Deadshot
Chapter 15
-Harry-
"And that's how Handsome Jack pays ransoms!" Jack laughed over the Echo net as Harry and the others charged through the blown-out prison cell, bandits and loaders all fighting to the death around them "Long time no see Roland."
"Soldiers, this way!" Roland shouted, helping them find his moving cage in the medley of madness that was the current free for all. "Let go of me damnit!" Roland was thrashing in his cuffs but even the leader of the Raiders couldn't shatter projected hard light.
"Son of a BITCH!" Lilith joined in on their call, sounding quite angry beyond even what was going on here, "They're taking him to the top of the damn for extraction, get your asses up there now!"
"Gaige, bring out Deathtrap!" Harry shouted as they ran, running and gunning down anything in their path "Salvador, get on DT and gun down anything chasing after us!"
"YOU GOT IT!" the eager Gunzerker jumped atop the robot, cackling as he released a storm of bullets at the bandits and robots behind them. Giving chase to the upper ramparts of the Dam, Harry saw various bandits running for their lives, many choosing to run off the side in desperation.
"The bots' taking Roland to the drop-barge!" Lilith informed them as they continued to run, "Keep moving before they get away!"
"Hyperion got Roland?!" Angel popped into Harry's vision, sounding frustrated "Motherf- Jack didn't send Wilhelm, did he? Please tell me Jack didn't send Wilhelm!"
"Keep running!" Harry shouted to the others, "Let these bastards kill each other! And I don't know Angel, I haven't run into anyone named that yet." Ignoring the various panicking bandits and emotionless robots, Harry and the others rounded the corner of a wall made of stacked car frames. Sliding to a stop to avoid the explosion of an EXP Loader bot, he heard his Echo crackle to life.
"Bloodshots, what's going on?! I'm hearing more gunfire than usual and I'm still waiting for a response from Hyperion!" Harry wasn't sure if he should be surprised or not that Flanksteak hadn't realized that his clan was under siege from the very people he was trying to negotiate with. A loud explosion echoed over the ECHO "Well, took ya long enough! Alright, twenty bucks for Roland! That's my final offer!"
"Request denied." A robotic voice responded before the sound of squelching blood, gunfire, and agonize screaming filled the echo until it cut off.
"Question!" Harry shouted, ducking under the swung buzz axe of a Bloodshot Psycho, swinging his sword to cut the bandit in half "If everyone just heard Hyperion turn Flanksteak into fertilizer…THEN WHY ARE THESE MORONS STILL ATTACKING US AND NOT HYPERION?!"
"I don't know, bandits are stupid!" Axton shouted back, sliding between the legs of a big badass robot, tossing his entire stack of grenades into a chink of the robot's chassis to blow it up from within.
"Shut up and keep running!" Maya snapped, locking an EXP Loader in a phaselock before somehow hurling it at a group of charging bandits like a missile. Judging by her own shocked expression even she hadn't been aware she could do that. As they continued to run and fight their way to the extraction point, by a creepy as hell shrine to Marcus of all people, Harry started to hear the sounds of Roland struggling and cursing out his captors.
Finally getting there, Harry saw the Constructor trying to get ready for takeoff, clear bullet damage working on being repaired by drones. "Gaige, Sal, bullet hell on that thing's shields!" Harry ordered, "Maya, help me with the drones!"
"What about us?" Axton asked.
"Kill whatever motherfucker tries to stop us!" Harry grinned, Axton sharing it as Krieg cackled and charged the enemies. Having a full team was a Godsend down here as Harry focused on taking out the repair drones, the surveyors being nimble and a pain in the ass to hit. It was only his training as a sniper and Maya's phaselock that was even letting them do it.
His sister and Salvador meanwhile were just happily laughing as they did their best to turn the Constructor holding Roland hostage into a 'Swiss cheese cosplay', bright yellow and full of holes. Frustratingly, it kept digistructing more EXP Loaders, but Axton and Krieg did need something to play with.
Eventually, thankfully, the Constructor collapses in on itself, the cage and shackles holding Roland dissipating as the soldier got to his feet. "Thanks for the save." The man gave his neck a harsh crack, pulling an assault riffle from the rubble "I-" Whatever he'd been about to say was cut off as the block shaped Hyperion drop ship started to descend onto the ramparts on which they stood.
