//------------------------------// // making house calls // Story: Borderland: Friendship is futile // by reddestreaction //------------------------------// Hey, Vault Hunter. Don’t wake up! Just listen. You’re in danger. I can’t tell you how but you are. You need to avoid Sanctuary for now, you need to find Silver Bullet. Give him the Messenger and the note, he’ll understand. Please listen! Vault Hunter! I wake up in a cold sweat, the room dark. Blinded, I prepare to scream and kick, fearing that Secret Tale had dragged me into the afterlife with her. I wasn’t prepared to die yet! “Are you okay?” Tick tock asks, levitating the goggles off my eyes. To be honest. I felt sick in all different reasons. I haven’t slept for quite some time, it giving me time to think and reflect on everything i ever done and ever will do. It gives me time to question if anything i have done was sane or worth dying for. What my morals are in the Borderlands. Most people had one. What was mine? “I’m fine.” i fib. Well, it’s not a fib or any kind of lie. I’m not good, grand, swell, or any of the above and yet i’m not bad, hurt, or sick. I’m stable, alive, breathing, able to go on. I was fine. Tick Tock gave me a look that told me to try again, but doesn’t press it. “What...What are you doing in here anyways?” I try to deflect the subject. “Derpy told me to come get you.” he says before trotting outside. I slip out the bed, stretching and adjusting my goggles...her goggles. What was Secret Tale warning me about? There couldn’t be something wrong with Sanctuary that the Doctor wouldn’t know about, right? All my worries melted away when i trotted into the kitchen to the smell of Derpy’s..pancakes. “It’s muffin mix made into pancakes. Still just as good.” She says, glaring at the Doctor. The Doctor mumbled about how it was a waste of a perfectly good muffin and no flapjack meal is the same without syrup, which Derpy had anticipated on, serving up a chocolate syrup. Tick Tock kept glancing at me over the table, and i got the hint from Doctor and Derpy that they was worried too. The Doctor, however, had an understanding look of not wanting to talk about it unlike the others. “After breakfast, you can head out to Sanctuary with Battery and Derpy. I have a package for ou to deliver to Ms. Scratch.” “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” I blurt out. The Doctor cocks an eyebrow at my reaction. “It’s a gut feeling.” “Oh!” the Doctor smiles, as if that explains it all. “Interesting. A feeling from the gut foreshadowing an occurrence that may happen due to one's present actions? I have heard of such, it being a saying of intuition and experience, but i have seen quite the extraordinary occurrence with the acquaintance of Ms. Pinkie Pie. Maybe we should take a look?” The Doctor uses his C4N_4RY bots, a by product of B4TT-RY. Apparently, bats flying around during the day scared people and at night they was mistaken for Rakks and Trash feeders. There only a handful of them left, now reduced to escorts rather than spies. I wonder how many people knew about the Doctor’s bots. Were there people who was authorized like he was to use them? Was it okay for him to use them? Do people feel safe using these things and knowing that they exist. “Uh...Doctor. Why do you make these things...i know you told me it’s to watch over Pandora but…” He smiles while looks over the monitors. “Pandora is a dangerous place. Not everyone can protect themselves, as you know. I lived in a vault in which we hid from the world, believing we was superior to the outside world. That we overcame the natural intelligence and shouldn’t bother wasting time with the savages of outside. I was just a colt, i didn’t know any better, i know that now...i heard screaming outside the vault, someone begging to be let in.” He whinnys, looking down at the keyboards. “If only i had known, if everyone else wasn’t so blinded to see and understand those “savages”...there would be more than just me.” His back was facing me, but i can only imagine the hurt on his face. His shoulders slumped. “That day forward. I promised to look out for anyone who may need help. Unlike some ponies, i am a man of science instead of magic. Not everyone can use magic, but everyone can do a bit of science. And after leaving that vault, i have experienced and seen so many new and complicated things, thinking and enjoying things the considered “savage”. One of his canary’s chirped, showing a bunch of skags attacking Sanctuary gate and shield while some bandits raided the city inside. Some civilians was captured and things was stolen. Little blood was spilled, which was strange. What could these ponies be for then? An insignia flashes across the screen before the bird flashes and connection is cut off. The Doctor doesn’t like that one bit, quickly checking other places for other civilizations for the same kind of invasions that was happening, especially in bandit camps. It seems that the invaders was looking only for certain kind of ponies. “They’re gathering the Siren ponies.” he exclaims. “Siren ponies?” “Ponies who can use magic or draw properties from eridium to gather elemental powers.” Tick Tock explains, quickly sending out a distress signal to other vault hunters. ”Only a handful of ponies can do that, and since the eridium blast, there has been high demand for them in certain places. Some want their power, others want them dead, some are used as weapons.” “Th-That’s horrible.” I say. It’s Pandora, a voice in my head counters. “Venandi, it looks like we have a problem.” Tick Tock says into a mic. “Oh, you think?” a female voice blasted through. “I was anticipating a new pony arrival and i get bandits everywhere, destroying everything! This stuff takes time building!” Tick Tock sighs, facehoofing. “Do you know who it is?” “Those three trouble making bandit clans from Three Horns Point, ran by three most feared bandit brother ponies in the Frozen Wastelands. Heard they had a sister...wonder what happened to her.” “Do you have a plan?” he asks, sounding a bit more stressed than he should be. “Protect Sanctuary. Call the other civilizations. Kill the skags, plan for a raid before any ponies get killed or sold. I need intel and volunteers.” “We can do intel, but we can’t wait long, we know how bandit's can get.” “Roger that.” Tick Tock sigs, knowing that Venandi is doing all that she can, but it wasn’t enough. “Doctor.” “On it.” the Doctor says, already deploying M1C-3 spy animal-bots. Derpy dashed around trying to redirect distress signals to other vault hunter areas. Screens blurred red and sirens went off. Suddenly, a transmission on the radio happens. “You think you’re soooo smart, don’t you Doctor? Think that your spies can help Pandora and you can stay hidden in your little vault? Well, you are wrong.” an eerie pony voice says. “You see, i too have spies, escorts, and messengers but unlike yours. Mines fear me and would never think of betraying me. Have a good day, the Doctor is out.” And just like that, one by one screens went out, sirens went dead, and the lab goes quiet. The three ponies scrambled trying to recover something, anything to no avail. “D-Doctor?” Derpy asks, fear in her throat. “It’s okay, Derpy.” he says, not even believing in his words.”It’s going to be...it has to be…” “Doctor, the best course of action is a retreat. We need a plan, and right now, we can’t..”Tick Tock says, packing some tools into a saddle bag and gathering some guns. Derpy does the same, but more reluctant. The Doctors eyes seemed blown away and defeated before nodding. “Yes. It seems it has come to that.” he sighs. He goes to the power core in the other room, punching in coordinates. “I’m sorry old girl, but until we can get a better hoof on things, you need to become a TARDOS.” he tries to reason. I didn’t understand until i hear a loud, undeniable whine. The whole building seemed to protest, something i didn’t even think was possible. “I know. I’ll be back. I promise.” he says. “Be a good girl while i’m gone.” Tick Tock guides us out, Derpy having tears in her eyes.