Chapter 9 Just A Quickie ;)
This is so unfair.
"Stop skulking." Roland, the car thief, demanded from behind the steering wheel. He won the rights to drive the car we earned, and I paid for, in a tested and tried game.
Rock paper scissors.
In my defense, how could've I foreseen him choosing rock for all three rounds?! It's the perfect counter to my scissors only strategy, I never saw it coming. Leave it to a soldier to learn all the tactics.
"It was a stupid game anyway." I muttered, crossing my arms, and looking down.
"Cheer up." Lilith wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "It could be worse. You could be in Brick's spot right now."
Currently, Brick was on our turret, looking for the smallest excuse to fire. Then randomly firing at anything, for no particular reason at all.
It was an interesting car, Scooter fashioned up for us.
It was a bit different then how it worked in the game. Instead of just magicking up a brand new car out of nothing but code, like the Digi-struct implied, we had to take one. Specifically, one of the Bandit Technicals that attacked Fyrestone.
It was pretty beat up, but after we persuaded Brick to push it into Scooter's garage, we got it repaired in about an hour or two. And now, we have the car uploaded into the Catch-A-Ride, so we can ditch it, and get it from another terminal, if we wanted.
"At least Brick's having fun." I argued childishly, gazing up at the big man with the big gun. The smile on his face, and his occasional whoop offered no rebuttal. "We're stuck in the backseat."
And by backseat, I meant the bed of our monster truck-like ride. Which is pretty unsafe during normal conditions. But we're going over a hundred miles an hour in a rocky, desert terrain, with the risk of getting shot at.
Roland better be a safe driver.
"We know. We're here too, amigo." Mordecai commented, trying to sit in a comfortable position, while supporting Bloodwing, who was perched on his shoulder. "Just as much risk, just as little fun as you. You don't see us complaining."
"That's because Lilith's invincible, and you're at less risk than everyone else." I point out, to his confusion. "Lilith can turn intangible if shit goes south. And you have Bloodwing, if we crash, she could just carry you to safety."
Lilith looked smug, Bloodwing preened, and Mordecai seemed annoyed. "The bird can fly, I can't. Besides, I'm too big for her to carry" He argued, muttering some Truxican swears under his breath.
Truxicans, the space Mexicans. It's a good thing I'm not a racist hotdog.
"Have you ever tried?" I asked him teasingly.
"You do remember that I jumped off a cliff, right?" Mordecai rolled his eyes at my question.
"But that's just it, you jumped, and survived. I think if the car exploded you'd be fine." I remind him, still inspecting him for the injuries, he should have gotten.
The fall recall didn't bring him to the nearest fast travel, which probably meant that he would have survived his leap, without crippling himself. I'm still trying to figure out how. What are your secrets birdman?
Mordecai's confidence appeared to be renewed, because he just sat up straighter, and smirked proudly before replying. "Okay, so maybe we would be fine." He gestured to himself and Lilith, who gave a peace sign. "But how would driving help you survive the crash?"
"It probably wouldn't." I admit shamelessly, to their surprise. "I just want the privilege of driving the car I helped pay for, before I die." I said that second part louder, directing my attention to our current driver, Roland.
He pretended not to hear me.
Dick.
"Well, you could ride with Marcus and Claptrap." Lilith suggested teasingly.
"Nope!" I quickly answered. "It's fine, everything's fine, could always be worse!"
…
"They're stopping." Roland commented, as we slowed down to park near the arm's dealers' bus.
Coincidentally, waking me up from my short power nap. I gave a small yawn, and absentmindedly patted my 'pillow', Lilith, who thankfully dozed off too.
I also gave a small glare to Mordecai, who seemed to be completely awake, and smiling smugly. I mimed a 'cut your throat, if you say anything gesture', and got off the Technical. Taking a few hesitant steps to get my footing.
"So, we're here?" I asked Marcus and Claptrap skeptically, as they departed from the bus. "It doesn't look like a mine."
And indeed, it didn't, it looked like a barren wasteland. Then again, so did the rest of Pandora. But as I'm fairly certain a mine would involve a dig site, or you know at least a structure, I'm fairly certain this isn't it.
Marcus seemed inclined to agree, as he shook his head in approval. "The robot says it's still a couple of miles, that way." He gestured with a pointed thumb. "This is as far as I'm going though. I like being alive."
Fair enough. "Alright. And Claptrap, you're sure that's where the headstone mine is?" If I found out he's been lying for the attention… I can't be held accountable for what I'd do to him.
