Yes, yes, I know - it's been a while. I apologize sincerely for the very long pause between the first and the second chapters of our fiction. But, what's in the past is in the past, and I hope you will like this chapter as much as you liked the first!
I want to remind you fellas one more time - you'll have to vote for a choice at the end of the chapter, because this story is (actually) tailored by how you play. Before every choice, there shall be a picture to show whose choice it is. Fiona's choice picture will be like this:
And Rhys' will be like this:
A quick reminder - the last choice was Fiona's, and it was [Suck it]. Anyway, without wasting your time any longer, I leave you with:
Act 1- "The Deal"
Chapter 2- "Captured"
Death TeAmo: Stares at Fiona for a moment before leaning in towards her. “Okay, darling… rakkhead, then why don't you tell me... why were you trying to con me out of my money? And did you SERIOUSLY think that my besties… my servants wouldn't notice your con? Well? Tell me, my little biscuit... er... you dirty scum!"
Fiona: “What do you know about bandits, ermm… bandit?”
Death TeAmo: “…What?”
Fiona: “I can tell you what we know. We know you’re big, we know you’re strong. We know you like to kill a lot and raid a lot. But, see, just like fire loses to water, you lose to smart people. So that's my answer – we decided to con you, because you’re big, dumb and stupid. And your plushy bunny sucks.”
Silence fell across the camp as TeAmo stared at Fiona, unable to process what she just said. Bandits all around were waiting for some kind of a response from their leader, but he was simply shocked.
Unexpectedly, the silence was broken by Rhys’ giggling like a small child. Sasha and Fiona turned to look at him, his maniacle laughter seeming to be that of a madman, while Death TeAmo gasped in a mix of horror and embarassment.
Death TeAmo: “You think this it funny?! This is funny for you, you cruel, loveable… hateable meanies!”
The trio exchanged looks. From the way he spoke, it sounded like the bandit lord was close to tears.
Death TeAmo: “You mean, mean bullies! My bunny is a bloodlusty killing machine which could bite your faces off, not some plushy cutie who SUCKS! I hate you!”
To everyone's suprise, TeAmo suddenly and swiftly stepped forward and struck Fiona with the back of his hand, causing her to fall to the ground. Immediatly afterwards he turned and punched Rhys in the stomach. He cried out in a squeaky voice.
Rhys: “Ouch, ouch. That one… really hurt.”
Death TeAmo: “You… you monsters, how dare you insult me like that! You heard them, boys! They called us dumb! Stupid, even! Beat ‘em and throw them into a soft bed… I mean LOCK THEM UP! SEPARATELY!”
Death TeAmo went off, murmuring to himself, something along the lines of “What a bunch of bullies…”.
Teamo's bandit minions didn’t hesitate a moment. The order had been given, and they were the ones to carry it out. The trio was unable to resist the bandits' forceful grabs. Fiona was lying on the ground and Rhys still gasping for air. Sasha was the only one who tried to kick her way out of the situation, however her efforts were quickly overwhelmed by the effort of numerous marauders.
Being the quirky weirdos they were, for some peculiar reason the bandits understood the order “SEPARATELY!” as to separate the group by gender. Ordinarily gender meant almost nothing in the barren wastelands of Pandora, but these bandits had taken a shine to creatively interpreting their instructions. One could suppose that it gave them some meaning or freedom to their underling role. Such was the fate of a common mook.
Or at least that's what could be surmised from a random psycho rambling on in the corner about his creative freedoms. Either way, the group was seperated thusly.
Sasha was quickly dragged off with Fiona, and Rhys dumped on Vaughn in the cart and pushed away. Then, Rhys did something that... no... he spoke to... that's not it...
Marcus: "Uh... wait wait, hold on, I've got this. So Rhys and Vaughn were in the cart and the girls were being dragged towards the back of the camp and... no... no, I have no idea what they were doing. They were just getting taken to a place.
Give me a break, getting taken to another part of the camp is not exactly a memorable part of the story... eh, you don't need to hear it. Don't give me that face... don't worry about it, you’re not missing anything interesting. 'Ahem', so where was I? Ah, yes.."
Some time later, at night…
Fiona and Sasha were in a small tent, sitting on the plain old dirty ground, tied up to a pole in such a way that their backs were facing one another. Their prison was tiny, yet filthy as humanly possible. There were small bones scattered all around them, clearly some blood (is there a place in this camp where there is no blood?), a bunch of old, dirty posters and a broken gun. When Sasha first saw the weapon lying on the ground, she was ecstatic – dumbass bandits left a gun for them! Her joy soon died when she saw a rat come out from the barrel of a gun.
Marcus: "I should clarify that this was no bandit gun. It was an old Torgue gun, with a huge barrel for firing those iconic explosive casts. Torgue combines good damage, high fire rate and recoil reduction into one lethal weapon! You can buy them now at... er, sorry, sorry, I can't help myself."
Despite their looks that any sane person would think were charged with insanity and stupidity both, some bandits obviously knew how to tie up prisoners. The sisters’ wrists soon began to ache from the tightness of their bonds. At first, they tried to somehow wriggle out of the ropes, but to no avail.
After many exhausting attempts to break free, the duo succumbed and tried to regain some strength. They knew that in the morning, their lives would probably be done or at least made very miserable.
Sasha: “Hey sis’… How are you? That punch looked like it packed a lot of power.” Sisters hadn't spoken much since they were thrown in the tent.
Fiona: “I’ve been better, but it’s nothing lethal. By the morning I should be okie-dokie.”
Sasha: “I think by the morning we’ll have bigger things to worry about.” She laughed to herself quietly. “Hey, do you think they're gonna kill us or cuddle us?”
Fiona smiled before answering.
Fiona: “That depends on just how soft their leader is. So far, he seems… strange, to say the least.”
Sasha: “Didn’t stop him from laying some smackdown on you.”
From the silence on Fiona’s side, Sasha quickly understood that she shouldn't have mentioned it.
Sasha: “Sorry Fi. Didn’t mean for it to sound like that. Let’s try to get some sleep, maybe?”
Fiona: “How do you plan to sleep when those assholes are partying right around the corner?” She struggled to swing her torso in the right position to see or hear what was going on. "Seems like their raiding party found lots of booze out there…”
Fiona was right. Just before the night settled in, bandits returned to the camp, carrying loot from their day-raid. They managed to get quite a lot of boxes of alcohol too, so now the camp was celebrating.
Sasha: “I could go for a drink right now. My throat is parched.”
Fiona: “Even if it was Skag-piss wine? Like the one Felix got that one time from a grateful client?”
Both sisters chuckled.
Sasha: “Well, maybe not that one. But anything else would do. Then again... hey, what are the chances bandits wouldn't be drinking skag piss?”
They remained silent for some time, listening to bandits screaming and occasionally shooting something.
Sasha: “Hey Fi. Do you think the boys are okay? Especially Vaughn, it didn’t seem he woke up…”
Fiona: “I don’t know Sash. My bet would be on “better than expected”, but you never know.”
Sasha: “Fi, I don’t want to sound depressing or anything like that, but… is this it? I mean, it's not like anyone can help us now.”
Fiona: “Don’t think like that, Sasha. We always get out of these kinds of situations, whether it’s due to coincidence or... something more reliable than coincidence.” She grimaced and instinctively switched her gaze, despite not even facing her younger sister.
Sasha: “You always think about the positive side of things, don’t you?”
Fiona: “I have to. No-one else will.”
Sasha: sighs “I guess you’re right. Vaughn is always the first to panic, and Rhys is acting like a coward if he's not being over-confident most of the time.”
Fiona: “What about you, Sash?” smiling “You never seem to back down.”
Sasha: “I know, it’s just… I get tired of it. Every day, we face life-threatening dangers. And you always have to just... deal with it, keep moving forward, keep fighting against the odds. It’s… soul-sucking, you know?”
Fiona: “I know, sis’.”
Sasha: “And you can never be what you want to be here. You’re either the hunter or the one being hunted down. You’re killed or you kill. No middle ground. Dog eat dog. Every woman for herself.”
The sisters shared a moment of silence. Fiona completely understood what Sasha was going through. In Pandora, you can’t be who you want to be. If you were to show any kind of positive or all-round pleasant emotion, any sign of doubt or hesitation in your actions and the next thing you know your upper half is hanging from a rusty meathook and the rest of you is skag-meat. The only thing on this godforsaken planet you can place your trust in is your friends, and even then, they’re not entirely reliable or even worth that trust. Often they prove to you very directly that your trust is ill-placed … Even when they’re family.
Fiona couldn’t just sit quietly and do nothing. Sasha’s hopelessness and unwillingness to fight only worked to fuel her inner fire. She started writhing again, trying to get free of the ropes.
Sasha: “Seriously Fi? It hasn’t worked before, it won’t work now.”
Fiona: “We have to do something, Sasha. We've gotta try! Nobody’s going to take care of us and nobody is coming to save us. It’s just you and me, like always.”
Sasha: “And the boys.”
Fiona: “And the boys. I’m sure they haven't given up, we can't let those nerds one up us, can we?!”
Sasha: deep sigh “Screw this. The one who gets out first gets dibs to shoot the leader of this pathetic camp right in his little, pathetic face!”
