Author's note: God, college is torture! Anyways, just as a thing for my story; much like in the games the New-U's won't be canon or present. Reviews and criticism is welcome (even if it does seem harsh, so long as it's constructive.) On to the story.
They walked out of the barge in in the Southern Shelf. Claptrap called them over, they began walking over to him, then Leon tripped on something.
*Trips and lands face first in snow* "Crud." Was the only response that Leon could give.
"You're not the most majestic person, are ya'?" Axton commented as he chuckled.
*Picks self-up* "Shut up, what'd I trip on anyway?"
"You tripped on this, amigo." Salvador picked up a frozen severed hand holding something.
"Makes you wonder where the rest of 'em is." Maya chimed in.
"Wait, what's that it's holding?" Leon walked over and pried the USB like object out of its frozen fingers. Leon plugged the USB into his ECHO device. "Hey, this thing still has some equipment!" Everyone was immediately interested.
"What kind of equipment?" Carter inquired.
"Let's see; A Vladof looking Combat Rifle, A Hyperion looking SMG, a Jakobs Sniper Rifle, and weaponized fireworks, all of which is made by a company named…Gearbox?" Leon described the weapons, adding emphasis when he said the name of the manufacturer.
"Who's Gearbox?" Gaige asked, clearly curious as to their wide range of weaponry.
"I dunno', but this guy won't be needing it anymore." Leon stated as he digistructed the items and laid them out.
"Dibs on the Combat Rifle!" Axton blurted out, believing it to be appropriate way to claim things.
"Ok, Combat Rifle for Axton. Zero, do you want the Sniper Rifle?" Leon presented the rifle to him.
"Sure." Zero grabbed the rifle from Leon's.
"Would it be alright if I traded this revolver for the SMG?" Maya asked Leon, he thought it over, then nodded. She laid down the revolver then grabbed the SMG.
"Carter, I'll assume you'll want the revolver? Leon asked his brother, already knowing the answer.
"You know it." Carter simply replied as he grabbed the revolver.
"And I'll take the 'grenade mod'." Leon grabbed the grenade mod and equipped it.
"Keep your wits about you, minion – this glacier's run by a bandit named Captain Flynt. The jerk kept me as his torture plaything for a few months. We played games like 'dodge the blowtorch', and 'don't get dunked into the pool of acid.' I was really good at the first one." Claptrap explained about the local bandits, then…
"Attention, people of Pandora! Handsome Jack here, offering eight million bucks to whomever brings me the heads of the Vault Hunters who just arrived in Liar's Berg. One million for each head. Oh, and I'm still offering a reward for Roland, the mass-murdering leader of the Crimson Raiders. Good hunting."
"A million-dollar bounty, just for surviving a train wreck." Carter complained
Before they entered Liar's Berg, the Vault Hunters effortlessly killed the Bullymongs who tried to attack them. Vault Hunters and bring 'em to me! NOW!" Captain Flynt ordered via ECHO.
"Do the ECHO's in this galaxy not have multiple channels?" Leon asked wondering how there could be so much chatter.
"Not Really." Gaige answered.
"Hey, Hammerlock!" Claptrap called out.
"Spectacular—first Captain Flynt's bandits attack, then Claptrap shows up! I must have been horrifyingly cruel to puppies in a previous life to deserve this kind of treatment. I say, Vault Hunter – could you kill Flynt's men for me?"
Hammerlock requested them for help as the gate began to rise.
Zero went up to the cliffs that faced Liar's Berg. Axton crouched a few meters away from the gate. Krieg, Gaige, Maya lined up on the left side of the gate with Maya aiming her gun around the corner. Leon, Salvador, and Carter did the same on the opposite wall with Carter aiming around the corner. When the gate fell, the bandits began firing at the Vault Hunters, some of them already dead by Zero's rifle shots, Axton fired his rifle at the closest bandits while Maya and Carter shot any they could see. They stormed the compound with Zero staying at the cliffs and Krieg running straight down the middle.
Flynt: "Got a proposition for ya, Vault Hunter. You give up, we'll just shoot ya in the head. It'll be quick, clean, and a hell of a lot less painful than what Handsome Jack'll do to ya."
Krieg slashed one bandit down the middle, cutting his head in two but, not decapitating him. Zero shot one bandit in the head and Carter shot a bandit in both his legs then shot him in the head, emptying his gun.
"Will you take that as a 'no'?" Carter responded to Flynt's deal.
"What is WRONG with you boys?! Just kill those skaglicks so's we can get our reward!" Flynt shouted over the ECHO.
More bandits emerged from the houses and began firing at the Vault Hunters. Zero popped the head off of one bandit, Maya riddled another with bullets, and Gaige shot two bursts at another, one hitting the torso and the other hitting the neck and head. Gaige let out a heavy sigh as she saw the blood stop squirting from his neck.
"Oh no – BULLYMONGS!" Claptrap yelled as bullymongs emerged from their icy homes and approached the "village". One Bullymong punched a bandit and he crashed into a wall. Zero shot one Bullymong in the head as Salvador fired a buckshot into the head of another. Axton unloaded his gun into the last bandit. "DAMMIT! This ain't over, grinder." Flynt screamed before disconnecting.
"Well, that was fun." Leon stated as Zero rejoined them.
"Not a challenge but/The enemy has fallen/We have all done well." Zero complimented the rest of the party.
"Hey, Hammerlock! Since my minion just saved your town, you wanna do your bestie Claptrap a favor and repair my eye?!" Claptrap called out to Hammerlock once again.
