Borderlands: Eden

Borderlands: Eden

Part 1: Reasons

From ToonTown Adventures (My own thing)

25 November, 1918, Earth

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the Great War had finally come to an end.

The soldiers on the western front had come back as different men than what they were before. Most of the wives and girlfriends didn't even recognise their men for what they were. The horrible experiences had scarred everyone who had fought on the hellish front.

Well, except for one guy, but that was only because he had seen so much warfare that he had become dulled to the effect.

His name was Alexander Campbell, the very first one at that.

Alex had been looking forward to a long period of relaxation after WW1. God knew he deserved it.

Of course, he didn't get said relaxation.

He was sitting on his bed reading something he had borrowed from the local library when he heard someone knock on his door.

At first, Alex ignored the knocking. He assumed that if he ignored it long enough, then whoever was at the door would assume that he wasn't here right now and would come back later. Or, even better, they though he had lost someone in the war, that he was grieving and they would come back in a few months.

The knocking was persistent though, and got louder as Alex ignored it.

Finally, Alex gave up and walked downstairs, muttering, "Alright, alright."

He opened the door a bit. "Yes?"

"Alex!" Thomas said excitedly. "You are not gonna believe what…!"

Alex closed the door in his face and started to go back upstairs.

Thomas started knocking again, this time a bit louder than before.

Alex growled and opened the door again.

"Ha, ha." Thomas said sarcastically, unamused. "Very funny. Jackass."

"If you want me to go fight another invading army," Alex muttered. "Then you can go screw yourself. I just got back."

"Trust me, you'll wanna do this!" Thomas barged in, pushing past Alex and into the living room.

Alex rubbed his eyes wearily. "What do you want?"

"Read this!" Thomas shoved a piece of bright, white paper into Alex's hand. "I got it in the mail a while back!"

Alex looked at it and started reading, trying and failing to look interested.

'Dear Mr Thomas,

It has come to our attention that you want to expand your weapon supplying business beyond the planet you are currently on.

We have a solution for that. We are giving you an opportunity to migrate to the planet of Eden. It's a planet that exists in a pocket universe where time is a meaningless element. It's a dangerous planet, so you will have plenty of customers for your merchandise.'

"Eden." Alex said in disbelief. "You know that's bandit country, right?"

"Keep reading." Thomas insisted.

'The only promise we will require from you is the promise that you will sell products manufactured by the Buy n' Large Corporation. We can assure you that this will be very beneficial for both of us.

If you need further convincing, then there is an urban legend that a mysterious treasure is hidden on Eden. If you travel here, then you could be one of the many people who are currently searching for the treasure trove.

If you wish to accept this agreement, then please send this letter back to the post office. Then, arrive alone in your nearest park at night to travel to Eden.

Sincerely, Brian Uturn.

Buy n' Large Corporation.'

Alex looked at Thomas. "You're buying this?"

"Come on, dude!" Thomas said in ecstasy. "I can sell loads more guns than I already am! You could spread your company's gun trade!"

"No." Alex said bluntly.

"Oh, come on! What do you know about Eden?"

"For a start, it's a border planet." Alex said. "Bandit country. There's no government, no army, nothing that suggests social order. It's in a pocket universe on the edge of ours where people from different time streams can visit each other. No-one ages in that universe."

"And the last point? The one about the treasure?"

Properly exasperated, Alex let his arms swing by his sides as he stared at Thomas in the eye. "The Tree. Do you seriously believe in it?"

"Well… sorta."

"It's an old wives tale. In fact, it's not even that. It's a story a drunkard probably told in order to get one last drink."

"Yeah, those kind of stories don't usually reverberate across the universe." Thomas replied. "Think about it. Imagine the treasures that could be in it!"

"If it were real."

"Oh, lighten up." Thomas said crossly. "It could be real. Real treasures!"

"I doubt it."

"Who cares? The joy is in searching for it! I mean, sense of adventure and all that!"

Alex gave Thomas a cold look. "My sense of adventure died about four years ago, along with everyone else's. So thanks, but no thanks."

Thomas really wanted Alex to come. He wanted to have an awesome adventure, but he knew that he wouldn't survive long without Alex. He would have to rely on luck.

So he decided to start pressing Alex's buttons.

"Y'know…" He said. "Maleviolent might search for the Tree."

"Then he would be setting himself up for disappointment, wouldn't he?" Alex replied.

"It could be a Shade artefact." Thomas said.

Alex closed his eyes. "You don't know that."

"Just saying… it might not even be a treasure. It could be a superweapon, or a doomsday monster."

Alex processed this for a few minutes.

