Thanks! However now is my time to read over and over, again and again until I can find every mistake xD
(Edit) Target acquired. That awfu… morel grammar in the last line. I would say English is my second language to save embarrassment, but that's not the case.
Oi @Poopass, er whoops, @Pipas
Please update the OP with the fics Bad Egg by woodenduck (also known as leafpuppy ) and Shut Up and Dance With Me by @Imurban when you can!
Thanks man!
One of the few last Rhysha art before ep 5 T_T...Tales why do you end?
source
Also a list of achivements for Ep5 the last one gives me a shimmer of hope for S2
I dont really think that last one means anything for a season 2, it just means "tales twice told" as in Rhys said his side of story and Fiona said hers.
One of the few last Rhysha art before ep 5 T_T...Tales why do you end?
source
Also a list of achivements for Ep5 the last one gives me a shimmer of hope for S2
Thanks for the feedback to be honest. I just jab full stops and commas everywhere hoping they mean something. xD
I'll take it into considering next time I write.
I cant even find the link to the one I wrote a while ago
Edit: I went into the depths of the thread and found it. Its my first one but I thought it was decent https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11521257/1/A-Fishing-Trip-With-Rhys-and-Vaughn
One of the few last Rhysha art before ep 5 T_T...Tales why do you end?
source
Also a list of achivements for Ep5 the last one gives me a shimmer of hope for S2
I dont really think that last one means anything for a season 2, it just means "tales twice told" as in Rhys said his side of story and Fiona said hers.
I know that Ctarl and me agreed to put the fic on hiatus, but various recent events inspired us to make another chapter for it as soon as possible. We hope you love it as much as we do! I'm very glad to bring you another part of out fic!
Act 1 - The Deal
Chapter 3 - Escapade Escape
Previous fic ended with you guys choosing to knock the bandit out...
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.
Without wasting another second, Rhys got into a mental state of “strike-until-down”. He raised his mechanical hand, readying himself for a swing, and impressing Jack at the same time.
Jack: “Well well, looks like the little Rhys is starting to think for himself.”
Rhys: “Shut up! Vaughn, get behind me.”
Just as Vaughn started to fall back behind his Hyperion buddy, the bandit strode around the corner with a pep in his step, influenced by his desire to quickly check that nothing out of the satisfactory standard of occurances has transpired, only to be met with the somewhat disheartened looks on the faces of the two Hyperion 'prisoners'. Everyone shared a moment of awkward silence before the bandit spoke up.
Marauder: “I knew it! Knew it knew it knew it knew it! I just KNEW that that completely irrelevant explosion at the other side of our camp was a sign that our prisoners were about to make a grand escape! I was right! For the first ti…”
Rhys’ arm made an unexpectedly loud noise when it made contact with the poor bandit’s thinking box. Apparently it made quite the impact on it too, because the marauder fell to the ground like there were meat cookies down there and he had a rumbly in his tumbly, just aching for a chance to chow down on them. Unfortunately the only thing he'd be chowing down on was the dirt... Because he's unconscious... on the ground.
Rhys had to regain his balance after the delivered hit. With him having near zero experience with hitting things, it wasn’t surprising at all that he almost fell onto his tushee. Nevertheless, he quickly regained his footing and even managed to break out what could possible be described as “hero” pose, if you gave him enough credit.
Vaughn: “That was a killer move, Rhys. Why don’t you use your metal arm more? It’s like you forget about it and in the most crucial moments you only use your regular arm. Isn’t it weird?”
Rhys: “Do you know how much it costs to fix this bad-boy? I don’t want to spend my whole life savings because of one mistake. Instead, I oil it, preserve it…”
Vaughn: “Rhys.”
Rhys: “Yeah, uhmm… Right, sorry. I’ll try to keep that in mind. No worries pal.”
Jack: “Meh, 4/10. Not enough passion in the hit, and the stumbling after? Are you a headless chicken or something?”
Rhys pretended to not hear Jack’s little comments.
Jack: "Eh, Maybe I'll bump it up to a five for the heroic pose, but it wasn't exactly a JACK worthy pose, y'know what I mean?!"
Instead of listening to Jack’s rambling, Rhys crouched and reached for the gun belonging to the “sleeping” bandit. Only the bandit was not asleep.
Marauder: "Oh! Ow! Gets up off the ground and faces Rhys Hey! Prisoners aren't supposed to hit their captors! It's supposed to be the other way around, silly!"
Rhys: "Uuuuh..."
Vaughn: "He's still awake!"
Rhys: "Yeah, I know!"
Jack: "Oh, wow. I take it back, I give you a minus 11/10... That sucked.... A for effort though."
Rhys: "You're not helping!"
Yet another awkward silence ensues.
Marauder: "Hey, uh... I don't suppose you'd mind getting back into the cage for me would you? Because that'd help me out big time. If they catch you outside like this I might get in trouble, and I'd rather not be in trouble. So... you know... can you just co-operate. I promise I won't torture you TOO much... you know... just enough for show.... Uhhh... Are you gonna..."
Rhys thrust his hand forward, twisting his body as he put his weight behind the upcoming brutal attack. The Bandit didn't even flinch when the fleshy human hand slapped daintily on the side of his face, making a sound akin to placing a sheet of paper down on a table with enough force behind the slap to mildly disgruntle a small child.
These awkward silences seem to be getting longer...
Marauder: "Uuuuuuh... yeeeaaah! I guess that's a no, then."
Vaughn: "RHYS! I literally just told you!"
"I know!" Rhys exclaimed as the marauder grabbed ahold of him and thrust him to the ground. The hyperion employee reached out his hand and attempted to grab onto the bandit to steady himself, failing entirely and instead pulling off the marauder's mask as he really did fall on his tuchee.
Marauder: "Hey!"
Rhys reacted quickly. Grabbing a handful of dirt and leaning forward on one knee, he thrust his arm forward, effectively throwing the dirt at the bandit's face. The marauder stumbled backwards and immediatly began rubbing his eyes.
Marauder: "AAAAAH!!! OH MY GOD!!! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!?!?!
Rhys: "Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!"
Marauder: "Oooh!! Oh, who does that?!"
Rhys: "I said, I'M SORRY!"
Marauder: "Who throws dirt into other people's eyes!! Aaaah! IT BUURRRNSS!!"
Vaughn: "Nice one Rhys! Now give him a quick one-two and let's get out of here."
Rhys: "Right..."
Jack: "Hahahaha! Oh my god! That was soooo lame, just so unbelievably lame! Are you in children’s playground to be playing with dirt? Or do you simply sympathize with dirt since you’re both so low on the ground? Hahahaha, I can't believe you actually did that. QUALITY comedy, though!"
Rhys: "You're still not helping!"
Jack: "Ok, you know what?! You want me to help you out, sweetie?! Prepare for a ride then..."
Rhys suddenly felt a surge in his mechanical arm and a slight buzz inside of his head as he felt a foreign presence take over.
Handsome Rhys: "I'll help you out! Let me show you..." grabs the marauder and spins him to get face to face. "How it's done."
Rhys... or rather Jack, grabbed ahold of the bandit's throat with both hands as the marauder quickly switched his attention from clearing his eyes to get this guy's hands away from him as he struggled to breathe.
Vaughn: "Uh, hey Rhys!"
Jack slowly pushed the bandit towards the ground as his grip tightened. The marauder tried to hit Jack, but didn't have neough energy to put any force into his attacks.
Handsome Rhys: "This is what happens when you mess with Hyperion, kiddo..."
Vaughn: "Rhys, stop it you're killing him!"
A grin began to grow across Rhys' face as Jack felt the life begin to drain out of the helpless Marauder.
Vaughn: "RHYS!!"
Vaughn limped forward and grabbed Rhys' shoulder, pulling him back. Rhys turned to face Vaughn with a devilish grin plastered onto his face, which quickly faded into a straight face, then a look of disbelief as Rhys turned back towards the bandit and dropped him to the ground quickly. The Marauder made a raspy sound as he gasped for air, trying to get ahold of himself as he lay on the edge of consciousness. After a few moments of drastic gasping, bandit gave up and just faded to the unconscious lands of meat bicycles and balloons.
Vaughn: "Rhys! I told you to knock him out, not kill him!! What the hell!"
Rhys seemed a little dazed, but quickly shook off his dismay and let out a sharp sigh.
Rhys: "I... I'm sorry. didn't mean to..."
Vaughn: "Are you ok, Rhys? You seem a little... out of it."
Rhys: "What? No, I'm... I'm okay, pal. I'm fiiine!"
Rhys looked around a little, then went back to pick up the gun as he had intended to earlier. It was a Jakobs shotgun, and it surely had seen better days. The paint almost all scrapped off and some clear Skag claw markings on it made it look like an antique. It was still working though, and that's all they needed.
Rhys: “Here, take this." hands it over to Vaughn "I will have my hands busy with… leading the way and uhhh… punching bandits!”
Vaughn: “Are you… are you sure? I don’t have any experience with it and it’s so big and heavy and all kill-y like.”
Rhys: “Cheer up buddy! I’m sure you’ll manage just fine. Just, just don’t point it at me. Please?”
Vaughn: gripping the gun tightly “Okay. Let’s do this!”
Only awkward silence (again) met Vaughn’s unexpected enthusiasm.
Vaughn: "Uuuh... Are you sure you're ok, Rhys. I mean... I worry about you, man."
Rhys: "I'm fine, buddy! Don't worry about it."
Vaughn: "Yeah?.. Good, that's good."
Rhys: “Right, ahh… Okay. Let’s go.”
Jack: “To infinity, and beyond!”
At the same time, on the other side of the camp…
The sisters were sneaking through the section of the camp where the bandits and marauders were partying only a few minutes earlier. Conveniently enough, all of bandits who remained conscious after their excessive debauchery left to investigate the “big boom-boom” as they screamed nonsensical, philosophical analyses of human society at the top of their lungs as well as a few quips on meat and slaughter. The boom had served to take all of their attention, and the sisters didn’t even have to hide carefully in order to avoid detection.
Unfortunately, even with the most of the bandits gone, except, of course, for the completely drunken ones, their trash didn’t magically disappear. Fiona and Sasha had to sneak around lots and lots of broken bottles, bones and metal crates, just lying there empty. No matter how drunk these murderous psychopaths were, the sounds of stepping on glass would surely increase the chance of them waking up; and if that were to happen, our heroines wouldn’t be very happy, now would they? No, because they'd be dead and chopped up into little tiny pieces.
Marcus: "Hey, what else can I say. Bandit's are dangerous. That's why you should always have a gun handy. Ah... eh... Sorry, I couldn't help advertising again. Where was I?... Ah, yes..."
