YOSH! This is Squalo King with a brand new chapter of Demon King of Pandora. I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. If I'm lucky, then this chapter will come out in March like the other. Meaning I can do two chapters a week instead of just one.
Axton: Hey there, Borderlands fans. It's the great ex-commando known as Axton! I'm here out of the safety of the writer to give a disclaimer. The writer of the fic owns nothing about Borderlands and that this story is non-canon. However, me being the star-studded man on the front lines is all accurate.
Oh, and here's a shout out for Kilo8, who has a Borderlands story called: Rebel Anarchy and Rebel Anarchy: Side Quests.
Hello Travelers(Part 2)
As far as anyone was concerned, things were bad. Lee, Claptrap, Zer0, and Axton are now faced with an ally who has succumbed to his maddened tenancies. Krieg the Psycho. To make matters worse, Maya was nowhere to be found, and any attempts to calm the juggernaut would do nothing. At the moment, Lee was injured with Claptrap in his hands, Axton was without any working guns or ammo, and Zer0 was about to take matters into his own hands.
Krieg charges at Zer0, swinging his buzz-ax like a maniac. He swings down at Zer0's head, but the ninja swiftly evades the attack. Zer0 then swiftly cut Krieg's arm. Krieg then swings again before Zer0 could strike again. Zer0 narrowly ducks the attack as it rushes past his helmet like ammo from a cannon. Zer0 then flips back and dashes at Krieg again, the tip of his blade gliding above the ice. Krieg swings his fist at Zer0 but misses with the assassin and crashes his fist into the ice, cracking it. Zer0 swipes at Krieg's side to cut him in the hip; however, Kreig swings his fist back, and Zer0 flips out of the way as he cut at Krieg's side. The cut was shallow, though Krieg didn't acknowledge it.
Krieg then continued to flail his weapon around like he was using a flyswatter with Zer0 dodging each attack flawlessly. As the two fought, Lee, Claptrap and Axton could only watch. Lee was injured and thinking of what to do with nothing coming to mind. Axton, without a working gun holding his survival ax in his hand, hoping that Zer0 would kill Krieg. Claptrap himself was frightened from Krieg's mere presence and confused at Lee's treatment of the psycho.
However, there was another that was watching helplessly as the violence continued. And no matter how hard he screamed, Krieg would not listen to him.
"Hey dumb-ass, what the hell are you doing?!"
A voice rings inside of Krieg's head. Unlike Krieg's psychotic, violent addled tone, this voice was more weathered, calm, collected, and coherent. More importantly, it was annoyed with Krieg's actions. This was Krieg's other half, his more stable self. Unfortunately for the others, the sane version of Krieg was not in control.
"BLATHERING DUNG-BEETLE ON ODIN'S ASS!" yelled Krieg at his inner voice. He continues to swing around his buzz-ax with no recourse, with Zer0 only being able to dodge.
"*Sigh* How did it turn to shit like this?" Thought Sane Krieg. "After we got blown to hell and back, we woke up in the middle of nowhere, and she was gone." his voice had a forlorn tone to it. The truth was that neither Krieg knew of Maya was okay or not.
"Then this moron goes rabid," he remembers Maya, "I can't blame him really," Thought Sane Krieg.
He watches as Krieg tries to tear Zer0 apart with the ninja dodging each attack with the grace and agility of a butterfly. As Zer0 dodged out of the way, he quickly cut Krieg's arm with his blade though it didn't seem to make a difference.
"Then these guys appear as stupid goes on a temper tantrum."
"Yeah, Kick his ass, Zer0!" yelled Axton.
"Axton!" yelled Lee angrily.
Krieg looked at Axton for a second, causing the commando to jump back, afraid. The Sane Krieg could only mentally groan angrily.
"Damn, out of all the people to find in this wasteland, I had to find these three," thought Sane Krieg.
"That Ninja guy, think his name was Zer0. Not sure what his deal is," thought Sane Krieg.
As the fight continue,d he took note of the others in his peripheral vision. He sees Axton frozen in fear.
"That Axton guy that pulled his gun out, and you thought Maya was in danger. He's a dick, and I wish he'd shut the hell up, but he ain't evil," he groans," he wants me dead regardless,"
He notes Lee was he was holding Claptrap and injured. He felt bad that Lee got injured.
"Look, remember the kid, Lee, didn't pull a gun on us, and he took those hits from that Loader." the sane Krieg continued as Zer0 dodged his attacks.
"What about him? Just remember!" He wishes he could use his hands, "He popped in from thin air and saved the kid."
"They fought with us on the train stupid, with Maya!"
As per usual, Krieg's sane half's statements fell on deaf ears.
"CHOCOLATE DECAPITATION!" yelled Krieg. He then swings hard and finally hits Zer0, cleaving his armor and breaking it Zer0 is stuck to it like a Scag to a pitchfork. Krieg holds his buzz-ax and Zer0's body in the air in victory.
"I BIT THE GHOSTS!" he yelled. Lee, Axton, and Claptrap were left in a state of shock when this happened.
"You idiot!" yelled Sane Krieg in his head.
"Zer0!" yelled Lee,
"Holy crap, he got him!" said Claptrap as he trembled in Lee's arms.
"Shit shit shit," uttered Axton. He knew that his options weren't good for them. Zer0, at the moment, was their best fighter. Lee was injured, and he knew for a fact he wasn't going to be able to fight Krieg head-on.
However, just as things seemed bleak, Zer0's body began to flash strangely with static and flickered. Soon Zer0's body vanished from Krieg's weapon, and the psycho is confused by this. Lee then and the real Zer0 appear behind Krieg undamaged. With blade in hand, Zer0 dashes at Krieg to stab him in the throat.
"Behind you stupid!" yelled the Sane Krieg.
Krieg then spins around and blocks the attack, allowing Zer0's blade to stab him clean through his arm. He swings his wounded arm while the blade was stuck inside, throwing Zer0 back and forcing him to let go. Zer0 rolls back onto his feet to see that.
