For all that the ride up was quick it felt drawn out, somehow slowed by their own trepidation. Rhys shuffled awkwardly but could think of nothing to say.
He supposed, if he were to look on events in a positive light, at least now they knew he hadn't lied about Jack... hadn't betrayed them... hadn't hurt them... well, not intentionally anyway. But no one was leaping to apologize, they were far too preoccupied with their current dilemma to spare him a thought. Which was fair. Yet some part of him longed to see an iota of forgiveness in their eyes, something to ease the guilt that still clung to him, something to assure him he hadn't burned those bridges entirely.
Sasha was looking away, staring at the wall with a fierce expression. Did she mean to avoid his gaze or was she simply psyching herself up for whatever awaited them? He wish he knew.
The elevator slowed to a halt and the doors slid open. They were greeted by a line of Hyperion guards and their guns.
"Probably should have seen that one coming," Fiona said.
One of the guards stepped forward. "We're, uh, supposed to take your weapons, so if you'd just hand them over..."
August looked as if he were contemplating shooting but Fiona gave him a tiny shake of her head. There were too many. He gave a snort of disgust but tossed his gun to the ground and after a moment's hesitation Sasha followed suit. Fiona made no move to unclip her hidden pistol but the guards didn't seem interested in her.
The guard picked up the guns then stood. "What about the robot?" he asked. "You've got no... laser beams or... secret weapons or anything?"
"Oh no," said Gortys brightly, "but sometimes when I scream people's ears bleed."
The guard absorbed this. "I see... Well, don't scream then."
"You got it!"
He sighed. Then he gestured off down the hallway and they set off with the guards walking behind, slowly so as to accommodate Rhys's wobbly step.
"An escort," muttered Sasha, "how thoughtful."
"Well they didn't shoot us," Rhys said, "which is sort of a good sign..."
"Wow, you're really optimistic given how things have gone so far."
"Just... trying to help."
"Why are these guys even working for Jack, anyway? He's just an AI, don't they have an actual boss?"
Rhys winced. "He's Handsome Jack."
There was no real way to explain it to people who hadn't spent years on Helios. On Pandora Jack had been a villain, a monster and nothing more. On Helios he'd been... well, maybe not a Hero but certainly someone to be admired. He was legendary. Rhys himself had spent years idolizing him, telling himself that that was the man he wanted to be. He'd longed for that kind of power, that success. Everyone knew of Handsome Jack. They also knew that if you wanted to live you did exactly what he told you.
"How long was I out again?" he asked Sasha.
She shrugged. "Couple of hours."
"Well, he's had that long to make sure everyone knows he's back. Aaand probably toss a few people out of airlocks, gun down anyone who looks like they might argue... so yeah, he's in charge now."
He heard Fiona scoff from his other side. "And that's how your chain of command works here?"
"Oh I'm sorry, is it any different on Pandora?"
"You're not... actually defending Hyperion are you?"
"No... I mean... no." He'd stuck his foot in his mouth there. The trouble was it was so damn instinctive. It didn't matter that he'd realized how disillusioned his ambitions had been, how he knew Helios was no longer a place he belonged... years of company loyalty left a subconscious scar that was difficult to hide. He settled for changing subject."So... how's this escape plan of yours coming along?"
Fiona glanced over her shoulder at the guards behind them. "Just give me some more time. For now keep on you toes and be ready, if we get an opportunity we're not hanging around."
"So we'll wing it," said Sasha.
"Yeah. It's worked before, hasn't it?"
"Oh I am just... so confident about this plan," muttered Rhys.
When they arrived at Jack's office he was waiting for them. Rhys wondered, somewhat absently, if Jack's real purpose in bringing them here had been the display. With the oversized screens on the walls he could stare down at them from all directions, larger than life and twice as terrifying. That kind of godly appearance was exactly the sort of thing that would appeal to him.
"Hey kids, glad you could all make it. Come in, come in," Jack said. The screens cut to a long shot of him lounging back in a non-existent chair as he watched their nervous approach. The guards lined up behind them, blocking any potential escape.
No murder, Rhys tried to comfort himself, he said no murder.
"How's everyone doing? Enjoying the-"
"What do you want, Jack?" Fiona demanded, arms folded.
"Woah, okay, I get you're trying to act tough or whatever, but maybe don't interrupt me again kitten? Cos I would so hate to ruin this before I get to the surprise I have for you guys. You're gonna love it."
Nobody looked enthused but Jack didn't seem to care. His attention drifted to Rhys. "Hey, Rhysie! Still not dead. And that's great, totally great, but you know I just have to ask – what did you do?"
"I, uh..."
"I mean there I am, finally getting to kill someone, then boom! Gone. And I figured that was because you'd kicked the bucket or some shit but here you are, still walking and talking... well, you're lame-ass equivalent anyway, and I... I would really like to know how you managed that."
