The Book of Monsters
Axton blinked in the darkness.
At some point he had finally fallen asleep.
That hadn't lasted long though...he was awoken by nightmares.
The sounds of the Warrior roaring, the sounds of that final gunshot...
Axton felt sick to his stomach.
He choked back the urge to vomit up the small amount of soup he'd managed to force down. He slowly sat up in bed.
He could still hear the pouring rain outside and the distant booming of thunder as more storms rolled down the landscape.
He breathed out slowly and clicked on the bedside lamp.
Maybe getting up and doing a little walking would do his body good.
He weakly swung his legs out of bed, and attempted to stand. The two days of not eating was starting to wear on his body. He felt woozy as soon as he stood.
He steadied himself gingerly, holding his arms out for balance.
God he must have been a pathetic sight.
Body weak, eyes red and puffy, face pale as the surface of Elpis.
He shook his head sadly.
He didn't care how awful he looked, it was just an outward expression of how he felt inside.
He was a mess.
Wrecked beyond hope of possible repair.
His eyes flicked across the room to the heavy looking oak door.
It looked like it should be a closet, due to it's placement...but it was anything but.
He sighed and began his unsteady maiden journey across the room.
He reached the heavy door and turned the knob gently.
He pulled the door ajar with much effort and the old hinges gave a shrill, weak creak as it yawned open.
Axton stepped inside and fumbled for the light switches.
He flicked on the first one, sending the first half of the massive room into brilliance. He flicked the second switch and the mid room lights came to life. He flicked the last one and the end room lights bathed the rest of the shadows in lighting.
He breathed out as his eyes swept over the massive laboratory.
Huge machines stood tall and menacing, hulking up to the ceilings. Wires hung like spiderwebs from the rafters, and massive glass tubes lined the walls.
The rest of the group thought this place was absolutely creepy.
And a little disgusting.
But Axton had different opinions on the matter.
The old experimentation lab was a thing of beauty to him. He'd spent countless hours in here searching through the old documents, researching what all they were testing in here so many years ago. Axton strayed inside slowly, reaching his hand out to the first massive glass tube. Inside was a full grown alpha skag, floating pickled in the fluids inside. He ran his hand over the glass, exploring the beasts form with his eyes.
Each tube held something different.
Skags, Threshers, Varkids, Rakk, Bullmongs...everything. They were morbid trophies but Axton found them fascinating.
He'd read nearly every book on the massive shelves at the back of the room. They were all instruction manuals, folders, logs of experiments, and research.
Most of the research was on trying to create hybrids, or more domesticated forms of the creatures.
Pandoran wildlife was pretty harsh, he could understand scientists wanting to find a way to tame the beasts.
Axton wandered through the lab slowly, legs feeling like cement, body feeling like he was stuck in tar.
He finally got to the largest desk in the room.
He pulled out the old desk chair and eased himself down into it, sighing out slowly.
This was his favorite place to be a lot of the time.
He liked to sit in the chair and wonder what the head scientist may have been thinking thirty years ago in that very place. In that very chair, at that very desk.
What was he mulling over in that fantastic mind of his?
Creating something fantastic.
Axton frowned to himself.
If only they had created away of going back in time...
So he could change the past.
So he could change everything that had happened...
So he could save him...
Save Jack.
Axton's breath caught in his throat as his name came to him.
There wasn't a moment he didn't think about him.
See his face, hear his voice, smell his scent.
Cinnamon. He always smelled like cinnamon.
Sweet, sharp, harsh...but good.
Axton bit his lip and closed his eyes.
If he could just go back...he could change him.
Axton felt the racking sobs bubbling up from his gut, they shook him as the tears began to fall.
He thought eventually he would just run out of tears to cry, but yet they still managed to come time and time again.
It wasn't fair.
It wasn't right.
He'd finally found such a scarce thing as love...only to have it ripped away from him prematurely.
What did he do to deserve this?
To loose so much.
To feel so much pain.
To ache this badly.
Axton screamed out and slammed his fists down on the old wooden desk in rage.
The desk gave a little crack, and a pop, and suddenly a small drawer came loose from the side.
Axton looked down at the secret compartment through tearful eyes.
He'd never noticed that drawer before.
And he'd spent many hours sifting through this entire lab...but he'd never seen that.
The lock had to have come loose with his outburst of anger.
Axton slowly grabbed the drawer and pulled it all the way out.
It creaked and groaned as he pulled it out, and inside, all by itself, sat a lonely, dusty, leather bound notebook.
