Forumlands I: Back in Action
In this reboot of the original Forumlands, a troubled smoker with marital issues comes to the deadly planet of Pandora to relive his glory days. Unfortunately for him, his quest for action is hung to dry by the mysterious, obsessive “Ghost.” Now, stuck with a group of insane vault hunters, bandits, robots, and bounty hunters, he moves on to see just what’s in one of those vaults…
This is a story that is trying to emulate a Telltale game, but without the budget. Readers get to vote on decisions, submit their own characters, and influence the way the store goes in major ways. Wouldn't expect the writing of like, something good like a Cormac McCarthy novel or something like Lolita. I'm just some random asshole who likes Borderlands and got this passed down to him.
This interactive story features Mature Content, given its source material. Gore and violence, adult language dark themes, sexual content, and all that stuff will be commonplace. It will not hold back on the dark world that Pandora truly is, but will still explore the dark humor that comes out of it, of course.
Windshear Wastes - Claptrap's Place: Jericho Steel, Blisterscope, Anton, Zane,
Windshear Wastes: LL-X86,
Unknown: Nixon Roosevelt, Paul, Bobby,
Deceased: Rick,
Characters to be (Re)introduced: Sophie, 'Smiler' Duncan, The Shepard, Bloodlust, Minerva, Gauss, Kyle, R4-B0T, Delsin, Daniel Lockston, Nikolai, Raven, Ghost, Mr. Pork, LaShonda, Loaderbot #457, Tao the Skag, Timmy the Bandit, Fragger Face, Miss Point Blank, DeathBringer, Absolute Shadow, Barda, Vierge, Tewc, Therapy-Guy, Dub O' Maniac, Chriz, Minus One, Warden, Neon, Sliver, Jupiter, Wraith, Half-Roger, Tao, Steven Longstride, Tatyana Rostkova, James, Milo, Ser Bonk, Candy-Time, Dima, Latham Kirkwood, Drake Gerard, D00M, Daphne, Zoey, Denver, Richtor,
EPISODE 1: AND SO IT BEGINS...
EPISODE 2: LOOSE LIPS
EPISODE 3: LUNATIC FRINGE
EPISODE 4: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGGO
EPISODE 5: SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL
EPISODE 6: TWICE SHY
EPISODE 7: SANCTUARY
EPISODE 8: BLITZKRIEGED
EPISODE 9: LOCK AND LOAD
EPISODE 10: AND THEN THERE WERE FEWER...
Comments
So glad this is back
edit: I think my character name was Kyle and he had a skag name Tao or something
You kept the original titles? did Superchocolate also give you notes on his original plot?
I liked the original titles, so I kept them. And yes, I have the original notes on where to take the story. Though, I'm going to take a few liberties and change some things that didn't fit very well. i.e. Not as much music everywhere, some unfitting conversations will be taken out, as well plot points that make no sense.
Was i part of this? Who is my character?
Ah, this is great. I'm very happy to see the new thread. Hopefully, there will be a couple of new people interested in it as well, because this story deserves more readers. Anyways, when you reopen the submissions, I'll plan to submit another character. I really can't wait to see your take on the story and I have a good feeling about this
By the way, ever since the forum update a couple months ago, the feature to edit your thread is a bit broken. If you wish to add anything to the main post (like new characters, or the character submission, etc.), you have to use a workaround. This link should directly take you to the page where you can edit the main post: https://telltale.com/community/post/editdiscussion/110089
[as well plot points that make no sense]
Ohhh.... Can you tell me at least one of those?
You shouldn't leave that in the open. Someone could edit the thread without Penitents permission.
Go on, try to click the link then
It only works for the person who created the thread and, I believe, for mods.
Yeah. Mainly, I didn't like a lot of the character motivations so I scratched those out (like Gauss being inexplicably crazy), the "incompetent" vault hunters that are amazing at everything, how everyone became best buddies instantly, etc.
I don't know, I thought so. You were in the old thread, so I tagged you.
Thank you! You are a life saver! I was going to edit the submissions in, but couldn't figure out where the edit button was.
You're welcome! By the way, I like the new submission form, that one is a lot more detailed than the old one. I won't be home over the weekend, but I'll try to submit a new character in the next week. Until then, I might have to ask one thing or two via private message, if you're okay with that.
Thank you!
And yeah, you send me a few PMs if you need to.
I'm interested
Is this restarting or do I need to read the original one first?
