So… as several of my close readers have requested, I am beginning work on chapter 11… I hope to hear from you all who are reading, I look forward to the feedback.
Chapter 11: Starting the Revolution. Begin.
Angel and I sat on our bed, caressing one another for several minutes as our glowing tattoos illuminated the very slightly lit cave interior. Angel and I turned to one another and she smiled at me, nestling into my neck and sighing with satisfaction.
"And what should we do next, lover? …Should we go meat up with the others, or stay here…" she asked in a lusty voice, her eyes teeming with desire.
"I would enjoy nothing more than to savor my moments with you, Angel, however, we are needed… Come…" I replied, sitting up in bed and snapping my fingers to materialize my new suit and stand up. Devoid of energy due to her level of sadness that we were leaving our bed, Angel slowly followed, dressing herself in her armor as well.
"I have heard rumors/ Of another Vault Hunter/ you hear anything?" I asked, turning to Angel as we stepped toward the door of our concealed abode.
"Just that he's even less sane than Salvador…" she replied, her eyes full of curiosity. "…Why ask?" she continued, her eyebrows contorting with even more confusion.
"I wondered how valuable an asset this new arrival could be… or if they would endanger our mission if they came along…" I replied, pushing the button to release the lock and open the door. We stepped out and the camouflaged door resealed itself behind us. Just as we embarked the short walk to Raider HQ, the Echo came on and Lilith began screaming at us to get there quick. When a loud crash was heard, the feed ended. I turned back to Angel, who was cocking the bolt of her favored rifle, her wings illuminated behind her. Her gaze met with mine; she then nodded at me and we began sprinting toward the HQ with unwavering vigor as to understand the new situation. I activated my stealth and approached the front entrance carefully as Angel entered through the balcony. I peered down the scope of my rifle, slowly taking in the scenery of the interior; nothing seemed out of place at the ground level, so I headed for the stairs. I stepped silently and with swift, long strides up the stairs, soon being rushed by the sound of Angel's voice permeating the walls with a loud, ear-splitting scream. I felt my blood boil in every inch of my body and started up the stairs with blinding speed. I reached the small room that adjoined the main command station and could not contain my fury at the sight before me.
A man, rippling with the musculature of a Bruiser and the florescent yellow pants of a Psycho with tufts of white furs at the ends of them was standing motionless in the center of the room, his back to me. I studied the intruder for several moments, taking into account the ticking away of remaining seconds in my Deception; it took a mere instant for me to recognize the scene playing out before me. This man held in his heavy, thick arms, Angel. She was fighting desperately to escape, her tattoos glowing almost bright enough to blind as she dug and gouged at the solid muscles of her assailant. I pulled out my blade and dashed toward the man that wore a plate of steel over his face, slashing with all my strength at his shoulder as to sever the arm that bound my precious Angel and grant her freedom. By blade swung, blue followed… but no red, metallic smell of blood followed the strike! It was impossible! My swing was blocked! I was forced several feet back, my stealth now gone as I stared straight at the new monster of a man. His one visible eye looked to my face plate and seemed to soften with glee, as he removed his right arm from Angel's neck and inspected the damage to his bandit Buzz Saw. There wasn't even a nick in the already tortured, fractured and jagged blade. He let out a heavy, echoing laugh that was almost too loud for Angel as she tried to turn away from the front of his mask.
"…*Laughter*… Wow! You almost cut my arm off! Good job, Zero! Now light the fuse and show me your real power!" he challenged, his eye gleaming with joy at the newly implemented standoff.
"Let her go…" I snarled, my hands igniting with fiery energy and my tattoos shining through my suit. His eye widened at this sight and he again laughed loudly, tossing Angel to Lilith who stood with her tattoos flaring on my left.
"Alright, Assassin! Come on!" he shouted, his eye glowing a demonic yellow and his right arm growing thicker as the left thinned and shrunk. Soon, he resembled a Badass Psycho. I didn't have time to be captivated by his transformation (Unlike our spectators), he was currently my enemy, and he would be dealt with accordingly…
He made several grunts as his body changed and his uncovered eye closed momentarily. When it opened again, I was gone. He looked worried for an instant before his eyes settled upon my decoy and he began slashing and screaming wildly, his buzz saw creating explosions whenever it hit the simulated flesh of the hologram. I stepped to the side, awaiting the last crucial moments of my Deception and lunged. My blade was narrowly dodged by the small metal plate that covered his now crippled left arm. The sound of bone breaking echoed from his arm as it recoiled from the impact. He regained his footing and looked down to his now fractured arm: He began to laugh insanely again, putting away his buzz saw and pulling out several pieces of dynamite and chucking them at me. One by one, I cut the fuses away from the burning sticks, letting them fall harmlessly to the ground as the flames burned out in mid-air. He then pulled out two more sticks and lunged at me with a new resolve, blood rolling slowly down the front of his mask. In one fluidic motion, I side-stepped his lunge, spinning around him and cutting away the fuses of his remaining dynamite sticks and kicking him in the ribs as I now stood beside him. He collapsed to the ground, a torrent of blood gushing from under his mask as his eye now looked distant and dark. I stepped over closer to his side and knelt down to sit, my blade still at the ready as I pulled an Insta-Health from my storage deck and buried the syringe in his calf. I noticed that his arms returned to normal and his breathing seemed to ease slightly before he lost consciousness.
