Chapter 2: Unfamiliar (1)

So, here I was.

In this wasteland desert.

With no vehicle and no options, I decided to venture out into the dangerous desolate destination that was this Desert.

Did I regret killing those psychos? Yes.

Was it because I cared for their lives? No.

I didn't care for them as a person thus I didn't care who they were.

I did although care about what they knew.

More information was vital to my survival. Now that I knew I was on Pandora I had to know everything there was about this shithole.

I especially needed to know where everything was. A single location doesn't matter if you don't know where everything else is. While it did help it wasn't helping me here.

Following the road from the prison, and I continued to tread forward for hours. My pace didn't stagger the slightest, I felt energetic at all times, not an ounce of fatigue. Damn, was it nice to be Vintorium?

Feeling the sun continue to blaze against my skin I continued my jog. I was currently wearing a grey t-shirt that smelled… Decent from the rest. Over it was DAHL guard armour with my boots being that of a similar fashion.

The gas mask also helped me greatly. I didn't feel like becoming one with the sand. I didn't like sand. It was rough, course and it got everywhere, shit was fucked. Still walking I came in contact with the wildlife.

More accurately a fucked-up dog leech thing. Its mouth opened like a leech with the sides of its mouth opening by three sides. It looks fucked.

<Analysing Creature>

<Mutated Canine>

Let's see if I can dominate it. Circling the thing I pulled out my pistol, only for the thing to bum-rush me.

What the hell?

Pulling the trigger, I ended its life with ease. It didn't take much effort due to it rushing me straight on. It didn't even zig-zag or attempt to strike me down with time, its pure focus was to destroy me.

With my pistol having a flame/explosive attribute I burnt it to an absolute crisp. I left Scorch marks all over its body I did a live cook of the damn thing…

Just how did Francis die again? What the hell could've forced him to that state? The prison guards didn't even seem that threatening... Well, maybe I'm just a tad too strong.

Getting close to the strange dog thing I attempted to syphon its essence only to be rewarded with a measly 30 points. How disappointing. Kicking its dead body, I examined its frame. Feeling the top of its body I found it similar to bone. Odd. Deciding to rip a piece of bone off the beast I left it in my inventory before walking off. That was until I was rudely interrupted by growls.

Turning my head, I found three other dog things.

One stood taller than the rest, its bony scales larger with the scales curling upwards forming spikes. This may be an adult dog thing considering it had two smaller versions of itself next to it. Wait did I just kill its child, now this is interesting.

Well, considering I could fuck it up anytime I pulled a cleaver. Let's see if I can get some companions or at least test my ability to dominate. Circling each other we stood at an impasse. Apparently, these things saw me as a challenger of its territory and not a threat that stood to kill it. How arrogant. Or maybe pistols gave these things PTSD. Who knows.

Rushing the damn dog, I was also bum-rushed by the children. Kicking the first one it flung to the side like a duffel bag. The second jumping to eat my face was instead welcomed with a head butt, knocking it back and leaving a scratch on my forehead.

However, I didn't feel a single tingle as something inside me screamed enjoyment.

Seeing the mother angered I awaited her retaliation.

What are you going to do about it, huh?

Are you going to cry?

Seeing it charge me, I ran it straight. Going against it I felt the push surprising. The initial push felt like a full-throttle slam from a sledgehammer.

Shit was painful.

But a pain to me was temporary, victory was eternal. Pushing back, I felt my will to dominate it grow.

"Submit," I growled my hands pushing its head down. Seeing its attempt to resist me I slammed its' head down to the ground. An expendable asset was all it was. If it couldn't behave It would serve another purpose.

"What will you do? Become my meal or my slave?" I muttered.

"Decide quickly my hands getting are getting a bit twitchy," I threatened my eyes growing ever so purple.

It was weird, I felt my eyes flare as my view became… More purple.

Growling it was eventually subdued, its breath becoming steadier and steadier. Good. That was the way it was supposed to be. Letting go, the children of the beast eventually followed suit. While confused the mother communicated to it.

Telling it to follow me and so I continued my journey before noticing a change in the dog things eyes. It glowed with a purple hue.

It seemed those that I dominated would gain similar traits to myself. In this case my purple eyes.

Deciding on whether I needed the children I decided to test whether their loyalty would follow through.

If they proved satisfactory, I might even keep them around long enough to become a follower.

A loyal follower was always welcomed.

"From now on I will refer to you as my minion. You are nothing more and nothing less. From now on, You will obey my every order. Fail to comply and you will die." I ordered.

Whether the animal could fully understand me didn't matter. As long as it knew that if it did something I didn't like then it would die. While others would pity it, I would beg to differ. The scratch marks on its mouth showed it had no mercy for its previous victims.

If I were to beat evil, then I would have no problem becoming worse. Besides whom defined evil? Losers who preached justice.

Most of them weren't anything they preached. My powers were also unique was the only I could do to dominate others?

Or perhaps there was more to it?

I knew from the Tibbits that I had gained Aetheral manipulation, Cosmic manipulation and spiritual manipulation. Yet I felt like I did neither. Perhaps I needed to train more with my powers and gain more aether.

Still following this road, I came across another pack of dog things… Man, I should really change this up a bit.