Despite her best efforts to avoid every single piece of junk, Sasha still managed to break one bottle with a single, careless step.
Marcus: "That's all it takes. One step and... I know, I know! I'll get back to the story."
Fiona: “Damn it, Sasha, be careful!” She hissed in a hushed voice. “You want the whole camp on us in a matter of seconds?”
Sasha: “Sorry, sorry! Won’t happen again!”
Just as these words escaped Sasha’s mouth, she accidentally kicked a metal box on the ground with the tip of her shoe.
Fiona: stares angrily
Sasha: “That was the last one! I promise!”
Unfortunately, that very little kick the shiny metal box sustained managed to succeed in awakening one of the bandits lying around. With a snort, the delirious bandit managed to raise his weary head from the ground, and look around. The first thing he noticed was probably the pool of piss he was lying in.
Marcus: An important lesson kids – don’t drink too much or wear diapers otherwise!
The second thing he noticed should’ve been the sisters, but, being the bandit as he was, he extended his arm to reach for his gun, which clearly had puke on it. Whether he wanted to fire it or clean it, his motives will remain unknown forever, because the third thing he “noticed” was Sasha stomping on his neck mercilessly.
After a but a few seconds, the bandit was dead and gone. Sasha was panting heavily, looking down at the dead marauder at her feet.
Fiona: “That was… a bit brutal, don’t you think?”
Sasha: shoots an unfriendly look towards Fiona “I did what I had to. You didn't want him to shoot us, did you?”
Fiona: “Yeah, uhh, let’s just go.”
Sasha: "What? I couldn't pull this look off with bullet holes running through me."
The sisters continued their journey forward and soon enough, successfully completed the “mine-field” of trash and junk. They weren’t headed for the way back through the camp as they had entered it, though– they reckoned that it’d inevitably mean they’d run into a horde of bandits one way or another, and they also couldn’t go anywhere without first getting their stuff back.
This is why the only way for them was forward, through the whole junkyard-party leftovers field, into the dark.
As soon as Fiona and Sasha approached the dark path, leading forward into the camp, they realized that it was some kind of a living district. There were almost no lights illuminating that part of the camp, so it was hard to spot anything in particular, but it looked like the whole place was filled with tents, big and small and all of them appeared to be incredibly dirty, at least from what could be viewed from the outside. And another thing...
Sasha: “You ready to go in, sis’? I think that’s our only way to get back.”
Fiona: sigh “Let’s go before those idiots come back.”
With those words, the duo went in to search for the way out and to get their much needed stuff back. Sasha leading the way and Fiona following closely behind, they were sneaking as silently as possible forward.
Sasha: “What exactly are we looking for?”
Fiona: “I don’t know… Maybe that huge guy’s tent? He seems like the kind of guy who'd... stash things.”
Sasha: “How are we supposed to know which tent is his?”
Fiona: “Look for the fancy one covered in love hearts and plushies or something, how am I supposed to know?! I’m just as new to crawling around bandit camps as you are.”
Sasha: “Really? I thought you'd already settled in.”
Fiona shook her head and nudged Sasha to keep going.
After a few minutes of walking past the tents which would fail a hygiene test harder than a house build out of skag crap, they were starting to get kind of worried. There seemed to be hundreds of tents here, with occasional poop-booth set up, and they all looked more or less the same. Ragged, with a bit of mus and grease splattered about.
The sisters kept walking the dirty little road between all the tents, and even though they didn’t find anything, they were grateful to all the coincidences in the world that they didn’t come across any bandits either. However, the occasional explosions somewhere far away made them very uncomfortable. Combine that with the nerve-wracking sneaking and looking behind their shoulders after every step and you’ve got yourself a good mix of everyday Pandoran con-artist’s life.
Fiona: “Sasha, do you at least know where we’re going? I don’t want to walk in circles for the rest of the night.”
Sasha: “Theoretically speaking, if I consider how we mapped out this camp beforehand, I do… Probably. It’s just that… Wait, is it just me or the path is getting brighter?”
It was true. The girls' eyes darted around to spot the source of this light and where it was coming from.
Fiona: “There! Around the corner, let’s go!”
Sisters quickened their pace a bit, anxious to see what could possibly be generating this intense light among these tents of shadowed by darkness. After a few steps, they turned around a corner and were met with another sight they didn’t expect to see today. A huge tent stood before them, with electric garlands wrapped all around it and a big, shiny star placed on top of the whole thing. It took the duo only a second to realize this was the big boss’ tent, not only because of how it looked, but also because it had quite a lot of space around it, respectfully reserved for the banditlord’s needs.
That, and a big red heart with sprinkles on it, painted crudely on the entrance.
Fiona: "Called it."
Sasha: “Yeah... You think our stuff is in there?”
Fiona: “Only one way to find out, right? Let’s just hope that he’s not in there right now.”
The con-artists approached the tent at a steady pace, then stopped at the heart entrance and looked over the tent in what could be mistaken from a distance as admiration. Sasha looked at the giltter that had been carefully caked onto the surface of the tent and frowned at the sheer excessiveness of it. She turned to her sister in time to see Fiona make a gagging expression and stick her tongue out in disgust.
Sasha: "It's certainly... Shrugs... unique."
Fiona: "Yeah, but I called it, right?"
Sasha: "Yeah... yeah, you did."
Sasha looked back at the tent. Although it was almost certainly intended to appear inviting, it somehow seemed so... intimidating; at least in the way that you wouldn't want to venture inside and see what it might have to offer. Still, if there was any place that could contain their belongings, it would be this tent.
Fiona: "Well... after you... I guess." She gestured to enter the tent.
Sasha: "Thanks."
Although Sasha had thanked her sister for this invitation, she was hesitant to enter. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the entrance once more and with trepidation took steps forward, outstretching her arm to push aside the flaps. As soon as she stepped through the flaps, she was struck multiple times in the face by the bead curtain that lay ahead of her. Swinging her arms around and knocking the strings of beads away she stumbled into the tent and found herself surrounded by sickeningly sweet memorabilia and decorations. Not to mention everything was pink.
Sasha: "Uuuuh..."
Fiona: "Hey! taps Sasha on the shoulder
Sasha: "Shit!... Oh, don't..."
Fiona: "Not fun when you’re on the receiving end, huh?"
Sasha frowned at her.
Fiona: "But seriously, what's up with this place? It's all big and..."
Sasha: "Pink?"
Fiona: "Yeah."
The duo just sort of stood there for a while, not admiring the decor.
Fiona: "Maybe we should start searching?"
Sasha: "Right."
The two sisters immediately seperated to opposite sides of the tent and began looking through Death Teamo's things.
Fiona: "Yeah... I totally called it."
Sasha: "Yeah... you mentioned that."
Fiona: "I'll be expecting cash up front please."
Sasha: "Hey! I don't recall betting on it! Besides... I don't have any money."
Fiona: "Eh, you can pay me back later." Kneels down to search through a mess of lovey-dovey decorations.
Sasha: "Well, if I'm remembering correctly, and I am, didn't you say there'd be plushies?"
Sasha turned on her heel and walked over to her sister, ready to scare her back for last time. Meanwhile, Fiona spotted something interesting behind all the pink decorations and grinned.
Fiona: "Well, it's funny you'd mention that! It looks like I win the bet."
Sasha stopped right behind Fiona and decided against scaring her. She was a little taken aback that she was about to lose this pseudo-challenge she'd set her sister.
Sasha: "You found something?"
Fiona: "Yeah, and it looks pretty fluffy too." She reaches out her hand and pulls with a grunt. "It's kinda stuck though."
Fiona dug her hands deeper into the pile and pushed some things aside. She then pulled on the fluffy object again and it came free.
Sasha: "What you got there?"
Fiona: "In your face. I got the..."
Fiona drew her hand back from the pile and immediately ceased speaking. She dropped the object immediately and began gagging.
Fiona: "Argh! Bleh! What the hell is that?"
Sasha: "Is that a... a dead parrot?"
Fiona: "How can you tell what kind of bird it is..." looks at the object "If it is a bird... Ergh! Why's it missing its head?"
Sasha: “Aaargh! Put it back! It's starting to stink up the room. And I think it's entrails are sticking out!”
Fiona: “Eww!”
Fiona kicked the object back into the pile with her boot and moved away from it.
Fiona: "Who keeps a dead bird in their room?"
Sasha: "Well... they are bandits."
Sasha eyed around the room and spotted something over her sister's shoulder.
Sasha: "Hey. I think found something."
A smile grew across her face as she walked over to a desk with a load of paper strewn across it and leant over the side to pick up the object that had been leaning on it, carefully handling it in her hands. Fiona walked up behind her and peaked over her shoulders, looking down at the object.
Sasha immediately turned around and pointed the assault rifle at the opposite side of the tent, aiming down the sights, causing her sister to back up a little and give her some space. She then lowered the weapon and looked at Fiona.
Sasha: "I think I'll keep it."
Fiona: "That! You're keeping... that!"
Sasha: "Yeah. For now. It reminds me of Rhys."
Fiona: "I can see why."
Sasha: "I think I'll gift it to him."
Fiona: "Are you sure he'd want that. I mean, sure, he's gonna love all the pink and hearts and girly stuff."
Sasha: "Yeah."
Fiona: "That's a given. It's Rhys we're talking about. But..."
Sasha: "Buuuuuuuuut...?"
Fiona: "But I haven't seen Rhys touch a gun... like, ever. I think he's... like... gunophopic or something. Are you sure he even knows which way to point it?
Sasha: "Well, then I'll just teach him."
Fiona: "You'll teach him?"
Sasha: "That's the idea."
Fiona: "You?"
Sasha: "Yup."
Fiona: "Will teach him?"
Sasha: "That's what I've been saying... Are you okay?"
Without a word, Fiona began walking to the other side of the tent and started searching again.
Sasha: "What?"
Fiona spoke without turning back to look at Sasha.
Fiona: "Nothing."
Sasha: "Something wrong?"
Fiona: "No... just... Good luck with that."
Sasha: "So you think I can't do it?!"
Fiona: "Oh, I'm not doubting your teaching and shooting skills, Sasha. I just think Rhys is a lost cause. There's a higher chance we'll find a vault key in this room than there is of Rhys using something other than that... metal electric rod thing."
Sasha: "Well then let's make it a bet, then. If I can teach Rhys how to shoot like a pro, I win. If I can't do it by, say... next week. Then I lose."
Fiona: "Interesting... I thought you said that you didn't have any betting money."
Sasha: "I'll find a way to get it. You know me."
Fiona kneeled down as she found the small lockbox on the floor. She tugged on the lock to find it already open and decided to pull up the lid. She smiled as she saw it's contents and grabbed it.
Fiona: “Nice!"