"What the hell was that? Are they human?" asked Claptrap. Axton's fear turned to relief Krieg as Zer0 was alive. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but Zer0 and Lee were the best fighters in their current.
"Thank god, he scared me," uttered Axton. Lee shook his head.
"No, it's not good; he lost his sword.," uttered Lee.
Axton and Claptrap both look to see that Krieg had taken Zer0's sword out of his wound. Holding it like a toothpick in his large hands, Krieg grips it tight and throws it off into the distance. This action stuns the others considering that was the only good weapon that was present, Axton's ax would snap in two at Krieg's buzz-ax. Zer0 looked I the direction Krieg threw his weapon, and his mask presented a"ಠ╭╮ಠ."
Krieg shakes his fists in the air triumphantly.
"Well, now I feel bad," thought Sane Krieg. Zer0 then glares at Krieg.
"My favorite sword/ I had to special order/ You freaking douche-bag," he uttered. Krieg then waived his weapon around and slowly approached Zer0. The other could only watch as the fight would soon continue.
"Oh no, Ninja Minion is worthless now!" yelled Claptrap. Lee looked down at Claptrap.
"Okay, we really to talk about you calling people by their actual names," said Lee.
As the event continued, Axton looked at Lee in a panic, he runs over to him before Krieg could notice. He checks Lee and sees that he was injured; from Krieg's attack and the even on the train. He had used all of his medicine on himself. However, desperation begged him to ask.
"Lee, normally I'd take that guy with my hands behind my back, but I'm out of guns and ammo!" he looks down at Lee's leg with little confidence, "Can you fight like this, like how you fought that Badass?" he asked. Lee shook his head, whipping his hair back and forth.
"No, forget my wound I still haven't completely recovered from the explosion yet," said Lee. "I can't fight him or anyone right now!"
"M-Maybe we can tire him out, then sneak around him?" suggested Axton.
Krieg then began to attack Zer0 with the Ninja being unable to do anything but dodge out of the way. Lee and Axton thought as fast as they could. How could they resolve the situation by being empty-handed without suffering any more damage?
However, Lee looked down at the ground and noted the crack in the ice. He then got an idea, a horrible idea. Basically, the only idea that they had.
"Okay, I have a plan to stop Krieg," Axton and Claptrap look at Lee with intrigue and hope," but Claptrap, I need to ask you something important!" said Lee.
"Huh?" uttered Claptrap.
Zer0 continued to dodge out of the way of Krieg's attacks. He plotted some form of counterattacks, but he had no time to do so. Just when he believes the attacks would continue, a foolish person did something idiotic.
"Hey Krieg!" yelled Axton
Krieg stops his attacks and looks to see Axton holding Claptrap under his arm squirming and trying to get free. Zer0 saw this as well and noticed that Lee was nowhere to be seen. However, rather than try and attack Krieg from behind, he waits to see how it plays out.
Axton covered up any nervousness that he had. Upon closer inspection, Krieg's sane half noted that Axton's ax was nowhere to be seen, not that it could do anything.
"Whats this jack-ass up to?" he thought. "Is he gonna try to fight now?"
"Flier fire's tongue, repent!" said Krieg.
Axton takes a deep breath and clenches his fists. He digs deep within himself because he really didn't want to do this. He sheds any fear that he had at the moment and replaced it with
"I know where Maya is!" he yelled. Krieg's eyes then widened, his pupils dilatedbehind his mask. His head twitches like crazy, with his body language becoming more ominous. Claptrap felt nothing but fear; he shook and trembled to the point Lee was afraid he would slip out of his grasp.
"What are you doing?" screamed Claptrap in fear. He tried to shake out of Lee's grasp but to no avail.
Krieg then began to approach Axton slowly. His hand gripping onto his weapon to the point the sane version was afraid he'd break it. Murder was in his eyes and it was aimed at Axton.
"Sapphire, coated in light and rainbows!" he lifts his weapon in the air, "Call back the gray matter of discontent!" yelled Krieg. His tone was not only full of anger and madness, it was almost desperate.
However, Axton didn't say a word, prompting Krieg to walk toward him quicker. Like a lion approaching, Axton hid any nervousness
"What hell are you doing dumbass, if you fuck around with him like that he'll kill you!" yelled the sane Krieg in his head just as angrily.
Zer0 felt nothing but confusion from this statement, he knew it was a lie. He saw no reason for Axton to antagonize Krieg. Unless,
"It is clear to me/He plots, he schemes, he deceives/So what is your plan?," he thought, He keeps himself at the ready in case things go wrong.
"Want to know where that hottie is," Axton smiles This way, crazy!" Axton yelled.
"No stop!" pleaded Claptrap.
Axton then turned around and quickly runs away in the opposite direction with the little robot in his surprises Zer0 and Krieg, however, the reprieve doesn't last long.
"FORSKIN PHALACTERY ROAD RUNNER!" yelled Krieg.
He then chased after like a mad dog after a cat. Running so fast the three of them were quickly out of sight. Zer0 was about to give chase,
*BOOOOM*
An explosion went off in the distance. Soon thick black smoke rose into the air. Zer0 could only suspect that it was the others, but it wasn't in the direction that Axton and Krieg ran. And he still had no clue where Lee was. As he was about to give chase, he had the nagging feeling that he was being watched, which was honed to near perfection by his line of work. He quickly looks around, reaching for his blade and remembering that it was gone. Soon a figure appears in the distance. Zer0 doesn't hesitate to run toward it.
"THIS BETTER WORK!" yelled Axton in fear, desperation, and anger.
He ran like lightning through the snow and ice, vaulting over the scraps of metal, broken Claptrap units, and icy cold corpses of the land. With Claptrap in tow he ran from the juggernaut Krieg with the Psycho only moments behind him. He had run around for 5 or 10 minutes. Doing his best to lead Krieg on as long as possible, he wasn't keen on being bait.
