out of his prison," Clay spoke in which Moze and J met up with them.
"Jailbreak?" J asked looking at Clay than at Smoke who nodded his head.
"Pretty much," Smoke confirmed.
"Easy," J replied before looking at Clay.
"Easy there, man. Same side," Clay said with a nervous smile.
"No need to worry. I don't see why J here would tear you apart...unless we were ordered to," Moze said with a smirk.
"Ha-ha real funny. Alright, come on. Less go get back Dalton," Clay said with a sigh before turning his back and heading off. "I'll meet you guys there...don't make me wait too long now,"
-Prison-
The Vault Hunters arrived at the prison before Moze's Echo-3 turned on.
"Vault Thieves! It's me! Goddess Tyreen here with a very tempting offer," Tyreen spoke causing everyone to look at the soldiers Echo device.
"Offer?" J asked with a raised brow.
"Yeah. A limited time offer to join the Children of the Vault!" Tyreen shouted in excitement.
"And...why would we join you?" Smoke asked with a raised brow now.
"Strictly speaking the offer is only for one of you and that one is none other than J himself. I saw what you could do on your own. Not even our Eridium brothers could handle it. So, what do you say there tinman? Wanna join the winning side?" Tyreen asked causing Smoke to look at J.
"He will not be joining your side Tyreen," Moze spoke up causing J and Smoke to look at her.
"I'm sorry. Is your name J? I don't think so...maybe I'll ask again when we meet face to face Tinman. Till then see you later," Tyreen spoke before disconnecting.
"I think you got yourself an admirer J," Smoke said nudging his friend who stood there silently. "You alright bro?"
"...why would she offer only me to join?" J asked looking at Smoke confused.
"I think she has a thing for strong people. Not saying I ain't strong but my professions lay...else were," Smoke admitted before looking at the prison. "So let's get this done and head out to kill Aurelia,"
"I just got news that the doors are locked. Can't open them from the front," Clay notified them through the Echo device.
"Is that right?" Smoke said looking at the crane that moved over the prison and chuckled at this.
"I don't like that chuckle," Moze admitted while leaning back slightly.
"I got an idea," Smoke said turning his attention to J. "Can you launch yourself high enough to get us into the prison?"
J looked at the crane then slowly watched as it entered the prison. The berserker nodded his head before looking back at his friend who hopped on his back.
"All aboard!" Smoke shouted before looking at Moze who stood there. "What are you waiting for? an invitation?"
Where exactly am I supposed too..." Moze was cut off as J swept her off her feet and walked to the crane. "Hey!"
"Less talking more doing," J spoke earning a faint huff from Moze while a slight blush stayed on her cheek.
As J reached a good point, he squatted down before shooting up straight firing his gun feet and bringing the three high enough to reach the lumber. Upon landing on the lumber, J knelt to allow Moze and Smoke to get off him with the inventor dusting himself off.
"...thanks..." Moze said earning a nod from J while Smoke stretched his arms over his head.
"Alright let's make this rescue as quickly as possible," Smoke said turning with a smile.
As they started to attack the bandits bunkered at the prison, it did not take long for an Anointed to appear and fight them. The fight against the purple bruiser was swiftly dealt with thanks to being beaten down by J as well as Moze's grenades with the help of Smoke's rockets. Upon freeing Dalton, they made their way back to Reliance with J still thinking about the offer.
"You alright buddy?" Smoke asked looking back at his friend.
"Just thinking..." J answered with his head hung low.
"About the offer?" Moze asked.
"Ahh, so that's why you are so confused! You don't know what love is and I think you got the hots for that girl since she kind of admitted that she has an interest in you," Smoke said as he started to laugh softly only for it to slowly die. "I wouldn't think too much about it. We've been through thick and thin together man. Have I ever betrayed you?"
"No," J answered as he looked at Smoke.
"And I never will. I'm sure Moze here will say the same thing. Ain't that right soldier?" Smoke asked looking at Moze now with a smirk.
"I have no reason to betray a fellow comrade," Moze replied.
"Comrade..." J repeated with a faint smile.
-Town: Reliance-
As the Vault Hunters gathered by Clay, he smiled and nodded his head looking at the three.
"So begins the Resistance. I gotta tell ya, I've been all around this galaxy. Seen darkness you wouldn't believe...but those Calypso Twins and their followers? They are something else. Someone's gotta stop 'em, and I'm damn sure it'll be you three. Glad to have you all on our side. I wouldn't know what to do if we were on opposite sides," Clay said with a chuckle. "Be seeing ya, Vault Hunters,"
"Be seeing ya Clay," Smoke spoke before they all made their way back to Wainwright and Hammerlock.
-House-
"While you freed Reliance from the grip of those CoV devil's, I got that damn record contraption working. Let's find out where the Vault Keys hidden. Will you do the honors, Vault Hunters?" Wainwright asked just as the three were in earshot away from him.
"Damn. I thought it'd take longer...did we take that long?" Smoke asked softly while glancing over his shoulder at Moze and J who shrugged in unison. "Well, shit works for us,"
Smoke smiles and walked up to start the record.
