Vault Hunters [Borderlands, Zer0/Handsome Jack X OC]

Chapter 7 ~ Self-Issues

There were several issues that Eva had with what she was seeing.

In Zer0's car, the metal was stained red. At first, she thought it had been rust, but upon closer inspection, it was certainly blood. In the front, a mangled body of a midget was blocking the front grid.

Meanwhile, the seats were torn up. There was no doubt it was done by a wild animal, like a skag or something.

Zer0 waited for her to enter the car. "If you do not hurry/I will leave you here forever/so get in right now." He was not a patient man, so saying he waited patiently would be a lie.

He began to reload his gun while waiting. It took him all of three seconds.

Eva climbed into the car, but she realized that this was a one-seater. She couldn't sit in this... thing's lap. Unfortunately, Zer0 had other ideas, as he pulled her to sit on his lap. He was annoyed, and it really didn't matter where she sat to him.

He had no time to think about lust and connections between a man and a woman. He was busy killing things.

He stepped on the pedal, and they shot forwards.

"There is a second seat up there." His mask gestured to the turret. This was the first time he hadn't spoke in haiku. Why did he do it in the first place?

"I don't want anything to do with a gun." Eva crossed her legs, acting spoiled rotten. For his own sake, Zer0 jolted the vehicle, almost sending Eva flying out.

"You jerk! You did that on purpose...!"

"You are the jerk here/you are extremely boring/why must I babysit?" He jolted the car again, but Eva had an iron grip this time. If this was the game this sniper jerk wanted to play, then bring it on! She grabbed the wheel and spun; the car spun out of control. They crashed, spinning into a ditch. The car lit on fire, and Zer0 grabbed Eva, getting her out of damage's way. The car exploded. "You are fucking insane/and I love insane/but not you. Never you."

"Oh, shut up." Eva groaned, barely able to move. Zer0 was heavier than expected. "And get off. You're fatter than the fattest of the people."

"That makes no sense, idiot/Sometimes I wish you'd.../oh, nevermind. You're stupid."

"What was that?!"

Look at that. Their relationship was the opposite of what it becomes. They're as different as night and day; one lives to kill while the other lives to stop killing. No wonder they don't get along.

I play a pivotal part in their relationship; especially after Roland- oh, spoilers! I can't just tell you straight out.

"You are annoying." This guy had to choose; Haiku or no haiku. Eva wanted to punch him, but... wait, what was holding her back!? After all, she only said she wanted to hold off from guns, not violence in general. She curled her hand into a fist but relaxed it. No, she wouldn't become who she had been with Jack. She had been almost as violent as him before, and she wouldn't fall to his rung on the ladder.

"I don't really care if I'm annoying or not; you've been hired to protect me from Pandora, so really, what's your say in any of this?"

Zer0 pointed his gun at Eva, resting his finger on the trigger. He shrugged, dropping it to his side. "Regrettably."

This pissed Eva off; he was such a damn jerk, an even bigger one than Jack! What was with her luck with guys? She married a psychotic serial killer. The world would never let her have just even a second of rest, but then again, this was Pandora, not Eden-5.

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-haw!" Gunfire rang in the air as Zer0 dived for Eva. She was pushed to the ground, and a storm of bullets were settling in the ground where she had been standing. Then, something unexpected happened; Zer0 shimmered out of her perspective. It was unexplainable; could he be using some kind of cloaking device, or teleporting in some way? Shifter felt her unsettling feelings, and reached out for the warmth and aura that Zer0 emitted; he was close, but she couldn't pinpoint his location by using Shifter alone.

Eva then made a guess to where Zer0 was by measuring the distance between holes, and the enemies that had holes in them. They decided to get off of their vehicle but were being absolutely slaughtered by an invisible, unseen force.

Zer0 reappeared, finishing the last enemy off by sliding a blue-looking katana into their chest. It hummed; no doubt the blade was a type of laser. I fucking hate lasers. Back to the story. For some reason, it happened ridiculously smoothly. There was no way that using that katana was as easy as sliding a knife through butter, but that's what it looked like.

Eva stood to her feet, shaking. This violence reminded her of Jack, of the abuse, and the endless killing. The shaking got worse; she didn't even realize Zer0 had walked up to her until he gently touched her shoulder. She looked up at his mask; to think a killing machine like this would have compassion was almost laughable. He wasn't even human, but maybe that was what made him the way he is.

Then again, Eva's entire life had been laughable. She shot for the stars, and became a falling one, an obsession of Jack. He twisted the truth in his mind, believed what he said, even if it was a lie. He didn't know any better, and Eva had tried to help him, but her hold over him slipped. He was even more obsessed with the Vaults, at the end of the day.

This man was a Vault Hunter, and he would turn out to be exactly like Jack. That's what she told herself. He was pretty much already there, wasn't he? He slaughtered everything in his path... even if that was the life of a Vault Hunter, that was unforgivable. This scene made bile rise in her throat, and she put a hand up to her cheek, wiping away a stray dot of blood. She stared at the red substance, her hands shaking...

and she threw up.

It wasn't pretty, but what else could she do? Her disgust mixed with fear. Why Zer0? He was the closest to being like Jack. She couldn't just walk up to him and say, 'you make me sick.' The waves of nausea wouldn't stop, getting stronger and stronger with each passing second. Zer0 watched her, and she assumed there was nothing behind the mask but a man without emotions.

She collapsed to the ground, her hair mixing with what she had thrown up, but she didn't care. She was shaking, and it wasn't stopping. She begged that if there were a god, that they'd put her out of her misery.

No answer came from the heavens. She couldn't count on a god to help her. She could only ever count on herself. She wanted to curl up in a ball and cry.

She felt something hit her, and her vision faded to nothing.

However, she saw the mask come off, and the worried face of a human hanging over her...

And then, darkness.

Darkness as black as the mask.