A/N: All right this one is a lot shorter than the last two. Why? I've decided to just touch base on all the Vault Hunters, not necessarily on full main missions with all of them. So far I've gotten Axton, Gaige, and counting this chapter Salvador. That's three more left for the next three chapters.
On the last one to two chapters I'll probably do either Gaige or Maya. Maybe Zero if I feel so inclined. Either way, you'll get a 1st person view, no matter how brief, from each of the 6 Vault Hunters.
Primed For Prequel
Chapter 3: Bearer Of Bad News
Time flies when you're having fun, but me? I tend to be doing a whole lot of other things when time is flying. Eating for example is one of my favorites; just all the fucking food is so goddamn delicious! But not every time I eat, am I having fun. My abuela always told me, "Even if you don't like the damned food, eat it any way! … Because it's fucking good for you!" Then she'd start ranting and I'd have to go help my papa or whatever.
Another thing I do while time is flying is … thinking about anything. I'm kind of a slow thinker. So when Gaige came up to me I was completely wrapped up in thought.
"Hey! Truxican man, I'm talking to you!" She shouted in my face. The little non-ginger fireball glared at me with dagger eyes. Apparently I'd been so wrapped up I'd ignored her for quite some time. I decided to brush her off, but then the extra special smart part of my brain rationalized that she REALLY needed to talk to me.
"Yes, Gaige?" I asked with sincerity – my abuela had told me and taught me "sincerity almost always calms people down" and it did. Gaige's brow un-furrowed only slightly and she let out a sigh.
"I need you to go with me when I go talk to Mordicai," Gaige answered.
"Oh so your done with the mission, are you? How was it, you kill plenty o' sons o' bitches?" I asked half hardily, I didn't give as much enthusiasm as I normally would. I could definitely tell that something was weighing her down.
"Angel's dead, and so's Roland," Gaige said and despite the shocking earthshaking news she didn't cry or flinch when she said those five words. And neither did I. Did I want to? Hell yeah I did! But did Gaige want to? Clearly not … so in supporting her I wouldn't either. "So, will you come with me?"
"Sure thing!" I said. "Lead the way!"
And she did, lead the way that is. We went from a bench in the center of town to the place where all the leaders of the resistance against Handsome Jack normally were. After checking to make sure I was still with her Gaige walked right up to Mordicai and told him she'd completed the mission.
"Roland, sonofabitch!" He cursed under his breath. "Vault Hunters, you're all we got left. Jack killed Roland. Jack killed Bloodwing. But he is not gonna kill Lilith. Jack still needs time to charge the Vault Key – you just need to find out where the Warrior is buried. There's only one place on Pandora that'd have that kind of info: the Hyperion Info Stockade. Get there."
"Alright, cool, sounds like a plan!" Gaige said and Mordicai leaned up against a wall. Gaige turned to me and asked, "While I get some gear prepped for you, do you mind talking to Mordicai about something important?"
I nodded and stood in front of Mordicai. I looked him straight in the face, from down low, and asked, "Gaige said I should talk to you 'bout something important. What, exactly, would that be?"
"The folks in Sanctuary don't know about Roland. Almost none of them will be alive if it weren't for him, so…"
"People of Pandora. My daughter is dead. Murdered by the Vault Hunter. I'm rescinding the bounty on the Vault Hunter. If you should kill that child-murdering son of a bitch before I do? I will find you. And you will regret denying me my vengeance," Jack interrupted over a planet wide ECHO broadcast.
My eyes widened at that, Gaige killed Handsome Jack's Daughter? The only person that could have been was Angel. Wow. Tough nuts there Jack, I gotta hand it to him. Still that didn't change the fact that he was still going to dye, one way or another. Time to get to work, and by that I mean tell a bunch of people around Sanctuary that Roland was dead.
First I wound my way through the now familiar streets of Sanctuary to Scooter's place to break the news. In response he said, "I tell ya, man, I'll never forget that time when Roland and them all jumped over Pish Wash Gully. Them's was good times. …Hell, man now I'm sad. Is this what sad feels like? You kill the crap out of Jack, you hear?"
"I will," I said in response and went up a flight of stairs and out onto the street. I turned left into Dr. Zed's place. I informed the Doc of Roland's passing.
This is how he responded, "Roland's dead? Oh, god… I remember the first time we met. I healed him up after he killed some of Nine-Toe's men. He seemed nice enough. Quiet. But, damn, I … uh, I'm sorry, he deserved better."
"Yes he did," I said in agreement.
After that sad and sorry scene I walked over to perhaps my favorite place in Sanctuary, Moxxi's bar. I broke the sad news to her. She said in response, "Jack killed Roland? Son of a bitch…he helped me take care of Mr. Shank, and, unlike…well, damn near everyone else around here, he always behaved like a gentleman. I don't…I don't know what to say. Damnit, am I crying?"
"You're fine, best of luck Moxxi!" I said as I walked out, I thought I heard her chuckle darkly as I walked out.
Next I headed over and down to Markus's place. I told him the news and he said, "Roland's…dead? …Oh. Me and him didn't see eye to eye most of the time – he never liked how I sold guns to the bandits – but I would have died in New Haven if it weren't for him. He was a…he was a good man."
"Hell yeah he was!" Was my response, this made Marcus chuckle and send me out of his store.
I then went back over to the command building to inform the people still inside. First I informed Tannis of Roland's death. She said, "Had Roland not forced me to relocate to Sanctuary, I would not be alive today. I am unpleasantly surprised to find that I am…sorry that Roland is dead."
After chuckling because I knew Tannis would say something like that I bid her goodbye and rushed upstairs to tell brick.
This is how he responded, "Mordicai told me what happened to Roland. So here's what we do. We bury Roland. We save this planet. We kill Jack, his associates, his friends, his FAMILY – EVERYONE HE'S EVER MET! WE SKIN 'EM WITH THEIR OWN GODDAMN TEETH! I'm sorry. We went our separate ways a few years back, but Roland was my friend. And nobody, NOBODY hurts my friends."
"Sorry to bum you out like that, but somebody had to tell 'em. I've transmitted the code to Roland's armory to your ECHO device, if anyone deserves what's in there, it oughtta be the badass who's gonna avenge him," Mordicai said.
"Sweet! Thank you!" I said as I rushed downstairs, passed Tannis, and straight to the gate blocking a sweet looking DAHL loot chest. I opened the gate and after walking forward opened the chest as well.