Chapter Text
The scorching sun was blazing over the endless wasteland. Not a single cloud obstructed the vibrant blue sky, so the burning orb was free to reign over its barren kingdom.
Strong, unapologetically hot wind threw around sand and tiny pebbles, sounds of rock hitting rock filling the otherwise silent scenery. The heavy air was ever so slightly visible, passing in waves through the thick warmth of Pandora.
The horizon wobbled in the distance, making it difficult to see.
Just then, a shriek of a wounded animal or, perhaps, the creaking of a long forgotten rusted metal gate disturbed the silence of the desert – and then it was all quiet once more.
A single tumbleweed crossed the dusty broken road, the wind tossing it up and down, quietly playing a game with itself.
For once, the planet was at peace.
And just then, suddenly, the cracked, lifeless ground vibrated, coming alive, rocks and pebbles shaken awake against their will. The rambling echoed against the cliff side.
A barely visible, yet steadily growing dust cloud emerged from the undulating horizon, bringing with it the distant sounds of a radio. The sounds grew closer and closer, until the silhouette of a car made itself known.
The car rushed right past the tumbleweed, throwing it up into the air with the sheer force of speed.
Just like that, it was long gone.
The car was a convertible, a deep blue color with a giant ‘H’ imprinted on both sides.
At the wheel sat a tall, pale man in sunglasses, his cybernetic arm on the wheel, while the real one – the one made of flesh – ran through his hair. He was leaning back in his seat, the wind ruffling his auburn locks, a confident, almost arrogant smirk splayed across his features. He swerved the car, ever so slightly avoiding the boulder obstructing his path, and that made his smile grow wider.
This was Rhys, the company man.
“Vaughn was right – this is so much more awesome!”- Rhys said to no one in particular, enjoying the sensation of the cool wind on his warm face. They should’ve taken a convertible the first time they came to Pandora, really, -“Now this is style!”
Suddenly, another loud shriek pierced the desert – and this time it wasn’t an animal or a gate.
It was the deafening shriek of a psycho.
Rhys’s good mood immediately dropped, his smirk turning into a horrified expression. He adjusted his rearview mirror, only to discover a group of bandits tailing him in two different cars.
“Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit-“- Rhys yelled, pressing the gas pedal into the floor, both hands on the wheel.
This was NOT good.
He reached into the passenger side compartment, checking if the gun he was given was still there.
Oh, thank god-
Placing it on the seat next to him – just in case – he took another look back, to assess the threat levels.
The psychos who weren't driving were leaning out of the windows, pumping their fists in the air and aiming weapons, others were standing on the car roofs, madly jumping up and down. The leader of the whole gang appeared to be a young, but bulky dark skinned woman, her crop top revealing a muscly body covered in scars. Her black hair was pushed back from her face by a pair of yellow goggles and a green bandana, and she had the look of a person who knew what they were doing.
She was also effortlessly holding a bazooka on her shoulder, aiming it... right at.... Rhys...?
He managed to swerve just in time as the shot rang throughout the desert and the missile flew out of the barrel, missing his car by a few inches and hitting the cliff above instead.
Rhys wiped the sweat off of his forehead with his left hand, the woman's distant maniacal laughter making his skin crawl, -"That was too close-"
Just when he thought he was out of the danger zone, the woman sent another missile into the cliff, making it crack.
His Echo eye flawlessly calculated that if she timed it right, another shot would send that entire part of the cliff right on top of Rhys's head.
He had to act fast.
Rhys pressed the big red 'Boost' button on the control panel, and the car accelerated forward, the wind so harsh it made the sunglasses fly straight off of his face, his cheeks fluttering from the force.
He sped past the crushing cliff just in time.
Looking back, Rhys saw one of the cars crash into the mess of rock and dust, a fiery explosion immediately following the collision. The other car, however, managed to avoid the impact.
And that was the car with the Bazooka Lady.
And boy, did she look pissed.