Calling these things dog things wasn't productive. Wasn't concise either. Maybe they have a word for it on the internet…

Wait I should've checked the tablet! I mean the ECHO device. Well, time to check it after I abuse these dogs. There was a total of four with one being the pack leader.

"Test your worth Minion," I exclaimed.

Time to see if investing in pets is worth it. Liabilities weren't my thing. Especially if the liabilities were going to drag my resources to the dust. Sometimes a mortar shell did better than a hundred bullets could ever handle. Both were deadly and had their own purposes but still.

Seeing the beast rush forward with its children I sighed. While their strength was adequate their coordination was not. Every time they stepped out of their trash formation the extra dog on the other side would lash out at them.

This led to my bunch losing. How disappointing… It seems my domination over others didn't increase their strength. Or perhaps I required more aether.

The bigger Minion sensing my disappointment lashed out her scream stunning the other four including her children.

Startled they took a step back. This was a mistake. With a second, she had enough time to rip the face off one of the small fucks. Good. Very good. With the boost in morale, My minion and her children tore through the rest.

"Very good… Very Good, indeed," I smiled.

She had proved her worth. Though, that was to be expected from my followers. If they couldn't even do that, what were they to me? If they couldn't even last a battle from another then they would be nothing but a spec of dust.

The fuck am I saying?

What the hell is going on…. Why am I so… Arrogant, rude and cold right now?

I sound like some weird minion overlord, like an edge lord off the web...

It took me a moment of contemplation to realize what I had done just a few minutes ago….

Looking at the beasts I started to have doubts.

'Should I be doing this?'

'Abusing animals and forcing them to fight for me?'

'Am I doing the right thing?'

While good and evil were concepts made by humans… They did teach me one thing.

'Was I doing what I wanted to do or was I doing it because I had to?'

'Was it my choice or the choice that was set out for me?'

This didn't stand right for me.

While Vintorium were proud that shouldn't define me.

It shouldn't be who I was.

If I was going to be a demon it should be of my own volition. 

Looking at the dominated beast I tended to its wounds.

Ordering her to come closer I checked her wounds.

Looking at them she seemed to be already healing at an impeccable rate. Fascinating as it was I needed to do more to ensure they didn't die on our way elsewhere.

However, a few extra patches could increase it.

Mending her wounds, I checked for others and found that she fractured a cheekbone…. Pulling out a red syringe I stared at it.

The only thing that I knew that was naturally red was either blood or flora. There were exceptions but it was obvious from the two what I was going to do.

Analysing I decided that maybe this could heal her face. While injecting her without proper dilution and testing could lead to some possible undesirable aftereffects, she would serve as test subject 1.

Placing my hand over the wounded area I attempted to push the fractured bone near the skull.

If I healed her body and it somehow did heal her bone back in place if the fractured pieces didn't heal properly the bone could potentially end up leading to some internal bleeding.

Well, maybe pushing it in place wasn't the smartest option either but who knows? Hearing her moan in pain from the injection I calmed her down.

"It's alright… It's alright… You'll feel better soon. A minion of mine can't be weak. Especially on the job," I muttered.

Seeing her cheek slightly swell I stopped the injection. With half the syringe gone, I placed it back within my inventory. Rubbing the injected area with some anti-bacterial wipes I bandaged the spot.

Well shit… It seems her body does not like what I gave her… Hopefully, she'll be alright. Seeing her children curl up to her I smiled. Maybe if they didn't look like abominations from Satan's Bumhole then it might've been cute.

Looking at the other pups I also decided to check on them. While I couldn't exactly get close to them, I wanted to examine them. Seeing me get closer they curled further into their mothers' embrace afraid I would abuse them.

Maybe I should've dominated them as well. Getting close to the other beasts' corpses I syphoned some of them with me leaving the largest one to the three. I knew that eating violently degraded meat would serve them no good.

[Aether gained 100]

A good harvest. While not a lot it was better than nothing. Especially since I didn't do much besides watch the beasts kill.

Grabbing two shirts I blanketed the beasts. It was stupid… Yes.

Yet it felt right. I had forced them to become my minions.

My slaves for the slaughter. The best I could do was treat them, right. I was cold, yes, but I would never hope to blind my judgment or my heart. At least I hope so. The future was just as ambiguous as the past.

"Sleep well minions we have work to do tomorrow," I muttered.

Watching them sleep time had unknowingly passed and it had become night. Seeing the moon, I stared at it with ambition. I'll be seeing you next. This universe will be mine for the taking. It wasn't a matter of if, but when. I'll see you soon Elpis.

For some reason, I didn't need to sleep nor the need to eat or drink water.

I didn't feel thirsty or hungry.

I just felt…

Ambition

Staying awake I watched over the three beasts.

No one or thing was going to touch them.

Not on my watch.

But I got bored, seriously bored and so I scattered the ECHO net.

While I could train, I needed to know more. More about this world, more about this galaxy and soon universe. So checking the 'ECHO net' I decided to search through it for Pandora. My findings are exactly as I thought they were going to be. A large heap of hate and an abundance of comments desecrating the once humble and vacation planet that was Pandora.

'Pandora, a shit hole of a planet' is the very first line of text that I saw.

Apparently from these forums, they were making fun of any of the sane Pandorains who were stuck here and the odd few that decided to visit or live willingly. Checking the wiki on the planet I checked its flora and Fauna.

