After breakfast with four girls — Lilith, Maya, Angel, and Moxxi — Alex firmly decided not to postpone opening the Vault any longer. But, to his misfortune, the three women had completely different plans. Even though the time on Pandora had long passed noon, that didn't stop them from dragging Alex into bed and demanding his attention.
Before he was literally pulled away, Alex managed to hand Angel a tablet — so she could occupy herself for a couple of hours. The girl stayed out on the balcony, while Lilith, using her phase shift, stripped Alex of his clothes in one swift move and pushed him onto the bed, leaving him no chance to resist.
Angel, meanwhile, made herself comfortable. Thanks to her ability to directly interact with electronic devices, it only took her a few seconds to figure out the tablet. Controlling it was effortless: the screen seemed to guide her where to press, and the right tabs opened almost on their own.
Soon, Angel accidentally stumbled upon a folder with a collection of movies. One particular title caught her attention — especially since there were eight films under that name. Curiosity got the better of her, and she played the first one.
From the very first minutes, Angel was completely absorbed in the story of a boy living in the basement of his aunt's house. The world of the movie was something entirely new to her. There were no psychos screaming about guts, no corporations, no endless wars. Even the children didn't run through the streets carrying weapons. It was a calm, ordinary world — a story about a boy who didn't yet know who he really was.
The further the film went, the deeper Angel sank into it. Especially when the boy found himself in a magical city: streets filled with people in robes, shops that looked like they could collapse at any moment, and owls delivering letters… It was all so unusual, so enchanting. The girl couldn't take her eyes off the screen.
Although Angel was already eighteen, in that moment she felt a longing to be in that very school, to see every place that flashed across the screen. The movie became a true adventure for her, two hours long. And when the three children defeated the villain and the end credits rolled, Angel leaned back in her chair with a bright, genuine smile on her face.
"Interesting… I wonder what happens next?" she whispered, and immediately started the second film.
"In the next part, a giant snake shows up — one that kills with just a look," came a man's voice from behind.
Angel flinched, feeling a warm hand on her head. She turned around and saw Alex — towel in hand, slicking back his wet hair. He sat down beside her, and the girl suddenly realized she couldn't take her eyes off him. With his hair messy, he looked like a caring older brother. But now, neatly combed back, in her eyes he looked truly cool. Such a simple hairstyle changed his appearance so much that Angel couldn't help but blush.
"So, what did you think of the movie? Did it catch your interest?" Alex asked with a smile.
"Ah… yes. Very much. Everything in it was so new to me: magic, wizards, a school where they teach spells… It was amazing," Angel answered, a little embarrassed as she looked away.
"I'm glad you liked it," Alex said, pulling out a cigarette. "It's a good thing you didn't open another folder in my collection. I'm afraid you wouldn't have wanted to watch any movies after that."
"Huh? And what kind of collection is that? Adult films?" came a familiar voice from behind.
Both of them turned and saw Lilith standing in the doorway to the balcony. Her hair was still damp, and she had already changed clothes, though keeping her usual style. Behind her appeared Maya and Moxxi — also with wet hair. A faint blush spread across Angel's cheeks as the thought that all three of them had just been in the shower together with Alex painted some very vivid images in her imagination.
"Sort of adult films," Alex chuckled, pulling Lilith onto his lap. "But not the kind you're thinking of. Just a collection of horror movies."
"And here I was hoping for something spicy," Lilith smirked, leaning her back against his chest. "Turns out all you've got are scary stories to frighten kids."
"Why horror movies in particular? Couldn't you have collected something else?" Maya asked, raising a brow.
"They have a special meaning," Alex replied calmly, exhaling smoke upward. "Such movies remind us of a simple truth: not every monster can be defeated. And sometimes, it's impossible to even tell if it truly exists, or if it only lives in your subconscious. In many worlds, there are legends of creatures dwelling in the dark. It's no coincidence that all living beings seek shelter when night falls. It's an instinct, passed down from generation to generation. The fear of darkness. The fear of a gaze hiding in the shadows… watching you while you turn away."
