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(BUS)Chapter 44: Fyrestone
🕑 Added 2024-12-03 15:41:51 +0000 UTCI suppose I should explain what a Claptrap unit looked like since we are here. See the neurotic little bots were about three feet tall upside down pyramidish shaped things with two robotic arms out the side and the sharp tip of the pyramid being chopped off and replaced with a single wheel that they used to move. At the top was a stiff antenna and the front of the unit had a single large robotic eye and a port for storage. They came in all sorts of colors and with various personalities and gadgets added to them. This one was a standard Hyperion yellow and white one though if a bit worn.-
The bot apparently gave up trying to open the gate though and rolled off to the side "Quick this way!" it said as it went.
To my surprise it went through a metal panel that I couldn't see as any different than the others until it was lifted. We all crouched down to enter it with Brick having it particularly hard given his size but he managed. The new area was a sort of back alley for the town with scrap metal all over it that I was eyeing greedily.-
It also had some scrub bandits waiting for us which I let the other four handle again. Finally we got into the town proper and it was a fucking joke of a place once the few bandits here were dealt with in less than friendly ways.
"Well done! I knew you were the right choice! You as well newcomer! We'll speak more later!" A woman's voice spoke into my head and I saw a chick with black hair and pale skin appear in mid air like a hologram.
"Anyone else just get a chick talking in their head or have I gone nuts?" I asked incredulous.
"Oh yeah that's the angel. Says she's here to guide us to the vault." Brick said like it was the most normal thing ever.
"And you don't find that odd at all?" I asked hoping I wasn't the only one who was weirded out by this.
"So long as she's helping us does it matter?" Mordecai asked and I paused to consider that.
"Now that you mention it not really, carry on." I said with a shrug but made a mental note to look into this "angel" cuz something told me it wasn't so simple.
"Citizen of Fyrestone you don't need to be alarmed anymore! These strangers have taken care of the problem!" the Claptrap announced to a clearly prefabricated house with metal patches on it.
"Well shoot, I thought I was a goner that time! Damn bandits won't leave us alone. Had to lock the place up tight. I'll let ya in... come on! Damn it! Blasted circuits are on the fritz again. Give it a go from the switch out there, would ya?" someone called Dr. Zed said through our echoes.
I pushed the button and the metal garage door lifted up to show a bloody dude in a doctors uniform waiting for us near a dead body.
"Thanks fer openin her up again. Name's Zed. They don't let me cut on folks anymore since I lost my license, so now I keep the med vendors 'round here up and runnin. From the vendors you can buy all the healin you could ever want from a real doc... thankfully without a "the vault is a myth you'll get yourself killed" lecture." he said introducing himself in a way that made me equally trust and distrust him some fucking how.
"Alex, Roland, Lilith, Brick, Mordecai, Bloodwing." I said pointing at each person I listed off.
Looking around the place was a shit show as it was dirty and in disrepair except for the parts the dude clearly dealt with like the weird vending machine with a characterized syringe on it filled with something red and with a broken leg, crutch, cold pack and bent needle leaking fluid, looked legit.
"Well aren't you just a motley crew, got a mission for ya if you think you got the stuff for it." Zed said and we all nodded. "Good, outside the towns some Skag dens. Skags are vicious four legged creatures that'll eat anything, including you. I wanna know if you can handle yourself against some of these beasts, so head out there and kill some of them for me. If you're still in one piece afterwards then c'mon back." he said and the quest popped up on my and the others echoes.
As we left the claptrap spoke up "Now that you're done with that follow me and I'll open the gate!" it said before leading us to a literal graveyard with makeshift wooden crosses and tires for headstones.
'Well that's not fucking ominous.' I thought as we followed the bot.
Almost to the gate we heard some engines revving up and getting closer. I drew my gun and the moment the car showed up I put a bullet through the drivers head which for some fucking reason made the whole thing explode. Bandits started climbing over the fence and my new friends perorated them with bullets for their troubles.
"Looks like you got under Nine-Toes' skin. Don't worry, he'll get what's coming to him!" Zed said over the echoes.
Without any other interruptions the claptrap opened the gate and we walked out of the town. The area around Fyrestone was just as barren as the town itself as it was nothing but rocks, dens, desert sand, desert plants, a broken road and a water tower that I was pretty sure didn't have water in it.
"This place is sad as shit. Everything is made of scrap metal and or broken." I say honestly.
"That's Pandora for ya. Folks get by with what we can." Zed said in response to my statement.
"Plenty of bandits though." Brick said with a chuckle.
"Aye, one the few things we've got an abundance of, that and Skags, Rakk and Spider ants." Zed said honestly.