"To think, these might be the last words if Montgomery Jakobs," Wainwright spoke before heading into the house leading everyone to the record player.
Smoke looked at the player and smiled before inserting the record before stepping back after slowly putting the needle down to allow the device to start.
"I'm DRUNK!" The record player started.
"Oh dear," Hammerlock commented.
"You can say that again," Smoke said rubbing the back of his head a little uncertain.
"I'm drunk, and I'm scared, boy. Those zealots are after the Vaults, and they'll come for ours. Only a matter of time. So listen. The Grand Reserve, the Oily Graveyard, and the Family Jewel - that's where you'll find the key. Boy, the Jakobs tree has stood for centuries. Don't let it fall now," The record player spoke before falling silent.
"Pa...I'll never forget your last words-" Wainwright whispered.
Damnation! Ugh, this gut rot's chewing through me like a pig through a pile of apples," The recording started up again earning a faint snicker from Smoke who cleared his throat and lifted the needle.
"That's more information then we needed on his death..." Smoke said with his eyes closed.
"Now, the Family Jewel is my father's ship. It crashed out in the jungle, not too long after his death. Go find the Jewel, Vault Hunters. If my father's cryptic message is anything to go by, there ought to be a Key fragment on board. Meanwhile, Alistair and I will investigate the other two clues," Wainwright spoke sighing.
"Ah, a trek deep into untamed lands! I am envious, Vault Hunters!" Hammerlock chimed.
"The jungle? Really?" Smoke complained while groaning loudly.
"You got a problem with the woods Smoke?" Moze asked with a faint smirk.
"It's not me who hates it..." Smoke answered while looking at J whose right brow twitched at the thought of entering a large forest region.
"...but we've been in a forest for some time. Why does it bother you J?" Moze asked looking at her comrade.
"Bugs...I hate...bugs..." J answered while gritting his teeth.
"You think keeping him calm against a shit talker was hard...wait until we get to the forest with those guys," Smoke said facing the ground and scratching the back of his head. "Whatever. We gotta do what we gotta do. If worse comes to shove, I'll just deal with J myself. I hope I don't have too seeing as I'm saving it for Aurelia but what am I gonna do?"
"Will you three be alright?" Hammerlock asked looking at the Vault Hunters worried.
"We'll be fine. One thing for sure is that it ain't gonna be boring. Chaotic but entertaining...but now that I think about it...if J gets out of hand, I am certain Iron Bear can handle him. She should be on oar with him," Smoke said with a hopeful smile. "No point in thinking about it now though. Still got plenty of stuff to do so meh," He said before turning and making his way to the door where J followed right behind him.
Moze stayed behind a few seconds before shaking her head and following after them. As she exited the building, J and Smoke would be talking to one another making her narrow her eyes before jogging over.
"What'd I miss?" Moze asked earning and glance from the two.
"Smoke here thinks you will not be able to hold him back when he loses it in the forest," Smoke answered causing J to glare at the inventor. "What that's what you said!"
"I did not," J replied softly.
"What did you say than J?" Moze asked crossing her arms under her bust with a raised brow.
"...when I lose it. I fear that I will hurt any of you," J answered looking at Moze.
"I doubt you would be able to do anything to me with Iron Bear Modified," Moze added with a huff.
"I doubt that," J said turning to face the soldier.
"Woo! Everyone needs to chill," Smoke said moving in between both of them while placing his hand on J's chest while bringing his opposite to stay in front of Moze's face. "In my defense, I can take both of you on,"
This caused both of them to glare at the inventor who slowly lowered his hands and chuckle.
"Funny," J said gripping his hands into fists.
"You think you can take me and Iron Bear on? In your dreams," Moze scuffed with a smile.
"There is one thing Katagawa Jr. could do when he fought me and J should now this full well," Smoke said slipping his hands into his pockets.
J fell silent and looked at the ground in deep thought before his eyes widened completely realizing what the inventor was talking about.
"Anything you build...is yours," J commented as he looked up at Smoke who nodded his head slowly with a cocky smile.
"And what does that mean exactly?" Moze asked looking at Smoke than J for an answer.
"Just in case any of you were to fall into enemy hands I input a special code as well as hidden function to shut either your weapons down or mech suit if they would ever be aimed at me," Smoke explained now looking at Moze who pulled out a pistol that was aimed at his face.
"What about guns you never modified?" Moze asked glaring at Smoke who only chuckled.
"Now that is an easy question. Nothing. Your guns aren't strong enough to break my shields in one hit..." Smoke said slipping his left hand out of his pocket grinning. "But mine will so I suggest you put your gun down and we make our way to the mission objective...jarhead. I ain't in any mood to have a gun pointed at my face for stating facts...even ones you do not like," He warned causing Moze to slowly lower her gun in which the inventor laughed and started to walk off toward the forest with his hands in his pockets.
"...your friend scares me at times J," Moze commented.
"You and me both," J agreed before the two followed the inventor.
/To be continued...