I turned to the onlookers and took Angel angrily and began to leave with haste before stopping and turning to Zed. "Keep him under…" I said swiftly, leading Angel out and slamming the door behind us. I lead her back to our underground home and slammed that door as well. I then felt all energy leave me and sat heavily down on the bed, my hands on my helmet.
"Angel… I've failed you…" I said in a defeated voice, pulling my sword from my belt and tossing it off into the nearby chair.
"How?" she asked, her eyes turning fearful.
"I couldn't protect you… You were nearly killed buy that madman and I was only barely able to stop it…" I said, my voice growing even softer and my head sinking deeper into my palms.
"But I wasn't… That proves that you've done your job…" she said smoothly as she stepped to my side and sat down, resting her arm on my shoulder.
"That doesn't rectify the fact that I wasn't prepared enough…"
"You're one man, Zero… You can't be everywhere at once! You've done your job… I'm safe now… and it's all because of you!" she purred, kissing me lovingly on the side of my pace plate, leaving a peach colored imprint on the glass. After her words, I felt my strength return and I forced myself off of the bed and retrieved my sword hilt and headed off toward the exit to the cave. I turned back to Angel and nodded to her, she reciprocated the gesture and made no effort to stand up as the door opened and closed and I left, trekking off to Zed's clinic to check on the 'patient'.
I opened the door and stepped through, walking wearily toward the table where the mysterious newcomer was laying, restrained-heavily. He was now conscious and looking around the room patiently. His eye met with me and followed as I approached, casually looking up at my helmet, his eye full of jovial curiosity and whimsy.
"The newcomer?" I asked, gesturing to the restrained man with a nod.
"I got a name, pretty boy…" the monstrous humanoid chuckled bitterly.
"Which is?" I asked curiously with venom seething in every letter.
"Krieg…" he replied. Even though his face was covered, I could tell from the sound of his words that he was grinning insanely beneath his mask. "…Nice to meet you…" he said in the same smug voice.
I didn't reply, I simply turned my gaze to Zed and he sighed tiredly, beginning to speak.
"Now… I know even less 'bout this guy that I do about you, Zero… He's somethin' else… I mean… sure, he's human and all that jazz, but he's been changed on the genetic level… I just don't know what to make of it…" he said in his familiar faint southern drawl.
"Does that mean you've seen enough to let me out a these cuffs?" Krieg asked impatiently.
"No." Zed and I replied simultaneously, turning our attention to him with menacing presence. Even he, with his obvious insanity was deterred by our display of anger and ceased his struggling against his bindings.
"Alright… You guys obviously don't like me… so I'll make it up to you all… How 'bout I give yous guys all a my money from bounty huntin' and I treat yous to drinks?" he asked with the same smugness.
"And how does that prove/ To myself or the others/ That we can trust you?" I asked, crossing my arms at my chest. Krieg just shrugged to the best of his ability and his eye softened.
"Alright… so… that wasn't my best idea… But I'm not your enemy here… Now I heard 'bout your mission to kill off the other comp'nies… I want in!" he remarked, lifting his head from the iron slab with shackles just enough to look at Zed and me. Zed and I shared a look of annoyed agreement and made a decision. "So… What's it gonna be! Am I gonna have to bust my way outa these cuffs and escape from this flyin' hunk a junk or are you gonna let me outa here and let me help?" he asked impatiently, the veins in his arms popping out as he began pulling and bending the heavy bindings. I nodded to him and he stopped his struggle, allowing me to unlock the shackles.
He lifted from the table and dropped down onto the floor, cracking his neck and back. He then reached into his storage deck and pulled out a wad of money, holding it out to me. I displayed a question mark and looked up into his face plate.
"What? I told you I'd pay for drinks… I was serious… I never joke 'bout gettin' shit-faced!" he replied merrily, slapping my shoulder. I shook my head and walked off toward the door, gesturing for him to follow.
I led him through the center of town and back to the HQ, messaging Angel telepathically on the way. We walked in through the front door, not even eliciting a response from Tannis as she worked to herself. We continued up the stairs and into the command room. Lilith and Mordecai were the first to realize that the two of us were at the door. They almost reacted but held their responses as they realized that I was nearly impossible to surprise and did not show any signs of hostility toward my follower. Brick was a different story; when he lifted himself up from the floor, he nearly charged the tow of us, teetering on the brink of cascading into a rage and punching at us violently.
"Slab! Why the hell is he with you?!" he shouted, pointing at Krieg as he walked casually to the couch and sat down next to Mordecai.
"He wants to join us/ He's bad with first impressions/ Because he's an ass…" I replied, displaying a smiley face to the confused and frustrated berserker.