Nah, you don't need to. The last made it about halfway through Episode 1, so I'm just going to restart the whole thing.
Cool! I think I'll submit a character.
I have submitted a character! Really hope you like her ^_^
I spot a russian person in the submitted characters <:
I'd gladly support a character but I even after playing TFTB I'm not entirely sure how this universe works. So I'll just read a few chapters and maybe then sort things out. I'm just afraid that I'll put something dumb in the submission box.
It's a pretty straightforward submission. I don't think you need that much knowledge of the universe. If you're curious about something you can always just ask me or other members who are more knowledgeable about Borderlands. I'd be happy to help.
I submitted a character named Denver. Please let me know if you have any problems with him.
To those who have just sent in characters, thanks. Your characters are good, and I'll add them to the list soon enough.
I've decide to go ahead and start from the beginning again. The choices from a year ago will largely remain the same because I liked some of them, but I'll try and go for longer parts that end with dialogue choices or minor choices, just to keep things fresh. First post will be up tonight or tomorrow.
Expect a mostly new story. I won't be including characters from the games (excluding Hammerlock and Claptrap). Timeline is after the events of Tales from the Borderlands.
EDIT: Actually, scratch Hammerlock and Claptrap. I don't think I'm going to use any characters from the games, other than in brief cameo appearances like in Tales.
EDIT 2: Also, I think the changes I've made to the story are large enough for me to create some actual decisions. So, let's just see what happens.
No rush but do you have an idea on when you'll start?
Sorry for the length of it. Just wanted to get a bunch out initially. Hope it lives up.
Episode 1: And So It Begins…
A living creature was perhaps one of the most complex beings in the universe. An organic being was composed of inner mechanism, organ systems that were in turn composed of tissues, which were in turn composed of cells. Blood and skin and hair and bone and muscle, all weaved and woven with a loving precision from God himself. The very fibers of each one was set in stone, knitted together as a seamstress would a dress. Tooth, snot, intestines, hearts, and brains. They all made a thing what it was.
And each of those perfect bits, each of those fine-tuned parts, every single gear and nut and bolt had made the horrific, monstrous things on the planet below. Terrible, soul sucking abominations roamed the lands, from the icey tundra to the sizzling desert.
One of God’s little creatures sat in a metal box, a machine named Jericho Steel. His eyes sagged, black bags stretched out like window blinds. His nose was small, or perhaps normal size. A tan safari hat covered his bald head, and the beginnings of an untrained beard had begun on his face. Just a simple five o’clock shadow, an unkempt orange long-sleeved shirt fit well to his torso, and simple faded jeans had been strung on to his legs sloppily. A brown belt held them up, and complemented his brown boots well.
His eyes were blinking slow, mouth opening wide to release a tired yawn. The train car was the very definition of grungy, and the next time Jericho flipped over a dictionary he would half-expect to see a black and white interior photo of this damned metal death trap. Crushed soda cans, torn newspapers, and stained candy wrappers adorned the floor. Jericho moved his foot as a lone crumpled paper rolled past.
His eyes soon fell upon the inhabitants of the train. Most of them were human, one black guy with an eyepatch, one white lady with green tattoo sleeves going down her arms. Jericho puffed a smoke from a cigarette, some ancient brand he had found called Marlboro. He blinked again, smoke filling the air and dissipating in the thin oxygen. The man across from him, a plucky blond with spiked up hair coughed into his arm, looking away from Jericho. The smoking man frowned, and moved down a seat where nobody was in front of him. Soon enough, just as Jericho had fallen to the first stages of slumber, a mechanized and static-filled voice awoke him from his sleep.
“This is the conductor speaking. I hope you are all having a pleasant day, and a safe ride on…” The announcer broke down in a fit of coughs, followed by a loud patting. A muffled “thanks” could be heard over the loudspeaker, before one more cough. “….a, a safe ride on Paradise Express! I’d just like to inform everybody that we have new guests, and they are to be handled just as we would any guest.” The announcer chucked nervously, a fake laugh from his co-conductor behind him.