"COME BACK NANCY, I'LL GIVE YOU A KISS!" yelled Krieg. The Psycho plows his way through any obstetrical in his way to get to Axton. The belief that the ex-soldier knew where Maya was, though rather than capture he planned on ripping his insides out and skipping rope with them.
"This was a horrible plan, he's gonna kill you and use me as a toilet!" yelled Claptrap.
"Yeah I know so don't distract me," he leaps over a large piece of scrap, "Keep going straight right?!" yelled Axton. Claptrap panicked as he hesitated to answer.
""Y-Yeah, ju-just keep going straight, right through dead Vault Hunters and broken Claptrap dreams!" yelled Claptrap. Axton fet uncomfortable hearing that out loud.
"Your kind of a bummer, and what's with that tone?" he asked.
Before Claptrap could answer Krieg catches up and swings his weapon down.
"LOOK OUT!" yelled Claptrap.
Axton then jumps out of the way, evading the attack. Krieg's buzz-ax then gets stuck in the ice. Axton quickly runs away as Krieg pulls hisweapon out and chases him again.
"HERE'S KRIEG!" he yelled.
Axton quickly looks around for Lee, hoping he had made it further without any trouble. He kept looking ahead, and then he saw it.
*Twinkle*
A twinkle of light, it was a signal. He thanked every single god in existence as he ran toward it.
"There he is!" said Axton.
"COME BACK FORESKIN MAN!" Yelled Krieg running like a rhino to his prey. Chills shot up Axton's spin, he could hear Krieg's feet as they rushed through the snow, getting closer.
"Damn it, run faster!" yelled Claptrap.
Axton picked up the pace, kicking up snow and letting the cold air rush. He ran directly toward the glimmer of light.. Could feel Krieg getting closer and closer. He and Claptrap trembled at the idea of Krieg catching them. They ran and ran until they could see Lee ahead of them, holding Axton's ax in his bloodied hands. At his feet, the ice was riddled cracks, made with Lee's bare fists.
"Axton its ready!" yelled Lee. He drops the ax and winds his fist back to swing as hard as he c
Axton then takes Claptrap and leads Krieg over to the cracks, hoping that this would work.
Moments ago.
"Claptrap, are there any sections of this place with pockets of air in them, where the ice is thin!?" asked Lee. Claptrap was thrown off by the question but quickly answers.
"Sure, one place is particular has one and coincidentally is nearby," said Claptrap "Just a couple of minutes that away," he points in the distance.
Lee then hands Claptrap to Axton who reluctantly takes the robot as Claptrap squirms.
"What are you doing?" asked Axton nervously. Lee stands up, not minding the wound on his leg.
"Hey careful," said Axton.
"Listen, I'll run up ahead and make cracks in the ground, we can use the pocket to trap him in until we come up with a better plan," said Lee. He holds out his hand.
"Give your ax and I'll hold it up to show the signal, there's enough light to make a glimmer," said Lee. Axton didn't have to think long before he had no faith in this plan.
"That's the dumbest plan I have ever heard in my life," said Axton.
"Oh definitely," said Claptrap.
"You got a better idea, cause I don't," said Lee. He egged Axton to hand him his ax. The Ex-commando did not have a better plan. None of Axton's equipment would be enough to restrain Krieg and Zer0 was unarmed. He hands Lee his ax. The young Vault Hunter takes it and prepares to take off
"Okay your gonna have to lead him over to me, and take Claptrap to make sure you don't get lost," said Lee. Axton
"Don't I get a say in this!?" asked Claptrap frantically.
"By the way how fast a runner are you?" he asked. Axton smiles and slicks his hair back with one hand as held Claptrap under his arm.
"Don't worry 'master', I was top of my High-school track team and fastest time at military training," said Axton. He then gives a confident laugh, hiding his fear of getting torn to bits by Krieg.
"And I know how to get his attention," said Axton. Lee nods. He then runs faster than he has on Pandora and disappears in the distance.
Axton runs over the cracks in the ground and Krieg doesn't take notice of the cracks. The moment Axton and Claptrap began to make their way across Lee ball up his fist and prepared to use all the strength he had left. He prepares to act asAxton makes his way halfway across and Krieg closing it.
"Don't do it yet, I'll fall in!" yelled Axton in a panic. He could feel the sweat rolling down his face as he carried Claptrap,
*Crackle* *Crunch*
The ice crunched broke with every rushed step that Axton took, every stomp that Krieg would give with his heavy feet. It moved and shifted slightly under their feet, preparing to break. Krieg payed no attention as he chased Axton down.
"HELL'S ARMS ARE OPEN, FLY INTO THEM!" yelled the Psycho. However, his sane half could see the trap unfolding before his very eyes.
"It's trap you dumb-ass, the ice is gonna break!"
Axton was getting closer to Lee, however Krieg was closing in. He could feel Krieg's Lee couldn't afford to let Axton get caught.
"Axton jump!" yelled Lee. He swings his fist and hits the ground. It begins to crackle loudly, it quickly breaks down with the ice caving in revealing an empty cavern deep below them; the walls and floor were smooth with a blue tint like the inside of a seashell. The real danger how far the drop was. As the ice fragments hit the ground Axton and Claptrap panic seeing this, but Krieg keeps running as if the ground wasn't breaking apart below him.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA!" the madman yelled.
"Oh shit!" yelled Axton.
"We're gonna die!" yelled Claptrap. Axton then throws Claptrap over to Lee.
"AHH!" yelled the robot. Lee catches him and puts him beside him. Axton then quickly jumps over the ever-growing hole in the ground with Krieg doing the same in attempt. Lee reaches his hand out and grabs Axton's hand and holds on to him as he hangs above a cavern hundreds of feet below. Axton swung his legs and tried to get some footing but his feet would slip.
"Claptrap, I mean a small air pocket!" yelled Lee. Claptrap shrugged hearing that.
"You didn't specify."
"Pull me u-Gahh!"