"Alright, that's enough of that," Lilith interrupted him, covering his mouth with her hands. "I've already had my fill this morning, when monsters in the closet turned out to be real. I don't even want to think about it."
Alex only shrugged. He fully understood Lilith's reaction — after all, he had shared with her and the others part of the truth about Zhang Ya. And now Lilith, Maya, and Moxxi knew: in the shadow of the man they shared a bed with lurked something else — a ghost ruling over an entire dimension resembling Hell. A place inhabited not only by spirits, but also by creatures one should never encounter.
Angel, however, was completely lost. She didn't understand what Lilith meant by "monsters in the closet," or why she claimed such things existed. Alex, deciding to change the subject, asked why the group of guys who had gone hunting yesterday for the so-called Legendary Skag still hadn't returned. But neither Lilith nor Maya could answer: they had spent the night with him and had no idea where the drunk thrill-seekers had wandered off to.
Hearing nothing useful, Alex decided to wait a bit longer. If they still didn't show up — he'd go look for them himself. And if laziness outweighed curiosity, he'd simply forget it and open the Vault without them. Brewing himself fresh coffee, he sat down at the table and chatted with the girls about random nonsense as time went by.
The smell of coffee soon drew Tannis. She climbed up to the second floor looking as if she'd just been pulled out from under a tank: disheveled, dark circles under her eyes, clutching the Vault Key like it was her favorite toy. Alex wasn't surprised at all — knowing her as an archaeologist, a scientist, and a slightly unhinged woman, he had expected Tannis wouldn't close her eyes all night.
Without saying a word, she slumped into a chair, grabbed the coffeepot, and poured herself a full mug.
"So, Tannis, did you manage to find out anything?" Lilith asked, watching her sit there with closed eyes, savoring the aroma of the drink.
"After this sleepless night and the fragment of morning I could have spent in the arms of a hot guy who brews such wonderful coffee…" Tannis began dreamily, "I found out that… I found out nothing. By the way, where is that hot guy? Did he leave?"
"I'm right here," Alex replied lazily, peeking out from behind Lilith's shoulder.
Tannis's eyes flew open when she spotted him, and she froze in shock.
"Wait a second… what did I miss? Why is our untouchable super-Siren, who usually keeps men at a kilometer's distance, sitting on his lap? And with this guy, no less — the kind I wouldn't mind… ahem… doing a bit of archaeology with myself. Did you all have fun without me? Because I, for one, just came up with a brand-new position for an experiment!"
Alex nearly slammed his forehead into the table, suppressing a groan of frustration. After just a few days of dealing with her, he already knew how unpredictable and chaotic Tannis could be. Lilith only raised a brow and gave her a very telling look. Then she slowly pointed at herself, Maya, and Moxxi.
Tannis froze, then let out a loud groan and slammed her forehead onto the table, mumbling that she had just experienced "the greatest letdown of her life." Alex didn't see what exactly Lilith had shown her, but judging by the scientist's reaction, he figured it out. With a sigh, he gave Lilith's backside a light pinch to stop her provocations. The last thing he wanted was for Tannis to suddenly jump out at him from around the corner, demanding an "experiment" that involved stripping on the spot.
"Tannis, focus," Alex snapped his fingers. "What did you manage to learn?"
"Aside from the fact that I lost my chance at the best morning research of my life?" she muttered, forehead still pressed to the table.
"Well, aside from that," Alex smirked.
"Alright, listen," Tannis straightened up, speaking more coherently now, though still with her usual eccentricity. "I managed to translate only part of the inscriptions on the key. One section points to the Vault's location. Another… it's something like instructions for controlling… um… a Warrior. Or whatever that thing is called. But the third part… is weird. Really weird, even for me."
"Weird? How so?" Maya asked, narrowing her eyes.
"How should I know?" Tannis waved her hand irritably. "It's just a jumble of words that can't be translated. Maybe a message. Maybe a note from whoever made the key. I have no idea."
