peccarion

[peccarion]

Broken Glass

Summary: They had tried so many different combinations of genes. All of them had died. At this point they weren't even annoyed anymore. "Project Nr. 18-8-25-19 shows promises of surviving." They sent this message to their boss, crossing their fingers that it would stay that way. Maybe they shouldn't have...

Read on ao3.

They had made him. His DNA, to be more exact, and then placed it into a glass tube filled with a slightly greenish translucent liquid. It stood in the middle of a dark room, reaching over the heads of them all and giving off a quiet hum.

In under a year, the child inside had grown from a single cell to the body of a five year old. Never waking up or showing any awareness of his surroundings.

The scientists, constantly monitoring him on the various computer screens scatter threw out the lab, decided that now would be a good time to start the real process.

That had been the first time he had ever been outside the tube.

After 10 hours, the complicated surgery was finally done. They had rewired his brain, weaving it together with the thin metallic fibers carrying data to and from his neurons. The outlet port had been placed on his right temple, from where several wires now floated in the liquid with him.

Afterwards they waited again. Monitoring him and trying to pass the time that seemed to stretch on into infinity. It was all too familiar at this point. The boy grew and grew in the tank until one day, a scientist notices something. Parts of his skin had a slightly different hue than the rest. It had them running around the lab, measuring from body temperature to chemical levels in the fluid surrounding him, writing down every number and logging day after day.

They all hoped it wouldn't be a failure again.

They had a party when it wasn't. The prior and only minimal change in color had progressed into a vibrant blue, creeping up his right torso like vines, over his shoulder and around his arm, only stopping short from his hand. Even their boss came by and congratulate them.

While they were still ecstatic, they didn't notice two deep brown eyes opening, slowly blinking at the blurry world through the glass.

When they did, they had a brilliant idea, scooping out his right eye and replacing it with an electric blue ECHOeye.

HurtStingBurnAchePain

They didn't have the patience to wait again, instead they pumped in all sorts of different growing chemicals into the tube. The wiring in his brain had long been accepted as part of the boy's body and they would no longer be at risk of brain damage if he grew too much. In only ten months, he was now a fully fledged male.

Now it was time to make their last planned modification.

NoNoNoNoNoDontNoNoNoPleaseNoNoNoNoDontNoNoNoNo

They were done. He had screamed. The anesthesia hadn't been able to keep him sleeping the whole time. The absolutely horrifying sounds he had made blended in with the noise of machines cutting through muscles and tendons, the screech of them making their way through the bone until the metal holding point was connected to his nervous system. A new, Hyperion branded mechanical arm was now where his left one was supposed to be.

Hurts

No

Stop

Why

A few days later their boss came by again, explaining the situation on the planet below them and encouraging them to pick up their work speed a little bit.

SuddenLoud

RedFlew

SomeoneLying

SomethingMissing

Head?

Red

They managed to work twice as hard and, in no time at all, it had been done, the last numbers checked out, the body was stable and could be used.

No

Everything was set up. From the Vault Key, ready to be charged, to the force field, so he wouldn't be able to flee. If he even could, they weren't sure if his muscles could hold him upright, he had been floating in a liquid for his whole life after all. But then again, he couldn't be really considered human.

I

Their boss wanted to be there for this part, making sure everything went smoothly. After all the attempts they had made, this one seemed to be the promising of them all. The scientists would rather not find out what happened if they failed again.

Dont

As soon as he arrived, they could begin. But until then, everyone was standing around nervously, checking all the numbers and equipment for the hundreds of time, just needing something to do while they waited.

Want

A loud noise made them all jump. Little sharp pieces of glass were lying on the ground, liquid flowing out over them. They caused cuts on the underside of his feet as he stepped outside.

His eyes were glowing, purple and blue, while the markings on his right half seemed to be giving off electricity.

"No."