Soon enough, a man clad in dark yellow armor stepped out of the engine car, glancing over the patrons of the train with a solitary red eye. Jericho recognized what he was; an ex-Hyperion soldier turned mercenary, now just a blue collar security guard for this ghetto train service. Jericho pitied him in a way. A rifle was steady in the man’s arms, held down. He scratched the back of his left leg, and cracked his neck. “Pardon me, citizens.” The monotone voice came from behind his helmet, and Jericho could tell he was rolling his eyes behind his helmet. The conductor came on over the intercom once more. “Oh, and we’re sending a little welcoming party to greet our new dear friends! So, uh, just stay where you are, you don't have to go say hi to anybody! In, in fact, you are encouraged not to go say hi to anybody. Just stay in your seat, everything’s cool! Yeah.” Before he could break down into another coughing fit, the speech ended and the soldier trudged down the aisle. Jericho could just make out him muttering “Welcoming party” with disdain before the man disappeared to the next train car.
Jericho sat back and waited, and the announcer came back on the loudspeaker. “Now, if you look to out the right window, you’ll see we’re coming upon the Windshear Wastes! Now, the Windshear Wastes are an especially terrible-” Jericho’s eyes drifted away when heard gunshots and screaming from the other car, then saw his own train car door open.
His heart began to pound, seeing the Hyperion soldier thrown through the doorway and scraping the floor with his plated back. “Gah!” He cried, his rifle crashing to the floor with a thunk. He tried his best to pull himself together, standing up and wavering. He steadied himself against a metal pole, as a towering figure entered through the doorway that he had just been thrown through.
Jericho’s heart skipped a beat.
A pitch black robot stood in the aisle, making cold and calculated steps towards the Hyperion soldier. Jericho leaped up and backed away, the black cyclops and the secondhand smoke sufferer following him. The girl with the tattoos was trapped, now behind the robot as it moved further towards the soldier. It was humanoid, no facial features anywhere on it however. It was thin, or so it seemed, but Jericho was sure an assortment of weapons would be crammed up inside of its metal exterior.
The woman stood strong, watching the robot with strong eyes. Jericho himself had dropped his cigarette on the floor, teeth clenched in fear. His eyes did not hide it, and the blond guy behind him had begun to shake and shiver. The guy with eyepatch stood strong , trying to puff out his chest to seem tougher, maybe force the robot into backing down.
Robots knew no fear.
The Hyperion soldier rushed the shadowy robot, throwing a killer hook with his left hand. The robot simply tossed it's right hand up and gripped the man’s fist, then threw his left hand up. A sword replaced it, flinging itself into the Hyperion soldier’s stomach. The Hyperion Soldier shuddered, and the robot kicked him off of the now bloodied blade. The blond guy screamed, and Jericho himself flinched and looked away. The eyepatched soul showed some signs of concern, but ultimately stopped himself and hung his head. The tattooed woman dropped her act, covering her arms with sleeves to hide the glowing designs. Perhaps she was scared the robot was a prude? Obviously not, judging by the newly formed pool of blood that now soaked the metal floor.
“Follow.”
Jericho could see a buzz of red sound waves visualize on the robot’s face. And so he followed, being careful to not step on the dead Hyperion soldier’s body. They all entered the next train car, to see a somewhat similar sight.
People were sat on the seats, hands behind their backs as a green haired man paced in between them. “Ah, great. More hostages. X86, you grab the conductors too?” The robot, who Jericho could now guess as X86, shoved Jericho down to an armored man and put the blond guy right in front of him. “Sorry.” X86 said, moving the woman and eyepatch down the aisle a little further. The green haired man nodded, Jericho staring at his dirty full beard. That was also green.
“That’s alright, X86. I’ll just get Rick to do it when him, Paul, and Bobby get back.” The man said, doing his hair up in a man bun. A man down the aisle snorted, and the green-haired man turned with furious eyes. “Where are you?! Who in the goddamn Sam Hell just laughed?!” His eyes darted back and forth across the box, looking for any sign of a smirk or devilish grin. Nobody showed any joy throughout, all staring solemn at the green-haired man. “Fine. That’s alright.” He spoke in a tone that made it sound not so alright.
Soon enough, a trio of similar bandits came waltzing in. One had himself all done up in marauder gear, and the green-haired man pointed to him. “Rick. Go get the conductors. We’re hijacking this ride.”
Rick nodded his hooded head, and walked out towards the engine room. “Hostages!” The leader of the operation, the green-haired man, spoke. “This is Paul and Bobby.” He pointed to each one respectively. Bobby was another marauder, an Elite judging from his uniform and head. An orange SMG rested in his hands, and Jericho could just make out a knife sloppily hanging from his belt,
Paul was a different story.