Fiona: “Deal!”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the camp…
Bandits clearly didn’t value the escaping prowess of Hyperion employees greatly. The two bros were locked in a metal cage that was quite obviously not built for humans, and clearly the bandits had decided that this was enough to hold them indefinately, choosing to untie them before throwing them in, so that they may use the binds for something more important, like using them as blindfolds and playing blind games such as whack the meat pinata, or pin the stabby thing on the meatbag, or anything in general to do with damaging fleshy organ bits. Maybe they thought that this skag cage was enough to hold two intelligent, capable humans, maybe they were empathetic enough to understand Vaughn's predicament and wanted Rhys to take care of his wound if he started getting worse, as unlikely and absurb that sounds. Rhys turned to look at his unconscious friend.
Rhys: “Hang in there buddy. We're gonna make it through this.”
The bandits had dropped them off like trash and went away laughing and joking about “fresh Hyperion meat”. Rhys was doing his best to stay positive and believe that they weren't literally thinking about… his flesh. He instead mentally proposed the thought that they were using the word as some kind of metaphor or analogy of some kind. Though the results of which would still likely end in his horrific, painful death by their hands. Rhys then opted not to give it much thought at all. He turned his attention to some faint noises coming from the other side of the camp.
Rhys assumed the bandits were partying, but he couldn’t know for sure, as they were too far away for him to accurately determine their level of excitement. It was just as likely to be a party as it was to be coherent shouts from overly excited psychos getting worked up over nothing. Plus, the nearby growling noises didn’t make it easier to hear what was transpiring in the distance…
The two had been placed in a cage near hundreds of the same kind, the only alteration being the contents, with the rest containing skags. A LOT of skags. Rhys assumed the bandit lord was some kind of skag lover, but he hadn't expected there to be so many of them. It seemed like the whole section of the camp had been dedicated solely for the skag cages. Hell, this bandit could overrun any Hyperion facility on Pandora with the sheer amount of these terrifying creatures at his disposal. That's assuming they're all fully tamed that is. Though he had little doubt about that.
He could tell that all skags were cared for here. Every single one of the cages Rhys could see were surprisingly clean(-ish), and none were overpopulated, so that the Skags could move about freely.
Despite their better-than-average living conditions, these Skags were surely merciless murder machines, no doubt about that. Any time Rhys locked eyes with one of them, they started growling and grumbling like they haven’t been fed for weeks and he was a juicy slice of meat. Which he actually was, if judged by skag’s point of view.
Rhys: “Hey, it's all skin and bones, pal.”
Rhys knew he was going crazy when he started contemplating whether it’d be poetical justice for him to be eaten, since he still was wearing those beloved skag-hide shoes of his, and whether skags would be considered cannibals for eating them up along with him. Unfortunately, to contemplate was all he could do, since Vaughn hadn’t regained his consciousness yet. Rhys was wondering how a leg wound could’ve injured his friend so badly – maybe it was poisoned?
Rhys: “No way it was poisoned. That’s just stupid.” He spoke loudly, earning more than a few glances from skags all around him. Rhys knew it wasn’t poisoned. He was just trying to distract himself from the depressing thoughts, which were circling his mind like a bunch of Rakk circling their prey.
It was his fault that Vaughn got shot, his damn smug attitude. Because of it, his best friend is lying nearby unconscious. The girls were captured too, and he didn't know what had become of them. He hoped they were as unharmed and as ready to escape as was possible, refusing to accept any other thought, having convinced himself of it.
Vaughn: “Bagels… soggy bagels… I hate it…”
Rhys jumped up, bumping his head hard at the top of the cage.
Rhys: “Aaaah!! Ooh! Ooooow ow ow!”
Vaughn’s sudden bagel-laced words had scared him to no end. He crouched and approached Vaughn with great care. Rhys carefully shook him by his shoulder. The money-man didn’t respond in any way. Or at least he didn't respond in any coherent way that would suggest some level of consciousness.
Vaughn: “Nooooo... put the butter on the... we there yet?!”
Rhys: Sighing “He was just dreaming… Well, if he can dream he's probably just catching some zees. Nothing to worry about.” Rhys had somehow convinced himself of this as a valid reason to believe in Vaughn's safety.
To be sure, Rhys lightly smacked Vaughn across the face. All it did was make him open his mouth and burp loudly.
Rhys: “Dude, are you unconscious or just having an after-dinner nap time?”
Disappointed, yet somewhat relieved, Rhys crawled away, back to his spot in the center of the cage. Vaughn burping only reminded him of how hungry he was. He hadn’t eaten since this morning, before the con. And then he only ate some eggs, nothing more. He was too nervous to eat anything properly. He couldn’t refuse Sasha’s eggs though. Even if he didn’t like them at first, they’ve surprisingly become his favourite dish. The way she cooked them, with love and attention, always made Rhys’ mouth water. And she never refused to make them, which was another plus. Of course it took a lot of practice and intense food induced vomiting to get there.
His stomach growled loudly. Rhys rubbed it with one hand while looking around the cage for maybe 100th time already. Perhaps there were some leftovers from previous prisoners…
Handsome Jack: “Booyah, kiddo! Missed me?!”
Rhys jumped up again, not high enough to hit his head this time though. Of course, there he stood – as always, confident and handsome. Jack, his uninvited guest, taking residence inside his head. Rhys had learnt to to live with him in time, since there was no way of extracting him out in Pandora, and he couldn’t get back to Helios. On the plus side, Jack became less annoying as time went by (or atleast Rhys got used to it) and he sometimes even proved to be helpful. Right now, however…
Jack: “Well lookie here, what's this? Last time I popped up out of your little head, you were in a van, comfortably sitting around and plotting to rob some dumbass bandit. What happened, did your besties fuck up on a grand scale, as they usually do?”
Rhys: sigh “Please, Jack. Now’s not the time.”
Jack: “What’re you talking about, sweetheart? It’s always time for me, baby. So… looks around Not a very comfortable prison, huh? No diamond encrusted chairs, no hot chicks. Hell, they couldn’t even get some lighting in here?”
Rhys: “I never asked them to. I like being in the dark, you know?”
Jack: “Oh, I know who you’d like to get with in the dark, eh buddy? winks
Rhys: facepalms “You’re unbelievable.”
Jack: “Who, me? Sweetie, I’m one of a kind! I always thought you could take a little dirty joke. Sooo… I guess no fancy continental breakfast in an expensive restaurant? You know, Pandoran expensive; as in not covered in dirt and with no rats inside. I mean... this is still Pandora, last time I checked.”
Rhys didn’t respond. Instead, he just sat on the ground and closed his eyes.
Jack: “Hey, hey! Don’t you go asleep on me now! You never know what’s gonna… Just what the heck is this?”
Rhys turned his head to see that Jack has almost stepped on ever unconscious Vaughn.
Rhys: “THIS is Vaughn. Obviously.”
Jack: “Huh. Interesting. Last time I saw him… pokes Vaughn with his holo-finger this dork was able to move around and speak. It was barely speech though, more like a series of spits and numbers, but it was something. So... what’s going on here?”
Rhys didn’t answer again, he just closed his eyes and tried to relax.
Unfortunately, Jack wasn’t so easy to get rid of.
Jack: “You tell me everything now, dum-dum. At first I thought you really loved hanging out in cages, maybe some fetish of yours, but now this seems a tad more… serious, you know?”
Rhys: “What’s there to tell? The plan failed, we got caught, now we’re separated and in cages. That about cover it?”
Jack: Sits down near Rhys “So, basically… you and your besties fucked up on a grand scale? I knew it, you idiots can’t do anything right!”
Rhys: “You’re not helping. Plus, you’re stuck in one of those idiot’s head, so you might want to be a little concerned.”
Jack: “Come on, Rhysie, I was joking! Just some good ol’ Handsome Jack humour! You’re not gonna cry on me now, are you? Because I’m not good with that kind of stuff. The only tears I enjoy are those of my enemies.”
Rhys: “Can’t you stop being such a god damn moron and just HELP ME?! FOR ONCE!”
That was enough to shut Jack up, surprisingly. After a few seconds of silence, Jack stood up and took a few steps away from Rhys, who was still sitting on the ground.
Jack: “I would enjoy strangling you so much right now, but… Okay, okay... sighs... You’re not recording this, right?... Okay... Dang it… I’m sorry. All right? Maybe I pushed a little too much. This is not the end of the world, Rhysie! Cheer up!”
Rhys: “How am I supposed to cheer up when I’m locked in a cage with my unconscious best friend who, by the way, is unconcious because of me and a psycopathic hologram? My other two friends are somewhere in the camp too, locked away, just like us! There’s no way out of here!”
Jack: sighs “Look, Rhys. You wanna know how you become the world’s champion? You can’t rise to the top of the food chain if you’re whining and… giving up, you catching my drift, cupcake? You can’t just sit here like a... a sad, rain soaked bag of skag-meat and wait until something gobbles you up. You gotta show those dumb bitches how a winner is made! And I can show you how, because I’m the winner!”
Rhys: “What… what are you talking about?”
Jack: Crouches near Rhys “Look around, sugar. Observe your surroundings. No great man has risen into greatness without getting in real trouble at least once. What’s the first thing you notice around here? The first really important thing?”
Rhys: “Uhh, we’re behind bars?..”
Jack: “No, you moron… Okay, I’ll spoil this one – there are no guards around. The only thing standing between you and sweet, sweet freedom are those bars you just mentioned!" Stands up. "First step of being a champion – never give up!”
Rhys: “You know you sound really cliché, right?”
Jack: “You know how does a man being choked sounds?”
Rhys: “No…”
Jack: “Shut up before you find out.”