Rhys, for one foolish moment, allowed himself to believe he was out of harm's way. The car's boost was still going - there was no way they'd catch up, right?
Wrong.
The next thing Rhys knew was the missile, passing by his head as if in slow motion, landing a few feet in front of him, the aftershock blowing his car off of the road, making it circle in place.
"Woah woah woah woah!"- Rhys tried his best to steady the wheel with his cybernetic hand, barely managing to avoid plunging off of the road into the wasteland below.
He didn't even realize they were this high up.
The car suddenly shook with the weight of a couple of Lil' Bandits, who jumped down on the boot out of nowhere. They waved huge knives around, inches away from Rhys's face, and despite the obvious threat of, y’know, certain death, the first thing Rhys noticed was the fact that those bastards were scratching up the car.
It was expensive.
In his anger, Rhys barely managed to dodge a direct hit to the face from one of the bandits. Instead of Rhys’s left eye, his knife plunged into the radio.
And after a second of pained screeching, the music died.
The Lil' Bandit used his arms, legs, and body to try and pull the knife out from the metal clutches of the radio, to no avail.
"I WAS LISTENING TO THAT,"- Rhys yelled, visibly distressed. The car was now ruined even more, and there was no way he could repair that himself. He punched the bandit in the face with his cybernetic arm, easily flinging him off the car and into the distance.
Shit, this is bad.
The car was given to him after numerous requests and under EXPLICIT instruction to keep it undamaged. Oh fuck, the management's going to KILL him.
Another swing to his face brought Rhys back to reality.
Right- the other bandit.
This one seemed more agile and definitely more intelligent than his counterpart - he easily dodged all Rhys's swings and punches. Rhys was more annoyed than anything else at this point, and it was hard to deal with the little bastard and the driving at the same time. Not to mention the Bazooka Lady was still on his tail.
"Ah, goddammit,"- Rhys swore, grabbing the gun from the seat next to him, -"Go to hell, you sunuvabitch.”
And with a triumphant smile, he pulled the trigger-
-ooonnnnly to have nothing happen.
"Aw, what!?"- The company man kept pulling the trigger over and over, just to have nothing but hollow clicks come out of the barrel. The Lil' Bandit stayed silent, turning his masked face from Rhys to the gun, obviously amused by his incompetence, -"Ya gotta be friggin’ kidding me, wha- Why is this thing not loaded!?"
The bandit let out a cackle, making Rhys even more annoyed than he already was. He simply smacked the guy with the gun, having him fly off as well.
Before he could even begin to celebrate his small victory, Rhys was met by a giant bazooka pointed at his face.
"Say yer prayers, cowboy,"- The woman snarled, the stench coming out of her mouth making Rhys's head spin. He held his breath, half out of fear for his life, half out of fear of smelling that again. He was prepared for the worst, when suddenly-
Out of the corner of his eye Rhys noticed the road taking a sharp turn – so, being the amazing driver that he was, he easily turned the wheel all the way to its left. The car turned just in time to avoid the deadly fall, but the bandits weren’t so lucky - all of them, including the driver, too busy paying attention to the bloody massacre their leader was about to perform.
The screams of the band falling to their death echoed in Rhys’s head like a broken record.
Well, at least he was safe now.
After another mile or so, the car gave out a sad huff and stopped in its tracks, the seatbelt painfully digging into Rhys’s ribs.
“Ah, crap… Why am I so lucky…”- He whined, giving the steering wheel a couple of hits. The engine then completely shut down, and refused to restart no matter how many times Rhys turned the key. That boost must’ve exhausted the system.
Defeated, Rhys allowed himself to fall face first into the steering wheel, causing it to emit a long, loud beep. He didn’t even care if he attracted skags or bandits at this point, he was just so goddamn tired.
Just then, his Echo eye gave an indication that someone was calling him.
Unfortunately, he knew just who that caller was.