Rhys shrugged. "August hit me."
Jack blinked, digesting this information carefully. "What, that's it? I'm not buying it. You get hit all the time dumbdumb but it's not like this. How are you keeping me out, huh? Come on, spill it."
"I'm not keeping you out Jack," he said before Jack could get angry, although he'd admit that he would if he had the ability. "My cybernetics broke."
"Huh..." he said flatly. "Well. Okay. I guess I should have known, it'd not like you have the brains for anything yourself. I actually- ha – almost thought you'd done something clever there kiddo, my mistake."
Rhys ignored his jab. He glanced at Fiona but she looked no closer to a real plan than she had before, she was just watching, waiting.
"Aaanywho," drawled Jack, "let's get to the fun part of all this."
"Right, 'fun'," he heard August mutter in the background. He shared the sentiment. On the whole Jack's version of fun tended to include a lot more violence than most people's and they weren't in any position to be impartial about it.
"Do you," asked Jack, "remember that murder list I mentioned?"
Oh, this was definitely not the direction Rhys wanted things to be going.
"So you're saying you're going to kill us?" said Fiona, sounding more irritated than anything.
Jack laughed. "Eh, I thought about it, but you're not worth it right now so no, consider your death postponed. I have plenty of other people I'd have waaay more fun killing. Which is actually what you're here for because... and here's the big surprise... you're going to help me!"
They all stood in silence while Handsome Jack beamed down at them as if he'd just bestowed a mighty gift. Maybe he thought he had.
Somehow Rhys found his voice. "Don't you... have an army for that kind of stuff?"
"Yeah yeah, what's left of it. But you see, the people at the top of my list... the people who murdered my daughter and, you know, me too... do you know who they are?"
He did. "Vault hunters."
"Bingo! And do you know the best way to attract vault hunters?"
He could guess. "A vault."
"Exactly. So, since you're such good pals with that little robot who can call a vault, you get to help set the bait. And if not... well, I'm pretty sure I don't need to specify. What do you say, eh? Here's a hint: the correct answer is yes."
He glanced at the others although he didn't need to to tell they were thinking much the same thing. There was no way they actually wanted to be involved in this... but saying no to the face of a known psychopath in charge of an entire space station wasn't exactly a good long term decision. Just ride it out, Fiona had said, wait for an opportunity. How long would that be?
"I don't know," said Gortys, "I don't think..."
"It's alright," Fiona promised her. "Just trust me. Sash?"
Sasha nodded and August gave a faint grunt. Rhys nodded too since there really wasn't anything else he could do.
Fiona turned to address the screen in front of them. "Alright Jack, you've got yourself a deal. But once this is done, that's it, we walk away. Is that clear?"
"Wow, did not realize I was negotiating here. Tell you what, how about you do your job and then I don't have to scoop your eyeballs out. If you want to scram at the end of it, sure, knock yourself out. Chances are I'll have more important things to do than track you down."
"Fine."
They regarded each other for one long, tense moment.
"I'm probably going to stick you somewhere with plenty of locks for now," said Jack eventually. "Just in case you're tempted to do anything stupid, because... you really look the type. In fact, you can all join her. Except Rhys. You, cupcake, need some maintenance."
"I... what?"
"Yeah, gotta fix those cybernetics, get the old puppet show on the road. I mean, I know, I look great on the big screen but let's face it, having a body is just so damn useful."
"N-No. We're not doing that again. No." He'd had to endure it once already, heck, he'd had to watch himself nearly kill his friends while he could do nothing. He wouldn't let Jack in again, wouldn't settle quietly back as a spectator while the maniac went about his business. Faulty cybernetics were a pain but at least he was himself. The thought of losing that... it was losing everything.
"Uh, yes we are. See, I'm the one who makes decisions around here. Maybe you'd know what that was like if you hadn't thrown away everything I offered you."
Rhys opened his mouth, tried to think of something to say, some compelling argument... his own terror outweighed his intellect. "Jack... look, you can't do this!"
"Oops, there you go again. God you are repetitive." He gestured to the guards. "Two of you, take him down to... I dunno, wherever they handle cybernetic crap these days."
They moved up to him, and when he showed no inclination to go one of them took a hold of his arm and pulled him along. He stared back at the others in desperation. Surely they wouldn't let this happen, let him be overridden again, let him become a captive in his own head. Fiona would do something. Enact whatever harebrained scheme she'd been cooking up, get them out of here... they wouldn't leave him... would they? But as urgent as his expression was they only looked on as he was dragged from the room.
((Not my best chapter I think, but I'm sticking with the 'keep moving forward' mentality. Hopefully we're getting somewhere.))