Rhys wanted to object, but decided against it. This decision was heavily influenced by the looks Jack was giving him, which could only be described as a strange half-way point between anger fueled seriousness and friendly sarcasm. He wasn't up for discovering which it was, regardless of Jack's holographic predicament.
Jack: “Now, kiddo, the second step – never give up on your crew. I never did, and now they’re all, uh... well, successful? In a manner of speaking, at least. Better than nothing. None of them are dead... Well, most of them aren't, anyway. What I mean to say is shake that nerd until he wakes up! If it doesn’t work, I can show you some very good strangulation techniques that…”
Rhys: “OKAY, okay! No need for the gruesome details, I don't plan on becoming a psychopath any time soon.”
Rhys once again carefully approached Vaughn. By the look of it, Vaughn hadn’t moved one bit since he last checked. Only a drip of saliva across his cheek proved that he was still a functioning human being (somewhat).
Jack: “See? I was right about the spit.”
Rhys sighed. Jack was unstoppable when he started something. Whether it was something as grand as conquoring a planet or as small as pestering someone with his jokes, he was unrelenting. His tenacity was a good thing... sometimes.
Rhys turned his attention back to Vaughn. He started with gently shaking Vaughn’s shoulders. No reaction. Rhys shook harder. Still nothing. It seemed that Rhys’ best bro was keen on remaining in a happy dream land.
Jack: “Are you stupid or what? Stop shaking him like you want to shag him. in high voice Take me! Take me, Vaughn! Slap him hard, like you're trying to kill a mosquito!”
Rhys: “Are… are you sure? I mean, that’s not the best way to wake up…”
Jack: “Just do it, dum-dum. I know what I’m talking about.”
Rhys: “But...”
Jack: Sighs “Listen... Just... visualise your beloved Sasha's ass and slap it like you've been dreaming to do since you met her!”
Rhys: “WHAT?!”
Jack: “Do it!”
Rhys looked at Vaughn, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. This won't be nice, but if it's the only way…
He took a quick breath, inhaling sharply and slapped Vaughn across the face with his human hand. Vaughn's head jolted sideways, but other than that there was no response.
Jack: “No... C'mon Cupcakes! Put your back behind it!”
Rhys frowned and shifted his weight, raising his mechanical arm into the air.
Jack: “That's what I'm talking about! Sweet, Hyperion issued justice!”
Rhys threw his hand down upon Vaughn's tender, unsuspecting face like a far less majestic version of a lion ready to pounce on a poor, unsuspecting, ripped, nerdy deer.
He managed to put a fair amount of force behind it, leaving a large red mark on his face and making a sharp sound that even made Rhys reel back. Suddenly…
Vaughn became agitated and started to move around strangely. Rhys grabbed him by the arms and shook a little sense into him.
Rhys: “Vaughn, buddy! You’re alive again!”
Vaughn: “What's going on? Where are we?" He felt the side of his face and grimaced. "Why does me cheek hurt as hell?”
Jack: “Hahahahaha! Oh may god... did you see the look on his face?! Priceless! Wipes a non-existant tear way from his eye. Ahhhh... I said it’d help!”
Rhys: “It’s okay, take it easy. We’re locked in some kind of skag cage, in the same camp.”
Vaughn: “How did we get here? WHAT HAPPENED?”
Rhys: “Shhh, you’re gonna wake up the skags, they've alrady calmed down since we got here. There's not a lot to tell you really, I mean... uh... let's think”. Rhys began making gestures with his hands. “Uhhh... We got captured... Fiona pissed off the big bandit guy...”
Vaughn: “Big bandit guy?!”
Rhys: “Yeah, he was pretty, uh, large. He was kinda wierd though... Anyway, we got seperated and thrown in here. You’ve been unconscious ever since you’ve got… uhh... shot.”
Vaughn: “Shot… Ow, my leg!”
It seemed like Vaughn only then remembered that he had been shot earlier. He reached for his leg with both of his hands, grabbing it tightly.
Vaughn: “Ahhh, the pain, it’s…”
Rhys: “What's the pain like?”
Vaughn: “Well, there's a lot of it... It's bandaged though... did the bandits do this? How considerate… Wait, maybe it’s infected already? Will I turn into a psycho now?!”
Rhys: “No, no, buddy, you won’t. Try to relax though, fretting about it'll only make it worse.”
Vaughn: “Wait… It’s your fault that I was shot! You let that idiot try to quick scope or whatever he was doing!”
Rhys: “Uhhh, well… Technically…”
Vaughn: “I could have lost a leg because of that! What hell were you doing? Do you like letting them shoot your friends, or what?!”
Jack: “Seems like you have awoken THE nerd. Beware of his wrath!”
Rhys: “Hey, Vaughn, calm down, ok? I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, it won’t happen again. Please forgive your old Rhys for screwing up, okay? Please?”
Rhys pouted and gave Vaughn puppy eyes.
Vaughn: “I would punch you so hard if I could right now.”
Vaughn: “I’ll… ahhh, it hurts so much… I’ll think about it. I still can’t believe you let me get shot…”
Jack: “Ladies, if you’re done, I’d like to remind you that we're still stuck in a disgusting ass cage. Unless you like the interior decorating so much you wouldn’t want to break it? Just look at all that pretty grime and rust!”
Rhys: “Right. Vaughn, trust me, I’m getting us out of here. Can you walk or at least stand?”
Vaughn: “I’ll try. Get ready to catch me.”
Vaughn then took Rhys’ arm with one hand and started pushing himself from the ground with the other. Gently, he stood on one leg. Very carefully, he placed his hurt leg on the ground. Slowly, he put the whole foot down and began to put his weight on it, grimacing the whole time. After a few seconds, he gasped from pain and lost his balance. Luckily, Rhys caught him just as he was about to fall.
Jack: “Heh, get a room you two!”
Vaughn: “Thanks… I think I can walk slowly. It’s very painful, but I can do it. Slowly.”
Rhys: “Good to know. Now…”
Just as Rhys said that word, a huge explosion erupted from somewhere in a camp. It caught our heroes completely by surprise, and Vaughn fell on his butt.
Rhys: “What the hell was that?”
Seconds after, a huge cloud of smoke started erupting from roughly the center of the camp. A few seconds after that, the trio heard bandits screaming and running. Jack was the first to regain his composure.
Jack: “Quick, Rhysie! Now’s your chance!”
Meanwhile, back at the girls’ tent…
Sasha: “I’m almost out, Fiona. Looks like I get to call dibs on…”
Fiona: “In your dreams sis’! You’re not the only one…”
Suddenly, their little competition was interrupted by a huge explosion not far away from them. They couldn’t tell exactly how close it was because of the tent walls around them, but the sound was deafening.
Sasha: “What the hell was that?!”
Fiona: “I don’t know. Sounded way too close to be safe. By the way… raises hands… I’m the first out!”
Sasha: “Not fair! But since you’re free, check if it’s safe to come out. This could be our only chance!”
Fiona carefully went to the exit of the tent and gently opened the wall flap that seperated her from the outside world, just enough to see what was going outside without revealing herself. She saw a bunch of psychos running towards the supposed explosion place, flailing their axes wildly.
Psycho: I AM GOING TO EAT THE METAL DEMON! IRON IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEMOGLOBIN!
Fiona dared to open the flap a little bit more to see if any bandits were guarding the tent. To her surprise, there wasn’t anyone there.
Sasha: “See anything?”
Fiona literally jumped, scared to the bone.
Fiona: “AaH! You're... Stop!” Sasha shifted her weight and stared at her sister. “If you’re gonna keep doing this, we're gonna have a serious problem.”
Sasha: “Right. Sorry. So... What’s going on there?”
Fiona: “They’re all running to the explosion site. Seems like our part of camp is mostly empty at the moment.”
Sasha: “This is our chance! Let’s go!”
Fiona: “Fighting spirit’s back, huh?”
Sasha: “Let’s do this, Fiona. No backsies.”
Back near the skag cages…
Jack: “Kick it, kick it open! More force, more soul! Imagine you’re kicking your worst enemy’s face!”
Rhys was gasping for air. His exhaustion from his flimsy kicks was getting the better of him. They needed to find a way to escape their cage, and Jack, after a quick examination of this tiny prison, found a weak bar close to the ground. Of course, since Jack is a hologram and Vaughn is injured, Rhys was the only one in a position to kick it open. And he hasn’t kicked so much since pre-school sport classes.
Jack: “I know you can do it, cupcake! Remember step one – never give up! Put your spirit into your foot and jam it into the bar!”
Rhys’ foot was going numb. By this point he'd kicked that stupid “weak” bar exactly 53 times, and it has barely moved or dented.
Jack: “Kick it or you’ll be skag-food in the morning! Kick it harder! HARDER!”
Rhys: “OKAY, I’M TRYING!”
Vaughn: “Who are you talking to?”
Rhys: “Nobody… myself… stupid goddamn bar!”
Jack has finally managed to piss Rhys off. He started imagining that the bar was Jack’s face, and a few kicks later…
Jack: “That wasn’t so hard, now, was it, cupcake?”
Rhys: “Please, shut up. For a few seconds is all I’m asking.”
Despite Rhys having a numb foot, Vaughn had it worse. Getting him through the gap produced by the absence of the rusty bar was much harder than it first looked. Both Hyperion bros grunted angrily, one from pain, other from exhaustion. After some more writhing like a wild snake, Vaughn was out of the cage too. With Rhys’ help, he stood up and looked around.