The beasts I was referring to as 'fucked dog things' were Skags.

Interesting choice of a name though acceptable, it made sense.

Skag… what a perfect way to call them.

Checking the other fauna, I was impressed. Bullymongs, Rakks, Rakk Hives, Varkids, sandworms, and Thrashers.

There were more but these were the apparent hard hitters of the bunch. Each one had a description near their name.

Bullymongs were four-armed steroid-induced monkeys with arms bigger than their body and legs combined, they were on average 300cm in height…

That was the average? Yikes.

Rakks were a large bat-like creature that spanned taller than the average male and was 200cm.

Just why did these things exist?

What kind of struggles did these creatures have to go through for these things to evolve this way? Varkids… Large insectoids that flew fast and bred fast.

The fact they didn't dominate Pandora was due to their lifespan and other odd creatures that roamed about. Gross. Just gross.

They had cocoons that they emerged from that made them evolve into their adult counterparts… Gross just imagine the gunk that these things flung out, absolutely disgusting.

Rakk hives though were just as bad. Big enormous elephant things, these were mammals(Yes mammals) that supposedly housed the Rakks…

Yeah, that's a huge nope.

According to the wiki, these things were in a symbiotic relationship with the Rakks. The Rakks acted as scavengers that helped feed the Rakk Hive while the Rakk Hive acted as its home and protection for the Rakk.

The Rack Hive housed the Rakk's in its large saggy pores… They also had a vagina for a face. Heh. Thrashers were just squids that swam through the earth with Sandworms the vice versa.

What topped my study of all this was that they all had evolved versions of themselves. Yes, every animal on this planet had versions of themselves that were stronger in comparison to their existing counterpart.

They nicknamed it 'Badasses'. They were stronger, faster and smarter. The things on this planet don't evolve normally…

The biotic life in this apparent world undergoes rapid evolution through biomass and constant pressure. The more they endured and digested from younglings, the stronger they became when they turned into an adult.

From here they would become Badasses. On the rare occasion they did evolve early they became a Super badass. On some rare occasions as well some humans and others could also evolve. Pretty cool if you ask me. If I could evolve my minions' children, they could become superweapons. Weapons that would help me rule this universe. Oh, this is going to be good. However, they also grew in size with every evolution or metamorphosis to be precise.

How difficult.

While bigger was sometimes better, bigger meant a bigger target. A sleek and more agile build needed to be applied here. While strength meant everything, speed did too. You can't hit a target you can't touch.

With the increasing calibre of firearms, I had a feeling being bigger and stronger meant 'please kill me faster and scavenge my body parts'. Seeing the bounties for rare animals I knew that one day my Minions would be posted here. It was to be expected. If I were to rule the world then I was going to be feared by all.

Bulk the Bad Boy Bullymong bounty is $250'000, Rasheed the Roaring Rakk bounty is $100'000, Tetramorphous the Invincible bounty is $10'000'000, Vernious the Invincible bounty is $8'000'000, Crawmerax bounty is $8'000'000 and Orion the Destroyer $16'000'000.

Damn, these were some high bounties and those were just ones that caught my eye. The rest were under $80'000. To note further these bounties were only for Pandora I hadn't even checked the other planets. Though seeing how animals had bounties I wondered how large the human bounties were… Sorting to humans I decided to see who our most wanted was.

Bounty Board Humanoid - Humans

Lilith: $1'000'000'000

Wanted DEAD or ALIVE by Atlas corporation

Crimes:

Witchcraft, murder, theft, siren

Siren? Now, this needs some investigating. What the fuck was a siren? Was being a siren that much of a crime? What did that even mean…

Salvador: $99'000'000

Wanted DEAD by everyone

Crimes:

Robbery, arson, destruction of property, trespassing, cannibalism, public indecency, and profanity, etc

Holy smokes… This guy…. How the hell did he have less of a bounty? This guy was the incarnation of crime dammit! Look at that list! My goodness.

This earned me a chuckle though. The guy was doing everything besides Sexual assault.

Cannibalism? Hahahaha man, I hope this guy just pissed off a high-ranking officer for some corporation and didn't commit them.

Though Salvador… Hmm did people speak a different language throughout the other planets? Hopefully not I didn't want to learn a whole new dialect… Well, I guess I just need to check that another time.

Mordecai: $1'000'000

Wanted DEAD or ALIVE by Atlas corporation

Crimes:

Murder, trespassing, poaching endangered species

Pyro Pete: $89'8080'808

Wanted DEAD by Hyperion Corporation

Crimes:

Theft, Arson, Destruction of government property, Trespassing

Brick: $9'999'999

Wanted DEAD by Atlas corporation

Crimes:

Murder, Trespassing, Kidnapping

Jordan Altworth: $9'000'000

Wanted DEAD or ALIVE by Atlas corporation

Crimes:

Terrorism, murder, theft, Assassination

Josh Jeffs: $1'000'000'000

Wanted ALIVE by The Jakobs corporation

Crimes:

Terrorism

Zero: $22'000'000'000

Wanted DEAD or ALIVE etc

Crimes:

Political assassination

Francis Octavius: $100'000'000'000 

Wanted ALIVE by Dahl corporation

Crimes:

Public execution of an executive, Murder, Trespassing, Theft

Now that was shocking… A bounty that was even higher than that of a siren… It seems whoever wanted Francis wanted him.

