Hey guys and girls here with the second chapter. I was suprised i got this done today, but It's the weekend so I should have known. So maybe some of you are thinking that Maddox might be a little OP. Well don't worry, this chapter I revealed one of his major setbacks. Nothing much else. So have fun reading. If you think reading this is fun. If not then I understand, don't think I'm good anyways.
Chapter 2: First Timer
"Mhph nphm mph." Maddox pulled Clap Trap out of the snow and set him upright.
"Many thanks friend of friends." Clap Trap thanked him.
Maddox looked around seeing everyone was lost in thought. "Weird bright light talking to you guys again?"
"No, Jackie contacted us." Sal answered.
"Pumpkin?!" Gaige asked confused.
"This Jack guy is really weird." Maddox shook his head.
"Weird? He tried to kill us. I think that passes weird." Axton deadpanned.
"I've had lots of people try to kill me. No one has ever thought to trap me in a train then make it go boom boom. Honestly I think it's kinda weird. I've had maybe one weirder instance that was kinda similar." Maddox said thoughtfully.
"Well how about you tells us later. We need to get Clappy's eye back." Gaige said.
"You stole my nickname."
She snickered. "Sucks to be you."
"At least I can use my ability still." Maddox boasted.
"I still don't understand why you can and rest of us can't."
"That's enough." Maya commanded. "You two are fighting like teenagers."
"I am a teenager." Gaige said proudly.
"To be fair, I never finished high school." Maddox said. "Got out early freshmen year."
"How? I'm a-" Gaige became intrigued.
"How about we figure it out later and get going." Maya said about to lose her temper.
"Aaaand open." Clap Trap said as he ran into a door that opened causing it to act like a bridge across a small gap that was the only way over the ledge.
"Ooh. My just switched back on. I see tough looking minions and a handsome robot. Which means whoever has my eye… is very close." The giant Bullymong jumped down and grabbed a runner and began to throw it straight at Maddox.
"This is gonna hurt." Maddox said as the runner smashed into him.
"Krieg, get Axton and Gaige away, they don't have a way to defend themselves." Maya told the giant Psycho.
Krieg nodded and grabbed Axton and Gaige and ran back down on the other side of the ridge. "PRETTY LADY SAID SO."
Axton nodded and Gaige pouted. "I think I can handle a big oversized bully."
"With what?" Axton asked.
"I… uh I'll come up with something." Gaige said stubborn as ever.
Maddox stumbled around behind them headless. His head reformed. "Yea, don't worry about me. I'm fine." Maddox said holding his head. "Man that always gives me a headache." He whispered as he shook his head and ran up to where the battle was taking place.
Maya was behind the 'Mong while it was about to thrash at Sal. Zero jumped on top of it and tried to drive his blade through it, however its hide was too thick to cause a fatal wound. The mong shrugged him off and jumped onto the top of the ice cliff and he roared causing other smaller 'Mongs to attack the four. The three with their Dahl pistols stood back to back as they try to fend off waves of 'Mongs.
"Maddox, could you do something about the big one?" Maya asked him.
"Yea, you know before we run out of ammo." Sal said slightly panicked.
Maddox ran over to the wall and the bottom of his shoes glowed red as he stuck to the wall and ran up the side. His eyes blinked red for a second. When he made it to the top he grabbed the mong by its beard. His other hand formed the dual bade and the plasma cut through its hide with no problem.
The mong roared in pain and grabbed Maddox and slammed him on the ground. The mong lifted its arms to crush him, but Maddox put a hard light wall. The only thing between him and getting crushed. The mong applied more force and Maddox felt the wall grow weaker as his eyes blinked red again.
"No no no. Now is not the time to run out." Maddox heaved the mong off and jumped on top and plunged the slowly dissipating blade into its heart. Maddox collapsed onto the mong out of breath and tired. He pushed the heavy mong onto the smaller mongs that were surrounding the three that were nearly out of ammo. When the mong fell various objects come unbound from the ice.
"You plan on coming down?" Sal asked.
"No, I think I'll just chill up here for now." Maddox said as he sat on the edge as leaned forward and felt his eyes go droopy. Maddox began to plummet from the cliff and landed on the ice with a thud.