She stood up and turned to her sister, waving it in her hand.
Fiona: "Well I dunno how you're gonna get your cash, but I think I just found my betting money!"
In her hands she held a bankroll of $500, which she twisted around and twirled with delight.
Sasha: “Hey! We both decided to search here! Go splitsies!”
Fiona: "Nah! Finders keepers! You know how it goes!"
Fiona stuffed the bills into a back pocket, and looked around herself on instinct as she did so. But before she removed her hand from her pocket, she looked up to see Sasha frowning and making puppy faces at her.
Fiona: “C'mon, Sasha. You really think that's gonna work on me?”
Sasha continued to make puppy faces at Fiona. Eventually Fiona sighed and removed the bank roll from her pocket. She then split the money in half and counted it just to check as her sister's frown turned upside down. Sasha approached Fiona and held her hand out expectantly and Fiona did as expected. Placing $250 dollars into her sister’s hand and pocketing the other half, Fiona looked her in the eye with a grimace.
Sasha: "Thanks, Fi!" Pockets the money and returns to holding the gun in both hands.
Fiona: "Alright. If I win, you give me that $250 back. If you win, I give you mine. Deal?"
Sasha: "I gotcha!"
Fiona: "Deal?!"
Sasha: "Deal!"
The two sisters shared a moment of silence.
Fiona: "I'm too easy on you."
Sasha: "You're too easy to swindle!"
Fiona turned around again and got back to searching for their things.
Fiona: "Y'know, being a scam artist, I thought I wouldn't fall for anything like that, now."
Sasha: "Yeah, well, maybe I'm just the better grifter."
Fiona: "You always did have a knack for worming your way into people's heart."
Sasha: "It's both a blessing and a curse."
Fiona: "Hey, just make sure Rhys doesn't get the wrong idea when you start tutoring him."
Sasha: "Gotcha."
Sasha stood still for a moment and stared at her sister get to work. She considered what had been said for a while.
Fiona: "Are you searching around, too? I don't know if you’re rummaging. I can't hear any rummaging going on."
Sasha: "Oh, right. Well, this shouldn't take long anyways. This place seems to be a bit of a treasure trove!"
Fiona: "If by treasure trove you meant full of money, guns and dead birds, then yeah, it is."
Sasha: "That's exactly what I meant."
Sasha finally resolved to get back to searching, but quickly spotted something of interest on the desk, among the sheets of paper and placed her gun down on the desk.
Fiona: Hey! Good news! I found our stuff. He had a chest back here.
Sasha: "Good! I think I found something too!"
Fiona: “Is it better than finding your own stuff though?”
Sasha: “We’ll see.”
Fiona approached her sister from behind and gently tapped her on the shoulder, not trying to spook her again. Sasha appeared to be holding a piece of paper in her hands with near unintelligible stuff written on it.
Fiona: “What is it? Some kind of… is that a map?”
Sasha: “Certainly seems so. Look, here’s the pointers… and these symbols look like clues to a destination…”
Fiona: “And here’s an X! It really is a map, and… it’s a treasure map?”
Sasha: “Lots of stuff goes through the bandit camps. Lots of it is just junk, but this… it actually looks legit. Do you see that it… kind of glows?”
Fiona: "You sure that isn't just a... a watermark or something?"
Sasha: "No! Look at it! It's giving off a little bit of light. It's all glowy and stuff!"
It was true. The map was glowing dimly with a purple light. The glowing was strongest on the big X, which probably marked the final destination on the map.
Fiona: “What’s this, written near the X?”
Apparently, there was some kind of a text, scrambled right near the treasure marker. It read:
Hey everyone! Surprised to see me? I hope so!
I know that Ctarl and me agreed to put the fic on hiatus, but various recent events inspire… mored us to make another chapter for it as soon as possible. We hope you love it as much as we do! I'm very glad to bring you another part of out fic!
Act 1 - The Deal
Chapter 3 - Escapade Escape
Previous fic ended with you guys choosing to knock the bandit out...
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.
Without wasting another second, Rhys got into a mental state of “strike-until-down”. He raised his mechanical hand, readying himself for a swing, and impressing Jack at the same time.
Jack: “Well well, looks like the little Rhys is starting to think for himself.”… [view original content]
Fiona: “Is that… is that the banditlord’s poetry?”
Sasha: “Gosh, he sucks at it. I don't think I’ve ever seen a worse poem actually.”
Fiona: “And what does he mean with “my lute”? Is that meant to be an actual, physical lute or…”
Sasha: “Please don’t make me think about it. Please.”
Fiona: “Anyway, despite how bad this poem is, he seems to be certain that this map is totally legitimate and points the way to something valuable.”
Fiona tapped her finger on the big X.
Sasha: “You know, I was just thinking… We’re currently out of jobs and we barely have any money… Would be a shame if this piece of paper were to disappear.”
Fiona: “It would be a real tragedy, sis’. A real tragedy.”
Sasha: “Oh look, it fell into my pocket! What an unfortunate turn of events. And I can’t get it out! It seems I have no choice but to leave it there.”
Fiona: “Yes, it would appear so.”
Both sisters giggled, lightened up by this little sophisticated play.
Fiona: “Fun aside though, we’re still in a bandit camp. Sooo…” hands Sasha’s gun to her “Mind getting the hell out of here with me? I doubt we’re gonna find anything worthwhile here again.
Sasha: “Yeah, let’s go. Besides, that stench is filling the room quickly.”
Sasha grabbed the pink gun and managed to awkwardly holster it on her back using a strap that had been poorly attached to it and then turned back to face Fiona. The sisters started heading to the tent’s entrance, to go out the same way they came in, but just as they opened the flap of it, they were met with an insane and utterly bloodthirsty look on a psycho’s face. They all shared a collective moment of peaceful silence, interrupted only by the psycho’s breathing, which sounded like he just ran a thousand miles without stopping.
Psycho: “Girls be free. Girls be bad. GIRLS BE DEAD HAR HAR!”
The psycho screamed those last words like his life depended on how loud it was gonna be. What followed was even worse, because apparently lots of psychos in the area were simply sleeping away in their tents, so as it would seem, not all of the bandits were hunting the big “boom boom” as the sisters had previously thought.
To make it even worse, Sasha reacted instinctively to the alarming psycho right in front of her and pulled the trigger on her SMG. The sound of a gun being fired tore through the silence of the tent district, and then…
Then psychos started pouring out of almost every tent, anxious to kill anyone that had dared to disrupt their sleepy, nap time.
Fiona: “RUN!”
Fiona and Sasha broke out into a sprint, trying to leave the psychos behind and running for their lives once again.
Meanwhile…
The Hyperion duo were sneaking between hundreds of Skag cages, stacked on top of each other. It felt like walking between two very high walls, except these “walls” could growl and would bite your head off if only given the chance. And they used their ability to growl to their best efforts.
Rhys was getting more uncomfortable with each passing second. Vaughn limped near him, refusing help from Rhys because he “felt just fine”, but his efforts to walk unaided drained him of all his strength – the poor guy couldn’t even talk with Rhys. Handsome Jack had retreated back into Rhys’ head again after he'd almost choked the bandit to death, because “walking is boring”.
Thus poor Rhys was left without a conversation partner. He could try talking with all the Skags surrounding him, but it could’ve easily set them off and he couldn’t risk that. Vaughn was making enough sounds as it was, grunting and panting heavily.
Rhys: “You sure you don’t need help, buddy?
Vaughn: “I… got this, Rhys… Just go…”
Rhys sighed and kept sneaking further. He barely had any memory of all the plans they drew in the van about the supposed layout of this camp, but he at least remembered that the path through Skag cages should lead to the exit.
Vaugnh: “Rhys, what do we do about the girls? What if they aren’t there?”
Rhys: “They’ll be there, buddy. They will. Look at them – they’re a lot more… familiar with this kind of environment. I’m sure they’re already waiting for us.”
Vaughn: “Whatever… you say, pa- WHAT IS THAT?”
Vaughn screamed, flailed his arms around like a wild man and fell right down on his butt. The gun he was carrying on his back also rolled away.
Rhys: “What, what is it?!”
Rhys got mentally ready to strike anyone with his regular… I mean metal hand, but as he approached Vaughn he noticed no immediate threat. Except…
A tiny Skag pup, gnawing at Vaughn’s boots.
Vaughn: “Get it away from me, he’s gonna eat me, GET HIM AWAY!”
Rhys: “Shhh, Vaughn! You’re gonna bring the whole camp on us!”
All the Skags around them were getting even more restless, startled by all the commotions right under their noses. Not the Skag puppy though. After apparently getting offended by Vaughn’s reaction, he cautiously started approaching Rhys.
The pup was really small, only about half a foot. He was spotty, greasy and overall, quite dirty, but nevertheless extremely curious.
Rhys: “Hey, little Skaggy. You lost?”
The little skag twisted it's head and made a groaning sound that was more akin to a squeak, curiously evaluating this very tall being that stood before it.
Rhys: "Go, go and find your mommy… back in the cage somewhere.”
The “little Skaggy” was unaffected by Rhys’ attempts to persuade him from approaching. It took a few uncertain steps and… started rubbing himself onto Rhys’ shoes.
Vaughn: “Does he not realize those are made of Skag hide?”
Rhys: “I’m not sure. I’m also not sure if I want to find out. Shoo, buddy, shoo!”
Rhys gently pushed the pup away with one hand, only for him to instantly hop back and rub himself to Rhys’ feet even more. He attempted to push the skag away again, but to no avail – it just jumped back and kept rubbing.
Vaughn: “Rhys, do something. We can’t just sit here all night repeating it.”
Rhys: “I’m trying, but he’s just too… goddamn… persistent!”
Vaughn: "Maybe he smells his mom on your shoes or something. Just... throw them away or something."
Rhys: "What?!" He whispered as loud as one could. "No! These were expensive!"
Vaughn: "But..."
Rhys: "We are not having this conversation, Vaughn!"
Vaughn sighed and started getting up slowly, trying to not put too much weight on his injured leg. The puppy was still near Rhys’ feet, and rubbing so hard it was like he was trying to squeeze into those Skag-skin shoes. The whole situation felt weirdly peaceful, however…
Psycho: “HYPERION RUN, HYPERION DIE!!!”
An unexpected scream from behind them almost made Vaughn fall again and Rhys to jump in fear (luckily, he didn’t hit his head this time). Apparently, more psychos decided to investigate their Hyperion prisoners in a cage, lead there by their weird philosophy of “explosion elsewhere – investigate the opposite side”.
Rhys quickly jumped to Vaughn and got him on his feet in a second or two, then he turned around and grabbed the tiny skag puppy, now looking around with a confused look in his tiny skag eyes.