His voice sounded menacing as his right hand moved forward, throwing a ball of tightly compressed energy at the person standing next to the door, his way out of there. Their whole form shattered into a million different pieces, covering everything around him, and changing the color of their coworkers lab coats from white to red.

Dead

RedIsBlood

TheOtherOne

IsDead

ShotToo?

The man asked himself while he killed the others in the room.

[peccarion]

Waiting in the cold

Summary: Things go south when Jack and Rhys are down on Elpis. And apparently the bandits weren't the only ones who wanted to mess up their day.

Read on ao3.

It was cold. The hard stone ground underneath and the almost airless atmosphere of Elpis around him. Rhys had rolled up in a ball, hugging his legs close to himself as some sort of comfort. It wasn’t very effective. He was sitting on a small area, enclosed by stone walls with the ocean opening behind him after the long drop of a cliff.

He didn't know how long it had already been, an hour or maybe two… to be honest he didn't really want to know, all he wanted to focus on was Jack’s promise that everything was going to be alright.

Rhys tightened his hold on the pocket watch in his hand.

Jack had given it to him before he left. The cloaking mechanism embedded in it could only run for so long, but it was more for Jack’s peace of mind, than actual protection, as he fended of the hoard of Thrashers.

--------

It was supposed to be just a short stay down on the moon of Pandora and Rhys had been so excited to see all the different plants and animals for the first time. Then their camp got raided by a group of exceptionally good equipped bandits, wielding guns that pierced even the specially made shields Jack and Rhys had on themselves in one hit.

They were forced to flee, which had the CEO grumbling about moon shooting the whole place once they were back on Helios, as they wandered around the rocky surface. It made Rhys smile, hearing all the threats that implied they would soon be back on the comfortable space station. The man always talked like that and it was always doing wonders to his mood. So he happily trotted along optimistically.

That is until they were surprised by a butt load of thresher trying to fuck up their day even more. Forcing them to take cover behind a rock. The stupid thing was, those bastards could surface anywhere. Fighting would be hard and fleeing, the normally preferred option of Rhys in these situations, was not possible. Jack had been wounded already from the bandit attack. He was limping a little but he still refused Rhys’s help taking care of their monster problem. Sure, he wasn't the best shot, but in his opinion any help would be better than no help.

But the CEO just wanted to know him to be safe, not caring for his own health. That trait was sweet, but more often than not it was driving Rhys up the wall. Apparently he was the only one of the two, who actually wanted to get him back in one piece.

Jack had ushered him into a remote corner no one would find fast. Then he had given him his pocked watch, which Rhys had vehemently tried to protest. With the build in cloaking device taking out threshers would be way easier.

But Jack had just shoved the watch into his hands and ran off. Well, as fast as he could manage with his wounded leg. Rhys had heard the ghastly noises the threshers made, almost drowning out the gunshots from Jack's pistols, not long after.

Now it was quiet. Only the sounds of wind dragging dust around could be heard and it made him roll into himself even further. Rhys cast a glance to the indicator on his remaining oxygen. He had a lot of it, but the indicator was slowly creeping downwards. With his breathing even he would be able to last around another hour. Laying his head on his knees he closed his eyes while he tried to focus on the sound of the waved behind him. He hoped it would calm his racing thoughts a bit.

The fight was over, that was for sure.

The entrance to the little hideout, Rhys was huddled up in, was now blocked off though. What he could only presume was a stray thresher projectile, had knocked loose a bunch of large stones and closing of the only route. It was impossible to climb the walls and behind him was only a cliff hanging over the icy ocean.

He couldn’t get away from here. His only option was to wait.

The fight was over. It had been for some time now, with no gun shots echoing around the stones.

So why did Jack not come back?

Just a brain dump after I saw this picture.

Is Jack dead? Is he alive? I don't know :3

[peccarion]

Purple Hues

Chapter 2 - Let me tell you the gravity of the situation

Summary: Some tests have outcomes that no one can predict. Rhys will find himself in one of them and Jack, well, he finds out that there are people he should not mess with.