Though Public execution of an executive? No wonder the poor guy was wasted. A whole galactic corporation was out to get him. However, I had a feeling that wasn't all that he wanted.

They didn't want him dead… They wanted him alive… Seeing the discontinued tag next to his bounty I had a feeling they found his corpse. Hopefully, they weren't on to me. The last thing I wanted was for a galactic empire to be on my ass.

Attempting to search for a thread about Francis I was met with blockage and a warning from the tablet. It stated that if I went into the thread I would be tracked by the corpo's looking for him. It seems Francis's tablet wasn't as simple as I once thought.

Hearing vehicles drive by I saw Psychos. Hearing their screams of laughter and joy they drove right past us. Luckily, I hadn't lighted a fire or stationed our camp right next to the road. I didn't need to feel the heat. The cold never bothered me anyway.

Watching them drive past they seemed to head to the prison. Hundreds of them wavering and boasting insanity. What in the hell was this… Watching them drive by I sighed in relief. We were safe.

I wasn't stupid enough to attack a group of psychos. Especially ones that were on good terms with each other. Baron Flynt's case was lucky. My spur of pride had led to their downfall.

For I was their doom.

-

"Hey, there sweety. You already know who it is… Sargent reporting for duty. We've entered the prison facility… Or so I believe, this place looks more like a bandit house than anything. The place looks decayed," A soldier reported. Wearing Dahl armour, he wore dark emerald overalls with Dahl armour covering his entire body. The helmet he wore had Thermo vision with enhanced magnifiers pre-installed. He was equipped with a high-powered shield and High calibre Dahl assault rifle which shot 50 call bullets in a burst, attached to it was an EoTech with Magnifier combo sight, laser sight, flashlight, drum mag, commando grip and flash muzzle.

"You were a sergeant. We've already been through this… No flirting over the comms especially since they've started recording our convo's…" A woman whispered.

"What have you found?" She questioned.

"Nothing yet, just corpses, Mam. Heaps of corpses..." The soldier responded, his hands brushing over the many dead bodies, confused yet disturbed he continued his search.

"I ain't seen anything like this since the last corpo war…" Axton muttered.

"Damn, it seems whoever got to them first was a siren and a ruthless one at that," He revealed.

"Don't tell me Atlas took our key." The woman was exasperated.

"I don't believe so… The attack here seemed… Unprofessional… The expressions on their faces show anger and surprise. They seemed to have infighting here. Guard against Psycho, potential prison riot possible, I don't believe that's what happened though. The cells already seemed too fragile to contain any prisoner." The soldier explained as he darted from position to position, his hand glossing over the many corpses. His eyes scanned the construction of the site to the positions of the bodies.

"What do you mean soldier?" The female questioned, her voice becoming silent to the soldiers' answers.

"Just a hunch, besides Commander Steele, wouldn't be this sloppy, we've seen her work." He replied.

"Not this rubbish again…." She sighed, the literal sound of her chair moving backwards being heard.

"Trust me... I got a feeling," He reassured.

"Just like that time you strapped C4 to a bandit and forced him to explode right next to the hostage? Yeah, this is a dead-end. Return back to the point Axton, we're leaving," She replied.

"Come on sweety that was one mistake. Besides, we got the perp, didn't we?" He confirmed.

"One mistake next to the million others. You comprised the mission back then. Our mission was to secure the hostage, not kill the guards! You killed the guards and the hostage!" She spat.

"Bsssh, it was an amazing idea. He was a criminal anyway," He replied.

"That criminal was an ex-Dahl soldier holding confidential evidence. You comprised that. Remember this is your last chance. If you fail this, even I can't save your ass," She reprehended.

"Trust me when this is all over, we're totally gonna make out. Axton out," He teased.

"AXTON YOU BETTER NO-," The female replied angrily before being cut off, her voice muted.

"Heh," He snickered.

"Alright, boy once we finish this, all rounds on me! So, get to it." He cheered.

"Yes sir!" They replied examining the bodies, with more of them scattering around to find more information.

"Sir you might want to see this," A soldier explained.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Your hunch might be right…" The soldier explained leading Axton and two others to Flynt's stage.

When they arrived they were greeted with the figure of a strange man. Wearing an armoured grey jacket, the man stood at 180cm (5 ft'11). The man had a slim frame with greying hair. Carrying a DAHL pistol in one hand he carried a bottle of whisky in the other.

"Who are you?" Axton asked, his hand dropping a box to the floor releasing a turret. Aiming his dahl rifle, he awaited his response.

"Can't leave a lad to grieve can yah?" The man replied snickering.

"Grieve?" Axton asked confused.

"This ugly corpse right here's me, brother. Yes I know, I'm the better looking one. Don't blame him he was born that way. Give me some space will yah?" The unknown man explained drizzling whiskey over the defecated corpse.

"Do you know what happened here," Axton asked his hands still aiming towards the unknown figure.

"Who knows but have you tried asking him!" The man questioned, his hand pointing behind them. Turning around they found no one. Not even a sign of movement.

"Don't play tricks with me…" Axton replied only for him to notice that the man disappeared.

"Well, I'll be damned…" Axton muttered sighing. Turning his comms back on he was greeted with the sudden shout of his commanding officer.