Vaughn: “Wow, that’s… a lot of skags. What do we do now, though? We don’t have a lot time, I assume. I mean explosions are probably normal for bandit camps, so they'll probably be back in a few.”
Jack: “Apparently, sometimes even dorks are right. Tick-tock Rhysie, what are you gonna do? Third step-good winners always make their decisions on their own. What’s it gonna be?”
Rhys: “We’re gonna…”
Just as he was about to finish his sentence, the three Hyperion tech heads heard heavy steps coming from around the corner. Even though the explosion was a booming distraction and an obviously big thing, some bandit assumed that it meant the prisoners were escaping. However ridiculous that logic was, it proved to be right this time around. The marauder was a few seconds away from turning the corner and seeing the Hyperion bros in the midst of their escape. No doubt he wouldn’t be too pleased…
Vaughn: “Rhys!” Vaughn almost hissed. “Do something!”
Jack: “Quickly, you stupid tortoise!”
Marauder: “Man that was a scary explosion! I better go check on the prisoners! I hope nothing unsatisfactory has occured!”
Rhys looked at Jack, who was making odd gestures at the Marauder, then he looked at Vaughn who was mouthing something unintelligable with a worried look plastered to his face. Finally Rhys stared at the corner which the bandit was about to turn in the very next moment.
Yes, yes, I know - it's been a while. I apologize sincerely for the very long pause between the first and the second chapters of our fiction… more. But, what's in the past is in the past, and I hope you will like this chapter as much as you liked the first!
I want to remind you fellas one more time - you'll have to vote for a choice at the end of the chapter, because this story is (actually) tailored by how you play. Before every choice, there shall be a picture to show whose choice it is. Fiona's choice picture will be like this:
And Rhys' will be like this:
A quick reminder - the last choice was Fiona's, and it was [Suck it]. Anyway, without wasting your time any longer, I leave you with:
Act 1- "The Deal"
Chapter 2- "Captured"
Death TeAmo: Stares at Fiona for a moment before leaning in towards her. “Okay, darling… rakkhead, then why don't you tell me... why were you trying to con me out of my money? And did you SER… [view original content]
Jack: “Oh, I know who you’d like to get with in the dark, eh buddy? winks
Rhys: facepalms “You’re unbelievable.”
Jack: “Who, me? Sweet… moreie, I’m one of a kind! I always thought you could take a little dirty joke. Sooo… I guess no fancy continental breakfast in an expensive restaurant? You know, Pandoran expensive; as in not covered in dirt and with no rats inside. I mean... this is still Pandora, last time I checked.”
Rhys didn’t respond. Instead, he just sat on the ground and closed his eyes.
Jack: “Hey, hey! Don’t you go asleep on me now! You never know what’s gonna… Just what the heck is this?”
Rhys turned his head to see that Jack has almost stepped on ever unconscious Vaughn.
Rhys: “THIS is Vaughn. Obviously.”
Jack: “Huh. Interesting. Last time I saw him… pokes Vaughn with his holo-finger this dork was able to move around and speak. It was barely speech though, more like a series of spits and numbers, but it was somethi… [view original content]
Also I have you to you two got a knack for it this story is really entertaining, I'm so happy that Rhys still have Jack in his head, seriously the lines you give him are hilarious.
Hmm now to think of I'll start waiting for your story like for another episode....oh snap more agony coming.
Jack: “Oh, I know who you’d like to get with in the dark, eh buddy? winks
Rhys: facepalms “You’re unbelievable.”
Jack: “Who, me? Sweet… moreie, I’m one of a kind! I always thought you could take a little dirty joke. Sooo… I guess no fancy continental breakfast in an expensive restaurant? You know, Pandoran expensive; as in not covered in dirt and with no rats inside. I mean... this is still Pandora, last time I checked.”
Rhys didn’t respond. Instead, he just sat on the ground and closed his eyes.
Jack: “Hey, hey! Don’t you go asleep on me now! You never know what’s gonna… Just what the heck is this?”
Rhys turned his head to see that Jack has almost stepped on ever unconscious Vaughn.
Rhys: “THIS is Vaughn. Obviously.”
Jack: “Huh. Interesting. Last time I saw him… pokes Vaughn with his holo-finger this dork was able to move around and speak. It was barely speech though, more like a series of spits and numbers, but it was somethi… [view original content]
Jack: “Oh, I know who you’d like to get with in the dark, eh buddy? winks
Rhys: facepalms “You’re unbelievable.”
Jack: “Who, me? Sweet… moreie, I’m one of a kind! I always thought you could take a little dirty joke. Sooo… I guess no fancy continental breakfast in an expensive restaurant? You know, Pandoran expensive; as in not covered in dirt and with no rats inside. I mean... this is still Pandora, last time I checked.”
Rhys didn’t respond. Instead, he just sat on the ground and closed his eyes.
Jack: “Hey, hey! Don’t you go asleep on me now! You never know what’s gonna… Just what the heck is this?”
Rhys turned his head to see that Jack has almost stepped on ever unconscious Vaughn.
Rhys: “THIS is Vaughn. Obviously.”
Jack: “Huh. Interesting. Last time I saw him… pokes Vaughn with his holo-finger this dork was able to move around and speak. It was barely speech though, more like a series of spits and numbers, but it was somethi… [view original content]
**Knoc him out! **
Have it done Jack style!
Also I have you to you two got a knack for it this story is really entertaining, I'm so ha… moreppy that Rhys still have Jack in his head, seriously the lines you give him are hilarious.
Hmm now to think of I'll start waiting for your story like for another episode....oh snap more agony coming.
10/10
Jack: “Oh, I know who you’d like to get with in the dark, eh buddy? winks
Rhys: facepalms “You’re unbelievable.”
Jack: “Who, me? Sweet… moreie, I’m one of a kind! I always thought you could take a little dirty joke. Sooo… I guess no fancy continental breakfast in an expensive restaurant? You know, Pandoran expensive; as in not covered in dirt and with no rats inside. I mean... this is still Pandora, last time I checked.”
Rhys didn’t respond. Instead, he just sat on the ground and closed his eyes.
Jack: “Hey, hey! Don’t you go asleep on me now! You never know what’s gonna… Just what the heck is this?”
Rhys turned his head to see that Jack has almost stepped on ever unconscious Vaughn.
Rhys: “THIS is Vaughn. Obviously.”
Jack: “Huh. Interesting. Last time I saw him… pokes Vaughn with his holo-finger this dork was able to move around and speak. It was barely speech though, more like a series of spits and numbers, but it was somethi… [view original content]
So I am making an rpg maker game loosely connected (but not really) to Armis and I's fic. Maybe just for hype reasons, but what evs.
It's n… moreot based on our story and will feature an entirely different story about a Hyperion employee (though Rhys and the gang will certainly feature).
It'll be a while 'til it's made though. Hopefully you'll enjoy it. It's not to be taken seriously and will probably suck, but I'll do my best to give an enjoyable experience.
Oh and more importantly, we're about to post our second chapter soon ;D.
Sorry, the long wait was my fault (or adobe's fault, depending on how you look at it).
Ok that said i was JUST thinking about it. Like, when Rhys is kind and sweet to Vaughn everyone loves it, oh but when Rhys is kind and kinda sweet to Sasha everyone goes around yelling how forced that is and their gay eyes literally implode into oblivion everytime rhys is 5cm close to sasha.
Even though Rhysha and Gayperion (in that order) are my main ships, it saddens me to no end how the fandom destroys Sasha as a character but praise Rhys for being nice to Vaughn. ((It hurts me more because as a female PoC is always great to see interacial couples and badass WoCs in the media; man... ;~;))
Jack: “Oh, I know who you’d like to get with in the dark, eh buddy? winks
Rhys: facepalms “You’re unbelievable.”
Jack: “Who, me? Sweet… moreie, I’m one of a kind! I always thought you could take a little dirty joke. Sooo… I guess no fancy continental breakfast in an expensive restaurant? You know, Pandoran expensive; as in not covered in dirt and with no rats inside. I mean... this is still Pandora, last time I checked.”
Rhys didn’t respond. Instead, he just sat on the ground and closed his eyes.
Jack: “Hey, hey! Don’t you go asleep on me now! You never know what’s gonna… Just what the heck is this?”
Rhys turned his head to see that Jack has almost stepped on ever unconscious Vaughn.
Rhys: “THIS is Vaughn. Obviously.”
Jack: “Huh. Interesting. Last time I saw him… pokes Vaughn with his holo-finger this dork was able to move around and speak. It was barely speech though, more like a series of spits and numbers, but it was somethi… [view original content]
Jack: “Oh, I know who you’d like to get with in the dark, eh buddy? winks
Rhys: facepalms “You’re unbelievable.”
Jack: “Who, me? Sweet… moreie, I’m one of a kind! I always thought you could take a little dirty joke. Sooo… I guess no fancy continental breakfast in an expensive restaurant? You know, Pandoran expensive; as in not covered in dirt and with no rats inside. I mean... this is still Pandora, last time I checked.”
Rhys didn’t respond. Instead, he just sat on the ground and closed his eyes.
Jack: “Hey, hey! Don’t you go asleep on me now! You never know what’s gonna… Just what the heck is this?”
Rhys turned his head to see that Jack has almost stepped on ever unconscious Vaughn.
Rhys: “THIS is Vaughn. Obviously.”