"Damnit." Roland cursed, checking the magazine he'd pulled from the bandit. Judging by his expression the numbers weren't looking positive.
"I only have a handful of rounds left." Harry scowled, the Bloodshots having not been that tough, but they apparently bred like roaches given how many he had to shoot, not to mention the Hyperion additions.
"Deathtrap is ready." Gaige offered, readying her mechanical hand to brawl, Axton prepping his turret as well.
"We've got this mi amigos!" Salvador swore as the ship continued to lower, the back hatch hissing as it began to open.
-Angel-
Grinning, Angel watched as the hatch opened, fully aware of what was inside even if Harry and his friends, but more importantly even Jack, were unaware. As the hatch finished lowering, a small wave of scraped robots and dead Technicians fell to the ground. "Sup boyos." The smug voice of Zane Flynt grinned as he walked down the gangplank, taking a swig from a hip flask "Was hoping I'd manage to catch you lot here."
"Who the hell are you?" Roland demanded, seemingly confused by someone exiting a Hyperion shuttle and not wearing canary yellow but experienced enough to keep his guard up.
"Names Flynt. Zane, Flynt." The narcissistic mercenary grinned as the Vault Hunters, new and old, all recognized the family name.
"Yeah, yeah, like Captain and Baron. The tossers were me older brothers." Zane continued his approach, "But at the moment I only care about a wee little birdy that goes by the name o' Harry."
"Yeeeeees!" Jack's insufferable voice entered her chamber, the Hyperion CEO watching this as well, more than willing to forget his losses capturing Roland if he got to see Zane murder Harry and possibly the others.
"That's you right boyo?" Zane focused on Harry, the other vault hunters moving protectively in front of the young sniper. Gaige in particular had quite the fierce expression. Zane seemed taken aback at first before he started laughing, "Oh relax kiddies, I ain't here lookin for a fight. A buddy o' mine, Zero, asked me to come help finish your training as an assassin. That damned pouty face o' his is hard to ignore."
"He's being honest." Harry and Gaige deadpanned in tandem, apparently more than familiar with the 'pouty face' of the infamous Zero.
"What he follow it up with?" Gaige pressed though.
"Happy face Emoji and a thumb's up." Zane snorted, "At least it wasn't another card game reference. I swear, the man refuses to speak in anything besides nerd references and Haiku."
"…WHAT?!" Jack's enraged shout was soothing for Angel's soul, her smile at seeing Zane talk to his new pupil giving her hope for things yet to come.
-Omake-
-Harry-
"I still can't believe the Bandits worship Marcus as a friggin god." Harry shook his head as he continued to stare at the absurd statue, Roland having already made his way back to Sanctuary.
"Yeah, if anything you'd think they'd make a statue of me." Axton flexed.
"There's a bandit cult worshipping Lilith too." Maya pointed out, "And I've heard there's a group who worship average Joe in a swamp somewhere."
"But no worship for me?!" Axton whined, "Where's the love!"
"Calling it now, if we all get cults Axton's forms last!" Gaige pipped up as Axton gave her a betrayed pout.
"And is the smallest." Harry quipped, giving his sister a fist bump. "What did the shrine spit out during the fight anyway?" Harry looked over to where the sacrifice pit still remained sealed up.
"Ooooooh, I'll look!" Salvador hurried over to see what had gotten spat out before pouting "It's just a rusty bandit pistol? Booooooo! What kind of reward is that? Shouldn't sacrificing something get you shiny golden things?"
At that angry question to the universe, Harry felt his Echo beep. Pulling it out, he saw another comic from Angel, this one showing himself sacrificing a bandit to some sort of shrine. The shrine was rather standard and showed no signs of Marcus, thankfully, but after it he saw a ray of light hitting him in the comic as a scantily clad Angel fell into his comic self's arms as a divine reward. Scrolling to the next page he suppressed a cough as the 'detailed' ways Angel pictured he could enjoy said 'divine reward'.
…Saved.
AN: So yeah, Roland is now back. Next arc is going to focus on character growth and relationships as I add more stuff to canon. Time in Sanctuary, doing some of the side quests from the game, working on what Harry found at the scrap yard, and other new stuff I add. Also, next few chapters will be distinctly longer, I've just had issues with the Bloodshot questline. It was always 'just there' for me. Still, if there are any side quests or things you'd like to see in the upcoming arc let me know in the reviews!