Axton looked around the room cautiously, as if to make sure he was really alone again.
For some reason, he automatically felt like this was something he should not know about. The book just reeked of the aroma of...secrets...and trouble.
Axton breathed in deep and gently reached in.
He curled his fingers around the small notebook and pulled it loose from the compartment, taking spiderwebs with it.
He brought it to his chin and blew the dust off the cover.
He looked over the cover once again, now that it was readable.
In scratchy letters on the front cover, there was but one word.
"Resurrection"
Axton felt his heart jump into his throat.
He should not be laying eyes on this. He should not be seeing this.
God he knew this was not something for him to be looking upon.
It felt wrong.
It felt evil.
But curiosity was getting the better of him.
He could feel his heartbeat in his ears.
Dare he open it?
Axton breathed in deep and gently cracked open the front cover.
A crack of thunder nearly made him jump right out of his skin.
Axton slammed the cover shut and looked out the large lab window. He shook his head and breathed out nervously.
It was just a book, he needed to pull it together.
Just a notebook, nothing more.
Axton thumbed his fingers under the book cover, and opened it, flipping to the first page.
There were a few scribbled words there.
"The off record research of Doctor Maine, Resurrection"
That was all that was written there.
Axton felt himself trembling.
Resurrection? Was that even possible...?
What had gone on here...
Axton flipped to the first entry. It was titled labeled "First Resurrection trials, subject, skag pup"
Axton's eyes scanned over the page eagerly. There were very detailed diagrams first, all pertaining to a machine that the writer...who he assumed was to be Dr. Maine, simply labeled "The Waking". There were drawings, upon drawings, detailed sketches of the machine and how it was built. What part belonged where, and which piece did what.
Axton's eyes flicked up to search the room.
There it was. Right in the middle of the room, standing like a hulking beast.
Axton had never before been able to figure out what the massive thing was for. It was a massive glass tube, one end closed off, the other end had a door...where Axton now figured test subjects were shoved in. There were wires and tubes coming from the ceiling running down to The Waking. There were levers and trays and compartments all of unknown use to Axton.
His eyes wandered back to the pages.
The rest of the chapter was detailed diary entries and pictures. Recording every account of the first trials.
Axton's gaze jumped from picture to picture. Watching as they took the Skag pup, pumped it full of poison, and let it die.
"Subject was unresponsive and pronounced dead. The Waking was charged and the subject was strapped to the Waking bed. Subject was inserted into machine. Skag was subjected to machine for four hours. The resurrection was a success."
Axton read the next sentence again.
Resurrection was a success.
The revived...a dead animal.
Brought it back from death.
Axton felt his breath leave him.
He thumbed through the early trials, each time the subject was a larger animal. Some of the trials were about the question of if the subject could be resurrected when the subject had suffered major organ damage. The trial was unsuccessful.
If any organ was damaged it would not work.
Doctor Maine fixed this problem by adjusting the machine. Making it possible for the machine to replace damaged innards during the process of resurrection.
There were so many trials, so many errors...so much information. Axton soaked it all in eagerly, word after word, picture after picture.
Until finally...he found himself in the next chapter.
The chapter labeled...
"Human Trials"
Axton felt numb.
He wasn't sure he even wanted to continue reading.
These men...they were playing the gods.
Playing the creators.
Playing with fire.
Playing death.
But he had to know.
Was human resurrection possible? Did they succeed...?
Axton flipped the page.
The pictures sent chills down his spine.
Two dead people, both lying on tables, being prepared to go into The Waking.
"Subject one died of a massive heart attack. Subject two suffered bullet wound to the heart."
"Subject one was put into the machine. Results were horrific. Subject lived for exactly five minutes before the coughing ensued. Coughing quickly turned into vomiting. Subject vomited up vital organs and choked. Human Trial one unsuccessful."
"Subject two was put into machine. Similar results. Subject lived for ten minutes when power was raised on machine. Conclusion, the machine is not powerful enough."
Axton felt his heart sink reading the words.
They had failed...
He bit his lip and forced himself to read onward.
The next dozen entries were all unsuccessful. The higher the power was raised the longer the subjects lived. But the machine's power had a limit. They came to a point where the power could no longer be raised.
But Doctor Maine was clever.
Axton was captivated by his drive to figure out the right recipe for a successful human resurrection. He was so determined. Just would not let failure become an option.
Axton flipped the page.
"Human Trials, Siren magic"
Axton raised an eyebrow.
Siren magic?