"Of course, Mr. Jack!" Claptrap answered positively. "Dahl personally had me-"
"Again, really not comfortable with all this Dahl stuff." I stopped him with a raised hand, while rubbing the other over my masked forehead. "Okay, easy peasy. A little bit more driving, and we're there, let's get moving people."
"One more thing." Marcus cut us off, before we made it back to the car. I swear if this is some kind of side quest, I'll- "I want double."
What? "What?"
"You paid me to have Claptrap escort you, then drop him off wherever. This is wherever." Marcus gestured to the empty dessert. "If you want me to inflict him on some poor town, I want double."
Well that's a no brainer. "Hell no-"
"Dad." Angel didn't threaten, she was way too sweet for that. But even a deaf man could hear the warning tone in her voice.
I sighed, and very reluctantly accepted the bus driver's terms. "Fine." I grit out, forking over some cash from my wallet.
That wallet's getting real light.
Marcus counted each bill respectively, ensuring that he was paid a sufficient bribe, before stowing the money, and nodding. "A pleasure doing business with you. Next stop: New Haven. Feel free to look me up."
"Oh boy!" Claptrap cheered excitedly. "I've never been to New Haven, I wonder if they have Claptraps. Or ramps! Or maybe…" At that point I tuned the robot out before I went insane, gazing back at the bus driver, he seemed equally unamused.
Marcus frowned. "On second thought, triple-"
"Don't push it." I warned, glaring at both him and the babbling machine.
Marcus chuckled and waved his hand placatingly. "Was just a joke, all is well." He grabbed the mechanical monstrosity and walked back to his bus. I'm pretty sure he was swearing in Russian under his breath.
They drove away, into the sunset, never to be seen again… well, actually they might. But a man can hope. Or in this case dream.
Delusions counted as dreams, right?
…
"Remember people, we don't need him alive. Just his Vault Key, so don't pull your punches. Looking at you Brick." Jack reminded them, giving a pointed look to Brick at the end.
Brick looked visibly offended by the accusation. "I would never."
"Uh huh." Jack drawled, unconvinced. "By the way, about your whole punching method…"
"Yeah?" Brick questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, that's gonna have to go." Jack informed the much larger, much more intimidating man, uncaringly.
"What?!" Brick screamed outraged.
"Oh, don't be like that." Jack rolled his eyes at the big man's concerns. "I get it, you're a badass. Thing is, The Destroyer eats badasses. So, I need you to be an ultimate badass."
"I can be an ultimate badass." Brick argued pitifully.
"Well, of course you can." Jack agreed patronizingly. "If you start using a gun."
"I used the turret." Brick reminded, receiving a small groan for his efforts.
Jack rubbed the forehead of his mask reflexively, in his signature form of a facepalm. "That's not your gun, it's the car's gun. And, case in point, we're not always in the car."
"Why not?" Brick asked, like every child who asked why, ever. And about everything.
"Because…" Jack actually seemed to hesitate. It was unclear if he was genuinely unsure, or if he was trying to find a way to calmly explain why a car could not fit into places like mines. "Because I said so."
His argument for either was the same.
"But I like punching things." Brick bemoaned. Looking at his bloody and bruised fists forlornly.
"You can still punch things." Jack reassured, breathing slowly to avoid yelling. "But once we get you a gun, you can shoot them too."
Brick sighed, before reluctantly nodding. "Okay…"
"Okay?" Jack double checked.
"Okay." Brick answered firmly "But on one condition."
"Ah, sure. What is it?" Jack asked bemused.
"I get to pick the gun." Brick was never known for his skills of negotiation.
"Roger that, big guy. Whaddya want? Assault rifle, sniper rifle, laser-"
"I want a shotgun." Brick interrupted.
"A… shotgun." Jack blinked, and rubbed a finger into his ear, as if he misheard.
"Yup." Brick agreed with a smile.
"That's what you want?" Jack asked deadpanned.
"That's what I said." Brick clarified.
"Uh huh" Jack sighed, and looked to the heavens "… Brick, you're already a close range fighter, you don't need a shotgun."
"You said I could pick." Brick reminded, with an accusing finger.
"No, I know. It's just… really?!" Handsome Jack threw up his hands in frustration.
"Yup." Brick repeated, grin restored.
"Fine, whatever. Suit yourself… Hey, where are the others?" Jack asked, after he noticed the absence of the other people he's paying.
"Oh, they went ahead." Brick answered nonchalantly.
"What? When did they leave!?" Jack asked, confused, and mortified by his lack of attention.
