Chapter 50: Thinking Back

Author note: 

Well, folks, I'll be blunt never thought I'd be here. Took over two years and we're finally reaching Borderlands 2. So many times when I was going to drop but thanks to many of you this fanfic still stands. Thank you all to those who managed to stick around for so long. 

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Pov: Alexander Lucius Maximus 

Date: Y3, M11

It's strange how far I've come. How far we've come. From a nameless, half-dead stranger to the emperor of a growing empire. I didn't know anyone when I first arrived here—Pandora, Elpis, these worlds that rejected me. But even in that rejection, I found faces I can never forget. Ralph, Jess, Francis. They were the first to see me as more than a stranger. More than an outcast. When others turned away, they embraced me with a trust I didn't deserve.

Ralph… always with that damn smile, even when everything around us was burning. He trusted me without hesitation. A farmer in a world where men like him don't survive long, but he had faith. Faith in me. I wonder if he ever thought we'd come this far. If he ever imagined that the man he gave his trust to would be sitting here, on the verge of ruling worlds. He didn't live to see it. The raids took him before that. And Jess… sweet Jess. She was tough, stronger than she looked, but I doubt she made it out of that raid alive. I never found her, and that emptiness still lingers.

But Francis. He was the first face I saw in this world when I was half-dead. The first person I met, clinging to some notion of God even as he lay dying. It was absurd then, and it's absurd now, but he handed me his inheritance. A map and a gun, as if that was all he could offer a dying stranger. He never made it, but he believed in something more, even to the end. I don't believe in his God. I've built something far more tangible than faith.

Now look at it. From a village in ruins to an empire of worlds. The Imperium… it didn't just happen. I made it. I bent the chaos of this universe to my will, and I'll continue to do so. If Ralph, Jess, or Francis could see me now, what would they think? Would they be proud, or would they fear what I've become? I don't know. And frankly, I don't care anymore. This is the path I've chosen. The empire I've built will last because I will it to last.

"Alexander."

Jeremiah's voice cuts through my thoughts, pulling me back from the past. The door slides open, and there he stands, loyal as always. There's urgency in his steps, but his face remains calm, composed, as it always is.

"What is it?" I ask, knowing already that it's about the Imperium's progress.

He steps forward. "The expansion is accelerating," he says. "Elpis is secure, and the people are beginning to see you as more than just a leader. They're starting to view you as... irreplaceable."

"Irreplaceable?" I repeat, my voice steady, almost amused. "Nothing is irreplaceable, Jeremiah. Not people, not empires."

But Jeremiah shakes his head. "The Imperium thrives because of you. It exists because of your vision. Without you, it falls apart."

I stand, walking over to the viewport. The world tree stands tall in the distance, its massive branches stretching toward the sky, guarding Pandora beneath it. That tree grew from my will, just like the Imperium. And just like the tree, I made it to endure.

"What happens if I go away?" I ask, though the question is almost rhetorical.

"You won't," Jeremiah says, and there's no doubt in his voice. "You're the foundation. You can't go anywhere."

I turn my gaze to him. "And if I did? What would happen if I were gone tomorrow?"

Jeremiah pauses, considering my words carefully. "My loyalty is to you, Alexander. Not the Imperium. I follow you, not the throne, not the power."

I let his words settle, nodding slowly. It's not surprising, but it's good to hear. "Good," I say, turning back to the stars. "Because unlike you, I am certain of this. I won't fall. The Imperium won't fall. It will endure because I will endure."

The power I've amassed, the empire I've built—none of it is fragile. Not anymore. The world may tremble, enemies may rise, but I am more than any force that dares stand against me. I am more than the sum of my victories, more than the man who came here broken and lost.

I am the Imperium.

And it will last because I say so.

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The call from Tannis buzzed through, cutting into the stillness of my command room. Her voice, strained with excitement, raced faster than the signal carrying it. No greeting, no formality. That was her way. I leaned back, eyes narrowing on the holographic map of Pandora hovering before me. The world I had shaped, and yet, always there were mysteries waiting to unsettle my plans.

"Alexander! You need to hear this!" Tannis' voice was wild, her usual air of obsession dialed up to a fever pitch. "I've been decoding the fragments we found, and I think... no, I know there's a new vault."

I sighed quietly, my fingers tracing the edges of the hologram, watching the energy pulse beneath the world's surface. Pandora had given much to my Imperium, but there was always more it could yield—if handled right.

"Get to the point, Tannis."

She continued without missing a beat. "A vault, hidden deep within Pandora's magnetic fields, something ancient. The messages... they're fragmented, but the pieces all point to the same thing: a warrior—no, something more than a warrior, locked away. It's not just another vault creature."

That got my attention. I turned from the hologram, focusing fully on her words. "Go on."

"The problem is the timeline," she continued, her words tumbling over each other in a chaotic frenzy. "The vault is set to open, but not for another 200 years. It's designed to be locked tight until then, unless—"

"Unless what?" I demanded, my voice cutting through her rambling.

Tannis took a breath, excitement dripping from her tone. "Unless we can break the seal early. Siren energy, Alexander. The messages suggest it could accelerate the process. If we concentrate enough power from Sirens, we could hypothetically open the vault within our lifetimes."