“He-he-hey there, buddy-boy!”- Jack boomed from the hologram projecting out of Rhys's hand, his shoulders jumping ever so slightly with each word, -“How’s it hanging? Still alive, I see – that’s good, that’s good.”
Offf course it was Jack. He had his hands on his hips, standing in that infamous pose of his, a smile so bright on his face one might even think it was actually sincere.
It definitely wasn’t.
“Juuuust peachy, Jack,”- Rhys answered, face still planted on the wheel, not really bothering to look up, -“You know, you really do have the best timing.”
“Aw, what’s wrong? Ya got skag rabies or somethin’?”
“Better yet, I had a gang of bandits tail me for the past, oh I don’t know, 10 miles or so?“- Rhys’s voice cracked in anger at that last part, and he actually looked up to face Jack. He wasn’t even sure what he was so pissed about. Life in general, probably, -“It also didn’t help that the gun you gave oh-just-so happens to be not loaded.”
“Rhysie, Rhysie! What, are you implying that I did that on purpose?”
Rhys didn’t reply to that. Silence is a valid option.
“Honestly, cupcake, you surprise me. After aaaall we’ve been through, after making it to the top together, after me actually NOT killing you – and you still don’t trust me? We’re partners, Rhysie, and partnerships require trust!”
That actually sorta made Rhys feel bad for the accusation. Maybe he was too fast to judge and assume things.
“So what if I accidentally-totally-on-purpose didn’t load your gun in hopes to call in time to see the dumb expression you’d make when you realize that you’re about to be mauled by a bandit and you have no way of protecting yourself – wait, uh… What were we talking about again?”
Right, so. Never mind then.
“Look, just- send me another car, will ya? This one’s gone to shit and I have no time to be sitting around, doing nothing.”
“Hm, yeah, can’t do that,”- Jack’s expression was that of a very bored man – a man who was hoping to receive entertainment and was very disappointed with what was provided.
That made Rhys even more annoyed.
“The hell do you mean ‘can’t do that’!?”- He yelled, wishing he could punch something, anything. Preferably the masked face that was eyeing him down from the other side of the screen, -“Listen, I know I wrecked the car even though you told me not to, but you seriously can’t expect that down on Pandora-“
“Yeah, that has nothing to do with the car.”
“But you told me-“
“Aw, who cares about the goddamn car!?”- Uh oh, he was growing impatient. Not good, -“Look, I don’t care what you did to that piece of trash, they’re mass produced anyway. The thing is – well, we’ve got a problem.”
Rhys’s heartbeat increased in a second. What was Jack going to throw at him now…
“Y’know that large gun-thingy that fires supplies into Pandora? Supplies and sometimes people?”
“Yeah, the- wait, people-!?”
“Well, that thing broke down. Actually, the entire freaking facility broke down – nothing and no one can get in or out of Helios. So, you’re sorta stuck there for a while.”
Great. Just.
Great.
Definitely what he needed most right now. Awesome.
“How long is a while?”
“I dunno- a week, a month, forever – who knows? Yeah, okay, listen, I gotta go, corporate stuff calls and whatnot. I’ll catch up with ya later, k? Fingerguns~”
And after firing a couple of imaginary shots at Rhys, Jack and the screen he was on disappeared altogether.
“Great. Greeeeeeeeeeeeeat-“ -Rhys drawled, banging his head on his seat. This was just so fucking fantastic.
He didn’t know where to focus his attention – the fact that Jack was quite obviously lying about the facility breaking down (c’mon, he was practically laughing the whole time), or the fact that Rhys was pretty much going to meet his demise on this god forsaken planet.
First thing’s first, he had to ration supplies. He probably had enough in the boot and the compartment to last him about a week or so. He knew he had the bullets for the gun somewhere as well, but probably not enough to fight off any major threat.
Jack really did leave him down here to die.
“Partners, huh…”- he whispered to himself, staring out into the distance of Pandoran landscapes with unseeing eyes.
His life was going to be… harder than anticipated.