The net chapter was dedicated to the hunt for a Siren, and how Doctor Maine believed that if the Machine was powered by a Siren the procedure would be successful. Siren's were known for powers beyond understanding. Somehow this wasn't shocking that he had come to this conclusion.
He read on, eyes feasting on pictures of a woman, dead, lying naked in preparation for the machine.
"I have finally found a Siren willing to aid me in the testing. Subject one of the new testing procedure was prepped for The Waking. Subject had been dead for two days. Subject died of Cancer. Subject was put into The Waking. The Siren powered the Machine as instructed. Test subject was successfully resurrected. Subject was monitored for hours. Subject was stable. So far subject has been monitored for a week, still stable and showing no signs of relapse into death. I am now recording the first successful human resurrection."
Axton froze, staring at the small scribbled sentences.
They'd succeeded. He'd done it. He'd...brought back the dead.
With a Siren's power it was possible to bring back those who had died.
Axton kept reading, some entries were more personal than others, explaining that the first successful subject was indeed Dr. Maine's wife. His whole point in starting the trials was so he could bring her back. When he learned his wife had cancer he had begun this quest to build a machine that could re-animate the dead. Bring back loved ones.
Axton felt tears sliding down his cheeks.
He gently closed the little notebook, his hand resting on it's cover.
Everything needed to preform this procedure, was in that book.
Step by step, it explained it all.
Axton hugged the notebook to his chest and sobbed quietly.
This was the answer...and yet was he crazy enough to do it?
Could he do it?
Would he do it?
Axton had done a lot of morally questionable things...but this...this was blurring the lines between life and death. Playing with the reaper did not seem like a very sane idea.
But...but he...he could bring him back...
He could bring Jack back...
He could bring him back to life.
Axton's hands shook as he gripped the notebook.
A bolt of lightning illuminated the window and the right side of the huge machine sitting before Axton.
Axton stood shakily.
He crossed the room, notebook still in hand, and stood before The Waking.
He touched it softly.
Would it even still work?
If not...could he fix it.
Axton flipped to the technical manual of the machine.
With a little greasing up...he was certain he could get it running.
Axton stood there in the machine's shadow.
He didn't care how crazy it seemed.
He didn't care how wrong it was.
He didn't care if he was playing the gods.
He didn't care if he was cheating death.
If Dr. Maine could bring back his beloved...Axton could too.
He was going to bring Jack back to life.
The hours ticked by, and Axton worked tirelessly. The notebook sat open on the table, propped up so Axton could study it as he worked. He tightened bolts, exchanged parts, fixed leaking wires. He had to get the machine working. He had to.
Axton twisted the wrench a final time and slowly pulled himself off the ground to
assess his handy work.
For the first time in the past few days he felt...somewhat ok.
There was a hope in him...a hope that there was something that could be done to rewrite the past.
Axton threw the wrench onto the table with a loud clatter and stuffed his hands into his pajama pockets.
He hadn't changed out of his pajama's in the past two days. He hadn't showered...or eaten..or even so much as gotten out of bed.
Axton frowned deeply.
God what would Jack have said if he could have seen him like this?
Probably something along the lines of "God damn kiddo get your shit together! And take a shower, you smell like a wet bullymong."
Axton snorted to himself a small smile breaking his lips for the first time in days.
First order of business was a shower. Then food.
The shower did him good. The warm water easing away the ache a little, dispensing the tightness in his muscles.
He washed his unruly hair and shaved his chin. He scrubbed himself down and let the subs rinse away.
It almost didn't feel real.
It was like a miracle...but he doubted that was the right word for it.
He had a lot to do to prepare for this...if he was really going to go through with it.
He grimaced deeply.
This meant...grave robbing.
The Vault Hunters had buried Jack in an unmarked grave down in the old cemetery.
They may have been bandits...but they weren't heartless.
They knew if it was a marked grave...angry citizens of sanctuary would dig him up...defile the grave...things like that.
So they'd left it unlabeled.
There was no funeral. Just a burial.
Nobody talked while the deed was carried out.
There was just a mutual agreement of silence that hung in the air.
The others didn't really stay afterward.
Except Axton.
He'd stayed for a long time.
Just staring at the fresh grave.
He didn't cry for hours, just stood and stared.
But as night had fallen, the tears fell too.
So many tears were shed over that fresh dirt.
Axton felt sick just thinking about it.
Thinking about how lost he had felt...how...hollow he had felt.
She shook his head.
None of that would matter...that would all be a bitter memory after he brought him back.