"Crap! Maddox are you ok?" Maya asked concerned. Maddox removed unmoving. "Guys Maddox is hurt, or something." Everyone else rushed over. They turned him over. Looking for a wound, however they found none. Axton tapped his cheek, "Come bud wake up, sleep time is over."
"We need to move/ more may come/ someone will carry him"
Krieg bent over and picked Maddox up and put him over his shoulder.
"Looks like a lot of stuff was unlodged from the ice when the Mong fell onto the ice.
"Hey, Zero just found a Callipeen sniper rifle. I'll give you this if I get the pistol" Axtons offered his trade.
Zero gave him the Anaconda as Zero got his Callipeen
"Money." Maya announced.
"Same here." Sal said.
"Money as well." Zero said.
"GREEN PAPER!" Krieg yelled.
"No way. I just found an Incendiary Launcher." Gaige said holding up a rocket launcher.
"Should we let the kid wield the explosive?" Axton asked. However no-one answered.
"Gaige, I think that's it there's nothing else." Maya called to her.
Gaige continued to look around. "I'm just looking for something for Ox."
"Ox?" Salvador furrowed his brow.
"I think she means Maddox." Axton answered him.
Gaige gave up and looked on the ground one last time. She bent over and picked up some cash she found hidden under a mong.
"Got my eye? Great, as much as you'd like to jam your fist into my face that job is for professionals. I know a guy named Hammerlock who's over in Liar's Berg past this barge right here."
The robot stood in front of a scanner. "Aaaand open." The scanner scanned him.
"Intruders detected, locking door." The Hyperion AI said. The door became reinforced and locked them outside.
Clap Trap turned around and said. "Well it was nice knowing ya. I hear getting eaten by Bullymongs isn't such a bad way to go."
"Here, let me get that for you." The woman from the bright light said. "Initiating phase shift."
The door opened and they all walked in. "Perks of being an AI, I'm wired into almost everything on the planet." that now known AI continued. "Please take whatever you need for the journey ahead, it's a long way to sanctuary."
Gaige walked up to the case in the middle of the room. She pressed a button and a shotgun was inside.
"Hey Krieg, you can have the launcher. I'm taking this shotgun." She said as she gave him the launcher and picked up the Longrider. She glanced at Maddox who was still unconscious and sitting on the floor. He had no wounds and none of them knew what was wrong with him. Gaige looked outside, seeing it was late at night and saw everyone else was starting to doze off into their sleep. She decided to do the same. She climbed onto a beam and propped herself against it and slowly the sleep came upon her.
3 years before Maddox comes to Pandora…
"X-437." A girl stepped up to take her turn through the death trap.
"Maddox, get ready," another girl whispered in his ear.
"For what?" He asked back. His question was soon answered when he heard the sickening sound of cutting flesh. The girl was just a second too slow and her abdomen received a nasty gash. She fell over onto her back. In the middle of the course. We all knew if she didn't receive help, she would bleed to death. Ivan didn't care, he just left the timer running and the score counting slowly down. The obstacle course kept on running.
Now Maddox knew what he needed to be ready for. He needed to save her. Without a second thought, he ran forward and suddenly...turned into a dust cloud. The cloud moved through the course and caught up to the limp body of the girl. The dust surrounded her and picked her up and she as well turned to dust. Maddox's dust cloud was the obvious black in color. While her's was what she was wearing and her pale skin color. The dust cloud came back through the course and she reformed into the same condition out of harm's way. But for Maddox...It was a different story. He reformed back to himself. But his eyes blinked red more rapidly and much more violent. He collapsed to the ground. He felt fatigued, and very tired.
Present time
Maddox jerked forward and held his chest and looked around. They were in Liar's Berg. Bullymong corpses were everywhere along with some bandit corpses. The battle was still going on, Maddox heard shots in the distance, he got up and ran towards the shots, he saw Gaige shakily holding a shotgun, she was on her knees. A dead bandit rested in front of her.
The rest celebrated their victory, while Gaige was frozen, she dropped the shotgun. "Nice kill Gaige, dumb Marauder never saw it coming." Axton congratulated her. Gaige didn't respond, she made no movement. "Gaige?" Axton prompted.