I stared out of the large, reinforced window in my chamber. Below, Pandora's landscape stretched endlessly, the world tree I had planted standing tall, its branches reaching toward the sky like the arms of some god I had forged. Its roots were deep now, touching parts of the planet even I couldn't fully grasp. The vaults, though—there was still so much they hid. Power we had barely scratched the surface of.

"Siren energy?" I mused. "Do you think it's enough?"

"More than enough," she answered quickly. "With the data I've collected, I believe we can do it. We just need the Sirens."

I fell silent, considering her words. Tannis was brilliant, no question. Unstable, perhaps, but undeniably brilliant. She was also prone to pushing theories far past their logical breaking points. But this? This had potential.

"The data isn't enough," I said, my tone a warning. "I need more than a hypothesis, Tannis. Keep working on it, dig deeper. If what you're suggesting is possible, we will need to move fast. But not recklessly."

She hesitated on the other end, her voice softening slightly. "Of course, Alexander. I'll refine the research. But you should start preparing your team now. Time might be running out."

I let her words hang for a moment before responding. "Very well. Keep me updated."

The call ended, and the room plunged into silence once more. A vault. A warrior. Siren energy. The world tree outside seemed to pulse, as if reacting to the possibilities Tannis had just laid out before me.

I tapped the communicator on my desk, sending out a signal. It was answered almost instantly.

"Athena, report."

Athena's voice came through, steady and unwavering, like always. "Commander."

"Tannis believes she's found a new vault," I said. "It's locked, but the timeline is... longer than we'd like. Two hundred years. She thinks Siren energy can break the seal early."

A pause followed. Athena was a strategist by nature, always assessing, always planning the next move. "You believe she's right?"

"Whether she is or not, we can't afford to ignore it. Form a team."

Athena responded without hesitation. "Who do you want on it?"

"Take Salvador, Brick, Mordecai, and... Tina," I said, after a moment's thought. The girl was volatile, but I had trained her in secret for a reason. She had potential. More importantly, she was loyal to me above all else. "Their skills will be useful."

"And what about you?" she asked. "Will you be joining us?"

I leaned back in my chair, gazing at the towering tree outside. "No. I'll remain here. This is your task, Athena. But remember, your goal is to confirm the vault's existence and report back. Don't rush into anything. We need to handle this carefully."

"Understood. I'll make sure the team is ready." Athena's tone remained cool and professional, but I could sense the slight undercurrent of excitement. She thrived in the heat of battle, in the pursuit of difficult tasks. This one would push her to her limits, both as a leader and a warrior.

I cut the call and returned my attention to the map of Pandora. The vault was just one piece of a much larger puzzle. The Imperium had grown strong, its roots as deep as the world tree's, spreading across the planet and beyond. But power like ours always attracted enemies.

With a few taps, I brought up a different display, watching as the hologram shifted to show the expansion of our forces across Pandora and Elpis. Jeremiah's management on Pandora was paying off, but it was Athena who had solidified our control of Elpis. Under her, the outpost had flourished, becoming more than just a moon colony. It had become a second bastion of our power, rooted firmly within the Imperium's grasp.

The recent attack by Vladoff still echoed in the back of my mind. Their assault on Ignis had claimed Xion, one of my most trusted generals. His loss was a blow, but it was not enough to shake the Imperium. If anything, it had served as a reminder that we could not rest. Expansion was not a guarantee of security.

Still, the vault intrigued me. There was something tantalizing about the thought of what lay inside. A 'warrior.' What kind of warrior, though? And what could it mean for us? For Pandora? For the Imperium?

My thoughts drifted to the Sirens. Maya was already under our banner, her power growing under my guidance. And Angel... Angel's journey would be long and far-reaching, but she had already proven herself invaluable. If Tannis was right, if Siren power could truly open the vault, then perhaps there were even greater forces at work here. Forces that I had only begun to tap into.

The world tree pulsed again, a faint hum vibrating through the metal beneath my feet. It seemed to sense the shift in the atmosphere, as if responding to the weight of the decisions being made around it.

The tree had started as nothing more than a sapling, plucked from the wilds of Pandora and altered by my power. I had poured my strength into it, shaping it into a living weapon, a beacon of the Imperium's dominance. Now, it shielded the planet, its energy feeding the force field that protected us from the outside world. But it was more than that. The tree had become an extension of me, its roots reaching deep into the planet, connecting me to Pandora in ways that even the vaults could not.

And now, with the possibility of a new vault on the horizon, its importance had only grown.

I rose from my chair, pacing the length of the room. The tree pulsed again, sending a shiver of energy through the air. It was alive in ways few could understand, responding to my thoughts, my commands. Soon, it would be time to test its true potential. But for now, there were other matters to attend to.

I turned back to the console, bringing up a final report. The forces I had sent to reinforce Pandora were integrating well. Jeremiah had done his part, ensuring the veterans from Pandora were fully settled within the populace. Soon, they would begin their missions in earnest, working to solidify our control over the planet's major settlements.

The Imperium was strong, its foundations unshakable. But there was always more to be done. The vault, whatever secrets it held, would soon be in our grasp. And with it, the future of Pandora—and perhaps the entire galaxy—would belong to us.

I turned back to the window, watching as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the landscape. The world tree stood tall, its branches reaching upward, as if yearning for something just out of reach.

The vault. The warrior. The Imperium. All pieces of a larger puzzle, one that I alone had the power to solve.

"Let's see what you're hiding, Pandora," I whispered to the darkness.

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