New Perspective ~ A Handsome Jack x Reader Story

Chapter Four ~ Hyperion's End

"Holy nutballs, it's bright!"

You looked beside you to your new companion and frenemy, Handsome Jack, as he shielded his eyes from the scorching sun Pandora was cursed to be under. Well, it wasn't scorching all the time - only in the desert-like areas. Pandora's geography was...weird, to say the least.

"You live on this hunk of dirt, pumpkin? Jeez, I almost feel sorry, for you! Hahah...almost," Jack chuckled to himself, making sure his gun is cocked. You gave Jack an uninterested sigh and nod as you surveyed your surroundings, scanning for anything familiar that you could use to lead to... well... you didn't know.

That's when you realized: what were you going to do now? You had the tyrannical president of Hyperion beside you - as your companion - how were you supposed to go back to Sanctuary? You could bring him back as a prisoner, let Lilith deal with him...

As you pondered to yourself the options you had, Jack tapped on your shoulder. "Hey, uh, cupcake? Don't mean to intrude on your thought process, but do ya hear that?" He asked, squinting around the flatlands you both were over. You went silent as you both listened carefully. A soft, whistle-like noise was faintly presenting itself to you... but where was it coming from?

"Yeah, I hear it..." you responded, following in Jack's manner of glazing over the sand. As you both came up with nothing, the whistle sounded like it was approaching you from... above? You craned your neck to look up to the sky, holding a hand over your forehead to shield your eyes. You could just barely spot some orange colored thing in the sky, as it seemed to gradually get bigger.

"What the hell is that..." Jack mumbled, squinting slightly at the object. You squinted as well, watching the figure approach now at an alarming speed. It took a second for your eyes to glaze past the object to land upon the more startling sight: Hyperion was no longer in one piece. It was a bright red and orange flame from where you both stood, as chunks of debris flew not too far from the moon itself. It then came to you; the object hurtling towards you and Jack was a flaming piece of Hyperion debris. As your eyes widened and your legs unlocked, you rushed to the side before the piece of scrap obliterated you. In the moment, you gripped Jack's arm, pulling him with you. The impact the chunk of metal had with the ground of Pandora shoved you and Jack farther while in mid-air, proceeding in the both of you tumbling into the sand as the debris burned.

You shook out the sand from your hair as Jack hacked it out of his mouth, practically choking. He stumbled up, glaring angrily at the debris as if he could blame it and terminate its employment. "What in the fresh HELL was th-" He stopped when you grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to turn and face the sky. "What, what is it, what is-...." his words came to a stop as his eyes landed on the destroyed station - the station of the company he was in charge of. For once, he was at a loss of words. You glanced over at his shocked expression, his jaw dropped. He looked like he really didn't think that would ever happen - to be honest, you didn't either. Sure, you had faith in your friends, but you didn't have as much to expect them to pull of blowing up Hyperion. Looking away from Hyperion's shambles in the sky, you shifted towards Jack. Feeling uneasy, you awkwardly pat his back gently. To your surprise, he didn't push you away. He just kind of accepted your touch, his eyes glued on the wreck that once was Hyperion.

"I, uh... I'm sorry.. about that..." you mumbled, looking back up at Helios with him.

"All those years murdering and backstabbing my way up the ladder... I was the president for crissake..." Jack whispered, his eyebrows narrowing. Sensing his growing anger, you took your hand off his back, stepping away from him. You watched as he tightened his hands into fists, white showing on his knuckles. You didn't say a thing - you just observed as his emotions grew. "All of that for this to happen?!" Jack barked, gesturing angrily to whatever was left of the station. His eyebrows furrowed in anger - his eyes intense. Then, he bent down to grab a rock that had been near his feet, hurling it away with a fierce and aggravated yell. "MOTHERFUCKER!!"

You stood there, observing. Jack lingered in his hunched over position, glaring at the rock he had thrown. The area was silent, with an exception of Jack releasing stressed breaths of air. The air was still, as you both paused for a couple of long moments.

"Look...-" you began, but Jack cut you off.

"Shut up! Just shut up... please..." he whispered, his gaze softening and becoming distant and, perhaps, lost. And so you shut up, raising your eyebrows at the fact that he used "please." And so the air stayed still for a couple more moments. As villainous as Handsome Jack is, you could sympathize with him at that moment. He had just lost the only thing left that mattered to him. His daughter, Angel, killed herself with the help of you and a couple other vault hunters to stop the charging of the vault key and to stop her asshole of a father. His girlfriend, Nisha, was also killed by you and your friends. And now, the last thing that signified who he was as a person, his life long devotion, was just blown up before him. And - going along with the trend - it was all because of you and your friends.

For once, you stopped seeing things as a vault hunter. You looked at Jack as you pretended to have no prior knowledge of him. Once you did that, your view changed. He no longer looked like a whiny, stuck-up asshole who's currently throwing a hissy-fit because his favorite toy just blew up. He looked like a desperate man who had just lost perhaps the only thing keeping him going after all of his previous losses. His devotion to his company, the adoration from his employees. It was all gone in a flash - just like that. And for once, you really felt bad for him.

Finally, Jack broke the drawn-out silence with a long, heavy sigh. You gathered the courage to speak.

"Are you alright?" You asked in a hushed tone, not wanting to irritate him any further. He stood back up, rolling his shoulders slowly. He then let out another long and heavy sigh.

"Just peachy~" Jack answered sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he spun back around to face you. It was quiet, then. You both just stood there, either too afraid or too tired to say anything more. Then, Jack piped up. "Well then," he exhaled, his eyes meeting yours. However, his seemed less alive than they were before, when you were arguing with him. He seemed hushed himself as if a solemn mood washed over him. "I guess we should get going, shouldn't we, cupcake?" You just nodded, observing him one last time before turning away, looking at the area around you. Footsteps approached behind you as Jack stood beside you, his rifle resting against his shoulder, his playful demeanor disappeared for the time being.

"I think..." you mumbled, trailing off as you searched for anything that may appear familiar to you. Your eyes landed on a faraway sign, indicating directions for different regions of Pandora. You extended your arm and pointed at the crooked sign. "Let's get a feel of where we are," you said, turning back to Jack, "sound good?"

Jack turned, looking towards the sign you were pointing at. He then shifted his head, his blue and green eyes landing right on you. Then, he gave you a snarky smirk, however you didn't feel intimidated by it. Somehow, you could tell, there wasn't true snark behind it - not this time. Maybe he was trying to keep up his snide and sarcastic attitude - maybe it's the only way he allows himself to act around others. You didn't know, and probably wouldn't know any time soon. You'd just have to hope for the best.

"Sounds like a plan, pumpkin~ Let's get going."