Axton yells in terror as he feels something grabbing at his leg. At the same time Lee felt Axton get considerably heavier. They all look down to see that Krieg had grabbed a hold of Axton's leg preventing him from falling to the cavern below. He swung his buzz-ax around set to hit Axton with it.
"STOP SCREAMING!" he yelled.
"AHHH!" they all screamed in unison.
"Kid pull me up!" yelled Axton.
Lee tries with all his might to pull Axton up. However, due to the weight of both Krieg and Axton, his body strained upon doing so. He pulls upward, gripping Axton's had as hard as he could, only to move him slowly. Claptrap tried to hell by pulling at Lee's leg. K
"Damn it!" thought Lee.
"TIME TO DIE!" yelled Krieg.
Krieg then rewound his weapon. However before he was about to carve open Axton's spine,
*Crack*
Everyone stopped in their tracks upon hearing that foreboding noise. A crack in the ice appears below Lee and Claptrap. It slowly spreads and weakens the structure below their the crack grows larger and then breaks apart causing Lee, Claptrap, Axton, and Krieg to fall into it.
"Are you serious?!" yelled Lee.
There was no time to grab for anything, there was nothing else to do. Their bodies tumbled and fell through the air helplessly like raindrops from the sky. And as they fell they Lee felt nothing but regret.
"GODDAMNIT!" he yelled. "WHAT A STUPID PLAN!"
They all brace themselves for impact, aside from Krieg who was Swan-diving. They keep waiting with their arms protecting their faces and eyes closed. But none of them hit the ground. At the same time, Lee experiences a searing migraine like on the train, a familiar feeling. As the pain fades he opens his eyes and sees that they were suspended in a stasis bubble, one of a familiar color. Soon Axton and Claptrap took notice and saw that they were saved from being flattened.
"We're alive?" uttered Axton.
"Um, this weird," his body was weightless "This feels familiar thought," said Claptrap.
"How di-"
"PRETTY LADY!" yelled Krieg.
They all flip their bodies over and see that Maya was standing above them with her tattooed arm aimed down at them. She wore a tired yet relieved expression on her face. Next to her was Zer0 with the emoticon "^̮^" They didn't know it was a miracle dumb-luck and they didn't care.
"It's the Siren Minion!" said Claptrap happily.
"Maya!" said Lee. Axton sighs in relief, happy that he didn't die.
"Glad I made it in time, let me get you out," she asked "And what was that about me being a minion?" she asked. Lee then chuckled nervously.
"I'll explain it later," said Lee.
Maya then uses her powers to lift them out of the hole slowly. As she did the group felt a sense of ease. Lee looked at Krieg and was gracious to see that he had calmed down.
As for Krieg, it was one of the times he would be grateful to be alive. As he and the others were being cradled in the energy bubble, he felt happy. He stares at Maya with a warm feeling in his heart, a feeling of safety, a feeling of hope. In these moments his sanity pulled itself into a tiny string of his psyche.
"Pretty Lady," he uttered.
"Sigh yeah, pretty lady," uttered Krieg's sanity.
After Maya had fished the four of them out of the hole Axton got on his knees. Exhausted from the running and to show gratitude to Maya for saving them. Claptrap and Krieg did the same leaving Lee the only one on his feet.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" said Axton.
"Oh dear and gracious minion, your master thanks you for saving his priceless life!" said Claptrap as he laid on his face in the ice.
"SHINY SKULL OF LUMINESCENCE!" yelled Krieg.
"Can't you just say thank you?" asked Krieg's sane half.
Lee nods and bows.
"I'm not getting on my knees, but from the bottom of my heart, thank you," he said. Maya smiles.
"Consider us even, you did awesome on the train," she groans, "Despite all that awful mess," said Maya. She gestured to Zer0.
"You should thank Zer0, he led me right to you," said Maya. "We just had to follow the blood," Zer0 nods.
"After you ran off/ The siren appeared to me/You should have waited," said Zer0. Axton and Claptrap get up and, along with Lee, feels nothing but embarrassment.
"H-Hey it's not our fault," he points to Krieg as he was on his knees, "He went nuts and tried to kill us!" yelled Axton. Claptrap then points at Krieg along with Axton.
"Yeah blame the psycho!" yeled Claptrap. Krieg then jumped to his feet prompting everyone but Maya to jump a little.
"FLIES CRAWLED OUT OF THE WOUNDS OF FUTILITY!" yelled Krieg,
"What?" asked Claptrap and Axton in unison. Lee scratched the top of his head with Zer0 merely shrugging his shoulders.
"Can't you just talk normally?" asked Krieg's sane half.
"He said he was upset because he thought I died," She looks at Krieg," But I'm okay now, so calm down," said Maya.
Claptrap went silent at Maya's translation. He didn't know if she was telling the truth or making it up and in all honesty, the others didn't know either.
"The fact you can understand him boggles the mind, are you sure its not a siren power?" asked Lee in a curious tone.
"Pretty sure," she said.
Maya looks over at Lee and sees his injury, he was still bleeding. She saw the bloodstains on Krieg's buzz-ax, she knew they were new. She also saw the wounds that Zer0 had given Krieg, in self-defense of course. Then there was the trap hole that was mere feet away from them. Maya wanted to, but couldn't get angry at them for fighting Krieg, she knew that he was crazy. However she still trusted him and was happy that he was alive.
"Sorry you had to fight him, and thanks for not killing him," said Maya, She felt a pain in her heart upon making that apology. "I haven't met him long, but I know he's different than the other psychos,"
Krieg sees a regretful expression on Maya's face and shamed rain through his veins like blood, eating him out from the inside.
"Damn it, see what you did," thought Krieg's sanity. However rather than feel rather or attempt to belittle Krieg Lee just sighs.
"It's cool he probably went nuts after what happened, I know I did," said Lee. He folds his arms, happy that his aching body could have a break. "Besides being alone can be hell and I don't want to leave him here."
"You mean that or are you just saying that?" asked Maya with a grin. Lee shook his head.
"I'm too tired to tell the difference," said Lee. Axton's eyes widened in unbelievable disdain.