Several seconds passed as Brick processed the new information. His scowl loosened slightly and he lifted his hands and slapped me on the shoulder. "Shit! I like him already!"
Brick then stepped past me and held out a hand to the new arrival. Krieg accepted the gesture and shook Brick's hand, squeezing the Berserker's hand with enough force that we all could hear the nuts and bolts in his gauntlet begin to crunch and creak. Brick laughed and pulled the bandit outcast up to his feet.
"Ha! I really like this guy!"
"Then you'll love me after I buy yous guys all drinks!" Krieg replied, eyeing the larger man. Brick let out a hearty laugh and released his hand, patting him on the shoulder.
"Ah… Alright… I like you, Slab… Just don't start with the girls, or I'll have to kill you… We cool?" Brick asked, his smile fading slightly as he looked down upon the brute of a man. Krieg nodded, then thought to himself for a second.
"Yeah, I'm down with that, Brick… Just one question though… What if one of 'em comes onto me?" he asked smugly, forming a grin beneath his mask. Everyone in the room aside from myself let out a loud, uniform laugh that temporarily deafened Krieg and me for several seconds.
"Okay… First of all… Angel is Zero's girlfriend, and they literally cannot be separated… Maya's with Axton… And as for me; Hell no!" Lilith said in an amused voice, walking over to Krieg's side and patting him on the shoulder lightly. "…Oh… and don't even try for Gaige… That girl will have her robot tear you up and spit you out before you even came close enough to touch her…" Lilith continued, taking a seat on the other side of Mordecai.
"Yeah… And Moxxi wouldn't even take you on…" Mordecai said in a nonchalant voice, cracking a grin.
Several Hours Later; Moxxi's Bar.
External Perspective.
All the Vault Hunters were gathered in a booth at the far end of the bar, exchanging stories about what they would like to do when they got off of Pandora and started their journeys toward the other super corporations. Angel was sitting safely against the wall on the inside of the booth, Zero protecting her from the newcomer. Axton and Maya were sitting next to them, filling up the remaining half of the seat. Salvador was sitting against the wall with Gaige next to him and Krieg on her other side. Despite the level of mistrust that the others felt towards Krieg, Gaige was unperturbed, and was in fact, drooling over his musculature. Her eyes were glazed over with lust in a manner very similar to Angel's when she couldn't control herself. Krieg was sitting with his mask raised, revealing the bright, white grin that had been previously covered and allowing the others to inspect his face better. His other eye possessed a pupil that was perpetually larger than the other due to years of seeing nothing or night. He sat patiently as he waited for his 'friends' to finish their round… when he noticed that Gaige was hopelessly entranced by his Adonis-like muscles, her intoxication apparent in her actions. As soon as he got up from his seat with the tray of empty bottles, Gaige boldly took hold of his waist and tried desperately to hold him there, only succeeding in making him laugh as he pulled her effortlessly out of her booth and dragged her casually down the aisle to where Moxxi was filling up drinks. Moxxi filled up the tray with a new round of Rakk Ale and sent the psycho on his way, giggling to herself when she noticed the young girl being pulled along like a puppy. Everything was moving along smoothly, when, just before Krieg could sit down after placing the ales down, he began to shake and scream violently, his eyes turning a blood red and his muscles straining to maintain their current form. His eyes returned to normal and he shook his head quickly, as though purging himself of a strange malevolence that manifested at that particular moment.
"Ohh… Sorry 'bout that, guys…. That was one of my episodes… Happens every once in a while… I've got a few buddies along for the ride…" he said casually as he helped Gaige up to the booth seat, wiping some saliva from his pants.
As the night went on, Lilith and Brick walked in and saw the way that Gaige was hanging all over Krieg's shoulders, drooling even more. Brick was angry momentarily before he realized that Gaige was all over him, not the other way around, he then nodded, paying Krieg the credit he was due… He certainly had game… Brick began to laugh when he noticed the aggravated expression on Lilith's face and pulled her over to an empty table and grabbed some chairs and brought them over to the outer end of the booth. Before the night was over, Gaige was going to end up doing something stupid and be completely coherent while doing so…
In several moments, Krieg got up and retrieved a few more drinks and distributed them to those that wanted them.
"Gaige… You can stop now…" Maya commented telepathically, gaining the young girl's attention.
"I know… But I just can't seem to want to let go of him…" Gaige replied, snuggling into Krieg's shoulder. Axton then grumbled something or other about how this new guy had better luck with girls than he did. Maya heard this and responded with a swift elbow to his ribs. Gaige then turned to the rest of the group and spoke more clearly than one would have expected a girl as inebriated as her to have sounded. "Krieg and I are going to spend some time down at Hayter's Folly… Don't wait up…" she said. When Krieg tried to object, she just glanced up at him with the eyes of a little girl asking her father for an ice cream cone at the fair, and he just couldn't say no to her…
End Chapter 11: Starting the Revolution.
So, what did you think, Good? Bad? What have you? Anyway… Send in some feedback and I'll try to use it… See you later…