Read on Ao3. First Chapter.

Most of the other conditions Rhys had insisted on consisted mostly about him not being treated like a guinea pig. He wanted adequate living quarters and at least enough money so he could buy things for basic human needs. Not that he had very high standards, he was from Pandora after all, but food and a few clothes would be nice.

The apartment they had given him wasn't very big, just a small kitchen connected to an open living room, a bathroom and bedroom. Nothing special.

He spent most of his time in the labs though. The scientists of Jacks specialized team for sirens searched for anything unusual. The first thing they did was taking his blood and skin samples. But nothing. He now knew his blood type was 0, interesting, but not really helpful and his DNA was not much different from normal human one, except that is was rapidly falling apart under the microscope, great.

By the sixth day of testing they were not a tad bit closer to finding an explanation and Rhys was exhausted. All his conditions were met but it still took a toll on him. He relished in the feeling of his mattress and cozy blanket every evening.

Rhys sighed as he flopped down onto the bed, not caring enough to change his clothes - they were comfortable. The all black suit and waist coat he had bought a few days ago hugged his lanky body without being too tight and he could easily slip his tail out. It’d became a habit for him after having spent most of his life in his other form, it was easier to survive on Pandora with it. When walking around Helios he of course had to hide it, but being in the company of others was a nice change for once.

He had been alone for the longest time. No settlement wanted to live with a mutant that could kill them with one hand, and even if he hid it, they always found out eventually. He had learned this lesson after everybody in the cult his parents were in had died and he needed a new home. At the time he hadn’t been able to control his body like he could now.

After letting out an annoyed huff at the memory he turned around, staring at the wall. He had tried to fit into countless of those small communities so many times until he had given up. It hadn’t been worth it. He’d been hurt by those he thought of as friends, had been betrayed, hunted, only to realise no one could ever be trusted and he’d stopped even trying. But those experiences had taught him to survive on his own even if the words his “friends” had spat in his face still made his stomach churn.

“Kill this fucking monster!”

“Stay away from me!”

“He’s nothing but a freak.”

“Go back to where you came from! We don’t want to have an animal living with us!”

Monster, he thought angrily. Oh I will show you how much of a monster I can be to the next person who calls me that. But he shook his head before he could think any further about it. That was the exact opposite to what he wanted to happen. He was not a monster, a freak, an animal or whatever they might call him. And I don't have to prove that to anybody, he reminded himself.

To stir his thoughts in another direction he thought about the tests tomorrow. The scientists wanted to know how much Eridium he could absorb, a thing he could have never done on Pandora. Eridium was not cheap or easy to find. It would certainly be interesting and the wide range of possible outcomes made him curious and afraid at the same time. But until then Rhys curled up into a ball under the blanket and slung his tail around himself. He still was surprised how easily sleep came when lying on a proper bed. -------- The next day Rhys was sitting shirtless on a solid metal examination table. Tubes filled with purple liquefied Eridium were connected to both his inner elbows. He could feel the mineral flowing through him and being absorbed. The energie he got from it was incredible, his skin prickled with it. He could hear the quiet sound the pen made as it was dragged over paper at the other end of the room and not even the tiny little specs of dirt on the computer screen just behind it escaped his eyes. Men and women in white coats were standing nervously around, checking data or machinery while others took notes, while Rhys marveled at the effects the Eridium had on him. Nobody wanted to fuck up, not today.