Vaughn: “Rhys, what are you doing?! Drop the skag and run!”
Rhys: “You run and don’t talk!”
Both guys started sprinting away (well, I’m using “sprinting” generously here – Vaughn was looking like a one legged kangaroo) while the psychos behind them started howling and running towards the Hyperion fellas.
Rhys: “Where’s your gun? Your freaking gun?!”
Vaughn: “I lost it when I… fell! Look, we’re almost out!” panting heavily
Vaughn was right. The road they were walking on in between all these skag cages took a sharp turn to the left and the guys were greeted by a view of the camp entrance, gloriously standing right where they left it.
Unfortunately, Rhys and Vaughn weren’t nearly as fast as the Psychos chasing them. The duo were approaching the gate fast, but they practically felt the Psychos breathing on their necks. Just a few more seconds and they’re gonna feel not only their breath on their necks, but the sharp blade of poorly crafted, but well used axes too, and they couldn’t do anything about it – Rhys wasn’t gonna abandon his pal, practically jumping on one leg besides him. It looked like this was the end.
Psycho: “SAY HELLO TO LADY KILLE…”
The psycho was unexpectedly cut off by a series of gunshots coming from the gate, which picked off not only the screamer but the rest of the bandits too. Rhys and Vaughn were so surprised by that they even stopped running.
Rhys: “What was that?..”
Just as he said those words, he spotted the oh so familiar SMG and signature hat near the gate, opening fire into the horde of bandits, flooding from almost every direction.
Sasha: “Get over here, slowpokes! What in the hell are you waiting for?!”
Never had Rhys been so glad to see Sasha’s beautiful face, safe, unhurt and… well, yelling at him. He grabbed Vaughn by one arm and started rushing him forward.
Rhys: “Lean on me buddy, you can’t hop all the way to the van.”
Vaughn knew to not argue on this one. It was a wondrous sight to see – two Hyperion dorks, leaning on each other, holding hands, half running-half jumping to the gate, while one of them had a bleeding leg and the other carried a skag puppy, curiously looking around at the chaos surrounding it. At least that’s what Sasha thought when she saw it for a split second, before returning to firing her SMG at the incoming psychos.
Fiona: “Can those two dorks hurry up?! I’m running out of ammo!”
Suddenly all the psychos stopped charging. Simultaneously, the sisters stopped firing. Only Rhys and Vaughn kept going to the gate.
At that moment, they heard almost earth-shattering steps coming. The quad realized who it was before he showed his face... or well, er... his hooded face. Because you can't really see... what he looks like... and stuff.
Death TeAmo: “YOU! YOU CUTE MONGRELS! STOP LOVING… KILLING MY MEN!”
The banditlord stood right in front of his men, seemingly even bigger than the last time the heroes saw him. Maybe anger inflated him with size. Nevertheless, he was pissed. But his fury was unleashed fully when he noticed what Rhys had in his arms…
Death TeAmo: “You… you come here as pretenders. And when you escape, you’re trying to STEAL MY FAVORITE PUPPY?! MY NEWEST KILLING MACHINE?! YOU WILL ANSWER FOR THIS!”
The heroes knew the jokes were over when the banditlord pulled out his massive shotgun and fired it into the sky, with no maniacal love left in his eyes, only maniacal bloodlust.
Death TeAmo: “Whoever brings me their livers will get to dine on them! ATTACK!”
Fiona: “RUN!”
Our squad turned on their heels and booked it instantly, because the horde of psychos started charging at them again, only this time they were accompanied by the marauders who managed to catch up and Death TeAmo himself, firing that monstrous shotgun of his.
Miraculously, they succeeded in turning around the corner untouched, where their beloved van stood. As soon as they saw it, they started running even faster, as if the van's very presence gave them actual, touchable hope and purpose. Even Vaughn started running properly, despite his bleeding leg.
Fiona: “Faster, faster! They’re onto us!”
The four, plus one skag, approached the door, and Fiona practically ripped it open. Rhys jumped in first, squeaking with excitement and fear. Vaughn stumbled right after him and fell on the ground instantly with pain on his face. Sasha jumped the third, and Fiona the last, slamming the door behind her with a loud 'CLANG'.
Fiona: “Sasha, go drive! I’ll take care of Vaughn.”
There was no time to do anything but follow orders. Sasha threw her Atlas Silver away and lunged forward to the driver’s seat, reaching for the starting key at the same time. Rhys dropped the skag-pup and grabbed Vaughn by his pits, while Fiona got a hold of his knees. They both lifted him and put him on a table only for him to fall off a second later because Sasha started the van and made a huge amount of acceleration forward.
The van’s side was being hammered with axes and bullets, but thankfully, none of the bandits were smart enough to aim for the tires. All they did was chase the vehicle and scream incoherent insults at it. Eventually, the bandits' cries got quieter and quieter until they could no longer be heard.
Rhys and Fiona lifted now already unconscious Vaughn on the table again, then both of them dropped on the van’s floor simultaneously, exhausted.
Sasha: “Did… did we get away?”
Fiona: “I think so. Just keep speeding, sis’.”
Sasha: “But where? We can’t just go to the desert, we don’t exactly have a lot of fuel to burn.”
Rhys: “Wait… what about Loader-Bot? We can’t leave him behind like this.”
The sisters exchanged looks.
Fiona: “Rhys, I’m afraid that…You saw how ruined he was there… All wires and... dangly bits. I don’t think we can…”
Rhys: “No no no no! He’s our family! He's saved us so many times, we can’t just abandon him like this! We gotta go back and get him out!”
Fiona: “Rhys, we’re not turning this van around. I’m sorry.”
Rhys: “But… You have to!”
Fiona: “I’m really sorry.”
Suddenly, a huge bang startled all of them (except Vaughn). Something heavy had landed on a roof. Sasha almost let go of the wheel, but regained control at the last possible second, the slight startle causing her to make the van swerve a little. It could’ve been a bandit, launched from a catapult, but… what were the odds of that happening?
Sasha: “You ready to go in, sis’? I think that’s our only way to get back.”
Fiona: sigh “Let’s go before those idiots come back.”
With… more those words, the duo went in to search for the way out and to get their much needed stuff back. Sasha leading the way and Fiona following closely behind, they were sneaking as silently as possible forward.
Sasha: “What exactly are we looking for?”
Fiona: “I don’t know… Maybe that huge guy’s tent? He seems like the kind of guy who'd... stash things.”
Sasha: “How are we supposed to know which tent is his?”
Fiona: “Look for the fancy one covered in love hearts and plushies or something, how am I supposed to know?! I’m just as new to crawling around bandit camps as you are.”
Sasha: “Really? I thought you'd already settled in.”
Fiona shook her head and nudged Sasha to keep going.
After a few minutes of walking past the tents which would fail a hygiene test harder than a house build out of… [view original content]
Fiona got her gun out and opened the door to investigate it, wind flying past her with almost enough strength to blow off her hat.
Fiona: “Who’s there?”
After a short silence, a response came.
Loader-Bot: “It’s-a-me, your Loader-Bot.”
Rhys jumped up and tried to stick his head out the door, only to have Fiona close it, almost trapping his neck there.
Fiona: “We’ll catch up later. For now, we can’t stop –we have to make as much distance as possible from the camp.”
Rhys stood still for a moment to fully process Loader Bots safety and consider their situation.
Rhys: “Whatever you say.”
Fiona shrugged and approached her sister, who was driving carefully, but keeping up the tempo. Rhys returned to his pal’s side to check how he was faring.
Fiona: “Maybe we should head to one of the locations your map shows?”
Sasha: “Maybe. But which one? There were quite a lot marked down.”
Sasha let go of the wheel with one hand and pulled out the slightly glowing piece of paper from her pocket. Both sisters leaned down to investigate it for some clues.
Fiona: “Hmm… Oh look, the camp is marked on the map! That means we know our approximate location.”
Sasha: “Yeah, you’re right. And there seems to be two locations equally far away from the us. Read it for me Fi, I need to concentrate on driving a bit.”
Fiona: “Right, so there seems to be… Hmm… To the north of here, we have Frostbite Cave. It’s pictured with lots of icycles, so I assume it’s pretty cold in there.
Sasha: "Do we have any winter clothes?"
Fiona: "No."
Sasha: "Bummer."
Fiona: "Anyways, that's probably a bad place to look for fuel or supplies. Didn't you say we're low on fuel or something?"
Sasha tapped the fuel meter.
Sasha: “Yeah, we're almost out... And the other place?”
Fiona: “The other is in the east… what unreadable kind of handwriting is this… seems to be called… Townville.”
Sasha: “Townville? What kind of name is that? No imagination or creativity whatsoever.”
Fiona: “True that, but it sounds like the perfect place to refill our stock. There’s just one problem… It seems that it’s frequently visited by bandits.”
Sasha: “What makes you think so?”
Fiona: “A hand-drawn psycho near it. And I think he's... is he disemboweling someone? Anyway, it could be really dangerous there.”
Sasha: “I don’t know sis’. You’re the captain now, choose and I’ll just steer the wheel and put my foot on the pedal until we're there.”
[Frostbite Cave]
[Townville]
At the same time, near Rhys’ feet...
Rhys was sitting quietly near Vaughn, waiting for Fiona to come and inspect Vaughn’s wound. She certainly had more experience with this kind of thing, if that wanted poster was to be trusted on her quackery. He was also wondering what were they talking about up there, in the front.
Unexpectedly, the skag pup approached Rhys, whining softly.
Rhys: “Aww, you’re sad. Don’t be sad, buddy.” picks the pup up and puts him in his lap ”That’s right, uncle Rhys is with you. Wait, I didn’t give you a name yet, did I… Hmmm…”
The pup turned it's head once more and looked at Rhys with his big, bulbous eyes, making a slight gargly sound with it's mouth-face.
[Skaggy]
[Rex]
[Buffy]
[Jack]
That's it for now, my friends. We hope you liked this chapter and the 2 choices you're presented with! Comment below this post to vote on which choices do you think should be made. Until next time!
“I’m going on a journey
To find that sweet sweet loot
And when I find it
I’m gonna play my lute.”
Fiona: “Is that… is that the b… moreanditlord’s poetry?”
Sasha: “Gosh, he sucks at it. I don't think I’ve ever seen a worse poem actually.”
Fiona: “And what does he mean with “my lute”? Is that meant to be an actual, physical lute or…”
Sasha: “Please don’t make me think about it. Please.”
Fiona: “Anyway, despite how bad this poem is, he seems to be certain that this map is totally legitimate and points the way to something valuable.”
Fiona tapped her finger on the big X.
Sasha: “You know, I was just thinking… We’re currently out of jobs and we barely have any money… Would be a shame if this piece of paper were to disappear.”