"Were you able to make out anything at all?" Lilith pressed, leaning her back more firmly against Alex's chest.
"A couple of words… something about a 'higher world' or 'other world.' Damn if I know. Honestly, I'd love to break the hands of whoever wrote this in such terrible handwriting!" Tannis cursed, rolling her eyes.
Alex frowned, took the key, and examined it more closely. At a certain angle, faint symbols became visible. He recognized the first part of the inscriptions — the language of the Eridians. But the second… it was a completely different script. The symbols looked vaguely familiar, as if he had seen them somewhere before. Yet no matter how hard he tried to recall, his memory stubbornly refused to give him an answer.
"Screw it," Alex finally decided. "Instead of racking our brains and guessing, why don't we just open the Vault and see for ourselves what's inside?"
"I thought we were going to wait for the others," Maya remarked.
"To hell with them," Alex waved dismissively. "If the guys still haven't shown up, they've either fallen into a Skag nest or passed out under a fence. They're adults — they'll figure it out."
No one saw any reason to argue with Alex — not even Tannis, whose eyes lit up with excitement at the mention of opening the Vault. Once he made sure there were no objections, Alex only shrugged. A thought flashed through his mind: the guys had only themselves to blame for sleeping through the fun part.
He gently lifted Lilith off his lap, stretched, and summoned Yamato. Two swift swings of the blade were enough to tear open a portal before them. Naturally, Tannis couldn't resist and immediately rushed to study it, examining every twist of energy. Alex lit a cigarette, exhaled smoke, and, not wanting to listen to her endless stream of questions, simply shoved her into the portal. Tannis exploded into curses in response. Lilith burst out laughing, seeing how easily Alex cut short her scientific curiosity.
Giving the girls a thumbs-up, Alex waited for everyone to pass through before stepping in himself. The portal closed behind him in an instant.
And just a few minutes later, Brick, Mordecai, Salvador, Axton, and Zer0 finally returned to Sanctuary. They looked like they had just been dragged out of a septic pit. Entering the Crimson Raiders' headquarters and finding no one, they exchanged bewildered glances, racking their brains as to where everyone could have vanished — and why nobody had bothered to tell them.
Meanwhile, Alex and the girls emerged right in front of massive iron gates decorated with Hyperion's emblem. Angel was already about to use her powers to open them, but Alex preferred another method. Stepping closer, he simply kicked the gate. The metal screeched pitifully and bent backward as if it were cardboard, not armor. Even the sliding doors swung open like ordinary ones.
"That's more like it," he grinned, walking inside.
What surprised him even more was that there wasn't a single loader-robot behind the gates. You'd expect heavy security. After a moment's thought, Alex concluded: Jack was panicking. He'd most likely pulled all his forces back to the Helios to hide and feel safe.
Beyond the gates, long stone steps led up to the Hero's Gorge. The higher they climbed, the more equipment and machinery left by Hyperion to pave the way to the Vault came into view.
Tannis couldn't help herself and peppered him with questions — where did Alex get such power and "how skilled he was not only in combat but also in bed." Alex did his best to ignore her, but Moxxi, deciding to have some fun, picked up the thread. Soon the two women were eagerly discussing his "talents," not sparing any details. Alex exhaled cigarette smoke tiredly. Lilith and Maya just smirked and tossed jokes at him whenever they had the chance.
"In his mind, this should remain private," Lilith muttered, noticing Alex rolling his eyes.
"Now we know he's embarrassed not by himself, but by our chatter," Maya added with a grin.
Angel, on the other hand, tried to catch every word; her adolescent curiosity was boundless. She thought she was listening unnoticed, but Moxxi easily hooked her arm and drew her closer.
When they reached the checkpoints set up by the loaders on Jack's orders, Alex touched the nearest energy shield. A surge of black energy ran through the system — and the equipment simply burned out, cutting power to all posts ahead.
"Handy abilities you have," Tannis drawled, arms crossed. "Not only good in bed, but you can open doors too. I'll give you… four stars."
"Why not five?" Lilith asked, surprised.