Paul looked like a little asshole. He only wore body armor, various chunks of Crimson Lance and Hyperion armor having been strapped to his body. He also sported a horrifying black mullet, and his upper lip pushed on a pedostache and untrimmed nose hairs. His eyes were covered by welding goggles, and a toboggan kept his forehead warm. His mouth was curled into a permanent frown.
“You may call me Nixon! The lovely gentleman who just left was Rick, and you’ve already met my friend X86.” Nixon was a biker looking guy, wearing a black leather vest along with motorcycle boots and jeans. He carried a long barreled Hyperion shotgun around, looking for someone to blast to itty bitty pieces. “As you all may have guessed, which if you aren't stupid then I assume you have. We have taken over this train so we can sell it to our employer. Now, now, we’re going to be on this train together for the next five hours, so let’s get to know each other. Anyone up for a game of twenty questions?”
One man behind him snickered, and then muttered “Nice hair, douchebag.” Nixon sighed, turning to face the man and promptly shooting him in the face.
Screams of terror responded to the spilling of the blood, now brain matter and dead cells splashing against the window. The blond guy began to cry, and Jericho recoiled in disgust. Nixon grinned a horrific toothy grin, triumphant over the clown. “Oh my God! I did not want to have to do that. But he forced my hand. Rule number one. Now, if we are all going to be getting out of here by the time this train is gone, I expect you to abide by my rules. That first rule, is don’t talk shit about my hair. That clear with ya’ll?” Solemn and spooked faces nodded, watching Nixon’s every move. Some stayed fixated on the carcass still sat down, including Jericho. He muffled a cry with his hand, a warm rush of vomit crawling up his throat.
Nixon looked over the various persons, smirking. “Alright, let’s start moving them all to the back cars. C’mon.” With a swiftness, the four bandits began to move the people out of this train car. Nixon looked down at the dead offender, shaking his head and the dark stain on his crotch. “Lookie here. Made a real damn mess.” He emphasized each word, looking at everyone in the train car as they were wheeled off. Jericho got one last glimpse of his steely dead eyes, as a pair of cold metal hands gripped his shoulders and pulled him up. X86 looked over Jericho, then pushed him forward. “Move.” At this biting remark, Nixon turned and looked over at X86 and the remaining passengers. “X86, show some respect! He’s a living being just like me and… well, just me. What’s your name, friend?” He gave a sly smile to Jericho, who flinched in response to seeing his scarred and rough face. “Uh, Jericho.” He mumbled, and Nixon nodded.
“Well, Jericho, huh?” He turned for a second, losing the smile and murmuring “That’s a fucking name.” and then looking back up with that same gut-wrenching grin. “Jericho, what happens to, well, bring you to this planet?” Jericho looked at him, blinked, before answering “Vacation.” Nixon chuckled, almost in disbelief. “Are, are, are you serious man? Vacation? Oh my God. Give me a moment to process this, it’s all very new.” He laughed again, and Jericho frowned and looked at his feet. Nixon took notice of this, stopping laughing, and sighed. “Oh, come on man. I was just screwing around. I… vacation. I like that. I just… I just don't understand why someone would actually come here to go on a vacation. It’s a bit of, a, er…” He paused, looking away from the now nodding Jericho. “Yeah. I know.”
Nixon opened his mouth as if he had figured something out, but immediately closed it when a hard metal rocket plunged in through the ceiling of the car. The top of the tiny rocket poked out at them from the roof, and Nixon immediately swore and ran for the front door. He slid through it, and Jericho and the four others that remained in the box car with him all stared up at the rocket, wondering just what to do seconds before it blew.
Rick was not a very kind man. The same concern that Jericho, the man with the eyepatch, and the blond guy did not resonate with Rick. He firmly planted his boot on the Hyperion soldier’s chest and lifted off, sending himself over his crumpled body with a skip. He yawned, then walked through the doorway with his revolver readied.
Unluckily for Rick, the former Hyperion soldier had felt that quite disrespectful stomp.
Rick looked at the scared conductors, rolling his eyes and aiming the pistol at them. They fell off of their chairs, cowering in the corner. “Come on, come on. Let’s get this over with.” The conductors cried and whined in the corner, the head one feeling himself already pissing his pants. Rick rolled his eyes again, then pulled out a little ball. The conductors screeched, blubbering and droning on about “What is that thing?!” and “Don’t hurt us Mr. Bandit!”