"YOU LISTEN HERE MAGGOT, DON'T YOU DARE MUTE ME AGAIN OR ELSE I'LL COME THERE AND DRAG YOUR SORRY ASS BACK TO TITAN AND PERSONALLY SHOVE MY FOOT DOWN YOUR ASs!" She Barked leaving Axton to freeze.

"Dammit, Sarah my ears for Christ's sake!" He retorted.

"DON'T YOU DARE ARGUE WITH ME. YOU JUST LOST A POTENTIAL LEAD YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO TALK BACK!" She screamed before being muted again. The other soldiers staring at him started to snicker.

"Bahahaha! Axton's sleeping on the floor, tonight boys." A soldier cackled his hand slapping the back of Axton.

"Try not to get her angry so often, would hate to see her leave you sleeping on the deck tonight," Another teased.

"Sheesh Deck? He's sleeping on the toilet." Another joked.

"Enough, let's get back to business boys. Besides, I wasn't joking about the drinks, but seeing as everyone does-," Axton muttered his hands by hips as he looked down.

"SIR, YES SIR!" They all replied as they continued to search.

"Alright, you ready to hear me out?" Axton stated his comms was back online again.

"…"

"Please don't tell me you're giving me the silent treatment…" Axton sighed.

"…"

"Look… I'm sorry okay? The jobs finally getting to me. You know what will happen if I screw up. They'll have me on the chopping block. I need this. Please…" Axton pleaded.

"Is there anything I can do for your forgiveness?" He asked.

"You've got to do that thing I like tonight." She ordered.

"Really? Is there any other way," Axton asked.

"It's the only way maggot, now get back to work!" She demanded.

"Dammit…" He replied. Closing his eyes he shook his head.

'Tonight's gonna be a pain in the ass…' He thought.

"So… Who was that?" Axton finally asked.

"That was Zane Flynt, brother of Captain Flynt and Baron Flynt," Sarah revealed.

"Well, I'll be damned, Zane Flynt. The Merc with a mouth. Not bad, though I wonder if he knew anything about this place." Axton queried.

"Highly doubtful, if the man knew, I no doubt believe he wouldn't stand by and leave his brother to die," She explained.

"What I want to know is how he knew before us. We basically tracked Francis here through his arm…" She revealed.

"I'm guessing that's Baron Flynt then…" Axton guessed.

"What gave it away?" Sarah asked.

"Looked at a few records about Pandora before we came. Reports said he was lanky… His corpse basically made him look like a twig," He replied.

"I'm picking up some radio signals from your 6… Get ready," Sarah alerted.

"Boy's we've got some Tango's coming from the south. Get prepared this might get messy," Axton alerted causing his men to climb vantage points.

"HOLLY SWEET BALLS! SOMEONE ATTACKED OUR MEAT BICYCLES. WHAT IS GOING ON!" A Psycho screamed.

"Bandits… Hold your shots... Make sure to block off any exit. We're going to have a friendly chat with the locals." Axton ordered. Seeing them all enter the main square near Baron Flynt's spot, they hailed fire.

Axton's turret deployed and launched a full array of bullets among the unassuming bandits some explosive missiles putting them out of their misery. Caught off guard they were instantly slaughtered from every side. The ones who tried escaping were cut off, their lives cut short by the DAHL soldiers who travelled sneakily at the back.

"Make sure to keep one of em alive… Let's find out if they know anything," Axton ordered. Finishing the siege off they were left with an unusually muscular man his bodily proportions off.

"What's your name buddy?" Axton asked, much to the dismay of his hostage who only looked down. His voice was ever so silent.

"Look I get it you're stunned by my beauty. Get talking or else," Axton threatened the barrel of his rifle facing the crotch of the hostage.

"Hmph, do your worst," The hostage spat, the spit landing on Axton's shoe.

"Oh, you are so done bud," Axton mused as he punched the man in the stomach. Coughing the prisoned body crunched. Being held up by the other soldiers he was forced to stand.

"I'll ask you again what's your name," Axton continued.

"I think you got some hearing problems… I ain't going to say… Guhh," He groaned, Axton, this time punching his face.

"Wrong answer," Axton replied.

"Now what do you know about what happened here?" Axton questioned realizing that the man wasn't going to answer his questions.

"Nothing," He replied. Axton still hoping for a lead decided to cage him.

"Lock him up. He'll talk one way or another," Axton answered.

"Now where were we… Ah! Yes, missing key…" He stammered, his still mind wondering for an answer.

"Look Axton we have to get going this isn't going to lead us anywhere. Let's leave. This is a dead end." Sarah concluded.

"Hmm, no trust me. This will be awesome you just gotta trust me." He reassured.

"Suit yourself but don't expect me to help you. You've got the resources to do it yourself. You aren't going to drag me down with you," She stammered.

"Fine, we'll head back." He replied sighing.

"Damn it... Seems we have a cold case we'll be heading back home now. Let's hurry before we get ambushed by any Atlas soldiers. We're in their territory after all. Don't want to deal with any of those crimson lances," Axton sighed.

"Ah shucks no drinks tonight boss?" A soldier complained.

"I'm afraid so. Not until we get our buddy to talk… Until then, we've got a dead-end," He grumbled.