"Are you serious?!" he asked loudly, "If I pulled that shit you'd kill me!"
"The Depths of Madness/ Are Deep, Dark, Dreadful, and Vile/ I enjoyed the fight." said Zer0. Claptrap then rolled around them and then in the middle of the group.
"Are you three nuts, what if he goes crazy agai-" Claptrp then remembers the many threats on the glacier," and aims his craziness at the other monsters and bandits, HA HA!" yelled Claptrap.
"Someone want to tell me whats up with this robot already.?" she said amused by his antics. Axton and Zer0 pointed at Lee to blame.
"Well minion, you've convinced me to allow the hulking Psychopath onto our journey to Sanctuary!" said Claptrap. He then pats Lee's leg as if though he was a dog. Lee didn't try to argue any logic, Claptrap did it himself..
"And its true this Minion is a siren and she can control the crazy one, perfect." yelled Claptrap.
Axton was about to interject, but he was honestly too tired to argue and it was already accepted that there was no getting rid of Krieg.
"I'm fine with it too, if any one cares" he begrudgingly puts his hands in his pockets.
"Course I'm not stupid, this guy is gonna be a problem later," thought Axton.
Krieg looked blank-eyed at the others as their talks of accepting him entered his ears.
"Hey stupid," Krieg hears his sane half speak, "you hear that they're not our enemies so don't hurt them,"
"Pork upon the spit," uttered Krieg.
"No, they aren't dinner either, don't make things harder for them or Maya, got that?" asked Sane Krieg. Krieg growled to himself, not wanting to give his intelligence any satisfaction.
"Hey big guy," Krieg stops," you hurt?" asked Maya/ She checks his arms for his wounds, but Krieg pulls his arm away.
"IT'S BROWN SO LET CRUST," yelled Krieg. He then clutched his weapon like a teddy bears. Maya shrugged.
"*Sigh* Fine act tough for now, I don't have anything to give you anyway," said Maya. "We should find the others and some medicine," She pats his arm.
"Speaking of which, before we go I think we should introduce you two to someone," said Lee. Claptrap then rolled in front of Lee and spoke.
"Greetings I am a Cl4P-TP st-" Axton pats Claptrap's head, and pulls him back "Hey!"
"His name is Claptrap, he's our ticked off the floating ice cube, but Lee's talking about a certain lady friend of ours," said Axton. He then points in a stylish manner and Lee nods.
"Angel we found Maya, and Krieg's calmed down." said Lee, "So you can out and say hi,"
"Angel?" uttered Maya.
Angel then revealed herself on Lee HUD. Upon showing herself Maya and Krieg were dumbfounded at her appearance.
"G-Greeting Maya," she looks at Krieg' and Krieg," uttered Angel introducing herself. Lee noted that Angel's tone of speaking was different during this time.
"PHANTOM MENACE!?" yelled Krieg.
Maya made a more hypnotic look than Krieg's shocked one. She was mystified, astounded at Angel's presence. It was like she couldn't look away.
"Whoa H-Hi, I'm Maya," she gulps, "Are you the spirit of Pandora or something?!" asked Maya excitedly. Angel was a bit taken back when asked such a thing. Before Angel could answer Lee interjected.
"You know that's right, I never did ask what you really were," said Lee, "Can you actually answer that?"
The others were anticipating an answer, but Angel spoke at the ready.
"Well I'm not actually the spirit of Pandora," said Angel. "I am an AI, but I do have my own connection to it."
Everyone was interested in Angel's answer. Though there wasn't enough information for a clear answer it only kept them wanting more.
"To Pandora, and she's AI?" thought Lee. "That's so cool,"
"Never mind that for now, If you make it back to land and the Sanctuary then you can being looking for the Vault and stopping Handsome Jack."
"Oh yeah, that asshole who tried to kill us!" said Maya angrily
"Unspoken consensus is that all present want him dead for his bullshit," Axton then raised his hand,
"Agreed?" asked Axton.
"AYE!" everyone said and raised their hands.
"BUNNIES!" yelled Krieg.
However, Maya found this to be strange. She didn't know anything about Angel and did think something strange. However, Lee interjected with a smile.
"Me and Zer0 can vouch for her, she led him to me and helped keep me from giving up," said Lee. Zer0 nods give a thumbs up, and shows an emoticon;
"(ʘ‿ʘ)"
"She's on our side, and we need all the help we can get," said Lee. "Plus I don't mind making another actual friend," He grins.
"That I agree with," said Axton.
Angel giggles.
"Thank you Lee, I promise I won't let you down," said Angel. She looks at Maya and Krieg.
"As of now we need to find Gaige and Salvador first," said Angel. Maya then points at the smoke in the distance.
"Then we should probably see what that's about," said Maya..
The others saw the smoke stack as it was slowly dispersing. Whether or not if there was a fire could not be determined, but from Zer0 and Maya's opinion, it was loud as fuck. As Lee wondered when and why that explosion happened to begin with.
"If that ain't clue I don't know what is," said Axton.
"When you two ran off/ Something exploded out there/ TNT went boom," said Zer0.
"AAHH! "
The sudden robotic scream causes all to look at Claptrap. The tiny robot had his hands on his head as he was filled with nothing but anxiety, fear and dismay.
"That's where my house is?" yelled Claptrap.
"Your house, wait you have a home?" asked Maya. Claptrap turned to Maya.
"Yes, it's all warm and toasty in there with the furnace!' yelled. Claptrap.
The 'furnace' flipped a switch in the heads of everyone. The cold unforgiving area they were in had assaulted them over and over through its conditions. The and mere utterance of a source of constant warmth in a house was euphoric to them. Their minds visualized being inside a normal home and being around a fire, away from the any harm or conflict. However, Krieg's mind held the idea of skewering several heads and placing them over a fire like marshmallows.
"Who would blow a poor Claptrap's home?" yelled Claptrap in pain.