Axton dried himself and threw on an old pair of jeans, and a hoodie.
He had to get some kind of food in his system. He felt ridiculously weak...and he knew he couldn't go grave robbing on an empty stomach.
Axton grimaced at the thought.
No matter how he looked at it...it was going to be a messy job.
But his will...his love...it drove him. No matter the cost...he had to try.
He sighed slowly and opened the bedroom door.
It was early morning, he'd worked straight through the night. His body was tired from the lack of sleep, but his mind was restless. He couldn't sleep. He just couldn't. There were too many factors he had to work out.
He would go tonight.
To the grave.
That he knew.
But that would be the easy part.
He needed new organs.
Fresh organs.
He knew some had to be damaged when...they shot him...
Axton swallowed hard.
He would have to go into town.
To Doctor Zed.
The Doctor... well...wasn't exactly a Doctor at all really. But the guy could patch a man up a hell of a lot better than anybody else in sanctuary.
And Axton knew the rumors of Zed being in the black market for illegal organs all too well. It was common knowledge that if you killed someone...you brought them to Zed. He always had a use for fresh organs.
According to the diagrams you fed the new organs into the machine...and it simply replaced them. How exactly Axton wasn't sure, but there was proof that however it did it, it worked.
He wasn't one to ask questions on the matter of things.
He was going on Dr. Maine's writings now. That was all he had to guide him.
His footsteps echoed down the stairwell.
He could hear the sounds of clanking pots and pans, and voices.
The rest of the crew was most likely already up. They were early risers for the most part.
With the exception of Gaige, that girl could sleep the whole day away if you let her.
Axton rounded the corner slowly.
"AMIGO YOU"RE ALIVE!?" Came Salvador's booming voice.
Axton flinched at the sudden noise and continued over to the large kitchen table.
He drew out his chair and slowly eased himself down into it.
"Yeah, yeah, how you son's of bitches doin?" Axton said gruffly cocking a weak smile.
"WE HAVE UNFERTILIZED BABY CHICKENS FOR EATING!" Krieg screamed across the table.
Axton had been around the Psycho long enough to know that meant something along the lines of "We have eggs for breakfast, would you like some?".
Axton chuckled lightly.
"I'd like some, thanks." He responded.
Krieg seemed pleased and shoved the massive plate of eggs down the long table.
Axton grabbed a plate and scooped a good portion of eggs onto it, then continued to fill it with bacon and some toast.
About that time Zero and Maya joined the morning activities.
Maya froze in place when she saw Axton at the table, trying his best to shovel as much food as possible down his throat at one time.
He looked up at her, his mouth full of food and managed a messy smile.
"Axton, you're feeling better?" She asked gently coming over and rubbing his shoulder.
He nodded slowly.
"I'm gettin there." He said shrugging.
Maya ruffled his hair.
"It's good to see you up and around again." She whispered.
Zero went about making everybody a fresh pot of coffee and for the first time in days the breakfast table seemed complete.
The food was good and the company was even better.
Axton had missed this.
Missed mornings that included lots of swearing with full mouths, and burping competitions. Krieg insisting on eating with his axe instead of real silverware and Maya casually phase locking dishes to move them out of harms way when fights and arm wrestling matches broke out.
You couldn't help but to love the misfit gang. They were rough around the edges, and loud, and downright ridiculous most the time but they were family.
Axton finished his plate, picked it up and dispensed it in the sink with a clink.
He headed for the door, pulling his hoodie up over his head. The rain was skill coming down and he knew the walk to Dr. Zed's would be a wet one.
Maya gently came up behind him as he headed for the door.
"Hey, going out?" She whispered questionably.
"Yeah. Got errands to run." Axton said shrugging.
Maya furrowed her eyebrows at him.
"Errands huh?" She questioned folding her arms.
God Maya caught onto everything.
Axton nodded.
"Yup." He answered shortly avoiding her eyes.
"What kind?" She asked slowly.
"The errand kind." Axton answered stubbornly.
Maya shook her head.
"Who runs errands on a day like this?" She whispered.
"I do apparently. I promise I'm not gunna get myself into trouble. I just need to go for a walk." Axton sighed frowning at her.
Maya nodded.
"Ok. Ok...Just be safe." She said turning to go back to the breakfast table.
Axton shut the door behind him and headed out into the gray scale world.
The rain was lighter now, falling in sheets on the barren land.
Axton jogged down the path from the castle, his boots splashing mud up his pant's legs.