He sighed. "Alright, fine."

"WOO!" Thomas punched the air.

"But I don't want you selling to any of the corporations." Alex added.

Thomas shrugged. "Eh. They're the ones selling to me."

"Whatever." Alex muttered. "And I won't join any military guys either. I've just about had enough of big-headed idiots telling me what to do."

"Sure, sure." Thomas said. "Uh, can you give that back to the post office? I dunno how to get there."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Fine."

From Kung Fu Panda

Ancient China, Valley of Peace

The Furious Five didn't usually get letters. Po's dad was close by, in the town below and he didn't know anyone else. The other four occasionally got scrolls from their families who were further away (except for Tigress, who ignored this fact for the most part). Otherwise, they had contact with only themselves.

So naturally, it was a slightly suspicious surprise when a messenger arrived with a letter for them.

Monkey and Crane had been outside having a minor dispute over what kind of food article Po made best when a goose had arrived with a scroll in his mouth.

When the goose landed, he took the scroll out of his mouth and said, "Message for the Furious Five."

"That's us." Crane nodded. "Uh, which one of us, though?"

"Just the Five in general."

"A letter for all of us?" Monkey asked, taking the scroll and having a good look at it.

It was certainly the most bizarre scroll he'd ever seen. The parchment was blindingly white and the ends seemed to be made out of a metal rather than wood. Even more oddly, the ends of the scroll each had a glowing blue ring around it and in the very middle of it was a red oval with white shapes and a blue circle in the middle of it.

"…Peculiar." Crane said, looking at it.

"Do you know who sent it?" Monkey asked the messenger before he left. He was given a shrug in response.

Deciding that the others should probably be told about the weird scroll, Monkey and Crane took it to the training room, where, luckily, the others and Master Shifu were. They gave it to Shifu, who frowned as he opened the scroll. The others stopped their training to see what the scroll said.

"To the group known as the Furious Five…"Shifu read aloud. "We at the… Buying Large Corporation formally invite you to the planet of Eden…"

"The planet of Eden?" Viper asked curiously.

"…To participate in a treasure hunt to find the mystical Tree, a vault filled with ancient treasures and relics."

Po perked up slightly at that. "Treasures?"

"Eden is planet of paradise and vacation, where time is a meaningless value." Shifu continued. "Even if you do not wish to search for the Arch, we can set up a vacation home for you in the nicest place in Eden."

"I wouldn't mind a vacation." Mantis said.

"Should you choose to accept this invitation, then please leave this scroll outside Jade Palace in the morning tomorrow and we will arrange transport for you. If not, you may do what you wish with this scroll. Sincerely… Newton Oxford, Buying Large Corporation." He frowned a bit on the last line. "Odd name."

"I don't trust it." Tigress said immediately. "Something isn't right about that scroll."

"I agree." Shifu said. "It doesn't seem to make the slightest sense."

"What was that bit about treasure?" Po asked.

Tigress raised an eyebrow.

"I mean… what do we do with it?"

"Well… it said that we should leave it outside tomorrow morning if we want to go." Crane said. "Otherwise, I guess we could just burn it."

"It could be some sort of practical joke." Monkey suggested. "Although, I don't know anyone who'd go to that much trouble making a scroll like that just to mess with us."

"Eden sounds like a nice place." Viper said thoughtfully.

Shifu frowned at the scroll for a bit more before saying, "We'll leave it outside until tomorrow. If nothing happens, then we'll get rid of it. If something does happen… then we will send one or two of us to this 'Eden'. It doesn't sound too dangerous."

"Oh! Could I go?" Viper perked up. "I mean, if anyone else doesn't want to go, that is."

Shifu shook his head. "I personally do not want to leave."

"I don't trust this 'Eden', or this scroll Tigress said.

"Hmm…" Mantis thought about it. "I think I'll go. This vacation thing sounds nice, even if for one or two days."

"Not much of a chance of anything happening." Crane decided. "You can go."

"I'll pass." Po said. "Y'know, Dragon Warrior and all that."

Monkey held up his hand. "I'll be fine."

"So it's settled then." Shifu said. "Viper and Mantis shall go. I'll place this outside and we'll wait to see if something happens."

Once they did place it outside, everyone agreed that they shouldn't worry about it until tomorrow morning. It was on their minds, but they found something else to occupy them. Mainly, a small bandit attack on an outskirts village.

Tomorrow morning though, Viper was the first one up. She had a slight case of stomach butterflies that she was trying to kill, as she didn't want to set herself up for disappointment.

She yawned a bit, then slithered out to the front. She opened the door, expecting to see the morning sun on the horizon.

