ƒεεl iτ [[Kirschrotes Blut x SippieKup]]

[SippieKup]

“So…you want to hear a story, eh? One about treasure hunters? Haha,“ the fat Hispanic man driving the bus laughed, “have I got a story for you. Pandora…This is our home. But make no mistake- this is not a planet of peace and love. They say it’s a wasteland; that its dangerous; that only a fool would search for something of value here. Then perhaps I am a fool. But do not be fooled by what Pandora appears to be. There was a legend…many people tell it. The legend of the Vault.

My father would always go on about the Vault; even with his dying breath. Advanced alien technology, infinite wealth, fame, power, women. So you can understand why some little kiddos who hear the stories grow up to become Vault hunters. Well, I have a story you may not believe. But I tell you it is true. The legend of the Vault is real! And it is here on Pandora. And a…let’s call her a “guardian angel” appeared to guide the Vault hunters to their prize. The tale begins right here on Pandora, with the brave Vault Hunters, the guardian angel and most importantly, me.” The fat man finished his story with a prideful flourish, and then fell silent.

Hazel Annatto rolled her eyes and put the earphones of her musical device into her ears, effectively drowning out the sounds of bus and the people on it. She simply stared out of the dust covered window, watching the barren landscape go by and allowed her thoughts to wander. The bus bumped particularly hard; bringing Hazel out of her reverie and drawing her attention back to the world around her. As there was nothing to look at she lost interest in a matter of seconds. She sighed restlessly and rested her elbow on the barely there sill of the window.

Obviously her music wasn’t loud enough because a few moments later she heard the fat guy’s irritating voice once again. “All right back there, time to wake up. It’s a beautiful day full of opportunity!” Hazel sat up straighter in her seat and looked around. Other people were waking up, having fallen asleep with nothing better to do. Some were standing up and stretching their arms over their heads. Others were gathering their belongings and getting ready to carry them off the bus. Hazel wondered how many of them were Vault hunters and how many were stuck on this rock for an entirely different reason. More importantly, she wondered how many would live to reach their goals. The thought sent chills up and down her spine, which was made even more uncomfortable by the unbelievable heat. “Next stop: Fyrestone Depot. Time to gather up your stuff. Who’s getting off the bus?”

Hazel gasped loudly when the words, “Don’t be alarmed.” sounded in her ears. A beautiful woman appeared before her eyes, or at least her head did. Hazel swallowed nervously and sat back in her seat when the lady said, “I need you to stay calm and don’t let on that anyone is talking to you.” Hazel looked from left to right, but the image never left her. “Start making your way off the bus. You don’t have any reason to trust me. But I need you to believe that I’m here to guide you- I’m here to help you find what it is that you seek. In a moment you’ll be greeted by a funny little robot. Do everything he says. You’ll know what I mean when happens. I’ll contact you again soon.” Hazel jumped up so fast that her musical device fell to the floor. She scrambled to pick it up before someone else stepped on it. Then she gathered her bag and headed off the bus, taking one last look at the funny Hispanic guy just in case she never saw his face again.

“Well, we’re here. Don’t worry about saying goodbye. I’m sure we’ll be doing this all again soon enough. Haha…get off my bus.” He finished as he tipped his chin at the doors. Hazel furrowed her brows slightly before turning to face the open doors and going down the three steps until she was standing on the ground. She turned around and looked up at the luggage on top of the blue bus.

Hazel took a deep breath, trying to control her nerves as the bus drove away. Her nervousness was quickly replaced with wonder and curiosity when her eyes fell on the yellow and white robot with a single wheel and eye across the street waving at the bus as it disappeared. She looked at the man standing beside her, wondering if he knew what the hell it was. She took a couple of steps back as it rolled across the street and stopped in front of them.

“Welcome to Fyrestone! I am CL4P-TP, you may call me by my locally designated name, ‘Claptrap’. Before continuing please accept this ECHO communication device and heads-up display provided free of charge by the Dahl corporation!” The robot exclaimed enthusiastically as he pulled out two small machines that resembled recorders and handed one to her and the slightly creepy guy beside her. She looked at the screen, one smoothly arched eyebrow raised. There was a red health bar in the left corner, a weapons display bar in the right corner with the number of bullets left in her clip in it. How’d it know, she had no clue, but it was displayed right there. There was a thin fragmented line with all the directions displayed on it that swayed when she turned from left to right, and a thicker fragmented line below that that simply read ‘Lvl 01’. Hazel furrowed her brows in confusion, the decided that she would figure it all out later and slipped the device into the pocket of her jeans.

“Great! I detect that your ECHO device is fully functioning. This way, please.” Hazel looked at the guy beside her and shrugged before she followed the funny little robot. He led the way to a pole with red pole with a yellow base and red lights on it. “Step right up! This is a New-U station. When you use this device, your DNA profile is automatically identified and stored. Please activate the New-U station now.”

Hazel took a step closer to the pole, then gasped and jumped back when a holographic screen popped up, made a sound, and turned the red lights green. Hazel rolled her eyes at herself while wishing her nerves would calm the hell down so that every little thing didn’t freak her out. The thing emitted a beam, which scanned her face and her entire body before disappearing. A picture of her appeared on the screen beside her name along with how much money was in her pockets at the moment.

“Excellent! Now that your DNA is registered, you have the best in horrific death dismemberment insurance! Should an unfortunate fatal incident occur, your ‘new you’ will appear at the nearest station.” Hazel wondered if the robot could register the look of horror on her face. “Now we can head into the peaceful town of Fyrestone.”