-

"Good your body healed," I muttered examining her face. Still looked fucked but that was from an aesthetic perspective, through a biologist's perspective it seemed like it was back to normal. I had done some continued study over the net and gained some basic knowledge of biology. Well, the biology of this universe.

Her cheek had healed and luckily there were no negative side effects… Well except that she grew a foot higher with her back growing sturdier and larger with her damn spikes getting longer. Damn it. Get stronger! Not bigger! How do I forcibly evolve the density of their skin and muscles, an increase in size would only do so much.

"Let's get moving," I ordered.

Continuing our travels, we came across a town… A strange town. Everyone seemed offbeat. Almost still as they stared at me. I didn't like that. Why the fuck were you staring at me so much? Don't just stare at me you fucks.

"Aye, kid! Keep your skags out of town. We don't want any feral fucks near us," He exclaimed.

"Mind your tone…" I replied as I held back my minion and her children.

"The only thing stopping these skags from you is me. So, mind your manners," I continued.

"Tch, quite the attitude for a child. Just get whatever you need and leave. We don't like outsiders like yourself," He blurted.

"Hmph, if it weren't for the fact, I didn't want to waste ammo I would've just shot the place up," I muttered.

The town seemed reminiscent of old western towns with a tavern and all. Making my way to a tavern I was greeted with more glares. Though luckily a female came to greet me. Though she seemed to be around my age.

"What are you doing out here by yourself?" She asked confused, weariness in her eyes. Being pushed aside another female greeted me. She looked like a teenager and yet was really tiny. Like she was around my height… Yikes.

"Excuse her rude behaviour, sir, what would you like to eat?" The other female asked.

"Nothing to munch on I just need A map and compass," I replied before staring back at my minions. Seeing her waiting for me outside the town I smiled. Good girl.

"Now that I think about it, I'll grab some dried meat as well," I corrected.

"Those your pets?" The first female asked.

"Indeed, a bit rowdy but it is what it is," I answered.

"They look cute, my name is Charlotte by the way," She greeted.

"Charlotte well it's nice to meet you. My name is Alexander," I answered.

"Alexander? What a unique name. Never heard of it before what does It mean?" She asked, curiosity in her eyes as she stared at me.

"Of course, you wouldn't know. You're a monkey who's been caged on this fuck hole of a planet for your entire life," I thought as I stared her down. Luckily, she didn't catch my gaze of disgust due to my gas mask.

"It means Emperor," I replied.

"Now?" She asked shocked.

"Of course," I lied.

To be honest I have no idea what Alexander meant.

"What's with the gas mask though?" She questioned. Damn, little kids were annoying asking too many questions while seeming innocent.

"Breathing problems. Living through sandstorms doesn't exactly allow you to breathe properly," I lied again… It almost felt too easy to trick this girl, but something was really pissing me off about her and I didn't know why.

"Charlotte what did I say about talking to strangers," A lady shouted.

"See, I told you, Mom," The girl from earlier answered.

"Why did you have to tell Mom Jesse!" Charlotte screeched.

"I am so sorry about this," The mother answered pulling her away.

"But mom!" She cried.

"No buts! You heard me the first time. Now move along." She reprehended.

"Before we begin, I am going to let you know that the total price of a map and compass it comes to a total of $200," Jesse explained. Hearing that I was shocked until I realised that this world was fucked in the ass, of course, these things were going to cost a lot. However, it still didn't give me a lot to base the worth of the currency.

"How much for some meat?" I asked.

"Depends on how much you want and what you want." She explained.

"What type of meat do you have?" I asked.

"Seasoned dried Rakk meat 1kg for $20 an-,"

"I'll take it," I replied handing her $250. Grabbing the map, compass and meat I placed them within my core.

"Keep the change," I replied.

"You have an ISD?" Charlotte exasperated shocked. Shit rookie mistake. I activated my powers in front of someone. Though the thought of getting one still popped into my mind, just what was an ISD?

"Of course, I have an ISG," I replied sheepishly.

"How? Don't those like… Cost heaps," She responded, amazed at what I 'had'.

"Like how much?" I asked. Finally, if she answered this maybe she could prove some worth.

"Like heaps," She replied causing me to facepalm. Now?

"Anyway, what are you going to do now?" Charlotte asked only to be hit over the head by her sister.

"Stop being rude you dimwit," Jesse snapped. Now that was just mean. She looked to be twelve, no need to be so brutal.

"Don't worry, I don't mind. But to answer your question I don't know." I answered. Honestly, it was true. While world domination was in my mind the steps to do it weren't there.

"Now do you know if there's any way to travel around here besides driving? Like a bus or something?" I asked. While vehicles were apparent, I didn't know how to drive.

"Don't know how to drive?" An old man snickered, catching me off guard. How the hell did he know that?

"You're a little shit that came from out of nowhere. You're either a nomad or some bandit. If you knew how to drive you would've rocked up in a vehicle, not by foot." He revealed.

"And who are you?" I asked my hands clenching as if wanting to break his jaw across the pavement. The man wore circular shades, a set of gloves and overalls.

"Your daddy." He snickered almost causing me to flinch. This bitch.

"I'm just joking, kid." He snickered. Yeah, you better punk… Else that smile might be your last.

"You young ones are too easy to make fun of. Can't even take a joke."