Jack: “Huh. Interesting. Last time I saw him… pokes Vaughn with his holo-finger this dork was able to move around and speak. It was barely speech though, more like a series of spits and numbers, but it was somethi… [view original content]
It actually surprised me that the chat was so abandoned at 1 AM. That's the time when chat is usually the most active. I guess the school started for most people.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What do you expect? It's been two weeks since the episode it's a standard decrease, everyone will be back when the first news about ep 5 will come around.
Jack: “Oh, I know who you’d like to get with in the dark, eh buddy? winks
Rhys: facepalms “You’re unbelievable.”
Jack: “Who, me? Sweet… moreie, I’m one of a kind! I always thought you could take a little dirty joke. Sooo… I guess no fancy continental breakfast in an expensive restaurant? You know, Pandoran expensive; as in not covered in dirt and with no rats inside. I mean... this is still Pandora, last time I checked.”
Rhys didn’t respond. Instead, he just sat on the ground and closed his eyes.
Jack: “Hey, hey! Don’t you go asleep on me now! You never know what’s gonna… Just what the heck is this?”
Rhys turned his head to see that Jack has almost stepped on ever unconscious Vaughn.
Rhys: “THIS is Vaughn. Obviously.”
Jack: “Huh. Interesting. Last time I saw him… pokes Vaughn with his holo-finger this dork was able to move around and speak. It was barely speech though, more like a series of spits and numbers, but it was somethi… [view original content]
Jack: “Oh, I know who you’d like to get with in the dark, eh buddy? winks
Rhys: facepalms “You’re unbelievable.”
Jack: “Who, me? Sweet… moreie, I’m one of a kind! I always thought you could take a little dirty joke. Sooo… I guess no fancy continental breakfast in an expensive restaurant? You know, Pandoran expensive; as in not covered in dirt and with no rats inside. I mean... this is still Pandora, last time I checked.”
Rhys didn’t respond. Instead, he just sat on the ground and closed his eyes.
Jack: “Hey, hey! Don’t you go asleep on me now! You never know what’s gonna… Just what the heck is this?”
Rhys turned his head to see that Jack has almost stepped on ever unconscious Vaughn.
Rhys: “THIS is Vaughn. Obviously.”
Jack: “Huh. Interesting. Last time I saw him… pokes Vaughn with his holo-finger this dork was able to move around and speak. It was barely speech though, more like a series of spits and numbers, but it was somethi… [view original content]
As a white man, lemee just say I'm sorry you have to go through what you do.
Tumblr advocates representation of all types, from color to sexuality to gender. And yet when it comes to a fucking fictional couple, they immediately disregard the colored female when she brings up the potential for a hetero pairing. And the white dudes get shipped.
I don't mind the people who dislike the actual romance (it was sort of forced, I admit) but when they start hating on Sasha for it it's obvious that they're hiding their prejudice.
GG tumblr.
On a lighter note, I like Rhysha because Rhys is tol and Sasha is smol.
BRUH, I think you are my fav person here
Ok that said i was JUST thinking about it. Like, when Rhys is kind and sweet to Vaughn everyone… more loves it, oh but when Rhys is kind and kinda sweet to Sasha everyone goes around yelling how forced that is and their gay eyes literally implode into oblivion everytime rhys is 5cm close to sasha.
Even though Rhysha and Gayperion (in that order) are my main ships, it saddens me to no end how the fandom destroys Sasha as a character but praise Rhys for being nice to Vaughn. ((It hurts me more because as a female PoC is always great to see interacial couples and badass WoCs in the media; man... ;~;))
Alright Rhyshans! It's time to decide what our new game for the Weekly events will be!
So far, we have:
Unturned
Warframe
Loadout
Dirty Bomb
Please list any other suggestions to be added! I'll made a strawpoll soon!
Alright Rhyshans! It's time to decide what our new game for the Weekly events will be!
So far, we have:
Unturned
Warframe
Loadout
Dirty Bomb
Please list any other suggestions to be added! I'll made a strawpoll soon!
Comments
I wish. It's perfect for me.
Yes, yes, I know - it's been a while. I apologize sincerely for the very long pause between the first and the second chapters of our fiction. But, what's in the past is in the past, and I hope you will like this chapter as much as you liked the first!
I want to remind you fellas one more time - you'll have to vote for a choice at the end of the chapter, because this story is (actually) tailored by how you play.
Before every choice, there shall be a picture to show whose choice it is. Fiona's choice picture will be like this:
And Rhys' will be like this:
A quick reminder - the last choice was Fiona's, and it was [Suck it]. Anyway, without wasting your time any longer, I leave you with:
Act 1- "The Deal"
Chapter 2- "Captured"
Death TeAmo: Stares at Fiona for a moment before leaning in towards her. “Okay, darling… rakkhead, then why don't you tell me... why were you trying to con me out of my money? And did you SERIOUSLY think that my besties… my servants wouldn't notice your con? Well? Tell me, my little biscuit... er... you dirty scum!"
Fiona: “What do you know about bandits, ermm… bandit?”
Death TeAmo: “…What?”
Fiona: “I can tell you what we know. We know you’re big, we know you’re strong. We know you like to kill a lot and raid a lot. But, see, just like fire loses to water, you lose to smart people. So that's my answer – we decided to con you, because you’re big, dumb and stupid. And your plushy bunny sucks.”
Silence fell across the camp as TeAmo stared at Fiona, unable to process what she just said. Bandits all around were waiting for some kind of a response from their leader, but he was simply shocked.
Unexpectedly, the silence was broken by Rhys’ giggling like a small child. Sasha and Fiona turned to look at him, his maniacle laughter seeming to be that of a madman, while Death TeAmo gasped in a mix of horror and embarassment.
Death TeAmo: “You think this it funny?! This is funny for you, you cruel, loveable… hateable meanies!”
The trio exchanged looks. From the way he spoke, it sounded like the bandit lord was close to tears.
Death TeAmo: “You mean, mean bullies! My bunny is a bloodlusty killing machine which could bite your faces off, not some plushy cutie who SUCKS! I hate you!”
To everyone's suprise, TeAmo suddenly and swiftly stepped forward and struck Fiona with the back of his hand, causing her to fall to the ground. Immediatly afterwards he turned and punched Rhys in the stomach. He cried out in a squeaky voice.
Rhys: “Ouch, ouch. That one… really hurt.”
Death TeAmo: “You… you monsters, how dare you insult me like that! You heard them, boys! They called us dumb! Stupid, even! Beat ‘em and throw them into a soft bed… I mean LOCK THEM UP! SEPARATELY!”
Death TeAmo went off, murmuring to himself, something along the lines of “What a bunch of bullies…”.
Teamo's bandit minions didn’t hesitate a moment. The order had been given, and they were the ones to carry it out. The trio was unable to resist the bandits' forceful grabs. Fiona was lying on the ground and Rhys still gasping for air. Sasha was the only one who tried to kick her way out of the situation, however her efforts were quickly overwhelmed by the effort of numerous marauders.
Being the quirky weirdos they were, for some peculiar reason the bandits understood the order “SEPARATELY!” as to separate the group by gender. Ordinarily gender meant almost nothing in the barren wastelands of Pandora, but these bandits had taken a shine to creatively interpreting their instructions. One could suppose that it gave them some meaning or freedom to their underling role. Such was the fate of a common mook.
Or at least that's what could be surmised from a random psycho rambling on in the corner about his creative freedoms. Either way, the group was seperated thusly.
Sasha was quickly dragged off with Fiona, and Rhys dumped on Vaughn in the cart and pushed away. Then, Rhys did something that... no... he spoke to... that's not it...
Marcus: "Uh... wait wait, hold on, I've got this. So Rhys and Vaughn were in the cart and the girls were being dragged towards the back of the camp and... no... no, I have no idea what they were doing. They were just getting taken to a place.
Give me a break, getting taken to another part of the camp is not exactly a memorable part of the story... eh, you don't need to hear it. Don't give me that face... don't worry about it, you’re not missing anything interesting. 'Ahem', so where was I? Ah, yes.."
Some time later, at night…
Fiona and Sasha were in a small tent, sitting on the plain old dirty ground, tied up to a pole in such a way that their backs were facing one another. Their prison was tiny, yet filthy as humanly possible. There were small bones scattered all around them, clearly some blood (is there a place in this camp where there is no blood?), a bunch of old, dirty posters and a broken gun. When Sasha first saw the weapon lying on the ground, she was ecstatic – dumbass bandits left a gun for them! Her joy soon died when she saw a rat come out from the barrel of a gun.
Marcus: "I should clarify that this was no bandit gun. It was an old Torgue gun, with a huge barrel for firing those iconic explosive casts. Torgue combines good damage, high fire rate and recoil reduction into one lethal weapon! You can buy them now at... er, sorry, sorry, I can't help myself."
Despite their looks that any sane person would think were charged with insanity and stupidity both, some bandits obviously knew how to tie up prisoners. The sisters’ wrists soon began to ache from the tightness of their bonds. At first, they tried to somehow wriggle out of the ropes, but to no avail.
After many exhausting attempts to break free, the duo succumbed and tried to regain some strength. They knew that in the morning, their lives would probably be done or at least made very miserable.
Sasha: “Hey sis’… How are you? That punch looked like it packed a lot of power.” Sisters hadn't spoken much since they were thrown in the tent.
Fiona: “I’ve been better, but it’s nothing lethal. By the morning I should be okie-dokie.”
Sasha: “I think by the morning we’ll have bigger things to worry about.” She laughed to herself quietly. “Hey, do you think they're gonna kill us or cuddle us?”
Fiona smiled before answering.