Fiona: “It would be a real tragedy, sis’. A real tragedy.”
Sasha: “Oh look, it fell into my pocket! What an unfortunate turn of events. And I can’t get it out! It seems I have no choice but to le… [view original content]
Fiona got her gun out and opened the door to investigate it, wind flying past her with almost enough strength to blow off her hat.
Fiona:… more “Who’s there?”
After a short silence, a response came.
Loader-Bot: “It’s-a-me, your Loader-Bot.”
Rhys jumped up and tried to stick his head out the door, only to have Fiona close it, almost trapping his neck there.
Fiona: “We’ll catch up later. For now, we can’t stop –we have to make as much distance as possible from the camp.”
Rhys stood still for a moment to fully process Loader Bots safety and consider their situation.
Rhys: “Whatever you say.”
Fiona shrugged and approached her sister, who was driving carefully, but keeping up the tempo. Rhys returned to his pal’s side to check how he was faring.
Fiona: “Maybe we should head to one of the locations your map shows?”
Sasha: “Maybe. But which one? There were quite a lot marked down.”
Sasha let go of the wheel with one hand a… [view original content]
Comments
It's fine, I liked the vocabulary usage. The only thing was punctuation where it's due and not :P
Have I ever told you...
I noticed this a long time ago, and made an entire thread asking Telltale to please make this this is referenced.
Oi @Poopass, er whoops, @Pipas
Please update the OP with the fics Bad Egg by woodenduck (also known as leafpuppy
) and Shut Up and Dance With Me by @Imurban when you can!
Thanks man!
I cant even find the link to the one I wrote a while ago
Edit: I went into the depths of the thread and found it. Its my first one but I thought it was decent https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11521257/1/A-Fishing-Trip-With-Rhys-and-Vaughn
Prepare for Unforseen Consequences...
Ah, I remember when I first joined here.
I dont really think that last one means anything for a season 2, it just means "tales twice told" as in Rhys said his side of story and Fiona said hers.
Thanks for the feedback to be honest. I just jab full stops and commas everywhere hoping they mean something. xD
I'll take it into considering next time I write.
Good ol times ...
Lol it's fine. Don't go out of your way to fix it but it will improve your quality by just a little
Done and done.
Isn't Time's A Wastin' the thing that Gortys says while she's pulling Hugo's leg?
That's why I said shimmer....thanks for killing my hopes...
Thanks
I haven't been really active here lately but after a look at just these recent posts reminded me how much I love this thread and Rhysha! (´ᗢ｀)♥
Its okay, you can eat ice cream and cry with me if you want ;-;
Ayy,at least you haven't completely forgotten about us (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ
Everyone post when you first joined here lol
Reggie was an artist when he joined Rhysha
Hey everyone! Surprised to see me? I hope so!
I know that Ctarl and me agreed to put the fic on hiatus, but various recent events inspired us to make another chapter for it as soon as possible. We hope you love it as much as we do! I'm very glad to bring you another part of out fic!
Act 1 - The Deal
Chapter 3 - Escapade Escape
Previous fic ended with you guys choosing to knock the bandit out...
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.
Without wasting another second, Rhys got into a mental state of “strike-until-down”. He raised his mechanical hand, readying himself for a swing, and impressing Jack at the same time.
Jack: “Well well, looks like the little Rhys is starting to think for himself.”
Rhys: “Shut up! Vaughn, get behind me.”
Just as Vaughn started to fall back behind his Hyperion buddy, the bandit strode around the corner with a pep in his step, influenced by his desire to quickly check that nothing out of the satisfactory standard of occurances has transpired, only to be met with the somewhat disheartened looks on the faces of the two Hyperion 'prisoners'. Everyone shared a moment of awkward silence before the bandit spoke up.
Marauder: “I knew it! Knew it knew it knew it knew it! I just KNEW that that completely irrelevant explosion at the other side of our camp was a sign that our prisoners were about to make a grand escape! I was right! For the first ti…”
Rhys’ arm made an unexpectedly loud noise when it made contact with the poor bandit’s thinking box. Apparently it made quite the impact on it too, because the marauder fell to the ground like there were meat cookies down there and he had a rumbly in his tumbly, just aching for a chance to chow down on them. Unfortunately the only thing he'd be chowing down on was the dirt... Because he's unconscious... on the ground.
Rhys had to regain his balance after the delivered hit. With him having near zero experience with hitting things, it wasn’t surprising at all that he almost fell onto his tushee. Nevertheless, he quickly regained his footing and even managed to break out what could possible be described as “hero” pose, if you gave him enough credit.
Vaughn: “That was a killer move, Rhys. Why don’t you use your metal arm more? It’s like you forget about it and in the most crucial moments you only use your regular arm. Isn’t it weird?”
Rhys: “Do you know how much it costs to fix this bad-boy? I don’t want to spend my whole life savings because of one mistake. Instead, I oil it, preserve it…”
Vaughn: “Rhys.”
Rhys: “Yeah, uhmm… Right, sorry. I’ll try to keep that in mind. No worries pal.”
Jack: “Meh, 4/10. Not enough passion in the hit, and the stumbling after? Are you a headless chicken or something?”
Rhys pretended to not hear Jack’s little comments.
Jack: "Eh, Maybe I'll bump it up to a five for the heroic pose, but it wasn't exactly a JACK worthy pose, y'know what I mean?!"
Instead of listening to Jack’s rambling, Rhys crouched and reached for the gun belonging to the “sleeping” bandit. Only the bandit was not asleep.
Marauder: "Oh! Ow! Gets up off the ground and faces Rhys Hey! Prisoners aren't supposed to hit their captors! It's supposed to be the other way around, silly!"
Rhys: "Uuuuh..."
Vaughn: "He's still awake!"
Rhys: "Yeah, I know!"
Jack: "Oh, wow. I take it back, I give you a minus 11/10... That sucked.... A for effort though."
Rhys: "You're not helping!"
Yet another awkward silence ensues.
Marauder: "Hey, uh... I don't suppose you'd mind getting back into the cage for me would you? Because that'd help me out big time. If they catch you outside like this I might get in trouble, and I'd rather not be in trouble. So... you know... can you just co-operate. I promise I won't torture you TOO much... you know... just enough for show.... Uhhh... Are you gonna..."
Rhys thrust his hand forward, twisting his body as he put his weight behind the upcoming brutal attack. The Bandit didn't even flinch when the fleshy human hand slapped daintily on the side of his face, making a sound akin to placing a sheet of paper down on a table with enough force behind the slap to mildly disgruntle a small child.
These awkward silences seem to be getting longer...
Marauder: "Uuuuuuh... yeeeaaah! I guess that's a no, then."
Vaughn: "RHYS! I literally just told you!"
"I know!" Rhys exclaimed as the marauder grabbed ahold of him and thrust him to the ground. The hyperion employee reached out his hand and attempted to grab onto the bandit to steady himself, failing entirely and instead pulling off the marauder's mask as he really did fall on his tuchee.
Marauder: "Hey!"
Rhys reacted quickly. Grabbing a handful of dirt and leaning forward on one knee, he thrust his arm forward, effectively throwing the dirt at the bandit's face. The marauder stumbled backwards and immediatly began rubbing his eyes.
Marauder: "AAAAAH!!! OH MY GOD!!! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!?!?!
Rhys: "Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!"
Marauder: "Oooh!! Oh, who does that?!"
Rhys: "I said, I'M SORRY!"
Marauder: "Who throws dirt into other people's eyes!! Aaaah! IT BUURRRNSS!!"
Vaughn: "Nice one Rhys! Now give him a quick one-two and let's get out of here."
Rhys: "Right..."
Jack: "Hahahaha! Oh my god! That was soooo lame, just so unbelievably lame! Are you in children’s playground to be playing with dirt? Or do you simply sympathize with dirt since you’re both so low on the ground? Hahahaha, I can't believe you actually did that. QUALITY comedy, though!"
Rhys: "You're still not helping!"
Jack: "Ok, you know what?! You want me to help you out, sweetie?! Prepare for a ride then..."
Rhys suddenly felt a surge in his mechanical arm and a slight buzz inside of his head as he felt a foreign presence take over.
Handsome Rhys: "I'll help you out! Let me show you..." grabs the marauder and spins him to get face to face. "How it's done."
Rhys... or rather Jack, grabbed ahold of the bandit's throat with both hands as the marauder quickly switched his attention from clearing his eyes to get this guy's hands away from him as he struggled to breathe.
Vaughn: "Uh, hey Rhys!"
Jack slowly pushed the bandit towards the ground as his grip tightened. The marauder tried to hit Jack, but didn't have neough energy to put any force into his attacks.
Handsome Rhys: "This is what happens when you mess with Hyperion, kiddo..."
Vaughn: "Rhys, stop it you're killing him!"
A grin began to grow across Rhys' face as Jack felt the life begin to drain out of the helpless Marauder.
Vaughn: "RHYS!!"
Vaughn limped forward and grabbed Rhys' shoulder, pulling him back. Rhys turned to face Vaughn with a devilish grin plastered onto his face, which quickly faded into a straight face, then a look of disbelief as Rhys turned back towards the bandit and dropped him to the ground quickly. The Marauder made a raspy sound as he gasped for air, trying to get ahold of himself as he lay on the edge of consciousness. After a few moments of drastic gasping, bandit gave up and just faded to the unconscious lands of meat bicycles and balloons.
Vaughn: "Rhys! I told you to knock him out, not kill him!! What the hell!"
Rhys seemed a little dazed, but quickly shook off his dismay and let out a sharp sigh.
Rhys: "I... I'm sorry. didn't mean to..."
Vaughn: "Are you ok, Rhys? You seem a little... out of it."
Rhys: "What? No, I'm... I'm okay, pal. I'm fiiine!"
Rhys looked around a little, then went back to pick up the gun as he had intended to earlier. It was a Jakobs shotgun, and it surely had seen better days. The paint almost all scrapped off and some clear Skag claw markings on it made it look like an antique. It was still working though, and that's all they needed.
Rhys: “Here, take this." hands it over to Vaughn "I will have my hands busy with… leading the way and uhhh… punching bandits!”
Vaughn: “Are you… are you sure? I don’t have any experience with it and it’s so big and heavy and all kill-y like.”
Rhys: “Cheer up buddy! I’m sure you’ll manage just fine. Just, just don’t point it at me. Please?”
Vaughn: gripping the gun tightly “Okay. Let’s do this!”
Only awkward silence (again) met Vaughn’s unexpected enthusiasm.
Vaughn: "Uuuh... Are you sure you're ok, Rhys. I mean... I worry about you, man."
Rhys: "I'm fine, buddy! Don't worry about it."