Lee then snapped out of the fantasy and saw but a single image when Claptrap questioned the possible destruction of his home.
"*Sigh* Salvador," he uttered. He gained the attention of the group.
"Huh?" asked Claptrap
"I'm saying that Gunzerker that I told you about, I'm not really sure something in my bones is telling he he's the source of that boom," said Lee. "And he's probably happy about it,"
Everyone else put together what little memory he had of Salvador on the train during the fight and before.
"Yeah I believe that," said Axton.
"Definitely," said Maya.
"(─‿‿─)" appeared on Zer0's mask.
"BIG TNT FILLED WITH BIGGER FEARS!" yelled Krieg.
"AHH. I can't let this Savla minon burn my only home down!" screamed Claptrap.
He then ran off in the direction of his home, leaving a tire tack in his wake.
"I'M COMING HOME SWEET HOME!" he yelled.
"Hey wait for 'master'," said Axton.
Axton and Zer0 then chased after Claptrap. Lee trailed behind with Maya and Krieg ran ahead to catch up,
"TO GATES OF HELL HA HA HA HA!" he yelled. It almost looked like he was trying to capture Claptrap.
"Is Claptrap really going to help?" asked Maya. Lee shook his head.
"I don't really know, but recently I've been making friends out of the weirdest strangers and I don't have any other idea." he groaned, "And I don't have time to wait while that Vault is out there," said Lee.
"I guess we can follow him for now, he's kind of adorable," said Maya.
"Plus we should talk with him later, he said he knew about a siren named Li-"
"What, why didn't you lead with that!?" she asked surprised.
She ran on ahead with the others to make sure Claptrap was safe.
"*Groan* Well at least I know we're all on board," he said to himself.
"Don't forget me," said Angel appearing in Lee's HUD
"Right sorry," said Lee. "So you're some kind of AI, can you tell me a bit about yourself?"
"I'll let you ask whatever you wish when we've found everyone and maybe I'll get curious about you," said Angel.
"That's fair," said Lee nervously.
"Oh and don't worry about Gaige, I'm detecting an energy signature in the direction of the explosion," said Angel. "It's very unique, it could be Gaige.
"Or Deathtrap!" yelled Lee.
This news caused a large amount of elation to rumble through Lee's body. He even sped up his running.
"Really that's great!" he yelled. He runs to tell the others as fast as he could.
During their trek to Claptrap's home they lookout for any other signs of life, but to no avail. Lucky for them it was far easier to see now and it had stopped snowing. No enemies had shown up yet but there was no sign of Claptrap's home or Gaige and Deathtrap. They ran as fast as their
"How long before we get there?" asked Axton as he ran. "I'm starting to get hungry again,"
"Just a few more minutes, hurry I don't want my stuff burned!," yelled Claptrap frantically.
As they continued on they looked around for any signs of the others, though Lee was confident that they would see Gaige on the way. Soon they came across an area where more scrap was entrenched in the area. Large pieces of the train, rusted metal and even some piece of Loader bots gave this place the appearance of a grave yard.
"I have a bad feeling about this place," Lee looks at Maya. "Maya I know you have your powers but what about any guns?" asked Lee
Maya shook her head.
"Nope, I lost them all," she said.
"That figures, though I'm positive with you and Krieg here we can make up the difference," said Lee with a bit of confidence.
"Wish we could find Gaige, missing my fan," said Axton.
"Angel how close are we to that energy signature?" asked Lee.
Angel appeared with a smile and shows a map with a red dot on it.
"It's close by, just make a right turn and you're almost on top of it," said Angel.
"We're almost there," said Lee.
Lee stops prompting the others to stop. He quickly looks off to the right much to Claptrap's disdain.
"Why are you stopping, what about my house that might be on fire?!" he yelled in his shrill robotic voice.
"The signal Angel talked about is off this way and it's close," said Lee. He turns in the direction of the signal and runs that way, "Gaige, you there?" he asked as he ran.
"Hey wait up!" yelled Maya.
"Were coming, number 1 fan!" yelled Axton.
Zer0 showed a "!" on his mask and ran after Lee with Krieg nearly shoving him out of the way to keep close to Maya.
The others then chase after Lee with Claptrap stopping. Confused and angered about the lack of importance of his home.
"But what about my house!?" he asked. He then runs after the others not wanting to be alone.
However, when Claptrap reaches them he noted that they had stopped in their tracks. Not searching for Gaige or Deathtrap, just standing there.
"Hello, let's go!" yelled Claptrap.
Claptrap rolls out in front of them and sees perturbed looks on their faces. All filled with despair, confusion, and discomfort. Claptrap looks ahead and sees that before them was a metal hand and arm reaching out of the snow and around it was splatters of blood that colored the snow red. It was an item that was familiar to all of them, it was Gaige's metal arm and her main tool for summoning Deathtrap. With this, they assumed their death.
"Gaige," uttered Maya. She gives Lee a saddened look, knowing that he had known her longer.
"I-I'm sorry Lee," she said.
"Damn, I-I thought for sure she'd be okay," said Axton who was getting upset.
Zer0's mask showed "(ಥ﹏ಥ)" to represent his sadness.
"I did not know her/ But she fought with all of you,/ I am sorry Lee," said Zer0,
Claptrap looked at the metal arm and was confused.
"What's wrong with you guys?!" he asked tactlessly.
Then without saying a word Lee walks over to Gaige's arm. He stands centimeters away from it., from the blood. No one tried to stop him and they give him his space. They also kept Claptrap away from him.
"Angel, us that signal still here?" he asked calmly. He did his best not to panic or get upset, but the image of Gaige's possible corpse haunted him.
"If she really is dead, then it's all my fault," he thought to himself.
"The signal is here and it's very close!" said Angel. "And I know what your thinking, but she might not be dead so don't give up yet, trust me,"
Lee then sighed. He could feel anxiety trying to crush him, but he wouldn't let it.
"Okay," he leans down to the arm, "she's gonna need this back," he uttered.