Fiona: “That depends on just how soft their leader is. So far, he seems… strange, to say the least.”
Sasha: “Didn’t stop him from laying some smackdown on you.”
From the silence on Fiona’s side, Sasha quickly understood that she shouldn't have mentioned it.
Sasha: “Sorry Fi. Didn’t mean for it to sound like that. Let’s try to get some sleep, maybe?”
Fiona: “How do you plan to sleep when those assholes are partying right around the corner?” She struggled to swing her torso in the right position to see or hear what was going on. "Seems like their raiding party found lots of booze out there…”
Fiona was right. Just before the night settled in, bandits returned to the camp, carrying loot from their day-raid. They managed to get quite a lot of boxes of alcohol too, so now the camp was celebrating.
Sasha: “I could go for a drink right now. My throat is parched.”
Fiona: “Even if it was Skag-piss wine? Like the one Felix got that one time from a grateful client?”
Both sisters chuckled.
Sasha: “Well, maybe not that one. But anything else would do. Then again... hey, what are the chances bandits wouldn't be drinking skag piss?”
They remained silent for some time, listening to bandits screaming and occasionally shooting something.
Sasha: “Hey Fi. Do you think the boys are okay? Especially Vaughn, it didn’t seem he woke up…”
Fiona: “I don’t know Sash. My bet would be on “better than expected”, but you never know.”
Sasha: “Fi, I don’t want to sound depressing or anything like that, but… is this it? I mean, it's not like anyone can help us now.”
Fiona: “Don’t think like that, Sasha. We always get out of these kinds of situations, whether it’s due to coincidence or... something more reliable than coincidence.” She grimaced and instinctively switched her gaze, despite not even facing her younger sister.
Sasha: “You always think about the positive side of things, don’t you?”
Fiona: “I have to. No-one else will.”
Sasha: sighs “I guess you’re right. Vaughn is always the first to panic, and Rhys is acting like a coward if he's not being over-confident most of the time.”
Fiona: “What about you, Sash?” smiling “You never seem to back down.”
Sasha: “I know, it’s just… I get tired of it. Every day, we face life-threatening dangers. And you always have to just... deal with it, keep moving forward, keep fighting against the odds. It’s… soul-sucking, you know?”
Fiona: “I know, sis’.”
Sasha: “And you can never be what you want to be here. You’re either the hunter or the one being hunted down. You’re killed or you kill. No middle ground. Dog eat dog. Every woman for herself.”
The sisters shared a moment of silence. Fiona completely understood what Sasha was going through. In Pandora, you can’t be who you want to be. If you were to show any kind of positive or all-round pleasant emotion, any sign of doubt or hesitation in your actions and the next thing you know your upper half is hanging from a rusty meathook and the rest of you is skag-meat. The only thing on this godforsaken planet you can place your trust in is your friends, and even then, they’re not entirely reliable or even worth that trust. Often they prove to you very directly that your trust is ill-placed … Even when they’re family.
Fiona couldn’t just sit quietly and do nothing. Sasha’s hopelessness and unwillingness to fight only worked to fuel her inner fire. She started writhing again, trying to get free of the ropes.
Sasha: “Seriously Fi? It hasn’t worked before, it won’t work now.”
Fiona: “We have to do something, Sasha. We've gotta try! Nobody’s going to take care of us and nobody is coming to save us. It’s just you and me, like always.”
Sasha: “And the boys.”
Fiona: “And the boys. I’m sure they haven't given up, we can't let those nerds one up us, can we?!”
Sasha: deep sigh “Screw this. The one who gets out first gets dibs to shoot the leader of this pathetic camp right in his little, pathetic face!”
Fiona: “Deal!”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the camp…
Bandits clearly didn’t value the escaping prowess of Hyperion employees greatly. The two bros were locked in a metal cage that was quite obviously not built for humans, and clearly the bandits had decided that this was enough to hold them indefinately, choosing to untie them before throwing them in, so that they may use the binds for something more important, like using them as blindfolds and playing blind games such as whack the meat pinata, or pin the stabby thing on the meatbag, or anything in general to do with damaging fleshy organ bits. Maybe they thought that this skag cage was enough to hold two intelligent, capable humans, maybe they were empathetic enough to understand Vaughn's predicament and wanted Rhys to take care of his wound if he started getting worse, as unlikely and absurb that sounds. Rhys turned to look at his unconscious friend.
Rhys: “Hang in there buddy. We're gonna make it through this.”
The bandits had dropped them off like trash and went away laughing and joking about “fresh Hyperion meat”. Rhys was doing his best to stay positive and believe that they weren't literally thinking about… his flesh. He instead mentally proposed the thought that they were using the word as some kind of metaphor or analogy of some kind. Though the results of which would still likely end in his horrific, painful death by their hands. Rhys then opted not to give it much thought at all. He turned his attention to some faint noises coming from the other side of the camp.
Rhys assumed the bandits were partying, but he couldn’t know for sure, as they were too far away for him to accurately determine their level of excitement. It was just as likely to be a party as it was to be coherent shouts from overly excited psychos getting worked up over nothing. Plus, the nearby growling noises didn’t make it easier to hear what was transpiring in the distance…
The two had been placed in a cage near hundreds of the same kind, the only alteration being the contents, with the rest containing skags. A LOT of skags. Rhys assumed the bandit lord was some kind of skag lover, but he hadn't expected there to be so many of them. It seemed like the whole section of the camp had been dedicated solely for the skag cages. Hell, this bandit could overrun any Hyperion facility on Pandora with the sheer amount of these terrifying creatures at his disposal. That's assuming they're all fully tamed that is. Though he had little doubt about that.
He could tell that all skags were cared for here. Every single one of the cages Rhys could see were surprisingly clean(-ish), and none were overpopulated, so that the Skags could move about freely.
Despite their better-than-average living conditions, these Skags were surely merciless murder machines, no doubt about that. Any time Rhys locked eyes with one of them, they started growling and grumbling like they haven’t been fed for weeks and he was a juicy slice of meat. Which he actually was, if judged by skag’s point of view.
Rhys: “Hey, it's all skin and bones, pal.”
Rhys knew he was going crazy when he started contemplating whether it’d be poetical justice for him to be eaten, since he still was wearing those beloved skag-hide shoes of his, and whether skags would be considered cannibals for eating them up along with him. Unfortunately, to contemplate was all he could do, since Vaughn hadn’t regained his consciousness yet. Rhys was wondering how a leg wound could’ve injured his friend so badly – maybe it was poisoned?
Rhys: “No way it was poisoned. That’s just stupid.” He spoke loudly, earning more than a few glances from skags all around him. Rhys knew it wasn’t poisoned. He was just trying to distract himself from the depressing thoughts, which were circling his mind like a bunch of Rakk circling their prey.
It was his fault that Vaughn got shot, his damn smug attitude. Because of it, his best friend is lying nearby unconscious. The girls were captured too, and he didn't know what had become of them. He hoped they were as unharmed and as ready to escape as was possible, refusing to accept any other thought, having convinced himself of it.
Vaughn: “Bagels… soggy bagels… I hate it…”
Rhys jumped up, bumping his head hard at the top of the cage.
Rhys: “Aaaah!! Ooh! Ooooow ow ow!”
Vaughn’s sudden bagel-laced words had scared him to no end. He crouched and approached Vaughn with great care. Rhys carefully shook him by his shoulder. The money-man didn’t respond in any way. Or at least he didn't respond in any coherent way that would suggest some level of consciousness.
Vaughn: “Nooooo... put the butter on the... we there yet?!”
Rhys: Sighing “He was just dreaming… Well, if he can dream he's probably just catching some zees. Nothing to worry about.” Rhys had somehow convinced himself of this as a valid reason to believe in Vaughn's safety.
To be sure, Rhys lightly smacked Vaughn across the face. All it did was make him open his mouth and burp loudly.
Rhys: “Dude, are you unconscious or just having an after-dinner nap time?”
Disappointed, yet somewhat relieved, Rhys crawled away, back to his spot in the center of the cage. Vaughn burping only reminded him of how hungry he was. He hadn’t eaten since this morning, before the con. And then he only ate some eggs, nothing more. He was too nervous to eat anything properly. He couldn’t refuse Sasha’s eggs though. Even if he didn’t like them at first, they’ve surprisingly become his favourite dish. The way she cooked them, with love and attention, always made Rhys’ mouth water. And she never refused to make them, which was another plus. Of course it took a lot of practice and intense food induced vomiting to get there.
His stomach growled loudly. Rhys rubbed it with one hand while looking around the cage for maybe 100th time already. Perhaps there were some leftovers from previous prisoners…
Handsome Jack: “Booyah, kiddo! Missed me?!”
Rhys jumped up again, not high enough to hit his head this time though. Of course, there he stood – as always, confident and handsome. Jack, his uninvited guest, taking residence inside his head. Rhys had learnt to to live with him in time, since there was no way of extracting him out in Pandora, and he couldn’t get back to Helios. On the plus side, Jack became less annoying as time went by (or atleast Rhys got used to it) and he sometimes even proved to be helpful. Right now, however…
Jack: “Well lookie here, what's this? Last time I popped up out of your little head, you were in a van, comfortably sitting around and plotting to rob some dumbass bandit. What happened, did your besties fuck up on a grand scale, as they usually do?”
Rhys: sigh “Please, Jack. Now’s not the time.”
Jack: “What’re you talking about, sweetheart? It’s always time for me, baby. So… looks around Not a very comfortable prison, huh? No diamond encrusted chairs, no hot chicks. Hell, they couldn’t even get some lighting in here?”