Vaughn: "Yeah?.. Good, that's good."
Rhys: “Right, ahh… Okay. Let’s go.”
Jack: “To infinity, and beyond!”
At the same time, on the other side of the camp…
The sisters were sneaking through the section of the camp where the bandits and marauders were partying only a few minutes earlier. Conveniently enough, all of bandits who remained conscious after their excessive debauchery left to investigate the “big boom-boom” as they screamed nonsensical, philosophical analyses of human society at the top of their lungs as well as a few quips on meat and slaughter. The boom had served to take all of their attention, and the sisters didn’t even have to hide carefully in order to avoid detection.
Unfortunately, even with the most of the bandits gone, except, of course, for the completely drunken ones, their trash didn’t magically disappear. Fiona and Sasha had to sneak around lots and lots of broken bottles, bones and metal crates, just lying there empty. No matter how drunk these murderous psychopaths were, the sounds of stepping on glass would surely increase the chance of them waking up; and if that were to happen, our heroines wouldn’t be very happy, now would they? No, because they'd be dead and chopped up into little tiny pieces.
Marcus: "Hey, what else can I say. Bandit's are dangerous. That's why you should always have a gun handy. Ah... eh... Sorry, I couldn't help advertising again. Where was I?... Ah, yes..."
Despite her best efforts to avoid every single piece of junk, Sasha still managed to break one bottle with a single, careless step.
Marcus: "That's all it takes. One step and... I know, I know! I'll get back to the story."
Fiona: “Damn it, Sasha, be careful!” She hissed in a hushed voice. “You want the whole camp on us in a matter of seconds?”
Sasha: “Sorry, sorry! Won’t happen again!”
Just as these words escaped Sasha’s mouth, she accidentally kicked a metal box on the ground with the tip of her shoe.
Fiona: stares angrily
Sasha: “That was the last one! I promise!”
Unfortunately, that very little kick the shiny metal box sustained managed to succeed in awakening one of the bandits lying around. With a snort, the delirious bandit managed to raise his weary head from the ground, and look around. The first thing he noticed was probably the pool of piss he was lying in.
Marcus: An important lesson kids – don’t drink too much or wear diapers otherwise!
The second thing he noticed should’ve been the sisters, but, being the bandit as he was, he extended his arm to reach for his gun, which clearly had puke on it. Whether he wanted to fire it or clean it, his motives will remain unknown forever, because the third thing he “noticed” was Sasha stomping on his neck mercilessly.
After a but a few seconds, the bandit was dead and gone. Sasha was panting heavily, looking down at the dead marauder at her feet.
Fiona: “That was… a bit brutal, don’t you think?”
Sasha: shoots an unfriendly look towards Fiona “I did what I had to. You didn't want him to shoot us, did you?”
Fiona: “Yeah, uhh, let’s just go.”
Sasha: "What? I couldn't pull this look off with bullet holes running through me."
The sisters continued their journey forward and soon enough, successfully completed the “mine-field” of trash and junk. They weren’t headed for the way back through the camp as they had entered it, though– they reckoned that it’d inevitably mean they’d run into a horde of bandits one way or another, and they also couldn’t go anywhere without first getting their stuff back.
This is why the only way for them was forward, through the whole junkyard-party leftovers field, into the dark.
As soon as Fiona and Sasha approached the dark path, leading forward into the camp, they realized that it was some kind of a living district. There were almost no lights illuminating that part of the camp, so it was hard to spot anything in particular, but it looked like the whole place was filled with tents, big and small and all of them appeared to be incredibly dirty, at least from what could be viewed from the outside. And another thing...
It sure as hell didn’t look welcoming.
Thank you for your co-operation guys!
Just so you know, the votes will be counted on...
Friday the 23rd of October
So make sure you vote by then if you want to help decide the outcome of our very own tale!
Ayyyyy! Glad to see you still like it here!
that was like a day after the thread was made
ahhh, the memories...
@ReggiesLeftArm
Yeah I won't make that mistake again.( ͡ ͜ ʖ ͡ )
hmmmmm
what about?
Sasha: “You ready to go in, sis’? I think that’s our only way to get back.”
Fiona: sigh “Let’s go before those idiots come back.”
With those words, the duo went in to search for the way out and to get their much needed stuff back. Sasha leading the way and Fiona following closely behind, they were sneaking as silently as possible forward.
Sasha: “What exactly are we looking for?”
Fiona: “I don’t know… Maybe that huge guy’s tent? He seems like the kind of guy who'd... stash things.”
Sasha: “How are we supposed to know which tent is his?”
Fiona: “Look for the fancy one covered in love hearts and plushies or something, how am I supposed to know?! I’m just as new to crawling around bandit camps as you are.”
Sasha: “Really? I thought you'd already settled in.”
Fiona shook her head and nudged Sasha to keep going.
After a few minutes of walking past the tents which would fail a hygiene test harder than a house build out of skag crap, they were starting to get kind of worried. There seemed to be hundreds of tents here, with occasional poop-booth set up, and they all looked more or less the same. Ragged, with a bit of mus and grease splattered about.
The sisters kept walking the dirty little road between all the tents, and even though they didn’t find anything, they were grateful to all the coincidences in the world that they didn’t come across any bandits either. However, the occasional explosions somewhere far away made them very uncomfortable. Combine that with the nerve-wracking sneaking and looking behind their shoulders after every step and you’ve got yourself a good mix of everyday Pandoran con-artist’s life.
Fiona: “Sasha, do you at least know where we’re going? I don’t want to walk in circles for the rest of the night.”
Sasha: “Theoretically speaking, if I consider how we mapped out this camp beforehand, I do… Probably. It’s just that… Wait, is it just me or the path is getting brighter?”
It was true. The girls' eyes darted around to spot the source of this light and where it was coming from.
Fiona: “There! Around the corner, let’s go!”
Sisters quickened their pace a bit, anxious to see what could possibly be generating this intense light among these tents of shadowed by darkness. After a few steps, they turned around a corner and were met with another sight they didn’t expect to see today. A huge tent stood before them, with electric garlands wrapped all around it and a big, shiny star placed on top of the whole thing. It took the duo only a second to realize this was the big boss’ tent, not only because of how it looked, but also because it had quite a lot of space around it, respectfully reserved for the banditlord’s needs.
That, and a big red heart with sprinkles on it, painted crudely on the entrance.
Fiona: "Called it."
Sasha: “Yeah... You think our stuff is in there?”
Fiona: “Only one way to find out, right? Let’s just hope that he’s not in there right now.”
The con-artists approached the tent at a steady pace, then stopped at the heart entrance and looked over the tent in what could be mistaken from a distance as admiration. Sasha looked at the giltter that had been carefully caked onto the surface of the tent and frowned at the sheer excessiveness of it. She turned to her sister in time to see Fiona make a gagging expression and stick her tongue out in disgust.
Sasha: "It's certainly... Shrugs... unique."
Fiona: "Yeah, but I called it, right?"
Sasha: "Yeah... yeah, you did."
Sasha looked back at the tent. Although it was almost certainly intended to appear inviting, it somehow seemed so... intimidating; at least in the way that you wouldn't want to venture inside and see what it might have to offer. Still, if there was any place that could contain their belongings, it would be this tent.
Fiona: "Well... after you... I guess." She gestured to enter the tent.
Sasha: "Thanks."
Although Sasha had thanked her sister for this invitation, she was hesitant to enter. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the entrance once more and with trepidation took steps forward, outstretching her arm to push aside the flaps. As soon as she stepped through the flaps, she was struck multiple times in the face by the bead curtain that lay ahead of her. Swinging her arms around and knocking the strings of beads away she stumbled into the tent and found herself surrounded by sickeningly sweet memorabilia and decorations. Not to mention everything was pink.
Sasha: "Uuuuh..."
Fiona: "Hey! taps Sasha on the shoulder
Sasha: "Shit!... Oh, don't..."
Fiona: "Not fun when you’re on the receiving end, huh?"
Sasha frowned at her.
Fiona: "But seriously, what's up with this place? It's all big and..."
Sasha: "Pink?"
Fiona: "Yeah."
The duo just sort of stood there for a while, not admiring the decor.
Fiona: "Maybe we should start searching?"
Sasha: "Right."
The two sisters immediately seperated to opposite sides of the tent and began looking through Death Teamo's things.
Fiona: "Yeah... I totally called it."
Sasha: "Yeah... you mentioned that."
Fiona: "I'll be expecting cash up front please."
Sasha: "Hey! I don't recall betting on it! Besides... I don't have any money."
Fiona: "Eh, you can pay me back later." Kneels down to search through a mess of lovey-dovey decorations.
Sasha: "Well, if I'm remembering correctly, and I am, didn't you say there'd be plushies?"
Sasha turned on her heel and walked over to her sister, ready to scare her back for last time. Meanwhile, Fiona spotted something interesting behind all the pink decorations and grinned.
Fiona: "Well, it's funny you'd mention that! It looks like I win the bet."
Sasha stopped right behind Fiona and decided against scaring her. She was a little taken aback that she was about to lose this pseudo-challenge she'd set her sister.
Sasha: "You found something?"
Fiona: "Yeah, and it looks pretty fluffy too." She reaches out her hand and pulls with a grunt. "It's kinda stuck though."
Fiona dug her hands deeper into the pile and pushed some things aside. She then pulled on the fluffy object again and it came free.
Sasha: "What you got there?"
Fiona: "In your face. I got the..."
Fiona drew her hand back from the pile and immediately ceased speaking. She dropped the object immediately and began gagging.
Fiona: "Argh! Bleh! What the hell is that?"
Sasha: "Is that a... a dead parrot?"
Fiona: "How can you tell what kind of bird it is..." looks at the object "If it is a bird... Ergh! Why's it missing its head?"
Sasha: “Aaargh! Put it back! It's starting to stink up the room. And I think it's entrails are sticking out!”
Fiona: “Eww!”
Fiona kicked the object back into the pile with her boot and moved away from it.
Fiona: "Who keeps a dead bird in their room?"
Sasha: "Well... they are bandits."
Sasha eyed around the room and spotted something over her sister's shoulder.
Sasha: "Hey. I think found something."
A smile grew across her face as she walked over to a desk with a load of paper strewn across it and leant over the side to pick up the object that had been leaning on it, carefully handling it in her hands. Fiona walked up behind her and peaked over her shoulders, looking down at the object.
Fiona: "Well... It's certainly... something, alright."
Sasha immediately turned around and pointed the assault rifle at the opposite side of the tent, aiming down the sights, causing her sister to back up a little and give her some space. She then lowered the weapon and looked at Fiona.
Sasha: "I think I'll keep it."
Fiona: "That! You're keeping... that!"