Rick provided an annoyed sigh and shook his head. “It’s just a Rubik’s cube. Sphere. Whatever. I’m getting bored, so whenever you’re done just tell me. God.” He went back to what he was doing, twisting the thing that did NOT look like any kind of Rubik’s cube or sphere that the conductors had seen. In fact, after Rick swore a few times about “how does this damn thing work” began to glow and three holes opened up on the ball. “Holy shit.” He said, backing away from the ball in his hands as the door opened up.
“Hey.”
The Hyperion soldier fired a burst into Rick’s chest and stomach, sending him reeling to the floor. The assault rifle was lifted up in the soldier’s right hand, and he clutched his wound with his left. Rick fell to the ground, gargling blood and clawing at the five bullet holes in his torso. His inner organs were shredded so finely that even if he were to survive the next few seconds he wouldn't survive his wounds.
Out of the ball flew three minuscule missiles, two flying out the front window and one shoving into the Hyperion soldier’s sword hole. It had stuck itself through the back of his hand, poking into his stomach just enough to really frustrate him. “Goddam-” He screamed, as the train car was engulfed in the flames of an explosion.
Chapter 1: Frostbitten
The explosion in Jericho’s car was swift, and brought him little pain.
Well, he would say swift whenever he told the story later on, but in the moment it appeared to be in slow motion. Those with him were the blond guy with gelled up hair, the man with the fancy armor and mask, X86, and guy with eyepatch. Jericho’s eyes stared at the rocket, as it exploded into a million sparks and flames and other particles of fire.
After the initial explosion, it went MUCH faster. They were tossed about as the train car flew off of the rails, and he was sure he would die then. He watched the blond haired man fly out along with the eyepatched man, and soon it was just three of them floating about in the train car.
Jericho felt weightless as he left the train car through the gaping maw of the explosion, and crashed into the snow below.
White, cold flurries crashed against Jericho Steel, and he rose his face from the vicious ice shards that tore into his cheeks. He was getting red, and he was certainly cold. The man could barely feel his hands, and the insides of his body began to swelter. A blizzard was beginning to kick up, and Jericho rubbed his eyes to take a look at the shadows off in the distance.
He could see a large box, obviously the discarded train car. There could be valuable supplies in there, or at least another warm body that would soon be cold. Beside of it, a silhouette stood in the gray snowstorm, looking around for something. It limped along, headed towards Jericho. He was going to need to make a choice, and fast.
[Go to the train car]
[Go to the figure]
Actually, right now.
[Go to the train car] Could be supplies or some survivors.
Excellent introduction, it was surprisingly long but I enjoyed it.
[Go to the figure] - It couldn't hurt to group up. I'm doubtful any of the other survivors would try to kill him.
This was a great first part! Your choice of song fit wonderfully with the explosion sequence, by the way. It gave me TftBL vibes.
Resubmitted character.
[Go to the train car]
[Go to the train car]
Great start, looking forward to another part.
Thank you! I was trying to emulate TftBL there, so glad it kind of worked.
Alright, looks like the vote is going to be [Go to the train car]
Thanks for all the kind wishes and the votes. I'm working on the next post now. Also, gonna start updating the character list, so if you submitted a character and I wasn't too big a fan of them, they won't be up there. Also, few characters are kind of different from what their apps say, so sorry about that if it's one of yours. Sometimes, I have too many of one character type and so I'll opt for something else but still use the basic appearance and name.
[Go to the train car]
Jericho moved towards the train car, teeth chattering. He approached the torn open gullet of the train, stepping over the sharp wreckage that pointed into the overturned car. It lay on its side, most of the windows it had fallen on shattered. Jericho shivered, blinking away ice particles from his eyeballs. The scene inside the train was something, for sure.
Bags with their guts spilled littered the ground. Snow and ice had already begun to cover the insides of the metal death trap. At least the litter had mostly drained out by now.
“Don’t move.”
Jericho stopped, hugging himself in an effort to not freeze. A gun leveled in his direction, the barrel of an Aegis pistol aimed at his left ear. “Wait, wait…” Jericho muttered, then saw the gun lower in his peripheral vision. “Oh, oh shit dude. I’m sorry. You, you said your name was Jericho, right? Shit.”
Jericho recognized him as the man in the suit, the one that had been with the missing robot of the apocalypse. The man’s torso was covered in a black, skin-tight suit made of nylon. A black jacket had been draped around his body, keeping him warm. His pants, thankfully, were not as tight as his torso’s undershirt and instead were a little looser fitting. They happened to be made of the same material, and his shoes were a pair of black loafers that locked quite comfy. His sleeves were not long enough for his arms, revealing two pale wrists behind them. His hands were gloved, with black (of course) leather gloves. The especially unique thing was his black full-head mask, two green circles where his eyes would be.