He hit town and ducked underneath the canopies of shops to keep out of the rain.
Sanctuary was a ghost town, the citizens all huddled in their homes to keep out of the rain. There were lights from fires in homes, and the sounds of music flowing through the cracks under doors.
The city had rejoiced in the events of the past few days. Celebrated. Even in the dreary weather there was reason for joy.
For them at least.
Axton frowned as he thought about it.
They celebrated the death of a man that they didn't even know. They didn't know him. They didn't understand.
Death, no matter the circumstances is nothing to celebrate.
Axton grimaced and hurried on toward Zed's.
He entered the open metal door and pushed his hood back, squinting in the bright light.
He walked into the foul smelling room and came upon Zed, who was bust pulling bullets out of a man.
He held the man down as he screamed.
Zed jabbed the pliers into the wound and yanked out the little piece of metal. He dropped it into the metal tray and clapped his hands together.
He went about stitching the bleeding man up and then stood back to look over his work.
It was only then that Zed noticed Axton standing there.
"Axton! Boy watcha been up to! Haven't seen you in a while!" Zed exclaimed as he helped the man up.
"Now Jim keep those clean, they start oozing you come on back. Try avoiding gettin all shot up again." Zed said wagging his finger at the man.
The man nodded and left the shop slowly.
"Sooo how can I help ya." Zed asked crossing his arms over his aproned chest.
Blood was splattered down the front of it like a badge of honor. No doctor Axton had ever encountered ran around with a butchers apron on, except Zed.
Only on Pandora.
"Gotta ask a favor." Axton said lowly.
Zed raised his eyebrows, he knew that tone all too well.
That was the tone of someone who wanted something...but wanted it to be kept secret.
"Whats that?" Zed asked curiously.
"I need organs." Axton whispered.
"I got those. Which ones?" Zed asked cocking an eyebrow.
"All of them." Axton replied.
Zed chuckled and beckoned to the young man, prodding him to follow.
Axton looked back at the door and then followed the Doctor's heels.
Zed lead him down a long hallway and then fished a set of keys out of his pocket.
He unlocked the heavy door and opened it up.
A freezer.
It was a massive room sized freezer.
"Let's go shoppin, shall we?" Zed chuckled rubbing his hands together.
After an hour Axton had a full cooler full of fresh organs and a very pleased Zed following him around like a puppy dog.
Zed enjoyed sifting through organs way too much.
Axton paid him well.
He had money to spare from looting, so that wasn't an issue really.
Zed seemed more than happy to help.
Zed never asked what they were for, and Axton mentally thanked him for that.
He liked a man who didn't ask many questions when in situations like this.
Axton thanked him many times over, and was gone into the rain.
When Axton returned, the house was particularly quiet.
He slipped in silently and headed off to his room.
The better he got these into the lab...the better.
He needed to put them into laboratory freezer as quickly as possible.
Axton snuck into his room and shut the door quietly.
He packed the cooler into the small freezer in the lab and sighed.
He was really going through with this...
He was really going to do this.
Did this make him crazy?
Did this make him less human?
Did this make him morally wrong?
How dare he think he could play with this kind of power...
But...he was too far in.
He'd do anything to have him back...even if it meant doing the unthinkable.
A knock to the laboratory door snapped Axton from his thoughts.
Axton yelped and slammed the door to the freezer shut.
Maya stood in the doorframe a curious look on her face.
"I knocked on the bedroom door, you didn't answer. Sorry didn't mean to startle you." Maya said narrowing her eyes at him.
Axton leaned away from the freezer and looked at her nervously.
"Naw you're good...just didn't expect company." Axton said rubbing the back of his head.
"You been cleaning up here or what?" Maya said nodding toward the machine in the middle of the room.
Axton shrugged.
"Yeah. Just...tuning up some of the equipment is all." He said trying to act nonchalant.
Maya's eyes swept up the machine and back down it.
"What's it do?" She questioned looking back to Axton.
"Dunno. Pretty cool piece of medical equipment though. But I never did figure out what it does." Axton lied.
Maya crossed her arms and nodded.
"How'd the errands go?" She asked.
Axton shrugged again.
"Good I guess." He mused.
She looked at him thoughtfully.
"I know when you're lying Axton." She said suddenly.
Axton's eyes snapped up to meet her amber orbs.
"What are you really doing up here?" She whispered.
Axton sighed and approached her.
He made to walk right by her and avoid the question, but he paused for a moment.
"I don't know...something crazy." He whispered before brushing past her and leaving the room.