He digs in the snow for a bit, luckily for Lee, it was powdery and soft. He then picks up the metal appendage.
*Wreee* *Snap*
Lee then heard the sound of a wire being pulled and snapping. He looked down at the arm several wires quickly retract into the snow. Before Lee has the time to even curse a trap noose wraps tightly around the ankle of his injured leg and pulls Lee upward with a long metal pole rising from the ground attached to the trap. This quickly gains the other's attention who then runs over to help Lee.
"He's gonna get eaten!" yelled Claptrap.
"AHHH, what the hell!" yelled Lee as he swung upside down. His cloak even falls off of him and gets snagged onto some scrap metal.
Before the others could reach Lee the show begins breaking apart and rising as it covers a large robotic figure with one eye. In no time flat Claptrap hides in his own body afraid, but the snow quickly falls revealing itself to be,
"Deathtrap!" yelled Axton happily. Any tension or danger that was created had been quickly dashed.
Deathtrap stares down at the others and waves his arms around with joy. He was glad to see that everyone was okay. He looks at Zer0 who waives at him and remembers his assistance on the train to perceive him as a threat.
*Elated robot noises* He hugs Axton, then Maya, even Zer0. Though he doesn't hug Krieg.
"It's good to see you too," said Maya.
"MACHINE OF DEATH, FULL ON GAS!" yelled Krieg as he waved his weapon around.
Claptrap slowly gets out of his turtle stance when no battle occurred. He sees Deathtrap. Strangely enough, he rolls over to Deathtrap who questions what Claptrap was even doing there.
"Wait your the Robot minion of the robot arm minion," he taps his clamps together," Perfect now I can I have someone to practice robot solidarity with and is also my minion,"
"Unlike those snobbish Loader bots who keep shooting at me, or that self-righteous toaster!" yelled Claptrap.
Deathtrap pats Claptrap's head like he was a puppy due to being smaller.
"I like him already," said Claptrap
"Deathtrap was with Gaige,/ Right before the train blew up/ She may still be here," said Zer0.
As Lee looks at the other upside down he feels a great burden take off his shoulders. As he notes them about to come and help him he sees bright and cheery smiles on their faces as they looked in their direction. Feels a hand on his shoulder that spins him around and he sees Gaige with a big smile on her face.
"Lee, oh I'm so happy your okay!" said Gaige. Lee was almost too happy to say anything, there she was uninjured aside from her robot arm missing from her body.
"Gaige, thank goodness I thought you died for a second there," said Lee. Gaige spins Lee around and puts her hand to her hip.
"Oh please it'll take more than some megaton of TNT and a sprinkle of C4 to take me down." said Gaige, "I've got lives for days baby!"
"Gaige, hey over here!" yelled Axton.
Gaige looked over and was ecstatic to see everyone else was okay. Though a bit thrown off by Claptrap's presence.
"Axton, I knew you'd be okay,!" said Gaige.
"I was lounging when these guys found me," said Axton as to brag.
"And naked," thought Lee to himself.
"Hi Siren Girlfriend," said Gaige "And Krieg, don't eat me," she looked a bit afraid and glad that Krieg wasn't going crazy.
"Right, we're just missing Salvador," said Lee as he spun around. Gaige grabs his head and stops him.
"Great, let's find the magical shrunken Truxican and get off this glacier," she said.
However, Gaige looked at Lee and saw how he was hanging precariously upside down before her. Their eyes at an equal level, which caused her to smile in a mischievous manner and Lee to get uncomfortable.
"You know this was made for Hyperion scrubs," said Gaige. "We need to stop meeting like this,"
"Huh," Lee thought about it for a moment and he groaned, but then chuckled,
"Yeah, now get me down," said Lee. "And back away a bit, you're making nervous
"Aw come on, doesn't it remind you of that movie about that nerd that gets superpowers?" asked Gaige. "That super freaking romantic moment with his crush?"
"I don't, I usually watch a lot of movies," said Lee uncomfortably, "Now get me down before my head spins, this planet gives me enough headaches."
Gaige then groaned to herself, her disappointed look confuses Lee.
"Your making references hard for me," said Gaige frustrated "How can you not know that scene?"
Lee had no idea what Gaige was talking about.
"I know that movie," said Angel. She appeared right-side-up in Lee's HUD right before Gaige and startles her.
"What the heck, who are you?!" Gaige asked. Soon the others heard this and walk over to them. Angel smiles upon seeing Gaige.
"Sorry for that, getting used to these introductions." said Angel, "I'm Angel and I'm going to help you all find the Vault,"
"The Vault, how's that possible, where are you from, are you an AI, "she then points at Lee, "or are you Lee's off-planet girlfriend cause he didn't tell me about you and there's nothing between us so he's clean," said Gaige;
Lee blushed upon hearing that and groans. However the thought entered his head about Angel being an AI, it would explain how she was able to speak to him through the ECHO.
"Don't do that, I'm already getting crap from Axton," said Lee. Angel herself gets flustered and didn't know how to answer.
"Well I am AI of sorts, I can explain my knowledge of the Vault and why it's important that you survived," said Angel. "Also, no I'm not Lee's girlfriend,"
"Thank you, now can you get me down," said Lee, "I'm kind of injured here," Gaige notes his burns and injuries.
"Don't worry damsel, mama will get you down.," she said. Soon the others reached them, Gaige looks at Deathtrap and he cuts Lee down with a single swing from his energy claws. Though they were happy to see each other one thing remained for Gaige to know.
"Now what's the plan here people?" Gaige asked as Lee stood up.
One Moment later
The others explained it all to Gaige; How Jack had killed Vault Hunters before them, that Claptrap had a way off the Glacier, how Angel had found Lee and Zer0, where they were. Also that their main objective had increased in size; Find Salvador, get to Sanctuary and the Crimson Raiders, Find the Vault and kill Handsome Jack.
As the Vault Hunters gathered round to inform Gaige with Angel in Lee's HUD, Lee's injures bandaged up with a new pair of pants gained from a corpse that Gaige had found. Krieg was also treated by Maya with Gaige's help.
