Tales from the Borderlands

Chapter Fourteen

~Chase's POV~

"Rhys, look down," I said. Rhys opened his eyes and saw the ground was only two feet below him.

"Oh...." He muttered and jumped down.

"Good job." I stand on my tippy toes and pat his head. He blushes and turns around to hide it.

"Let's get moving. It'll take us longer to get there since our direct path is out of reach." I walked off and left a blushing Rhys behind.

"W-wait for me!" He yelled and ran to my side. We walked through the jungle and admired the plants. Some were glowing purple and blue. What kept my attention were the glowing jellyfish.

"What do we have here?" A plant that was glowing vibrantly was in the middle of the path. Flowers were blooming from the strange plant. I smiled as I stared at them.

"Chase, what would you do if you were human?" He asked me randomly.

"Rhys, I am human. I bleed like one and smile like one. I may be an AI, but I'm still me. If anyone else would have created me, I would be a slave and only be answering stupid, simple questions. I'm very grateful that you made me and no one else."

I felt a hand in my hair and turned around. Rhys picked a flower and placed it in my hair.

"And I am happy to have created you. Before we met Vaughn, you were the only one who stood by my side and believed in my ideals."

"Even if I was a normal Hyperion worker or a Pandoran, I'm sure our paths would've crossed eventually." The flower in my hair sprayed a yellow substance on Rhys' face.

"Hahaha! Okay, that just made my day." I wiped the stuff off his face with my fingers.

"Thanks," he said. I grabbed his hand and held it. The jellyfish that were flying around us started to turn red.

"Red is bad," I said. One shocked me on the back. I almost fell over from the pain but Rhys caught me.

"There! There's a lift over there! Let's run for it!" Rhys took the lead and ran with our hands connected. We made it to the lift but it wasn't working.

"Great, more problems," I sigh.

"Maybe I can jumpstart it." Rhys pulled out the stun baton and shocked the lift. It started up in seconds, but was ascending very slowly.

"With slow enemies, we get a slow and dramatic lift. This day just keeps getting better!" I said sarcastically. After minutes of waiting, the lift finally made it to the top. I closed the door behind us while Rhys hacked the security system.

"What are you doing, Rhys?! Hurry up and shut off the turrets!" Fiona's voice yells in our ears.

"He almost has it. Give him a few more seco- holy crap!" I looked at the window.

"What?" Rhys asked.

"Window...."

Rhys saw the window. It was covered with angry jellyfish and the glass was beginning to break.

"That does not look good," Rhys commented.

"Just hurry. I don't want to find out what'll happen when that glass breaks." With a beep, Rhys shut the security system off. A picture of the man we met earlier appeared on the screen.

"His name is Cassius and....he works for Atlas?" I read it aloud.

"No way," Rhys said and looked at the information.

"Let's go tell the others. That glass is going to break any second." Rhys and I leave the room right as the glass shattered. One of the the monsters stung Rhys and he fell off the platform.

"Rhys!" I grabbed his arm.

"Holy crap. You're heavy," I said. The lift was slowly going back down.

"I....can't even....pull you up.....because of....how heavy you are," I said.

"Well, parts of me are cybernetic," he said and chuckled. I was starting to grow lightheaded because I was being forced against the lift and I was having a hard time breathing. My face was probably turning red. Rhys noticed me having problems.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"N-no....I'm lightheaded and dizzy....." I said. My grip was growing weaker and weaker.

"Just hold on, Chase. We're almost at the bottom," he said while looking at me worriedly.

"Not going...to...make it....." I let go of Rhys but he put his hand around my wrist. He took me down with him and I landed on top of him. Then, I fainted.

~Rhys' POV~

"Ow...." I hit the ground and Chase lands on top of me. Her eyes are closed. She must me unconscious. The monsters were slow but were getting really close.

"Time to go." I pick up Chase and carry her in my arms. I find the elevator and press the button. Fiona and Athena are back with the upgrade.

"Whoa. What happened to Chase?" Vaughn asked.

"She, uh, was helping me from not falling and ended up passing out."

"How did she pass out?" Sasha asked.

"Well....she was being pressed against a lift and she couldn't breathe properly."

"Because she was supporting your heavy ass," Fiona said with a smirk.

"Ha ha. Yeah, she was preventing me from falling," I said. I sat Chase down and Vaughn walked over to her.

"Oh! I have the perfect thing to wake her up." Vaughn grabbed something and put it up to Chase's nose. She flew up and screamed.

"What the hell is that?!" She freaks out. She takes the vial away from Vaughn and throws it across the room.

"Oh no, I was working on that," he said.

"Well, next time, don't wave it in front of people's faces," Chase said. She then stood up and saw me.

"Oh, hey, Rhys. Did you tell them about Cassius?" She questioned.

"No," I replied.

"Well, we should tell them." She crossed her arms and looked at Cassius. I couldn't bring myself to say it. Chase was the one to tell the group.

"We have to tell you something about our helper here."