Handsome Jack was going to visit the lab. It had been a week since this project started and everybody knew that he wouldn't be too happy that no results could be shown. Rhys had heard of the man's temper and his violence was no secret either. He might have been afraid too if he didn't know that he could easily protect himself and with the energie currently surging through his system he doubted that the man was any kind of danger to his person. Just as he finished the thought the doors opened and the man himself strolled in the room. "How's it going kiddo?" he asked Rhys with a grin on his face and then continued without waiting for an answer. "So, I may or may not have peeked at the reports and I've seen that there are no results on ANYTHING what so ever. Which is too bad, because I think I pay you all for finding out why Rhysie here has no problem with Eridium ! Oh, and I don’t have time to waste on all your little excuses: Handsome Jack, sir, we’re working as hard as we can! We will be find the cause soon! Please don’t kill me! And all the other pathetic things your stupid brains could produce. Maybe you're just not motivated enough to do some actual work, so let's change that!" He took his gun out his holster, pointed it at the nearest person and pulled the trigger. Rhys watched as the head of the man exploded in red, leaving the wall behind him speckled before his limp body hit the ground. Rhys would have been surprised at how easily Handsome Jack was ready to kill probably important employees, if it hadn't been for the drowsiness that suddenly covered his thoughts and made it hard to focus on anything. It grew worse and worse by the second. His eyes darted around the room while his brain supplied him with all kind of information he couldn't possible know. Like where the shoes of this lab assistant were made, or how four of them liked to meet after hours to play bunkers and badasses together. As he looked at Jack, pictures of him in a vault shot though his head. Then there was the flouting vault symbol and after that the glowing mark that was now forever edged into his face. Rhys's thoughts wandered to the vault monsters, the Erdidians and their secrets.

He didn't even notice all the eyes in the room were on him. Jack watched him with curiosity. He walked in front of the table and Rhys eyes snapped up to him. His irises were glowing the color of the Eridium that flowed into his veins. "Kiddo? You alright?" After getting no answer he waved his hand infront of Rhys face. "You want to know why the Eridium could mutate me, right?" He suddenly asked. His voice sounded almost normal if it hadn’t been for the second deeper layer that was suddenly added to it, making every word sound more intimidating than it normally would.

“...Yes… “ Jack answered slowly.

"Well, that's where you're wrong. It was the Library that did it. I had found it a long time ago and had been chosen to be the watcher and keeper of all the knowledge contained in it. To do my duties it altered my DNA. I am not a siren but something much more powerful, thanks to that." When Rhys opened his mouth during talking, an eerie purple light shone out of his throat, making his appearance even more unnatural. Jack eyed him carefully.

“What library?”

“That is none of your business.”

"Well, alright then... How much more powerful are you?" Just as he finished his sentence the whole Eridium in the room began to glow, matching Rhys's eyes. Jack suddenly felt weightless, his feet and everybody else's lost contact with the floor. The only one who didn't seem to be affected was Rhys who was sitting on the table like nothing was happening at all. The lights began to flickered until they went out completely and the lab otherwise pitch black was illuminated by the Eridium, coating everything in a purple shine.

Rhys's eyes stood prominent and piercing out of the dark. He stared at Jack, who could only hold on to one of the machines that were fastened to the ground to keep himself upright while floating in weightlessness. "I control matter, gravity and if I wish to even minds. I possess the knowledge of the entire Eridian culture and I hope you understand the meaning of those words, human." He boomed, sounding strong and fierce.

After a few seconds in which Jack had no idea what to say the room slowly began to go back to its original condition, setting everybody carefully on their feet. Jack looked at him in contemplation, after having returned to his powerful stance. If what Rhys had said was true and he really had the knowledge of the Eridians… That information would be priceless. All the things he could do! Finding Vaults! Building weapons! Maybe even control the vault monsters! Whatever was the cost, he needed it all! His train of thought was interrupted by a nasty sound one of the machines made. It had run out of liquid eridium and the tubes connected to Rhys's arms were now empty. The glow in his irises and slowly subsided and he began to sway as his eyes dropped. A thud erupted when his unconscious body hit the metal table he’d been sitting on. --------