The man was hunched over, the hand not on the Aegis attached to his left side, somewhere near his kidney. Jericho’s eyes fell to the bloodied spot beneath his hand, and then looked back up at his eyeholes with shaky speech. “A-a-are you, you ok-k-k-kay?”
The man looked down at his wound, and then took his hand off for a second to reveal a short metal pole poking just a little bit out. He brought his hand back onto it, cringing in pain. “Considering the circumstances… I could be worse off.”
Jericho grabbed the man, setting him down in one of the toppled seats. Rough red felt greeted the man’s bottom, and he leaned his back against the cold metal of the train’s old floor. “I… I guess a piece of shrapnel came out of whatever was holding the train together; got me pretty good.”
Jericho began searching the disemboweled bags, for anything important. He only found books, papers, bobble heads, and other various tricks and trinkets. He almost began to cry, before he saw just what he was looking for; a parka hung from a destroyed chunk of the train which had broken at the side (now ceiling) of the train. Jericho pulled the brown parka down, wrapping it around himself and feeling warmth encroach him. He smiled with relief, comfort flowing through every vein in his body. “Oh thank God.” He turned back to the man, as he heard him speak again. “I’m, uh, I’m… Bl-Blisterscope, by the way. Weird n-name, I-I know.” He stammered, groaning in pain. Jericho’s eyes filled with pity, and he placed a comforting hand on Blisterscope’s shoulder. “Come on, we need to go. We gotta get you to a doctor.”
Blisterscope tried to laugh, but what came out was more of a raspy cough. “Oh, I think… that sounds good. I like to look on the bright, the bright side of things.”
Jericho nodded, exhaling through his nose and pursing his lips. He pulled his hood on when his ears turned red, and Blisterscope raised a shaking, crooked finger to a dark green duffel bag that hung from the side of the train (now ceiling still). “That’s… that’s mine. Got… got some good, some good stuff in there.” He moaned in pain again, and Jericho pulled the duffel bag down. He unzipped it slowly, as if anticipating a wicked claw to fly out, grab his face, and pull him in. No such horror film event happened, instead the bag opened up to reveal a collection of gun parts that Jericho couldn't wrap his head around, an ECHO recorder, a box of pistol ammo, and one grenade. He took the box of ammo and the grenade out, and zipped the bag up to leave the rest of its contents inside. “What’s this?” He asked Blisterscope, holding the grenade up in his free hand after slinging the duffel bag over his back.
Blisterscope looked at it, seeming to struggle to do even that. “Oh… I call it the Quasar. Use it only for… in case of emergencies.”
Jericho almost responded, but the sound of clanking metal distracted him. He jerked his head around, only to see the silhouette walk past. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.” He could tell by the figure’s cooing, dark voice and the sound waves on its face it was the one and only; X86.
“Oh, oh shit.” He muttered, turning to Blisterscope, clenching his teeth. “The robot, it’s out there.” He whispered, a nervosity about his tone. Blisterscope seemed to know already, because he did not answer. Jericho shoved the ammo box in one of his parka’s pockets, and hooked the Quasar to his belt. Blisterscope finally responded, but only with shoving the Aegis into Jericho’s hands.
Jericho looked over the blue and white pistol. He had only shot a pistol a few times before in his life, and that was at a stationary target. Up against X86? It was a death sentence.
Jericho was going to need to figure out what to do pretty damn soon.
[Grab Blisterscope and try to sneak away]
[Grab Blisterscope and try to hide in the train]
[Grab Blisterscope and try to hide in the train] Gotta get the hell outta here!
[Grab Blisterscope and try to hide in the train]
With Blisterscope injured, it might be pretty hard to sneak away. Better hide and wait it out, hopefully the robot will not find them.
Btw, where you at @LiquidChicagoTed? You missed the voting.
[Grab Blisterscope and try to hide in the train] - I agree with Pipas. I think X86 will have a tough time finding them in the wreckage.