Rhys: “I never asked them to. I like being in the dark, you know?”
Jack: “Oh, I know who you’d like to get with in the dark, eh buddy? winks
Rhys: facepalms “You’re unbelievable.”
Jack: “Who, me? Sweetie, I’m one of a kind! I always thought you could take a little dirty joke. Sooo… I guess no fancy continental breakfast in an expensive restaurant? You know, Pandoran expensive; as in not covered in dirt and with no rats inside. I mean... this is still Pandora, last time I checked.”
Rhys didn’t respond. Instead, he just sat on the ground and closed his eyes.
Jack: “Hey, hey! Don’t you go asleep on me now! You never know what’s gonna… Just what the heck is this?”
Rhys turned his head to see that Jack has almost stepped on ever unconscious Vaughn.
Rhys: “THIS is Vaughn. Obviously.”
Jack: “Huh. Interesting. Last time I saw him… pokes Vaughn with his holo-finger this dork was able to move around and speak. It was barely speech though, more like a series of spits and numbers, but it was something. So... what’s going on here?”
Rhys didn’t answer again, he just closed his eyes and tried to relax.
Unfortunately, Jack wasn’t so easy to get rid of.
Jack: “You tell me everything now, dum-dum. At first I thought you really loved hanging out in cages, maybe some fetish of yours, but now this seems a tad more… serious, you know?”
Rhys: “What’s there to tell? The plan failed, we got caught, now we’re separated and in cages. That about cover it?”
Jack: Sits down near Rhys “So, basically… you and your besties fucked up on a grand scale? I knew it, you idiots can’t do anything right!”
Rhys: “You’re not helping. Plus, you’re stuck in one of those idiot’s head, so you might want to be a little concerned.”
Jack: “Come on, Rhysie, I was joking! Just some good ol’ Handsome Jack humour! You’re not gonna cry on me now, are you? Because I’m not good with that kind of stuff. The only tears I enjoy are those of my enemies.”
Rhys: “Can’t you stop being such a god damn moron and just HELP ME?! FOR ONCE!”
That was enough to shut Jack up, surprisingly. After a few seconds of silence, Jack stood up and took a few steps away from Rhys, who was still sitting on the ground.
Jack: “I would enjoy strangling you so much right now, but… Okay, okay... sighs... You’re not recording this, right?... Okay... Dang it… I’m sorry. All right? Maybe I pushed a little too much. This is not the end of the world, Rhysie! Cheer up!”
Rhys: “How am I supposed to cheer up when I’m locked in a cage with my unconscious best friend who, by the way, is unconcious because of me and a psycopathic hologram? My other two friends are somewhere in the camp too, locked away, just like us! There’s no way out of here!”
Jack: sighs “Look, Rhys. You wanna know how you become the world’s champion? You can’t rise to the top of the food chain if you’re whining and… giving up, you catching my drift, cupcake? You can’t just sit here like a... a sad, rain soaked bag of skag-meat and wait until something gobbles you up. You gotta show those dumb bitches how a winner is made! And I can show you how, because I’m the winner!”
Rhys: “What… what are you talking about?”
Jack: Crouches near Rhys “Look around, sugar. Observe your surroundings. No great man has risen into greatness without getting in real trouble at least once. What’s the first thing you notice around here? The first really important thing?”
Rhys: “Uhh, we’re behind bars?..”
Jack: “No, you moron… Okay, I’ll spoil this one – there are no guards around. The only thing standing between you and sweet, sweet freedom are those bars you just mentioned!" Stands up. "First step of being a champion – never give up!”
Rhys: “You know you sound really cliché, right?”
Jack: “You know how does a man being choked sounds?”
Rhys: “No…”
Jack: “Shut up before you find out.”
Rhys wanted to object, but decided against it. This decision was heavily influenced by the looks Jack was giving him, which could only be described as a strange half-way point between anger fueled seriousness and friendly sarcasm. He wasn't up for discovering which it was, regardless of Jack's holographic predicament.
Jack: “Now, kiddo, the second step – never give up on your crew. I never did, and now they’re all, uh... well, successful? In a manner of speaking, at least. Better than nothing. None of them are dead... Well, most of them aren't, anyway. What I mean to say is shake that nerd until he wakes up! If it doesn’t work, I can show you some very good strangulation techniques that…”
Rhys: “OKAY, okay! No need for the gruesome details, I don't plan on becoming a psychopath any time soon.”
Rhys once again carefully approached Vaughn. By the look of it, Vaughn hadn’t moved one bit since he last checked. Only a drip of saliva across his cheek proved that he was still a functioning human being (somewhat).
Jack: “See? I was right about the spit.”
Rhys sighed. Jack was unstoppable when he started something. Whether it was something as grand as conquoring a planet or as small as pestering someone with his jokes, he was unrelenting. His tenacity was a good thing... sometimes.
Rhys turned his attention back to Vaughn. He started with gently shaking Vaughn’s shoulders. No reaction. Rhys shook harder. Still nothing. It seemed that Rhys’ best bro was keen on remaining in a happy dream land.
Jack: “Are you stupid or what? Stop shaking him like you want to shag him. in high voice Take me! Take me, Vaughn! Slap him hard, like you're trying to kill a mosquito!”
Rhys: “Are… are you sure? I mean, that’s not the best way to wake up…”
Jack: “Just do it, dum-dum. I know what I’m talking about.”
Rhys: “But...”
Jack: Sighs “Listen... Just... visualise your beloved Sasha's ass and slap it like you've been dreaming to do since you met her!”
Rhys: “WHAT?!”
Jack: “Do it!”
Rhys looked at Vaughn, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. This won't be nice, but if it's the only way…
He took a quick breath, inhaling sharply and slapped Vaughn across the face with his human hand. Vaughn's head jolted sideways, but other than that there was no response.
Jack: “No... C'mon Cupcakes! Put your back behind it!”
Rhys frowned and shifted his weight, raising his mechanical arm into the air.
Jack: “That's what I'm talking about! Sweet, Hyperion issued justice!”
Rhys threw his hand down upon Vaughn's tender, unsuspecting face like a far less majestic version of a lion ready to pounce on a poor, unsuspecting, ripped, nerdy deer.
He managed to put a fair amount of force behind it, leaving a large red mark on his face and making a sharp sound that even made Rhys reel back. Suddenly…
Vaughn: “OWWW! Ow! Ow! Aah! What... what? What’s happening?”
Vaughn became agitated and started to move around strangely. Rhys grabbed him by the arms and shook a little sense into him.
Rhys: “Vaughn, buddy! You’re alive again!”
Vaughn: “What's going on? Where are we?" He felt the side of his face and grimaced. "Why does me cheek hurt as hell?”
Jack: “Hahahahaha! Oh may god... did you see the look on his face?! Priceless! Wipes a non-existant tear way from his eye. Ahhhh... I said it’d help!”
Rhys: “It’s okay, take it easy. We’re locked in some kind of skag cage, in the same camp.”
Vaughn: “How did we get here? WHAT HAPPENED?”
Rhys: “Shhh, you’re gonna wake up the skags, they've alrady calmed down since we got here. There's not a lot to tell you really, I mean... uh... let's think”. Rhys began making gestures with his hands. “Uhhh... We got captured... Fiona pissed off the big bandit guy...”
Vaughn: “Big bandit guy?!”
Rhys: “Yeah, he was pretty, uh, large. He was kinda wierd though... Anyway, we got seperated and thrown in here. You’ve been unconscious ever since you’ve got… uhh... shot.”
Vaughn: “Shot… Ow, my leg!”
It seemed like Vaughn only then remembered that he had been shot earlier. He reached for his leg with both of his hands, grabbing it tightly.
Vaughn: “Ahhh, the pain, it’s…”
Rhys: “What's the pain like?”
Vaughn: “Well, there's a lot of it... It's bandaged though... did the bandits do this? How considerate… Wait, maybe it’s infected already? Will I turn into a psycho now?!”
Rhys: “No, no, buddy, you won’t. Try to relax though, fretting about it'll only make it worse.”
Vaughn: “Wait… It’s your fault that I was shot! You let that idiot try to quick scope or whatever he was doing!”
Rhys: “Uhhh, well… Technically…”
Vaughn: “I could have lost a leg because of that! What hell were you doing? Do you like letting them shoot your friends, or what?!”
Jack: “Seems like you have awoken THE nerd. Beware of his wrath!”
Rhys: “Hey, Vaughn, calm down, ok? I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, it won’t happen again. Please forgive your old Rhys for screwing up, okay? Please?”
Rhys pouted and gave Vaughn puppy eyes.
Vaughn: “I would punch you so hard if I could right now.”
Rhys: “Well, it seems I’m in luck then!
Vaughn threw Rhys an unforgiving glare.
Rhys: “Right! I’m seriously sorry. Forgive me, bro. Brofist?”
Vaughn: “I’ll… ahhh, it hurts so much… I’ll think about it. I still can’t believe you let me get shot…”
Jack: “Ladies, if you’re done, I’d like to remind you that we're still stuck in a disgusting ass cage. Unless you like the interior decorating so much you wouldn’t want to break it? Just look at all that pretty grime and rust!”
Rhys: “Right. Vaughn, trust me, I’m getting us out of here. Can you walk or at least stand?”
Vaughn: “I’ll try. Get ready to catch me.”