Maddox walked over to her, already suspecting the problem. He knelt down beside her. "You want to talk about it?" Maddox asked her.
She slowly nodded. Barely acknowledging his presence. "Can we go somewhere a little more… secluded?" she hesitantly spoke, her voice quiet, trying not to break.
Maddox nodded and got up started to walk back towards the barge which was on a hill that overlooked the town. Gaige followed him and they sat on a ledge getting a good view of the Berg.
"Was that your first time?" Maddox asked her.
"Y-yes." She responded quietly. "When I came here, to Pandora, I thought I could just have Death Trap kill everything for me. He's uh he's my robot. I didn't think he'd stop working and I hope I can find a way to fix him but, I never thought I'd need to-to kill another person."
"Yea. But things don't always go according to plan. I know personally."
"How is it you can kill without hesitation?"
"I think I can because of a lot of reasons, but I think the main reason is I'm kinda used to it."
"But you've only been on Pandora for a week. Do you get used to it that fast?"
"I'm going to tell you some things, that not a lot of people know. I've been killing for three years. Not because I thought it was fun, because I needed to so I could survive."
"Three years, you're what 18? That means you started-"
"When I was 15, yes. My very first kill, I was only 15."
"That's why you dropped out of high school."
"Kinda, I was out of it because I became what I am now. A freak. I was human, then a meteorite landed on me, changed who I was altered everything about me. I became whatever freak of nature I am now."
"How did you handle your first kill?"
"To be honest, I still remember his face, his lifeful eyes, instantly becoming lifeless. I also remember everyone after that. In just three years I've killed hundreds, maybe thousands of people to survive and protect those I care about."
"So, I may never get over it?"
"You may never get over it, but at least you don't know what he looked like, and this guy you killed probably killed for the fun of it. The guy I killed, he was just doing what he was told to do, told by his superior. Thought he was doing the right thing. Anyways, why did you drop out of high school? You don't need to tell me, I was just curious."
"Well, you told me a bit about your past, might as well tell some of mine. It was a science fair. I made a more down version of DT. Then this other girl, named Marcie stole my design. So I upgraded DT to what he is now, he was built for anti-bullying. Yet Marcie still one, her dad paid off the judges and she got 1st place. Marcie taunted me, then pushed me. DT recognized it as bullying and… next thing I knew I was covered in blood and every one in the science fair saw it." Gaige took a deep breath. Looking down at the town and watched the power turn on.
"I guess we are fairly alike."
"Yea… I guess we kinda are."
The two sat in silence. Neither wanting to say anything and just watched as the other 5 Vault Hunters ran around the town probably looting the bodies.
"Thank you." Gaige said as she looked at Maddox. "I don't think any of them down there could have helped me better than you could."
Maddox sighed. "Well, we're the youngest of all of them, we gotta stick together, help each other when one is down. We're a team." Maddox paused for a long while. "Now that I think about it, it's been a long time since I've fought with a team that didn't stab me in the back."
"I don't mean to discourage you, but we could very easily stab you in the back. We just met yesterday."
"Yea… guess you could. I'm going to head back down. See if they need anything."
"Oh right I almost forgot." Gaige pulled some money out of her pocket. "Figured you should get something for taking out the big guy. Btw what happened to you? You completely shut down."
"Thanks, I tend to run out of energy. If I go to long without a recharge or use too much at one time. I start shutting down. If you thought that was bad, if I don't find a way to recharge I may shut down completely."
So there you guys have it, his major weakness is he can't run too long without a recharge. Now if you came from or have read where he appears in my RWBY fanfiction he had a charger. In this he does not and I found a different substitute that either was a coincidence or just really lucky planning on my part. Anyways see you later.
Iventory Update:
Axton
Anaconda
Dahl Pistol
Maya
Repeater
Dahl Pistol
Salvador
Negotiator
Dahl Pistol
Zero
Callipeen
Jakob Sniper Rifle
Gaige
Longrider
Jakob Shotgun
Krieg
Incendiary Launcher
Bandit Rocket Launcher
Maddox
none