*Sigh* "Yes, I suppose I am in your debt now, aren't I? come to my shack, and I shall restore Claptrap's sight. First, I shall shut off the electrical fence for you. Please stay back, Vault Hunter – let Claptrap go first." Hammerlock responded over the ECHO.
"See, minion? Hammerlock and I are like two peas in a pod, two bullets in a mag, two cannibal midgets eatin-." Claptrap was cut off as he touched the fence and was electrocuted.
"Apologies, but when Claptrap speaks, I fell my brain cells committing suicide, one by one. I shall be out directly." The door of the house inside the walled off compound opened up and a man wearing safari like attire with prosthetic right limbs marched out of the door then saluted the Vault Hunters. "A pleasure to meet you, Vault Hunter. I am Sir Hammerlock. At your service." He dropped his salute then approached the Vault Hunters.
"I came out here to research the Bullymongs for my almanac, but Captain Flynt's men trapped me on this glacier. Many thanks for disposing of them, by the way – to survive a direct run-in with Handsome Jack AND defeat Captain Flynt's bandits? Unheard of. I'm headed to Sanctuary, myself – from what I hear, the Crimson Raiders there could use a hero like you." Hammerlock explained his situation and his intentions. "Now, if you could hand me the robot's eye, please." He extended his hand as Gaige handed it to him. "Oh, so you too have a prosthetic, it's quite interesting, would you mind if I looked at it some? I could help with some of the damage." Hammerlock commented on Gaige's arm. "Oh, a sure. I could use the tools." Gaige accepted his request. Leon gave a silent grumble then heard coughing. He turned around and saw the bandit who was hit by a Bullymong. He was sitting against the wall he hit, bleeding from the nose and mouth.
"I'm going to go put him out of his misery." Leon walked over to the bandit, everyone else watched Hammerlock put the eye back into Claptrap. "Now, I need only connect this to this, and…" He reconnected wires then screwed his eye in before pounding it in. "That should do it." Hammerlock stated as Claptrap sprung up. "Ha-HA! I am ALIIIIIVE!" Hammerlock placed his right hand on his face. "Oh, dear. He's talking again." Gaige spoke up. "What?! Leon and right could have done that." She was a little upset that they went through the trouble to do something that they could have done. "Minion! Now I've got eyesight back—and you're far ug-!" "OH SHIT!" They heard Leon shout from behind them as an explosion went off, kicking up snow, ice and blood. Leon's body came to a stop as he slid for a few feet. His limbs twitched and he was covered in blood and other parts.
"LEON! Gaige called for him as they ran to him. Carter checked his vitals; he felt a pulse and saw him breathing, he also saw that he had a piece of shrapnel in his chest and was bleeding lightly from smaller wounds and burns that had already began to heal.
Carter: "Hammerlock, do you have medical supplies in your house?"
Hammerlock: "Yes, I'll go get them."
Carter: "No, clear a table and leave out the medicine for me. Axton and Salvador, make sure everyone else is dead."
Axton: "Got it."
Salvador: "Right."
Carter: "Does, anyone else have medical training?"
Maya: "I know a bit."
Carter: "Good, I'd like your help if I need it."
Gaige: "What about me? What can I do?"
Carter: "I'll need you later, but for now, you, Zero, and Krieg can clear the houses."
Carter: "Exosuit, eject from pilot; Leon Angelus!"
The exoskeletal-suit ejected from Leon's body and laid on the ground. Carter picked up his brother and carried him into the house. He laid him on a table and took a pair of shears that came with the first aid kit and cut his jacket and shirt off as well as cutting his pants so he could check for damage. Carter injected an insta-health into Leon's chest where his heart was so the liquid would flow through his veins faster. Maya was surprised to see what Leon was hiding.
Maya: "Most of his body is cybernetic."
Carter: *Sigh* "Yeah, it's a long story, he's not proud of it."
Maya remained silent and waited for instruction from Carter if need be. Everyone else finished their giving tasks and regrouped at the gateway of the compound. "Well, everyone's definitely dead." Axton reported, his voice filled with glum. "The houses are emptied too." Gaige reported, with more glumly than Axton as she walked over to where the explosion occurred. "What do you think happened?" Salvador questioned. Axton looked at the explosion sight as Gaige walked to where Leon's Exosuit was laying. Axton began to talk. "Well…"
Leon's side of the event.
Leon drew one of his blades as he walked over to the dying banding, intending to end his suffering. When he got close enough…
Leon: "I'll kill hundreds of you if I must but, I'm not the type of person to let people suffer, so I'll go ahead and do you a favor. Any last words?"
Bandit: *Coughs up blood* "Do you think you're the worst thing on this planet?"
Leon: "I may not be the evilest thing on the planet, but I will tear you apart, you can count on that."
Bandit: *Coughs up more blood* "In that case, I'll take you with me." Leon stabs him in the chest, killing him.
Leon: "Good luck with that." Leon took his blade out of the bandit, then sheathed his blade. Then he heard beeping. He looked around and noticed that the beeping was accelerating and coming from behind the bandit. He moved his body and saw three armed grenades.
"OH, SHIT!" Was all Leon could say as he thrusted back away the body as the grenades detonated. The shrapnel from the grenades punctured his body, the shockwave and landing shook his brain, and the bandits "remains" covered him.
The last thing he could hear before losing consciousness was a feminine voice calling his name.