She blinked about four times.

The scroll was gone, having disappeared, but that wasn't the impressive part.

No, the impressive part was probably the giant, floating, white, egg-shaped metal thing right in front of the stairs.

Viper stared at it for a few moments before calling into the building, "Guys?!"

From the Batman series

Blackgate Prison, Gotham City

Blackgate Prison was notorious for the guards.

They were ruthless towards the prisoners, to the point of almost being worse than them. They were mostly the reason why people tried so hard to stay out of Blackgate afterwards. The exceptions were those who were mentally damaged.

The guards weren't total monsters, though. They were capable of fear, and they happened to fear three things: the Bat, a prison revolt and Bane.

Bane had become accustomed to the prison by now. The security had become much more hardened with the threat of the Bat, so breaking out was going to be much harder.

Plus, Bane's Venom had been destroyed. The only strength he had now was that which he had trained with. And that wasn't going to be that useful against steel bars and guns.

According to the smuggled letters from the outside, the Bat had destroyed the written formula for the TN-1 drug. In a way, Bane was grateful for that. Not only had Bane forgotten Batman's true identity, but he had also forgotten parts of his personal life. Those were worth much more to Bane.

A guard came up and rapped on his cell. "Hey, you have a visitor."

Bane didn't expect that. Who would want to visit him?

"Who is it?" Bane asked, sitting up from his bed.

"Hell if I know. Just some person. You have ten minutes."

Bane glared at the guard as he opened his cell. He couldn't make any moves, unless he wanted to get shot to pieces. He decided to go along with it.

The guard pointed him past cells of other criminals. A while later, Bane had reached the visitor rooms. The guard opened the door and motioned for Bane to go inside. Bane obliged, giving the guard a look of loathing before doing so.

The man already sitting in the room was dressed in a black suit with a white undershirt and a red tie. Bane already decided that he didn't like the visitor.

As Bane took a seat, the man said, "Ah, Bane. Delightful."

"Who are you?" Bane asked.

"Of course. My name is Matt Peterson." He extended a hand.

Bane didn't shake it. "What do you want?"

Matt raised an eyebrow and retracted his hand. "Straight to the point, eh? Very well. I'm from the Buy n' Large Corporation."

"The appliance manufacturer?"

"At this point… yes."

"Then this is a waste of my time."

"I can see how you may think that. You see, I'm actually a representative from the future Buy n' Large Corporation. I come from a time period where Buy n' Large controls most of the planet's economy."

Bane decided that he could be doing more important things than this, and expressed his thoughts in his glare.

"Don't believe me?" Matt reached into a briefcase he had at his side and brought out a white, metal oval. He pressed a button on the side.

Parts of the oval expanded, turned and folded inwards, eventually forming a gun that looked a bit like a rifle.

Bane looked at the weapon. He was surprised, although he didn't show it.

"This is an assault rifle manufactured by my company in the future." Matt explained, giving the gun to Bane. "This particular model is called the BULET ASULT-RFL."

Bane looked at the gun in extreme interest. "Is it loaded?"

"Goodness, no. I would never have gotten it in if it was."

Slight disappointment, but now Bane was properly intrigued. He set down the gun and looked at Matt again. "I ask again: what do you want?"

"Well… there's this planet, you see? It exists in a universe where time is meaningless. You can go there and never age and live forever… so long the bandits don't kill you."

Bane nodded.

"Eden, I think it's called. Well, my company wants you to go there."

"Why?"

Matt shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just a messenger, really."

Bane frowned. "What motivation do I have to go there?"

"The Tree." Matt grinned. "A mythical vault that's said to contain the most priceless relics from ancient alien races."

"Mythical." Bane repeated.

"Well, it would be." Matt said. "If my company didn't know the approximate location of the Tree."

"…Go on."

"We've noticed several instances of valuable minerals in one area of the planet." Matt explained. "Just one. Can't be a coincidence if you ask me."

"And what do you want me to do?" Bane asked.

"Well, buying some Buy n' Large products would be nice. But apart from that, nothing. So if you agree, then we can arrange… ah… a bail for you."

"I've been refused bail." Bane pointed out.

"We know. And if you refuse our offer… well, I'm sure you'll find some other way to get out, but it'll take much longer."

Bane thought about it for a few seconds.

"Fine." He said. "I agree."

"Good!" Matt picked up the rifle and compressed it back into an oval. "Pleasure doing business with you, Bane."

From the My Little Pony series

Ponyville

It was a generally accepted fact that Ponyville was weird central.