"I'm the mechanic of this town. I deal with fixing cars and selling em'. Mostly fixing em' nowadays since you can Digistruct them." He revealed.

"Digistruct?" I asked confused. Digistruct…. Digitally construct? What the fuck was that…

"Tsk, you really are dumb aren't cha?" He teased.

Man, this guy was pissing me off.

"Di-gi-struct, bah who am I kidding? You've probably lived under a rock this whole time…Digistruct is when something is digitally constructed," He explained.

"No kidding…" I replied dumbfounded. 

"Because of course, you knew what that meant, didn't you, you smart arse." He replied smiling.

"Bah, what can I say I'm,"

"A dumb fuck yeah I know," He interrupted.

"You-,"

"Yes, I know I'm amazing don't have to tell me," He responded. What a headache.

"Tch what do you want old man," I answered.

"Nothing just came to see who was causing a ruckus in our town. Seems you're nothing special," He replied eyeing me up and down before pausing at my chest.

"What's a kid like you wearing DAHL armour?" He asked.

"None of your business," I stated.

"Hmm you're right but still you might wanna be careful, kid. Not many people like DAHL after what they did." He responded.

"What did they do?" I asked.

"None of your business," He cracked.

"Fair enough," I admitted before scratching my head.

"Say, I never got your name," I asked.

"The name's Raphael Buzzlebuck, but you can call me Ralph," He revealed, his hand going out for a shake. Staring at the man I chuckled.

After being a dickhead, do you still want to act nice?

Well, it's not like you meant it anyway, would've had his head on a pike. 

"The name's Alexander. Just Alexander," I revealed, my hand accepting his shake. Feeling his hand attempt to be firm I chuckled.

You messed with the wrong kid, old man.

"OUCH, OUCH I get it. Give a poor old man some slack," He groaned in pain. Yeah, that's what you get for talking all that shit. Enjoy a bruised hand.

"Some grip you got there, kid. ," He muttered as he attempted to shake the pain to no avail.

"What can I say, I had to be strong enough to push the rock away. Besides you're getting too old, your bones are probably already giving up on you. The tombstones calling out for you Oldman," I chuckled leaving the man smiling back.

"Not bad kid, not bad indeed. you aren't as half bad as I first thought," He smiled.

"You either," I replied smiling. Though you're still a dick head in my book.

"Aye look, it's not every day a stranger comes around here. If I were you, I would leave…" He stated.

"Why's that?" I queried.

"That's why," He answered pointing his hand outside. Turning my attention, I saw armed men leave their armoured vehicles. These vehicles were similar to pick-up trucks with the passenger seats replaced with a "gunner seat" The gunner seat weapon varied from a minigun to a damn rocket launcher.

"Come out grinders! We're here for our tax!" A man screamed. He wore metal shoulder pads and metal knee pads with track pants. Tattooed on his body were blood-red markings. Nearly all of them had these red sketches.

"Fucking Blood shots…" Ralph muttered. Pulling a cap over his head he walked towards them, anger in his eyes. Seeing his brows furrow he walked on with determination and Indescribable hate for the men before him. So, he can be serious. Who would have thought?

"What the fuck are you doing here? I thought your boss told us that was our last payment!" Ralph argued.

"Shut the fuck up, Oldman. The boss gets what the boss wants. The boss said he wanted $1000 and 10 litres of liquor. Get us what we want or else," He threatened, his boys jumping into the back of their vehicles and aiming their weapons towards us.

Seeing Ralph clench his hands he turned his head down, defeated, his eyes brimming with pain and dread. How weak. For a man that spoke so much shit, you backed out.

"That's what I thought." He replied.

"Now… does anyone have any more complaints? Cause if you do… I'll end yah," He explained as he grabbed a shotgun out of nowhere.

Interesting. How very interesting.

Seeing his side, he also fashioned himself with a shield. Scanning all of them I found that they all had a shield. Checking the populace here they also seemed to have a shield.

Was having a shield that common?

Or was that just a Pandorian thing?

Seeing a female come out with some bills and liquor I sighed. I could save them…

But what would I gain? I hadn't known them for long and I was going to leave anyway.

Why waste the effort on a lost cause?

"This isn't enough bitch I said 1000 dollars. Not 800. And what's with this cheap shit?" He spat slapping the poor girl's face to the side. How pitiful.

"This isn't right! You can't just do that! We already gave you what we have. It's not enough you take my wife what more do you want!" Ralph screamed.

"Tsk shut up old man! Do you want to die?" He asked his revolver aiming towards Ralph who stared coldly back.

"Tch, if you don't get more fucking money, I'm going to blow this shit all up! I'm going to count to ten and if I don't fucking get what I want I'm going to go crazy!" He exclaimed his boys now placing their hands on the trigger awaiting the order to fire.

"Shit," A person swore before the townspeople rushed to find more cash.

"Sir, please save us. I'll give you anything… Please," Jesse's sister pleaded her eyes about to burst into tears. Ha! How pitiful.

"Now why should I?" I asked my head turning to her. I wasn't some sort of saviour or a child of god.

"Because it's the right thing to do?" She begged.

What a joke.

"What will you be willing to trade for my $200?" I questioned, my eyes flaring as I stared at her. Seeing her freeze, I knew that I won. You have nothing. Not a single peep of shit could make me reconsider. You are just as selfish as every person in this world.