"I'll give the five when I check it myself," Tannis replied calmly.
"Four's enough for me," Alex grumbled.
He quickened his pace, trying to get ahead. Tannis dangerously reminded him of Loki — the other one he'd once had to peel off his bed.
Walking through the gorge, the women aloud wondered why the place was so empty. Not a single robot, not a single soldier. Alex shared his guess — Jack had simply chickened out and concentrated all his forces on the Helios.
Tannis listened in silence, but hatred for Jack flashed through every look she gave. Alex knew exactly why: Jack had once taken her key by force, broken her arms and beaten her nearly to death.
He reached out and gently patted her on the head.
"Just wanted to show some support," he said calmly.
Tannis beamed and immediately interpreted it in her own way.
"Well, since you showed care, you must like me. And if you like me… it's time to try my new position!" She jabbed a finger toward the nearest Hyperion living quarters.
Alex rolled his eyes tiredly and bit back a curse.
He opened his mouth to say something, then shut it. Tannis's logic was so absurd that arguing was pointless. To distract her, he pulled a candy from his pocket and placed it in the scientist's palm. She stared at the sweet like a child given a toy, and Lilith, Maya and Moxxi struggled to hold back laughter at the scene.
With every phrase and antic, Alex's headache throbbed stronger. He felt like a guy being pursued by an overly persistent acquaintance. Deep down he already considered how to load her with tasks so she'd at least temporarily stop pestering him. The best option seemed to be sending her to the lab where Rekka, Red and White worked. There Tannis would be genuinely useful — and, most importantly, would stop trying to drag him into bed.
At last, he managed to calm the scientist down a little, and the group reached a massive cave with a narrow entrance. The first thing that caught Alex's eye was a huge drilling rig, stuck right into the rock. The whole "fortified structure" didn't inspire much trust and looked downright unsafe.
Stepping inside, they found themselves in a vast cavern, its walls studded with eridium crystals. The crystals pulsed softly with violet light, reflecting in the girls' eyes. Lamps and heavy drilling machines lined the perimeter. Alex's gaze lingered on strange stone slabs jutting out of the rock. They looked less like mining debris and more like artifacts from an ancient temple.
Without hesitation, he grabbed one of the slabs and yanked it out of the cliff with effort. Its white stone surface was entwined with veins of eridium crystals, confirming his suspicions — the ore was anything but ordinary. After tearing off the crystals, Alex carefully examined the slab, or rather the tablet. The girls leaned over his shoulder, curiously studying the carved symbols and images.
The stone depicted the Eridians. But what struck Alex most was a strange object in the rays of light descending from the heavens. It could be interpreted either as an artifact created by them… or as a gift from above.
With his experience, Alex knew such images could be read in many ways: either as a great artifact made by the Eridians themselves, or as something given to them from elsewhere. As he studied the Eridians' figures, he couldn't shake the feeling that this race was artificially made, not born of natural evolution. And even if they had evolved, it felt more like guided evolution than anything natural.
The Eridians appeared tall, with forms that combined humanoid and insectoid traits. They had five-fingered hands, two arms and legs, a small rounded head. In short, Alex grew more and more convinced the Eridians were an engineered race. Whoever made them had tried to shape them into something familiar — but certainly not human.
"Nothing makes sense. The inscriptions are erased. All we can say is that the Eridians had some kind of artifact," Tannis muttered, leaning on his shoulders as Alex crouched down.
"Not quite," Alex rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It's unclear whether they created it themselves or got it from somewhere else. And I think…"
"And what do you think, sugar?" Moxxi leaned forward with interest.
"It's more of a hunch than a conclusion," he narrowed his eyes at the carving. "But I've got a strong feeling the Eridians were an artificial race. How should I put it… civilizations usually fade away slowly. But ones like them, with knowledge, technology, and powers like that… Either they completed some kind of mission and disappeared, or someone simply got rid of them once they were no longer needed."
Alex lit a cigarette, releasing a thin stream of smoke.