There was the Everfree Forest, which spawned monsters like supermarkets spawned savings, then there was a Princess's castle that, for all purposes, was right next door and the God of Chaos occasionally stopped at the bakery for cupcakes.

The spaceship was new, though.

Applejack, a member of the local farming family, had been bucking some apples out of trees when a large object had fallen out of the sky and almost flattened her. Naturally, this had been enough to send her into a panic, so she ran out of the farm and into town, stopping only one to make out what had almost killed her.

She didn't need to run far to find her friends. Everypony in town had heard the crash and were running to the farm to see what it was.

Applejack almost ran into one of her friends, a cyan Pegasus named Rainbow Dash, who, the moment she saw her, asked, "AJ! What the hell happened over there?!"

"Big… metal… thing!" Applejack gasped. "Almost… flattened… me… this… way!"

And with that, she ran right back, the rest of the town in tow.

The population had formed a very large ring around the object. They knew better than to just run up and start poking it, although some parents had to keep curious foals at bay. The mayor was at a complete loss, so she just went along with what the local alicorn Princess was saying.

"Alright everypony, don't worry!" Twilight Sparkle shouted. "We'll figure this out; you can all go home for the moment!"

"Yes, let's get home now!" The mayor agreed. "Nothing to see here! The Princess and her friends will sort this out!"

Once the crowd had dispersed and there were only the six local heroes left, they started talking about it.

"So… what is it?" Rainbow asked, poking it.

"I'm not sure." Twilight frowned. "Applejack, you said that this object fell from the sky?"

"Yup." The farmer replied, looking extremely annoyed. "And crushed whatever was under it at the time."

"Hmm…" Twilight thought.

"It can't be dangerous." Rarity, the seamstress unicorn said. "Otherwise, it probably would've done something by now."

"It can't be Discord's, either." Said Pinkie Pie, the self-employed party planner. "Or it probably would've blown up. Or sprouted wings or something."

"I think this thing is alien in origin." Twilight deduced. "It would explain why it fell from the sky."

"Oh yeah? Where's the explanation of why it had to land here?" Applejack demanded. "Do aliens think that apple trees grow in a day?!"

"Maybe they do where they come from." Pinkie suggested.

"Maybe they crashed." Fluttershy suggested softly. She was the animal caretaker of the town. "They could've had no control over where they landed."

"I don't think so." Rainbow said. "I mean, if they were crashing, then this thing would probably be nose down."

"I think that if there are aliens, then they've probably came in peace." Rarity decided. "If none of you mind, may I make first contact?"

"Go ahead." Twilight said. "Once you figure out how to open it."

"Oh, there's a button on this side."

And there was. It was a big, blue circular button at that. Rarity pressed it with a hoof.

A part of the ship opened up, revealing a ramp that lead into the relatively small compartment. Only enough room for one person.

Pinkie grinned. "This is so exciting! I'm going to say hello to the aliens!"

"Pinkie, Rarity wants to…" Twilight began, but gave up once she saw Pinkie dash inside in a pink blur.

A few seconds later, she popped her head out again and said cheerfully, "It's empty!"

"Empty?" Rarity walked up to it. "So there's nothing in it?"

"Well, there's a bunch of metal things, but nothing alive. Oh! And there's a message for us!"

"A message?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yup! It says 'We at the Buy n' Large Corporation would like to invite you to the planet Eden for a national goodhearted treasure hunt on a paradise with various holiday homes.'"

She said this at about a hundred miles per hour.

"…How'd you know that it says that?" Rainbow asked.

"It's written in Equestrian!" Pinkie replied, waving a bright white note with writing scribbled on it.

"…A treasure hunt?" Twilight said. "And we've been invited?"

"Well, y'all can count me out." Applejack said flatly. "I ain't goin' anywhere 'til I've replanted those apple trees."

"While a holiday home sounds nice, I fear that I have a few orders to complete." Rarity said. "And I have no need for treasure."

"I don't need any money! I'm already rich in sugar!" Pinkie said, walking out of the ship.

"Yeah… I don't need any treasure." Rainbow said. "Besides, I've got to practice for stuff."

"I don't need any money." Fluttershy murmured.

"Neither do I." Twilight said. "How do we tell this… corporation that we're not interested?"

"Uh…" Pinkie looked at the message again. "I think that we go anyway then tell that we're not interested, then come back."

"Hm." Twilight frowned. "That's inconvenient."

"Why do we have to?" Rainbow asked. "We can just leave it here."

"It's polite, Rainbow." Twilight said. "I'll go. You girls stay here."

"Are you sure?" Asked Fluttershy.

"Relax. I won't be gone for long." Twilight smiled. "What could go wrong?"