Rhys sluggishly woke up. His mind was in a shamble, even having trouble recognizing he was lying in a hospital bed. The throbbing in his head drowned out everything and his whole body ached. He didn't feel the hands on him that were checking the IV's connected to him, only a slight tingle danced over his numb skin at the touch. He just wanted to fall back to sleep and wake back up when everything was better. Rhys faintly heard voices talking as the numbness wrapped around his mind. He happily accepted the dark engulfing him. -------- Everything was nice and colorful. Mild milky white hues wrapped around soft purple, rounding it out, as Rhys felt like he was under water. The colors swam around and formed a room. Even if he’d never seen it, Rhys recognized it as the inside of a vault. He walked around a little, looking at the faint inscriptions on the otherwise smooth walls that acted almost like mirrors. The writing constantly changed language, sometimes English, but the readable words vanished in mere seconds. There was another language that seemed familiar and the strange symbols it was written in stirred something inside his brain like he should be able to read it. Rhys saw a glimpse of his own arms and inspected them further. They glitched in and out two forms. One moment his hands had sharp claws the other normal fingers. As he looked behind him the same was happening with his tail, constantly dis- and reappearing. He tried controlling it so he would be in one form but before he could achieve anything he felt himself fall. Sinking back into the darkness, ending the dream without a warning.

Next Chapter, not yet finished...

[peccarion]

Purple Hues

Summary: There is this ancient legend floating around Pandora and only the fewest of the few know it. It says there is a library, containing the knowledge of everything that ever happened, having been made by the powerful Eridians to secure their wisdom and carrying it to later generations.When Hyperion scientists find an, until now, unknown creature they bring it back to Helios and with it the first part to finding this unbelievable treasure. As it turns out, things aren't always like their appearance and Jack might be getting a little more involved than he originally planned.

Read on Ao3. Second Chapter.

Chapter 1 - Something New

Jack had been sitting comfortably in his chair, with his legs thrown up on the big desk in front of him, when he’d received an ECHO from R&D. Some of the scientists had been down on Pandora to get more skags for testing and they seemed to have found something "new". A creature they have never seen before, they said in their message to him. It had gotten Jack curious enough to go down to the labs himself. As soon as he entered through the two metal doors, a man stumbled forward and showed him the way, nervously swiping away the strands of black hair back that kept falling into his face. He seemed to have waited for him and Jack wondered how long he would have stood there, if he hadn't decided to show up. Maybe an hour, maybe five. He was lead in a small room with a big one way mirror giving a good view on the thing on the other side. It looked almost human but it paced around the room on all fours. A long tail sprouted from behind it and sharp claws replaced fingernails, making quiet sounds when hitting the floor as it walked. But the most interesting part was the stone like armour on its chest, thighs and back where the spinal column was located, that seemed to be growing out of it’s skin. Thin lines that glowed in an eerie eridium purple ran through it and separated individual plates for better movement. The tail seemed to be completely made out of it, with a big sharp end. A rugged transition connected the “stone” and the creatures slightly grayish skin.

A few scientists, that were writing down notes, stopped the moment Jack entered.

"So, what is that?" he asked while crossing his arms and nodding in the direction of the creature. "Em... w-we found it in a cave. No one knows what species it is or if there are more of its kind. We were planning to f-feed and drug it so we can do some tests." one of them explained.

“Ya ever heard of stunning darts, kiddo?” Jack asked sarcastically.

“Well, we tried them… but it always dodged…”

“Dodged? That are some impressive reflexes. Alright then, it’s eating time.”

The man nodded and quickly spoke into his echo com. Shortly after a panel on the roof opened and someone threw meat and some pandoran vegetables and fruits down into the room the creature was in. Jack watched with interest it came closer to them. But before it began to eat, it sniffed at it. Shortly afterwards it growled and moved away, continuing to walk in lazy circles around the room. The scientists scribbled something down. What they hadn't expected when they looked back up, however, was the creature walking directly up to the window. It put both of his hands on the glass and leaned in so that its nose almost touched the surface.