"You think they were artificially created? But by who, and for what?" Lilith asked in surprise.
"How should I know?" he shrugged. "I know a lot, but not everything. It's a mystery to me too. If they really were created, the answers are probably hidden in the Vaults. You said after Athena was captured, an Eridian came to you? Or at least a projection of one."
"Yeah," Lilith nodded. "He said we had to be ready for what was coming… something like the end of the world. That everyone would be needed for the future battle. But he didn't explain anything else and just vanished."
Tapping his finger against his chin, Alex mulled over his suspicion that the Eridians were artificially made. But the questions "why?" and "for what purpose?" wouldn't leave him alone. Dozens of thoughts swirled in his head, but one loomed above the rest — the Destroyer. That creature wasn't part of this world. It had come from another dimension… or someone had deliberately brought it here. But why? And for what goal?
Alex was desperately missing the final piece of the puzzle to complete the picture. Frowning, he paced back and forth, as though movement might push his thoughts toward an answer. The girls watched with curiosity as he strode around, tapping his chin like a true thinker unable to find the solution.
Finally, with a heavy sigh, he dismissed the fruitless speculation.
"Enough guessing," he muttered. "It's time to open the Vault and get answers directly."
When they stepped out of the cave, a scorching heat hit them in the face — tongues of lava flowed down the cliffs. Alex and Lilith tolerated the temperature calmly, but the others were literally gasping in the fiery atmosphere. To ease their plight, Alex crouched and touched the ground with his finger. A wave of frost spread across the stone, and soon all the surrounding lava was covered with a thick layer of ice. The air instantly became cool.
"Much better!" Tannis exhaled, pulling at the collar of her tank top and fanning her sweaty chest with her hand.
"If I had known it would be this hot, I'd never have come," Moxxi muttered, fixing her makeup, smudged from the heat.
"Always a pleasure," Alex smirked. "We need to get down to that platform over there. That's the entrance to the Vault."
Seeing the familiar gates, Lilith and Maya felt the tension shift into anticipation. Hyperion, under Jack's command, had already built an elevator and platforms at this spot. The group descended and soon reached a raised area, offering a breathtaking view of the stone platform right by the gates. Thanks to the frozen lava, the heat was gone, and everything around looked both alien and beautiful.
Alex lingered, taking in the surroundings. It felt strange to realize he was standing in a place he had previously seen only in a game. Now, it was all real. He even took out a camera and snapped a few pictures for memory.
They moved on and soon arrived at a circular platform. In the center was a small opening — perfectly suited for the Vault key. But the key wasn't charged, and by Vault rules, it could only be opened once every two hundred years. That meant he would have to open it himself — literally with his hands.
"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" Lilith asked, watching him with interest.
"You'll see. But don't come too close. The warrior might jump out. Danger and all that," Alex replied with a faint smile.
"Well, handsome, go ahead. I want to learn the truth about the Eridians too. And after…" Lilith playfully smacked him on the butt. "After all this, I'll tear your clothes off and we'll have some fun again."
"I don't mind," Alex smirked. "But let's not rip the clothes. They've already been torn too many times. Even my boxers — I'd cry over them."
"We'll see. It all depends on how you perform," Maya drawled, lazily running a finger over his chest.
Alex mentally said goodbye to his poor boxers and approached the gates. Up close, they looked even more majestic: ancient, weathered by time, yet still full of power. This was a portal — a gate to another dimension.
He focused. His fingers ignited with pale, dark-gray flames. Alex waved his hand through the air, and the space shimmered as if it were a stretched fabric. Finding the right "layer," he thrust his hands into the very fabric of reality and tore it apart.
The space ripped open, and the portal swung wide. The girls barely had time to comprehend what was happening when Alex appeared beside them — he had jumped back in advance, pulling them aside.
Then, from the gate, the head of a monstrous creature emerged. It looked like a giant lizard made of molten rock and lava. This was the Warrior, the Vault's guardian. Standing at full height, it roared so loudly that the volcano walls trembled.
To be continued…
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