"About five minutes ago."
"And you didn't say anything?!"
"You didn't ask." Brick crossed his arms with a pout.
"I- You-!" Jack struggled with himself. "You need to-"
"Guys! Can you get over here already!?" Lilith called frantically from further along the mine.
"Yeah, we're coming!" Jack called back, rolling his eyes before turning back to Brick with a pointed finger. "This conversation is not over."
"Whatever you say boss." Brick allowed with a chuckle, before they both sprinted to catch up with the other Vault Hunters.
Oddly enough, the conversation never continued.
…
Heyya Kiddos! Sorry/Not sorry about the delay, and the small chapter.
No but actually, I do feel a little bad about it. Had some family concerns rise up that I had to deal with and didn't have time to write. Ended up losing my place where I was writing and had to remember what I wanted.
Honestly, writing the rest of the events of the first game in a better narrative is gonna be a little trying, but I'll do my best for you guys, which brings me to a sad point. The NEW schedule.
Recently I've just been posting chapters within like 5 days of each other, that's gonna have to change, if I don't want my writing to become awful. So now this story will be updated for certain every two weeks, with perhaps a chapter in between if I write more than I had planned.
It's also due to me writing a new fic, which I'll probably post on or before next Saturday. Generally, it's a Spider-Man in DC fanfic, I'm thinking of calling it "Be Greater", but I'm always up for suggestions.
Except for changing this Title. It's way better than the other one with almost the exact same name.
Now to everyone's favorite portion: Answering Reviews!
Flitterflux: Yup! Blake is such an office bitch, and soon he'll be Jacks… wait, they came out wrong… awkward!
Cobalt Conrad: We'll see… he might though.
Y45K4N1 4N (I even tried Leetspeak, still no clue): I… doubt it. My mother didn't die, but she and my father did get divorced, and neither I nor my sisters had an issue when he began dating. It was roughly the same age range, and I think regardless, Angel's had time to process and move on.
Fatalis0217: Ditto! Happy to hear that, and hope you enjoy it!
Bohemian Rhapsody: I always take that feedback! Helps the ego… So, let's address you.
There are more benefits to the mask that I have yet to reveal… you'll have to wait and see. And obviously we can't have our journey without bringing the people who like adventurers!... then immediately ditching them *Shrug* They'll be back.
Chapter 7: Yeah, Fragtrap's gonna be a handful, but at least Overlook won't have to deal with him. As for the Calypsos, full agreement. Jack could be an asshole, but he was funny about it. And he never killed a Vault Hunter until it was really personal. (Although he did try beforehand) Really enjoyed killing the Calypsos, and running the risk of repeating myself, things will be different this time around.
Also, you rechecked Chapter 2, and uncovered a connection I was going to reveal at a later date. You missed the one I was hinting towards, but since you've discovered more foreshadowing, I'll grant another hint. It involves Gaige. 'Nuff said.
And yeah, some parallels between this and Bioshock, not surprising since 2K made both games.
SevenSeasOfRhye: Angel's existence is not a secret, her "heritage" is. Jack 2.0 will do his best to keep it that way. The original had good intentions despite his many faults, hopefully this Jack will get it right
To a guest: Love you too, pal.
Clap Trap: Dear Claptrap, fuck off, sincerely Handsome Jack.
…
Uhhgh! Fine. Ch. 2: Intentional, internal rant. Ch. 3: The space is there in Word, but sometimes Word likes to fuck me when I post these chapters, I'll update it for the ONE typo though. Ch. 1: I noticed that too, but I already posted it, thought it over, and actually accepted that it could be read as if she saw things as if she needed help, and left it in, Word didn't correct me, and neither shall YOU.
Geofiendlux: Are they really?! What are your sources?! Who told you this? But yes, I'm aware that not all Crimson Lance are bad, as I mentioned in the last chapter, doesn't change that they knowingly obey atrocious orders seemingly without remorse.
Later they are certainly abandoned by Atlas, as Roland confirms via echo in Borderland 2, but that didn't happen until AFTER Knox was dead, so I'm more inclined to believe that under Steele they're more "disavowed" then abandoned.
Sheep Sanders: Well, like I said, every 2 weeks. Next planned update is the 24th, but I may post a small chapter sooner. No reason to stop mindlessly checking though. Anything to boost those reviews. *Maniacal laughter*
BUCKSHOT: Agreed, I tried to google it, no help. I couldn't see it in the comic either, so I just glossed over it.
That's all folks! Feel free to Follow, Favorite, and Review!