"It... shouldn't be able to break it." someone said. Jack's hand still moved to his gun if it turned out the thing could. After all, no one knew anything about it. Even if there was a one way mirror between them, Jack had the impression that it could see them as he followed its eye movements. He noticed that the beast had heterochromatic eyes, just like himself, except they were brown and blue instead of blue and green.

After a few seconds it retreated. Moving to the middle of the room where it suddenly stood up like a human, still staring at them.

And it changed. Jack watched with surprise as its tail was getting shorter and shorter until it completely disappeared. At the same time its claws began to shrink as well as the stone armour, only staying over its genital area, and the skin’s previous color faded into healthy looking flesh. It crossed his arms and watched them almost expectantly.

"Impressive." Jack muttered to himself.

The now human creature coughed before speaking in a raspy voice. "W...Wha...t" Coughing again. "What do you want from me?" It seems to haven’t used its voice in a long time. No, he would be more fitting. He was clearly sentient and, at least for human standards male. The scientists stared at it with wide eyes, mouth hanging slightly open. Jack couldn't help but crack a small smile at their stupid expression. But he had to say, this was quite a development. "We want to know a few things about what you are. So how about ya tell us a bit about yourself, pumpkin?" Jack said, while the other people in the room were still too dumbstruck. He always wondered how they even got this job. "I will gladly do. But not through this wall." he said, motioning his hand to the one way mirror. -------- Jack wasn't of course so stupid as to go in there himself. They didn't know what plan their prisoner had. Did he want a hostage or maybe he was trying to steal some kind of information… It didn't really matter to Jack as long as he had the upper hand. So he had one of the lowly lab rats be equipped with a hidden earpiece and then sent him in. Both occupants of the room were currently sitting on the chairs, that had been brought in beforehand. Jack was able to watch everything through cameras and could give instructions without the prisoner knowing, that was also the reason he was not in the room from before, it was not soundproof. Until now the prisoner had introduced himself as Rhys and told them that there were, at least by his knowing, no others like him. He was currently describing why. "My parents were members of one of those Eridium cults. They had their camp in an old and abandoned Eridium refinement station hidden somewhere underground. They ate and injected themself with the material on a daily basis, forcing  me to do the same as soon as I was born. It seems like it somehow mutated me. My parents and everybody else in the cult died of Eridium poisoning when I was seven.", he told them, completely unfazed by talking about his parents death. "I have done a bit of research and asking around until then, but I seem to be the only one with this 'condition'". Jack leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest in thought. He was familiar with the cults the boy was talking about. It was a throughout stupid idea to consume Eridium in any form, even such a simple task as touching it could result in a violent reaction from the body. And Jack had a whole team of the best scientists working on creating an artificial siren. No method of Eridium exposure was causing anything than pain for the subject. He really wanted to find out what made the boy differ from them. But before he could start tests he had to know something else. "What abilities have you gained?" the man sitting opposite to Rhys asked, after hearing the instructions given to him. "Well, you've already seen that my body can change. Adding to that, I'm faster, stronger and all in all my senses are better.", Rhys said, he already knew what he would be asked next. "How much stronger are you?" "Lets just say: if you tried to do tests on me without my consent, it wouldn't work." A smile was shown on his face.

Yeah... Jack had expected that, it would have been too easy otherwise, but he still let out an annoyed huff. "How about a deal?" Rhys suddenly spoke. "As long as the tests are not life threatening or expose me to more pain that I am willing to take, I will agree to them." Leaning forward to the screen, Jack was studying the expression on Rhys face, while ordering the lab rat to ask a question. "What’s in there for you?" "First of all: I am curious. There is only so much you can find out down on Pandora. And secondly: I think it would be more fun than trying to survive in the desert. Of course I have a few other conditions, but we can talk about them later. So, do we have a deal? If not, I want to be taken down to Pandora immediately."

The speaker system suddenly turned on with a click and the voice of the CEO could be heard. "Alright, kiddo, you got your deal. What are your other conditions?"

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