My god, how could this happen? It seems I have somehow unfollowed after I wrote my last comment here. Thank you for mentioning me here, or else I would have likely missed this voting as well
[Grab Blisterscope and try to hide in the train]
Man, apologies for missing the last part. As I said in my response to Pipas, I have accidentally unfollowed the story somehow. But now I am back and thankfully just in time for the second part. First of all, I love your writing style! This is great, you have a detailed and lively style and I got some wonderful nostalgia from reading names like Blisterscope and X86. The parts have a pretty sweet length as well, that is always a good thing! So, all in all I have a great feeling about this reboot and I can't wait to see what else you have in store. I also like that you are not merely retelling what has been written before, but that your beginning is so different from the first story, even if I liked that old beginning as well. This makes things really unpredictable for me and therefore all the more enjoyable
Thank you very much! I needed that compliment, it's been a very long day. Seriously awesome to see even just five people enjoying this story, and with only two parts.
Looks like we will be hiding in the train. Should get a post up tomorrow or Monday, either or.
[Hide in the train]
“We gotta hide.” Jericho whispered, and Blisterscope shifted his mask towards him. He tried to croak out a response, but only a weak nod came out. Jericho’s eyes frantically shifted through the car, glossy eyeballs that wanted any form of escape from X86. He shuffled and moved about, squirming and feeling heavy breaths come from his mouth soon enough. Eventually, his eyes landed on Blisterscope, whose head hung towards the ground. “Oh God. Oh God, I never should have come here… I’m so stupid…” He muttered to himself, clenching his teeth and gripping the pistol firm with both hands. And as his eyes drifted over the red seats, the strewn papers, the spilled backpacks, the strips of metal that hung from the ceiling… his mind lit up.
Lightbulb.
He picked Blisterscope up by his armpits and dragged him to the end of the upturned row of seats, and looked down. Sure enough, they were hooked to the train’s floor (now wall) with steel four steel rods for each chair. Jericho pointed down the length, and patted Blisterscope on the back. “Think you can climb through there? Get pretty far so it won't see you?” Jericho questioned with a quiet voice, but Blisterscope did not offer an immediate response. As Jericho began to shove him behind the chairs himself, Blisterscope threw out a hand to stop him. “I… I can do it.” He stuttered, and Jericho let him go. Blisterscope managed to climb into the hidey hole, and Jericho ran off to the other side to climb in as well. he tossed the duffel bag off to the side, in the midst of other luggage. His parka almost wouldn't allow him entrance, but he made it. Moving his arms along the steel rods, crawling through and banging up his knees and neck a few times, but he made it pretty far. He realized he missed his little safari hat, how lonely his head felt without its buddy. It had drifted away during the explosion, and the subsequent tumble.
And then LL-X86 entered the train car.
It moved its soulless head back and forth, slowly. When it saw no life, it stomped deeper through the hole in the mostly otherwise pristine ceiling (wall, now). Its foot kicked away Blisterscope’s duffel bag as he descended the length of the train… right towards Jericho and Blisterscope. Jericho watched it go by, pursing his lips together and trembling. He clamped his hands on the bottom rungs in the hope that he could steady himself, somehow managing to do it pretty well.
X86 soon crouched down, shuffling through a few bags. Its metal hands moved through the bag, ripping papers and papers out before finally a book emerged in its left hand. The robot flipped through the hardcover for a few seconds, then turned around and disappeared out the whole again. Before Jericho let out a sigh of relief, he waited just a few more minutes. It seemed like hours, but that was all it was; minutes.
Jericho emerged first, and Blisterscope came out soon after. Jericho had to pull him out at the last stretch, but he did most of it by himself. Blisterscope groaned, and Jericho sat him back down on the chair only to sling the duffel bag over his shoulder. He helped Blisterscope back to his feet, supporting him on his free shoulder. In his right hand, the Axiom pistol sat. The grip was a bit sweaty now, but that was normal Jericho had decided. They crept over the jagged hole in the train car, and then pushed on into the snowy blizzard. They would never see the train car again.
They walked for what seemed like miles. Blisterscope only grew weaker, and it showed. He had gone limp just a few minutes before another silhouette appeared in the raging storm.
Jericho instantly pointed his pistol at the figure, precariously aimed to not miss. “Drop it!” The figure yelled, seemingly an empty threat before Jericho saw the much bigger gun pulling up in his hands. “Drop it!” A rifle was directed at his chest, and the bullet that would pierce his heart he could not stop. Perhaps diplomacy wasn't such a bad idea…
[Try to reason with the man]
[Drop the gun]
[Shoot him anyways]
(Sorry this post kind of sucks. Ended up having to rush at the end because I am beyond tired. Sorry again.)