Sasha: "Yeah. For now. It reminds me of Rhys."
Fiona: "I can see why."
Sasha: "I think I'll gift it to him."
Fiona: "Are you sure he'd want that. I mean, sure, he's gonna love all the pink and hearts and girly stuff."
Sasha: "Yeah."
Fiona: "That's a given. It's Rhys we're talking about. But..."
Sasha: "Buuuuuuuuut...?"
Fiona: "But I haven't seen Rhys touch a gun... like, ever. I think he's... like... gunophopic or something. Are you sure he even knows which way to point it?
Sasha: "Well, then I'll just teach him."
Fiona: "You'll teach him?"
Sasha: "That's the idea."
Fiona: "You?"
Sasha: "Yup."
Fiona: "Will teach him?"
Sasha: "That's what I've been saying... Are you okay?"
Without a word, Fiona began walking to the other side of the tent and started searching again.
Sasha: "What?"
Fiona spoke without turning back to look at Sasha.
Fiona: "Nothing."
Sasha: "Something wrong?"
Fiona: "No... just... Good luck with that."
Sasha: "So you think I can't do it?!"
Fiona: "Oh, I'm not doubting your teaching and shooting skills, Sasha. I just think Rhys is a lost cause. There's a higher chance we'll find a vault key in this room than there is of Rhys using something other than that... metal electric rod thing."
Sasha: "Well then let's make it a bet, then. If I can teach Rhys how to shoot like a pro, I win. If I can't do it by, say... next week. Then I lose."
Fiona: "Interesting... I thought you said that you didn't have any betting money."
Sasha: "I'll find a way to get it. You know me."
Fiona kneeled down as she found the small lockbox on the floor. She tugged on the lock to find it already open and decided to pull up the lid. She smiled as she saw it's contents and grabbed it.
Fiona: “Nice!"
She stood up and turned to her sister, waving it in her hand.
Fiona: "Well I dunno how you're gonna get your cash, but I think I just found my betting money!"
In her hands she held a bankroll of $500, which she twisted around and twirled with delight.
Sasha: “Hey! We both decided to search here! Go splitsies!”
Fiona: "Nah! Finders keepers! You know how it goes!"
Fiona stuffed the bills into a back pocket, and looked around herself on instinct as she did so. But before she removed her hand from her pocket, she looked up to see Sasha frowning and making puppy faces at her.
Fiona: “C'mon, Sasha. You really think that's gonna work on me?”
Sasha continued to make puppy faces at Fiona. Eventually Fiona sighed and removed the bank roll from her pocket. She then split the money in half and counted it just to check as her sister's frown turned upside down. Sasha approached Fiona and held her hand out expectantly and Fiona did as expected. Placing $250 dollars into her sister’s hand and pocketing the other half, Fiona looked her in the eye with a grimace.
Sasha: "Thanks, Fi!" Pockets the money and returns to holding the gun in both hands.
Fiona: "Alright. If I win, you give me that $250 back. If you win, I give you mine. Deal?"
Sasha: "I gotcha!"
Fiona: "Deal?!"
Sasha: "Deal!"
The two sisters shared a moment of silence.
Fiona: "I'm too easy on you."
Sasha: "You're too easy to swindle!"
Fiona turned around again and got back to searching for their things.
Fiona: "Y'know, being a scam artist, I thought I wouldn't fall for anything like that, now."
Sasha: "Yeah, well, maybe I'm just the better grifter."
Fiona: "You always did have a knack for worming your way into people's heart."
Sasha: "It's both a blessing and a curse."
Fiona: "Hey, just make sure Rhys doesn't get the wrong idea when you start tutoring him."
Sasha: "Gotcha."
Sasha stood still for a moment and stared at her sister get to work. She considered what had been said for a while.
Fiona: "Are you searching around, too? I don't know if you’re rummaging. I can't hear any rummaging going on."
Sasha: "Oh, right. Well, this shouldn't take long anyways. This place seems to be a bit of a treasure trove!"
Fiona: "If by treasure trove you meant full of money, guns and dead birds, then yeah, it is."
Sasha: "That's exactly what I meant."
Sasha finally resolved to get back to searching, but quickly spotted something of interest on the desk, among the sheets of paper and placed her gun down on the desk.
Fiona: Hey! Good news! I found our stuff. He had a chest back here.
Sasha: "Good! I think I found something too!"
Fiona: “Is it better than finding your own stuff though?”
Sasha: “We’ll see.”
Fiona approached her sister from behind and gently tapped her on the shoulder, not trying to spook her again. Sasha appeared to be holding a piece of paper in her hands with near unintelligible stuff written on it.
Fiona: “What is it? Some kind of… is that a map?”
Sasha: “Certainly seems so. Look, here’s the pointers… and these symbols look like clues to a destination…”
Fiona: “And here’s an X! It really is a map, and… it’s a treasure map?”
Sasha: “Lots of stuff goes through the bandit camps. Lots of it is just junk, but this… it actually looks legit. Do you see that it… kind of glows?”
Fiona: "You sure that isn't just a... a watermark or something?"
Sasha: "No! Look at it! It's giving off a little bit of light. It's all glowy and stuff!"
It was true. The map was glowing dimly with a purple light. The glowing was strongest on the big X, which probably marked the final destination on the map.
Fiona: “What’s this, written near the X?”
Apparently, there was some kind of a text, scrambled right near the treasure marker. It read:
gg cropping my handmedown avatar scrub
^^
Ayyy! (ﾟヮﾟ)
(Also @Pipas @GrumpyDof still need that avatar updated for the map and poster thx)
RHYSHA!
“I’m going on a journey
To find that sweet sweet loot
And when I find it
I’m gonna play my lute.”
Fiona: “Is that… is that the banditlord’s poetry?”
Sasha: “Gosh, he sucks at it. I don't think I’ve ever seen a worse poem actually.”
Fiona: “And what does he mean with “my lute”? Is that meant to be an actual, physical lute or…”
Sasha: “Please don’t make me think about it. Please.”
Fiona: “Anyway, despite how bad this poem is, he seems to be certain that this map is totally legitimate and points the way to something valuable.”
Fiona tapped her finger on the big X.
Sasha: “You know, I was just thinking… We’re currently out of jobs and we barely have any money… Would be a shame if this piece of paper were to disappear.”
Fiona: “It would be a real tragedy, sis’. A real tragedy.”
Sasha: “Oh look, it fell into my pocket! What an unfortunate turn of events. And I can’t get it out! It seems I have no choice but to leave it there.”
Fiona: “Yes, it would appear so.”
Both sisters giggled, lightened up by this little sophisticated play.
Fiona: “Fun aside though, we’re still in a bandit camp. Sooo…” hands Sasha’s gun to her “Mind getting the hell out of here with me? I doubt we’re gonna find anything worthwhile here again.
Sasha: “Yeah, let’s go. Besides, that stench is filling the room quickly.”
Sasha grabbed the pink gun and managed to awkwardly holster it on her back using a strap that had been poorly attached to it and then turned back to face Fiona. The sisters started heading to the tent’s entrance, to go out the same way they came in, but just as they opened the flap of it, they were met with an insane and utterly bloodthirsty look on a psycho’s face. They all shared a collective moment of peaceful silence, interrupted only by the psycho’s breathing, which sounded like he just ran a thousand miles without stopping.
Psycho: “Girls be free. Girls be bad. GIRLS BE DEAD HAR HAR!”
The psycho screamed those last words like his life depended on how loud it was gonna be. What followed was even worse, because apparently lots of psychos in the area were simply sleeping away in their tents, so as it would seem, not all of the bandits were hunting the big “boom boom” as the sisters had previously thought.
To make it even worse, Sasha reacted instinctively to the alarming psycho right in front of her and pulled the trigger on her SMG. The sound of a gun being fired tore through the silence of the tent district, and then…
Then psychos started pouring out of almost every tent, anxious to kill anyone that had dared to disrupt their sleepy, nap time.
Fiona: “RUN!”
Fiona and Sasha broke out into a sprint, trying to leave the psychos behind and running for their lives once again.
Meanwhile…
The Hyperion duo were sneaking between hundreds of Skag cages, stacked on top of each other. It felt like walking between two very high walls, except these “walls” could growl and would bite your head off if only given the chance. And they used their ability to growl to their best efforts.
Rhys was getting more uncomfortable with each passing second. Vaughn limped near him, refusing help from Rhys because he “felt just fine”, but his efforts to walk unaided drained him of all his strength – the poor guy couldn’t even talk with Rhys. Handsome Jack had retreated back into Rhys’ head again after he'd almost choked the bandit to death, because “walking is boring”.
Thus poor Rhys was left without a conversation partner. He could try talking with all the Skags surrounding him, but it could’ve easily set them off and he couldn’t risk that. Vaughn was making enough sounds as it was, grunting and panting heavily.
Rhys: “You sure you don’t need help, buddy?
Vaughn: “I… got this, Rhys… Just go…”
Rhys sighed and kept sneaking further. He barely had any memory of all the plans they drew in the van about the supposed layout of this camp, but he at least remembered that the path through Skag cages should lead to the exit.
Vaugnh: “Rhys, what do we do about the girls? What if they aren’t there?”
Rhys: “They’ll be there, buddy. They will. Look at them – they’re a lot more… familiar with this kind of environment. I’m sure they’re already waiting for us.”
Vaughn: “Whatever… you say, pa- WHAT IS THAT?”
Vaughn screamed, flailed his arms around like a wild man and fell right down on his butt. The gun he was carrying on his back also rolled away.
Rhys: “What, what is it?!”
Rhys got mentally ready to strike anyone with his regular… I mean metal hand, but as he approached Vaughn he noticed no immediate threat. Except…
A tiny Skag pup, gnawing at Vaughn’s boots.
Vaughn: “Get it away from me, he’s gonna eat me, GET HIM AWAY!”
Rhys: “Shhh, Vaughn! You’re gonna bring the whole camp on us!”
All the Skags around them were getting even more restless, startled by all the commotions right under their noses. Not the Skag puppy though. After apparently getting offended by Vaughn’s reaction, he cautiously started approaching Rhys.
The pup was really small, only about half a foot. He was spotty, greasy and overall, quite dirty, but nevertheless extremely curious.
Rhys: “Hey, little Skaggy. You lost?”
The little skag twisted it's head and made a groaning sound that was more akin to a squeak, curiously evaluating this very tall being that stood before it.
Rhys: "Go, go and find your mommy… back in the cage somewhere.”
The “little Skaggy” was unaffected by Rhys’ attempts to persuade him from approaching. It took a few uncertain steps and… started rubbing himself onto Rhys’ shoes.
Vaughn: “Does he not realize those are made of Skag hide?”