"My…. Life," She muttered causing me to freeze. Hearing her I grabbed a pistol from my core and aimed at her head causing everyone in the vicinity to freeze. Hmph, how true are you to your words?

"I knew this fucker was bad news!" One spouted.

"Fuck, drop your weapon kid!" Another shouted.

Staring coldly at her eyes, she never wavered from mine.

Even with the mask, she stared straight on. Pulling the trigger, she closed her eyes accepting her fate only to realise that she was still alive.

You've proved your worth even if it's minuscule.

"Fine," I voiced dropping the cash. For a girl she had the biggest balls around. 

I had to admit…

'She really was willing to sacrifice her life for two hundred dollars?'

That was a feat worth respecting, though to sacrifice yourself for just a town?

Disgusting

"Here, go on. Save your town," I voiced, dropping the money onto the floor. 

"Thank you," She whispered a bright smile engraved on her face.

Watching her frantically pick up the cash she ran towards the bandits' cash in hand.

"Did you have to do that kid?" Her mother asked.

"Should be thankful I gave her money at all," I replied.

In this world, it was either "plata o plomo"

What else could she possibly give me? Money.

Don't fool me.

The best she could give me was her body and that was something that seemed more like a liability than anything else.

What would a live sacrifice even give? One hundred aether?

Now that I think about it…

One hundred aether didn't sound too bad.

"So, you did have more money… Why didn't you just pay us with that body of yours," The bandit snickered as he bit his lip.

The thought of ravaging the young lady repulsed me greatly, was every fuckwit in this world somehow twisted?

"I would love to have my way with you," He continued, grabbing her hand and pulling her in, licking her neck, his foul musk finding its way to my nostrils. 

"You know, you don't just have to serve others with food, you can serve me with your mouth." He smiled his hands reaching her thighs.

"That's enough!" Ralph shouted shooting the ground near the bloodshot. Frightening the bandit, he let her go.

"Hmph, lucky the boss still wants you around Ralph else you would've been dead a long time ago," He spat.

"See you next month," He smiled, entering his vehicle.

Blowing a kiss to Jesse he then drove away, his comrades following suit.

"You alright Jesse?" Ralph asked, seeing her eyes dart away he clenched his arms in disgust.

'Was life precious? I don't know.

What did it mean to be good?

Did I do the right thing for myself?

Should I have tested her?

Should I have given her that money?

Regardless of this world's needs, I should remain true to myself.

In this world, there are only the useful and useless

I determine this world truth. This world shall live by my rule.'

Turning to face to see the departing figures of the bloodshot I imagined their hideout, their bodies soon to be devoured.

Would I unlock a new superpower? 

Turning to face the townsfolk I sighed disappointed. They were all too skinny, their lives would mean null to my growth. While minuscule the effort would be too great in contrast to the payoff.

High risk, low reward. 

"Now to get a way of transport," I declared as I made my way towards Ralph.

"So, Ralph." I proclaimed startling Ralph who still had his eyes locked in the Blood Shots' direction.

"What is it, kid?" He asked.

"You're a mechanic, right?" I asked.

Seemingly confused at my words he splurted, "You got brain damage kid?" 

"Quite the foul mouth for an oldie. No. I don't have brain damage. I just wanted to ask, can you teach me to drive?"

"It's going to cost you, kid," Ralph answered.

"How much." 

"I ain't talking about money, kid," He answered, hearing this I rolled my eyes.

"Then what? Don't tell me you're…" I blushed, covering my privates.

Ralph hearing my retort was left dazed.

"No! Y-y-y-you don't be so twisted! Get your mind out of the gutter!" He stammered.

"Heh, now tell me, what," I responded.

"You're pretty strange for a kid you know that? All I want you to do is help this town. This town needs someone. It needs a hero." He responded.

"Well, ain't that a bitch," I muttered.

Hero? Too much work, little pay. 

"Aint you a hero, eh?" Ralph probed.

"I ain't no hero Ralph, I never will. It ain't in my nature," I replied.

"Nature? Nature isn't all there is to life. If nature was the only thing that controlled us I would've murdered those bandits with my life on the line. But I got people, people I need to help. So I can't afford to be foolish," He replied, his eyes closed as he reminisced.

"Being a hero costs a lot you know. Pay me well and I might consider. Driving lessons I can always figure out given time. You're asking me to risk my life here." 

"Does it cost to do the right thing?"

"Don't be confused. Transactions happen all the time. I'm just wondering if you're willing to fork over the right amount" 

Smiling he seemed to grasp for a pack of cigarettes, "I guess a kid like you has a lot to learn, heh." 

"Say, I ain't never seen a kid travelling alone much less one that has skags for pets."

"I'm unique."

"Unique is a shallow word for you."

"I'll give you parts and teach you how to weld one of the suckers up. It'll keep you busy, give you a reason to stick around." Ralph offered. 

"Fine, I'll stick around." I accepted.

"You can't trick me, kid… You're a hero. No matter how much you try to hide it," Ralph thought before shaking his head.

"Don't try and stick labels on me old man." 

I only smiled upon hearing his words, hero?

There are no heroes in this world, only those with interests and goals.

Whether the two meshed was up to him and him only.