"I never thought I'd see a CL4P-TP bot again," she said with interest. "I thought your series got canned,"
"Canned?" uttered Maya.
"Yep, these rust buckets got discontinued a few years ago when Jack took over," said Gaige. "Claptraps were dropping like flies,"
"Oh we were, it was a massacre of my people, but I survived alone," said Claptrap in a strangely happy tone.
"That's actually fucking sad," said Lee. He feels in his pocket and feels on his deck of cards.
"Speaking of survival and alone; we should probably find shorty," said Axton.
"Into hell!" yelled Krieg. Maya nods.
Claptrap looks in the direction of his home and sees that the smoke has died down. He had hopes that whatever fire there was had fizzled out and the explosion had done no damage.
"Now to my home," said Claptrap. "Follow me, minions," he then rolls over with Gaige getting angry,
"I didn't agree to that- and he's gone," she said as Claptrap gets away.
"Well let's go, we're not getting to the Vault by standing here," said Lee.
"We're coming 'master'" said Axton. Zer0 then kicked Axton in the shin. "Ow"
"I am no servant/ That dumb robot is confused/ Don't encourage him," said Zer0
The others then went after Claptrap with Lee stopping Deathtrap and Gaige from going any further,
"What are you doing, we have to go," said Gaige.
*Confused robot noises*
Lee's posture was very nervous and shy. This caused Gaige to be worried and anxious about what was going on. Lee struggled to speak at first but then he let it out.
"I"m sorry," he uttered.
"Huh, Sorry for what?" asked Gaige.
"I-I put you and Salvador on that train without thinking."Lee looks down at the snow like a man admitting his sin, "If I had listened to you or maybe made a plan of attack then we wouldn't have gotten in that trap and end up out here," said Lee.
There was nothing but sincerity and regret in Lee's apology but Gaige just nods.
"Yeah we could've killed Jack back at Lynchwood, but now that doesn't matter," she blushed embarrassed, "Also I didn't have the best idea back then so you kind of saved me," said Gaige,
Lee smiles and Gaige smiles back.
"Also if I didn't forgive you I probably won't be able to talk to your sick new AI friend," She giggles "She's a fan of movies?" asked Gaige.
Angle then appears in the HUD and makes Lee jump.
"Of course, it's a great way to pass the time," said Angel.
"Awesome and I need to find out what kind of processing-"
"Gaige not to interrupt, but as much I want to find that stuff out too we need to go on ahead," said Lee.
"Perfect then after I get off this rock I can kill Jack," said Gaige with anger, "Anarchy!" She pumps her fist in the air with Deathtrap doing the same.
*Angry robotic noises*
"Uh let's catch up with the others, they might leave us behind," said Lee. "We can talk about what to do when we're safe,"
"Come on DT!" said Gaige.
The four of them ran after the others to Claptrap's home.
Marcus and the Orphan,
"Its great that everyone met up again, even though its not in a prison." said the Orphan.
"Still on that, huh kid?" asked Marcus.
"Its literary hook," said the Orphan with pride.
"If you say so brat, course prison will be up after a while," said Marcu, "Now back to story,"
With Claptrap leading the way our group comes across a metal structure with more scrap and garbage in the area that was icy cold from the area. Blending with it was a mound of forgotten metal trash with some burning oil drums filled with paper. Near the misshapen building with an icy peak was a sign that said welcome. With the ice storm now gon and the sky clear the Vault Hunters could see the aurora borealis decorating the sky along with the stars and the Helios space station and injured moon. Some windmills could even be seen in the distance. Lastly, there was a large sign with the holographic words;
"Welcome"
Much to Claptrap's enjoyment, his home was in one piece. However something was out of place; in a small crater laid Salvador on his back, body injured with some of his clothes torn and injured. Several broken guns surrounded the crater, all empty. Before anyone could perceive the worst of the situation a sound rang through the air.
*SNOOOOOOOOORE*
They could hear snoring as they approached the sleeping dwarf. Salvador is alive and well.
"Are you kidding me, we went through all that and he's just sleeping?" asked Axton angrily.
"Well he's okay, should we wake him up?" asked Maya. Zer0 nods. Kreig prepares his buzz-ax but Maya stops him. Gaige steps forward with Deathtrap ready to obey.
"Leave it to me, DT alarm clo-"
Lee steps out in front of Gaige and interrupts her. He was an annoyed look on his face. Before a word could be spoken he balls his hand into a fist.
"I was worried you died and you're sleeping?" uttered Lee. "I thought you died and here you are as comfortable as a kid in his bed," Lee scowls and shakes his fist,
"You tiny bastard!"
Lee then slams his fist into Salvador's face, punching him. He walloped him that Salvador's arms and legs flew up with the ice cracking beneath his body.
The others were shocked to see Lee do this and were surprised that he hadn't killed Salvador.
"Is he okay to do that?" asked Claptrap.
"Probably, he's known him longer," said Maya unsure herself.
The Gunzerker didn't respond right away and continued to snore, but quickly his body shifted and moved. He soon wakes up and yawns.
"*Yawn* Too many drinks," he feels a searing pain on his face, "Ha who woke me up?" he asked in a jovial tone. He stands up and stretches for a bit.
Salvador then sees the others looking down at him and smiles. He quickly runs to Lee who was rubbing his own hand at punching Salvador. The others were relieved and surprised to see Salvador was okay from not only the train explosion, a second explosion, and Lee slugging him square in the head.
"Ha Eres tan lento, about time you made it here," His voice was jovial and happy, "What took you so long Nino?" he asked.
"I got held up, sorry," said Lee with a grin.
CLaptrap then points at Salvador as the man stood as right as rain.
"He's a lunatic," said Claptrap.
"I'm Salvador!" yelled Salvador
That's all I wrote.
I Will edit later on
Learned I can pull two chapters one important work month.
Review if you wish.
"This is Squalo King Signing off,"