Rhys: “I’m not sure. I’m also not sure if I want to find out. Shoo, buddy, shoo!”
Rhys gently pushed the pup away with one hand, only for him to instantly hop back and rub himself to Rhys’ feet even more. He attempted to push the skag away again, but to no avail – it just jumped back and kept rubbing.
Vaughn: “Rhys, do something. We can’t just sit here all night repeating it.”
Rhys: “I’m trying, but he’s just too… goddamn… persistent!”
Vaughn: "Maybe he smells his mom on your shoes or something. Just... throw them away or something."
Rhys: "What?!" He whispered as loud as one could. "No! These were expensive!"
Vaughn: "But..."
Rhys: "We are not having this conversation, Vaughn!"
Vaughn sighed and started getting up slowly, trying to not put too much weight on his injured leg. The puppy was still near Rhys’ feet, and rubbing so hard it was like he was trying to squeeze into those Skag-skin shoes. The whole situation felt weirdly peaceful, however…
Psycho: “HYPERION RUN, HYPERION DIE!!!”
An unexpected scream from behind them almost made Vaughn fall again and Rhys to jump in fear (luckily, he didn’t hit his head this time). Apparently, more psychos decided to investigate their Hyperion prisoners in a cage, lead there by their weird philosophy of “explosion elsewhere – investigate the opposite side”.
Rhys quickly jumped to Vaughn and got him on his feet in a second or two, then he turned around and grabbed the tiny skag puppy, now looking around with a confused look in his tiny skag eyes.
Vaughn: “Rhys, what are you doing?! Drop the skag and run!”
Rhys: “You run and don’t talk!”
Both guys started sprinting away (well, I’m using “sprinting” generously here – Vaughn was looking like a one legged kangaroo) while the psychos behind them started howling and running towards the Hyperion fellas.
Rhys: “Where’s your gun? Your freaking gun?!”
Vaughn: “I lost it when I… fell! Look, we’re almost out!” panting heavily
Vaughn was right. The road they were walking on in between all these skag cages took a sharp turn to the left and the guys were greeted by a view of the camp entrance, gloriously standing right where they left it.
Unfortunately, Rhys and Vaughn weren’t nearly as fast as the Psychos chasing them. The duo were approaching the gate fast, but they practically felt the Psychos breathing on their necks. Just a few more seconds and they’re gonna feel not only their breath on their necks, but the sharp blade of poorly crafted, but well used axes too, and they couldn’t do anything about it – Rhys wasn’t gonna abandon his pal, practically jumping on one leg besides him. It looked like this was the end.
Psycho: “SAY HELLO TO LADY KILLE…”
The psycho was unexpectedly cut off by a series of gunshots coming from the gate, which picked off not only the screamer but the rest of the bandits too. Rhys and Vaughn were so surprised by that they even stopped running.
Rhys: “What was that?..”
Just as he said those words, he spotted the oh so familiar SMG and signature hat near the gate, opening fire into the horde of bandits, flooding from almost every direction.
Sasha: “Get over here, slowpokes! What in the hell are you waiting for?!”
Never had Rhys been so glad to see Sasha’s beautiful face, safe, unhurt and… well, yelling at him. He grabbed Vaughn by one arm and started rushing him forward.
Rhys: “Lean on me buddy, you can’t hop all the way to the van.”
Vaughn knew to not argue on this one. It was a wondrous sight to see – two Hyperion dorks, leaning on each other, holding hands, half running-half jumping to the gate, while one of them had a bleeding leg and the other carried a skag puppy, curiously looking around at the chaos surrounding it. At least that’s what Sasha thought when she saw it for a split second, before returning to firing her SMG at the incoming psychos.
Fiona: “Can those two dorks hurry up?! I’m running out of ammo!”
Suddenly all the psychos stopped charging. Simultaneously, the sisters stopped firing. Only Rhys and Vaughn kept going to the gate.
At that moment, they heard almost earth-shattering steps coming. The quad realized who it was before he showed his face... or well, er... his hooded face. Because you can't really see... what he looks like... and stuff.
Death TeAmo: “YOU! YOU CUTE MONGRELS! STOP LOVING… KILLING MY MEN!”
The banditlord stood right in front of his men, seemingly even bigger than the last time the heroes saw him. Maybe anger inflated him with size. Nevertheless, he was pissed. But his fury was unleashed fully when he noticed what Rhys had in his arms…
Death TeAmo: “You… you come here as pretenders. And when you escape, you’re trying to STEAL MY FAVORITE PUPPY?! MY NEWEST KILLING MACHINE?! YOU WILL ANSWER FOR THIS!”
The heroes knew the jokes were over when the banditlord pulled out his massive shotgun and fired it into the sky, with no maniacal love left in his eyes, only maniacal bloodlust.
Death TeAmo: “Whoever brings me their livers will get to dine on them! ATTACK!”
Fiona: “RUN!”
Our squad turned on their heels and booked it instantly, because the horde of psychos started charging at them again, only this time they were accompanied by the marauders who managed to catch up and Death TeAmo himself, firing that monstrous shotgun of his.
Miraculously, they succeeded in turning around the corner untouched, where their beloved van stood. As soon as they saw it, they started running even faster, as if the van's very presence gave them actual, touchable hope and purpose. Even Vaughn started running properly, despite his bleeding leg.
Fiona: “Faster, faster! They’re onto us!”
The four, plus one skag, approached the door, and Fiona practically ripped it open. Rhys jumped in first, squeaking with excitement and fear. Vaughn stumbled right after him and fell on the ground instantly with pain on his face. Sasha jumped the third, and Fiona the last, slamming the door behind her with a loud 'CLANG'.
Fiona: “Sasha, go drive! I’ll take care of Vaughn.”
There was no time to do anything but follow orders. Sasha threw her Atlas Silver away and lunged forward to the driver’s seat, reaching for the starting key at the same time. Rhys dropped the skag-pup and grabbed Vaughn by his pits, while Fiona got a hold of his knees. They both lifted him and put him on a table only for him to fall off a second later because Sasha started the van and made a huge amount of acceleration forward.
The van’s side was being hammered with axes and bullets, but thankfully, none of the bandits were smart enough to aim for the tires. All they did was chase the vehicle and scream incoherent insults at it. Eventually, the bandits' cries got quieter and quieter until they could no longer be heard.
Rhys and Fiona lifted now already unconscious Vaughn on the table again, then both of them dropped on the van’s floor simultaneously, exhausted.
Sasha: “Did… did we get away?”
Fiona: “I think so. Just keep speeding, sis’.”
Sasha: “But where? We can’t just go to the desert, we don’t exactly have a lot of fuel to burn.”
Rhys: “Wait… what about Loader-Bot? We can’t leave him behind like this.”
The sisters exchanged looks.
Fiona: “Rhys, I’m afraid that…You saw how ruined he was there… All wires and... dangly bits. I don’t think we can…”
Rhys: “No no no no! He’s our family! He's saved us so many times, we can’t just abandon him like this! We gotta go back and get him out!”
Fiona: “Rhys, we’re not turning this van around. I’m sorry.”
Rhys: “But… You have to!”
Fiona: “I’m really sorry.”
Suddenly, a huge bang startled all of them (except Vaughn). Something heavy had landed on a roof. Sasha almost let go of the wheel, but regained control at the last possible second, the slight startle causing her to make the van swerve a little. It could’ve been a bandit, launched from a catapult, but… what were the odds of that happening?
Fiona got her gun out and opened the door to investigate it, wind flying past her with almost enough strength to blow off her hat.
Fiona: “Who’s there?”
After a short silence, a response came.
Loader-Bot: “It’s-a-me, your Loader-Bot.”
Rhys jumped up and tried to stick his head out the door, only to have Fiona close it, almost trapping his neck there.
Fiona: “We’ll catch up later. For now, we can’t stop –we have to make as much distance as possible from the camp.”
Rhys stood still for a moment to fully process Loader Bots safety and consider their situation.
Rhys: “Whatever you say.”
Fiona shrugged and approached her sister, who was driving carefully, but keeping up the tempo. Rhys returned to his pal’s side to check how he was faring.
Fiona: “Maybe we should head to one of the locations your map shows?”
Sasha: “Maybe. But which one? There were quite a lot marked down.”
Sasha let go of the wheel with one hand and pulled out the slightly glowing piece of paper from her pocket. Both sisters leaned down to investigate it for some clues.
Fiona: “Hmm… Oh look, the camp is marked on the map! That means we know our approximate location.”
Sasha: “Yeah, you’re right. And there seems to be two locations equally far away from the us. Read it for me Fi, I need to concentrate on driving a bit.”
Fiona: “Right, so there seems to be… Hmm… To the north of here, we have Frostbite Cave. It’s pictured with lots of icycles, so I assume it’s pretty cold in there.
Sasha: "Do we have any winter clothes?"
Fiona: "No."
Sasha: "Bummer."
Fiona: "Anyways, that's probably a bad place to look for fuel or supplies. Didn't you say we're low on fuel or something?"
Sasha tapped the fuel meter.
Sasha: “Yeah, we're almost out... And the other place?”
Fiona: “The other is in the east… what unreadable kind of handwriting is this… seems to be called… Townville.”
Sasha: “Townville? What kind of name is that? No imagination or creativity whatsoever.”
Fiona: “True that, but it sounds like the perfect place to refill our stock. There’s just one problem… It seems that it’s frequently visited by bandits.”
Sasha: “What makes you think so?”
Fiona: “A hand-drawn psycho near it. And I think he's... is he disemboweling someone? Anyway, it could be really dangerous there.”
Sasha: “I don’t know sis’. You’re the captain now, choose and I’ll just steer the wheel and put my foot on the pedal until we're there.”
[Frostbite Cave]
[Townville]
At the same time, near Rhys’ feet...
Rhys was sitting quietly near Vaughn, waiting for Fiona to come and inspect Vaughn’s wound. She certainly had more experience with this kind of thing, if that wanted poster was to be trusted on her quackery. He was also wondering what were they talking about up there, in the front.
Unexpectedly, the skag pup approached Rhys, whining softly.
Rhys: “Aww, you’re sad. Don’t be sad, buddy.” picks the pup up and puts him in his lap ”That’s right, uncle Rhys is with you. Wait, I didn’t give you a name yet, did I… Hmmm…”
The pup turned it's head once more and looked at Rhys with his big, bulbous eyes, making a slight gargly sound with it's mouth-face.
[Skaggy]
[Rex]
[Buffy]
[Jack]
That's it for now, my friends. We hope you liked this chapter and the 2 choices you're presented with! Comment below this post to vote on which choices do you think should be made. Until next time!
YAY! FINALLY OUT!
HYPE! HYPE! HYPE!
enter link description here