Vaughn then took Rhys’ arm with one hand and started pushing himself from the ground with the other. Gently, he stood on one leg. Very carefully, he placed his hurt leg on the ground. Slowly, he put the whole foot down and began to put his weight on it, grimacing the whole time. After a few seconds, he gasped from pain and lost his balance. Luckily, Rhys caught him just as he was about to fall.
Jack: “Heh, get a room you two!”
Vaughn: “Thanks… I think I can walk slowly. It’s very painful, but I can do it. Slowly.”
Rhys: “Good to know. Now…”
Just as Rhys said that word, a huge explosion erupted from somewhere in a camp. It caught our heroes completely by surprise, and Vaughn fell on his butt.
Rhys: “What the hell was that?”
Seconds after, a huge cloud of smoke started erupting from roughly the center of the camp. A few seconds after that, the trio heard bandits screaming and running. Jack was the first to regain his composure.
Jack: “Quick, Rhysie! Now’s your chance!”
Meanwhile, back at the girls’ tent…
Sasha: “I’m almost out, Fiona. Looks like I get to call dibs on…”
Fiona: “In your dreams sis’! You’re not the only one…”
Suddenly, their little competition was interrupted by a huge explosion not far away from them. They couldn’t tell exactly how close it was because of the tent walls around them, but the sound was deafening.
Sasha: “What the hell was that?!”
Fiona: “I don’t know. Sounded way too close to be safe. By the way… raises hands… I’m the first out!”
Sasha: “Not fair! But since you’re free, check if it’s safe to come out. This could be our only chance!”
Fiona carefully went to the exit of the tent and gently opened the wall flap that seperated her from the outside world, just enough to see what was going outside without revealing herself. She saw a bunch of psychos running towards the supposed explosion place, flailing their axes wildly.
Psycho: I AM GOING TO EAT THE METAL DEMON! IRON IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEMOGLOBIN!
Fiona dared to open the flap a little bit more to see if any bandits were guarding the tent. To her surprise, there wasn’t anyone there.
Sasha: “See anything?”
Fiona literally jumped, scared to the bone.
Fiona: “AaH! You're... Stop!” Sasha shifted her weight and stared at her sister. “If you’re gonna keep doing this, we're gonna have a serious problem.”
Sasha: “Right. Sorry. So... What’s going on there?”
Fiona: “They’re all running to the explosion site. Seems like our part of camp is mostly empty at the moment.”
Sasha: “This is our chance! Let’s go!”
Fiona: “Fighting spirit’s back, huh?”
Sasha: “Let’s do this, Fiona. No backsies.”
Back near the skag cages…
Jack: “Kick it, kick it open! More force, more soul! Imagine you’re kicking your worst enemy’s face!”
Rhys was gasping for air. His exhaustion from his flimsy kicks was getting the better of him. They needed to find a way to escape their cage, and Jack, after a quick examination of this tiny prison, found a weak bar close to the ground. Of course, since Jack is a hologram and Vaughn is injured, Rhys was the only one in a position to kick it open. And he hasn’t kicked so much since pre-school sport classes.
Jack: “I know you can do it, cupcake! Remember step one – never give up! Put your spirit into your foot and jam it into the bar!”
Rhys’ foot was going numb. By this point he'd kicked that stupid “weak” bar exactly 53 times, and it has barely moved or dented.
Jack: “Kick it or you’ll be skag-food in the morning! Kick it harder! HARDER!”
Rhys: “OKAY, I’M TRYING!”
Vaughn: “Who are you talking to?”
Rhys: “Nobody… myself… stupid goddamn bar!”
Jack has finally managed to piss Rhys off. He started imagining that the bar was Jack’s face, and a few kicks later…
Jack: “That wasn’t so hard, now, was it, cupcake?”
Rhys: “Please, shut up. For a few seconds is all I’m asking.”
Despite Rhys having a numb foot, Vaughn had it worse. Getting him through the gap produced by the absence of the rusty bar was much harder than it first looked. Both Hyperion bros grunted angrily, one from pain, other from exhaustion. After some more writhing like a wild snake, Vaughn was out of the cage too. With Rhys’ help, he stood up and looked around.
Vaughn: “Wow, that’s… a lot of skags. What do we do now, though? We don’t have a lot time, I assume. I mean explosions are probably normal for bandit camps, so they'll probably be back in a few.”
Jack: “Apparently, sometimes even dorks are right. Tick-tock Rhysie, what are you gonna do? Third step-good winners always make their decisions on their own. What’s it gonna be?”
Rhys: “We’re gonna…”
Just as he was about to finish his sentence, the three Hyperion tech heads heard heavy steps coming from around the corner. Even though the explosion was a booming distraction and an obviously big thing, some bandit assumed that it meant the prisoners were escaping. However ridiculous that logic was, it proved to be right this time around. The marauder was a few seconds away from turning the corner and seeing the Hyperion bros in the midst of their escape. No doubt he wouldn’t be too pleased…
Vaughn: “Rhys!” Vaughn almost hissed. “Do something!”
Jack: “Quickly, you stupid tortoise!”
Marauder: “Man that was a scary explosion! I better go check on the prisoners! I hope nothing unsatisfactory has occured!”
Rhys looked at Jack, who was making odd gestures at the Marauder, then he looked at Vaughn who was mouthing something unintelligable with a worried look plastered to his face. Finally Rhys stared at the corner which the bandit was about to turn in the very next moment.
[Hide]
[Knock him out]
[Talk it out]
[Run]
AMAZING!
I'VE BEEN WAITING FOREVER FOR THIS THANK YOU FOR POSTING!
My pick: [Hide]
Thank you ^^
Your vote is noted!
Nice gif man 10/10
THE GIF SHOULDN'T BE GETTING MORE COMMENTS THAN THE RHYSHA FANART.
**Knoc him out! **
Have it done Jack style!
Also I have you to you two got a knack for it this story is really entertaining, I'm so happy that Rhys still have Jack in his head, seriously the lines you give him are hilarious.
Hmm now to think of I'll start waiting for your story like for another episode....oh snap more agony coming.
10/10
Same
Tumblr is a cold unforgiving place for hetero ships.
But every now and then... light in the darkness.
Well run won't do shit as Vaughn is injured, so I would go Knock Him Out for the hell of it.
Thanks Leluch ^^ We're glad you like it!
Your vote is noted!
But it's the best gif on my Gif List so far ;l
Your vote is noted!
AYY FINALLY!
Thanks for another amazing chapter! :P
Anyway, I vote [Hide].
Seems interesting, looking forward to it. :P
BRUH, I think you are my fav person here
Ok that said i was JUST thinking about it. Like, when Rhys is kind and sweet to Vaughn everyone loves it, oh but when Rhys is kind and kinda sweet to Sasha everyone goes around yelling how forced that is and their gay eyes literally implode into oblivion everytime rhys is 5cm close to sasha.
Even though Rhysha and Gayperion (in that order) are my main ships, it saddens me to no end how the fandom destroys Sasha as a character but praise Rhys for being nice to Vaughn. ((It hurts me more because as a female PoC is always great to see interacial couples and badass WoCs in the media; man... ;~;))
BUT THAT GIF IS GLORIOUS!
RHYSHA FANART IS GLORIOUS. BIT PEOPLE DON'T DRAW IT BECAUSE NOBODY COMMENTS THE ARTISTS' RHYSHA WORK.
Love the story so far. Looking forward to reading more!
[Hide]
Chat is kill, forums are kill, errythang is kill :l
If Rhys and Sasha's relationship was exactly the same but Sasha was a dude, tumblr would love the ship.
No Torgue guns that I have ever seen have a high fire rate, but other than that, you guys did an amazing job. Also, my choice would be [Hide].
BUT IT GOT MORE LIKES THAN THE GIF, SO YAY?
It actually surprised me that the chat was so abandoned at 1 AM. That's the time when chat is usually the most active.
I guess the school started for most people.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What do you expect? It's been two weeks since the episode it's a standard decrease, everyone will be back when the first news about ep 5 will come around.
[Knock him out]
I love this innuend0
AAAH ITS HERE! AND ITS SOOO GOOD!!!
As for my vote I would go with [Knock Him Out]
BRING ON THE HANDSOME RHYS (please)
STOP COMMENTING ABOUT A GIF OF A FAT BLUE-SHIRTED BALD MAN APPROVING OF WHAT IS PROBABLY MINIGUN PORN ON HIS COMPUTER.
As a white man, lemee just say I'm sorry you have to go through what you do.
Tumblr advocates representation of all types, from color to sexuality to gender. And yet when it comes to a fucking fictional couple, they immediately disregard the colored female when she brings up the potential for a hetero pairing. And the white dudes get shipped.
I don't mind the people who dislike the actual romance (it was sort of forced, I admit) but when they start hating on Sasha for it it's obvious that they're hiding their prejudice.
GG tumblr.
On a lighter note, I like Rhysha because Rhys is tol and Sasha is smol.
LOOK AT THESE CHUBBLY-WUBBLYS
By Sidekick-clecle
Alright Rhyshans! It's time to decide what our new game for the Weekly events will be!
So far, we have:
Unturned
Warframe
Loadout
Dirty Bomb
Please list any other suggestions to be added! I'll made a strawpoll soon!
What about Dirty Bomb?
Didn't want too many similar shooters. And I chose Warframe over it due to higher reviews.
But.... but.... Dirty bomb has sparks
Decided to edit my post to invite people to add suggestions
Judging solely on the gameplay videos, Warframe interests me the most. :P
Played it kind of cool
Dirty Bomb looks the best