"Hey so nobody freak out but I'm about to do a thing." I said as my tattoos flared up and I grabbed the 5729 units of lifeforce from the bandits we killed. "Ah yeah, that's the good stuff!" I mutter with a grin.
"Explain, NOW!" Lilith said seriously spooked and the rest weren't much different.
"Honestly surprised you didn't notice before now, I too am a siren. The seventh and final one in fact." I said casually.
"But you're a guy, you ARE a guy right?" she asked horribly confused.
"Yup! As for the whole sirens being women thing I can confidently say that was a coincidence and not intentional by the the ones who created the powers. Also coincidentally there was only a single male set of powers made as well, mine. Learnt that when I opened the vault that had them in it." I said honestly.
"You opened a vault!?" they all exclaimed in shock and excitement.
"Two of them actually but yes." I said with a grin "I'll explain everything once we get settled in like I said earlier." I said turning my attention to the five quadruped creatures with vertically split faces that were their mouths and small beady eyes and thick dark armored skin charging us.
I shot three of them and Roland shot the other two. That was good enough for Zed as he called us back after that. He thanked us and gave us a pitiful three hundred and sixty five bucks that wasn't worth splitting five ways. He then gave us another two quests. The first was to fix the fucking med vendor, you know the thing he said he fixes, and the second was to kill some bandits who spied on the town for their leader Nine-Toes.
"I call dibs on killing the bandits!" I said immediately
"Damnit I wanted to kill the bandits!" Brick complained.
"Wanna make it a race to see who kills the most the quickest?" I asked and he grinned viciously.
"You're on!" he yelled and we both bolted out the building towards the area Zed said the bandits were holed up.
"People don't yet trust you. If you are ever to find the vault you'll need the aid of the people. Helping Dr. Zed with his Nine-Toes problem is a good move." The "angel" said in my head as we ran.
Brick and I ignored that as we ran straight to the makeshift camp that had maybe twelve bandits in it. We must have looked terrifying as the one left at the entrance to the camp saw us coming and ran away screaming. I shot him in the back of the head and called over to Brick "ONE!" which REALLY tickled his competitive side. His face turned red as he ran even faster to the point he was actually keeping stride with me, which let me tell you was impressive as shit.-
When we actually got into the camp it was like foxes in a hen house, bloody and one sided. I shot three faces off right away and Brick didn't even bother with using his gun and straight up punched a dude so hard their skull visibly sank in under his fist. Mad respect, that shit was awesome. I picked off another three bandits while Brick broke the faces of two others who had the misfortune to be standing next to each other. We ended up killing the last two simultaneously.
"HA! I win, eight kills to your four!" I called with a grin as I dragged in the 10,725 lifeforce from these bandits.
"I'll win next time!" he swore and I just laughed before taking out a bottle of water and tossing it to him.
"You got blood on your face" I said casually and he nodded and uncapped the bottle before downing half of it and them dumping the rest over his head to wash the blood off since it was fresh.
He tossed the bottle to the side and I didn't say anything as the place was already littered with trash so one more bottle made no difference. I also didn't grab any traits from the bandits because they had nothing worth grabbing, clearly fucking scrubs.
_______________________________________________
Alexander Drake
Lifeforce: 146,964
Integrated Traits: [Gun expertise-Uncommon grade], [Clever mind-Rare grade],[Enhanced senses-Epic grade]X2, [Omega body-Rare grade]x4, [Supreme armored hide-Epic grade]X2, [Bone regeneration-Uncommon grade], [Corrosion resistance-Uncommon grade], [Energy projection-Epic grade]x2, [Superior vitality-Epic grade],[Flame breath-Uncommon grade],[Regeneration-Epic grade], [Disease resistance-Epic grade],[Amphibious lungs-Uncommon grade], [Thermal sensing-Uncommon grade], [Water resistance-Common grade],[Active camouflage-Epic grade], [Eridian engineering expertise-Mythical grade], [Efficient lungs-Rare grade]x2, [Fire resistance-Epic grade], [Elemental body(fire)-Legendary grade], [Shock resistance-Epic grade]X3, [Energetic sustenance(shock)-Epic grade]X2, [Radiation resistance-Epic grade]X3, [Energetic sustenance(radiation)-Epic grade]X2, [True omnivore-Rare grade], [Biometallic bones-Epic grade],[Elemental body(shock)-Rare grade]X2,[Quick thinking-Rare grade], [Hyperflexibility-Rare grade], [Strong circulation-Epic grade], [Minor spatial awareness-Epic grade], [Buzzaxe expertise-Uncommon grade], [Siren(Phaselock)(Altered)-Mythical grade]
Stored traits:
Comments
Christian Jeffress
Thanks for another fun and entertaining chapter. Hope you’re doing well.
